Xavier Postgame Presser

[Performance]

I think the Providence men's coach said it best after they were beat by the Uconn Men. UCONN fans on both sides are spoiled

 

[maple]

I think you missed the point I was making, which is that players this year were forced to take on roles they were not expecting to be in. Had they been able to play the “expected” roles the team would have struggled less overall does the stretch.

 

[luminosity]

I was frustrated watching the Xavier game last night because there were plenty of times where players were hell bent on going straight ahead rather than making one extra pass to someone who was open. Look, I love AE and she's been great this year but there were a few times last night where she just drove into double coverage in the paint and Ines was WIDE OPEN in the corner.

I doubt Geno wants AE to barrell inside without considering the pass out to a guard. Dorka does the same thing when she will just drive into double or even triple coverage rather than making the extra pass.

It's like players decide to make a certain pass or play and just commits to it without considering the defensive adjustment or what has changed in that particular play. So many turnovers come as the result of trying to force a pass somewhere.

I'm sure that's what Geno is talking about when he talks about his coaching staff (and him) not properly teaching fundamentals to this team and I'm sure it drives him INSANE because these turnovers are all unforced errors not caused by the defense but because the team isn't reading what is being given to them.

 

[hoopsfan22]

 

[oldhusky]

We sometimes debate what being a good "fan" is. I think sometimes it is similar to how we react to our kids. We love them, cheer for them, get mad at them, and are sometimes critical of them. We all know what the term 'tough love" means and sometimes that might involve being critical of a coach or player. I don't think that would make someone less of a fan.

Most of the time we are pleased with them, happy for them, and sharing from a distance in their success. But sometimes they disappoint. Geno might be the greatest coach of his era, but neither he nor anyone else is right all the time. That includes players, coaches and fans. Our opinions may be right, wrong, or irrelevant but this forum gives us an opportunity to give that opinion, and in some cases vent a little, which I suspect can be therapeutic, at least for me! ha!

 

[hoophuskee]

It is not your role to determine who is or is not a fan. The team is exhausted, their batteries are depleted. They can not maintain peak performance over the course of the entire game. The available bench is not good enough to offer much offensive help. The two best players on the team are unavailable. I have been following the team for 30 years and this is the first time we got worse as the season progressed. I do not believe the same players who were formerly praised by Geno suddenly became selfish., a very bad choice of words.

I have been following UCONN a long time too. IMO you have taken teh worng view about "selfish." As posters have pointed out the team has players doign mroe than they otherwise were palnned to.

That's why you see for example Edwards trying some passes that you are thinkign "what is she thinking?" Or soemimes gets in th post and forces a move instead of pass and reset. And if oyu are a long time meber as you say - then cna you explain teh lats tiem UCONN had a palyer get a Technicla Foul in the manner Lou had? If you don't want to call it selfish okay but it can be thought of as that imo.

And you didn't post this but for anyone criticizing Gneo's coahcing and his use of the bench - they are wrong. And hwo nayone cna criticize him or speak of retirement after this game is mind-boggling.

 

[cancontent]

It is not your role to determine who is or is not a fan. The team is exhausted, their batteries are depleted. They can not maintain peak performance over the course of the entire game. The available bench is not good enough to offer much offensive help. The two best players on the team are unavailable. I have been following the team for 30 years and this is the first time we got worse as the season progressed. I do not believe the same players who were formerly praised by Geno suddenly became selfish., a very bad choice of words.

We sometimes debate what being a good "fan" is. I think sometimes it is similar to how we react to our kids. We love them, cheer for them, get mad at them, and are sometimes critical of them. We all know what the term 'tough love" means and sometimes that might involve being critical of a coach or player. I don't think that would make someone less of a fan.

Most of the time we are pleased with them, happy for them, and sharing from a distance in their success. But sometimes they disappoint. Geno might be the greatest coach of his era, but neither he nor anyone else is right all the time. That includes players, coaches and fans. Our opinions may be right, wrong, or irrelevant but this forum gives us an opportunity to give that opinion, and in some cases vent a little, which I suspect can be therapeutic, at least for me! ha!

Great points from pragmatic perspectives. There's a lot of emotional responses going around that is taking this thread off the rails a bit.

We have to remember people are entitled to their opinions and the goal is to discuss amicably without getting too personal. Trying to categorize what a fan is because one disagrees another's opinion isn't helping anyone.

 

[cancontent]

One of the commonplace criticisms of Geno (that I haven't shared) is that he gets players that are easy to coach. for me, most of what transpired in this post-game are things that have become ritualistic remarks about the team. I have for a long time worried that his remarks will catch up to the Program and that middle strata of players that are critical to surround the one or two elite players that are coming will go elsewhere.
This team does not have a mid-range game. It does not have 2 or 3 players who can drive, stop and shoot the mid-range jump shot. Lou and Fudd can (CD can change directions and make baskets from top of the box; Aubrey really need to develop a jump shot-- mid-range), but they would be more dangerous making 3s. The top teams all have such a game. I find it interesting that we matched-up better with SC than teams with scrappy mid-ranger players/guards. I don't think we can beat them bec we can't handle their inside game and their rotating guard play. But I'll rather play them and Stanford than Iowa, Maryland, etc,

Question - has Aaliyah not expanded her shooting range this season? She's making quite a few of these shots that you're describing are missing from what I've watched.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Question - has Aaliyah not expanded her shooting range this season? She's making quite a few of these shots that you're describing are missing from what I've watched.

When Aaliyah's on she's good for 2-3 shots from the foul line to the arc, so it was good to see her hit a couple last night. Now if we can just get her to stop throwing passes into the locker room...

 

[cancontent]

When Aaliyah's on she's good for 2-3 shots from the foul line to the arc, so it was good to see her hit a couple last night. Now if we can just get her to stop throwing passes into the locker room...

Yeah - those looked like passes Mahomes would have been throwing during the Superbowl. I'm chalking it up to being a tad more amped up after the tech on Lou.

 

[BBallF]

Wow. I have never seen him like that. A part may be trying to motivate his team but I think the larger part is just truth telling. The players are not doing what they are instructed to do. It's not fatigue, it's them and his ability to coach them. No FF with this group unless there is a radical change he says. I think we have all been wrong trying to find the magic cure, looking and waiting for Azzi like some existential play. It's them and he was very specific about the disconnect between the practices, the training, the instruction, the film review, and the players executing. How do you fix something so endemic as not listening to a HOF coach, the GOAT? I have lost a lot of respect for our players after listening to him today, assuming he is not merely motivating but actually diagnosing.

 

[Centerstream]

Wow. I have never seen him like that. A part may be trying to motivate his team but I think the larger part is just truth telling. The players are not doing what they are instructed to do. It's not fatigue, it's them and his ability to coach them. No FF with this group unless there is a radical change he says. I think we have all been wrong trying to find the magic cure, looking and waiting for Azzi like some existential play. It's them and he was very specific about the disconnect between the practices, the training, the instruction, the film review, and the players executing. How do you fix something so endemic as not listening to a HOF coach, the GOAT? I have lost a lot of respect for our players after listening to him today, assuming he is not merely motivating but actually diagnosing.

I know that Geno loves his players and appears to have a soft spot for my favorite, Caroline, but in one of the timeouts, he walked up to her on her way to the bench and he seemed pretty unhappy with what had transpired on the court. Maybe she didn't do what had been expected of her on a recent play? Anyways, I was kinda shocked. And then later, on a different timeout, he did the same thing with Aaliyah. Again, I was kinda shocked. And I believe earlier in the game he had a talk with Ayanna when she was returning to the bench after being subbed for.
Seemed like an awful lot of talking going on for the last regular season game of the season...

 

[Terrierdog]

Question - has Aaliyah not expanded her shooting range this season? She's making quite a few of these shots that you're describing are missing from what I've watched.

I was thinking the same thing! She absolutely has a mid-range jumper!

 

[OviedoFLHusky]

An ESPN article on the presser.

Auriemma critical of 'selfish' Huskies after finale

 

[Terrierdog]

Geno is not happy.

OK - I am not the most sophisticated fan in the world - I'm not an athlete, and I never played on a team - BUT - I'm trying to understand what/who Geno was talking about in his press conference remarks.

I mean - What I saw in the Xavier game last night - was: Caroline drilling some 3s from the corner, Lou playing well (as always), though not having all of her shots fall, Ayanna making some good defensive plays and grabbing some rebounds (while annoying Geno with a foul). AE did some good things and some dumb things - was it AE he was referring to when he talked about one of the "bigs" taking the ball up the floor? (When she makes a steal, is it not OK for her to lead the break?)
Also, I thought Inez looked pretty good - even though others keep harping on how awful the bench is.
I though Aubrey also did some good things.

So who are the players who are selfish and refuse to be coached? Maybe Amari? Maybe AE sometimes? Maybe Nika sometimes? Seems like it was just a week ago that Geno called Carolyn "one tough mother," and it's pretty clear how highly he regards Lou. So ... I wonder if he was just really frustrated and/or trying to send a message to the team that even if they ARE tired and banged-up, it's time to put those excuses to bed.

Please tell me what you think.

 

[Topdawg]

The comments made by Geno and by the players in their respective videos appear to be well aligned. The players feel that they could and should be doing a lot better.

At its best, Basketball is a beautiful team sport. The coordinated movement of the players and the ball complemented by precision in execution leads to the excitement that most of us experience. Much like in a music ensemble, each player could be playing their notes perfectly. If however they are not synchronized with each other, the ensuing music can be difficult to listen to. This is where we are now. If the players do not take the lead of the conductor, the ensemble gets out of sync. Coach uses the phrase “selfish”, I shall call it poor timing.

Poor timing is hurting the team in many ways. It is happening on account of mental fatigue/insufficient focus. A few examples:
1. Turnovers. A passer sends the ball to a location where the receiver is not. Or, the passer sends the ball to a location where one or more players from the opposing team can wrest possession or prevent a shot attempt. Happens more than 15 times every game.
2. Missed layups. More often than desired, players are not delivering the ball softly to the backboard or to the net. Many of these every game.
3. Defensive lapses. While one defender is hedging to slow down the ball handler, the other should be following the opposing player that is rolling. The timing of the defender to defender hand-off is critical. Also, help defense has been lacking in many situations. Happens several times every game.

We have a really good group of players. They already know what to do. They have to hold each other responsible and accountable to at least do what each of them is good at. Items 1-3 can easily bridge the gap between a few point loss and a 20 point win.

In closing, the players reiterated that their goals have not changed For this season - BE championship, Final Four, and the overall championship. They want to get back to being the team they were at the beginning of the season. I believe they can if they set their minds to it. I am looking forward to some exciting basketball in the weeks ahead!

 

[BobbyJ]

I know that Geno loves his players and appears to have a soft spot for my favorite, Caroline, but in one of the timeouts, he walked up to her on her way to the bench and he seemed pretty unhappy with what had transpired on the court. Maybe she didn't do what had been expected of her on a recent play? Anyways, I was kinda shocked. And then later, on a different timeout, he did the same thing with Aaliyah. Again, I was kinda shocked. And I believe earlier in the game he had a talk with Ayanna when she was returning to the bench after being subbed for.
Seemed like an awful lot of talking going on for the last regular season game of the season...

The talking wasn't only for the last regular season game. It was also for the upcoming games and even for down the road into next season. That's how the best coaches think. Sometimes you have to plant a lot of seeds to get some things to grow.

 

[meyers7]

So ... I wonder if he was just really frustrated and/or trying to send a message to the team that even if they ARE tired and banged-up, it's time to put those excuses to bed.

Please tell me what you think.

There you go. You got it.

 

[BRS24]

The comments made by Geno and by the players in their respective videos appear to be well aligned. The players feel that they could and should be doing a lot better.

Based on this observation, I'd like to think that what Geno said in his presser was not a surprise to the team, and perhaps he explained this in the locker room postgame, before doing the presser. If the players are echoing similar, then they'd already heard the message, as they usually are interviewed before the coach.

 

[martyn]

I think Geno knows that injuries, fatigue and just being banged up are very real factors. But he doesn't want those real factors to be an excuse for bad mental decisions or not following his plays or gameplan. Forgetting what they work on in practice, going their own way, losing focus etc. is happening way more than he thought it would, and the known issues unique to this season cannot rationalize away the bad decision making.

I also wonder if the injury produced starting five during this stretch has become easy to gameplan against. Initially I was very pleased with how they played under the circumstances, but I think teams have figured out how the play against this lineup. Even though we didn't have great perimeter shooting, we were scoring, Nika was getting her assists, Aubrey was scoring in transition and slashing to the hoop, Lou was Lou and we were getting the ball inside some too.

Then it seems like if you get back and take away the fastbreaks, you greatly reduce Nika's ability to create offense. If you pack in the defense you can limit Aaliyah and Dorka. Nika taking 3's is something the defense can live with, and defenses can encourage Aubrey to shoot from there, so all the perimeter attention and best defenders can just focus on Lou, and by the way be real physical with her. I think that gameplan is successful against us and now everybody uses it.

If we were deep we could make alterations, get more shooters out there etc., but we don't have that luxury at least until Caroline resembles last year's version, or Azzi comes back. I fear we have become much easier to gameplan against but regardless Geno knows fatigue etc. matters, but this starting group has little margin for error and can't keep making as many mistakes as they do. I think the other factors are what fate handed us, but cutting down on the mistakes is one variable he still hopes to have some control over. At least that is the way I see it.

He flatly denied fatigue is the problem. Proof it's not a problem, he said, is that the team is just fine running up and down the court. He must be mind gaming them. Forcing yourself to be physically quick doesn't in the least demonstrate absence of fatigue. The more you push yourself, in fact, the more your fatigue is going to affect you mentally. Hopefully, these four days of rest and the likelihood of Fudd's return will have a refreshing effect.

 

[Classof87]

I think Geno knows this team is going to be limited in how far theyll go in the BE and NCAA tournaments. He‘s made remarks about previous teams similar to this on how they practice something over and over again, but then the game starts and it’s like they never ran a particular play, or played a certain defense. I don’t remember them coming this late in the season, and I sure as hell don’t remember him regretting not retiring when a superstar graduated several years prior.

I sincerely hope this is just coaching fatigue and that when the season is over, and regardless of how far they got, he’ll be able to rest up and recharge his coaching batteries for next year. If Paige, Azzi, and Ice come back healthy and we aren’t cursed again with so many injuries, next year‘s team has the potential to be one of the all time great UConn teams.

Imagine a starting lineup of:
Paige
Azzi
Nika
Aaliyah
Griffin

with your bench being Ducharme, Ice, Ayanna, KK Arnold, Ashlynn Shade, and Qadance Samuels.

If they stay healthy, wow, we are a STACKED team next year.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

I think Geno knows this team is going to be limited in how far theyll go in the BE and NCAA tournaments. He‘s made remarks about previous teams similar to this on how they practice something over and over again, but then the game starts and it’s like they never ran a particular play, or played a certain defense. I don’t remember them coming this late in the season, and I sure as hell don’t remember him regretting not retiring when a superstar graduated several years prior.

I sincerely hope this is just coaching fatigue and that when the season is over, and regardless of how far they got, he’ll be able to rest up and recharge his coaching batteries for next year. If Paige, Azzi, and Ice come back healthy and we aren’t cursed again with so many injuries, next year‘s team has the potential to be one of the all time great UConn teams.

Imagine a starting lineup of:
Paige
Azzi
Nika
Aaliyah
Griffin

with your bench being Ducharme, Ice, Ayanna, KK Arnold, Ashlynn Shade, and Qadance Samuels.

If they stay healthy, wow, we are a STACKED team next year.

Geno's comment was a literal joke. He said it while laughing with reporters. Jesus this board takes things literally.

 

[Classof87]

Geno's comment was a literal joke. He said it while laughing with reporters. this board takes things literally.

There’s humorous laughter, and there’s gallows humor laughter. I’ve watched the presser twice, I don’t think he was being humorous. Just my opinion. Have you EVER heard him say something akin to his closing remark? (“I should’ve left w Stewie”)… If you have, please reply, because I’ve been watching this team since the 90’s, and I don’t remember him saying anything like that. And don’t respond with “oh I’ve heard him say it a bunch”. Be as specific as you can, please.

 

[Big D77]

I understand Geno's frustration. However, being among the best that ever coached basketball, the solution is not complicated. Their current malaise is fixable. Don't throw the 25% pass (1 out of 4 being successful) and don't take the 25% "rush down the middle shot" where all of the defenders have packed it in around the basket. The UCONN women are smart and experienced and very teachable. Sometimes, though you have to tell them, tell them again and finally, tell them what you told them.

I have compiled an interesting chart that only takes into consideration 2 numbers, raw percentage of shots made and numbers of shots at the basket. At the bottom win or loss is indicated. Three pointers and fowl shots are not considered.

You can see how after the South Carolina game they tend to play at the same level as their opponent. If its fatigue then the 4 day break should make a difference. If it is something else then coaching is the answer.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

There’s humorous laughter, and there’s gallows humor laughter. I’ve watched the presser twice, I don’t think he was being humorous. Just my opinion. Have you EVER heard him say something akin to his closing remark? (“I should’ve left w Stewie”)… If you have, please reply, because I’ve been watching this team since the 90’s, and I don’t remember him saying anything like that. And don’t respond with “oh I’ve heard him say it a bunch”. Be as specific as you can, please.

Its a joke he makes frequently the last five - ten years. Here is another example from last year: "I go to myself, 'I'm 68. Do you know what guys my age are doing?'" he added. "'They're in Florida right now playing golf, or they're on TV asking why they didn't foul, dammit. And why am I trying to do this?' Every day in practice, guys, I ask myself."
I don't feel like digging out every press conference from the last 5 years to find more examples but its not the first time I've heard it in reference to Stewie specifically.