Carla Berube would have to be front runner to replace Geno

[Rowdy831]

Following Geno will be no picnic regardless of who they choose. Look at how the fans (myself included) when Geno loses a couple games, could you imagine a new person coming and the opinions? I don't know who they will pick but one requirement is they have to be from a school that at least recruits the same level of athlete as UConn.

If it is Carla or Shae I would think the results will be about the same. Both would be great coaches but to UConn fans great just might not be good enough.

 

[superjohn]

I guess UConn really blew it when they went after Calhoun, Auriemma or Hurley, all of whom showed potential but had not yet demonstrated their recruiting or coaching ability as head coach in a major conference.

Head coaches that successfully build major programs do not tend to leave them, save for their alma mater. You might get a Pitino, but not a Calhoun or Auriemma. Daley is no Pitino.

See post #28, Calhoun and Hurley were absolutely the best coaches out there UConn could get and they honed in on them and got them. They didn't focus in on alums, they hired the best coach out there in both cases. I know way less about women's basketball but my guess is Geno was the best coach out there at the time and they didn't focus in on hiring from within.

 

[todbo]

Carla has proven outstanding at recruiting (given her university's requirements) and then at developing her recruits within her conference's guidelines. I'd trust her with developing UConn into her personal model of excellence, building on what Geno would leave behind.

 

[Pharos]

Thought I'd posted something here... Hiring outside the "family" is generally a wise way.

 

[HuskyNan]

See post #28, Calhoun and Hurley were absolutely the best coaches out there UConn could get and they honed in on them and got them. They didn't focus in on alums, they hired the best coach out there in both cases. I know way less about women's basketball but my guess is Geno was the best coach out there at the time and they didn't focus in on hiring from within.

UConn didn’t care about women’s basketball back then. I interviewed Chris Gedney, UConn’s first scholarship player, and she said the coach at the time didn’t care about the team and didn’t even try to make it better. The players staged a revolt to force the coach out. Due to Title 9 scholarship requirements, UConn needed the women’s team and reluctantly fired the coach , Wanda somebody

In replacing the coach, UConn hired an assistant from University of Virginia that applied for the job , Geno, who had never been a head coach and whose intention was to use the job as a stepping stone to a men’s coaching position. He must be a great interview because he was hired. But it turns out he was pretty good at coaching women and the rest is history

UConn didn’t pursue who they thought was the best candidate, they got lucky.

On edit: After Wanda Flora left, Jean Balthazar was coach, then Geno. If you read my article linked below, once you get past Chris’s admirable bio, she talks about Geno and the team

UConnReport - Chris Gedney: A cornerstone of UConn basketball

Once upon a time, there were no crowds of 10,000, no television coverage or horde of reporters. Once upon a time, there weren't even any scholarship p

connecticut.rivals.com

 

[maple]

All I know is I want them to cast the net far and wide when it comes to a replacement. And I want it to be genuinely based on ability to coach, recruit, and win -- not based on any sentimentality or just a big name at another program. But actual proven results. I want a Danny Hurley coming in. If that's an alum, great. If not, also great.

 

[gandydancer]

CB has Uconn cred and is a proven winner. Can't think of anyone I'd rather have.

 

[Forego]

My advice is to wait until the job posting is made public. As in the past, only one person will meet the requirements.

 

[sun]

Any number of competant coaches should be able to run the UConn WBB program & be successful.
That's because the UConn brand has become much more important than the personality of any particular coach.
In part that's Geno's legacy to have made it that way.
If a coach were hired that didn't work out after the initial honeymoon period is over then their contract can very easily not be renewed.

The BE is a fairly easy conference for a new coach to develop their competitive sea legs within.
The real challenge will come if & when UConn WBB eventually joins a new athletic conference.
That would even present a challenge for Geno to be successful at this point in his coaching career considering all of the bad luck injuires that has affected the program in recent years.
There's always using the transfer portal instead of being a successful high school recruiter.

The UConn brand has become the most single important symbol of the program which should help to keep the program self-sustaining for years to come no matter who is selected as coaches in the future.
I doubt that UConn will be paying mad salary money to a new coach right off the bat. either.
I think that it will take some years & a high level of success by the new coach before that happens.

 

[diggerfoot]

See post #28, Calhoun and Hurley were absolutely the best coaches out there UConn could get and they honed in on them and got them. They didn't focus in on alums, they hired the best coach out there in both cases. I know way less about women's basketball but my guess is Geno was the best coach out there at the time and they didn't focus in on hiring from within.

Lol. No one could have known or predicted the assistant coach Auriemma would be the best head coach when they hired him. Granted, they were not in a position to hire the best head coach out there, but they could have gone after a proven head coach at least. Calhoun was the best local head coach from a local mid-major out there, did folks know that made him the best nationally from a mid-major, or equipped to duplicate mid-major success at the Big East level? Hardly, they took well informed chances.

Though this undermines your premise, that’s besides the point. Even if UConn was prestigious enough to go after a Pat Summitt for the women’s, or Bob Knight for the men’s, it turned out they were better off by not landing the Dawn Staley’s out there.

 

[superjohn]

Lol. No one could have known or predicted the assistant coach Auriemma would be the best head coach when they hired him. Granted, they were not in a position to hire the best head coach out there, but they could have gone after a proven head coach at least. Calhoun was the best local head coach from a local mid-major out there, did folks know that made him the best nationally from a mid-major, or equipped to duplicate mid-major success at the Big East level? Hardly, they took well informed chances.

Though this undermines your premise, that’s besides the point. Even if UConn was prestigious enough to go after a Pat Summitt for the women’s, or Bob Knight for the men’s, it turned out they were better off by not landing the Dawn Staley’s out there.

Absolutely Calhoun was the best option out there and he was told by Bobby Knight and other major people in basketball to take the sleeping giant job. Hurley was absolutely the best candidate out there and Calhoun was selling him on UConn out on the golf course well before he was hired. The only time they fouled it up was when Calhoun forced Ollie into being his replacement. Hiring from the family rarely is a good idea, you get the best candidate available.

 

[Brown Eyed]

Geno is not retiring soon so let’s stop all this nonsense and needless worrying about a replacement and focus on the team right now
B&C

 

[YoDore]

Do you not have a vested interested in this decision? LOL

Sir, I have no idea what you're talking about. I assure you, my intentions are pure.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Niele Ivey - a young brilliant coach who recruits really well.

boscolino- - IMHO no way Ivey leaves ND!
This is her dream job!
She played there, asst coach, and was told when Muffet retires she's the next HC!
She's thrilled with her job!

 

[NEforceUConn]

What’s y’all opinion of the UNC coach?

 

[diggerfoot]

Absolutely Calhoun was the best option out there and he was told by Bobby Knight and other major people in basketball to take the sleeping giant job. Hurley was absolutely the best candidate out there and Calhoun was selling him on UConn out on the golf course well before he was hired. The only time they fouled it up was when Calhoun forced Ollie into being his replacement. Hiring from the family rarely is a good idea, you get the best candidate available.

You are still missing the point. People want a proven head coach from a major because of the certainty their job performance is transferable. The same certainty does not apply to former assistant coaches (Auriemma) or head coaches at mid-majors. Toner took well-informed savvy chances that paid off, but if you tell me he had the same certainty with those type of hires as going after a Staley, even considering they are the best he could do, I call BS. Sometimes a less certain but savvy hire is the best choice to make, even if you are prestigious enough to go after anyone.

A secondary point: head coaches leaving the successful major programs they built by definition have a loyalty issue with that program, either because they want to “return home” (Roy Williams), or some other baggage (Pitino).

 

[boscolino]

boscolino- - IMHO no way Ivey leaves ND!
This is her dream job!
She played there, asst coach, and was told when Muffet retires she's the next HC!
She's thrilled with her job!

Ok, buy who knows? Simply I really like her.

 

[temery]

Locked.

Geno is a Husky until he retires. There is no reason to discuss who will replace him until he says otherwise.

Two days of "what if" is more than enough.