When Geno Auriemma cleared the “misconception” round his motivation to succeed as an immigrant

Geno Auriemma, the UConn Huskies coach, has made a name for himself as one of the best leaders in college basketball. The 71-year-old, who hails from Montella, Italy, led the Huskies to the NCAA championship last season.

A video uploaded by eslc34 on YouTube on May 6, 2010, featured the coach’s mother, Marsia Auriemma, and former Virginia Cavaliers coach Debbie Ryan. The interviewer, Mark Schwarz, asked the eight-time Naismith Coach of the Year about his motivation to win, especially as an immigrant.

“You know, that might be a misconception. I don’t think I’m really like that. It’s more that I’m afraid to go back to where I was — afraid to fail. Honestly, I’m scared to death someone will say, ‘We’re paying you all that money, and this is what we get?'” (Timestamp: 1:40)

Auriemma also remembered the first time he became a head coach.

“When I first became a coach or a head coach, it was this fear, like, what if you’re not good enough. I have to prove that I can be better than anybody else. I think 90% of that’s gone, but they’re still at 10%.” (Timestamp: 2:05)

Geno Auriemma, who became the UConn coach in the 1985-86 season, has a stellar 1250-165 record with the team. They finished with a 12-15 record in his first season, but he then turned things around, recording the team’s first-ever 20-win season, first conference title and first NCAA Tournament appearance.

Since then, Auriemma has won 12 NCAA Division I tournaments, 23 Big East tournaments, 7 AAC tournaments and 7 AAC regular seasons. He has also been named the WBCA National Coach of the Year seven times, the AP Coach of the Year nine times and Big East Coach of the Year 13 times.

Geno Auriemma signs one player from the Class of 2025

It looks like Geno Auriemma does not want to change much in his championship-winning roster. With programs signing multiple top prospects from the 2025 Class, Auriemma seems to be happy with just one, Kelis Fisher.

The 5-foot-8 point guard is a four-star prospect who ranks No. 17 nationally, fifth in her position and second in Florida (as per On3’s Industry Rankings).

Fisher also had offers from top programs, including the Florida State Seminoles, Maryland Terrapins, Mississippi State Bulldogs and Oklahoma Sooners. However, she signed for the Huskies on Jan. 27.