"You might not be able to get to Paige Bueckers' level": Geno Auriemma gets frank on UConn Star as a role model for kids despite "average" game

Geno Auriemma saw the silver lining in Paige Bueckers' 12-point outing against the Marquette Golden Eagles on Wednesday. The star guard went 4 of 12 from the field, posting her third-lowest total this season. However, Auriemma argues that in a way, average games by the UConn guard allow young players to believe that they don't have to chase perfection to get on her level.

Even though the coach believes Bueckers to be a one-of-a-kind player, he encourages the younger generation by saying that success isn't solely dependent on talent. With that, he stresses the opportunistic landscape of college basketball that aspiring hoopers can benefit from to excel and be successful within their abilities.

"You need to show them that, 'Yes, it's possible, you might not have my talent but it is possible for you to get these things done that I'm getting done and it's not limited by our talent, your size or your speed or quickness," Auriemma said (1:20).

"Yeah, you might not be able to get to Paige Bueckers level but that does not mean there isn't a school somewhere in America that you couldn't play at and be really, really, really good at. There are more kids watching Paige play that will never play at this level and they need to understand there is a level for them too."

"So, Paige has to be able to do all the things that good basketball players do, not just crazy things only Paige could do. I think she was really good at that, being average Paige."

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Geno Auriemma is still finding the perfect rotations for Paige Bueckers and UConn

Despite an easy 77-45 win over Marquette in the first game of 2025, Geno Auriemma claimed that he is still experimenting with his rotations to maximize the squad at hand.

"We're starting to understand a little bit better which lineups are most effective for us and that it really matters how we substitute and who we substitute and when we substitute," he said. "So, all these things, just take all the information and keep trying to get it better in the next game. And the better we figure that out, the more success we're going to have."

With that, Paige Bueckers' average game against Marquette could have indirectly stemmed from UConn's rotation experiments. It was her second-worst shooting performance (33.3%) of the season, behind (18.2%) against Louisville on Dec. 7.