Coming to grips: heroes are flawed
The South Carolina Gamecocks and the UCLA Bruins will face off this afternoon for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship.
Both teams are led by coaches who know what it takes to win it all. But only one team had its historic victory overshadowed by entitlement and ego, and that will likely be the factor that drives the Gamecocks’ success in the final game of the season.
As the final seconds ticked on the match between South Carolina and undefeated UConn, Coach Dawn Staley walked to meet UConn coach Geno Auriemma on the sidelines. As the two shook hands, the scene went from seemingly pleasant to heated in a matter of seconds. Now that we know what was spoken and Geno published his very “the university made me do this” apology, we can look at it from all angles.
Geno Auriemma is a central character in the modern story of women’s basketball. His UConn Huskies have won 12 championships and produced a who’s who of WNBA players, champions, current and future hall-of-famers. He will go down in history as an essential component of the game. He will also go down in history as the man who exploded when dominated by a team no one expected to win.
Many people expressed shock and disappointment after Geno’s sideline tantrum, and it was both. However, screaming at his opposition for “breaking the pregame etiquette,” he broke the Geno tradition.
Part of the reason that Geno is so revered in the world of basketball is that his players, past and present, love him. He chastised the NCAA for his players’ well-being during the tournament. He frequently wears his heart on his sleeve. This is why his choice to leave his players on the court with only seconds left in the game was their only loss of the season.
The pivotal moment was UConn star Azzi Fudd’s final game, a decided loss in what had been a perfect season until that night. I wonder what she felt watching her coach scream at a woman because her game strategy bruised his ego, so he lashed out about pregame etiquette instead of properly congratulating the winner. How did she feel watching him storm off the court, leaving her to lead the customary post-game handshakes as he sulked to the locker room with all the entitlement he could muster? I wonder how she felt sitting next to him during the post-game presser as Geno leaned into his complaints about the refereeing? He continued to push a false narrative about how Sarah Strong’s jersey was ripped.
It could not have felt great to have this happen in a moment when a player needs their coach the most. It must have been jarring to see your coach blow his top. But like the class act she is, Azzi took to X to compliment Geno, saying it was amazing to play for the greatest coach ever.
The South Caroline Gamecocks will meet the UCLA Bruins in the championship game on Sunday, April 5, 2026.
