Geno Auriemma unleashes rant on Lady Vols after Evina Westbrook's denied appeal
No. 4 UConn women’s basketball knocked off Vanderbilt, 64-51, this week, but following the game, Huskies coach Geno Auriemma seemed to have the other SEC school in the state on his mind — Tennessee.
During his postgame press conference, Auriemma ripped into the Lady Volunteers for a “not necessarily healthy” environment. The source of his disdain stems from transfer Evina Westbrook receiving a denial on her eligibility from the NCAA.
Westbrook transferred to UConn this past offseason after two years at Tennessee.
“Well think about this. A kid is in an environment that’s not necessarily healthy,” Auriemma said according to 247Sports. “An environment that, if you knew what the environment was, which I can’t say, you would not want your kid in that environment. And the athletic director there (Philip Fulmer) knows it, OK, but he’s not going to support her leaving, which would’ve helped us a little bit. And now her reward is she has to sit at home, even when we travel, and can’t play. So she should’ve stuck it out, right?”
Auriemma also took issue with the NCAA, calling the organization out for what is also a problem in football right now — inconsistent waivers.
“Well, I would like to know why some people do get cleared, or get waivers, and why others don’t. I don’t know what the criteria is. They say, well, you have to have these five buckets or whatever the hell they call them. I don’t get it. Iv’e said this 100 times. We’ve had kids leave our program and I have never failed to support that kid’s decision to leave. And they still get denied sometimes. So I have no idea anymore. And you know what, who does it punish? Who does it punish? It doesn’t punish Tennessee. That kid is not going to be there anyway. The only person it punishes when this happens is the kid that’s trying to get themselves in a better environment.”
Auriemma concluded his rant by stressing that in most cases with players transferring into his program, they’ve had to sit out a year, and understandably so. But Auriemma called Westbrook a “special situation” and said UConn asking for an appeal “has nothing to do with it” potentially making the team better.
He’s such a creep. I would never let one of my girls anywhere around him.
He can coach and recruit but he does enough bad to screw it all up.
I don’t trust him.
Agreed, much better to send your daughters to play for Tyler Summitt.
Little man syndrome
Whine a little more. Always something with this guy.
I agree with Geno’s general position with regards to supporting player decisions to move especially when there is a coaching change, however, something about what he said doesn’t add up. If Geno has had players denied immediate eligibility and he says he supported their decision to leave UConn’s program, how does he know that Tennessee made a case to have Evina Westbrook’s immediate eligibility denied? Could be the same issue, basically inconsistency by the NCAA but he seems to think this was a case of Tenn making a case to deny Evina’s request without any substantive proof or knowledge which makes it purely conjecture or bias on his part. Given what we seen lately with the eligibility denial by the NCAA of Tenn’s Uros P (men’s program), it doesn’t make any sense that Tenn would be so inconsistent with the NCAA on Westbrook.
And if you are going to make comments regarding a toxic environment at Tenn, why can’t Geno be more specific? Sure seem’s like a recruiting ploy to steer prospects away from Tenn.
Not a good take for Geno. He had a good position on a problem we have with the lack of transparency by the NCAA and turned it into a platform to bash a rival program. Call it what it is.
Well said.
Geno can ligma
I flush the likes of him at least once a day.
Call the whaaaambulance geno. nobody cares what you think but UConn. If there was anything to evinas claims that was as bad as geno makes it sound it would have come out from others by now. All geno knows is what evina told him. she had to say something to get eligible other than holly is not a good coach, I don’t like her and want to transfer to the anti-Christ.
Childish Geno
i wonder what he means by ‘unhealthy environment’? i have my suspicions.
please enlighten us.
I remember what Pat Summitt called Geno…she referred to him as Geno “enema”. He has not changed. Same ole Geno.
Meano Geno, get over it. UT Men’s ALSO has a player they are unable to get cleared for this season. Every player has a story, but this smear attempt is both tacky and cowardly. Call it out, if you got something to say that is truth, otherwise you are whining.
“You big Dummy!” (Fred G Sanford)
Right.
Because it’s Tennessee’s fault-not the NCAA who makes the decision, but Tennessee’s fault that Westbrook can’t play immediately.