Which coach do you think has had the biggest impact on women’s basketball? Not many names come to mind, right? However, one such name that rings many bells is that of  4×National championship-winning coach Kim Mulkey. However, even for her, there is one individual who not only has inspired her, but also set high coaching standards for others to follow. And he is none other than the transformational UConn figure Geno Auriemma.

Both these accomplished coaches shared the stage recently for the first time at the 2024 Aspen Ideas Festival. They were the featured speakers at the Aspen Institute in Colorado. Anyhow, the conversation began with Mulkey taking an ‘Age Before Beauty’ jibe at the 70-year-old who the latter gracefully accepted. After this, the fierce LSU boss heaped praises on her fellow NCAA peer. Mulkey went on and said, “Let me say this and I mean this. We lost some of the best in this business. The people that I looked up to. And Geno really, 11? Who wins 11 championships?! It’s hard”. 

Geno Auriemma joined Connecticut’s women’s basketball program in the year 1985. While it took him 10 years to win his first NCAA title, after that he has clinched 10 more. This also includes 4 back-to-back national glory from 2013 to 2016.

Mulkey further added that being on the same stage with Auriemma is a huge honor for her. Following this, she also expressed what the professional equation is like between them. She conveyed her thoughts by saying, “We go at it. But there is a respect there. I hear it all the time, ‘What do you think of Geno’? I respect the hell out of what he has done.” 

Finally, Mulkey didn’t hesitate to detail Auriemma’s true potential in front of the audience. She said, “I’ve said this and I’ll say it to everybody. If Connecticut had big-time football. This sun of a gun would be making more money than Hurley and anybody in the men’s game.”

Meanwhile, the 7× WBCA National Coach of the Year had a few interesting things to say from his side as well. Interestingly, it had something to do with rookies Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark.

Geno Auriemma backs Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese’s popularity

Auriemma believes that it is unfair to term Reese and Clark as the best in the league at the moment. Although the amount of hype these two athletes create is second to none, this idea of them being the best might have generated some dissent among the other WNBA players. So, instead of complaining about it, they have a great opportunity to seize the moment and make the most out of it.

He said, “If you’re some of the players, you can moan and groan about why weren’t they talking about me when I was here, well, or you can just appreciate what it is and take advantage of it now.”

Indeed, some very wise words by the Connecticut icon. There is no denying that not many can match the knowledge and aptitude he possesses about the sport. Perhaps this is the reason why his contemporaries consider him among the best in the business.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.