Apparently Geno can coach, recruit and chew gum at the same time....

[DavidinNaples]

It has been widely reported Geno has been on the recruiting trail. John A. reports:

Geno said he was in 14 cities in 20 days (including Xapala, Mexico) to make connections with kids from classes ranging from 2014-17.
Geno was in Mexico to scout a FIBA Tournament that involved Canadian guard Kia Nurse, a 17-year-old from Ontario he would dearly love to have.

“I was doing my part for UConn because that was my No. 1 focus, that is my job and that is my first and foremost responsibility and I enjoyed it,” Auriemma said. “We made a lot of inroads and we got a lot done because next September I am not going to be around and I am not going to be here next September, I am going to be in Istanbul … I just wanted to make sure I made some contact with all of these kids so I got to know them personally and they got to know me so in that respect it was maybe one of the best 20 days I have spent in a long, long time.”

"Best 20 days" in not just a long time, but a "long, long" time..!! Now we can all relax and trust that Geno knows what he is doing... Go Huskies...!!

 

[winlots]

DAV: what kind of gum IS that?? Think I might git me some.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Geno's statement indicates that coaching the National Team does have an impact on recruiting and he's hoping to lessen the impact by visiting more recruits this year. Realizing that next year, he won't be able to next September Is that one of the reasons why there was only one recruit in this years class? Has he and the coaching staff recognized the problems they had and are trying to prevent them from happening again. Have to believe Geno wanted a class of more then one this year.

 

[Scotter]

Geno's statement indicates that coaching the National Team does have an impact on recruiting and he's hoping to lessen the impact by visiting more recruits this year. Realizing that next year, he won't be able to next September Is that one of the reasons why there was only one recruit in this years class? Has he and the coaching staff recognized the problems they had and are trying to prevent them from happening again. Have to believe Geno wanted a class of more then one this year.

And he probably wanted a class bigger than 1 when Kelly Faris was the only recruit and when Kennitra Johnson was the only recruit. Neither of which were impacted by national team responsibilities. Instead you might see a trend that indicates when UConn signs one of the top classes in the country 2 or 3 years in a row fewer recruits ultimately want to come to UConn from the limited pool that UConn recruits from annually.

 

[DavidinNaples]

Geno's statement indicates that coaching the National Team does have an impact on recruiting and he's hoping to lessen the impact by visiting more recruits this year. Realizing that next year, he won't be able to next September Is that one of the reasons why there was only one recruit in this years class? Has he and the coaching staff recognized the problems they had and are trying to prevent them from happening again. Have to believe Geno wanted a class of more then one this year.

wbb...respectfully disagree...
1. Coaching National Team impacts "time available" for recruiting, not Geno's "success" at recruiting. He will spend enough time with the kids he wants, it is a very small group.
2. What ""problems" did they have that they are "trying to prevent from happening again?"
3. There are often one recruit classes. They usually follow great recruiting classes, like the Stewie, Tuck, MoJeff class.....
4. Geno and UConn don't get every recruit they want. This doesn't mean there was lack of time, or not enough effort, or any other "problem"...
Go Huskies..!!

 

[meyers7]

Geno's statement indicates that coaching the National Team does have an impact on recruiting and he's hoping to lessen the impact by visiting more recruits this year. Realizing that next year, he won't be able to next September Is that one of the reasons why there was only one recruit in this years class? Has he and the coaching staff recognized the problems they had and are trying to prevent them from happening again. Have to believe Geno wanted a class of more then one this year.

I'm sure it does have an impact. Quite possibly a positive impact - NT coach, exposure, etc. But, sure, there will be a time impact on recruiting as there will be on being a father, grandfather, husband, restauranteur, wine collector, public speaker, etc. Geno is a pretty busy guy.

But looking at the 1 person classes.... KJ came in after the TASSK class. Faris came in after the Doty/Hayes/Buck/EDD class (and McCormick Xfrd in that year also as a SO). Chong comes in after the not as big, but very potent class of Stewart/Jefferson/Tuck. So it would seem the connection is not with Olympic coaching, but more with a big/gifted class the prior year.

Also the recruiting rules have just changed/are changing with regard to visits, etc. That will have a much bigger impact.

 

[UcMiami]

WBB - do we really want to be recruiting a kid whose reason for not coming to Uconn was that Geno was unavailable to visit with them in Sept 2014 because he was away coaching the National Team to gold. And the previous WC was actually during the summer not Sept like the Olympics. It is not that Geno will not get plenty of personal contact, just that he has had to adjusted the exact times of those contacts. The class that signed after the last WC was pretty solid. (understatement.)

 

[trisailin]

Just because the esteemed knowledge of The Boneyard sees a kid as a great potential recruit (whether the coaching staff gave a look or even went so far as to offer a scholarship), does NOT mean in any way that the kid would in fact be a wonderful fit. The team (both coaching staff and players) is pretty "picky" as to who they want to wear the UCONN uniform.
There have been kids that the team wanted that did not come here but I think there is ZERO evidence to support any notion the kid went elsewhere because of "lack of attention" from the coaching staff.

 

[DobbsRover2]

The yearly numbers on the UConn roster over the years are likely the result of many complex factors, and no one reason can explain why some years there is one player in a class, a situation that Geno says he prefers not to occur. On the other hand, putting another player on the roster who is not an optimal fit just to have a second body in a class is a waste of resources for everyone.

I would guess that many of the recruits interested in UConn will be watching the games and seeing a lot of Geno. And probably for some, every time Geno is looking into the camera during a game or interview, they'll be thinking he's saying, "Here's looking at you, kid."

 

[pinotbear]

I'm sure it does have an impact. Quite possibly a positive impact - NT coach, exposure, etc. But, sure, there will be a time impact on recruiting as there will be on being a father, grandfather, husband, restauranteur, wine collector, public speaker, etc. Geno is a pretty busy guy.

But looking at the 1 person classes.... KJ came in after the TASSK class. Faris came in after the Doty/Hayes/Buck/EDD class (and McCormick Xfrd in that year also as a SO). Chong comes in after the not as big, but very potent class of Stewart/Jefferson/Tuck. So it would seem the connection is not with Olympic coaching, but more with a big/gifted class the prior year.

Also the recruiting rules have just changed/are changing with regard to visits, etc. That will have a much bigger impact.

Strongly agree with this notion: that a powerful class has a suppressing effect on the following year. Heck, I even saw this at work in high school softball - if you had a powerful sophomore class of softball players, all of a sudden, talented freshmen girls were taking a hard look at tennis, lacrosse and track. And, that's without the tremendous commitment, dedication and everything else that's at stake at top-level D1 WBB, and the limited amount of playing time (compared to other sports with bigger rosters, and more players "on the field".)

It's really hard to recruit immediately behind a powerful class, not even factoring in all the other prominent coaches "reminding" the recruit just how hard it will be to win playing time over the likes of Stewart/Jefferson/Tuck/BB /etc.

 

[Wonkster]

DAV: what kind of gum IS that?? Think I might git me some.

JUICY RECRUIT.

 

[winlots]

WONK: wow....you've morphed into a virtual Red Skelton with some of your recent posts! GOOD STUFF...very clever. And, good grief! ......this is now WAY more than frightening....finding things to like and enjoy about you AND MEYERS in the same time frame....can good ole KIB be far behind ?? (have always praised and honored his service to our nation)

 

[Bestiarius]

I was dubious that Geno could do all three of those things at the same time, but James Bowman of SB Nation confirmed the one item I was concerned about when he wrote on 11/22/10 during the Georgia Tech game:

"* I was amazed to see Geno Auriemma chewing gum in the huddle with his players.He was definitely chewing something, because his mouth was moving but no words were coming out – that might be a first."