In the wake of the Geno Auriemma-Dawn Staley spat that stole the spotlight at the women’s Final Four on Friday night, UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley was asked about his thoughts on the saga.
Hurley, who helped the UConn men’s team advance to their third national championship appearance in four seasons with a win over Illinois on Saturday in Indianapolis, praised Auriemma while joking that the may be rubbing off on the women’s hoops legend in all the wrong ways.
“Obviously, I’ve had a negative influence on Geno,” Hurley said jokingly after the Huskies’ win, per Amanda Christovich of Front Office Sports. “And it’s crazy, ‘cause Geno’s helped me so much, and now I’ve—no, I mean, Geno is—the way he handled the whole thing, such a stand up guy, with the way he handled it with the statement, and he’s one of the classiest people. And if anyone should get the benefit of the doubt, in a world of sports, it’s Geno Auriemma. Cause he’s one of the most authentic, genuine, great people you’ll ever meet in your life.”
Auriemma’s apology to South Carolina staff and players
After the altercation with Staley on Friday night following South Carolina’s 14-point win over UConn to advance to the championship game, Auriemma released a statement on Saturday apologizing to South Carolina’s staff and players.
“There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina,” Auriemma said in the statement. “I want to apologize to the staff and the team at South Carolina. It was uncalled for in how I reacted. The story should be how well South Carolina played, and I don’t want my actions to detract from that. I’ve had a relationship with their staff, and I sincerely want to apologize to them.”
Auriemma’s apology, notably, did not include a direct apology to Staley, who has had upper hand several times over the past decade against the longtime UConn coach.
A recap of Friday night’s Final Four altercation
Friday night was a frustrating one for undefeated UConn, who was stifled by South Carolina to the tune of 31% shooting in the 14-point loss that denied the Huskies a chance to defend their national championship on Sunday.
Auriemma’s anger got the best of him beginning in an interview at the end of the third quarter, where he referenced a 6–0 foul discrepancy in the frame, while blasting Staley for working the officials on the sideline in the process.
“There were six fouls called that quarter, all of them against us, and they’ve been beating the s--- out of our guys down there the entire game. And I’m not making excuses because we haven’t been able to make a shot. But this is ridiculous. Their coach rants and raves on the sideline and calls the referee some names you don’t want to hear. Now we have Sarah Strong down there with a ripped jersey and they go, ‘I didn’t see it.’ Come on, man, this is for the national championship.”
Auriemma’s frustration boiled over again at the end of the game. As the UConn coach met Staley for the postgame handshake, it was clear he had a bone to pick with her. The two had to be separated by their staffers, and Staley shook off Auriemma when asked about it postgame.
“I have no idea. But I’m gonna let you know this. I’m of integrity. I’m of integrity. So if I did something wrong to Geno, I had no idea what I did. I guess he thought I didn’t shake his hand at the beginning of the game. I didn’t know. I went down there pregame, shook everyone on his staff’s hand … sometimes things get heated, we move on. … I’m super proud of our kids and I’m not going to let any of this take anything away from the performance on the floor.”
While Auriemma holds a 9–6 record against Staley all-time, the South Carolina coach has emerged victorious in six of her team’s last eight meetings against UConn. The rivalry is clearly alive and well between these two coaching legends.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as UConn's Dan Hurley Jokingly Takes Responsibility for Geno Auriemma Spat With Dawn Staley.
