UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma was on the Today show on Monday morning, hours after leading his team to a 12th national title, and he talked about Paige Bueckers’ college career and what lies ahead for the winningest coach in college basketball history.
Auriemma led the team to its first national championship was in 1995 and the last one was in 2016 – that was before Sunday.
The Today show anchors asked what it felt like to win a record 12th national title and what he said to Bueckers, who is expected to the number one draft pick in the WNBA, when she came off the floor.
“Man, this kid’s been through a lot,” Auriemma said.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
“Starting school during the pandemic, playing in the bubble, knee injuries, missing a whole year and now here she is going out the way every kid that’s ever picked up a basketball wishes their career could end - winning a national championship,” Auriemma said. “It was just a very emotional moment.”
The 71-year-old coach also addressed his future and how much he loves what he does.
“I think when you have the kind of work experience that I have -- everyday I’m surrounded by people who are alive, they’re young, they’re moving, they’re growing and you get swept up in all that. And yeah, I’m 71 by numbers, but I don’t know that I feel that because every day I’m surrounded by young people,” Auriemma said.
Local
He also know that he is impacting their lives and they are impacting him.
“Yeah, they can call me gramps, or pops, or whatever they want to call me, but at the end of the day, I feel like I’m having an impact on them and they’re having an impact on me. So, who knows, when that morning I wake up and I just say, listen I can’t do it anymore, but I don’t see that being tomorrow morning. Let’s put it that way,” he said.
You can watch the whole interview below.
