Paige Bueckers reveals what Diana Taurasi said about Geno Auriemma when she joined UConn: 'If he wasn't yelling at you, it may be a bigger issue'

Paige Bueckers and Diana Taurasi will go down in history as two of UConn's greatest female basketball players. Bueckers recalled during Wednesday's news conference a conversation she had with Taurasi about playing for coach Geno Auriemma when she joined the Huskies.

Taurasi sent shockwaves across the basketball world on Tuesday when she announced her retirement from the WNBA after playing 20 seasons with the Phoenix Mercury. A reporter asked Bueckers what was the most important or memorable piece of advice she got from the UConn legend.

"There’s been a ton. Mostly, we've both gotten a lot of the yell-ats from Coach, good and bad," Bueckers said. "So it’s just like that he always loves you and that he’s doing it to make you better."

"If he wasn’t yelling at you, it would probably be more of an issue than if he was, and he always gets on the players who he sees the most in the most," Bueckers added.

Diana Taurasi cemented her status as one of the greatest women's college basketball players ever when she led the UConn Huskies to three straight NCAA titles from 2002 to 2004.

She won several individual accolades during that stretch, capturing back-to-back Naismith College Player of the Year awards in her last two seasons with UConn.

Winning the national championship is one thing Paige Bueckers hasn't accomplished during her time at UConn. She came close to ending the Huskies' title drought in 2022, helping UConn reach the final against eventual champions South Carolina.

Paige Bueckers passes several UConn legends including Diana Taurasi on the program's all-time scoring list

Paige Bueckers made history on Saturday against the Butler Bulldogs, moving up to sixth on the all-time scoring list of UConn women's basketball. She jumped three spots after scoring 23 points against Butler, passing Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Nykesha Sales and Kerry Bascom on the prestigious list.

UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (#5) looks to the sidelines during the game against the Butler Bulldogs on February 22, 2025, at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Photo: Getty

Bueckers, who now has 2,189 career points, had earlier passed Diana Taurasi on the all-time scoring list. She moved past Taurasi's career mark of 2,156 points in UConn's game against Seton Hall on Wednesday. Bueckers dropped 23 points to lead the Huskies to a 91-49 victory over the Pirates.

Maya Moore holds the all-time scoring record at UConn with 3,036 points. She is followed by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, who finished their careers with 2,676 and 2,401 points, respectively. Tina Charles and Katie Lou Samuelson are next on the list with 2,346 and 2,342 points, respectively.