You can’t talk about college basketball history unless you’re ready to talk about Geno Auriemma for a long time. He’s a living legend, and he just won UConn’s record 12th national championship.
However, there was a world in which that never happened. Shortly after winning the title, he admitted that he thought of walking away from the game almost a decade ago.
The Huskies, led by program legend Breanna Stewart, won four national championships in a row, so the table looked set for Auriemma to ride into the sunset back in 2016.
Geno Auriemma almost retired in 2016
“There was a big part of my inner circle of people that I trust that were hoping that after the Stewie fourth in a row that I should have called it a day back then,” Auriemma admitted, via ESPN. “That would have been apropos, I guess — ride off into the sunset. But … you make the decision you’re not finished yet, and then three, four years go by, and people start telling you that UConn is not UConn anymore and it’s somebody else’s turn. And then five years go by, and six years go by, and seven years go by.”
Head coach Geno Auriemma of the UConn Huskies
Fortunately for Huskies Nation, Auriemma just wasn’t ready to call it quits, and while he’s 71 years old already, it doesn’t seem like he’s going anywhere anytime soon.
He’s one of the most prominent figures in college basketball history, and he has a legitimate chance to add more silverware to his trophy case with Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong leading the way this season.
