"He lies and exaggerates": UConn's Paige Bueckers takes playful jab at coach Geno Auriemma during Selection Sunday Q&A

Paige Bueckers highlighted the good and the bad of playing under Geno Auriemma during the UConn Huskies' gathering for Selection Sunday. The star guard stood at the center of the court with Ashlynn Shade, Jana El Alfy and other teammates and playfully mocked some of Auriemma's tactics.

"I would say that the worst thing is he is pretty delusional and he lies and he exaggerates," she said, sending the entire arena in a chuckle.

Nevertheless, the projected top pick in the 2025 WNBA draft immediately switched things around, saying that she shares the same tendencies with the coach.

"But the best thing is that he is just like me in all those places."

Paige Bueckers and Geno Auriemma's bond transcends a traditional player-coach relationship. Be it publicly or in practice, the two are constantly in the back-and-forth of poking fun at each other.

Auriemma's certain habits have been a regular source of hilarity for the Huskies' star. In the 2024 episode of the "A Touch More" podcast, she highlighted some of the coach's behavior that bothers her in front of former UConn star Sue Bird.

"It's just like the exaggerations - you're the worst player he's ever coached, you're the dumbest person he's ever met, like all these exaggerations - I know you're lying," she said (at 1:07:08).

"My favorite thing is when he's like, 'I've been coaching for forty years, I've seen it all' and then the next practice he'll be like, 'That's the dumbest s***, I've never seen that before in my life.' And I'm like, 'Bro, you can't have both, you have to pick one. Have you seen it or have you not?'"

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What's next for Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies?

Paige Bueckers led the UConn Huskies to its 12th straight Big East title, earning a bid for the NCAA tournament and finishing her college career undefeated in the conference tournament. On Sunday, the program was granted the No. 2 seed in the Spokane 4 region.

The school will now host the first two rounds of March Madness at the Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies face Arkansas State in the opening round on Friday. If they win, they will meet either Oklahoma State or South Dakota State in the second round.

Paige Bueckers was projected to be a top pick in the 2024 WNBA draft but chose to run it back with Geno Auriemma in the chase of her first NCAA championship. The team is aiming at nothing short of that in her last year of college availability.