"Don't tell them girls to walk into the ocean bro": Geno Auriemma can't apply Diana Taurasi motivations to Paige Bueckers, says hoops analyst

Geno Auriemma has publlicly criticised Paige Bueckers' tendency to become a passive player in games. He said it after the UConn Huskies were handed their season-ending loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes in the 2024 NCAA Tournament and continues to do so whenever he feels necessary. While it offers transparency to her star guard, it is also one of Auriemma's tactics to motivate Bueckers.

On the Ringer WNBA Show episode released on Wednesday, Chaunte'l Powell questions the 11-time NCAA championship-winning coach. She claimed that his methods are old school and might not be as effective when compared to players like Diana Taurasi.

"I think it might be 50/50 type thing because, going back to Christyn Williams and Olivia Nelson-Ododa's days," Powell said (2:50). "The way he was talking about them in the media, I was like, 'That works for DT (Diana Taurasi) and that works for the previous class but I don't know, don't tell them girls to walk into the ocean bro, c'mon.' Please, let's get a little bit more progressive."

Geno Auriemma's media comments on Diana Taurasi revolved around his demanding coaching style and ambition to push his players. Taurasi garnered a reputation of responding well to his criticism, ultimately setting the tone for her team and Auriemma's coaching.

However, Chaunte'l Powell argues Auriemma's approach might not be universally effective because every player is different, advocating for more adaptive methods of motivation with players like Paige Bueckers.

Paige Bueckers is not on Geno Auriemma's list of toughest players

Geno Auriemma shortlisted some of the most hard-nosed and mentally tough players he has coached in the last 40 years, and Paige Bueckers was not on the list. The coach named Diana Taurasi, Jennifer Rizzotti, Maya Moore, Kelly Farris and Jamelle Elliott in an interview with NBC Sports' "Got Next with Meghan and Zora" released on Nov. 25.

"Kids who have been the toughest mentally, toughest physically, hard-nosed," Auriemma said (8:00). "A lot of them that I've had are also hard to coach, because they're stubborn, they are hard-headed, they're competitive, they're tough and they think that they're right all the time. They think all they have to do is beat it."

"So, Jenna Rizzotti, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, Jamelle Elliott, Kelly Farris. And some of them were icons and some are just guys that you knew we can't win without these guys."

While Geno Auriemma claimed that he had to teach certain players about mental and physical toughness, he said that Taurasi, Maya Moore and Jennifer Rizzotti were tough since day one.