UConn head coach Geno Auriemma had some strong words during the broadcast of Friday’s Final Four loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks, and he’s not sorry about what he said.
In the closing minutes of the 62-48 season-ending loss, Auriemma blasted the officials and called out South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley during a TV interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe.
“There were six fouls called that quarter — all of them against us,” Auriemma told ESPN’s Holly Rowe on the broadcast. “And they’ve been beating the [expletive] out of our guys down there the entire game. I’m not making excuses, ’cause 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. And now we get 6 to 0, and I got a kid with a ripped jersey, and they go, ‘I didn’t see it.’ Come on, man. It’s for a national championship.”
After the game, the legendary head coach had more to say about the game and Staley.
“For 41 years I’ve been coaching and, I don’t know, 25 Final Fours. The protocol is before the game you meet at half court. Anybody see that before? Two coaches meet at half court and they shake hands, correct? You ever see it? They announced it on the loud speaker,” Auriemma said. “I waited there for like three minutes. So it is what it is.”
Auriemma then made it clear that he had no intention of apologizing for anything that he said.
“I don’t have any regrets for what I said to Holly Rowe. Why would I? I’ve been coaching a long time – I’ve never have a kid change their jersey because somebody ripped it.”
That said, it’s worth noting that Auriemma did eventually apologize for his behavior through a statement from UConn’s athletic department, though it seems like he was apologizing for his antics directed toward South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, not his comments to Holly Rowe.
“There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina,” Auriemma said in the statement released by UConn. “It’s unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut. 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 great relationship with their staff, and I sincerely want to apologize to them.”
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