Geno Auriemma is one of the most successful women’s college basketball coaches of all time, so it’s safe to say he’d have little trouble finding a job in men’s hoops.
Judging by recent comments, though, it appears he’s definitely not interested.
The University of Connecticut head coach, who has his squad in the Final Four for the 16th time, was asked about the state of the men’s game during a conference call Wednesday. Auriemma admitted the men’s NCAA Tournament has been hugely successful, but after that, his tune changed drastically.
“Having said that, I think the game is a joke,” Auriemma said, via ASAP Sports. “It really is. I don’t coach it. I don’t play it, so I don’t understand all the ins and outs of it. But as a spectator, forget that I’m a coach, as a spectator, watching it, it’s a joke.
“There’s only like 10 teams, you know, out of 25, that actually play the kind of game of basketball that you’d like to watch. Every coach will tell you that there’s 90 million reasons for it.
“And the bottom line is that nobody can score, and they’ll tell you it’s because of great defense, great scouting, a lot of team work, nonsense, nonsense. College men’s basketball is so far behind the times, it’s unbelievable. I mean, women’s basketball is behind the times. Men’s basketball is even further behind the times.”
One of Auriemma’s main gripes with the men’s game is its 35-second shot clock (the shot clock is 30 seconds in women’s basketball), which he believes slows the game down and decreases its entertainment value.
“People have to decide, do I want to play 25 bucks, 30 bucks to go see a college scrum where everybody misses six out of every 10 shots they take, or do I want to go to a movie?” Auriemma added. “We’re fighting for the entertainment dollar here, and I have to tell you it’s not entertainment from a fan’s standpoint. So that’s just — I’m talking as a fan, not as Geno Auriemma, the basketball coach.”
Thumbnail photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images
