Storrs, Conn. – A little more than a month after Geno Auriemma Yukon Women’s basketball team’s title bid ends with Final Four loss to South Carolina, coach reflects on their heated exchange after the game gamecocks Coach Don Staley.
“When I went into the locker room with the coaches afterward, you were just shaking your head, thinking five more seconds, you can’t even keep it in for five more seconds,” Auriemma said. “The way it all happened makes you feel stupid. We’re all human, and we’re all stupid.” [stuff]”
Auriemma walked over to Staley and appeared to scold him in the final seconds of South Carolina’s 62-48 win in Phoenix. The coaches of both the teams had to separate them. When the game finally ended, Auriemma walked off the court and into the locker room without going back to shake hands with anyone on the South Carolina team.
Auriemma’s behavior generated more discussion than South Carolina’s impressive defensive effort, which capped off a UConn team with two first-team All-Americans.
“I didn’t see a lot of it, but it was to be expected,” Auriemma said of the reaction. “I think maybe some of it was needed, and some of it was guys lying in the weeds waiting for that moment. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done for the game; it’s what you’ve just done.
“Unfortunately, this is the world we live in today, and it’s generally one-sided. People who understand what it was all about from a different perspective, they’re not going to go on the air and say it. They’re not going to write about it because now they’re going up against a big Internet or media frenzy; they’re not going to do that. I criticized myself. I didn’t criticize. [stuff] He then came on top of me.”
Auriemma compared the reaction to what could have happened if social media was around in 1998, when he arranged for an injured Nykesha Sales to make a basket so she could set the program’s career scoring record.
“Immediately, it was the worst thing that ever happened to the game of basketball and sports in general,” Auriemma said.
“These things happen, you just take them all in stride, understand them. I did what I did, I apologized for it and I moved on.”
Their focus is now on the 2026-27 season. Despite the loss of two starters, including the WNBA No. 1 pick azy fadThe Huskies have again become one of the top title contenders.
transfer kayle heckel Played a key role on a 38–1 UConn team in the 2025–26 season. Auriemma, who opted not to add any transfers this offseason, will rely on the returning players led by the national player of the year. sarah strong And two incoming freshmen.
“Guys have to be better,” Auriemma said. “You want your players to get better and improve from one year to the next. Blanka [Quinonez] I think from playing 17 minutes a night to playing 27-30 minutes, the team dynamics change. Sarah is probably getting more touches, possibly playing 30 minutes per game.
Auriemma said Strong has declined opportunities to play for USA Basketball this offseason to recover from foot inflammation that has kept him out of most practices during the postseason.
“The new kids coming in will give us a little different look than we are used to. We have really good guards on our team, but none of them are quite like Jovana [Popovic] Is; Our older kids are going to be better. olivia [Vukosa] A little different from what we have now. “We’ll look a little different, but the core of the team is back.”
UConn also brings back morgan chaleeWho played at least 15 minutes nine times as a freshman before missing all of last season due to an ankle injury.
