Papa33
Poster Emeritus
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2011
- Messages
- 568
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- 3,347
I’ll get to Caroline in a moment, some things I’ve been considering for the last year, especially after reading UConn fans’ doubts about her play on the Boneyard and elsewhere, But first . . . Almost everyone agrees that Geno is a great coach in a hundred different ways. I’ve particularly admired what he’s done with a thin bench in some seasons, and even more when the talent was thin after Diana left. But I most admire his insights into players’ contributions to UConn basketball when the stat sheets don’t seem to support him. His recent rebuttal to those who have doubted his sagacity for starting CD and sticking with her made particular sense.
“Someone created the box score, and he should be shot.” Thus said Daryl Morey, who applied the Moneyball statistical principles and game analysis of Bill James to basketball, and found them epitomized in Shane Battier, whose box score stats are dismal. But, according to Morey, Battier does things that don’t make the box score categories: he makes his teammates better defenders and better scorers when he’s on the court. Bottom line, he makes his team 6 points better than their opponents when he’s on the floor.
Now, when Diana Taurasi’s scoring stats declined in some games during the 2002-2004 seasons while making her UConn teammates better, no one felt she had lost her value to the team. (This was the same Taurasi who helped sink UConn in a Final Four game vs. Notre Dame by shooting 1-15. There’s hope yet, Breanna!) Geno seems to think fans might find the same sort of value in Caroline’s play. Who knows how she might have lit up the box scores with two healthy knees. Instead, she’s put grit and competitive fire and smarts to work to become our version of Shane Battier.
Take her performance in the disappointing loss to Notre Dame. Zilch, right? No points, only one assist, one rebound. But wait, look at the 6 ½ minutes she played starting the second half: during that time, the UConn offense looked its best, with well-timed cuts, several layups and short jumpers, and they outscored ND by 7 points. By Morey’s rating system, she was a +7. (He says a +6 “is huge.”) She also blocked a shot and allowed UConn to keep possession by firing the ball at a ND player out of bounds. A possession later, unable to get a rebound herself, she punched the ball directly to a teammate. Those moments to her team’s advantage do not show up under her name, but her coaches see them. That’s why she’s on the floor as much as she is, and Geno has said as much. I don’t think he’s delusional.
I coached high school basketball for thirty years, twenty-two of them with a girl’s team, and I treasured players who, like Caroline, didn’t fill up the score book or get headlines. So good luck, CD. I hope to see you out on the floor as much as possible, making your teammates and your team better.
“Someone created the box score, and he should be shot.” Thus said Daryl Morey, who applied the Moneyball statistical principles and game analysis of Bill James to basketball, and found them epitomized in Shane Battier, whose box score stats are dismal. But, according to Morey, Battier does things that don’t make the box score categories: he makes his teammates better defenders and better scorers when he’s on the court. Bottom line, he makes his team 6 points better than their opponents when he’s on the floor.
Now, when Diana Taurasi’s scoring stats declined in some games during the 2002-2004 seasons while making her UConn teammates better, no one felt she had lost her value to the team. (This was the same Taurasi who helped sink UConn in a Final Four game vs. Notre Dame by shooting 1-15. There’s hope yet, Breanna!) Geno seems to think fans might find the same sort of value in Caroline’s play. Who knows how she might have lit up the box scores with two healthy knees. Instead, she’s put grit and competitive fire and smarts to work to become our version of Shane Battier.
Take her performance in the disappointing loss to Notre Dame. Zilch, right? No points, only one assist, one rebound. But wait, look at the 6 ½ minutes she played starting the second half: during that time, the UConn offense looked its best, with well-timed cuts, several layups and short jumpers, and they outscored ND by 7 points. By Morey’s rating system, she was a +7. (He says a +6 “is huge.”) She also blocked a shot and allowed UConn to keep possession by firing the ball at a ND player out of bounds. A possession later, unable to get a rebound herself, she punched the ball directly to a teammate. Those moments to her team’s advantage do not show up under her name, but her coaches see them. That’s why she’s on the floor as much as she is, and Geno has said as much. I don’t think he’s delusional.
I coached high school basketball for thirty years, twenty-two of them with a girl’s team, and I treasured players who, like Caroline, didn’t fill up the score book or get headlines. So good luck, CD. I hope to see you out on the floor as much as possible, making your teammates and your team better.
