Geno Auriemma's Out-of-Character UConn Praise Raises Eyebrows After Season Debut Win

UConn Huskies coach Geno Auriemma turned heads when speaking about his team's NCAA season debut performance.

Nov 4, 2025; Annapolis, Maryland, USA UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma looks onto the court during the first half against the Louisville Cardinals at Alumni Hall on United States Naval Academy. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Legendary UConn Huskies women's coach Geno Auriemma has become iconic for his unconditional candor.

Auriemma has nothing left to prove to the basketball community after over four decades and 12 NCAA national championships won during his UConn tenure. This has allowed him to let his personality shine through at all times, which creates some of the best quotes in the sport.

It also makes for interesting and often hilarious relationship dynamics with his players, most notably with Paige Bueckers. However, Auriemma is no longer Bueckers' coach. In fact, the defending national champions just played their first game without Bueckers on the roster since 2019, when they opened their 2025-26 season with a game against Louisville on November 4.

While Bueckers wasn't on the court for UConn, she was still in the building. And she got to witness her alma mater cruise to a smooth 79-66 win over the No. 20-ranked Cardinals in the Peraton Armed Forces Classic.

Oct 6, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers looks on during the second quarter between the Dallas Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder at Dickie's Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

There was a lot of interest in what the Huskies would look like without Bueckers on the court, given that she was their leader and biggest offensive threat during the past five seasons. However, while it's still too early in to season to jump to conclusions, UConn certainly got off to a solid start without Bueckers.

Geno Auriemma's Honest Take on UConn Season Debut Win Turns Heads

Given his aforementioned candor, Auriemma is known for being a straight shooter, especially when it comes to how his team is performing on the court. In other words, when his Huskies aren't performing up to his standards and expectations, he lets them (and anybody else listening) know about it.

That's why it was a unique change of pace to hear him praising his team's effort on Tuesday, which Maggie Vanoni conveyed through a quote from Auriemma after Tuesday's win over Louisville concluded.

"For the first game out, I thought it was a tremendous success," Auriemma said, per Vanoni's X post.

Geno Auriemma: "For the first game out, I thought it was a tremendous success."

— Maggie Vanoni (@maggie_vanoni) November 5, 2025

It's refreshing to hear Auriemma speak this way. But just because he's happy about his team's season debut outing doesn't mean he's going to remain content with how the season is going.

The Huskies have many tough tests ahead of them in the coming months, especially against ranked non-conference opponents like Michigan, USC, Notre Dame, Iowa, and Tennessee. But it was certainly a good start for the team in the post-Bueckers era, which they will look to build upon during their next game, which is on November 9 against Florida State.