Moore glad UConn back in rivalry vs. Tennessee

UNCASVILLE, CONN. — Any anger that former UConn great Maya Moore felt toward the University of Tennessee has faded with time. With the renewal of UConn and Tennessee’s women’s basketball rivalry, the reasoning behind its demise is being brought to the forefront again. And in the center of that demise, whether she wanted to be or not, was Moore.

She was the best recruit in the country in the 2007 freshman class, sought after by everyone. Most importantly, she was sought after by UConn and Tennessee — the sport’s newest dynasty and its original icon.

The rivalry between the two had long been bitter, with coaches Geno Auriemma and Pat Summitt making no attempt to hide the differences that fueled their acrimonious relationship. None of the snide remarks or perceived slights led to the end of the rivalry, though. If anything, they served to make the matchup more entertaining.

By the time Moore was being recruited, the rivalry was in its 12th year. Moore chose to attend UConn, and that’s when Summitt sent a letter to the SEC claiming UConn had committed 11 recruiting violations, including while dealing with Moore. It was announced that Tennessee would no longer play Connecticut, with Summitt citing the alleged infractions as the reason behind the rivalry’s end.

UConn was ruled to have committed one violation, according to ESPN: a tour of ESPN set up by UConn. Twelve years after the allegations, Moore hasn’t held a grudge.

“I try not to pay too much attention,” said Moore, who now plays for the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx. “People, unfortunately when it comes to sports, sometimes take liberties to say things that don’t have any substance to them, and I understand it, but it’s not helpful for people on the receiving end. Again, I don’t know who said what. There’s not a person I’m associating anything with, but there was a point in the recruiting process after everything was said and done where it wasn’t graceful. But again, I haven’t thought about that in ages.”

Moore doesn’t lament missing the chance to be a part of the rivalry, saying that she was able to play plenty of teams that acted as temporary rivalries.

“I don’t know what it would’ve been while I was there,” Moore said. “We had some good memories against some other teams that became something like a rivalry, but new history will be created with this one.”

In her time with the Huskies, Moore became the program’s scoring leader, won three Wade Trophies and two Wooden and Naismith Awards as the national player of the year. She led UConn to two national titles and was named an All-American all four years. In those four years, the Huskies lost just four games.

With the news announced last week — the final week of the WNBA regular season — Moore hasn’t had much time to think about the rivalry’s return, “but I’m sure it’s going to be exciting,” she said. “I mean, anytime we can create a new chapter in a new story is always fun because of the history there. I’m sure it’ll create some fun games.”

The rivalry’s renewal is a home-and-home series for the 2019-20 season and 202021 season, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Pat Summitt Foundation and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.