Injuries, near-misses, lost hopes. But Paige Bueckers was willing to do it all over again every October for the last 5 years. “It’s the story of resilience,” she admits. But in her quest, as much as ‘a storybook’ narrative it has rightly wound up to be, the confetti was still to fly around all of Storrs with the National Title. The final Pa(i)ge in the book of Bueckers or not, for the basketball capital of the world, it was yet another banner in the Gampel Pavilion. Geno Auriemma may have hugged, cried, and admitted it to be the most emotional win, but he knows UConn basketball is much bigger than the 2021 NPOY’s run.

12th national title. Geno’s program had the most championships in NCAA, men’s or women’s. If you ask him, this was the most rewarding of them all. “ This one here, because of the way it came about and what’s been involved,” he said after the game. But when it’s all said and done, it is no longer only about a single player.

It’s the winning culture that Paige joined the program for, and it is the winning culture Geno is trying to sell to players and students, current and new. “Every moment you have spent on campus so far, you have been living in the basketball capital of the world, and we just proved it again,” he said, addressing the UConn crowd. Dan Hurley shared the sentiment when he posted, “🫡 @UConnWBB 12 Time National Champions!! Undeniably the Basketball Capital of the World…Storrs, Connecticut.” 

Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, and Sarah Strong stepped up big time to ensure that. The former of the lot added 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists, bringing her NCAA Tournament total to 477 points and surpassing Maya Moore. Fudd and Strong, on the other hand, started with back-to-back threes and ended with 24 points each. They proved just too much for South Carolina to handle, finishing with a 30-point margin. What did the 82-59 win mean for the city? A 3rd consecutive title in UConn, and Geno is making clear the streak isn’t breaking anytime soon.

“That’s three years in a row now that Connecticut basketball rules the world. Next year, we’re gonna make it four!” he added. Hurley, the men’s basketball coach, managed to deliver 2 of them in 2023 and 2024 consecutively, and it’s time Geno brings his game back. While Bueckers’ run is a tough one to move on from in the hopes of sustaining the culture, the HC has no choice but to look ahead.

He has been here for 40 years, coaching the likes of 4x WNBA champion Sue Bird, 2014 WNBA MVP Maya Moore, 11x WNBA All-Star Diana Taurasi, and 3x WNBA champion Breanna Stewart. But the last time he won a consecutive title was in 2016. Geno has taken the blame over himself for making wrong calls in important games and extending the drought for as long as it did. But he seems determined to bounce right back, even if it means pushing past Paige this early. But that doesn’t mean he is forgetting his standout.

During the championship game, as 1:32 minutes remained in the 4th quarter, UConn was leading by 82-53. This allowed Geno Auriemma to sub out Bueckers one final time, so that she could have one solitary moment to herself before the win was all about the team. As spectators cheered, Bueckers shared a heartwarming moment with the head coach by hugging him, lingering on, and sharing some words.

Later, when asked about that moment, Auriemma revealed saying “I love you” to Bueckers. “That’s all I could say. I love you.” Meanwhile, Bueckers made a hilarious jab when recalling that moment by joking, “Yeah, he told me he loved me and I told him I hated him.”

There is no denying that the bond between the head coach and the young player was a special one. In fact, up to a point, people believed that Geno Auriemma would leave the UConn Huskies at the same time as Paige Bueckers. Auriemma himself once indicated that he might do something of that nature. However, now we know that will not be the case.

Geno Auriemma shut down retirement rumors months after indicating Paige Bueckers might motivate him

Being 71 years old, and having led the UConn Huskies for 4 decades, Geno Auriemma has certainly earned the right to finally rest. It is not as if the head coach hasn’t tried. Only a few days ago, he jokingly revealed that “I’ve quit five times every year. I’ll go to practice and on my way home, I go, that’s it. I’m not going to go to practice tomorrow. I’m calling in sick for life. I’m out”. The decision, however, hardly remains final. After all, as he revealed, the people around him don’t let him make it final.

“They go, you can’t do that,” said Auriemma. “You have to have a victory tour and go around and get rocking chairs from every team in the league. I say no, I’m out. And then come to practice the next day and things will get better. Then three weeks later I quit again.” Auriemma knows that eventually, his time will be up. However, the coach also knows that the day is not today.

“I’m sure I’ll get there at some point – just not right now.” The remarks were made a few weeks after Auriemma spoke at a community breakfast event. As CT Insider’s Maggie Vanoni highlighted, he stated, “One [WNBA eligible player] is coming back. I mean it’s gonna be my 40th year. It only would have been 39 if [Bueckers] wasn’t coming back.” This means that the coach had decided to leave the team if Paige Bueckers had not removed her name from the 2024 WNBA draft. Fortunately, even if the player will surely head to the pros now, Auriemma will still stay.