Following a win at St. John’s on Saturday, legendary Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma delivered a lengthy response to a reporter’s question about NIL and the transfer portal, and seemingly called out Mississippi State point guard Lauren Park-Lane, who transferred to the Bulldogs after spending four seasons at Seton Hall.
“In women’s basketball, where some of the teams in (the Big East), you’ve got a player that’s really, really, really, really good who you’ve coached the hell out of and you’ve just made them who they are, it happened to Seton Hall last year,” Auriemma said. “And that kid goes, ‘Yeah, well, I think I can make more money somewhere else.’”
Park-Lane and MSU head coach Sam Purcell addressed those remarks Wednesday, with Purcell emphasizing that Park-Lane had completed her four-year commitment at Seton Hall and graduated from the school with a degree in social and behavioral sciences. She only had an extra year of eligibility because of the NCAA’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, granting an additional year to all student-athletes who were in college during the 2020-21 season.
Purcell said he listened to Auriemma’s comments on Tuesday evening and agreed with much of his larger point, but took issue with the reference to Seton Hall, pointing out that Park-Lane was not the only Pirates player to transfer after last season. The Bulldogs’ coach even brought in a photo of Park-Lane’s teammates lifting her up in the locker room after Park-Lane set a program record with 10 made 3-pointers in a win at Colorado State last month.
“Lauren Park-Lane is just an absolute winner,” Purcell said. “The one thing I’m upset about as her head coach is nobody’s talking about what makes her so special and so good. Lauren Park-Lane defines what’s great about college athletics. Her story is more than just a basketball player. This is a young lady, first and foremost, who graduated from Seton Hall, graduated in four years.”
Park-Lane responded to a clip of Auriemma’s remark Tuesday morning on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “Whewww… I still have eligibility left so imma just save my comments.” In another post four minutes later, Park-Lane wrote, “To say I left MY 4 year university for money is reckless.”
MSU strength and conditioning coach Kaiti Jones was harsher, telling Auriemma to “keep my (point guard’s) name out your mouth. … 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.” LSU star Angel Reese, who began her collegiate career at Maryland, also defended Park-Lane on the social media platform.
“(Purcell) didn’t have to come up here and (defend me),” Park-Lane said Wednesday. “It just speaks to him as a person, because he took a leap of faith with me, too, out of the portal. I didn’t have to be here, but I think it speaks to my character and also his. He has all the faith in me, and it shows now on the court.”
Park-Lane averaged 20.8 points per game in her final year with the Pirates, but started slow in non-conference play for the Bulldogs before breaking out with three double-doubles in a four-game stretch in late November, capped by a 20-point, 10-assist performance against Miami. She exploded for 33 points with those record-setting 10 made 3-pointers against the Rams and finished with 13 points and eight assists in Sunday’s win over Ole Miss.
A longtime assistant at Louisville, Purcell became a first-time head coach in 2022, so adjusting to the new age of college athletics could be easier for him than someone like Auriemma, who has been UConn’s head coach since 1985. Purcell acknowledged the challenges of recruiting during the NIL and portal era, but said the NCAA put rules in place for people like Park-Lane to transfer after completing the four years she initially signed up for at Seton Hall.
“I have so much respect for Geno, and some of the comments he made, I agree,” Purcell said. “A kid who goes to a university for four years should have a 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 years. … Nobody ever goes into a home for any conversation after four years. It just doesn’t happen.”
Scouting Tennessee
MSU (15-4, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) is back in action Thursday night against the SEC’s historic power, the Volunteers, who have never failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament in the event’s 40-plus year history.
This year, Tennessee (10-6, 3-1) has played the most difficult schedule in all of women’s college basketball, losing in non-conference play to ranked opponents like Florida State, Indiana, Notre Dame and Ohio State. The Volunteers started SEC play with wins over Auburn, Kentucky and Florida before scoring a season-low 56 points in a loss at Texas A&M on Sunday.
Kellie Harper’s team is led by a familiar face for Bulldogs fans — Rickea Jackson, who missed eight games with a leg injury, returned in mid-December and is averaging 19.4 points and nine rebounds per game. Jackson spent her first three collegiate seasons at MSU and led the Bulldogs in scoring in all three, topping the SEC with 20.3 points per contest in 2021-22.
“Rickea Jackson is a lottery pick. She’s really good,” Purcell said. “For the national standard they’ve been able to build over these 41 years, maybe it’s not there right now, but that’s still a locker room of talented players, great players.”
Jackson is far from the only scoring threat in the Volunteers’ high-powered offense. Jewel Spear, Sara Puckett and Karoline Striplin are all averaging upwards of 10 points per game for a team that ranks third in the SEC in scoring offense behind only South Carolina and LSU. Tennessee relies heavily on the 3-pointer, attempting nearly 23 of them per game, and makes its free throws at the second-highest rate in the conference.
Where the Volunteers could be vulnerable is turnovers. They commit 16.6 per game, more than any other SEC team, and take the ball away just 12.4 times on average — the fewest in the league. Only Kentucky allows more points per game in the SEC than Tennessee, and the Volunteers also have the conference’s worst perimeter defense in terms of opponents’ 3-point percentage.
“This is a huge game,” Purcell said. “As much as we’re talking about the history of their program… I’m trying to get that same culture and same standards. We made it (last year) to the NCAA Tournament, and we’re trying to make it two in a row.”
Injury updates
Nyayongah Gony, who provides valuable post depth for MSU, has not played since Dec. 3 at Chattanooga due to a foot injury, but Purcell said she has been practicing. Gony had to make an emergency start against Miami on Nov. 29 with all of the Bulldogs’ other forwards unavailable, and she recorded seven points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in 39 minutes against the Hurricanes.
MSU’s leading scorer, Jerkaila Jordan, has played through an ankle injury in each of the last two games, still scoring 17 points in last Thursday’s win at Arkansas. She finished with just eight points on 2-for-11 shooting against Ole Miss on Sunday.
“We all want (Gony) back, because her length is unbelievable,” Purcell said. “We need it, especially in games like this against Tennessee. But at the same time, I’m not going to put a kid in a situation where she can get hurt because she’s worked so hard and I know she’s eager to get back.”
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