Geno Auriemma demands to know who left Breanna Stewart out of Top 5 WNBA players: 'That would be entertainment'
Legendary NCAA women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma berated the WNBA voter who left Breanna Stewart off the Top 5 WNBA players list. He also wanted to know who that person was.
Auriemma, who guided UConn to 11 NCAA championships between 1995 and 2016, was interviewed during the weekend in the Huskies' practice facility. He was asked about Game 5 of the WNBA Finals between two of his former players, Napheesa Collier's Minnesota Lynx and Stewart's New York Liberty, which is tied at two games apiece.
Although the 70-year-old said he would cheer for both players and that he's proud of them, he just couldn't let one thing pass. And that's the writer who didn't vote for the 6-foot-4 Stewart in the Top 5 WNBA players list.
"I would like to meet the person that didn't vote for Stewie as one of the top five players in the WNBA. You know I would love to know who that person is. That would be entertainment," Auriemma said (per Overtime WBB's Instagram page).
The eight-time Naismith Coach of the Year recalled a message he delivers to his players when they face similar situations like this.
"It further amplified the message that I give to my players all the time. 'Don't ever put any stock on anything that people who watch the game or cover the game when they vote," he said.
Geno Auriemma coached Stewart from 2012 to 2016 when the Syracuse native was at UConn. The forward helped the Huskies win the national championship in all four years she played.
Geno Auriemma wishes Breanna Stewart to score 50 points in Game 5
UConn coach Geno Auriemma added fuel to Breanna Stewart's fire when he wished she would score 50 points in the winner-take-all Game 5 to make the individual who didn't vote for her get embarrassed.
"I hope she gets 50 tonight. It doesn't matter if they win or lose, I hope she gets 50 tonight. There's only two people that have ever got 30 and 10 in a playoff game. Well actually one person had done it twice," Auriemma said of Stewart.
Breanna Stewart tallied 30 points and 11 rebounds in the New York Liberty's 80-77 Game 3 win that put them on the cusp of winning their first championship in franchise history.