"The kids that we're getting coming out of high school are damaged": When UConn Huskies HC Geno Auriemma blamed schools for injuries of his players 

University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies Women’s Basketball head coach Geno Auriemma blamed the injuries sustained by his players on the high schools they came from.

Auriemma believes the high schools are responsible for damaging the health of players before they even play a game of college basketball. The Huskies coach said this in an interview that premiered on Jun 24, 2023, on the Back 2 Sports YouTube page.

The Italian-born American attributed his statements after a host of his stars picked up long-term injuries in the last three seasons. UConn have been unlucky with injuries after players like Aubrey Griffin, Azzi Fudd, and Paige Bueckers (twice) all spent a significant amount of time on the sidelines due to injuries.

This season alone, UConn will be without five players for the rest of the season after Caroline Ducharme (head and neck injuries) joined Jana El Alfy (Achilles tendon), Azzi Fudd (knee), Aubrey Griffin (knee), and Ayanna Patterson (knee) on the sidelines.

The frequent state and severity of these injuries have led to questions, with many speculating it could be the training method adopted at UConn. However, Auriemma is not having it, saying the intensity of their training has even reduced.

“The interesting thing is that we used to go a lot harder back in the day so I don’t know what it is about what’s going on in the world these kids live in when they are in high school,” Auriemma told Back 2 Sports at the (00:01:02) mark of the interview.

The former Saint Joseph's assistant coach claimed that every player who picked up an injury at UConn had an underlying issue they had from high school.

“I can honestly say that every one of the kids that have been out for us came to us with an injury that led to the one they got from high school. So it wasn’t like they came in here 100 and then all of sudden, something happened.”

“And we wanted them, had an issue coming from high school and never got taken care of or in some cases, there was surgery involved and then now all of a sudden, the competition’s better.”

Auriemma, however, said that the high level of competition could have contributed to it, but insisted that the players are already damaged from high school.

“You know they are trying to push themselves a little bit harder in the off-season and we only have them for the month of June. You know most of the summer, they are on their own, so all of our post-season, pre-season, all of that work is individual and strength and conditioning injury stuff.”

“That’s basically all you do during this time of the year. You are doing individual work and trying to get better and you are trying to prevent anything from happening the best you can.”

“And so for how many years, you know we wouldn’t win all those championships if we didn’t know what we were doing. But we’ve had to change what we do drastically because the kids that we are getting coming out of high school are damaged,” Auriemma added.

Geno Auriemma’s high school knowledge

Auriemma’s knowledge of women’s high school basketball may explain why he believes the fault is not with the colleges. The Huskies coach began his coaching career at Bishop McDevitt High School in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, spending two years coaching the girls' basketball team between 1977 and 1979.

Auriemma also served as an assistant coach at Saint Joseph's University, Kennedy–Kenrick Catholic High School, and University of Virginia before taking the job at Connecticut.

In his time as the UConn Huskies’ coach, he has won 11 NCAA Division titles and has been named Naismith Coach of the Year eight times.