Women's Fastbreak On SI

Azzi Fudd's 'Cute Little Grandpa' Geno Auriemma Take Turns Heads

UConn Huskies star Azzi Fudd shared a hilarious stance on legendary head coach Geno Auriemma.
Grant Young|
Apr 6, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; Connecticut Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma speaks to the media after the national championship of the women's 2025 NCAA tournament against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Apr 6, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; Connecticut Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma speaks to the media after the national championship of the women's 2025 NCAA tournament against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

One of the biggest stories surrounding the 2024-25 NCAA women's basketball season was that it would be the final time Geno Auriemma and Paige Bueckers would be with the UConn Huskies at the same time.

Of course, this pairing ended with a national championship. Now, Bueckers is playing for the Dallas Wings, and Auriemma is surely taking a break from basketball to prepare for his 41st season coaching the Huskies.

While Bueckers and Auriemma's relationship was one of a kind, he also has a fantastic relationship with star guard Azzi Fudd, who will be returning to UConn next year.

The sentiment among fans is that Auriemma has a soft spot for Fudd. And the sharpshooter spoke about how she feels during a May 2 episode of In Case You Missed It With Khristina Williams.

"I mean, coach is incredible. He's the best at what he does. It's why I went to UConn, to learn from him," Fudd said, "And he is super strict, super hard, but he also is that cute little grandpa.

"I know he hates it when we say that, but he is that little grandpa from Up," Fudd continued. "And he hates that. But we have such big personalities on our team, like Paige and KK [Arnold], that get him out of his shell, make him do TikTok's. And he'll roll his eyes at first, act all tough and hard, but you know he loves it. You know he loves it."

We wonder whether Auriemma will love being called a "cute little grandpa" by Fudd.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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