As college sports have become more profitable, the high school game has become more competitive. This is an issue for Geno Auriemma, and it isn’t something he has realized recently. The UConn coach has been speaking about the negative consequences of it for at least a couple of years.
Back in the summer of 2023, Auriemma gave an interview in which he explained how recruits for the Huskies had recently been arriving with injury issues from high school:
“I can honestly say that every one of the kids that has been out for us came to us with an injury that they got from high school. So it wasn’t like they came in here 100% and then all of a sudden something happened. They had an issue coming from high school and it never got taken care of. Or, in some cases, there was surgery involved, and then all of a sudden, you know, because now all of a sudden the competition is better, they’re trying to push themselves a little bit harder in the off-season.” (1:23)
“We’ve had to change what we do drastically because the kids that we’re getting coming out of high school are damaged,” he added. “Sometimes they know it and tell us, sometimes they know it and don’t tell us, and sometimes they don’t even know it. Then, when they get here and we go through all the testing and everything, we do.”
Auriemma explained that the problem was how to bring the recruits to playing condition ahead of the start of their freshman season. Most of the time, the kids arrived on campus a few months before the start of the season, and they didn’t have the time to deal with all these issues, especially if they had to undergo surgery.
Geno Auriemma on why he decided to keep coaching
Geno Auriemma’s stint in charge of UConn women’s basketball has been extremely successful. The most successful in the history of the college women’s side of the sport. Since arriving at Storrs in 1985, he has led the Huskies to 12 national championship titles.
However, for almost a decade, it seemed like the magic was gone. Before 2025, Auriemma hadn’t won a national title since 2016. While he did consider retiring, in an interview with ESPN this year, he explained why he decided against it.
“There was a big part of my inner circle of people that I trust that were hoping that after the Stewie fourth in a row that I should have called it a day back then,” Auriemma said. “That would have been apropos, I guess — ride off into the sunset.
“But … you make the decision you’re not finished yet, and then three, four years go by, and people start telling you that UConn is not UConn anymore and it’s somebody else’s turn. And then five years go by, and six years go by, and seven years go by.”
Now that this chip on his shoulder is removed, one would think Geno Auriemma would go ahead with his plan to retire. However, he also told ESPN that the 2025 victory revitalized him. Expect him to be the school’s women’s basketball coach for the foreseeable future.
Read more:
’12 of Them!’ — UConn Star Paige Bueckers, Huskies Legend Breanna Stewart Celebrates National Title
When Geno Auriemma Recalled Wild Night Out in Cabo With HC Mark Few
