UConn's Geno Auriemma Says Why 'Love and Hate' Relationship With Paige Bueckers Works

Geno Auriemma spoke about the rollercoaster relationship he has with UConn Huskies star guard Paige Bueckers.

Apr 4, 2024; Cleveland, OH, USA; UConn Huskies coach Geno Auriemma (left) and guard Paige Bueckers during press conference at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

In his 40 seasons as the head coach of the UConn Huskies women's basketball team, it's tough to imagine that Geno Auriemma has coached a player who's more comfortable getting on his nerves than Paige Bueckers.

This was proven on February 26, when Bueckers was willing to tease Auriemma about being relatable to her generation by saying, "He's trying to be understanding, doesn't get on TikTok. Relatable to our generation... he tries to be cool, tries to learn some new slang. I remember when he called Nika [Muhl] his 'slime'. I guess he's trying to learn as much as we are."

Auriemma also spoke about his relationship with Bueckers on February 26, and had some interesting things to say.

"My relationship with Paige, it's one of those where love and hate, I guess they call it, right? I love it when I hate her, and she loves when she hates me," Auriemma said, per an X post from @ForGoodAri.

"Because that means we're both on the right track. There's something I want her to do and she's arguing with me about it, there's something that she wants, and I'm not letting her do it. So our relationship on the court is I'm constantly b******* about something I want her to do, she's wanting to do things that she wants to do, and so we're always going back and forth," he continued.

"And it works, because she wants to stretch the boundaries as far as she possibly can, and I want to make sure that she's growing as a player, and she's learning, and she's preparing for what's coming next, where that's not going to be possible all the time," he added. "But off the court, none of that matters because she's not a freshman anymore, she's not a little kid anymore, I can coach her like an adult, which she is.

"So yeah, our relationship is great. I'm glad we have two of them. I'm glad we have the on the court one, and I'm glad we have the off the court one," he concluded.

This man is so unbelievably moody when it comes to Paige, I can't pic.twitter.com/8PwHnrEKG6

— yapyap (@ForGoodAri) February 26, 2025

"Love and hate" relationship aside, Auriemma will surely miss Bueckers dearly once she's gone.