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South Carolina Fans Furious Over Geno Auriemma's UConn NCAA Championship Statue Quip

A comment UConn coach Geno Auriemma made about statues outside of stadiums has South Carolina fans up in arms.
Grant Young|
Apr 5, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma talks to media before the NCAA Woman’s Final practice at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Apr 5, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma talks to media before the NCAA Woman’s Final practice at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The UConn Huskies celebrated their 2025 NCAA championship victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks with a rally on their home court on April 7.

At one point, Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma took the podium and shared a story that is now going viral.

"We're downstairs, we're in the patio area, and I looked around, and I started counting all the former [UConn] players that was there at one time, sitting in a group like these guys, just hanging out... I was watching, I was counting. And by the time I finished counting..."

He then went on to list many of the former players he saw and how many NCAA championships they won before continuing, "So all the guys that had one [championship], they had to sit in the back of the bus.

"Most other places, if you win one national championship, they build a statue to you outside the building. Here, they won't even let you get to the front of the bus," he then added before noting that he ultimately counted 27 national championships among that group of players.

This clip has found South Carolina fans, and many are taking Auriemma's joke about statues as a reference to A'ja Wilson (who won one NCAA championship with the Gamecocks) having a statue outside of South Carolina's stadium. And they are really not happy about it.

"Babe, A’ja Wilson is a SC native.

"Changed the trajectory of that program. She stayed HOME. She’s loved there. She doesn’t have a statue just because she won a natty. Like, we get that right?" one fan wrote.

Another added, "Y’all so simple minded fr. A’ja didn’t just get a statue built for only 'winning a national championship'."

"YEAHH that rivalry gonna heat up some more dawg lol," wrote a third.

It's really hard to imagine Auriemma was trying to throw shade at A'ja Wilson or the Gamecocks with this innocent joke. But South Carolina fans clearly think otherwise.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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