“It was a great ease in the mind”: UConn’s Kamorea Arnold reveals how Geno Auriemma’s contract extension impacted the Huskies
UConn guard Kamorea "KK" Arnold admitted feeling relieved after 11-time champion coach Geno Auriemma signed a five-year deal to stay with the Huskies until April 2029. Arnold made the admission in the Listen Up podcast with Phillip Vecera and Ryan Renner, which was posted on YouTube on Sunday.
Auriemma, who has been coaching the UConn women's basketball team since 1985, agreed an $18.7-million extension that includes an opportunity to earn additional compensation through performance-based incentives (per UConnHuskies.com).
Arnold pointed out that Auriemma's contract extension removed the uncertainty lingering in the team after their ouster in the Final Four of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
"It was a great ease in the mind knowing that he'll stay and just kind of just having that in the mind just saying he stayed, so I get to learn more and more from him for my next three years," Arnold said. (9:20-9:30)
Auriemma, who was inducted to both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006, is second among women's basketball coaches in all-time wins, with 1,213.
He will have a big opportunity to surpass the 1,216 wins set by Tara VanDerveer this season, as UConn is expected to win more than 30 games and figure prominently in the 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
It was Auriemma who thrust Arnold and fellow freshman Ashlynn Shade into the starting lineup this past season after key UConn's players had suffered season-ending injuries.
The five-foot-nine guard rose to the occasion and was the team's leader in steals. Her exploits were rewarded with a selection to the 2024 Big East All-Freshman Team.
Kamorea Arnold shares UConn players' LEGO bonding moments
Kamorea Arnold also revealed that the team is into playing LEGO during the offseason. She noted that it's a way for the team to bond after practice and added that people who passed by their apartment complex came every day to check on what they're building.
"We got everybody into Legos. Just kind of building them and people come in and out of the apartments just seeing what we're doing. It's just different things like that gets a conversation going or just a bonding thing that we had," Arnold said. (3:34-3:45)
The sophomore guard believes that it's a way for them to get to know each other outside the basketball court and an outlet to relax while building a bond with teammates weeks after the formal opening of the 2024-25 college basketball season in November.
Arnold will be a key piece in UConn's aspirations to make it to the Finals and possibly win its 12th national championship. She will team up with returning guards Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, promising rookie Sarah Strong and transfer player Kaitlyn Chen.