"You? Jesus! That's all you gotta do to get up on the podium?": Geno Auriemma yanks KK Arnold's chain before UConn postgame press conference

UConn coach Geno Auriemma was surprised to see KK Arnold on the podium of the postgame press conference after the Huskies clobbered the St. John's Red Storm 71-45 on Wednesday at the Carnesecca Arena in Queens, New York.

Auriemma initially was with Paige Bueckers, who came back from a two-game absence after suffering a left knee sprain against Villanova, for a postgame interview. But Arnold followed the two, causing Auriemma to crack a hilarious statement that had the reporters laughing before proceedings began.

"You?," Auriemma said looking at Arnold. "Jesus! That's all you gotta do to get up on the podium?"

Arnold came off the bench and scored six points on 2-of-5 shooting (2-of-4 from 3-pointers) in 21 minutes. She also tallied two rebounds and four assists.

Traditionally, the team's highest scorers or the top producers had the privilege to be with the coach in a postgame media availability session. Bueckers, the second-leading scorer in the St. John's game, was expected to appear. She has returned from a two-game absence and she's the Huskies' team leader.

It's possible that Auriemma was expecting Azzi Fudd, who led UConn in scoring for the third straight time with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting. However, people in charge of postgame press conferences pick players they see first near the press area and ask them to go to the podium for a short chat to complete the three-man interview panel.

However, this time around, you just can't hide your emotions inside the press room when the 11-time national champion coach reacted to Arnold's inclusion in the panel.

---

Conn welcomes back Ice Brady after a bout with illness

The UConn Huskies are getting back to full strength, with Paige Bueckers and Ice Brady returning from various health issues.

While a lot of talk has surrounded Bueckers over the past few days due to her left knee sprain, UConn's Ice Brady was also sidelined against Georgetown due to illness.

Against St. John's, Brady and Bueckers returned and made their presence felt. Brady tallied two points, three rebounds and one assist in 16 minutes while Bueckers scored 12.

The forward has started in 12 of 16 games for the Huskies and averaged 4.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Another player expected to be playing this month is 6-foot-1 forward Aubrey Griffin, and Geno Auriemma expects her to return in the middle of January at the soonest.

Last season, UConn was decimated with injuries to its key players, but they still qualified to the NCAA Tournament and made the Final Four with Paige Bueckers leading the charge.