Five Random Questions

[BigBird]

I know a thing or two about UConn WBB, but compared to many on the BY, I know nothing at all. So, I thought I'd learn more by offering some questions to my well-informed friends out there.

1- Looking at last year's games, was the game versus DePaul the closest (defined as "on any other day, might possibly have lost") contest of the season?

2- Do UConn coaches have a threshold for made in-game FT's, such that you must hit a certain percentage or see diminished playing minutes? Is there a standard at practice?

3- Are there any team rules regarding a player getting T'd up during a game? One coach I knew held players out for a full game for getting a T. UConn players seem very well-trained not to lose their cool.

4- It would seem that the UConn coaches have positive ongoing relationships with player parents and families. But how do they organize or do this? Meals together before the game? After? Something else?

5- It's well known that UConn practices are challenging for the athletes. But why so? What is it that our players experience that players elsewhere do not? What is it that visitors to a practice see that makes the biggest impression? From the video clips I've seen, a Huskies practice is obviously intense, but that isn't a unique trait, is it?

None of these questions probably warrants a separate thread, so I bundled them. Unbundle as you please.

 

[chrissaran]

Sue Bird was asked that question, and she said she couldn't believe how slow other teams practiced. Not the case with UConn. Also, Geno has invited coaches to watch them practice only to say, but that's not how we do it, which is why most teams cannot catch up to the Huskies, or "Pet a Husky" as Duquesne's coach said.

 

[pinotbear]

I think there are folks who know these topics better than I, so, I'm not going to try and answer them - but, if you haven't already, I'd suggest picking up a copy of "The Same River Twice", written by John Waters. It's an in-depth report of the 2001 season, done with the full cooperation of Geno & Co. For me, it's "the Bible" for understanding how Connecticut operates, how the staff thinks, values, and communicates. For many years, I made it a habit to re-read the book in October, before the season began, just to get my head back into the game.

 

[Kibitzer]

@BigBird: Excellent questions. Here goes - my take:

1. I don't think so. The issue was never in serious doubt, BUT I cannot offer another as "closest" per your parameters.

2. I have never seen anything to persuade me to say "yes" to either question.

3. No team I have ever observed has had the rigid self-control that our UConn Huskies have. I don't recall the last (if ever) time a player got T'd (coach doesn't count).

4. Incomparable leadership by example and guidance by Geno (not so bad cop) and Chris (impeccably good cop).

5. Practices are not only intense but as meticulously planned and organized as the WW II D-Day Invasion at Normandy.

 

[Plebe]

I'll give a shot to question #1. I think the Maryland game was the closest. Maryland had a 2-point lead in the 3rd quarter, and it was a 4-point game with about a minute to go. DePaul played UConn close, was down by 3 at half, but the closest it got after that was 65-60 early in the 4th quarter. After that they went on a 10-2 run and that was that.

 

[VAMike23]

RE: #3

When was the last time a UCONN player got T'd up during a game? For losing their cool , arguing, outburst etc.

I honestly cannot remember.

 

[Charliebball]

I'll give a shot to question #1. I think the Maryland game was the closest. Maryland had a 2-point lead in the 3rd quarter, and it was a 4-point game with about a minute to go. DePaul played UConn close, was down by 3 at half, but the closest it got after that was 65-60 early in the 4 quarter. Upon then went on a 10-2 run and that was that.

Agreed.........I attended that game at MSG and there were a lot of nervous UConn fans till the end of that game

 

[triaddukefan]

RE: #3

When was the last time a UCONN player got T'd up during a game? For losing their cool , arguing, outburst etc.

I honestly cannot remember.

They save it for the WNBA

 

[CocoHusky]

I know a thing or two about UConn WBB, but compared to many on the BY, I know nothing at all. So, I thought I'd learn more by offering some questions to my well-informed friends out there.

1- Looking at last year's games, was the game versus DePaul the closest (defined as "on any other day, might possibly have lost") contest of the season?

2- Do UConn coaches have a threshold for made in-game FT's, such that you must hit a certain percentage or see diminished playing minutes? Is there a standard at practice?

3- Are there any team rules regarding a player getting T'd up during a game? One coach I knew held players out for a full game for getting a T. UConn players seem very well-trained not to lose their cool.

4- It would seem that the UConn coaches have positive ongoing relationships with player parents and families. But how do they organize or do this? Meals together before the game? After? Something else?

5- It's well known that UConn practices are challenging for the athletes. But why so? What is it that our players experience that players elsewhere do not? What is it that visitor2)s to a practice see that makes the biggest impression? From the video clips I've seen, a Huskies practice is obviously intense, but that isn't a unique trait, is it?

None of these questions probably warrants a separate thread, so I bundled them. Unbundle as you please.

Answers:
1) No The Maryland game at MSG? was.

2) Yes the staff is generally unhappy at anything below 75%

3) East Carolina last year. They are well trained and CD enforces these kinds of things. It is not just technical fouls either it is all fouls. UCONN has led the NCAA or been near top in fewest fouls since the rules changes in 2014-15 season. But the staff has been know to applaud a Technical fouls
"Butler earned a technical foul for the indiscretion, but she also likely earned the respect of her coach and teammates for strongly standing up for herself"
Butler's new aggression applauded Republican American Uconn

4) All of the above. There is also a video from 2015 FF showing some of the team meals and other activities. When the Team is traveling they eat together. When recruits come to UCONN there is at least 1 meal at Geno house. Kathy has been know to deliver a few home made meals to the dorms from time to time. Geno had the team at Holy Saviors parish in Norristown a few years ago. This is the Parish Geno grew up in and right around the coner from his Mother's old house and a stone's throw from my childhood house.

5) It is simply the pace of the practice. At A UCONN practice every drill is a win or lose proposition. They go hard! Failure to go your hardest ALL THE TIME is considered a loss. Failure to meet the standard (do the drill properly or against a set time) is another loss. The unique trait is that other coaches and some players are simply not willing to go that hard. That shows up at game time. For example, South Carolina has had a very intense off season workout program since Dawn got there. Yet UCONN ran them off their own home court not because UCONN was faster but because they were better conditioned.

 

[Checkmate]

RE: #3

When was the last time a UCONN player got T'd up during a game? For losing their cool , arguing, outburst etc.

I honestly cannot remember.

not sure of the date, here is a picture of the team

 

[Sonny44]

Answers:
1) No The Maryland game at MSG? was.

2) Yes the staff is generally unhappy at anything below 75%

3) East Carolina last year. They are well trained and CD enforces these kinds of things. It is not just technical fouls either it is all fouls. UCONN has led the NCAA or been near top in fewest fouls since the rules changes in 2014-15 season. But the staff has been know to applaud a Technical fouls
"Butler earned a technical foul for the indiscretion, but she also likely earned the respect of her coach and teammates for strongly standing up for herself"
Butler's new aggression applauded Republican American Uconn

4) All of the above. There is also a video from 2015 FF showing some of the team meals and other activities. When the Team is traveling they eat together. When recruits come to UCONN there is at least 1 meal at Geno house. Kathy has been know to deliver a few home made meals to the dorms from time to time. Geno had the team at Holy Saviors parish in Norristown a few years ago. This is the Parish Geno grew up in and right around the coner from his Mother's old house and a stone's throw from my childhood house.

5) It is simply the pace of the practice. At A UCONN practice every drill is a win or lose proposition. They go hard! Failure to go your hardest ALL THE TIME is considered a loss. Failure to meet the standard (do the drill properly or against a set time) is another loss. The unique trait is that other coaches and some players are simply not willing to go that hard. That shows up at game time. For example, South Carolina has had a very intense off season workout program since Dawn got there. Yet UCONN ran them off their own home court not because UCONN was faster but because they were better conditioned.

Personally I think 75% is too low. With concentration, for athletes such as ours 85% should be the standard. New rule: no shower after practice until you make five in a row.
Hard to enforce with a MOV of 40 or so I guess, but this year foul shots could make the difference between winning or losing a close game.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I know a thing or two about UConn WBB, but compared to many on the BY, I know nothing at all. So, I thought I'd learn more by offering some questions to my well-informed friends out there.

1- Looking at last year's games, was the game versus DePaul the closest (defined as "on any other day, might possibly have lost") contest of the season?

2- Do UConn coaches have a threshold for made in-game FT's, such that you must hit a certain percentage or see diminished playing minutes? Is there a standard at practice?

3- Are there any team rules regarding a player getting T'd up during a game? One coach I knew held players out for a full game for getting a T. UConn players seem very well-trained not to lose their cool.

4- It would seem that the UConn coaches have positive ongoing relationships with player parents and families. But how do they organize or do this? Meals together before the game? After? Something else?

5- It's well known that UConn practices are challenging for the athletes. But why so? What is it that our players experience that players elsewhere do not? What is it that visitors to a practice see that makes the biggest impression? From the video clips I've seen, a Huskies practice is obviously intense, but that isn't a unique trait, is it?

Christine and Geno don't like players talking to Refs--stops T s
Geno's (some one said D Day practices) --IKE was asked why spend time on the plan -rarely does war go as planned--he replied--It isn t the plan --Planning is everything--if you prepare for everything nothing will surprise you--

 

[Vowelguy]

I think the free throws and the technicals are context.

If players hit a free throw slump it's not a problem. If a player enters a bad free throw shooter and doesn't improve, it's a problem.

The Butler technical didn't bother the staff because they liked the aggressiveness. When Diana got a technical it was a problem because it showed her losing control.

 

[Vowelguy]

I've heard many commentators heap lavish praise on uconn practices. The nba s Jeff Van Grundy said it was as good as any practice he had seen. I think it's because the staff demands that all players give 100% every time on every play.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I've heard many commentators heap lavish praise on uconn practices. The nba s Jeff Van Grundy said it was as good as any practice he had seen. I think it's because the staff demands that all players give 100% every time on every play.

Most likely, you are closer than some of the other answers. Being in shape, getting plays correct or else (running suicides, most likely), excellent conditioning, etc. are all (completely or in part) in every successful school's practices.

But Geno keeps it all going "all the time" from anything we've ever heard, and that could be a difference.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

The coaches set it up for players to fail! If during a drill one group is nearing victory/success Geno will change the clock or the rules or the teams so you can't really win!
He runs 4v7 drills and the 4 have to win or 5v8, etc.
If an individual player is not accomplishing the drill/goal he'll run the drill with that player on task for 30 to 40 minutes till the player accomplishes the goal or cracks!
Sue Bird reportedly was in that situation and Geno said something wisecrack and Sue said a nasty and walked off court crying she came back 15 minutes later apologized to everyone and finished the practice! Sue talked about it on a Geno Show! Stewie was the "lucky girl" this year!
The difference between UCONN/Geno and the rest of Division I WBB is he coaches BB while all the other coaches coach WOMEN'S BASKETBALL! It seems that other coaches don't demand perfection while Geno does!

 

[UcMiami]

Well, I opened this thread expecting random questions and discovered they were all about Uconn WCBB - not very random at all!!! (Was this randomness the result of having a room full of moneys select from millions of random questions for thousands of hours and you finally got one monkey who selected 5 specific to Uconn?! )

But ... for answers:
1. I think the closest games MD, DePaul, and ND, were the result of it being 'on any other day' those teams would have been blown out by 20+ - these results were those one in ten games where Uconn played less than their A game, and the opponent was playing more than their A game. I agree that the MD game was the tightest as others have noted.

2. No - the staff does not consider the FT% as a determinant of playing time - if they did, Gabby would not have seen the floor as a freshman! Uconn generally shoots fewer FTs per game than most other good teams, partly because they pass so well to find open shots. It is hard to foul a shooter when you are nowhere near them, so FT percentage is less important than the other aspects of the players' games. There are a number of FT drills that do get run by Uconn, but how often they are run I don't know and some of those drills involve percentage and/or consecutive FT makes. (NB - Sonny44: There were 199 players in all of D1 basketball that shot 75% or better on FT - about one starter per every two teams. And there were a total of 29 teams that hit 75% or more of their free throws out of 344 in D1. And only 8 of those teams were from power 5 conference with two more from the AAC. 80% in practice with no pressure and no exhilaration/exhaustion from game play is one thing, In the midst of a frenetic game it is quite a different thing.)

3. WCBB does not have all that many Ts so I am not sure Uconn is particularly special in that regard. Coaches are much more likely to get Ts for strategic purposes than players. I think the staff reaction to Ts (as well as flagrant fouls) would depend on circumstances - stupid ones could well result in discipline, but generally I would be surprised to see any discipline. And that is true for the whole of WCBB.

4. Uconn is very engaged with parents throughout the recruiting process, and they have been known to stop recruiting a player if they don't like the parents. So it starts there. After that, it becomes more dependent on the parents and how often they can visit the campus or on the road or at holiday tournament sites. As with pretty much every college coaching staff, keeping the parents happy is important, and the Uconn staff does appear to do a really good job of that. And because parents are part of the recruit evaluation, the compatibility with the staff has already been established.

5. It is not just the pace of the individual drills that is so intense at Uconn as others have mentioned, but that the whole two hours is orchestrated at that pace - one drill flows immediately into another and into another with no breaks. There was a funny comment from Sue or DT about some practice when they were visiting campus, where they could see that the freshman had not yet learned the importance of the strategic need for hydration - a few seconds with a bottle of water on the sidelines providing the wiser upper classmen a few quick breaks. The other thing that makes the practices so effective is that nothing gets missed by the coaching staff - 'good enough' is not good enough so the mental aspect of always getting everything exactly right as the weariness mounts is always there.

 

[MilfordHusky]

RE: #3

When was the last time a UCONN player got T'd up during a game? For losing their cool , arguing, outburst etc.

I honestly cannot remember.

Nor can I, but the Ballhog Chick from Chino Hills was a likely candidate if anyone got called for one.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Re Q 1 from the OP, THE close game was against Maryland at MSG. We couldn't put the Terps away, and they actually led for some of the game. We had a 4-point lead inside a minute. With the shot clock winding down, Saniya got a pass in the corner (right in front of us) and, without hesitation, nailed a 3-pointer to make it a 7-point game. Maryland fouled intentionally down the stretch, and we hit just enough FTs to get the lead to 10 and keep the double-digit streak alive. If Saniya had missed, Maryland could have cut the lead to 1.

Saniya also made a couple of key plays late in the second quarter, including a steal and breakaway layup. In 10 minutes of play, her 5 points were crucial. She played limited minutes after missing the 3 prior games due to her IT band injury. She was my POG.

The young players struggled at MSG, as the Big 3 combined for 57 Big points. Maryland outshot us 48% to 44%, led by Brionna Jones's 12-14.

 

[BigBird]

Well, I opened this thread expecting random questions and discovered they were all about Uconn WCBB - not very random at all!!! (Was this randomness the result of having a room full of moneys select from millions of random questions for thousands of hours and you finally got one monkey who selected 5 specific to Uconn?! )

Now, now. As you and your several monkeys are surely aware, today's youth uses the word "random" to mean roughly "the reason isn't important," as in, "I just had a random thought." It can also be used instead of "unknown" or "unimportant," as in, "Some random dude crashed the party, but didn't stay long."

But then, as "youth" isn't among the many things I've been called recently, I will concede the point; I should have employed a more elderly term.

 

[cbraarj]

The coaches set it up for players to fail! If during a drill one group is nearing victory/success Geno will change the clock or the rules or the teams so you can't really win!
He runs 4v7 drills and the 4 have to win or 5v8, etc.
If an individual player is not accomplishing the drill/goal he'll run the drill with that player on task for 30 to 40 minutes till the player accomplishes the goal or cracks!
Sue Bird reportedly was in that situation and Geno said something wisecrack and Sue said a nasty and walked off court crying she came back 15 minutes later apologized to everyone and finished the practice! Sue talked about it on a Geno Show! Stewie was the "lucky girl" this year!
The difference between UCONN/Geno and the rest of Division I WBB is he coaches BB while all the other coaches coach WOMEN'S BASKETBALL! It seems that other coaches don't demand perfection while Geno does!

Bird got beat by a male practice named Tom.She didnt contest his shot that won the scrimmage.Geno asked him if she contested his shot.Being a friend of Sues he reluctanly said no she didnt.Bird said sarcastically of course he is going to agree with you.Geno went off on Sue and she started crying.The next day they both apoligized to the team.Before practice Geno said to her I hope Tom Doesnt play today because I want to win.Sue said tell Tom to bring his sneakers.Birds team won that day.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Different sports, different levels but I've stated previously I coached HS Wrestling for 32 years and have found you can't make a passive/non-aggressive person a killer/aggressive personality. But that being said a coach can take an athlete with aggression buried inside and bring it out. Geno and staff can bring that out as well as any coaches in any sport!
That is one of many traits Geno and staff look for, that trace of aggressive personality! Some have it big-time, DT, Maya Moore, Kelly Faris, Jamille Elliot, Brianna Stewart, MoJeff, Kia Nurse, Tina Charles, Rebecca Lobo, Jennifer Rizzotti, Shea Ralph, Sue Bird, among the most obvious!
These players will cut your heart out with a dull spoon if it means they'll beat you! Geno coaches his players like men not precious little girls and that's one of many reasons why he has so much success!
As Doris Burke says, "Geno is not doing anything special, he just gets his players to outwork all their opponents!"

 

[jdubct]

I think the free throws and the technicals are context.

If players hit a free throw slump it's not a problem. If a player enters a bad free throw shooter and doesn't improve, it's a problem.

The Butler technical didn't bother the staff because they liked the aggressiveness. When Diana got a technical it was a problem because it showed her losing control.

Butler was told specifically by Geno to be more aggressive and she followed through. No problem.

 

[Nuyoika]

Sue Bird was asked that question, and she said she couldn't believe how slow other teams practiced. Not the case with UConn. Also, Geno has invited coaches to watch them practice only to say, but that's not how we do it, which is why most teams cannot catch up to the Huskies, or "Pet a Husky" as Duquesne's coach said.

My heavens... I was hoping to forget that "pet the husky" comment.

 

[Roger G]

Now, now. As you and your several monkeys are surely aware, today's youth uses the word "random" to mean roughly "the reason isn't important," as in, "I just had a random thought." It can also be used instead of "unknown" or "unimportant," as in, "Some random dude crashed the party, but didn't stay long."

But then, as "youth" isn't among the many things I've been called recently, I will concede the point; I should have employed a more elderly term.

When I was a teenager, everyone in my age group used the term "bogus" to mean anything bad. Hopefully, this "random" fad will fall by the wayside, because it's really bogus, man.