Geno Auriemma goes off on Lady Vols, Phillip Fulmer as NCAA rejects Evina Westbrook waiver | Estes

Gentry Estes
The Tennessean

Geno Auriemma was unhappy Wednesday night, but he wouldn’t say exactly why.

Sounded bad, though, this reason that Auriemma has been vaguely referencing as to why basketball transfer Evina Westbrook couldn’t stay at the University of Tennessee.

The NCAA has indicated that her transfer to Auriemma’s program at Connecticut was normal. Oh no, Auriemma passionately disagreed. It was extraordinary what the guard dealt with at Tennessee, he argued.

He sounded angry with the NCAA for making Westbrook sit out this season — in spite of this unspoken ordeal — and upset that her old school chose not to help her efforts to be eligible this season.

“The kid’s in an environment that’s not necessarily healthy,” Auriemma said of Westbrook’s time at Tennessee. “An environment that if you knew what the environment was — which I can’t say — you would not want your kid in that environment.

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“And the athletic director there (Phillip Fulmer) knows it, but he’s not going to support her leaving, which would have helped us a little bit. And now her reward is she has to sit at home, even when we travel, and can’t play. So she should have stuck it out, right?"

Prior to Wednesday night’s 64-51 victory by fourth-ranked UConn over Vanderbilt at Memorial Gym, the Huskies announced that Westbrook’s transfer waiver and appeal had been denied by the NCAA. This was the school’s final recourse, meaning she’ll have to sit out this season. A junior, Westbrook will have two years of eligibility remaining with the Huskies.

This situation had already become contentious between UConn and Tennessee. That’s not a first. These two women’s basketball programs have never been especially fond of one another, going back to when the late Pat Summitt was winning championships in Knoxville.

This latest flare-up has to do with Tennessee officials, according to UConn, choosing not to support the appeal by Westbrook — the Lady Vols’ leading scorer last season — to be eligible to play immediately.

Basically, UT remained neutral. It didn’t contest her waiver. It just didn’t support it either.

“We asked them (why), and they said, ‘We’ve moved on,'” said Auriemma. “… We’ve had kids leave our program, and I have never failed to support that kid’s decision to leave. And they still get denied sometimes.”

Auriemma — along with many other college coaches — is correct when criticizing the NCAA’s transfer eligibility process. It’s a mess. Reform is badly needed to bring consistency to an arbitrary and confusing process that hardly anyone understands.

The NCAA issues rulings and doesn’t have to explain them, be it approval or denial for a transfer to be able to play immediately at a new school.

Some are lucky. Some are not. And it feels that way.

Not only does the NCAA — seemingly as always — dodge accountability for its rulings, but coaches and administrators have seen these transfer decisions fluctuate so much that they no longer have a sense for who’ll be able to circumvent regulations that call for transfers to sit out a year and why.

“I would like to know why some people do get cleared or get waivers and others don’t,” Auriemma said. “I don’t know what the criteria is.”

Auburn Tigers forward Jessica Jones (23) scrambles with Tennessee Lady Volunteers guard Evina Westbrook (2) for the ball at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on March 1, 2018.

Westbrook made the trip to Vanderbilt with her new team, given that her case was pending, and was on the bench during Wednesday night’s game. She did not speak with attending media.

“Who does it punish?” Auriemma said. “Does it punish Tennessee? That kid’s not going to be there anyway. The only person that it punishes when this happens is the kid who’s trying to get themselves in a better environment. … This was a special situation. That’s why we asked. That’s why we went as far as we did. We’ve never appealed any kid’s transfer before.”

The environment at Tennessee? Special situation? What does that mean?

“I really can’t go into that,” Auriemma replied.

Oh.

Auburn Tigers guard Crystal Primm (22) tries to block Tennessee Lady Volunteers guard Evina Westbrook (2) from scoring in the first half  of the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 1, 2018.

Westbrook was a good player at Tennessee. The lasting memory of her time there was that she boldly said after last season's NCAA Tournament loss that “steps need to be taken with our staff and just overall off the court with this team.” Holly Warlick was not retained as Tennessee's coach. Kellie Harper is now in her first season in Knoxville.

References about Westbrook’s supposed ordeal at Tennessee are relevant for UConn because the NCAA takes that into account in determining eligibility for transfers.

UConn athletic director David Benedict made a similarly vague reference Wednesday in criticizing the NCAA’s decision.

“Knowing the facts of the case, I am at a loss for how the NCAA Committee for Legislative Relief decided not to grant a transfer waiver for Evina Westbrook,” Benedict said in a statement provided by UConn. “It is clear that the system we have in place failed.”

Should Westbrook be eligible? Yes, in my opinion.

But that’s not because of some mysterious issue at Tennessee. Vague statements about it may have merit, but they’re being thrown out irresponsibly by UConn without the ability to back the statements up publicly.

UT guard Evina Westbrook (2) guards Vanderbilt guard Kaleigh Clemons-Green (35) during the second half at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019.

Westbrook should be eligible because all college transfers should be eligible immediately. Why are they punished for trying to find a better fit? A normal student wouldn’t be, and they play for coaches who are free to change jobs and locations just like anyone else.

Auriemma’s gripe with the NCAA isn’t unique among coaches, but it is well-founded.

As for the one with Tennessee, well, who can say? 

Reach Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Gentry_Estes.