You know, I get what you're trying to say. Of course, Geno is a tenacious coach who does everything to win, including paying attention to the smallest detail. The notion that he wouldn't be all-in for this season is just- well, it's not Geno. Indeed, he has said in the past that this will be an exciting challenge. I think he's going to get more enjoyment from coaching this team, which is not a shoe-in for either the NC or a FF, than he has in coaching UConn teams for many years.
But this is shaping up as a very unusual season, a Strange Interlude. We are coming off a historic four-straight national championships. And he's riding a major winning streak and nine straight Final Fours. But he's looking at the weakest front court in many years. He lost the top three players in women's basketball. He doesn't have a set starting five.
But on the bench, but unavailable, are two players who are potentially first-team All-Americans- Camara and Stevens. They will be available next year, as will be the #1 high school player in the nation. Next year every player but one will be back. So it must feel strange to both the coaches and the players knowing that this year will be an oddity. They're playing in uncertainty, though next year they will be the odds-on favorite for a national championship, if not two championships in a row.
When Diana left, UConn dropped sharply, and there was no hope on the horizon for, what, three years? And after Tina Charles showed up, she was still just one major star on the team. Only the following year when Maya arrived did UConn begin to look like the world-beater that it would become, and remain, for years to come.
So I understand that this season could look like a Strange Interlude. As to just punting till next year, just not in either Geno's or this team's DNA. They're fighters, they're winners.
