The tale of Diana Taurasi\u2019s legendary basketball career can\u2019t be told without mentioning her time at UConn. The end goal for every collegiate athlete is to be able to play their sport professionally. Taurasi certainly did that, and went on to become a multiple-time Olympic gold medalist and a WNBA champion. But she was so dominant that her time as an amateur cannot be separated from her legacy. Unfortunately, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma believes Taurasi\u2019s run at UConn wouldn\u2019t hold up in today\u2019s landscape.<\/p>\n
Without context, Geno Auriemma\u2019s<\/a> claim may seem completely outlandish. After all, Diana Taurasi is among the greatest women\u2019s basketball players of all time. The reality is his claim has nothing to do with her skill, but Auriemma\u2019s belief about how the NIL<\/a>\u00a0would have affected her drive.<\/p>\n It hasn\u2019t been easy for every coach to adapt to the new standard NIL has initiated within college sports. It has been argued that with the NIL, players don\u2019t have the sport as a priority, but look to money as their main drive. It isn\u2019t a problem that these college athletes are getting paid their worth, but how NIL is being used to lure them into joining college programmes.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can use your name, image and likeness to make money. That was the way it was intended to be,\u201d Auriemma said<\/a> on the Fudd Around and Find Out\u00a0podcast. \u201cNow it\u2019s, if I give you this much money, will you come to UConn?\u201d\u00a0he argued.<\/p>\n As much as Auriemma doesn\u2019t like what is becoming of the college game, he doesn\u2019t hold anything against the players. \u201cI\u2019m all for kids getting paid,\u201d Auriemma proclaimed. The only problem is, for some athletes their college recruitment has nothing to do with either the coaching staff or the program. It\u2019s all about who can offer the most money.<\/p>\n If these were the times during UConn\u2019s dynasty during the early 2000s, Auriemma doesn\u2019t believe it would\u2019ve happened.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Diana would\u2019ve played at four schools in four years. I think she would have gone to the highest bidder every year,\u201d Auriemma joked.<\/p>\n