Geno Auriemma Rumors: Latest News and Speculation on UConn Coach's Future

Longtime UConn Huskies women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma reportedly could seek NBA opportunities after the Huskies continued their dominance Tuesday with a fourth straight national title.

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Mutual Interest Between Auriemma, NBA Executives

Wednesday, April 6

Sean Deveney of Sporting News reported Wednesday that NBA front offices have taken notice of Auriemma's success and would be interested if he makes himself available. A source close to Auriemma told the outlet that heading to the professional ranks on the men's side is definitely an option.

"Geno's a great coach, he knows players and he knows X's and O's," the source said. "I think he'd like to try the NBA eventually, either head coaching or part of a staff at first. Not tomorrow, but I think it is a matter of when and not if. Coaching is coaching, and the guy can coach."

The report noted Auriemma remains under contract with UConn through the 2017-18 campaign. How that would impact his decision-making process about a possible NBA move is unclear, though.

Zach Lowe of ESPN noted that Auriemma has publicly stated in the past that he would "have interest in being a high-level NBA assistant coach."

While going to the pro game could represent a new challenge, don't expect to see the 62-year-old coach shifting to the men's side at the college level anytime soon. Last year, he referred to the game as "a joke" due to the lack of offensive execution, as relayed by Nina Mandell of USA Today:

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I think the game is a joke. It really is. I don't coach it. I don't play it, so I don't understand all the ins and outs of it. But as a spectator, forget that I'm a coach, as a spectator, watching it, it's a joke. There's only like 10 teams, you know, out of 25, that actually play the kind of game of basketball that you'd like to watch.

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The NBA features a more wide-open, free-flowing style best exemplified by the reigning champion Golden State Warriors, so perhaps that would be more attractive to Auriemma.

That said, the decision probably depends on whether he believes he's accomplished everything he can in women's college basketball. He's won 11 national championships and seven Naismith Coach of the Year honors, and he just led a senior class anchored by Breanna Stewart to a title in every year of its college career.

Seth Davis of CBS Sports commented on the remarkable success the coach has enjoyed since joining the UConn program in 1985:

Being able to attract high-end recruits is obviously a massive part of that run of dominance. Yet you don't win that many titles without a strong understanding of the in-game coaching aspects. That's why NBA teams would be interested.

Some questions may linger about how Auriemma would handle the transition from women's college basketball to the NBA. But there's no doubt his track record demands respect.