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Stephen A. Smith Declares UConn's Geno Auriemma the American Coaching GOAT

Stephen A. Smith made a powerful declaration about UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma after UConn's 12th NCAA national championship.
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

The UConn Huskies women's basketball team defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks during the NCAA national championship game on April 6. This marks the 12th NCAA title for legendary Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma and his first since 2016.

There's no doubt that Auriemma will go down as one of (if not the) greatest women's college basketball coaches in history. However, during an April 7 episode of ESPN First Take, sports media personality Stephen A. Smith was ready to take his Auriemma praise a step further.

"I think it's easy. I think it's easy to call him the greatest [coach in American sports] ever, and I'll tell you why," Smith said, per an X post from First Take. "Number one, he recruits. Number two, in 40 years, he has gone to 24 Final Fours, okay? He has got 12 national titles, only one loss in a national title game. And the success is sustainable. As times have changed... he's still who he is."

He later added, "Here we are in the year 2025 and he delivers another national title as well... I'm just thinking about recruiting, I'm thinking about style of coaching, I'm thinking about a sustained level of success spanning four different decades. I don't know, when we're thinking about Bill Belichick — of course, Nick Saban is Nick Saban, and I get that part — when you think about Bill Belichick, you can't help but think about Tom Brady.

"When you think about some of the great basketball coaches, the Phil Jackson's, you had Kobe and Shaq, and Jordan and Pippen... I'm just looking at Geno, he has never ran from anything, he's won all the time.

"I've got to give that kind of homage where it's due. He's the greatest ever," he concluded.

Those are certainly strong words from Smith. But they're hard to argue at this point.

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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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