Geno's Thoughts on Molly Bent & More

[Charliebball]

I have one question regarding this article.......who was the 11th player on the bench today?

The New Haven Register Blogs: Elm City to Eagleville

 

[Dennygrnn]

I have one question regarding this article..who was the 11th player on the bench today?

The New Haven Register Blogs: Elm City to Eagleville

Although I understand that the competition was weak yesterday, I still love the way Molly moves - defensively, offensively (with and without the ball) - great hustle and an understanding of the system beyond her limited time at UConn. She reminds me so much of Kelly.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Gottah say I am having a hard time reading Geno on KLS last night.

"Sometimes players like Lou, they just kind of coast through things in the exhibition season, they wait for big games to come so I just thought it was a good time to get other guys into the game and not worry about Lou."

Do we have our second Precious? Or is Geno's sarcastic wit warming up?

 

[TitleTown]

Although I understand that the competition was weak yesterday, I still love the way Molly moves - defensively, offensively (with and without the ball) - great hustle and an understanding of the system beyond her limited time at UConn. She reminds me so much of Kelly.

I agree. If Bent can develop a jump shot like Faris did, to keep defenses from sagging off her, she is going to be a real good player for UConn.

 

[jcoton56]

Even when Lou played, there seemed to be a lack of purpose. Geno hates that state of mind. All three freshmen look like they belong and they seem to have a good feel for things. Now things get harder.

 

[EricLA]

Not sure I completely comprehended Geno's comments, and usually I'm pretty good at translating "Geno-speak". Anyone want to give it a shot? See the bold section of the quote...

"If there are 20 things that you would look for in a player to be good at Connecticut there are probably 15 of them that she (Bent) doesn't do very well," Auriemma said. "The five things that she does very well are going to get her a lot of playing time. It that the case for most freshmen? Somewhat. But there is something about the way she carries herself, the way she gets herself involved in a lot of things that make you want to have her on the court at certain times. That says a lot about players that you want them on the court, there may not be times when you can afford to have her on the court but she is someone who you put them in because you feel sorry for them and 'OK, I want to keep them in the mix.'t She is very determined to be a very good player. She is a lot better player now than she was last week and will be a lot better player next week than she is today".

I'm glad she's improving and a hard worker. For those who compare her to Kelly, I think it's somewhat unfair - she's not nearly the athlete that Kelly was. And Kelly was pretty much a top 10 kid coming out of HS. And I think direct Kelly comparisons lead somewhat to unrealistic expectations for what Molly can realistically achieve. I'd be thrilled if she and Kyla had Megan Gardler type contributions to UCONN over their careers. Anything beyond that would not only be surprising and impressive, but as they say, gravy...

 

[Alydar]

I can't understand the tendency of some to want to pigeonhole players based on a couple of exhibition games.

Just because Bent's tenacious attitude on the court is reminiscent of Faris there is no basis to assume that she shares all of Kelly's attributes. Her midrange shot is one of the things that impressed the coaches. It reminds me of Bird. But just that. MJ didn't master her midrange shot till her senior year. And when you are 5'8" you can't live off drives to the basket against elite D1 teams unless you have a 30" vertical. And Molly's range extends to the arc.

Bent had the good fortune to play at Tabor, where the coach never posts box scores and where even the game recaps on the school site never mentioned the contributions of any individual player. So I have no real idea of her scoring ability other than a couple of streamed games I watched last year. Tabor played an offense similar to UConn's in that they moved the ball by passing and were always looking for a good shot. Molly scored inside and outside and also found her teammates with crisp passes.

Molly obviously has a lot to learn but teamwork isn't one of them. Team skills may never make you an AA in this day and age of "look at me" athletics but it may get you a ring or two .... or three ....

 

[JoePgh]

Not sure I completely comprehended Geno's comments, and usually I'm pretty good at translating "Geno-speak". Anyone want to give it a shot? See the bold section of the quote...

"For those who compare her to Kelly, I think it's somewhat unfair - she's not nearly the athlete that Kelly was. And Kelly was pretty much a top 10 kid coming out of HS. And I think direct Kelly comparisons lead somewhat to unrealistic expectations for what Molly can realistically achieve. I'd be thrilled if she and Kyla had Megan Gardler type contributions to UCONN over their careers. Anything beyond that would not only be surprising and impressive, but as they say, gravy...

I think that two exhibition games in a supporting role is rather thin evidence on which to draw such a sweeping conclusion. If you said, "Molly probably isn't quite the athlete that Kelly was, based on the evidence so far", I would have agreed with you.

But I think the earlier comparison to Mel Thomas was more accurate -- less athletic than Kelly but more so than Megan Gardler. I think Molly is probably a better athlete than Mel (based on thin evidence to date): bigger, faster, and seemingly stronger although we haven't really seen anything that would test her rebounding strength yet. If she ends up contributing as much as Mel, she will be an integral part of the team for the next four years.

Remember that Mel was at sea mentally in her freshman year -- the offensive scheme hadn't clicked for her yet. Molly seems to have gotten beyond that obstacle already.

 

[TitleTown]

Not sure I completely comprehended Geno's comments, and usually I'm pretty good at translating "Geno-speak". Anyone want to give it a shot? See the bold section of the quote...

I'd be thrilled if she and Kyla had Megan Gardler type contributions to UCONN over their careers. Anything beyond that would not only be surprising and impressive, but as they say, gravy...

Bent and Irwin both will put up 3 times the numbers in their freshman year than Gardler did in her senior year! Gardler averaged less than 2 points and 2 rebounds a game her senior year.

 

[BIGMAC]

Bent and Irwin both will put up 3 times the numbers in their freshman year than Gardler did in her senior year! Gardler averaged less than 2 points and 2 rebounds a game her senior year.

True, but can they adjust their hair and hit a 3 pointer all in one motion ???

 

[Fairfield Fan]

What's happened with Crystal Dangerfield? And who is Aubrey Griffin?

 

[huskyd]

Gottah say I am having a hard time reading Geno on KLS last night.

"Sometimes players like Lou, they just kind of coast through things in the exhibition season, they wait for big games to come so I just thought it was a good time to get other guys into the game and not worry about Lou."

Do we have our second Precious? Or is Geno's sarcastic wit warming up?

It's difficult to question anything Coach does because he's proven himself to be the best in his field. But, I, too, wondered about not giving Lou more court time against Pace. Last year Samuelson started slowly and got much better as time passed. I think she needs as much action early on as she can get--especially playing with the starting five. She especially needs time to work on trying different approaches to scoring (as she did vs IUP). No doubt she did something to pique Geno, or she might have played more. Hope the "lesson" was worth having his star sit for 3/4's of the game before Reality arrives.

 

[johnnyc]

there may not be times when you can afford to have her on the court but she is someone who you put them in because you feel sorry for them and 'OK, I want to keep them in the mix.'t She is very determined to be a very good player. She is a lot better player now than she was last week and will be a lot better player next week than she is today".

Maybe he means under normal circumstances he would not put a player with as little experience as Bent in certain situations.....national game....hostile crowd, etc....but would make an exception because she works so hard to improve and it would be unfair to keep her on the bench where she would not be able to test that improvement?

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Maybe he means under normal circumstances he would not put a player with as little experience as Bent in certain situations.....national game....hostile crowd, etc....but would make an exception because she works so hard to improve and it would be unfair to keep her on the bench where she would not be able to test that improvement?

I think that sometimes Geno just gets tongue tied up in his on ramblings.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Gottah say I am having a hard time reading Geno on KLS last night.

"Sometimes players like Lou, they just kind of coast through things in the exhibition season, they wait for big games to come so I just thought it was a good time to get other guys into the game and not worry about Lou."

Do we have our second Precious? Or is Geno's sarcastic wit warming up?

Geno's sarcasm is just warming up. His stuff on KLS was light hearted but sending a message. You are not playing because--you are just mailing in your play. He's right about her showing up in "real" games--count on it..
Molly does ONLY 5 out of 20 things good??? Yet he likes her on the floor???
Rocky---what is he saying?? Hard to understand his meaning..

 

[BroadwayVa]

I think that sometimes Geno just gets tongue tied up in his on ramblings.

Just one more example to prove---Geno is Human.

 

[BobbyJ]

I can't understand the tendency of some to want to pigeonhole players based on a couple of exhibition games.

Just because Bent's tenacious attitude on the court is reminiscent of Faris there is no basis to assume that she shares all of Kelly's attributes. Her midrange shot is one of the things that impressed the coaches. It reminds me of Bird. But just that. MJ didn't master her midrange shot till her senior year. And when you are 5'8" you can't live off drives to the basket against elite D1 teams unless you have a 30" vertical. And Molly's range extends to the arc.

Bent had the good fortune to play at Tabor, where the coach never posts box scores and where even the game recaps on the school site never mentioned the contributions of any individual player. So I have no real idea of her scoring ability other than a couple of streamed games I watched last year. Tabor played an offense similar to UConn's in that they moved the ball by passing and were always looking for a good shot. Molly scored inside and outside and also found her teammates with crisp passes.

Molly obviously has a lot to learn but teamwork isn't one of them. Team skills may never make you an AA in this day and age of "look at me" athletics but it may get you a ring or two .... or three ....

Bent has 4 things going for her that you rarely see in freshmen. A- she already knows the offense, not only the ball movement but the concepts. B- she's in superb condition, which means her defensive intensity will never be compromised. C- she has the mental ability that many lack to be able to constantly "take a picture" of the floor to know where everyone is to make plays quickly with very little indecision. And D- she has the best defensive footwork and instincts for a freshman that I've seen in a long, long time. IMO, she'll be a rock for this team by late in this season.

 

[Charliebball]

I'm not sure what 20 things there are to do on a basketball court but if she can play defense, pass the ball, dribble the ball, shoot the ball and rebound the ball that's good enough for me...............

 

[MilfordHusky]

I think that two exhibition games in a supporting role is rather thin evidence on which to draw such a sweeping conclusion. If you said, "Molly probably isn't quite the athlete that Kelly was, based on the evidence so far", I would have agreed with you.

But I think the earlier comparison to Mel Thomas was more accurate -- less athletic than Kelly but more so than Megan Gardler. I think Molly is probably a better athlete than Mel (based on thin evidence to date): bigger, faster, and seemingly stronger although we haven't really seen anything that would test her rebounding strength yet. If she ends up contributing as much as Mel, she will be an integral part of the team for the next four years.

Remember that Mel was at sea mentally in her freshman year -- the offensive scheme hadn't clicked for her yet. Molly seems to have gotten beyond that obstacle already.

I'd say that Molly is something like a cross between Mel and Kelly. Kelly was a superb all-around athlete who was in great physical condition. Molly is shorter and probably not quite the athlete as Kelly. Mel was a smart player who wasn't especially athletic but worked hard at things and was a stellar shooter. Molly seems more athletic than Mel but not quite the shooter. She seems more offensively oriented than Kelly. So far, I've been impressed by Molly. I agree with the notion that she was under the radar and underrated. I'm eager to see how she fares against top-25 teams.