Can we at least get UCONN fans to stop misinterpreting Geno's comments about coaching the 2016 team?

[EricLA]

Here's the article where Geno made his comments that people seem to keep referring to.

Geno Auriemma wouldn't have returned without Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi

A number of posters on here have said or implied that he either gave an ultimatum to the committee, told them he wouldn't coach the team if they didn't name Dee and Sue to the team, or somehow dictated to the committee that those 2 were locks and that was his final word (or some morph of any or all of those thoughts).

Here's what he said in the article from Feb 23, 2016:

“I wouldn’t be good enough as a coach to guide the team through a gold medal [at Rio 2016],” Auriemma said at the end of a three-day national team camp at the University of Connecticut on Tuesday. “I need them to help me. That’s how good they are, and that’s how smart they are. And that’s how used to winning they are. So, I wouldn’t trust myself to be able to do it without them.”

The article goes on to say how he decided to come back to coach the week of July 31, 2013, not so coincidentally the day he was at the White House with the 2013 UCONN NC team.

Auriemma said the choice did not come easy. It was the longest he had ever taken to make a decision. Unspecified NBA and U.S. leaders nudged him to come back.

On Tuesday, the three-time Olympic champions Bird and Taurasi said they had deep conversations with Auriemma to persuade him as well.

“I think he was really thinking about it and kind of seesawing,” Bird said. “There was definitely a phone conversation that happened. That was probably, in that conversation, the most honest I’ve ever been with him.”

I can understand why fans who hate Geno or UCONN would like to misconstrue what he said, but I don't understand why UCONN fans would. It was Dee and Sue who convinced him to come back - and they both knew already they would be on the 2016 Olympic team.

My point is that it was already a given that players of the caliber of Sue and Diana would indeed be on the 2016 Olympic team if the chose to be on it, and THEIR decision and the committee's decision to put them on the team had ZERO to do with Geno's influence.

Dee and Sue, along with the Olympic committee and even "unspecified NBA and US Leaders" convinced him to come back and coach the team. THEY were the ones convincing Geno to come coach, not Geno dictating to the committee in 2016 that Dee and Sue were to be on the team.

I'm not sure this will put the issue to rest, but I hope at least UCONN fans can see the difference between Sue and Dee convincing Geno to coach the team, and Geno issuing some kind of edict to the Olympic selection committee...

 

[hoophuskee]

I don't know why this is so important to you. So what if he did or didn't? Does it matter? Why shouldn't he have some sort of power to want a couple of players? I didn't see why you are getting worked up with this issue when there should be no problem Geno being an advocate for certain players - in this case maybe it was 2. Who cares if it was ultimatum or not?

 

[DaddyChoc]

hopefully this gets merged

 

[EricLA]

I don't know why this is so important to you. So what if he did or didn't? Does it matter? Why shouldn't he have some sort of power to want a couple of players? I didn't see why you are getting worked up with this issue when there should be no problem Geno being an advocate for certain players - in this case maybe it was 2. Who cares if it was ultimatum or not?

Well let's see. I'll actually answer your questions seriously even tho they seem like you are trying to insult me by being condescending.

Why is it so important to me? Mainly because some really English-challenged UCONN fans seem to struggle with reading comprehension, timelines of events, and logical/proper conclusions based on facts in evidence. Geno is the greatest coach in the history of the game, the most visible ambassador of women's hoops, and to see people try to smear him makes me a little defensive on his behalf. We all know he's not going to come out and defend himself in this - he'll let himself take the heat, and earn even more honor and respect from those who know the whole situation.

So what if he did or didn't? Yeah, so what if OJ did it or not. It isn't like anyone REALLY cared...(OK that was me being sarcastic...) We only had a 438 post thread on the subject, another 120+ one that was locked before they could get that long, and several others that are at least 100 posts long. Nothing to see here, folks - just move along...!

Does it matter? Probably as much to UCONN fans as whether or not Pat's accusations were true, or whether the 39+ page complaint against UCONN had any merit. Or whether the moderator of the Summitt was right in reporting one of our posters to the FBI. Or whether it was fair that another poster, a disabled Vet no less, was included in the 39+ page fiasco for giving out a hand made sign...

Why shouldn't he have the power to want a couple of players? He does. But some people seem to want to paint him as the Godfather of US Basketball - the Dictator or Kingpin. The head coach has input or course (along with the assistant coaches). But the committee of 5 actually votes on the players.

Why am I getting worked up with the issue? Well, this is hardly worked up, but let's for a moment assume it was you being smeared by people not knowing the whole story, misrepresenting the facts that are known, and not giving you the benefit of any doubt. It makes me sad to see some UCONN fans so clueless when it comes to understanding the facts we do know, and so ready to jump on the bandwagon of those who have blamed Geno, or worse... I don't believe the man who took our program from zero to hero deserves that from us.

Who cares if it was an ultimatum or not? I would say literally every fan of WCBB, women's basketball in general, and those who value the integrity of the Olympics. And it's a truly insane conclusion to draw, especially based on the facts as I laid them out on this particular issue. There are certainly things Geno can correctly be accused of doing (like being totally AWESOME for starters, but I digress), but issuing ultimatums to the US National Basketball Committee? Umm... No...

As for DaddyChoc's comment, all I can say is and ... merge this thread with what? It's addressing a different topic (sort of), but feel free to ignore if you prefer... Not meant as snarky, just an observation... I felt like I was addressing an issue that has been misrepresented by several people and I wanted to say it in a different and unique post... BTW, it seems one mod has already "liked" the post (oh, and apparently a "couple" of others). Sorry if it got anyone "all worked up"...

 

[Icebear]

Eric, I remember well the hesitancy he had to coaching another round. Running the UCONN program and being national coach is a huge burden to bear both in work and responsibility and Geno isn't naïve about the chatter it creates in some areas. Fortunately, he is a tough old dog and DT and Sue and others convinced him he had a strong network of support for the task.

 

[BISweet]

Here's the article where Geno made his comments that people seem to keep referring to.

Geno Auriemma wouldn't have returned without Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi

A number of posters on here have said or implied that he either gave an ultimatum to the committee, told them he wouldn't coach the team if they didn't name Dee and Sue to the team, or somehow dictated to the committee that those 2 were locks and that was his final word (or some morph of any or all of those thoughts).

Here's what he said in the article from Feb 23, 2016:

“I wouldn’t be good enough as a coach to guide the team through a gold medal [at Rio 2016],” Auriemma said at the end of a three-day national team camp at the University of Connecticut on Tuesday. “I need them to help me. That’s how good they are, and that’s how smart they are. And that’s how used to winning they are. So, I wouldn’t trust myself to be able to do it without them.”

The article goes on to say how he decided to come back to coach the week of July 31, 2013, not so coincidentally the day he was at the White House with the 2013 UCONN NC team.

Auriemma said the choice did not come easy. It was the longest he had ever taken to make a decision. Unspecified NBA and U.S. leaders nudged him to come back.

On Tuesday, the three-time Olympic champions Bird and Taurasi said they had deep conversations with Auriemma to persuade him as well.

“I think he was really thinking about it and kind of seesawing,” Bird said. “There was definitely a phone conversation that happened. That was probably, in that conversation, the most honest I’ve ever been with him.”

I can understand why fans who hate Geno or UCONN would like to misconstrue what he said, but I don't understand why UCONN fans would. It was Dee and Sue who convinced him to come back - and they both knew already they would be on the 2016 Olympic team.

My point is that it was already a given that players of the caliber of Sue and Diana would indeed be on the 2016 Olympic team if the chose to be on it, and THEIR decision and the committee's decision to put them on the team had ZERO to do with Geno's influence.

Dee and Sue, along with the Olympic committee and even "unspecified NBA and US Leaders" convinced him to come back and coach the team. THEY were the ones convincing Geno to come coach, not Geno dictating to the committee in 2016 that Dee and Sue were to be on the team.

I'm not sure this will put the issue to rest, but I hope at least UCONN fans can see the difference between Sue and Dee convincing Geno to coach the team, and Geno issuing some kind of edict to the Olympic selection committee...

Eric---I respect your posting more than most on the Boneyard. I read the original article. I admit I am a polly anna at times and see blue where others see black--but nothing in the article said to me---Geno dictates to the USA committee.
I must admit I dont always read with comprehension. Geno is a lot of things. Maybe at the new practice facility --he is allowed to dictate.
But not to the USA committee--if pushed they could have found another coach who would love to have the notoriety of being an Olympic coach--especially if they win!!.

 

[CocoHusky]

"English-challenged UCONN fans seem to struggle with reading comprehension, timelines of events, and logical/proper conclusions based on facts in evidence."

That is not condescending at all though? Please leave a little room for the imprecision of the written English and the possibility
that two reader can reach different conclusion from the same written passage.

 

[huskeynut]

It doesn't really matter if Geno's actual quotes are posted/ published.

People see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear. No actual posted quote will change that.

 

[BISweet]

Eric, I remember well the hesitancy he had to coaching another round. Running the UCONN program and being national coach is a huge burden to bear both in work and responsibility and Geno isn't naïve about the chatter it creates in some areas. Fortunately, he is a tough old dog and DT and Sue and others convinced him he had a strong network of support for the task.

Many of the negative comments came from fans of other than Uconn teams. Many of those love to hate Geno/Uconn. The rich guy and the successful guy (you can read woman there too) are more easily hated--why? Because people tend to have love hate relationships with the success of other. Geno does not have very thick skin--he does not take questioning how he coaches well (who does?), yet he and the committee have handled this negativity well.

 

[CocoHusky]

It doesn't really matter if Geno's actual quotes are posted/ published.

People see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear. No actual posted quote will change that.

"People", will always see and hear what they want. "UCONN fans" however generally tend to give Geno the most positive interpretation of any Geno quote.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

I enjoy Eric's passion for posting well thought analyses and UCONN. One can either ignore or refrain from responding to posts they do not appreciate. I will try to follow my own advice.

 

[Icebear]

Many of the negative comments came from fans of other than Uconn teams. Many of those love to hate Geno/Uconn. The rich guy and the successful guy (you can read woman there too) are more easily hated--why? Because people tend to have love hate relationships with the success of other. Geno does not have very thick skin--he does not take questioning how he coaches well (who does?), yet he and the committee have handled this negativity well.

Not so much back then because there were fewer here. But, in general, your are correct.

 

[hoophuskee]

Well let's see. I'll actually answer your questions seriously even tho they seem like you are trying to insult me by being condescending.

"...

I was NOT trying to be condescending. With your attitude or my questions I'm sort of scared to read your reply. We could be getting into an insult fest which I hope never happens. I respect your opinions on this board. Should I read your reply or are you ripping me? The only reason why I said you got all worked up" is that you worked up a new thread on Parker just because you don't want to hear a point which I felt was minor. You created a new thread from the Parker subject. You must have been "worked up" on it. Should I read your reply to me? Or are you ripping me?

 

[johnnyc]

Should I read your reply to me? Or are you ripping me?

Eric's post was not removed so that should tell you something.

 

[meyers7]

I don't know why this is so important to you. So what if he did or didn't? Does it matter? Why shouldn't he have some sort of power to want a couple of players? I didn't see why you are getting worked up with this issue when there should be no problem Geno being an advocate for certain players - in this case maybe it was 2. Who cares if it was ultimatum or not?

Mainly because it wasn't an ultimatum. Why are you inferring it was?

 

[hoophuskee]

Eric's post was not removed so that should tell you something.

It doesn't

 

[hoophuskee]

Mainly because it wasn't an ultimatum. Why are you inferring it was?

What does it matter whether it was an ultimatum or wasn't? Why does it matter why I am inferring it is or not? How is this affecting whether Parker should be on the team or not?

 

[EricLA]

What does it matter whether it was an ultimatum or wasn't? Why does it matter why I am inferring it is or not? How is this affecting whether Parker should be on the team or not?

For the record, the purpose of my original post had nothing to do with whether Parker should or shouldn't, but rather, some UCONN fans attributing what I believed was unfair and unreasonable accusations and conclusions - as I laid them out in my original post.

 

[EricLA]

I enjoy Eric's passion for posting well thought analyses and UCONN. One can either ignore or refrain from responding to posts they do not appreciate. I will try to follow my own advice.

Thanks Ozzie! Well said!