2013-14 roster down to 8.

[Scotter]

Maria was in the main 8 player rotation as a sophomore as the primary backup to both Sue and Dee, and averaged nearly 18 minutes per game for the season with a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio. That's a pretty significant intermediary stage between end of the bench and starting for a national champion.

She definitely didn't play significant minutes her first two years. She was good enough that she could have gone to a mid-level D1 school and started right away, like Lauren. I don't think anyone watching her in her freshman and sophomore years would have predicted she would become the starting point guard on two NC teams. She definitely wasn't being groomed to be Sue's replacement (from the looks of it in games) In Geno's book he talks about how she went home that summer, lost some weight, shot a bunch of threes and came back a different player.

 

[UConnCat]

No question on that! Absolutely no disagreement.

The myth I'm referring to is that she went from being the last person on the bench with 0 minutes to an overnight star, and thus any player X can do the same. It didn't happen. She was never the last person on the bench -- proven by the fact that Geno played her in her frosh year in a F4 game. Geno saw something in her from the start, and she delivered in her junior and senior years.

For whatever reason, if Geno doesn't play you as a frosh, it is highly unlikely you will ever get significant playing time.

Got it. I agree.

 

[boontonbomber]

One thing boon - how would increased minutes in games helped her develop more quickly? Players have often said that practices are harder than games. Geno puts them in impossible situations (5 on 8 for example) in addition to their normal practicie routines.

I mean this as no disrespect to Lauren, who by all accounts was a sweet girl and good teammate, but if she wasn't showing it in practices, how could she learn more by playing 5-10 extra minutes in games? In an actual game is NOT the time for a player to "learn" something. During a game is the time for them to use what they learned in practice...

game time is a totally different experience. practice is repetition. game time demands more focus, involves more pressure, it's the real thing. it's where player weaknesses really stand out, and makes for a learning experience for the player that practice can't simulate. game minutes let the player know quite dramatically what it is they need get better at. mopping up at the end of a game just does not put the player in the same kind of stress situations. i'm not saying that the player is miraculously going to begin performing at a higher level. but playing more important game minutes shows the player exactly where improvement is needed. practice and mop-up time just doesn't do it. imho, lauren should have had lots more of the minutes.

 

[Goodgood]

game time is a totally different experience. practice is repetition. game time demands more focus, involves more pressure, it's the real thing. it's where player weaknesses really stand out, and makes for a learning experience for the player that practice can't simulate. game minutes let the player know quite dramatically what it is they need get better at. mopping up at the end of a game just does not put the player in the same kind of stress situations. i'm not saying that the player is miraculously going to begin performing at a higher level. but playing more important game minutes shows the player exactly where improvement is needed. practice and mop-up time just doesn't do it. imho, lauren should have had lots more of the minutes.

Agreed. Jeremy Lin is a good example. Doesn't do anything extraordinary or even ordinary in practice, got cut a few times, played Engeln type minutes at the end of the game. Suddenly, got to play real minutes in real time by attrition, et voila...he is a star...

 

[Vowelguy]

Your comments may or may not be correct. But one thing is indisputable: that's not how Geno coaches. Playing time is entirely dependent on effort and performance in practice. If it's not up to his standards, you dont play. It seems unlikely that he is going to change that at this point in his career.

 

[Icebear]

game time is a totally different experience. practice is repetition. game time demands more focus, involves more pressure, it's the real thing. it's where player weaknesses really stand out, and makes for a learning experience for the player that practice can't simulate. game minutes let the player know quite dramatically what it is they need get better at. mopping up at the end of a game just does not put the player in the same kind of stress situations. i'm not saying that the player is miraculously going to begin performing at a higher level. but playing more important game minutes shows the player exactly where improvement is needed. practice and mop-up time just doesn't do it. imho, lauren should have had lots more of the minutes.

That may be your concept of practice but it is one small part of what practice is like at UConn. Practice at UConn includes 5 on 7 and 5 on 8 situations, starting a simulation series ten points behind and expected to erase the deficit, and more real world situations and worse. Only part of it is repetitive execution of plays but practice overall is far more sophisticated than that.

 

[Scotter]

If Jeremy Lin is a good example that means what? That Geno should have played Lauren in the middle of the game and told her to go and completely dominate the ball? Attrition allowed Lin to play a role he would never be allowed to play under normal circumstances. During that stretch that made him famous his usage rate was so high it was both ridiculous and unsustainable. It wasn't the magic of game time instead of practice. The magic was a role Lin was never allowed to play previously in the NBA for good reason. A team is only going so far with the ball almost completely in Jeremy Lin's hands. The same reason Geno demanded, especially in practice, that Charde conform to the system when her individual numbers would have been far greater if he had just let her play.

For UConn to be the program that Geno has created performance in practice absolutely has to be huge factor. Its value shouldn't be dismissed just because we only get to see the games.

Agreed. Jeremy Lin is a good example. Doesn't do anything extraordinary or even ordinary in practice, got cut a few times, played Engeln type minutes at the end of the game. Suddenly, got to play real minutes in real time by attrition, et voila...he is a star...

 

[Goodgood]

I don't know. I am not criticizing Geno's system or philosophy. He is obviously a great coach and human being. Sometimes, at the end of a game, in a blowout against a cupcake, it always seemed like their best players were better than our subs and yet, none of them were ranked in the top 100's while we had highly recruited subs running around missing shots after shots and barely keeping the spread. I attribute that to too much simulation while the lesser ranked players from the other team played real minutes. We should expect transfers every year because kids love to play for UConn, but can't be in the top 6 or 7, and get no meaningful minutes. Unless there are some walk-ons, they are not going to stick around to be the designated high fiver...most certainly Heather Buck's job for this coming season. Perhaps North Carolina would be kind enough to send a couple of their extras our way.

 

[sTu]

I attribute a great deal of "how" the players looked to the fact that they were basically not allowed to fast break or play pressure defense (double team the ball). When a team plays half court offense only it contributes to a lot of wierd stuff happening.

 

[Stinger92860]

Lauren's decision IMO wasn't about her minutes over the last two years. It was about her expectations for minutes this year. UConn graduated about 30 mins/ game. Lauren hoped to pick up some of those minutes but after seeing the 3 freshmen in pickup games she realized that 30 mins/game wouldn't be enough for them by mid-season. Good for her for recognizing that and deciding to move on.

She has been home for a few weeks. Not here playing with the 3 freshman.

 

[boontonbomber]

That may be your concept of practice but it is one small part of what practice is like at UConn. Practice at UConn includes 5 on 7 and 5 on 8 situations, starting a simulation series ten points behind and expected to erase the deficit, and more real world situations and worse. Only part of it is repetitive execution of plays but practice overall is far more sophisticated than that.

sorry ice, it's still practice.

 

[UCONNfan1]

sorry ice, it's still practice.

It is practice, but the Ice's point is twofold (if he didn't say it I am sure he knows it)...

1) Geno plays players in games based on how they practice. Period. No if's, and's or but's. If someone isn't cutting it in practice, there is not only no reason to expect they can suddenly do better in a game, but he also will NOT reward them with playing time in a game.

2) I'm not sure why someone would suggest that he play Lauren more minutes in games so she would be more likely to stay. Wouldn't that sit wrong with someone like Brianna Banks, who has turned into a better player? In her mind, if Geno is playing Lauren and giving her Brianna's minutes, then you have a better player who is unhappy with Geno saying one thing (I give game minutes based on practice performance), but doing something else...

 

[Goodgood]

It is practice, but the Ice's point is twofold (if he didn't say it I am sure he knows it)...

1) Geno plays players in games based on how they practice. Period. No if's, and's or but's. If someone isn't cutting it in practice, there is not only no reason to expect they can suddenly do better in a game, but he also will NOT reward them with playing time in a game.

2) I'm not sure why someone would suggest that he play Lauren more minutes in games so she would be more likely to stay. Wouldn't that sit wrong with someone like Brianna Banks, who has turned into a better player? In her mind, if Geno is playing Lauren and giving her Brianna's minutes, then you have a better player who is unhappy with Geno saying one thing (I give game minutes based on practice performance), but doing something else...

Well, Brianna is the next one with the least minutes. Buck is happy not playing and Uconn is footing the bills for her graduate program. If you don't beat out 7 players, you mop up, unless Geno learned something during the Olympics how to keep 12 players happy.

 

[Goodgood]

That may be your concept of practice but it is one small part of what practice is like at UConn. Practice at UConn includes 5 on 7 and 5 on 8 situations, starting a simulation series ten points behind and expected to erase the deficit, and more real world situations and worse. Only part of it is repetitive execution of plays but practice overall is far more sophisticated than that.

Sorry but do you think Lauren gets to play on the right side of 5 on 7 or 5 on 8 simulation? she is more likely be on the 7 or 8 group...basically she would play the other team along with the male practice players. I am sure she gets to play on the good side once in a while but probably not often enough since she will never get to be in that situation.

 

[UConnCat]

Well, Brianna is the next one with the least minutes. Buck is happy not playing and Uconn is footing the bills for her graduate program. If you don't beat out 7 players, you mop up, unless Geno learned something during the Olympics how to keep 12 players happy.

Heather is happy not playing? Please, tell us all how you know this. Insulting. And to compare the Olympic roster to a college team roster is beyond ridiculous.

 

[Goodgood]

Heather is happy not playing? Please, tell us all how you know this. Insulting. And to compare the Olympic roster to a college team roster is beyond ridiculous.

If you are sitting on the bench for 4 years and are coming back for a 5th year, and you are currently sitting behind Dolson and Stokes, comes October, you will be further down the bench behind Stewart and Tuck. You can't be too unhappy if you come back for more. It is what it is.

Who is comparing a college roster to an Olympic roster? Where did you see that? It is a matter of managing egos. Every single player that is on the Uconn roster was the best player in her school when she graduated. She never played with a player as good as she was and she started every game and was the go to player on the team. Now, she is at Uconn and has no idea what is going on. It is similar situation to a player on the Olympic team, except she is older and wiser. and for a short time, egos can be checked. That is all I meant. Please!

 

[HuskyNan]

Well, Brianna is the next one with the least minutes. Buck is happy not playing and Uconn is footing the bills for her graduate program. If you don't beat out 7 players, you mop up, unless Geno learned something during the Olympics how to keep 12 players happy.

Sorry but do you think Lauren gets to play on the right side of 5 on 7 or 5 on 8 simulation? she is more likely be on the 7 or 8 group...basically she would play the other team along with the male practice players. I am sure she gets to play on the good side once in a while but probably not often enough since she will never get to be in that situation.

You are making an awful lot of assumptions. Based on what we know about Geno and the way he's run the program for 30 years, I highly doubt that he'd keep a player on the roster that was "happy" to sit on the bench or that he's given up on Lauren as a player. He's all about maximizing players' potentials, not giving valuable schollies to players permanently relegated to the bench.

 

[triaddukefan]

That may be your concept of practice but it is one small part of what practice is like at UConn. Practice at UConn includes 5 on 7 and 5 on 8 situations, starting a simulation series ten points behind and expected to erase the deficit, and more real world situations and worse. Only part of it is repetitive execution of plays but practice overall is far more sophisticated than that.

 

[trisailin]

Let's take this into a completely different discipline - airline pilots. They practice, practice, practice emergencies in a simulator. Only the ones who successfully negotiate the simulated emergencies get to actually fly. I'd prefer it that way. So yes, practice isn't the real thing - but practice is also the only "safe" place to show if one is properly equipped to deal with the real thing.

 

[meyers7]

Sometimes, at the end of a game, in a blowout against a cupcake, it always seemed like their best players were better than our subs and yet, none of them were ranked in the top 100's while we had highly recruited subs running around missing shots after shots and barely keeping the spread.

Sooo putting them in in the middle of the game, they are going to do better??? How so??

 

[Goodgood]

Let's take this into a completely different discipline - airline pilots. They practice, practice, practice emergencies in a simulator. Only the ones who successfully negotiate the simulated emergencies get to actually fly. I'd prefer it that way. So yes, practice isn't the real thing - but practice is also the only "safe" place to show if one is properly equipped to deal with the real thing.

Your point is well taken. I have written thousands of simulation scripts to test my programs at work and I understand the needs for that. However, this is just a game that kids play, and no one will die because someone missed a defensive assignment. My point is, let the kids play when you are 15-20 points ahead, no need to drive anyone to the ground looking for perfection. But I don't have a national championship and I don't coach basketball, so what do I know?

 

[Goodgood]

You are making an awful lot of assumptions. Based on what we know about Geno and the way he's run the program for 30 years, I highly doubt that he'd keep a player on the roster that was "happy" to sit on the bench or that he's given up on Lauren as a player. He's all about maximizing players' potentials, not giving valuable schollies to players permanently relegated to the bench.

Yes I am. And I am sure Geno has never given up on any of his players. When Michala Johnson transferred, I remembered him saying something to the effect that there was really no playing time for her here at Uconn. I can't find the quote though. It is not given up, it is reality.

 

[Vowelguy]

no need to drive anyone to the ground looking for perfection.

Then you shouldn't have Geno as your coach, because that is what he demands.

I certainly don't know if I'd want Geno as my coach, but he's just one coach; there are hundreds of others if that's not your cup of tea. I seriously doubt anyone is confused beforehand about the type of coach he is. And these players chose that.

 

[Goodgood]

Then you shouldn't have Geno as your coach, because that is what he demands.

I certainly don't know if I'd want Geno as my coach, but he's just one coach; there are hundreds of others if that's not your cup of tea. I seriously doubt anyone is confused beforehand about the type of coach he is. And these players chose that.

Yes, I know. They wouldn't be here if they didn't. But some "un"chosed that a couple of years later. This is why we are having this discussion. Yes?

 

[Tonyc]

I liked Laurens game. Could she fit in at UConn. I think so. BB is next to step up but I do think Lauren couldve contributed if given more minutes and if there were minutes to give. With that said there will be minutes now. So how do the minutes get divied up? Caroline isnt 100% but IMO she will start. The big question is can Caroline go 25-30 minutes and be strong at the end of the season. That would give us 2 point guards Bria and Caroline. That would solve the big question at the point as BB and MJ gain experience. How far can she go and be able to be effective late in the season? Big Question. BB is next to step up as she has experience. Moriah has great potential and will need PT to gain experience. For the first time in a long time we could be short with ball handleing guards. We have alot of height, we are deep underneath and we have shooters. This season in the big games we will need more then Bria and Caroline handleing the ball. What could ease all the doubt is that Caroline can go 25-30 minutes if needed.