Eight months ago in downtown Tampa, Paige Bueckers walked off the court as a champion, delivering UConn’s 12th national title in a picture-perfect ending to her college career. And now, for the first time since that magical night, Geno Auriemma returned to Tampa with his team to face the program that her current WNBA coach once coached.

UConn were set to take on South Florida at the Yuengling Center, but before the game could even tip off, the night took a heartwarming turn. USF honored longtime head coach José Fernandez with a tribute video celebrating his impact on the program, highlighting some of his most memorable moments on the sidelines.

And fittingly, one of the people standing right beside him during the ceremony was Geno Auriemma, his close friend of many years. The two shared a warm moment before tip-off, taking photos with their arms around each other and exchanging a few words.

“We had some great games (here) and every time we played South Florida, you know, I looked forward to seeing Jose and his staff and his family,” Geno Auriemma said. “And every game meant something, you know, we were always playing for who was going to be in first place (in the AAC), who’s going to get the number one seed. So, I was thinking about all that, and it kind of completely left my mind that, you know, we were just here in April. But yeah, Tampa has been good to us for the most part.”

And right after that, it was business as usual for Auriemma and his Lady Huskies. UConn cruised to an 85–51 win over South Florida at the Yuengling Center, pushing their all-time record against AAC opponents to a ridiculous 143–0. For those who may not know, UConn competed in the AAC, now known as the American Conference, from 2013 to 2020, and they owned it! They swept every regular-season and tournament title during their time there.

So when Auriemma talks about always competing with Jose’s USF for first place in the AAC, take it with a pinch of salt. With tonight’s win, this marked the 35th all-time meeting between the two programs, and UConn has won all 35 of them.

“I guess this is what it’s like to play a national championship team,” Michele Woods-Baxter, the interim head coach of USF, said.  “I mean, we’ve seen them last year, and I feel, you know, UConn looks even better than they did last year, as good as they were.” The Bulls are 5–4 to start the season after losing their longtime head coach, who left to join the Dallas Wings.

Speaking of Jose Fernandez joining the Wings, it turns out he had a discussion about Paige Bueckers with Geno Auriemma.

Geno Auriemma reveals the Paige Bueckers discussion he had with Jose Fernandez

It was a rookie season to forget for Paige Bueckers, who entered the WNBA fresh off a national championship but found herself in a difficult situation. Under new head coach Chris Koclanes, the Dallas Wings won just 10 games and missed the playoffs, finishing a disappointing 10–34.

The Wings organization decided it was time to move on from their first-year head coach and turn to Jose Fernandez instead. The former USF leader signed a six-year deal in October and has already begun building his system, and shaping a game plan with Paige being his centerpiece.

“We had some great memories together,” Auriemma said. “He came up two weeks ago, and I asked him to show me some stuff he runs. I can’t wait till he starts throwing that stuff at Paige [Bueckers].”

It’ll be fascinating to see what kind of system Jose Fernandez builds to unlock Paige and take the Wings to the next level. What’s clear already is that he’s genuinely invested in understanding her game and how to maximize her strengths. That alone gives Dallas fans plenty of hope. But can Fernandez find the same magic with Paige that Geno Auriemma did back at UConn? Only time will tell… but it’s going to be fun to watch.

What do you think? Can he pull it off? Let us know in the comments down below!