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PHOENIX — Geno Auriemma apologized.
Roughly 12 hours after his Final Four meltdown, after expressing no regret over his public admonishment of South Carolina’s Dawn Staley the night before, the UConn women’s basketball coach changed his tune in a written statement shared Saturday morning.
“There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina,” Auriemma said. “It’s unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut. I want to apologize to the staff and the team at South Carolina. It was uncalled for in how I reacted. The story should be how well South Carolina played, and I don’t want my actions to detract from that. I’ve had a great relationship with their staff, and I sincerely want to apologize to them.”
Asked during media availability on Saturday if Auriemma had reached out to her personally following their exchange, Staley said, “For me, no distractions at this time. Concentrating on winning a national championship.”
Auriemma claimed during his postgame address Friday night the root of his ire was over a mishandled pregame handshake.
In the Final Four, both coaches are announced before the game, at which point they typically meet at halfcourt and shake hands. Auriemma said he was left waiting there for roughly three minutes, and that the single moment was enough to shake him for the rest of the game. As South Carolina’s near-perfect defensive game plan stifled the Huskies, the coach spent much of the 40 minutes staring over at Staley.
Before the final buzzer sounded, Auriemma walked over to Staley, who had her hand outstretched to shake his, and began ripping into her. Staley matched his energy and after being separated from him yelled, “I will beat Geno’s ass.”
Amid the chaos, Staley found respite in one of her players. Seeing her coach in an unfamiliar position, South Carolina guard Raven Johnson made a gesture of support with a high five as Staley was exchanging verbal blows with Auriemma.
“It’s just so classic Raven,” Staley said on Saturday. “She makes me laugh even in the most difficult situations because she’s so innocent. She really is a kindhearted young lady. Sometimes you need people around you to put things in perspective.”
Staley shifted focus back to her team—an easy task, considering the Gamecocks are playing for their third NCAA title in five years, and Staley’s fourth overall after dashing UConn’s perfect season.
As far as any threat of derailment due to Auriemma’s antics, Staley dismissed the possibility entirely.
“I grew up in the projects of North Philly,” Staley said. “Philly, 215, 267, area code. So nothing, nothing can derail us, or me, from staying with the task at hand. There are a lot of distractions that are placed in your life. You are either going to address them and let it overcome or you stick with the task at hand. I’m choosing to stick to the task at hand. At some point everything is going to be addressed. Today, this weekend won’t be one of them.”
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