"Nobody's putting a gun to your head to watch": When Geno Auriemma clapped back at criticism of UConn's NCAA tournament dominance with fiery remark 

UConn coach Geno Auriemma led the Huskies to a national championship win in April after a nine-year drought. The last time that the Huskies had won the title before April was in 2016, when they won their fourth consecutive title to establish their dominance in women's college basketball.

Back then, the Huskies' dominance was not well received in all quarters and the Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy tweeted his dismay at Auriemma's continued dominance after UConn beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs 98-38 for the biggest ever winning margin in the Sweet 16 of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

"UConn Women beat Miss St. 98-38 in NCAA tourney. Hate to punish them for being great, but they are killing women's game. Watch? No thanks," Shaughnessy tweeted.

The fiery Geno Auriemma hit back fiercely at Shaughnessy during his Elite Eight news conference.

"My question is, don't watch," Auriemma said via BusinessInsider.com. "Don't watch. Nobody's putting a gun to your head to watch. So don't watch. And don't write about it. Spend your time on things you think are important. If you don't think this is important, don't pay any attention to it.

"The fact that you have to comment on it says something about you, doesn't it? We are where we are. We are what we are. You know? We do what we do. We do what we do," he added.

The UConn Huskies went on to win their fourth consecutive national championship a week later when they beat the Syracuse Orange 82-51 in the championship game.

When Sue Bird defended Geno Auriemma's dominance

With the issue of Geno Auriemma supplanting coach Pat Summitt's Tennessee Volunteers as the dominant power in women's college basketball causing much discourse among fans and analysts, former Huskies standout Sue Bird defended her former coach during a 2016 segment of the "Hang Up and Listen" show.

"I'm sorry, but these other programs, they have just as many All-Americans," Bird said. "There's what, 20 McDonald's All-Americans named? [Auriemma] has two or three. Where are all the other ones going? People always say that UConn is just more talented. Now, don't get me wrong, they are more talented.

"But what he does with the talent is what sets them apart. There are plenty of other talented players out there. I just don't know that there are many other programs that demand excellence like he does," she added.

UConn's dynasty was at the peak of its powers in 2016, and even as the debate about its dominance continued, it seemed almost unfathomable at the time that it would take Geno Auriemma nine more years to win another national championship.