Breanna Stewart reveals two sides of Geno Auriemma at UConn, justifies strict coaching style: "Understand where he's coming from"

Former UConn star Breanna Stewart touched upon 11-time national women's basketball champion coach Geno Auriemma's coaching style in SNY's latest episode of “Geno & CD: 40 Years of Excellence” which aired on Wednesday.

Stewart, who played for Auriemma from 2012 to 2016 and was a four-time NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, delved into the mentality of the winningest NCAA coach of all time.

According to Stewart, the public sees Auriemma's strict father/coach side who sometimes gets into his players' skin during practice.

On the flip side, the 70-year-old play-caller shows his deeper, more affectionate side while he is in his office or in his one-on-one talks with the players.

"Everybody sees the side where he's like getting off people and practice and talk and all this stuff," Stewart said (1:39-onwards). "But he will also sit you down or bring you into his office and just talk things out with you, where you understand where he's coming from."

Stewart has become one of the successful UConn alumnus during Auriemma's pursuit of gold between the late 1990s and the late 2010s. She went on to become a three-time WNBA champion, two-time WNBA Finals MVP and two-time WNBA MVP.

The player who is also known as "Stewie" is the co-founder of the revolutionary Unrivaled 3-on-3 league along with fellow UConn alumnus Napheesa Collier.

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Former UConn star Aaliyah Edwards pays respects to Breanna Stewart despite sweeping her in Unrivaled 1-on-1 tournament

Former UConn forward Aaliyah Edwards showed respect to Breanna Stewart despite beating her 12-0 in the Unrivaled 1-on-1 Tournament. The Mist BC teammates squared off on Monday night and when the 6-foot-3 Canadian forward got her game going with a 3-pointer from the corner, Stewart failed to recover.

Edwards upended Stewart with another 3-pointer to send the Washington Mystics player to the quarterfinals. After the game, the forward gave props to the veteran by disclosing what her role is to Mist BC.

"All love. Big ups to Stewie because I play against her every day in practice, I look up to her a lot," Edwards said. "She gave me a lot of confidence and advice going into this. It's kind of sad for it to be her, but it's Misties, and it's UConn forever baby!"

Aaliyah Edwards secured a bye in the second round after the organizers canceled the scheduled matchup between Marina Mabrey and Kate Martin due to injuries. She barged into the semifinals after beating Allisha Gray 12-6 in the quarterfinals.

On Friday, she'll take on former Notre Dame star Arike Ogunbowale in the Final Four. On the other bracket, Azua Stevens will face Napheesa Collier for the final spot.