Paige Bueckers provokes Caitlin Clark backlash with strong words to support Geno Auriemma
Bueckers and Clark are poised to be “rivals” in 2025
Connecticut Huskies women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma is among the most decorated and respected coaches in the sport’s long history. Auriemma has rung up a staggering 88 percent win rate since taking the UConn job in 1985, and he was won 11 national championships — more than any other collegiate coach — although the Huskies are on an eight-year “drought” in between titles.
But Auriemma’s recent comments about NCAA all-time leading scorer Caitlin Clark have been interpreted as disparaging toward the Indiana Fever’s star point guard. The remarks about Clark’s well-known golf habit have landed Auriemma, 70, in hot water he’s not used to being in. But fortunately for him, Paige Bueckers has leapt to his defense.
Bueckers’ message after another “day at the office”
After leading the #2 ranked Huskies to a 69-58 road win over the #15 North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday night, Bueckers spoke to ESPN and told the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” that she has “the greatest” coach’s back 100 percent, no questions asked.
Bueckers’ comments in defense of her legendary coach came in the immediate aftermath of another dazzling display for the Huskies. The former National Player of the Year outscored the Tar Heels as a team, 16-14, in the first quarter; she finished with 29 points, four assists, and four rebounds for the game, complete with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to wrap up the first quarter. UConn is now 3-0 on the 2024/25 season — which the program hopes will end with Auriemma’s 12th national championship.
Bueckers’ pending arrival into the WNBA to “challenge” Clark will put two of the top talents of the 2020s against one another for years to come. With WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert such an avowed supporter of manufacturing player rivalries, fans can expect no shortage of fireworks and branding centered on the two burgeoning superstars — especially in light of controversy over Clark’s golf game.
Geno Auriemma admits he has Paige Bueckers ‘dilemma’ at UConn
After injuries to three key players on the eve of the new NCAA season, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma has given his verdict on the options he has at his disposal amid a “dilemma”
Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma emphasized the importance of Paige Bueckers to his team ( Image: Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma has admitted that he is facing a “dilemma” when it comes to how his team will cope when standout talent Paige Bueckers is not on the floor.
The Huskies head coach is preparing his team for its NCAA season opener versus Boston University on Nov. 8 but will likely have to do without three key names on the night. As the new campaign looms on the horizon, Azzi Fudd and Aubrey Griffin are sidelined with ACL injuries, while Caroline Ducharme is out with a head and neck issue.
As he aims to lead the Connecticut outfit to a 12th Division I championship under his leadership, Auriemma has issued a balanced take on the team’s injury crisis on the eve of the season. That said, the veteran coach is all too aware that problems could arise when Bueckers is not present to lead by example on court.
The senior guard averaged 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game last season after rallying back from an ACL injury which curtailed her 2022-23 season. Emphasizing Bueckers’ importance to the Huskies operation, Auriemma admitted: “The dilemma we are going to have early on is when Paige is not on the floor.
“There is just not an experienced guard other than Kaitlin, and Kaitlin is a scoring point guard,” he continued, as he predicted Kaitlyn Chen having an impact this season. “She is aggressive with the ball, and I think as she learns how be as much of a distributor as she is a scorer, that will help when Paige is not on the floor.”
Either way, the coach was honest about the options at his disposal as he reinforced his admiration for Bueckers and Sarah Strong, adding: “If Paige and Sarah (Strong) are not both on the floor, then it makes it difficult for (other players) to kinda know who do we rely on. That’s going to take some time.”
Geno Auriemma admits that his Huskies team will rely on Paige Bueckers to lead by example (
Image:
Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
“Obviously, it’s going to be difficult in the beginning because we are going to rely so much on those guys for so many things. But it’s similar to what we have experience in the past. It takes a little bit of time.
“Paige can do a lot to help fix that whenever it goes sideways, especially in the frame of mind that she is in right now, the way she has been at practice all preseason.”
Following the team’s 89-49 win over Fort Hayes State in an exhibition game recently, Auriemma praised his team, saying: “I don’t have any concerns. I think that the reason you play exhibition games is to get out in public for the first time, so you expect your veterans to play like veterans and you expect your young players to be a little bit nervous in the beginning.
“All of our veterans played great, I thought Paige was fantastic. All the other veterans, they were lousy! They were on the bench, so I’m not concerned.”
