"One of the reasons I took the Olympic job": Geno Auriemma opens up on his relationship with Diana Taurasi in her pro years

UConn coach Geno Auriemma and former player Diana Taurasi share one of the most iconic coach-player relationships in basketball history. She was a key player in Auriemma's Huskies dynasty and went on to create history in the WNBA. Taurasi announced her retirement from the sport last month.

Discussing Taurasi's retirement on the 'Good Game with Sarah Spain' podcast on Thursday, Auriemma revealed one reason he accepted the job offer to coach the U.S. women's national team.

"One of the reasons that I took the Olympic job was I knew I'd be coaching her," Auriemma said (1:19 onwards). "I thought, who gets an opportunity to do that? Who gets an opportunity to coach a kid from when they're 18 to 22 and then coach them when they're 32?"

"I thought this would be the greatest thing in the world, that I get an opportunity to spend eight years with arguably the greatest player I've ever coached."

However, Geno Auriemma noticed a change in Taurasi's demeanor over the years after her UConn Days. He recalled one of their early meetings during his time coaching the national team, where he tried to get Taurasi to rediscover the "fun-loving kid" he once knew.

"You go to Europe for all that time. You're bounced around from this place to that place just to make money. And all of a sudden you become an angry basketball player," Auriemma said.

Auriemma further added that coaching Taurasi on the national team and winning the Olympic gold medal with her was one of the biggest highlights of his career. She also helped Auriemma win three NCAA national championships at UConn.

Geno Auriemma talks about managing players' mental state every season

For forty years, Geno Auriemma has managed players at the highest level of the game. Within that long tenure, he has dealt with the psychology of coaching and managing players' mental state.

"Some kids they can try to hide it, and they can't. Other kids you look right in their eyes and you know, this kid's not with us," Auriemma said, via Hartford Courant.

"You look for a few telltale signs, and I try to study my players all season long so that I can tell we're in a good place or we're in an okay place or we're not in a good place."

With March Madness looming, Auriemma will need a team focused on one goal as they chase their 12th national title.