Geno Auriemma highlights UConn star's injuries creating hurdles in Huskies' March Madness runs: "When we're all together, we're still as good"

UConn coach Geno Auriemma led the Huskies to the national championship with a win against coach Dawn Staley's South Carolina Gamecocks in April. It was Auriemma's 12th national championship and came during a season when the Huskies had all their injury-prone stars, including Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, healthy.

In a clip posted on the New York Stock Exchange's YouTube page, the UConn coach, who rang the bell at the NYSE on Tuesday, revealed how having a team free of injuries allowed the Huskies to win the natty unlike other injury-plagued seasons.

"Well, you know, we've been to maybe what, 15 out of the last 16 Final Fours," Geno Auriemma said (1:17). "But since Paige (Bueckers) in the five years that she's been at UConn, one year, she missed the entire season every year we went to the Final Four, there was always somebody missing.

"We were missing a key piece of our team. This is the first time, during Paige's five years that we went there with our whole team intact. And so we proved that when we're all together, when we have our whole team, we're still as good as we used to be."

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Geno Auriemma reveals doubts after natty drought

Paige Bueckers was the No. 1 prospect in the country in the class of 2020 and Azzi Fudd the same the next year. So, when both were recruited by Geno Auriemma, the expectation was that they would win the Huskies a national championship. Over the next four years, the duo suffered three season-ending injuries between them, barely getting any game time together.

During those seasons, the Huskies reached the national championship game once and fell off the elite status that had become a constant under Auriemma. The UConn coach came under scrutiny as his natty drought stretched to nine years.

During a segment of SportsCenter a fortnight ago, he revealed how he dealt with the criticism and calls for his retirement.

"When you've won 11 and then you go nine years with a drought and in Connecticut and the rest of the country, they're like, 'The game has passed him by. He's too old to coach. They haven't adapted to this, this and this,'" Geno Auriemma said (3:35).

"And then you realize, 'I'm not 45 years anymore, I'm not 55 anymore. I don't have forever. So, is this the sign?' So, yeah, at a certain age, the longer it goes, the more you're reading the tea leaves and they're going, 'Yo, dude, this might be it for you, and you need to move on. If this is your goal to win a national championship, it may never happen again.'"

Nevertheless, Geno Auriemma reestablished his dominance in college basketball with a dominant national championship win. With the retention of Azzi Fudd and outstanding freshman Sarah Strong, the Huskies have a strong base to challenge for the natty once again.