A salute to the Women

[WestCoastHusky]

I am not ashamed to say I watched as many girls' games as possible. In a season full of ups and downs, our ladies provided a constant source of joy and pride each time they took the floor. Tonight was awesome. It was great to see UCONN ladies took home another national championship.

I don't care what anyone says, Geno is one of the greatest coaches ever. Those same girls won't win as many games under another coach. Coaching matters. Sure, it helps to have great players but it takes a great coach to get the best out of those great players and make them play as a team.

 

[4in16]

It is a small plus. Money & viewers count. But a much smaller plus than MCBB.

Still a bigger draw than the new BE on fs1.

 

[PcketknfNiels]

I hope there's a legit documentary at the end of Geno's run that really doesn't pull any punches and explains how the hell he dominates this hard. I'm genuinely interested in knowing what he looks for/teaches these girls that nobody else in the women's game seems to be able to do.

 

[Husky25]

She sure can. But since I turned it on at he start of the second half she's been getting schooled by a freshman. Never seen her play this bad before.

Jefferson has been our best player by far. She's unstoppable.

She rolled her ankle something fierce in the first half. She had it re-taped, but was probably playing through some discomfort.

Emmett was on the stage strictly for the photo op. He said nothing and didn't handle the trophy. He is so slimy.

 

[Point6]

Could be wrong but I don't think women's hoop is going to sway anyone on CR.

It probably won't. But there is no way the university presidents of P5 leagues should ever be hear to argue that realignment isn't all about the money and/or the old boy's club as long as they leave the undisputed number 1 women's hoops program of all time on the table.

 

[storrsroars]

She sure can. But since I turned it on at he start of the second half she's been getting schooled by a freshman. Never seen her play this bad before.

Jefferson has been our best player by far. She's unstoppable.

Hell, KML didn't have her shot out of the gates, Tuck was completely off, Nurse might've been on the negative side of plus-minus and still the women win an NC by 10 points.

Jefferson is worth the price of admission. Kid has quite the motor and some great playground moves.

 

[mauconnfan]

10 NC's is pretty incredible considering Tennessee was in the way early yet Geno has made the women's world forget about the Lady Vols.

Congrats to the women another great team!

 

[HuskyNan]

It probably won't. But there is no way the university presidents of P5 leagues should ever be hear to argue that realignment isn't all about the money and/or the old boy's club as long as they leave the undisputed number 1 women's hoops program of all time on the table.

It's more than that. The women were on ESPN about 10 times and ESPN ran a series called The Geno Auriemma Project. UConn gets mentioned during other women's games; it's a constant presence on the network. As the Olympic coach, Geno is also guaranteed to get media coverage year round as his team competes in FIBA summer events.

No, women's basketball isn't a factor in CR but if a league is weighing adding one of two teams, the massive media attention and the cache of having an Olympic coach might be enough to tip the scales.

 

[junglehusky]

"What they're doing is HARD," Burke said. "Everybody else is saying it's easy. It's not easy."

 

[CL82]

It's more than that. The women were on ESPN about 10 times and ESPN ran a series called The Geno Auriemma Project. UConn gets mentioned during other women's games; it's a constant presence on the network. As the Olympic coach, Geno is also guaranteed to get media coverage year round as his team competes in FIBA summer events.

No, women's basketball isn't a factor in CR but if a league is weighing adding one of two teams, the massive media attention and the cache of having an Olympic coach might be enough to tip the scales.

UConn won't get into a P5 conference based upon it's foot ball dominance or history. If it does get in it will be based on a lot of factors such as the size of the Harford/New Haven DMA (something like 30th largest and the that largest one not currently affiliated with a P5 team); the million Connecticut residents who reside in Fairfield County which is part of the NYC DMA; the very steep growth of the Connecticut academics; the state's 1.3 billion dollar investment in STEM at the university; the public awareness of UConn as a brand and demographics of the state as one of the wealthiest states in the nation. But a very big part of the attractiveness of UConn to a conference with it's own network is the ability to genrate quality, watchable product year round. This is where UConn's success over a broad range of sports is a big plus. The fact that the woman are must see tv in March and are a draw where ever they play is definitely a plus. It's not going to get us in the door as a stand alone item, but it is very important piece that is unique to Connecticut. Unique is good.

 

[Pudge]

I agree with almost all of the CL82 post above. We deliver Quality competition across many sports that cover the entire year. We don't suck in many ... like the SUNJ. Brand is rising quickly.

Therefore, I disagree with the comment above that WBB is not a factor in Conference Realignment. It just is. BUT ... a huge upgrade in our FB is far more meaningful.

Lastly, I am amazed at the misogyny & lack of PC comments by many stakeholders at UCONN and in the State of CT. Like ... if you are a Connecticut Sportswriter (and a Syracuse alumni), just STFU about how boring WBB is to you. What I see ... as someone who has watched all kinds of Sport: Auriemma's team is excellent. They run great offense and they play hard consistently. I saw ND, for periods of time, pay harder - which is a little shocking after watching other teams collapse - but UConn simply plugs away. That was not their best last night. Second, UConn WBB are skilled and athletic. (here comes the sexist remark) Sometimes ... on other teams ... I see shots or moves that are "Girls" - which portrays a level below UConn that just has not advanced to clean fundamentals or a higher grade Athleticism. Having said that (unlike many observers I've heard in the Twitter domaine), UConn is absolutely great for WBB. Auriemma forces all these Programs to strive for a higher grade of basketball. And MANY are rising ... like Ms. McGraw's Program.

 

[David 76]

For all the talk about no competition, it took Geno almost twice as long as Wooden to win 10 NCs. Some tough injuries in some of those years but someone won the other 11 NCs in between 1995 and 2015

 

[FfldCntyFan]

For all the talk about no competition, it took Geno almost twice as long as Wooden to win 10 NCs. Some tough injuries in some of those years but someone won the other 11 NCs in between 1995 and 2015

That math only works if you exclude the years prior to the first title (and even then it is 21 vs 12). Wooden was at UCLA for 28 years and won ten titles, all during his final twelve seasons. Geno has been at UConn for 30 years so it took him 7.1% longer to get to ten.

 

[David 76]

That math only works if you exclude the years prior to the first title (and even then it is 21 vs 12). Wooden was at UCLA for 28 years and won ten titles, all during his final twelve seasons. Geno has been at UConn for 30 years so it took him 7.1% longer to get to ten.

True but the era of domination is what I was referring to. Ten in 12 vs 10 in 21. Just amazing by any account. And the guy had Tennessee with Pat Summit, Baylor with Griner and ND with a series of stars, for competition. WCBB was not as competitive top to bottom but there was almost always a serious competitor for the title.

 

[BUConn10]

On the topic of whether UConn WBB would have any role in conference realignment: I have lost a great deal of hope for UConn getting into a P5 conference in the near future lately, yet one thing still shines bright for the Huskies' hopes of getting a seat at the big boys table.

"In the world of college athletics, does UConn 'matter' ?"

And the answer to that question is unequivocally, Yes. Any fans or personalities that say otherwise are either liars trying to push an agenda, or dimwits. In a world dominated by a dozen or so "haves", and and roughly 75 or so "have nots", UConn's performance over the last 25 years has shown that it does indeed matter. Women's CBB may not impress sports fans much, but ESPN covers UConn's women like they do Duke or UK men's. Our mens team has won more titles in the modern landscape than everyone else but Duke. At the end of the day, the fact that people in California know a dozen UConn men's legends, see the women covered incessantly on ESPN, and knows the name of our coaches means we matter.

There are at least 50 P5 athletic departments that have a seat at the big table simply because they got in by default, yet they tell us what WE havent dont right and why we arent in the P5, please... The fact that people know the names Geno, Calhoun, Ollie, Napier, Kemba all across the country means something, and I hope conference ADs one day realize what they are missing. On the flip side, I have no idea who the head coach of Purdue, Minnesota, Wake, FSU, Arkansas, Tennessee, etc is, their recent accomplishments or any impact players coming out of these schools.

 

[uconnfan68]

I hope there's a legit documentary at the end of Geno's run that really doesn't pull any punches and explains how the hell he dominates this hard. I'm genuinely interested in knowing what he looks for/teaches these girls that nobody else in the women's game seems to be able to do.

Quick and easy answer... he doesn't treat them like girls. They are just basketball players to him. He lets his assistants deal with any actual girl problems.

 

[PcketknfNiels]

Quick and easy answer... he doesn't treat them like girls. They are just basketball players to him. He lets his assistants deal with any actual girl problems.

I can't imagine that's the only thing he does differently, gotta be more to 10 titles than that.