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Message: [QUOTE="Carnac, post: 3281664, member: 5798"] Geno says this every year. [B]No matter how good they are or what kind of skill set they bring with them, freshmen ARE NOT ready for the rigors and the demands of elite D-1 WCBB coming directly from high school.[/B] They find out real quick that while they were the best player on their HS team, they're not the best player on THIS team. They find that the only similarity at UConn with what they left in HS is the court is the same size, and the ball is round. New teammates, new coaches, new system, a higher level of physical condition is expected, higher expectations, there is so much to learn; in addition to learning time management. Taking college level classes for the first time, putting in your weight training time, plus team practice time, doing homework, getting enough sleep, traveling and learning to study on the road. It can be a bit over whelming. That's why most of them hit that "freshman wall" sometime in January, when it seems like whole world is caving in on them, and they're asked/expected to do more (plays/defensive assignments, etc) than they can handle. I remember what Crystal Dangerfield said early in her freshman year about 2 weeks after official practice began. She said that (paraphrasing) [B]nothing[/B] she did in high school or AAU prepared her for what she was going through and experiencing in Geno's practices. I would imagine practice for a freshman at UConn is like a 2 hour fire drill, and everyone knows where they're going and what they're doing except you. :eek: Christyn started out of necessity because Geno didn't have a lot of other "viable" options. She made the obligatory freshman mistakes along the way, but she learned from them, and moved on. [B]I follow Geno's lead.[/B] He says the average freshman takes a year to learn his system. That's why I don't expect anything from freshmen. If he doesn't, why should I/we? He's not going to put a player on the floor in crunch time until they know what they're doing and he trusts them. Gabby Williams admitted that she was NOT ready to play in the Stanford game in 2014. Geno agreed and kept her on the bench. At the beginning of her sophomore year, she said that she was ready to play, and that she now knew what she was suppose to do. She went on to have an exceptional career at UConn, became an AA and a 1st round pick in the WNBA. All things in time. :) [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach

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