Coaching Philosophy Change

[divots]

Lots of forum thoughts on the current state of team performance. While Geno is clear in his first-hand assertion that the obvious decline in play is not the direct result of injuries and fatigue but rather poor coaching or, better yet, the inability for his players to actualize in game settings what is being taught in practice. My assumption is that a dramatic change in coaching philosophy has taken place.

While some teams practice plays until they get it right, Geno used to say that his teams would not stop a drill until they couldn’t get it wrong. Such a philosophy can require an ad nauseam repetition that steals valuable time from other needs coachable moments. Additionally, choices need to be made regarding what players are on the court during these “Can’t Get It Wrong” practice situations.

It seems that rare is the day that at least one starter doesn’t require rest due to injury, illness, or soreness. It’s painfully obvious that to run plays against the remaining pieces from the bench doesn’t provide the needed challenge so the bad is set far too low on the results. Should Geno decide to stack the practice fodder with his male volunteers in order to provide a stiffer test then the true bench players are back on the bench watching.

Coaching elite teams filled with top-rated recruits requires finding great character recruits who have attributes that make them invaluable at practices and at games cheering from the bench knowing that their game playing minutes will be limited to times when the games are readily in hand. Their recruiting attributes might be driven by their size, their speed, their tenacity, and, perhaps most importantly, their attitude. This year’s bench has team members who might have been recruited to bring their best to practice and team bonding occasions with any actual memorable game moment bringing the house down in appreciation.

This year’s bench was predestined to be glued to the end of the bench and not on the practice floor until they couldn’t get it wrong. As for the starter’s’ performances of the past few weeks, it’s pretty obvious that they just don’t value the ball given their oft mind-numbing turnovers and there is nothing that Geno can do. Although he owns what they want which is playing time, he has no one to turn to for a meaningful replacement. Maybe practicing until the team finally gets it right has become the new coaching philosophy for the remainder of this snake-bitten season. Go Huskies!

 

[BBallF]

It's all about the turnovers with this team. It's not that they don't value the ball even though they play like it, it's that they are sloppy with it, make poor decisions, have no place to pass, and are diminished offensively. Part of that is exhaustion, part has become habitual, and part is the make up of the team which only has Lou and a less than 100% CD that can shoot from the 3. The ball gets forced underneath, the passes are sometimes errant to begin with, the bigs try to make plays they shouldn't off the dribble, it's just a mess. We need Azzi. It will change it, not right away but in time for the Big Dance.

 

[Rowdy831]

Geno is a great recruiter and I don't think he will change a thing. He will have the usual depth next year and things will be back to normal for him and the team. This season might have highlighted an area he could improve but when you do 10 things better than every coach in the country and 1 thing not as good, you just make sure you don't need to do that one thing to win and he can and will do that.

 

[VaConnFan11]

I think his coaching philosophy is the same. That may or may not be an issue.

What I think has changed is the recruiting philosophy of a majority of schools. UConn has always recruited high basketball IQ players with talent. Many of which are not very athletic. If you take Aubrey away from this team, even with everyone healthy, you have the look of a 1990's women's basketball team. Other teams have started recruiting athletic players and then teaching them basketball. I went back and looked at a little of the St John's, Georgetown, DePaul and Xavier games. While those teams have no where close to the overall talent of UConn, their overall athleticism is higher than UConn's. That means they can play defense, close passing lanes and get to loose balls. The things that keep games close and give the underdog a chance.

Can UConn win the Big East Tournament. Sure. My guess would be that every game will be decided by 10 points or less, so the games basically could go either way.

Can UConn make a Final 4 run. Geno says no. I say sure. It will depend a lot on the matchups. Sometimes tournaments line up perfectly regardless of your seed.

There was a lot of frustration in that press conference. There's nothing worse than feeling helpless in any situation.

Time is the final judge of everything. In 4 weeks or less, we will have the final answer.

 

[Jalan2121]

Geno is a fantastic coach. But, when you stick players on the bench it hurts their development , wears out the starters and isn’t good for recruitment. Forget the post season accolades, good players want game minutes. Let’s not forget when there were games UConn is up by 20 + with ten minutes to go and the starters basically finished the game. I played basketball in college. Giving me garbage minutes in my freshman year didn’t motivate me at all!
if the non starters are so bad you can’t develop them, then why were they recruited by UConn?

 

[npignatjr]

I think his coaching philosophy is the same. That may or may not be an issue.

What I think has changed is the recruiting philosophy of a majority of schools. UConn has always recruited high basketball IQ players with talent. Many of which are not very athletic. If you take Aubrey away from this team, even with everyone healthy, you have the look of a 1990's women's basketball team. Other teams have started recruiting athletic players and then teaching them basketball. I went back and looked at a little of the St John's, Georgetown, DePaul and Xavier games. While those teams have no where close to the overall talent of UConn, their overall athleticism is higher than UConn's. That means they can play defense, close passing lanes and get to loose balls. The things that keep games close and give the underdog a chance.

Can UConn win the Big East Tournament. Sure. My guess would be that every game will be decided by 10 points or less, so the games basically could go either way.

Can UConn make a Final 4 run. Geno says no. I say sure. It will depend a lot on the matchups. Sometimes tournaments line up perfectly regardless of your seed.

There was a lot of frustration in that press conference. There's nothing worse than feeling helpless in any situation.

Time is the final judge of everything. In 4 weeks or less, we will have the final answer.

3 players from the same area at the same time, Aubrey, Sonia, Maggie. Who are the best players?

 

[sun]

Scar is the team to beat for the NC which is a monumental task.
The bottom line is that winning is more about the players than it is about the plays & schemes on the court.
Even the best plans need players that are talented enough to make them work.
Players with enough talent are able to perform off script without following a set plan.

 

[Oldschoolbb]

I think his coaching philosophy is the same. That may or may not be an issue.

What I think has changed is the recruiting philosophy of a majority of schools. UConn has always recruited high basketball IQ players with talent. Many of which are not very athletic. If you take Aubrey away from this team, even with everyone healthy, you have the look of a 1990's women's basketball team. Other teams have started recruiting athletic players and then teaching them basketball. I went back and looked at a little of the St John's, Georgetown, DePaul and Xavier games. While those teams have no where close to the overall talent of UConn, their overall athleticism is higher than UConn's. That means they can play defense, close passing lanes and get to loose balls. The things that keep games close and give the underdog a chance.

Hit the nail on the head with the athleticism point. This team is incredibly lacking in this regard. Combine that with the fact that this team has very poor shooting overall and it's not shocking that UConn has trouble hanging with mediocre teams at this point. Even Edwards, who has pretty good straight-line speed, is fairly clumsy.

Opponents saw the same thing I saw early in the year. UConn was devastating on the fast break, but abysmal at half-court offense. If you take away the break, UConn struggles mightily on offense. And opponents have done a great job of stopping the break. You no longer see a lot of offensive rebounds given up by UConn, because the opponent has five players sprinting back on defense.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Geno asserts 'Poorly coached team.'

Geno Auriemma gives bleak assessment as UConn women’s basketball looks to find footing in March: 'Poorly coached team.'

The injury-plagued Huskies defeated Xavier, the Big East's only winless team, but UConn's Final Four streak is in danger.

www.ctinsider.com

​

 

[Nolefan]

My opinion only but for many years UConn was a finesse team times have changed and we need to start being bullies .. take the ball hard to the rim everyone rebounds and if you’re open from outside fire it up .. fyi there’s a reason why I’m not getting paid to do this lol

 

[Charliebball]

Hit the nail on the head with the athleticism point. This team is incredibly lacking in this regard. Combine that with the fact that this team has very poor shooting overall and it's not shocking that UConn has trouble hanging with mediocre teams at this point. Even Edwards, who has pretty good straight-line speed, is fairly clumsy.

Opponents saw the same thing I saw early in the year. UConn was devastating on the fast break, but abysmal at half-court offense. If you take away the break, UConn struggles mightily on offense. And opponents have done a great job of stopping the break. You no longer see a lot of offensive rebounds given up by UConn, because the opponent has five players sprinting back on defense.

that same "unathletic" team lost to the most athletic team in the country (South Carolina) by how much without Azzi Fudd playing?

 

[Zarathustra]

Hit the nail on the head with the athleticism point. This team is incredibly lacking in this regard. Combine that with the fact that this team has very poor shooting overall and it's not shocking that UConn has trouble hanging with mediocre teams at this point. Even Edwards, who has pretty good straight-line speed, is fairly clumsy.

Opponents saw the same thing I saw early in the year. UConn was devastating on the fast break, but abysmal at half-court offense. If you take away the break, UConn struggles mightily on offense. And opponents have done a great job of stopping the break. You no longer see a lot of offensive rebounds given up by UConn, because the opponent has five players sprinting back on defense.

" Incredibly lacking " in athleticism?? Maybe "yes", maybe "no". I still need to see the Big East tournament and the NCAAs
to put my final judgement on this season.
Events (injuries) lead to consequences (losses). But I find it hard to comprehend all those
turnovers. Note: when Stanford lost to Utah last week, Stanford had over 20 turnovers. (21, I believe).

 

[Ct Dog]

My opinion only but for many years UConn was a finesse team times have changed and we need to start being bullies .. take the ball hard to the rim everyone rebounds and if you’re open from outside fire it up .. fyi there’s a reason why I’m not getting paid to do this lol

Unfortunately you are correct, the way the game is being called pure bask will be a thing of the past. Bully ball has taken over and teams like the ones UConn usually fields will get mugged right off the court by the current by trends. It’s a shame

 

[JoePgh]

Yes, I really wonder about Oldschoolbb's eyesight. Edwards is clumsy? Aubrey is unathletic? Who in the Big East is a better athlete than Aubrey? In the South Carolina game, did you notice how much trouble Victaria Saxton and Cardoso had in stopping Aaliyah's drives to the basket? Saxton played very few minutes in that game because she could not keep up with Aaliyah.

If Lou is unathletic, then why do defenders (including Zia Cooke) have to hold her and bump her to keep her from cutting to the basket? It's true that Lou and Nika may not be the most athletic players in the country, but in the Big East they are certainly well above average in that dimension. Villanova is UConn's main competition in the Big East -- where on the "athleticism" scale would you rate their two best players, Siegrist and Olsen? Higher than Lou and Nika? Marquette defeated UConn recently -- who are the superior athletes on their roster?

Have you watched the bigs that play for Stanford? Would you rate them as athletically superior to Dorka and Aaliyah? I wouldn't.

If your point is that adding Paige and Azzi to the lineup would make this team more athletic, then I agree with that. It's equally true that if pigs could fly ...

Having said all that, I think Geno's point at last night's press conference was that if the team stopped committing dumb turnovers and giving up layups that it has been taught how to defend, they could have won every game in the last two or three weeks by double digits, athleticism or lack thereof notwithstanding. And I think he is right about that.

 

[HopJim]

I came away from this presser confused. Geno made a number of comments about the lack of player IQ and execution. While the defense has been a bit lumpy, overall UConn has held other teams to reasonable numbers so he must be referring to the offense. We have had the same players for most of the past 10 games, the same offensive schemes, and even against the lower tier of the league, the same results. Not pointing figures at the players or Geno but what has changed that would cause Geno to think the results should be different?

 

[Cornell Lt]

UConn needs a legitimate enforcer type player on it's roster for next year. Someone with some size and a whole lot of nastiness. There must be one or more of that type of player in the portal.

 

[hoophuskee]

Since when does a top coach ever blame their season on injuries? What's he supposed to say? This stuff about he threw the team under the bus, he needs to recruit more athleticism, or more physicality is crazy.

The OP alluded to what is the problem but indirectly. The top players are hurt. That's why your practices are different. Then, it's why you ultimately play different. We don’t have to believe every word Geno says. We should know as a coach at a National level he cannot blame on injuries. But we're fans. We know it is. Its injuries.

We saw what a juggernaut we were early. and that was without Paige, without Caroline, and Dorka missed some time but we had eeh superstar in Azzi. We've seen enough what supreme superstars can do. Paige, Azzi and Caroline were top recruits. Paige and Azzi were legendary and we saw brief glimpses. Caroline showed in the past as well. This was how the team was built and all three have been hurt. Other teams have scholarship players and good coaches too. Do we really think the in-and-out of players - even last night with Dorka out- while Caroline is still working to get her game established - that the team might not struggle? Since when does continuity not matter? Do we really think that we wouldn’t be top 2 in the country this year with a healthy Azzi and Caroline, and how amazing we'd be with Paige? So what does another bruiser or freak athlete have to do with this? The three mentioned above were considered elite recruits. Above this roster.

This all has to do with injuries. It’s why practices are different, why style being played is different. It’s why Geno using the word "selfish" is appropriate but should also be understandable. IMO the players probably feel they have to gamble more. They take more upon themselves, so Geno calls it "selfish." But there wouldn’t be “selfishness” if the team he built in which he had 3 tremendously skilled players-super recruits - that would have been an obscenely great skilled team in which two were off-the-charts great, hadn’t gotten hurt for as long as they have. A team that is an inside-banger that loses their top 3 bangers, they are gonna suffer too.

 

[fomalhaut]

UConn needs a legitimate enforcer type player on it's roster for next year. Someone with some size and a whole lot of nastiness. There must be one or more of that type of player in the portal.

I'll stop following the team if they do that.

 

[hard2please]

its classic geno; taking the pressure off the team by blaming the coaching, while challenging the team saying they might not be so good.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I'll stop following the team if they do that.

They won't. It is a sure recipe for failure. As physical as Rutgers was, they didn't have an enforcer. I only ever saw two - one played for Louisville and did "hack-a-Shaq" on Kia Vaughn, but wasn't very good at it, fouled out I think. The other was some player (transfer) on Syracuse under the coach before Hillsman (fellow from New England) who tried twice to ram a Rutgers player into the scorer's table. The second time, she had a long walk with Dennis DeMayo as he laid down the law. She calmed down after that, at least that game.

 

[Geno-ista]

Unfortunately you are correct, the way the game is being called pure bask will be a thing of the past. Bully ball has taken over and teams like the ones UConn usually fields will get mugged right off the court by the current by trends. It’s a shame

The observations Re the “bullies” is absolutely correct. Boston fouls 50% of the times she gets the ball on the low post. We’ve seen these heavier bodies and more athletic larger athletes eating up more slender players down low, whether they are fouling offensively or not. Great observations to you both. And the officials are afraid of Dawn S. She’s the new Pat Summit.

 

[TCC Kid]

Lots of forum thoughts on the current state of team performance. While Geno is clear in his first-hand assertion that the obvious decline in play is not the direct result of injuries and fatigue but rather poor coaching or, better yet, the inability for his players to actualize in game settings what is being taught in practice. My assumption is that a dramatic change in coaching philosophy has taken place.

While some teams practice plays until they get it right, Geno used to say that his teams would not stop a drill until they couldn’t get it wrong. Such a philosophy can require an ad nauseam repetition that steals valuable time from other needs coachable moments. Additionally, choices need to be made regarding what players are on the court during these “Can’t Get It Wrong” practice situations.

It seems that rare is the day that at least one starter doesn’t require rest due to injury, illness, or soreness. It’s painfully obvious that to run plays against the remaining pieces from the bench doesn’t provide the needed challenge so the bad is set far too low on the results. Should Geno decide to stack the practice fodder with his male volunteers in order to provide a stiffer test then the true bench players are back on the bench watching.

Coaching elite teams filled with top-rated recruits requires finding great character recruits who have attributes that make them invaluable at practices and at games cheering from the bench knowing that their game playing minutes will be limited to times when the games are readily in hand. Their recruiting attributes might be driven by their size, their speed, their tenacity, and, perhaps most importantly, their attitude. This year’s bench has team members who might have been recruited to bring their best to practice and team bonding occasions with any actual memorable game moment bringing the house down in appreciation.

This year’s bench was predestined to be glued to the end of the bench and not on the practice floor until they couldn’t get it wrong. As for the starter’s’ performances of the past few weeks, it’s pretty obvious that they just don’t value the ball given their oft mind-numbing turnovers and there is nothing that Geno can do. Although he owns what they want which is playing time, he has no one to turn to for a meaningful replacement. Maybe practicing until the team finally gets it right has become the new coaching philosophy for the remainder of this snake-bitten season. Go Huskies!

Don't BANK every word Geno says on TV. If you do, you'll go broke.
Fans tend to forget there is always another team on the floor with Uconn and often times that coach isn't the dumbest bulb in your lamp. They read tapes, watch what the Uconn top 4 players and devise a counter method. If something worked well for say Notre Dame against Uconn, do and the coach of the next game may use that.
In sports,and we've seen this repeated over the years---at this time of the year Uconn has spent all the mental and physical energy they had in their tank. Geno, often right, but isn't always. AS it was once painted in an East Hartfords barbers window --Geno is God--I think that title has been replaced. Even John Wooden wasn't a basketball God. Nor is Dawn Staley, she IS however, the benefactor of good recruiting.

The END of the BENCH isn't the end of talent. Patterson, Ines, even DeBerry has shown some of their talent and have been factors in one or 4 of Uconn recent wins. 300 NCAA teams out of 360 would love to have those kids and those kids would improve their ranking.

Geno is tired. He tired of the comments, complaints, about his team--this is personal to him. He is tired mentally and physically, just as his team is. A few days off and away from the game will do both Geno and the Team wonders.

I don't see a FF for this team, with or without AZZI--she has a lot of "catching up" to do. Some have gone as low as the Sweet16 as their final game?? I'd be surprised but not shocked

Next season, if all are healthy, will be wonderful for the team, for Geno and Uconn (?) fans.

 

[Cornell Lt]

I'll stop following the team if they do that.

Really, it's not like they haven't had them before.