$18 million worth Geno Auriemma makes hilarious admission about Paige Bueckers following 40-point performance

UConn star Paige Bueckers continued her stellar form for the No. 2-seeded Huskies, leading them to a comprehensive 82-59 win over the No. 3-seeded Oklahoma Sooners in their Sweet 16 clash on Saturday evening. Bueckers tallied 40 points, six rebounds and one assist in 35 minutes of action.

During his postgame news conference, UConn coach Geno Auriemma, who is worth $18 million per CelebrityNetWorth, had a hilarious reaction to the dominant Bueckers' points explosion.

"Last year, in the Big East and the NCAA Tournaments, she averaged like 30.0 points per game," Auriemma said. "So, I'm not that impressed yet. If she hadn't been so lame-brained in the first half, she would've had 50. So, that's how I keep her motivated."

Auriemma further revealed the pressure that the popular Paige Bueckers puts herself under to assist her teammates instead of taking most of the shots by herself as the team's star.

"When you're watching it, you kinda gauge how much she's grown, how she stops thinking, 'Are people gonna think I'm selfish?' Like, she was complaining that she only had one assist," Auriemma said. "See, because even the expectation that she has on herself is, 'Yeah, I wanna get 40.0 points and 10.0 assists.'

"Great, but that's not realistic a lot of the time. So, she puts a lot of pressure on herself to be very efficient, and sometimes, that keeps her from not worrying about, 'How many shots I take.' Nobody else cares. So, she's finally realizing that that's what my team needs me to do, and she's doing it."

How Geno Auriemma teases Paige Bueckers

Geno Auriemma and Paige Bueckers share a close relationship after the legendary UConn coach won the battle for the Hopkins High School star's commitment in 2020. Auriemma has regularly teased the UConn star during his interviews, showing the close bond between the pair.

During a February interview with GQ, Auriemma revealed how he interacts with and coaches Bueckers, who has become a UConn legend over the years.

"There’s a delusional side of Paige that I love," Auriemma said. "She has to know better, but she comes across as, ‘I have never missed a shot; if I do miss, it’s because something happened. I have never fouled anybody in my life; the refs are always wrong.’ So there’s always this back-and-forth between me and her, because I know what kids want."

After the Huskies won against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Monday, Auriemma showed his emotion when he was speechless during their joint news conference after Paige Bueckers left after her last game at the Gampel Pavilion.

Geno Auriemma and Paige Bueckers are embarking on their last dance as they attempt to bring the glory days back to Storrs and win the Huskies' first national championship since 2016 as their last act as coach and player.