"We're not perfect": When Geno Auriemma conceded to a luck factor in UConn recruitment despite getting Breanna Stewart

The UConn Huskies, coached by Geno Auriemma, are pursuing their 12th national championship in program history in the 2024-25 season. They are one step closer to that goal, as they defeated the South Dakota State Jackrabbits 91-57 in the second round of March Madness on Monday.

With the amount of success Auriemma has had through his 40-year tenure at the helm of the Huskies, he has admitted on some occasions that there is a sort of luck involved with it. In one instance, he talked about this factor of luck during the time he was recruiting now-WNBA legend Breanna Stewart, as shared in an article by ASAP Sports back in April 2015.

"Yeah, we're not perfect," Auriemma said. "We don't hit a home run on every recruiting trip. We bring kids in here and sometimes, it just doesn't work out. We're not that different than any other school. People say, kid transferred from Connecticut, kids transfer from every school because coaches make mistakes, and kids make mistakes."

Breanna Stewart in 2016. - Source: Davud Butler II, Imagn

The coach compared his former big three, the one he had during UConn's four-national-championship run in the early 2000s, to the trio that Stewart had during her time, which won four straight national titles of their own.

"So, you try really, really hard to not, in the case of Sue, Asjha Swin, Tamika (Williams), we had a home run there, we had a Grand Slam there," Auriemma compared. "Four great personalities, four great teammates and three Olympians. With this three that we've got — Stewie, Tuck and Moriah — same thing, three great kids, great personalities, great teammates.

He also said:

"Not everybody wants to do that, the roll of the dice, you take the chance, and you hope it works. And with these three, it certainly did."

Auriemma and the current crop of Huskies hope to replicate the kind of success the school has had in its history, as their last national championship came during Stewart's time in 2016.

Breanna Stewart learning against the best in the world has its pros and cons: Geno Auriemma

Geno Auriemma and Breanna Stewart. - Source: David Butler II, Imagn

Later on in the interview, Geno Auriemma was asked about the experience Breanna Stewart was getting playing globally, as she was representing Team USA then, and how she applied it to her professional career. For the tenured tactician, he explained that there will always be trade-offs.

"But when you're as young as Stewie was, when that happens to you, sometimes that knocks you for a loop," Auriemma explained. "Because all of a sudden you realize, 'Man, I'm not nearly as good as I thought I was.' So I think it was good for Stewie to be in that environment, and I also think maybe not so good. So, when we got back, we had some work to do.

"She struggled a little bit, and obviously she's where we want her to be right now. But I think you've got to be careful when you put young kids in the middle of all those great pros. It can work both ways, and I think in this case it was a little bit of both. It helped her a little bit and it hurt her little bit."

Stewart went on to become a three-time WNBA champion, two-time Finals MVP and two-time regular season MVP, now being one of the focal points of the New York Liberty.