Some coaches with lots of talent win more than other coaches with lots of talent! Why? Because they are simply better coaches. Do you actually believe that Cori would have come close to Geno’s record if she had been hired by UConn instead of him?
Even if those players pan out as they potentially could, no one really knows how good of a head coach Ivey will be. While possible, it is certainly not probable that ND will win a NC or even be a final four team in the next four years. UConn, on the other hand....
Talent is relative. Not all talent is created equal. And no I do not think Cori is as good a coach as Geno. I just think getting the top recruit in multiple years is not the same as Cori having one good recruiting year and expecting her to make it to win a championship. Geno has gotten the top recruit in California pretty much when he wants, Cori gets what’s left over after Stanford picks next. She gets good talent but not good enough to win a championship. I think it has nothing to do with the schools or the previous history of those schools and more to do with Cori not really been a good recruiter because she may not be relating to the recruits, my opinion.
UConn will definitely win at least 2 with Paige and Azzi. And as far as Notre Dame, I respect your opinion because you are very ahead of the game as far as knowing the women before college, but I usually, not always but usually can tell if a player is a good piece to the puzzle at least and I just didn’t see that this year. Maybe one or two seemed like keepers and that’s not enough nowadays. Also for some reason they all seemed out of shape. I watched at least 8 full games of them and they don’t look good. Saying I would keep two of them, is reaching. Nothing like the ND teams of old. I think they will be back but it’s gonna take awhile. If they get Patterson it will be the start, not the finish.
)GA has been hands down the best recruiter of his era. Although I don't think he is quite the 'God' people make him out to be, I think he is and has been one hell of a coach too.
www.courant.com
Like I said, Niele is going to do everything she can to keep Patterson in Indiana.
Niele might want to start winning some more games and getting ND into the NCAA tournament like the other 4 schools on Patterson list.
Me too. Like many other recruits that ultimately came to UConn said AFTER their reveal, they had made their mind up long before the date of their announcement. It's a good bet that Patterson knows where she's going. That's why the announcement. She just added the only 4 schools in there to add some suspense. I'm glad she's having her reveal now instead of November 8 months from now.
Maybe. While I'm sure GA really wants Patterson, the roster numbers and player versatility show that getting her would be more of a luxury than a need because of Brady in the '22 class. So he doesn't need to just fill a roster spot. He might just go with a one kid class to avoid any logjams if in '23 there was a quality, jumbo sized big just a 3 1/2 hour drive away down in Trenton, NJ that would possibly like to stay reasonably local in the Northeast.
Initials are ADR.
The other thing with Geno's coaching that stands out to me is the teaching and development of the talent he brings in. More than any other coach in WCBB he is developing their physical and mental capabilities from day one. And it shows not only with his superstar players, but also with the marginal players. He teaches the game of basketball, looks at each player, determines what their 'best' can be, and forces them toward that 'ideal' player they could be. And he is always pushing them to do more, to add more tricks to their craft, not toward the success of his current team, but toward their success in future years against more talented players. It is why good WNBA GMs are always looking for Uconn alum - because they know they will be fundamentally sound and possess high BB IQs and know how to practice and learn.IMO, what makes Geno one of the great coaches in women’s basketball isn’t his ability to draw top players, although he does, or his X’s and O’s; it’s his ability to cover up his team’s worst flaws. Yesterday’s game is a perfect example. This year’s team is not a great shooting team so Geno has emphasized defense to speed up opponents, force turnovers, and get out in transition where the Huskies are deadly. Geno said as much after the game. (See below). I never count out the Huskies for that reason.
One thing about recruiting, Geno doesn’t zero in on the highest ranked kids - he’s bypassed many. He looks for talent, desire to win, and versatility, among other things. The versatility allows players to alter their play to help Geno cover the flaws. For example someone that’s methodical and who wants only to play in the half court won’t thrive at UConn. So by recruiting versatile players, Geno has options to cover the ugly up. This, to me, is a big part of his greatness.
Nika Muhl, team defense fueled UConn women’s win over St. John’s. They’ll need more of that to advance in the postseason
Top-ranked and top-seeded UConn was up by seven with three minutes left in the first quarter of Saturday’s Big East Tournament quarterfinal when Nika Muhl started to do her thing. The freshma…
.I tend to agree that's probably the case with GA. However, I would like to see a class of two. And nothing is for certain when it comes to young kids these days in terms of changing their minds or switching programs. I'd love to have a stacked deck and let the competition play out. I know if ICE, Patterson, and ADR are that good, GA will give them playing time. And being at UCONN will undoubtedly give these kids the platform to jump to the next level unlike any other program in WCBB.Maybe. While I'm sure GA really wants Patterson, the roster numbers and player versatility show that getting her would be more of a luxury than a need because of Brady in the '22 class. So he doesn't need to just fill a roster spot. He might just go with a one kid class to avoid any logjams if in '23 there was a quality, jumbo sized big just a 3 1/2 hour drive away down in Trenton, NJ that would possibly like to stay reasonably local in the Northeast.
Dillon - yeah, I wasn't trying to be snarky about Patterson or any other recruit with my earlier posts - just pointing out that we have been a year long dark period for college recruiting, but there appears to be an end of the darkness coming soon. Seems like it would make sense with no deadline for HS kids short of six months, that they would wait a few more months. If they are already sure of what they want, fine, but if there is any doubt ...
And I’m sure that’s what GA is doing and what will happen IF Patterson picked UConn. My point is that IF she doesn’t, don’t fill the slot with just another big of less talent if he can get a top tier, really big post like ADR in the next class with two years of separation from DeBerry in ‘21. It would be a way of spacing out his inventory of 6-3+ bigs and allows room for the possible emergence of Gabriel down the road who is 6-5.
One of those ended in a loss because we got beat by a team that posed major matchup issues for us. We were good but flawed. The other ended because of how the refs called the game, period.
I thought ND, but this magazine cover is screaming UConn to me. My final verdict is UConn, sadly.
Some would say that convincing talent to come to your school actually is a talent! Why do you think all those talented players go to UConn? You are aware that no one forces them? Perhaps Cori should demonstrate (as Geno did) that she can build a program up to the point where UCLA is a Final Four threat every year. I promise you, if she does that, she will get all the talent she wants.
GA has to be the greatest recruiter of all time in WBB and probably in any sport. He is incredibly witty, quick witted, intelligent and charming.
A few other things come to mind: