Geno Auriemma isn’t concerned about whether or not UConn will win another title.
The head coach, who has led the Huskies program since 1985 and has won 11 titles, spoke ahead of the school’s pep rally on Friday. During said availability, he expressed his confidence in his program’s abilities.
“We’re going to win another one,” Auriemma said. “It’s just a matter of when. I don’t know when that is, but we’re going win another one. Sooner rather than later would be good for me.”
They made it to the national title game in April – their first appearance since 2016 – where they fell to South Carolina. It was their first loss in the national championship game.
This year could prove difficult for the Huskies, as they’ll be without star player Paige Bueckers. Bueckers suffered a torn ACL during a pickup basketball game in early August and will miss the entirety of the 2022-23 season.
Auriemma said Friday that while he addressed Bueckers’ injury and how the team should handle it, they “don’t bring it up” as much as they did in the beginning.
“I think the more you talk about it the more you put it on the front burner, and I don’t want it to be there,” Auriemma said. “We do talk to them about roles that have to be filled and who has to do what…They’ve been great. They’ve been really receptive and they’re embracing it. So from my standpoint, it’s been great to see.”
Additionally, Auriemma said that the team is still waiting on Dorka Juhász (wrist), Caroline Ducharme (hip) and Aubrey Griffing (back) to get back to full strength.
“You can’t just go in there and all of a sudden not be cognizant of what happened, so they’re coming, you know, we’re bringing them along slowly,” Auriemma said. “They’re doing a lot, but they’re doing it in a short period of time.”
Still, it’ll take “about eight days” for Auriemma to know what to expect out of his team this season.
“In about eight days, I’ll have a pretty good feel,” Auriemma said. “Last year, we played a scrimmage against BC. Caroline had 23 or 25 (points) and Azzi had 20 something and you would think they were seniors. So right away, you knew these guys were gonna be pretty good, you know? So something will happen that day that will let us know who can do what, because some kids just when they’re young, they don’t know how to practice, but you put them in a game situation and they’re great.
“Today, October 14, we have as good a chance to win a national championship as anybody else. And we’ll see where that takes us. Not as good a chance as we had in June, but we still have a chance.”
