A FEW UCONN QUESTIONS FROM A GUEST

[triaddukefan]

Thanks all for the input.

In regards to Krista Gross, UConn did not start recruiting Gross until late. The coaching staff started recruiting Gross and Georgia's Jasmine Hassell after striking out on all their initial recruiting targets except for Kelly Faris. I don't think the UConn coaches expected Gross to be a star or even a starter, but she had qualities that UConn typically looks for.

Thanks for the info on this. I didnt follow non Duke recruiting that much back then, and am always curious when out of state powers recruit NC kids.

 

[triaddukefan]

2) Yes, I was at the Greensboro regional. Nice venue.

Of course Im biased, but it is a great place for basketball, and its the most unique facility of its kind in the country. This area really supports college basketball, and I do hope that we get to host another regional in the very near future. There was a thought a few years ago that we would try to get a women's final 4 here, but that didnt work out, and not sure if they will ever try again.

 

[EricSD]

Geno's chief issue with CT high school basketball was the rule that high school coaches were prevented from working with players when school was not in session - the summer months. He said it was a big issue in Connecticut players' development. Geno said this a number of years ago so I have no idea whether that rule remains active or not.

i did not know that. wasn't there something about the shot clock too? IIRC there isn't one in Connecticut so teams can just dribble around forever and it doesn't really force kids to play the game at a faster pace which also hampers development? i thought i read that somewhere but who knows...!!

 

[Dairyair]

i did not know that. wasn't there something about the shot clock too? IIRC there isn't one in Connecticut so teams can just dribble around forever and it doesn't really force kids to play the game at a faster pace which also hampers development? i thought i read that somewhere but who knows...!!

I seem to recall that Geno didn't like the fact that they played quarters rather than halves, but don't remember his beef with this. I also don't think it was just CT HS players.

 

[LesMis89]

i did not know that. wasn't there something about the shot clock too? IIRC there isn't one in Connecticut so teams can just dribble around forever and it doesn't really force kids to play the game at a faster pace which also hampers development? i thought i read that somewhere but who knows...!!

I remember that he mentioned it during a Geno show in reference to Maria Conlon's recruitment. (That tells you how long ago it was.) It stuck in my brain because I hadn't know about that rule either. He was answering a question about why he didn't recruit more CT players and his response was that this rule really impacted their development so players like Maria were going to be rare.

 

[VAUConnFan]

I seem to recall that Geno didn't like the fact that they played quarters rather than halves, but don't remember his beef with this. I also don't think it was just CT HS players.

I thought all high schools played 8 minute quarters. Has that changed?

 

[Dairyair]

I thought all high schools played 8 minute quarters. Has that changed?

As far as I know, you're correct. And I think for some reason Geno didn't like it. Like I said, can't remember why. Of course, with my memory, I could be completely off base!

 

[DaddyChoc]

the shotclock (or lack there of) is one of his gripes... wants the kids to play under pressure, quick thinkers etc.

and the limited number of "out of state" games they can play in a season

 

[Icebear]

the shotclock (or lack there of) is one of his gripes... wants the kids to play under pressure, quick thinkers etc.

and the limited number of "out of state" games they can play in a season

DC, you're correct these were two of the issues.

 

[UcMiami]

Thanks for the responses re CT basketball issue that I brought up - I knew I had heard him discuss something about CT rules stunting player development, just could remember the details. With the responses, I think what I remember was the out of season coaching, out of state games, and the shot clock.
He just thought the CT HS state rules were unfair to talented kids.
On CT players - didn't one of Sue's parents live in CT - I know she played in NY, but I thought one of her parents was living down on the coast?

 

[triaddukefan]

A few more questions.

I vaguely remember an incident between Coach Geno and a Rutgers player in maybe the mid 2000's...... and I do recall the Tenn coach bringing up accusations towards UCONN in terms of recruiting about the same time frame...

but 1) When were these the two moments that fueled the UCONN-TENN hatred... and the UCONN-RU hatred and 2) What teams did you guys hate/dislike before those rivalries really became bitter.

 

[VAUConnFan]

1) What do you guys remember about the Krista Gross recruitment? I remember her in high school, and I think she chose UNC over UCONN & Stanford. She has been nothing more then a role player at UNC...... I expected alot more for a player recruited by UCONN and Stanford.

2) Did any of the boneyarders attend the 2008 Regionals in Greensboro?

3) Do you guys get tired of winning the Big East every year, and get tired of going to the Final Four about every year?

4) How many UCONN players actually are from the state of Connecticut.... at least since 2000.

5) Do you love the UCONN men and women equally.... or are you more of a fan of the women's team?

1. Absolutely nothing.
2. Yes, I was there for the regionals in Greensboro; Left midway through the second half of the Elite Eight game when it appeared that it just was not UConn's night and that rutgers would take it. There was a play that about summed it up when Maya made a steal and could not get a handle on the ball and just flubbed an an easy layup out of bounds. UConn really did not play very well against Rutgers. Fortunately, Rutgers went ice cold.
3. Notre Dame won the Big East regular season this past season. With all the very good teams in the Big East, it is not all that competitive at the top.
4. Very, very few, and none of the top players. Coach Auriemma has major issues with the way basketball is handled at the high school and AAU levels throughout New England.
5. I Have always liked the men since Bob Staak transferred from St. Johns. I follow the women more closely becasue I would really like to see the women's game grow in popularity and in competitiveness. Many feel that the game grows with compelling teams. I feel that the game grows with compelling players. UConn has had the games's most popular player and two of the game's most compelling. Maybe Breanna Stewart, if she is all that, can add another compelling dimension to the women's game. She seems to have already changed the attitudes of some of the dunk haters here on the Boneyard.

 

[alexrgct]

There were some local rivalries like BC when they were in the same conference, but UConn-Tennessee got heated pretty quickly. Consider:

• 1991- Tennessee wins its third NC in five years and establishes itself firmly as the gold standard in WBB. Coincidentally, UConn makes its first Final Four this same year, though the teams were on opposite sides of the draw and don't play.
• 1995- Pat agrees to play UConn at Gampel. It's pretty much an ambush. In front of an extremely rowdy crowd, UConn beats #1 Tennessee to reach the #1 ranking for the first time. Later that season, the Huskies would beat the LVs again for its first NC. Also of note from 1995: Geno's five best players included four New England girls and Jamelle Eliott from DC. Pat still has free reign on the recruiting front, and her 1995 recruiting class includes one Chamique Holdsclaw from Christ The King. Subsequently, it becomes harder and harder for Tennessee to recruit New York, while UConn gets a number of prized recruits from the Empire State (including Tina Charles and Sue Bird, also out of CTK).
• 1996- The LVs strike back! After losing in the regular season to UConn, they win a tough overtime game in the national semis en route to winning the NC. A notable 1996 recruiting note: Geno scores the commitment of Shea Ralph, his second national #1 in three years and daughter of a Tar Heel who was friends with Pat Summitt.
• 1997- After struggling with maturity issues, experience, and an injury to Kelly Jolly, the LVs come back from a ten-loss regular/SEC tourney season to win a second straight NC, beating UConn in the process in the Elite Eight round.
• 1998-With a great freshman class that includes Tamika Catchings added to the previous year's NC team, the LVs three-peat, going undefeated in the process. UConn's season effectively ends in disappointing fashion when senior Nykesha Sales goes down. Recruiting note: Geno pulls in the mother lode TASSK recruiting class, getting committments from kids in NYC, NJ, Ohio, Western PA, and Colorado.
• 2000- After both UConn and Tennessee suffer disappointing losses in the 1999 tourney, both teams make a run to the NC game, the first time the teams would meet in the title game since 1995. UConn and Tennessee split two regular season matchups, but UConn ambushes Tennessee with a blitzkrieg of backdoor cuts while Kelly Schumacher has by far her best game in a UConn uniform, blocking seemingly everything in sight. All of a sudden, UConn, after losing some of the momentum from 1995, has some serious mojo heading into the 21st Century. This momentum is bolstered with the arrival of Diana Taurasi from California, Geno's fourth national #1 in seven years.
• 2002- injuries derail both UConn and Tennessee in 2001, but 2002 represents the culmination of everything Geno has been building. UConn goes 39-0, including absolutely eviscerating Tennessee in the national semis (after the 15 point win in Knoxville during the regular season that was notable for D's "punch something orange" comment). Another stellar recruiting class makes its way to Storrs, including another national #1 in Ann Strother from Colorado. By the way, Tennessee is still recruiting well during this period, but I'm accentuating UConn to demonstrate how Geno's national reach is starting to more than even the playing field.
• 2003 and 2004- UConn wins two more NCs, beating Tennessee twice in the national championship game. UConn is now only 5-6 vis a vis the LVs in NCs, is 4-0 in NC games against the LVs, and has absolutely cost the LVs dearly. Geno's and Pat's personal styles couldn't be more different, and that adds to some of the tension that is boiling up to the surface.
• 2005 and 2006- both programs are still good but down a bit from the first half of the decade. Tennessee earns a small measure of revenge by winning two consecutive regular season meetings between the two teams.
• 2007- Tennessee wins a seventh national championship, but the big story from a UConn-Tennessee rivalry perspective involves the recruitment of Maya Moore. And no matter what anyone wants to claim happened or didn't happen, I will always believe what firmly got Pat's goat was that UConn was able to pull a kid from the last remaining region where Tennessee had an absolute stranglehold in recruiting. At this point, Pat realizes she can't stop UConn from expanding its reach, but she damn sure isn't going to help the Huskies by playing the annual game, which is promptly discontinued.

The rivalries prior to UConn-Tennessee don't really compare. UConn-Baylor, UConn-Stanford, and UConn-ND, all have the possibility of some staying power, but it will take years for any of them to be what UConn-Tennessee was.

 

[VAUConnFan]

A few more

6) Does UCONN sports have an app so that you can follow along/keep up with things on your phone? I have the GoDuke app on my phone..... allows me to keep up with the sports news.... watch interviews and highlights, and some games (after the fact).

7) Who would you root for if Tennessee played Boston College ? Rutgers vs BC ?

8) Is it really that hard to get to Storrs? Ive been through Connecticut once.... and it seemed like all the main cities were really close together (it is a small state).

6. I have no idea.
7. I have always been a Tennessee fan, so unless they are playing UConn, it is Tennessee.
I always root for Coach Stringer even if I am rooting for UConn to beat her team, so Rutgers vs BC is an easy choice.
8. My one and only trip to Storrs for Maya's last game at UConn via Metro North to New Haven and a Hertz rental car took forever.

 

[VAUConnFan]

A few more questions.

I vaguely remember an incident between Coach Geno and a Rutgers player in maybe the mid 2000's...... and I do recall the Tenn coach bringing up accusations towards UCONN in terms of recruiting about the same time frame...

but 1) When were these the two moments that fueled the UCONN-TENN hatred... and the UCONN-RU hatred and 2) What teams did you guys hate/dislike before those rivalries really became bitter.

I have not liked Notre Dame since they went for the tie back in 1966. Otherwise, I have no hatred for any player, coach, or team.

 

[UcMiami]

On your new questions:
There was an issue between Geno and Cappie in a game at Rutgers that got blown way out of proportion and finally disolved into nothingness - Geno and Cappie were and I think are friendly. But
1. The rivalry started when CViv said she was going to turn Rutgers into the 'Jewel of the East' or something, and then started playing some pretty thug like defenses against Uconn. It has mellowed a bit since they had their few years of really good teams. For TN - the rivalry started way earlier when they had what we wanted - 1995 was the first win for Uconn and the beginning of a number of years of home and homes. It was pretty heated from the beginning as the two programs pretty well dominated, but was generally pretty cordial. I think it became a nastier thing from 2001/2 on when Uconn really dominated and then really blew up with the nastiness of the accusations re Maya.
2. There really haven't been any other true grudge match rivalries - there was nastiness with Syracuse over another player/coach interaction and some thuggie behavior, but they just have never been good enough. ND, eh, good rivalry, but no real nastiness. Duke - we have had some fun back and forth. Stanford, same. The turncoat (ACC transfer) up north - meh.
Before 1995 Uconn wasn't all that good and the fan base was much smaller so mostly we were just happy to be winning more games than we lost. From 1995 on, there really was only TN.

 

[Dairyair]

There were some local rivalries like BC when they were in the same conference, but UConn-Tennessee got heated pretty quickly. Consider:

• 1991- Tennessee wins its third NC in five years and establishes itself firmly as the gold standard in WBB. Coincidentally, UConn makes its first Final Four this same year, though the teams were on opposite sides of the draw and don't play.
• 1995- Pat agrees to play UConn at Gampel. It's pretty much an ambush. In front of an extremely rowdy crowd, UConn beats #1 Tennessee to reach the #1 ranking for the first time. Later that season, the Huskies would beat the LVs again for its first NC. Also of note from 1995: Geno's five best players included four New England girls and Jamelle Eliott from DC. Pat still has free reign on the recruiting front, and her 1995 recruiting class includes one Chamique Holdsclaw from Christ The King. Subsequently, it becomes harder and harder for Tennessee to recruit New York, while UConn gets a number of prized recruits from the Empire State (including Tina Charles and Sue Bird, also out of CTK).
• 1996- The LVs strike back! After losing in the regular season to UConn, they win a tough overtime game in the national semis en route to winning the NC. A notable 1996 recruiting note: Geno scores the commitment of Shea Ralph, his second national #1 in three years and daughter of a Tar Heel who was friends with Pat Summitt.
• 1997- After struggling with maturity issues, experience, and an injury to Kelly Jolly, the LVs come back from a ten-loss regular/SEC tourney season to win a second straight NC, beating UConn in the process in the Elite Eight round.
• 1998-With a great freshman class that includes Tamika Catchings added to the previous year's NC team, the LVs three-peat, going undefeated in the process. UConn's season effectively ends in disappointing fashion when senior Nykesha Sales goes down. Recruiting note: Geno pulls in the mother lode TASSK recruiting class, getting committments from kids in NYC, NJ, Ohio, Western PA, and Colorado.
• 2000- After both UConn and Tennessee suffer disappointing losses in the 1999 tourney, both teams make a run to the NC game, the first time the teams would meet in the title game since 1995. UConn and Tennessee split two regular season matchups, but UConn ambushes Tennessee with a blitzkrieg of backdoor cuts while Kelly Schumacher has by far her best game in a UConn uniform, blocking seemingly everything in sight. All of a sudden, UConn, after losing some of the momentum from 1995, has some serious mojo heading into the 21st Century. This momentum is bolstered with the arrival of Diana Taurasi from California, Geno's fourth national #1 in seven years.
• 2002- injuries derail both UConn and Tennessee in 2001, but 2002 represents the culmination of everything Geno has been building. UConn goes 39-0, including absolutely eviscerating Tennessee in the national semis (after the 15 point win in Knoxville during the regular season that was notable for D's "punch something orange" comment). Another stellar recruiting class makes its way to Storrs, including another national #1 in Ann Strother from Colorado. By the way, Tennessee is still recruiting well during this period, but I'm accentuating UConn to demonstrate how Geno's national reach is starting to more than even the playing field.
• 2003 and 2004- UConn wins two more NCs, beating Tennessee twice in the national championship game. UConn is now only 5-6 vis a vis the LVs in NCs, is 4-0 in NC games against the LVs, and has absolutely cost the LVs dearly. Geno's and Pat's personal styles couldn't be more different, and that adds to some of the tension that is boiling up to the surface.
• 2005 and 2006- both programs are still good but down a bit from the first half of the decade. Tennessee earns a small measure of revenge by winning two consecutive regular season meetings between the two teams.
• 2007- Tennessee wins a seventh national championship, but the big story from a UConn-Tennessee rivalry perspective involves the recruitment of Maya Moore. And no matter what anyone wants to claim happened or didn't happen, I will always believe what firmly got Pat's goat was that UConn was able to pull a kid from the last remaining region where Tennessee had an absolute stranglehold in recruiting. At this point, Pat realizes she can't stop UConn from expanding its reach, but she damn sure isn't going to help the Huskies by playing the annual game, which is promptly discontinued.

The rivalries prior to UConn-Tennessee don't really compare. UConn-Baylor, UConn-Stanford, and UConn-ND, all have the possibility of some staying power, but it will take years for any of them to be what UConn-Tennessee was.

Great, concise recap, Alex!

 

[Kibitzer]

Great, concise recap, Alex!

 

[UcMiami]

Alex - great history lesson!!!
As far as:
8) Is it really that hard to get to Storrs? Ive been through Connecticut once.... and it seemed like all the main cities were really close together (it is a small state).
For me it is damn easy - out the driveway and a ten minute walk to campus. For others, not so much! On non game days it is about 10-15 minutes off the highway on two lane roads. On game days that can double or triple coming and leaving after the game is bumper to bumper until the highway.
Uconn started as a state ag college and like most other state colleges they basically put a pin in the map in the center of the state and built a school/farm.
They started building a Hartford to Providence highway (Rte 384) 30+ years ago but only ever bought some of the land and built two sections of the roadway - one stops about 10 miles from campus (about the same distance as Rte 84) and another 5 mile stretch further east (around Willimantic.) At this point I suspect nothing more will be built.

 

[UConnCat]

A few more questions.

I vaguely remember an incident between Coach Geno and a Rutgers player in maybe the mid 2000's...... and I do recall the Tenn coach bringing up accusations towards UCONN in terms of recruiting about the same time frame...

The incident was in 2005 and involved Geno and Cappie although backstory really involved Rutgers player Matee Ajavon. The game was at the XL center and Ajavon was talking trash the entire game. Most of Ajavon's words were directed at Ann Strother and involved the unfortunate Rick Lopez situation. With just under 4 mins left in the game (UConn was up double digits) Charde Houston was shooting FTs and Ajavon was running her mouth at Charde. By then Geno had enough and told referee Dennis DeMayo "you need to tell her [Ajavon] to shut the hell up." That's all he said as quoted by the BE's Barb Jacobs who was courtside. Cappie thought Geno was talking to her or about her and proceeded to flip Geno the bird. Geno responded by pointing to the scoreboard. At the end of the game in the handshake line Cappie pointed her finger in Geno's chest and said something that stunned Geno. Stringer, clueless to what happened by her own admission and no stranger to hyperbole, chose to throw gasoline on the fire by accusing Geno of saying something that was ``unbecoming a coach to any player, at any time, anywhere.'' It was later reported that Rutgers AD Mulcahy told Stringer that Geno used profane language which in this case was "hell." The BE investigated, Geno was exonerated, Mulcahy apologized, Geno and Cappie are fine and Geno and CViv are fine.

 

[Bestiarius]

Great, concise recap, Alex!

Yes Alex A++. Fantastic piece of writing. If I was editor of Sports Illustrated, I'd be offering you a job!

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

Krista Gross is one of the few players in recent years to turn down Stanford (players have to be admitted to the school academically before an official basketball scholarship offer can be extended).

The other was Skylar Diggins.

 

[VAUConnFan]

Krista Gross is one of the few players in recent years to turn down Stanford (players have to be admitted to the school academically before an official basketball scholarship offer can be extended).

The other was Skylar Diggins.

If recent is an operative word, then Sue Bird id not on this list, but she definitley got accepted to Stanford.

 

[Kibitzer]

If recent is an operative word, then Sue Bird id not on this list, but she definitley got accepted to Stanford.

I guess being a Bird is one thing, becoming a Cardinal is another.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

If recent is an operative word, then Sue Bird id not on this list, but she definitley got accepted to Stanford.

I was thinking 2008 onward when I said "recent."

Was not aware that Bird was admitted to Stanford. As I recall, Kara Lawson admitted as well, so that would have been another player to turn down the Cardinal from yesteryear.

 

[EricSD]

The incident was in 2005 and involved Geno and Cappie although backstory really involved Rutgers player Matee Ajavon. The game was at the XL center and Ajavon was talking trash the entire game. Most of Ajavon's words were directed at Ann Strother and involved the unfortunate Rick Lopez situation. With just under 4 mins left in the game (UConn was up double digits) Charde Houston was shooting FTs and Ajavon was running her mouth at Charde. By then Geno had enough and told referee Dennis DeMayo "you need to tell her [Ajavon] to shut the hell up." That's all he said as quoted by the BE's Barb Jacobs who was courtside. Cappie thought Geno was talking to her or about her and proceeded to flip Geno the bird. Geno responded by pointing to the scoreboard. At the end of the game in the handshake line Cappie pointed her finger in Geno's chest and said something that stunned Geno. Stringer, clueless to what happened by her own admission and no stranger to hyperbole, chose to throw gasoline on the fire by accusing Geno of saying something that was ``unbecoming a coach to any player, at any time, anywhere.'' It was later reported that Rutgers AD Mulcahy told Stringer that Geno used profane language which in this case was "hell." The BE investigated, Geno was exonerated, Mulcahy apologized, Geno and Cappie are fine and Geno and CViv are fine.

I did not know that entire story Cat. Thanks for summarizing it. I had no idea Matee was such a thug. To be riding Ann for the disgusting actions of Lopez was completely classless and bush league. I can see, in the heat of the game, where Cappie would get all fired up thinking Geno was talking about her to the ref. Makes me lose a lot of respect for Matee.

 

[pinotbear]

..and, C Viv gets riled up about what Geno didn't say to Cappie, and says nothing about what Ajavon did say to Strother. And, does so to the media: and, doesn't apologize about it when she was completely wrong. This is why I wasn't gonna write a tuition check to Rutgers.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

..and, C Viv gets riled up about what Geno didn't say to Cappie, and says nothing about what Ajavon did say to Strother. And, does so to the media: and, doesn't apologize about it when she was completely wrong. This is why I wasn't gonna write a tuition check to Rutgers.

To the best of my knowledge, it was always Charde that Ajavon was riding. I got this from someone who ought to know, apparently she was riding the "your mother wears army boots" in whatever way this is said nowadays. Charde took it personally, got upset and it affected her game. Whether any of it was intended personally, I have no idea.

Matee was a serious trash talker and my least favorite RU "star". OTH, I always heard her trash talking was star quality stuff, but never personal. Perhaps she screwed up this time.

 

[UConnCat]

..and, C Viv gets riled up about what Geno didn't say to Cappie, and says nothing about what Ajavon did say to Strother. And, does so to the media: and, doesn't apologize about it when she was completely wrong. This is why I wasn't gonna write a tuition check to Rutgers.

Geno and the program really didn't want to go down the road of what Ajavon said and to whom and I'm sure didn't want Stringer to go there publicly either. Geno never mentioned Ajavon by name, saying only that Stringer knew "zero" about what happened and that it involved "one of her other players" and not Cappie. The UConn program circled the wagons around Annie during this difficult time and never mentioned one word about the Lopez situation. Ajavon was (is?) a known trash-talker but that night she took it to a new low.

 

[UConnCat]

To the best of my knowledge, it was always Charde that Ajavon was riding. I got this from someone who ought to know, apparently she was riding the "your mother wears army boots" in whatever way this is said nowadays. Charde took it personally, got upset and it affected her game. Whether any of it was intended personally, I have no idea.

Matee was a serious trash talker and my least favorite RU "star". OTH, I always heard her trash talking was star quality stuff, but never personal. Perhaps she screwed up this time.

Charde was definitely on the receiving end that night, including at the end of the game when Geno asked DeMayo to step in. But comments were also directed at Strother as well.