UConn Huskies star Paige Bueckers and her legendary coach Geno Auriemma had a hilarious banter during a press conference three years ago. The then-freshman seemingly praised Auriemma’s hairstyle, to which the coach trolled her back.
In Auriemma’s postgame media conference dated Jan. 9, 2021, Bueckers joined in to say the coach’s hair looked fluffy and fresh and ask what hair product he uses. Auriemma, in a rather sarcastic but humorous tone, took a shot at Bueckers’ efforts on the defensive end with his response.
“Um, what kind of product did I use? I actually don’t have any product, but I noticed that it was getting really dry, so I thought I would try to use some of your (Bueckers) sweat, but I noticed you never sweat ’cause you don’t exert yourself defensively at all, so that’s probably—it’s a lot dryer than you think,” the coach said.
Paige Bueckers, seemingly having no answer to the coach’s trolling, replied that his hair looks good. Auriemma then responded, “Well, why are you surprised? When you get hair as nice as mine, you can have my product.”
It was then the then-rookie relented and simply said,
“Okay, thanks, coach.”
Paige Bueckers and the Huskies fell to JuJu Watkins and the Trojans
This past Saturday, Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies were defeated by the visiting JuJu Watkins and the USC Trojans. It was an unofficial rematch of last season’s Elite Eight game between the two teams that saw the Huskies win over the Trojans; however, Watkins and company were determined to run it back.
In the final five seconds of the game, Bueckers found her teammate, freshman Sarah Strong, on the perimeter. She passed the ball to Strong, who attempted a three-point shot but was sent to the free throw line by Watkins when the Trojan fouled her during the ball’s release.
Strong sank the first free throw, missed the second, and deliberately missed the third for the chance at an offensive rebound that Bueckers snatched. Bueckers immediately passed the ball back to Strong, who attempted another three-point shot in a final attempt to win the game. Unfortunately, the shot missed, and the Trojans got away with a 72-70 victory.
USC TAKES DOWN NO. 4 UCONN IN THE FINAL SECONDS! pic.twitter.com/iqHvf75R2I
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) December 22, 2024
Following the game, UConn coach Geno Auriemma reflected on his team’s deficiencies.
“We just have to get better,” he said. “We have to improve on the things we’re not doing well. We don’t look like them right now. We have to execute better, and tonight our execution in the first half was as bad as I’ve seen in years.”
The Huskies and the Trojans had identical win-loss records of 10-1 prior to their encounter on Saturday. The victory marked USC’s 11th this season, while it was the second loss for UConn.
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