Geno Responds to Muffet’s Comments

[Heytherego]

 

[BrianUC]

According to Alexa he said this too:

"I guess Muffet's bored. I guess she didn't have a whole lot to talk about. Usually when she was coaching, when she did talk, nobody listened anyway."

I just wish Geno wouldn't hold back, and just let it out, he'd feel better!

 

[Purchase1]

I love it! I’m sorry he’s been a little more subdued lately so I’m glad he’s not putting up with the crap people are spewing these days.

 

[triaddukefan]

 

[JellyBean]

According to Alexa he said this too:

"I guess Muffet's bored. I guess she didn't have a whole lot to talk about. Usually when she was coaching, when she did talk, nobody listened anyway."

I just wish Geno wouldn't hold back, and just let it out, he'd feel better!

I agree. Coach just needs to stop biting his tongue. Stop holding back, Coach! That passive aggressive style just isn't healthy.

 

[Vowelguy]

MARK MY WORDS: if UConn makes the final 4, MM will be in the news and/or take a shot at Geno.

Green really is her color.

 

[billybud]

Gawd...ESPN bias is a regular doctrine on these boards...and Muffett fits right in.

If anything doesn't go your way...well, blame ESPN.

 

[Plebe]

So glad he's putting her in her place, rather than coddling her like all the mindless WBB talking heads have been.

And he's completely right. No one disputes that Muffet was a great coach (emphasis on past tense, prior to summer of 2019), but even in her heyday, it was obvious that her peers across the coaching ranks, by and large, had little respect for her as a person, or interest in her opinions.

When she abruptly "retired" (i.e. quit), I was amazed by the loud thud of a quiet shrug from across the coaching world. Geno is actually the only one I recall offering substantive, thoughtful comments on the matter.

 

[TheFarmFan]

My two cents: MM was admirable, but not likeable. She was sometimes right, and often wrong (who isn't?). But what tipped the scales for me was her desperate need to win at all costs, her pathetic excuses for any losses, her obsession with perceived slights, and her disrespect for other teams' players. (Didn't she have some press conference where she refused to even acknowledge Stewie was player of the year?)

MM needs to learn to

 

[hoopsfan22]

Why does he have to say anything? Clap back culture is ridiculous and childish.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Remember her last prolonged scream for attention? It was the idiotic declaration that no men should be hired as coaches in WCBB programs. She overlooked the illegality of her doctrine for all institutions subject to Title 9 and 11. Not to mention how ugly it looked for the gender still looking for equity in sports.

 

[Vowelguy]

My two cents: MM was admirable, but not likeable. She was sometimes right, and often wrong (who isn't?). But what tipped the scales for me was her desperate need to win at all costs, her pathetic excuses for any losses, her obsession with perceived slights, and her disrespect for other teams' players. (Didn't she have some press conference where she refused to even acknowledge Stewie was player of the year?)

MM needs to learn to

She thought her player (I think it was Loyd?) should've won, so they sat there and didn't applaud when Stewie was formally announced as the winner.

With the "UConn has too much control over the Olympics" vibe from last summer, she sees an opportunity to pile on. Kind of like how when the NC game was in Tennessee, she gave a lengthy speech about how much class Pat Summitt had and that no one could ever match her. It was a pretty pathetic attempt to suck up to TN fans.

 

[UConn990411]

Why does he have to say anything? Clap back culture is ridiculous and childish.

Lol, oh please.

I remember back in 2014, when Muffet had her entire team walk out of the Big East award ceremony because she thought one of her players should’ve won player of the year over Stewart. It was one of the most childish acts I’ve ever seen from a coach, which is saying a lot.

Muffet is the definition of classless, so I love seeing Geno respond to her ridiculous comments.

 

[Penn]

He obviously never met MM.

 

[Alum1620]

Lol, oh please.

I remember back in 2014, when Muffet had her entire team walk out of the Big East award ceremony because she thought one of her players should’ve won player of the year over Stewart. It was one of the most childish acts I’ve ever seen from a coach, which is saying a lot.

Muffet is the definition of classless, so I love seeing Geno respond to her ridiculous comments.

She had blocked one of her own players and doesn’t even mention her when they talked about WNBA players

 

[hoopsfan22]

Lol, oh please.

I remember back in 2014, when Muffet had her entire team walk out of the Big East award ceremony because she thought one of her players should’ve won player of the year over Stewart. It was one of the most childish acts I’ve ever seen from a coach, which is saying a lot.

Muffet is the definition of classless, so I love seeing Geno respond to her ridiculous comments.

There's no upside for Geno or UConn. He could have made some generic comment without mentioning Muffet by name and turning it into the usual tit for tat pissing match that he'll never win because he has a team to coach while she can fire down from the cheap seats. But I would have liked him to close by saying something like "it's funny that some programs think we have ESPN in our back pocket helping us, but when ESPN was driving the conference realignment bus 10-15 years ago, we were the only ones that got run over by it. Do people really view ESPN destroying our old conference and forcing us into a non-power conference as an unfair advantage? If so we would have gladly traded places with those programs that were given an ACC lifeboat."

 

[Alydar]

And how much of this including Geno's comments is intended to keep wbb in the public eye? As far as the media is concerned this is an entertainment industry and however they do it ESPN wants clicks. Geno was a shoe salesman for a while and I'll bet he was great at it.

 

[Plebe]

This article includes some additional zingers from Geno not included in Alexa's tweets.

Geno Auriemma goes scorched earth in response to Muffet McGraw's ESPN bias claims

The UConn coach doesn't seem happy.

au.sports.yahoo.com

She thought her player (I think it was Loyd?) should've won, so they sat there and didn't applaud when Stewie was formally announced as the winner.

It was McBride.

 

[hoopsfan22]

And how much of this including Geno's comments is intended to keep wbb in the public eye? As far as the media is concerned this is an entertainment industry and however they do it ESPN wants clicks. Geno was a shoe salesman for a while and I'll bet he was great at it.

None. This isn't 4-d chess. Muffet is a PITA and Geno almost always takes the bait.

 

[phil sampieri]

There's no upside for Geno or UConn. He could have made some generic comment without mentioning Muffet by name and turning it into the usual tit for tat pissing match that he'll never win because he has a team to coach while she can fire down from the cheap seats. But I would have liked him to close by saying something like "it's funny that some programs think we have ESPN in our back pocket helping us, but when ESPN was driving the conference realignment bus 10-15 years ago, we were the only ones that got run over by it. Do people really view ESPN destroying our old conference and forcing us into a non-power conference as an unfair advantage? If so we would have gladly traded places with those programs that were given an ACC lifeboat."

Yes, when you get slapped, turn the other cheek. Ha The world is full of phonies which Geno could never be accused of. Saying something when you are attached is what non cowards do.

 

[oldude]

I have mixed emotions about Geno’s comments. On the one hand, MM’s bitter and unprofessional comments probably should have been ignored. She quit. So she is no longer relevant to WBB.

On the other hand, Geno views MM’s comments as an attack on his team, in the same way as her ungracious remarks after Stewie won NPOY was an attack on one of his players. When you attack Geno’s team you better be prepared for Geno to come back at you.

Perhaps MM will now think twice before she goes on another rant about UConn WBB. I’m not particularly optimistic. MM doesn’t have a particularly effective filter when she blurts out whatever’s on her mind.

 

[UConnCat]

There's no upside for Geno or UConn. He could have made some generic comment without mentioning Muffet by name and turning it into the usual tit for tat pissing match that he'll never win because he has a team to coach while she can fire down from the cheap seats. But I would have liked him to close by saying something like "it's funny that some programs think we have ESPN in our back pocket helping us, but when ESPN was driving the conference realignment bus 10-15 years ago, we were the only ones that got run over by it. Do people really view ESPN destroying our old conference and forcing us into a non-power conference as an unfair advantage? If so we would have gladly traded places with those programs that were given an ACC lifeboat."

The reality is no one but UConn fans would understand the reference to conference realignment. Of course you are correct. Conference realignment was underwritten by ESPN and UConn was left out in the cold. Meanwhile, ESPN continued to use the popularity of UConn athletics to drive ratings on its family of networks while paying pennies to its new conference (AAC). Then ESPN wanted to put UConnWBB behind a paywall and watched as UConn bolted to a conference whose broadcast rights are owned by a rival network. Did I mention that ESPN and its corporate headquarters continue to benefit from tax breaks from the state of CT? This is a case where Geno went with the 30-second soundbite rather than the 5-minute explanation on why the even the mention of ESPN bias toward UConn is absurd. Few understand the history.

That said, this is not a good look for either Muffet or Geno. Enough already, but I get why Geno felt a need to respond since there's been so much piling on him and his program lately and Muffet's tired list of grievances was probably the tipping point.

 

[my2cents]

At some point you would think she would be tired of Geno kicking her butt.

 

[Alydar]

I have mixed emotions about Geno’s comments. On the one hand, MM’s bitter and unprofessional comments probably should have been ignored. She quit. So she is no longer relevant to WBB.

On the other hand, Geno views MM’s comments as an attack on his team, in the same way as her ungracious remarks after Stewie won NPOY was an attack on one of his players. When you attack Geno’s team you better be prepared for Geno to come back at you.

Perhaps MM will think twice before she goes on another rant about UConn WBB.

If Geno truly disliked McGraw he would have shut up. By responding in his typical manner he is giving her career a boost. Knute Rockne used to tell lies to his teams all the time. Geno isn't lying. He presented the stats in a humorous manner.
Who do you think the media would rather interview, a plastic coach who always gives the safe acceptable response or a coach who loves to talk and gives memorable quotes?
If Geno wants to respond to a writer who says nasty things about him it would be Sally Jenkins or Maria Cornelius. But he doesn't because he doesn't want to give them free publicity.

 

[Vowelguy]

If Geno wants to respond to a writer who says nasty things about him it would be Sally Jenkins or Maria Cornelius. But he doesn't because he doesn't want to give them free publicity.

Maria Cornelius is a writer?