"Maybe the bigger question is where would she be without me": Geno Auriemma jokes about Paige Bueckers' answer to Chris Dailey question
During the pregame press conference ahead of their Wednesday game against the FDU Knights, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma was asked about his thoughts on star guard Paige Bueckers' remark that he would be "lost" if it weren't for his partnership with associate head coach Chris Dailey.
Auriemma said he has been lost multiple times but always found his way back. He said it was a bit difficult to answer the question since he had never found experienced it working with Dailey. He jokingly concluded his statement, saying:
"Maybe the bigger question is where would she (Dailey) be without me." (1:07)
A follow-up question was raised as to why he offered her the job, to which Auriemma sarcastically responded:
"Nobody wanted it. Everybody else turned me down." (1:14)
All jokes aside, Auriemma has nothing but adoration for his long-time running mate in spearheading the UConn Huskies women's basketball program. Reflecting on their partnership that has produced 11 NCAA D1 Tournament Championships, he shared why it all started.
"I needed someone that was able to accentuate whatever positives I had and at the same time, be able to mask a lot of the things that I knew would be coming along that I didn't really have the skill set for and whatever came along that I didn't even know was going to come along. So, I just thought that she was the best person to fill all those roles," Auriemma said (2:07)
The Auriemma-Dailey tandem will celebrate their ruby anniversary before their game against the Knights on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 7 p.m. ET. The celebration will include a pregame ceremony on their home floor where it's been reported that more than 60 alums of the coaching duo, from their 40 years at UConn, will be in attendance.
What makes Wednesday's game more special is that a Huskies win would make Auriemma the all-time winningiest head coach across women's and men's basketball with 1217 wins. He will go one ahead of former Stanford Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer at 1216 wins.
Geno Auriemma sees Paige Bueckers' collegiate journey as "different" from his past star players
Over a 40-year span, Auriemma, Dailey and the overall UConn program has produced some of the WNBA's best and brightest such as Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and Maya Moore.
With redshirt senior Paige Bueckers looking to join the fray post-college and carve out her own standout professional career, Auriemma shares that how she approached taking on being the leader of the team was different from his past star alumnae.
"I don't think any of my other players woke up one morning and said, "Oh five months from now I'm going to be the number one pick in the (WNBA) draft, and now I got to prove it this whole year."
So there's a lot of circumstances in her life that are way different than everybody else's and I think she's managed to block everything out except for what's important; even though there's so many other things that the other kids didn't have to deal with," Auriemma said ((16:06)
He then added how she has handled all of the adversity amazingly well and with several of his former players in attendance for his celebration, Auriemma hopes that they could inspire her further.