WNBA legend and former Tennessee Volunteers star Candace Parker detailed her former coach’s sentiments regarding UConn Huskies coach Geno Auriemma after he apologized to Dawn Staley.
On Wednesday, Parker shared a clip from her show, “Post Moves,” on X/Twitter with co-host and Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston, who happens to be a former player of the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Parker and Boston discussed the fiasco between Auriemma and Staley, which unfolded after their NCAA Final Four matchup. The two tenured tacticians had gotten into a heated verbal exchange. Parker reacted to Auriemma’s public apology, suggesting it wasn’t sincere. She also mentioned how much her college hoops coach, the late Pat Summitt, disliked him.
“ He never mentioned Dawn’s name, and so if you’re not, if you are sincerely apologizing to someone, then you would say their name. The thing that is glaring to me, Aaliyah, when he is whooping your a**, and you are not a threat. There’s grace, right? But every person that has won against him or challenged him, this is kind of what, where, what their relationship is,” Parker said.
“ He don’t like Dawn. Dawn don’t like him. They might respect each other, but they don’t. Pat Damn sure didn’t like him. Coach Summitt is one of the most respectable people you’ll ever meet in your life. And she did not mess with Geno, like, didn’t mess with him. I think that there are different ways, and that you can do things. Obviously, super successful and I’m not trying to like pile on, but I think people are acting so surprised by this like this wasn’t, this hasn’t always been the case,” Parker shared. (0:21)
Auriemma and the Huskies lost to Staley’s South Carolina-based program by double digits, 14 points to be exact, 62-48, in their national semifinal matchup. Auriemma’s Connecticut-based program was unable to defend its title, which it won over the Gamecocks in the national championship game.
Candace Parker Was Pat Summit’s Star Player During The 2000s Tennessee Volunteers-UConn Huskies Rivalry
Candace Parker played under Summitt for all four years of her collegiate basketball tenure. Together, they brought the Tennessee-based program two national championships in 2007 and 2008.
They also had several battles with coach Auriemma and his Huskies team, resulting in what is considered one of the most iconic rivalries in women’s basketball.
Read More: Pat Summitt vs. Geno Auriemma Head to Head: Coaching Records, Titles, and Key Matchups Explored
Also Read: “Abusing Black Women”: Judge Mathis Levels Serious Accusations Against Geno Auriemma as Dawn Staley Outburst Deemed Purposeful
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