Cal Pre-Game Interviews

[HoopsFan21]

Gabby and Lou:

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Gabby: "Just trying not to be a post player." Love it!

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Katie Lou: "I'm getting old. My knees hurt all the time." That playing defense and rebounding is brutal huh!

 

[HoopsFan21]

Here's Geno:

 

[bags27]

One extremely important, but unrecognized benefits for playing for such a high-profile team as UConn is that these kids get an enormous amount of experience talking to/interviewed by grown-ups. Most undergraduates don't develop these skills until they're out in the workforce and then it's mostly peer-to-peer. These kids have learned the skills of communicating but not saying anything that will get them in trouble.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

One extremely important, but unrecognized benefits for playing for such a high-profile team as UConn is that these kids get an enormous amount of experience talking to/interviewed by grown-ups. Most undergraduates don't develop these skills until they're out in the workforce and then it's mostly peer-to-peer. These kids have learned the skills of communicating but not saying anything that will get them in trouble.

The Insider Podcast gets into this from a somewhat different angle. The angle: UConn recruits bright, articulate people and this generation, because of social media, come in savvy and aware that they are building a brand from the get go.

 

[bags27]

And such really, really nice things Geno says about ONO. Clear it goes way beyond her basketball skills: "one of the nicest kids we've ever been involved in in recruiting...." ....like Z, not your average stick 'em in the low post and forget about them, but a complete basketball player.....

sounds like Geno feels he got precisely the 2 recruits he wanted....

and interesting things about how ONO treated recruitment differently as well as the decline of talent among the bigs....

 

[willtalk]

Another thing to consider- You hone your skills against competition. When you play on a deep high level team you get to practice against really good players everyday. Anyone who really understands sports recognizes how important practice is to the development of talent.

 

[j66kicker]

Katie Lou: "I'm getting old. My knees hurt all the time." That playing defense and rebounding is brutal huh!

Lou was already wearing the elastic knee braces all the time in high school. The human body wasn’t designed to take this much abuse. Hopefully arthritis treatment and knee replacement technology will continue to advance and she will be able to enjoy a relatively pain-free life after basketball (doesn’t sound like she will during her basketball career).

 

[HoopsFan21]

One extremely important, but unrecognized benefits for playing for such a high-profile team as UConn is that these kids get an enormous amount of experience talking to/interviewed by grown-ups. Most undergraduates don't develop these skills until they're out in the workforce and then it's mostly peer-to-peer. These kids have learned the skills of communicating but not saying anything that will get them in trouble.

Do you think this is specific to UConn WCBB players or is more of an attribute of today's 15-25 year olds in general?

 

[UConnCat]

Interesting to hear Geno talk about recruiting Olivia. It wasn't just fans who were unsure about where she was headed. I was told after her visit that Geno felt good about his chances. His instincts were right.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Interesting to hear Geno talk about recruiting Olivia. It wasn't just fans who were unsure about where she was headed. I was told after her visit that Geno felt good about his chances. His instincts were right.

I'm surprised coaches can tell. You'd think recruits and their families would be pretty good at putting on their poker faces at least enough to throw coaches off the trail.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

And such really, really nice things Geno says about ONO. Clear it goes way beyond her basketball skills: "one of the nicest kids we've ever been involved in in recruiting...." ....like Z, not your average stick 'em in the low post and forget about them, but a complete basketball player.....

sounds like Geno feels he got precisely the 2 recruits he wanted....

and interesting things about how ONO treated recruitment differently as well as the decline of talent among the bigs....

On the bigs, it may be that Volleyball is siphoning off some of the more athletic bigs. Impossible to measure though. If your big and athletic and getting pushed around is not your thing, V-ball might just be your thing.

On edit: Article on this: "When I tried to show aggression, I'd end up hurting another player or fouling out of the game." More than that, White cringed, "I hated being touched. I'm a germ freak, so a sweaty person touching me freaked me out."

Why young athletes are flocking to volleyball, not basketball, in record numbers

"Her decision to pick volleyball over basketball follows a national trend. Two years ago, for the first time, more high school girls played volleyball (432,176) than basketball (429,504), according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. In 2015-16, volleyball added another 4,133 girls to those numbers, while basketball lost 276 participants."

 

[Charliebball]

On the bigs, it may be that Volleyball is siphoning off some of the more athletic bigs. Impossible to measure though. If your big and athletic and getting pushed around is not your thing, V-ball might just be your thing.

On edit: Article on this: "When I tried to show aggression, I'd end up hurting another player or fouling out of the game." More than that, White cringed, "I hated being touched. I'm a germ freak, so a sweaty person touching me freaked me out."

Why young athletes are flocking to volleyball, not basketball, in record numbers

"Her decision to pick volleyball over basketball follows a national trend. Two years ago, for the first time, more high school girls played volleyball (432,176) than basketball (429,504), according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. In 2015-16, volleyball added another 4,133 girls to those numbers, while basketball lost 276 participants."

I can vouch for this.............my daughter's high school which has won several recent state volleyball championships had a front line of 6'4", 6'3", 6'3"..........all of them athletic and none of them wanted to play basketball.............our tallest basketball player was 5'10"...........I assume the basketball coach must be tearing his hair out..............

 

[MilfordHusky]

Katie Lou: "I'm getting old. My knees hurt all the time." That playing defense and rebounding is brutal huh!

Magnificent Maya always ices her knees. As Geno said, "Maya is like a little puppy. You can't take her anywhere without her leaving little puddles on the floor."

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Magnificent Maya always ices her knees. As Geno said, "Maya is like a little puppy. You can't take her anywhere without her leaving little puddles on the floor."

What would we do without his quips!

 

[EricLA]

What would we do without his quips!

Be very bored, for one!