UConn: "Was there for his kids", "Huskies forever" : Fans react as UConn HC Geno Auriemma reunites with "favorite daughter" Paige Bueckers

UConn Huskies coach Geno Auriemma made sure to show his support by appearing at one of his former players' games. On Tuesday, the 71-year-old was in attendance for former Huskies superstar Paige Bueckers' home game with the Dallas Wings versus the Golden State Valkyries.

In a video posted by @wnba on Instagram, Auriemma and Bueckers were captured hugging it out post-game as the Wings convincingly won over the Valkyries.

Several fans then rejoiced over the sight as the reel was captioned with "UCONN LOVE".

College basketball fans and spectators then dropped their reactions to Auriemma and Bueckers reuniting as a "father-daughter" tandem.

"Geno was there for his kids," one fan claimed with a crying emoji.

"He gotta go to every game," another fan commented with a crying emoji.

"I know she feels at home," another user said with an emoji.

"My heart, Geno looks SO HAPPY," a fan exclaimed with an emoji.

Other users all over the comment section, especially the Huskies faithful, are just rejoicing over the program's camaraderie being shown by two of their most prominent figures.

"Huskies forever," one fan wrote with a tearing-up and a blue heart emoji.

"This was so healing to watch," another fan shared.

"Huskies in the house," a fan posted with three blue heart emojis.

Geno Auriemma seemed delighted to see Bueckers and the Dallas Wings win their first home game of the 2024-25 season after starting at 0-5. In the victory, the Hopkins, Minnesota native showed out for her former mentor and the Dallas home crowd, dropping 20 points on 50% (9/18) shooting, to go with four rebounds, two assists, four steals and two blocks in 39 minutes played.

Geno Auriemma and Paige Bueckers reunited with former UConn Huskie Kaitlyn Chen

Besides Geno Auriemma and Paige Bueckers, newly-minted Golden State Valkyrie Kaitlyn Chen was also part of the UConn reunion. Chen made her WNBA regular season debut after she was re-signed to a new deal by coach Natalie Nakase's team on Sunday, June 15. The 23-year-old was previously drafted by the Valkyries but was waived on May 14.

Chen played for one year under the tutelage of Geno Auriemma with the UConn Huskies alongside Bueckers in the 2024-25 campaign. With UConn, Chen averaged 6.9 points, 1.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals per contest, along with their 2025 national title berth.

About the author

Koby del Rosario is a college sports journalist at Sportskeeda who took up BS in Advertising Management at De La Salle University, one of the big "four" universities in the Philippines. Koby has over four years of experience with Complex PH, M2.0 Communications, The LaSallian, Daily Tribune, and Time Attack Manila.

Koby's favorite college team would have to be the North Carolina Tar Heels. Apart from being MJ's alma mater, Koby has always been fond of the Jordan silhouettes that release in the school's colors (being a sneakerhead himself).

His past favorite college players would have to be Russell Westbrook (UCLA) and Markelle Fultz (Washington). With Russ, his 1-2 punch with Kevin Love during their UCLA days was something Koby marveled at as Russ became his favorite player to watch post-Kobe.

Besides playing basketball, Koby enjoys nightlife, collecting sneakers, and playing video games. Apart from hosting parties and taking pictures for parties/bars/clubs, Koby is learning to DJ as a hobby with all sorts of house and hip-hop as the main genres.

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Edited by Dipayan Moitra