The heroics of long-serving UConn head coach Geno Auriemma have earned him plaudits from a rival coach as he led his Huskies to a Big Ten Tournament title despite Aaliyah Edwards’ broken nose.
Yolett McPhee-McCuin has spoken in glowing terms about the longevity of UConn’s Geno Auriemma after he led the Huskies to the Big East Tournament title, comparing him to rapper Jay-Z, a 24-time Grammy winner.
The Ole Miss head coach was left in awe of her 69-year-old contemporary’s continued success in charge of UConn as he masterminded yet another trophy win for the powerhouse school. This time around, Auriemma’s team defeated Georgetown 78-42 on Monday night.
Despite a depleted team that has been decimated by injuries, Auriemma was able to galvanize his seven players to dispatch of the Hoyas. McPhee-McCuin was among those left awe-inspired by the UConn coach’s efforts.
Taking to social media, the 41-year-old drew attention to the fact that the Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer has been coaching for nearly as long as she has been alive. Heralding the legendary figure, her admiration for her peer was clear as she paid tribute to him on her X account.
Addressing her 59,000 followers on the website, she wrote: “Y’all Geno has been at UConn for 39 years. I’m 41. He is truly something special,” McPhee-McCuin continued, before adding: “To stay dominant and relevant for this long. Impressive man! Jay Z of WBB.”
Still, the Ole Miss leader recently overlooked Auriemma for the National Coach of the Year prize. Speaking previously to Women’s Hoops Network, she instead backed Dawn Staley for the award.
Head coach Geno Auriemma of UConn earned more plaudits following his team’s showing versus Georgetown
“I’m gonna be biased, but coach of the year has to go to Dawn Staley,” she opined. “She’s lost seven players, and they’re still kicking everybody’s butt. It’s not like she has an old team. It’s not like she brought in five players from the transfer portal. She’s just built a dynasty there.”
Either way, it is unlikely that Auriemma will be left reeling by McPhee-McCuin’s backing of Staley as he continues to bask in the glory of his latest success. Speaking to reporters about the Big East Tournament title win, he admitted: “These have been three pretty interesting days to say the least.
“The energy that it took to finish this off was really pretty remarkable, to see our players summon up that energy today after what happened yesterday. It took a lot, and I couldn’t be prouder of them. They acted like they could have played another 40 minutes if they had to. You knew that they were committed to, ‘We’re going to do whatever we have to do.'”
Earlier in the campaign, the veteran coach also confessed his pride as he reached the 1,200 wins milestone as a basketball coach after his team defeated Seton Hall 67-34.
Becoming just the third NCAA college basketball to pull off this feat, he acknowledged: “We helped make something happen that never existed and no one ever thought it could happen.
“I could probably say, with a great deal of certainty, that I’ll never be number one in wins, I don’t think that will happen,” Auriemma said. “And I’m still going to enjoy my wine and I’m going to sleep good tonight.”
