Paige Bueckers and former Huskies star Nika Muhl reacts to Geno Auriemma and Chris Dailey's 40 years at UConn

UConn coach Geno Auriemma and associate head coach Chris Dailey took over the Huskies program in 1985. They played a crucial role in making the program one of the most successful in the NCAA today, with 11 national championships and 59 conference championships.

On Wednesday, the Huskies announced their plans to honor Auriemma and Dailey as they enter their 40th year with UConn on Instagram.

"Forty seasons. Two coaches. A legacy of excellence. UConn will celebrate Geno Auriemma and Chris Dailey’s 40th season in Storrs in 2024-25," the caption read.

UConn guard Paige Bueckers and former Huskies player Nika Muhl reacted to the news as they reposted the announcement to their Instagram story with similar added messages.

"My goats," Bueckers wrote.

"(Goat emoji)x2," Muhl added.

Paige Bueckers and Nika Muhl's reaction to UConn's announcement (Credit: Instagram/@nika.muhl, @paigebueckers)

The primary celebration will be held on Nov. 20 at the Gampel Pavilion when the Huskies take on Fairleigh Dickinson. The statement from the school also shared that all student-athletes who played for the coaches since their first season in 1985-86 have been invited to the game.

Geno Auriemma is the second (1,213) on the list of coaches with the most wins in the NCAA history behind former Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer (1,216), who retired in April.

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Geno Auriemma receives backlash for downplaying Caitlin Clark to praise Paige Bueckers

During an interview for "The Dan Patrick Show" in June, Geno Auriemma criticized Caitlin Clark's fans for over-hyping the Fever rookie and setting "her up for failure" as she struggled in the initial days of her rookie season.

The coach also said that the fans betting on Clark to win the MVP were a direct disrespect to the existing players in the WNBA. He added that the Indiana guard is not yet “built for the physicality of this league.”

In the same interview, Auriemma shared that Paige Bueckers would have a much easier transition into the league as her "game is different than Caitlin's, in that she's more of a distributor." He added that the subtleties of her game would translate well.

Three months later, Caitlin Clark proved everyone, including Auriemma, wrong. She has led the Indiana Fever to their first playoffs since 2016 while also breaking several WNBA records along the way.

With this, Geno Auriemma has drawn the ire of fans and analysts like Nick Wright, who called out the UConn coach, saying:

“Geno, just say you’re a UConn guy. And you thought this was gonna be Paige (Bueckers) and instead, it’s Caitlin.”

While Clark leads the Fever into the postseason, Bueckers will play her final college season with the Huskies.