Geno's Retirement: Succession and a Game Plan

[Charlie]

Agree. Topic interesting but waste of time.
Living in Texas, one of the yearly "sporting events" is to see who can best position a false, usually negative rumor about the coach at another school. So and so is going to take a pro job, get fired, retire, etc. Texas, versus A&A, versus Baylor, etc. etc. etc. 99% are false and started by the competition.

I agree it sounds like someone is trying to scare prospective recruits away. Geno already said he is not retiring after another topic with the same topic was started earlier this year ... and Geno even said he would coach the Olympics in four years if he was asked. I think folks on the ND board or TN board when Pat (was still healthy) would think this in bad taste if they had the same topic was raised. By the way, Geno is really not that old in today's day and age.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Hopefully a large percentage of the players that UConn recruits will be at nearly the same level of talent as Sue and Diana. Certainly (we hope) they will believe that they are. And they will want to develop their game enough so that someday they can play at the WNBA / international level, maybe even the Olympic level for the very best of them.

I'm sure that a big factor in Kevin Ollie's recruiting success is his long experience in the NBA. Recruits believe that he can teach them to play at that level if they have the talent and work hard.

How many of those potential UConn WCBB players (Top 100 high school recruits) would recognize the names "Shea Ralph" or "Marisa Moseley" at this point? Probably very few. But I guarantee you that they will know who Sue and Diana are, and will probably be thrilled to be recruited by them. And, as with Ollie, they will believe that if Sue or DT says, "You need to do X, Y, and Z to get to a WNBA level", she will know what she is talking about.

JoePgh- - - - I'm certainly not saying Sue and DT would not be great coaches, just that mistakenly people think automatically that "THE NAME" player will be a great coach! Personally I think both Sue and DT would make great coaches because as players they are nurturing human beings, always taking their team mates under their wing and leading and teaching on and off the court! Look at both at the Olympics talking to Griner, EDD, Stewie, the youngsters, every chance they got what to do, etc.

 

[HardHatGuy#2]

"I believe my game resembles Diana Taurasi because she is very explosive, she can shoot well and she is a leader on and off the court. "
Christyn Williams

http://www.wiseeyesports.com/2018s-...-williams-a-sweet-beast/#sthash.5vHo4Lhn.dpuf

"...explosive..." isn't a term that is often applied to DT. "sneaky" is more like it; suddenly one-half step ahead a defender for no apparent reason, hop-skipping in slo-mo down the middle of four defenders what what amounts to an uncontested layup, coming around a pile of bodies with the rebound when she seemingly had no chance at it.

It's that Rodman-esque sneakiness and unpredictability that makes her game so destructive to an opponent.

 

[xoxxox]

Geno will coach for as long as he is physically able to do so - or until, CD decides to retire. Neither will continue without the other. They are historical human beings whose synergy is unmatched in sports coaching.
Geno, by himself will become a HISTORICAL fixture of Sports equal to the standing of Galileo, Newton, and Einstein, in their respective fields. Once Geno is gone, UCONN will, very quickly, become another good team - not the dominate force they are today. Individuals like Geno, come along once every every century or so. We, today, are able to say that we lived and experienced the greatness of the man and his equally magnificent partner who have given us all so much enjoyment.

 

[VAUConnFan]

Submitted for consideration on this succession thread.
UConn tree without previous coaching experience:
1. Swin Cash - very similar resume to Sue Bird.
2. Asjha Jones - always studious, with an impressive basketball resume
UConn tree with coaching experience
1. Jemelle Elliott
2. Tonya Cardoza
3. Marisa Moseley
4. Tamika Williams
5. Willnet Crockett

They would all be excellent choices to run the storied UConn program.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Take Geno at his word. He will coach as long as he is fit and enjoys it. There is no apparent timetable. When Geno leaves, CD may or may not; it will be her decision.

The logical (and IMO most likely) replacement for Geno is Shea. It is possible that someone like Sue would, in turn, replace her, It is impossible to predict Diana's future, given the array of opportunities that await her when she steps off the court for good.

 

[JSB60]

Submitted for consideration on this succession thread.
UConn tree without previous coaching experience:
1. Swin Cash - very similar resume to Sue Bird.
2. Asjha Jones - always studious, with an impressive basketball resume
UConn tree with coaching experience
1. Jemelle Elliott
2. Tonya Cardoza
3. Marisa Moseley
4. Tamika Williams
5. Willnet Crockett

They would all be excellent choices to run the storied UConn program.

Some interesting candidates, I'll put in my two cents.

Swin would succeed at anything she wanted to do. I'd be happy with that pick.

Asjha Jones as a player reminds me of Tim Duncan, the big fundamental. I don't know a lot about her interests other than as a player.

Jamelle Elliott's performance at Cincinnati doesn't put her in the running.

Tonya Cardoza is an excellent bench coach and developer of talent. I question her as a recruiter.

Marisa Moseley, obviously a strong choice but I think she's a step behind Shea as the current assistants go.

Tamika Williams is another excellent possibility. All the different pieces of the background are there.

Willnett Crockett is one of my all time favorites, but not sure what would put her over Tonya Cardoza.

 

[cbraarj]

If Shea is still around when Geno and CD hang it up. IMO Shea will be their pick. 5 years as a player and 8 years as a coach at Uconn will give her the edge over everyone else I would imagine. I could see her at Duke when they get rid of JPM. She is from Fayetteville,NC. There is also Bam Bam Hansmeyer and dont forget Carla Berube. Hopefully it doesnt happen anytime soon!

 

[Paesano]

Geno needs to hang on for 6 more years. My son will be graduating from UConn then after having been on the practice squad for his four years at UConn. Then Geno can try to convince him to take over the team instead of heading to med school. Those are my two retirement plan options.

 

[Wbbfan1]

IF Shea is going to be Geno's replacement, I would prefer she leave and get head coaching experience at an up and coming program. I would like to see how successful she is at recruiting Top 50 players. Doesn't have to get the Elite players that UConn normally attracts, but has to improve the recruiting from previous head coaches. I would also like to see how she takes advantage of the players she inherits and recruits. Two or more years of head coaching experience would be ideal. Then come back and take over UConn.

If Shea left, I would like to see Sue Bird be her replacement if she has the coaching bug. She seems to have the correct temperament and could handle the demands of the program. I'm not sure if DT would be able to.

Geno will retire someday. We don't know when it'll happen or why. Thankfully, he's been in good health thus far (KNOCK WOOD), and has said that he'll keep coaching as long as he enjoys it. Garry Blair is the HC of A&M after all, and he's 71 years old. So there's that example.

As I said, we simply won't know when it'll be time for him to move on, but the great news is that he's going to leave the program in a great condition if at all possible. The question of who will be the next HC of UConn WCBB tends to be endless and repetitive, but it will be a job more prospects will have interest in. It's a great brand with great tradition and facilities.

I just hope Shea sticks around and that she'll be truly ready. Otherwise, I think the succession goes outside of the UConn family. I don't think it'll be CD, and no alumna other than Shea has anything like the requisite coaching experience.

 

[cbraarj]

Some interesting candidates, I'll put in my two cents.

Swin would succeed at anything she wanted to do. I'd be happy with that pick.

Asjha Jones as a player reminds me of Tim Duncan, the big fundamental. I don't know a lot about her interests other than as a player.

Jamelle Elliott's performance at Cincinnati doesn't put her in the running.

Tonya Cardoza is an excellent bench coach and developer of talent. I question her as a recruiter.

Marisa Moseley, obviously a strong choice but I think she's a step behind Shea as the current assistants go.

Tamika Williams is another excellent possibility. All the different pieces of the background are there.

Willnett Crockett is one of my all time favorites, but not sure what would put her over Tonya Cardoza.

IMO Jamelle ended up with a team that had a lot of injuries to key players while she has been Head Coach at Cincinati. Also the school brought her in because of her Connecticut Pedigree and thought that would be enough to turn around the program but in reality didnt give her the whole support she needed after her hiring. Her kids play hard for her all the time just like she did as a player. IMO she was the right coach at the wrong school at the wrong time.

 

[Vowelguy]

34 previous posts and not one black coach mentioned as a possible successor save Maya hanging around for a year or two. Understandably, we have our preferences, but let's open up the possibility.

If Jamelle or Tonya had great success at their schools they'd certainly be in contention.

 

[Vowelguy]

IThere is also Bam Bam Hansmeyer

Hansmeyer has been out of coaching to my knowledge since she left Oklahoma several years ago.

 

[MJL243]

View attachment 15272

Now that Jen Rizzotti is at a college with a legitimate wbb program, it will be interesting to see how she does. If she can turn GW into a perennial top twenty team, with a few trips to the elite eight or the (hopefully) final four, I think that would make her the frontrunner to replace Geno.

 

[VAUConnFan]

If Jamelle or Tonya had great success at their schools they'd certainly be in contention.

But the thing is, none of the other candidates mentioned in this thread have had any success anywhere. Some have never even coached even as an assistant. There are any number of professional coaches who kicked around unsuccessfully until finally landing in an ideal spot.

 

[Vowelguy]

Some have never even coached even as an assistant.

Any suggestion of someone with no coaching experience is not even worthy of consideration.

 

[VAUConnFan]

Now that Jen Rizzotti is at a college with a legitimate wbb program, it will be interesting to see how she does. If she can turn GW into a perennial top twenty team, with a few trips to the elite eight or the (hopefully) final four, I think that would make her the frontrunner to replace Geno.

Elite Eight is asking a lot for an A-10 program. If GW gets that far within Coach Rizzotti's first five years, she becomes a legend at GW with a better than legitimate shot at taking over at her alma mater.

 

[VA Huskie]

What about a top coach from an established program that's not at the top 10 level yet? None come to mind at the moment, but I'm sure some of you can think of a few names. Someone like Princeton's coach? UCLA's?