Paige Bueckers recalls Alex Karaban’s words for Dan Hurley to emphasise Geno Auriemma’s impact on her: “We have this great relationship”

Geno Auriemma's constant motivation was one of the reasons Paige Bueckers stayed in college this offseason. She was expected to make a grand WNBA entry in April but is now running it back with aspirations of winning her first NCAA championship.

The UConn Huskies are currently 3-0 to start the season, with Bueckers averaging 21.3 points, 4.0 assists and 3.7 assists on over 60% shooting.

As the Huskies hope to add another win to their record against Fairleigh Dickinson, the star guard gave insights on her relationship with Geno Auriemma on Tuesday. Paige Bueckers recalled UConn men's team veteran Alex Karaban's summary of his bond with Dan Hurley to help describe her bond with Geno.

"He's meant everything, I saw a quote where Alex Karaban was talking about Hurley and talking about how he was the most impactful person in his life, and I would say a lot of the same for Coach," Bueckers said on Tuesday.

Bueckers pointed out how Coach Geno has improved her as a player by challenging her. She also appreciated their open line of communication, which has been key to their strong relationship.

"But just what he means to me, as like a person, a mentor, a coach - just a figure I can go up to and go up to his office and talk just about anything. And we just have this great relationship to where we have open dialogue and can communicate and really just, I don't know, have a great relationship."

Paige Bueckers has changed her game for the 2024-25 season

Even though Geno Auriemma claimed that winning his 12th NCAA title would not change his approach or outlook on basketball, Paige Bueckers is eyeing nothing short of the title this season. That's why Bueckers took on Auriemma’s advice this summer and has transformed her game style to be more aggressive.

Ever since the Huskies lost to Iowa last season, Auriemma has directed Bueckers to constantly look to score the basket and put pressure on the hoop.

"She wants to (score) every time down the floor now … This is the most aggressive I’ve seen her since she’s been here," Auriemma said back in October, per the Hartford Courant.

With that, the change is visible. All it took for Paige Bueckers to impact their Nov. 10 game against the South Florida Bulls was the first half. She scored 19 of her 22 points in that stretch, giving the Huskies enough momentum to pull an easy 86-49 win.

When the Tar Heels attempted to give UConn a competition on Friday, Bueckers played her season-high 37 minutes, scoring 29 points with four rebounds, four assists, and two steals while making 12 of 21 of her shots.