Sam Purcell Acknowledges Geno Auriemma's Remarks Presumably About Lauren Park-Lane
UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma has been under fire recently on social media for his comments about the state of NIL and the transfer portal.
“How do you coach in an environment where the players believe they owe you nothing and that you owe them everything?” Auriemma said.
Although it isn't official, Auriemma seemed to use Mississippi State point guard Lauren Park-Lane as an example, as she transferred from Seton Hall as a graduate this offseason.
“You’ve got a player that’s really, really, really good that you coached the hell out of and you just made them who they are," Auriemma said. "Like Seton Hall last year—that kid goes ‘Yeah, well, I think I can go make more money somewhere else.’ Okay, well, you wouldn’t have been this good if it weren’t for the coaching staff you have right now.”
Park-Lane's response on X (formerly known as Twitter): "To say I left MY 4 year university for money is reckless."
Mississippi State women's basketball head coach Sam Purcell acknowledged Auriemma's 3-minute speech during Wednesday's press conference. He explained that he agreed with Auriemma on some points and doesn't "think this needs to be an attack on him," but Purcell ultimately sided with his point guard.
“So we don’t know if he was speaking to her, but now I’m going to speak for her," Purcell said. "Lauren Park-Lane is an absolute winner. Everybody’s talking about the negatives in some of those statements. The one thing I’m upset about as her head coach is nobody is talking about what makes her so special and so good."
Purcell said that Park-Lane, who was granted an extra year due to COVID-19, is a "role model" for college athletics and the new regulations that have come with it.
"For me, I fall under the younger generation when hearing her story and the NCAA putting in rules for people like her," Purcell said. "There are other situations where those rules happen to protect the right student-athletes, and Lauren Park-Lane is the right student-athlete and the right person."
Purcell expressed his thoughts of the fifth collegiate year by using in-home recruiting visits as an example.
"A kid who goes to a university for four years should have the right, if they have another year of eligibility, to transfer. When I go into a home for a high school kid now, I don't talk about five years I talk about four. Now if circumstances happen like with an injury or some crazy situation, they're allowed to put a file in for a fifth year. But nobody goes in a home for any conversation after four years."
After she's done playing basketball, Park-Lane is striving to work in the fashion industry. Purcell made a pitch for potential employers.
"I'm excited, I hope this goes viral, I hope one of these big-time fashion people take advantage of my platform and hit my girl up because she has swag. You would be honored to hire her in the workforce because today's student-athletes are different and unique. I'd be more than happy to talk on her behalf about how special this young lady is."
