UConn head coach Geno Auriemma acted like a sore loser by confronting South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley in the Huskies’ 62-48 loss in the NCAA Women’s Final Four. Surprised? How could we be?
Gino Auriemma can apologize all he wants, but damage is done. He almost pulled a “Woody Hayes” with Staley, and it would have been a career-ender if he had.
What you see with Auriemma is who he is. Nobody likes to lose, even those who have won championships, especially when you are outcoached. UConn lost, but rather than responding like a good sport, Auriema acted like a child who didn’t get their way.
Besides, he has had plenty of similar incidents throughout his Hall of Fame career. The list includes confrontations with Pat Summitt, C. Vivian Stringer, Tara VanDerveer, Muffet McGraw, and Candace Parker.
Look, no one can possibly deny that Auriemma has created a juggernaut in Storrs: 1,300 wins, a nearly 90% winning percentage, and 12 national championships. He is the winningest coach in women’s college basketball history. But is he the best ever in the sport?
Consider the circumstances. Auriemma began his UConn tenure in 1985. The NCAA didn’t begin hosting a women’s national tournament until 1982. Before that, the game was overseen by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). Back in the day, smaller programs dominated the sport, schools like Immaculata, Cheyney State, Delta State, Old Dominion, and Louisiana Tech.
Another great, Pat Summitt, started her glorious career at Tennessee earlier than Auriema, in 1974, at the tender age of 22. She grew into a formidable rival, but it wasn’t until 1995 that the two coaches went head-to-head, with Auriema winning 13 of 22 games.
When those two started their head-coaching careers, there were few highly competitive programs and no WNBA option. Back then, not all solid players had a chance to compete collegiately, at least not in the way they do today. And that broadening of the competitive net helps explain, in part, the nine-year gap in Auriemma’s championship ring collection, from 2017 to 2024.
Auriema won another in 2025, and the pundits picked UConn to repeat this season. That didn’t happen because Auriemma and UConn met their match against Staley and the Gamecocks.
“Great” doesn’t mean just winning games and championships. Behavior matters, too, and it’s the reason why I can’t put Auriemma at the top of the list. That’s why I believe that the mantle of “best” belongs elsewhere.
AP photo, published in the CT Post
My top three are Summitt, Trish VanDerveer (Stanford), and C. Vivian Stringer (Iowa and Rutgers).
When it comes to picking the best, I believe Summitt stands out above all others. I recalled seeing her and her staff do such a great job in 2007, shutting down Essence Carson and Matee Ajavon in the national championship game, The Volunteers denied Stringer and Rutgers a national championship with a 59-46 victory.
VanDerveer and Stringer, the others on my list, never had the best players, but they developed good players who could play the game. That’s coaching.
So, here’s where I settle on Auriemma.
–For the good of the game, we should not deep-six how Auriemma acted out against Staley. It needs to be a constant reminder that good behavior and sportspersonship should always be expected in sports.
–Let’s also not forget how Auriema was outcoached by Staley that night, especially by those who seek to make a case that he is the greatest coach the sport has ever known.
