Sam Purcell, Lauren Park-Lane respond to UConn coach Geno Auriemma's comments

A stir was created on social media Tuesday afternoon that followed the surfacing of UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma’s postgame comments after a win at Seton Hall last weekend.

The coach was asked about his thoughts on the transfer portal and NIL in the ever-changing landscape of college sports. During Auriemma’s thoughts, the legendary Huskies’ head coach made a comment about a Seton Hall player that decided to leave for more money. Social media speculated Mississippi State point guard Lauren Park-Lane was the player Auriemma was referencing.

“The average coach, you can’t do your job anymore. People say that you’ve got to change with the times. How does changing with the times help you have better relationships with your players when it’s all transactional now? This is about the ability that you could walk out any time you want. How do you coach in an environment where the players feel like you owe them everything and they owe you nothing,” Auriemma said.

“It’s a whole different world where coaches have had to adapt to but it’s not sustainable. You’ve got a player that’s really, really good and you’ve coached the hell out of them to make them who they are. It happened to Seton Hall last year and that kid goes, ‘well I think I can make more money somewhere else.’ Well, you wouldn’t have been this good if it wasn’t for your coaching staff you have.”

As the video began to make its rounds, Park-Lane was one of those that took offense to the comments as well as Bulldog strength and conditioning coach Kaiti Jones.

“To say I left my 4 year university for money is reckless,” Park-Lane tweeted. “Keep my PGs name out your mouth,” Jones tweeted. “She transferred as a grad transfer. Last I checked, dedicating 4 years of your eligibility to a university is a completion of the agreed upon commitment. She wants to compete for championships not a paycheck.”

Purcell, Park-Lane give their response

On Wednesday, head coach Sam Purcell and his point guard, Park-Lane, met with MSU media to discuss what Purcell termed as “assumptions” from Auriemma’s comments.

Purcell said that he agreed with most of what Auriemma had said, but he wanted to praise his player’s work and effort since arriving in Starkville.

“Geno is a legend in the game. I got a chance late in the night to listen to it and, you know what, a lot of the comments he made were actually right. The problem was at the end of the assumption was the reference to Seton Hall. The assumption that it was a reference to her and there were several players that left so we don’t know if he was thinking of her,” Purcell said.

“Everybody is talking about the negative in those statements, but I’m upset that no one is talking about what makes (Park-Lane) so special and good. Lauren Park-Lane defines what’s great about college athletics. This is a young lady that graduated from Seton Hall in four years.”

Park-Lane had an incredible career at Seton Hall. She was a three-time All Big East player, the Most Improved Player her sophomore season and one of the best to ever play for the school. She finished her career with 1,905 points, 698 assists, 272 rebounds and 150 steals. She is the all-time leading assists leader at the school and was just 21 points away from breaking the scoring record.

Purcell noted that Park-Lane even graduated from Seton Hall with a degree in Social Behavior Science and has plans to go into fashion when she finishes her basketball career. The support that the coach showed for his senior PG meant the world to Park-Lane and it was because of things like that she decided to come to Starkville in the first place.

“It just makes me feel good. He didn’t have to come up here and do this for me, he wanted to,” Park-Lane said of Purcell’s comments. “It just speaks to him as a person. He took a leap of faith with me out of the portal. He has all the faith in me.”

Park-Lane has made significant impact for Bulldogs

This season, Park-Lane has emerged as one of State’s most important pieces.

The Bulldogs landed her as the No. 16 player in the transfer portal initially and she’s replacing a high scoring point guard in Anastasia Hayes.

Park-Lane’s point totals have gone down but she’s been a big reason for State’s 15-4 start to the season. She’s averaging 10.5 points, 6.2 assists and 2.9 rebounds a game while starting in 19 of the 20 games to this point. Park-Lane was SEC Player of the Week earlier this season after setting the program record with 10 3-pointers and scoring 33 points on the road at Colorado State.

Her presence has added a lot to the locker room in Starkville and has brought a lot out of Purcell as well. That was something the coach didn’t want to be missed through all of this.

“The one thing that I love being her head coach is she gives me a swag and energy about me because she’s a winner as a person. That’s the kind of student athletes that we seek out for the right reasons,” Purcell said of Park-Lane. “She’s taken advantage of a situation that the NCAA provided for all college students. Without COVID, her college career would be over. We’re lucky to have her. She’s done it the right way and she’s done it with class.”