When Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies lost the national championship to the South Carolina Gamecocks in 2022, UConn legends like Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, and Breanna Stewart went to the team's hotel to console the Huskies. However, the Dallas Wings star was always confident that no matter what, she was going to end her college career with a title, but her approach didn't sit well with her UConn head coach Geno Auriemma.
Finally, after UConn's 80-76 loss to Tennessee on February 6 last year, Auriemma took a drastic approach. Auriemma tore into Paige Bueckers because he knew it was either going to change Bueckers or make her quit.
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"I just felt like, you know, this is your last year here. We're getting to the point where we don't have time for 'I'll get it next time.' This has got to be career-changing at UConn. Your UConn career right now is at a crossroads," Auriemma said during his appearance on The Ringer WNBA Show
.
That difficult conversation proved necessary, but it was needed to help Bueckers change her approach. It was a risk, but one that Auriemma was ready to take. During the film session, Auriemma went full ruthless mode on Bueckers. Auriemma tried to "hurt her like losing hurts."
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The UConn head coach said that previously, whenever he talked to Bueckers about winning titles and tried having conversations with her, she heard but never listened. But after the Tennessee game, Auriemma said he stayed up all morning and wrote a speech on paper. But after the game, he ditched the idea. He showed her the film and was just "honest with her."
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"We've been having these conversations, me and Paige, for five years now about what you need to be if you want that prize at the end. And it was like one in one ear and out the other. And even losing in the national championship game for sophomore year was like, yeah, but I have way more chances. I'll be back. You know, we'll do it. No worries about it," he added, revealing his previous conversation with Paige Bueckers.
Paige Bueckers was in her senior year, and her coach questioned her leadership in front of everyone. According to UConn's Sarah Strong, who was also subjected to a harsh reality check months later
, the scene inside the locker room was tough to watch.
"It was awkward to be in there. I wasn't expecting him to attack Paige like that. He was just yelling at her and, I don't know, saying really hurtful things to her. It was really shocking to me," Strong said.
Perhaps the biggest lesson for any coach from Auriemma's tough interaction with his star player was the relationship with the player. He was able to give his honest opinion and challenge her to a breaking point because they shared a deeper relationship.
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"I know what kind of competitor she is, and because of the relationship that we have, I could do that. If I didn't have that kind of relationship with her, if we didn't know each other as well as we do, I don't know if I'd have," the UConn head coach added.
So this year, when Dallas head coach and Auriemma's friend Jose Fernandez came to him in order to understand how to best use Bueckers' skill and drive to build the Wings' squad around her, Auriemma told him to be honest.
"Geno told Jose, 'Look, if you're worried about ruining your relationship with her by being too hard on her, don't. You will ruin your relationship with her if you're not hard on her. If you're not holding her to an extraordinarily high standard,'" The Athletic's Brian Hamilton said
about the conversation between Auriemma and Fernandez.
Not everyone might like Auriemma's treatment of Paige Bueckers. But he is one of the most successful coaches in college history who has coached some of the greatest players in the game. Perhaps he knew when to push the switch. What happened later is history. Bueckers and the Huskies recovered. They went on a 16-game winning streak. Bueckers finally won her first title and the 12th for the UConn Huskies.
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The post "Career Right Now is at Crossroads": Geno Auriemma Reveals Why He Tore Into Paige Bueckers After Tennessee Loss
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