Courtney Moving Ahead of Saniya in Depth Chart?

[CocoHusky]

I would agree that if Chong is injured, we have our answer. If not the injury than what is wrong here. I have seen this kid play for years and the talent level is there, she just continues to look tentative and afraid on the court. I would blame that on Geno.

Clearly Geno dislikes her and is the only thing standing between her and success. This is the same Geno who made her a starter as a Sophomore and trusted her enough down the stretch against Md in the tightest game of the year so far. The words that keep coming up with Saniya are Trust and consistency. In your opinion, does Saniya bear any responsibility for the lack of trust and the inconsistent play?

Some kids will not succeed at this level constantly afraid that the first missed shot or missed defensive assignment will put you on the bench and in a very vicious dog house. I will say again that she seems to be Geno's whipping girl and if none have you have noticed she obviously does not respond well to the "tough love". As for her leaving, I would love it, I would have loved to see her leave after last year and go on to be a star in the Big Ten or Big East instead of sitting on a National Championship bench. However I think she is a Husky for life.

Some kids will succeed and have under these conditions, it is a very competitive environment where the standards are the same for everyone. Saniya a star in the B10 Or Big East? Really? Besides UCONN the AAC is not exactly a juggernaut. If she can't excel here the Big10 might be a wee bit more challenging.

Advice to Ekmark, get out NOW. This kid can play, she has ability, she could be a start on many high level teams. Ekmark will never ever start at Uconn, there is just too much talent. But, maybe she is happy with her roll there, best of luck to her.

Courtney doesn't strike me as a quitter. So let me see if I understand you correctly, it is the Talent that is keeping Courtney from starting but it is Geno that is holding back Saniya?

In closing, KLS is a true talent and growing, physically and emotionally. She had her hard times early this year but now it is all coming together. Like I said months ago, not to many players can go 2 for12 from 3 and look so damn good doing it. Whatever the coaching staff did with her she has responded in spades, All-American before she is done.

I'm pretty sure KLS and Saniya have the same coaching staff. I wonder why the results are so different?

 

[bags27]

We each see the world differently, and I guess HairyDog views the world of WCBB as one of maximizing one's time on the court. For some women, that is the goal, especially if they have WNBA aspirations. For others, playing WCBB means camaraderie or a way to get a college education, and I'm sure there are other reasons as well. I react viscerally against your advice, HairyDog, because it suggests that somehow it's a waste of time or talent to be sitting on the bench. But one is underappreciated only if one feels that herself. No one else can or should be able to make you feel that way if you do not. Molly Bent turned down offers from Princeton and Brown (where she would have played immediately--and--let's not be coy--get a more prestigious diploma) to sit on the UConn bench for at least a couple of years. But she knows that the education she will get every afternoon with her UConn peers and the amazing coaching staff is, in its own way, one of the very best educations anyone can get in college--and I speak as a college professor.

If a kid is enjoying her friends and social circle, feels comfortable in the classroom, and, despite not getting playing time, enjoys practice (where everyone gets lots of playing time), she may well be entirely happy remaining in her current circumstances. It's NOT a waste of talent. What's a waste is feeling compelled to do something against your own instincts because you perceive that others have expectations of you. That's more than a waste; that's a tragedy.

 

[Blue Huskie]

Poor Courtney can't win. Last season some people questioned how she even got a scholarship. This season I guess she's finally good enough for a scholarship but will never start here so it's best to clear out her locker and go where she will be starting. I swear all you can do is laugh at some of this stuff.

 

[Biff]

Poor Courtney can't win. Last season some people questioned how she even got a scholarship. This season I guess she's finally good enough for a scholarship but will never start here so it's best to clear out her locker and go where she will be starting. I swear all you can do is laugh at some of this stuff.

Sometimes I wish I could laugh it off but it's really not funny.

 

[HairyDog]

To several above, I said I would have loved for Chong to leave Uconn last season. I stand by that, that is what I would like her to do. However, I am not Sanyia Chong. She is very happy at Uconn and will no doubt stay through next year.
The college Prof talks about education etc, all well and good but my feeling is that an elite player, a player who scored almost 3,000 points in 4 years and was a National Player of the Year would have the drive to excel on the D1 college level, not sit on the bench.
Your athletic career is a fleeting thing and should be used to its' fullest advantage so that 20 years from now you are not sitting and wondering shoulda, woulda, coulda, but that is just my opinion.
There was a time several years ago, we had a younger member of the family who was to be drafted to play pro ball. The parents were dead set against him leaving college to sign. The young man was a very good student in a very good northeastern university working towards a degree in a very challenging academic major.
He asked me at a family function why I though he should leave school early and sign the pro contract. I told him look outside at the large assembled group of highly educated family members and as he did I asked him how many of the group had college degrees and beyond. He replied almost all. Then I asked how many ever played a pro sport. The answer...none. I told him to chase his dream and he would never regret it, you could always go back to college and get your degree, your athletic career is NOW.
Great athletes are special. Almost anybody can get a college degree in America.

 

[Kibitzer]

I'm sure that the Chongs would be pleased to take your suggestions about Sania's career path under consideration.

Briefly.

 

[bags27]

The college Prof talks about education etc, all well and good

Actually, I didn't talk about education, if you read carefully. I said if she feels happy with friends and comfortable with classes and enjoys practice. I did make the pitch that the informal education of UConn WCBB is priceless--sort of like our military academies in which no one makes the claim that the actual academics are the best in the country but that the overall experience of being there is unmatched. My point is utterly different from what you suggest I said if you had taken the time to read what someone beside yourself said: namely, that if she is happy, she should stay. The idea that I was arguing for a degree over a WNBA future is nonsense and you have shifted the debate to degree vs. non-degree to duck the main issue. After all, wherever she would transfer to, wouldn't she get a degree?

The world is full of people with talents that they don't use or develop fully--from artists, to musicians, to athletes, to public speakers etc. None of these talents claims a higher place in the pantheon of talents. What does claim a high place is happiness. Learning what makes you happy and how to be content with it may be the greatest gift any of us could ever receive. You obviously have regrets in your life, as do we all. But most of us don't try to see our lives--and more importantly, those of others--through them.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Swanier is one of my favorite huskys. She was fast!

Ketia and Maya combined for late game heroics at DePaul, stealing victory from the jaws of defeat.

 

[CocoHusky]

To several above, I said I would have loved for Chong to leave Uconn last season. I stand by that, that is what I would like her to do. However, I am not Sanyia Chong. She is very happy at Uconn and will no doubt stay through next year.
The college Prof talks about education etc, all well and good but my feeling is that an elite player, a player who scored almost 3,000 points in 4 years and was a National Player of the Year would have the drive to excel on the D1 college level, not sit on the bench.
Your athletic career is a fleeting thing and should be used to its' fullest advantage so that 20 years from now you are not sitting and wondering shoulda, woulda, coulda, but that is just my opinion.
There was a time several years ago, we had a younger member of y the family who was to be drafted to play pro ball. The parents were dead set against him leaving college to sign. The young man was a very good student in a very good northeastern university working towards a degree in a very challenging academic major.
He asked me at a family function why I though he should leave school early and sign the pro contract. I told him look outside at the large assembled group of highly educated family members and as he did I asked him how many of the group had college degrees and beyond. He replied almost all. Then I asked how many ever played a pro sport. The answer...none. I told him to chase his dream and he would never regret it, you could always go back to college and get your degree, your athletic career is NOW.
Great athletes are special. Almost anybody can get a college degree in America.

A very touching, perhaps too convenient story. I'm not sure what that has to do with the issue at hand. I remind you of the Pinocchio fable when you write things like Saniya was a National Player of the year, or that she would be a "star" in the B10. Saniya has plenty of drive, enough to be great anywhere including at UCONN. Wish her well and keep it moving.

 

[Hongster]

Not too many souls can survive and succeed after coach said no trust on national TV. Geno is human after all.

 

[CocoHusky]

Not . too many souls can survive and succeed after coach said no trust on national TV. Geno is human after all.

Geno is definitely human ( I think) and therefore worthy of criticism. But let's be honest he said worse about better players, Rebecca was daily "the worst post player in america". The ratio of game time to practice time is approximately 12:1 At UCONN trust is earned during practice and reinforced during games. We are rarely privy to what is happening at practice and my personal annoyance is that people are reacting to Geno yelling at a player or a one liner in a press conference without the full background. Is there a player that Geno has not publicly criticized?

 

[pvdoggy]

Geno is definitely human ( I think) and therefore worthy of criticism. But let's be honest he said worse about better players, Rebecca was daily "the worst post player in america". The ratio of game time to practice time is approximately 12:1 At UCONN trust is earned during practice and reinforced during games. We are rarely privy to what is happening at practice and my personal annoyance is that people are reacting to Geno yelling at a player or a one liner in a press conference without the full background. Is there a player that Geno has not publicly criticized?

Morgan Tuck ?

 

[CocoHusky]

Morgan Tuck ?

When asked what Tuck was doing particularly well this year Auriemma said .
"Besides miss wide-open layups? She does that very well,"

http://espn.go.com/womens-college-b...9/morgan-tuck-all-figured-connecticut-huskies

 

[pvdoggy]

When asked what Tuck was doing particularly well this year Auriemma said .
"Besides miss wide-open layups? She does that very well,"

http://espn.go.com/womens-college-b...9/morgan-tuck-all-figured-connecticut-huskies

That's a far cry from a criticism. That's more like a ribbing.

 

[CocoHusky]

That's a far cry from a criticism. That's more like a ribbing.

OK this one made national News Via the Associated Press:
"Coach Geno Auriemma didn't like the way No. 2 Connecticut opened the game against Memphis, so he sent a message — sitting his two best players the bulk of the game.
The benching of Breanna Stewart and Morgan Tuck left it up to the Huskies' reserves, and they eventually ran away from the Tigers 80-34 on Saturday."

"You either live up to the standards that have been set here at Connecticut or you don't play," he (Geno) said, later adding: "This is the world we live in, so they better grow up."

http://www.syracuse.com/sports/inde...ch_geno_auriemma_benches_breanna_stewart.html

 

[hoophuskee]

To several above, I said I would have loved for Chong to leave Uconn last season. I stand by that, that is what I would like her to do. However, I am not Sanyia Chong. She is very happy at Uconn and will no doubt stay through next year.
The college Prof talks about education etc, all well and good but my feeling is that an elite player, a player who scored almost 3,000 points in 4 years and was a National Player of the Year would have the drive to excel on the D1 college level, not sit on the bench.
Your athletic career is a fleeting thing and should be used to its' fullest advantage so that 20 years from now you are not sitting and wondering shoulda, woulda, coulda, but that is just my opinion.
.

You may have stood by it - but so did Pickett with his last charge. Well . . . maybe he didn't.

1-- Again you speak of points scored and disregard defense.

2-- You believed the hype of PARADE Magazine. Maybe it's why your getting as many disagreements with your pov. IMO PARADE magazine is one of the worst magazines for rating women's college players. Weren't there other rating services that had her low rated Why do you think other rating services would have a 3,000 point scorer ranked like 25 or 50 or 75? What would be the reason why a player with so many points scored isn't more of a consensus top ten player? She had the potential to be great and may still wind up being very good. But try to eb fair, what do you think her weaknesses are/were?

3-- Your analogy of a kid in your family going pro vs Saniya playing college imo isn't close. College does not equal pro so it is completely different. Pro ball is the pinnacle. How is quitting, leaving with a major flaw in your game (defense), going to help you go pro? You think minutes will help her defense? You can't ignore defense and pretend it doesn't count. Therefore back to the question - why is a 3,000 point scorer ranked so low in many other magazines other than the one you want to treat as gospel? Why do you think so?

4-- If you are were h/s woman player, with the attitude you have, and let's say you were rated about 12-15 in the country, do you think UCCONN would continue to recruit you once they figured out how you look at things? Isn't it fair to say you aren't the type of player attitude-wise UCONN would look for?

 

[hoophuskee]

That's a far cry from a criticism. That's more like a ribbing.

He benched Tuck publicly (and Stewie) for everyone to see. Family and friends too. Just before a huge 1 vs 2 National TV game which part of the story before the big game was the benching of someone like Tuck. Read the last sentence from below. While he embarrassed them with the benching, you don't think telling the media he needs Tuck to grow up is "criticism?" See link below and I've attached some quotes from the link.

http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/w-baskbl/recaps/020715aaa.html



"This isn't some subliminal message I'm sending to them where I expect them to read between the lines," Auriemma said. "This is very flat out."
He said he didn't care "if you're the national player of the year or the greatest thing that's ever walked the face of the Earth playing basketball. There's a certain level of play that I've been accustomed to at Connecticut. If you're not there, then you're not playing."

"You either live up to the standards that have been set here at Connecticut or you don't play," he said, later adding: "This is the world we live in, so they better grow up."

 

[BigBird]

Much ado about nothing? Geno loves his players and they love him. Admittedly, it seems that some use the word "love" only after having graduated. Or a few years after that.

 

[TimeWillTell]

A very touching, perhaps too convenient story. I'm not sure what that has to do with the issue at hand. I remind you of the Pinocchio fable when you write things like Saniya was a National Player of the year, or that she would be a "star" in the B10. Saniya has plenty of drive, enough to be great anywhere including at UCONN. Wish her well and keep it moving.

Just a little clarification on one of your statements that I recolored in red.........this quote comes from Saniya's bio on the UConn WCBB website.. "Named the 2012-13 Parade All-American Team's Girls Basketball Player of the Year ... Honored as the National High School Coaches Association's (NHSCA) national girl's basketball Player of the Year"

Saniya is an extremely talented basketball player. Before Saniya's first game her sophomore year, the herd asked Geno who was the best player in practice leading up to the opening game.....he said "Saniya" (I'm assuming Geno counts playing good defense as part of doing well in practice). That's when she earned her starting position. All the players also praised Saniya...Kia Stokes even saying she thought Saniya was a bit faster than Mo (Geno neither confirmed nor denied this......He just said when Saniya decides to go to the basket, she's a blur (paraphrase)).

So what happened????.......They go play Stanford in the 2nd game of the year.....they're in a dog fight.... no one is performing well on offense except for Stewie, so Saniya confidently steps up, as a sophomore, and fires in 20 pts in a losing cause........did she play good defense, NO..... neither did several others! Geno yanks Saniya out of the starting lineup after that game......and I don't think she's been the same since....deferring to her other teammates constantly, afraid to miss shots and make mistakes. Was that the right way to get the best out of Saniya......I don't think so, not in her case....but Geno is the HOF coach. It's hard to argue with success. I just feel bad for Saniya...she has the skills to contribute so much more to UConn women's basketball and the coaching staff hasn't been able to find a way to get Saniya back to the confident player she displayed in the weeks leading up to the Stanford game her sophomore year...........And now with her IT Band Syndrome and Geno's lack of trust, the situation has regressed.

I say a little prayer for Saniya now and then........and hope that, if not this year, then next year, her senior year, Saniya can play pain free and with the joy and confidence she displayed to all her teammates and coaches in the weeks leading up to that fateful Stanford game.

 

[Carnac]

Did anyone notice that in today's game, Courtney Ekmark entered the game before Saniya Chong?

Did anyone watch the"All-Access" program and other SNY footage of practice and notice that Geno had far more negative comments (and filmed rebukes) concerning Saniya than any other player? And to me, it seemed that his comments about her were more serious -- not needling but actual criticism about whether she has earned the trust of her teammates and the coaches enough to play in critical games.

Regarding Courtney, I continue to notice what I have noticed all season -- she almost never makes a mental error. She is in the right place and makes the right decision. She his limited by her lack of speed and vertical leaping, but her 3-point shot is becoming more reliable, and she can make a contested layup.

The substitution pattern that seems to be in effect lately is a 7-player rotation while the game is competitive: the five starters plus Gabby and Napheesa. Leaving aside Pulido and Lawlor, the last three spots in the depth chart are occupied by Courtney, Natalie, and Saniya, and it looks increasingly like it will be in that order.

In an earlier post, I suggested that it was possible that Dangerfield would become the starting PG before the end of the season. Several posters disagreed with me. Your post supports my thinking. I also agree with your take. If Geno has his doubts about Saniya's ability to handle the starting PG position, then it will be open for all of the guards to compete for it.

That means Crystal will have an opportunity to win the starting PG spot when practice officially begins in October.
Please let us not forget that there have been several incoming freshmen that begin the year as the starting PG.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong , but I believe Bria Hartley started at the point as a freshman. Sometime "OJT" is the fastest way to learn. Not necessarily the best, but the fastest. Crystal is special. She just may be special enough and talented enough to pull it off. We'll see. I'm not advocating that she start, I'm just sharing a thought. With all of that being said, I think that the position is Saniya's to lose.

 

[JoePgh]

Not too many souls can survive and succeed after coach said no trust on national TV. Geno is human after all.

He said the same thing about Tina Charles and Kiah Stokes in recent times, in a way just as public. They not only survived but did OK in later years. I am sure that they are not the only examples.

 

[DaddyChoc]

He said the same thing about Tina Charles and Kiah Stokes in recent times, in a way just as public. They not only survived but did OK in later years. I am sure that they are not the only examples.

just cause it worked for them doesn't mean it will work for everyone... Saniya isnt Kiah nor Tina, and I dont even know if his comments bothered her but we need to stop thinking he's always right

 

[CocoHusky]

Just a little clarification on one of your statements that I recolored in red....this quote comes from Saniya's bio on the UConn WCBB website.. "Named the 2012-13 Parade All-American Team's Girls Basketball Player of the Year ... Honored as the National High School Coaches Association's (NHSCA) national girl's basketball Player of the Year"

Saniya is an extremely talented basketball player. Before Saniya's first game her sophomore year, the herd asked Geno who was the best player in practice leading up to the opening game.....he said "Saniya" (I'm assuming Geno counts playing good defense as part of doing well in practice). That's when she earned her starting position. All the players also praised Saniya...Kia Stokes even saying she thought Saniya was a bit faster than Mo (Geno neither confirmed nor denied this.He just said when Saniya decides to go to the basket, she's a blur (paraphrase)).

So what happened????..They go play Stanford in the 2nd game of the year.....they're in a dog fight.... no one is performing well on offense except for Stewie, so Saniya confidently steps up, as a sophomore, and fires in 20 pts in a losing cause...did she play good defense, NO..... neither did several others! Geno yanks Saniya out of the starting lineup after that game.and I don't think she's been the same since....deferring to her other teammates constantly, afraid to miss shots and make mistakes. Was that the right way to get the best out of Saniya.I don't think so, not in her case....but Geno is the HOF coach. It's hard to argue with success. I just feel bad for Saniya...she has the skills to contribute so much more to UConn women's basketball and the coaching staff hasn't been able to find a way to get Saniya back to the confident player she displayed in the weeks leading up to the Stanford game her sophomore year......And now with her IT Band Syndrome and Geno's lack of trust, the situation has regressed.

I say a little prayer for Saniya now and then...and hope that, if not this year, then next year, her senior year, Saniya can play pain free and with the joy and confidence she displayed to all her teammates and coaches in the weeks leading up to that fateful Stanford game.

Saniya was a Sophomore at the time of the Stanford game and had rightly earned her starting spot. But her inconsistent play and loss of confidence did not start after the Stanford game as you are implying. It actually started early in her Freshmen year. For example, Saniya came off the bench as a Freshmen and was brilliant sparking the team against Stanford 3rd game of the season when it seem like no one else could find the basket. By the end of the season she was not a part of the regular rotation but had several good moments during the season.
If you feel bad for Saniya you should also feel bad for Senior Kiah Stokes because she was also removed from the starting lineup after the Stanford game. All-American Bria Hartley was removed from the starting line also-For the benefit of the team. UCONN WCBB is a very competitive (perhaps the most competitive). Geno pushes buttons constantly but don't believe for one second that there is a player sitting on the bench that could help the team win and Geno and the staff have not found a way to utilize that player.

 

[UcMiami]

I did make the pitch that the informal education of UConn WCBB is priceless--sort of like our military academies in which no one makes the claim that the actual academics are the best in the country but that the overall experience of being there is unmatched.

I just wanted to reply to this snipped of your post - while the service academies may not have the best teacher nor the most creative educational environment, the rigor of their academic instruction is second to none, I think. And that sets a floor beneath their graduates that is not surpassed by any of the great universities in this country. So I think you sell them a little short in the above.

I cannot remember, but do not think with the obvious special case of EDD who never really attended Uconn, there has been a single player who transferred from Uconn who played a minute in the WNBA, while there have been a few who seldom started at Uconn and especially not in their first three years who did find some success in that league. Swanier mentioned above started 19 games in her career 13 of those her senior season after two starters were lost for the year - and played 5 years in the WNBA with one championship ring. Those five years is five years longer than 99% of the D1 players who graduated college her year with more starts and better 'stats'.

As far as the question about freshman starting as PG - it has actually happened quite often depending on the player and the team they joined - the list I can remember:
Sue, Renee, Bria, and Nicole and Caroline (more combo with DT/Rene) - and I don't know about Jen and Rita (who arrived as a sophomore JC transfer.) They all arrived in years where the team really needed a point guard. Sue replacing Rita, Nicole replacing Sue, Renee (competing against soph Swanier and recovering Nicole), Caroline replacing Swanier and Bria replacing injured Caroline.

 

[Mdoggie]

just cause it worked for them doesn't mean it will work for everyone... Saniya isnt Kiah nor Tina, and I dont even know if his comments bothered her but we need to stop thinking he's always right

Why do we need to stop? He has had great success and his players have for the most part eventually responded to his tactics/criticism.

 

[JoePgh]

Why do we need to stop? He has had great success and his players have for the most part eventually responded to his tactics/criticism.

I agree that we shouldn't assert that Geno is "always" right, because it isn't true. I think his treatment of Charde Houston was bad, both in terms of lack of success in motivating her and because of its potential damage to her as a person. I think his snippy relationships with other coaches like Muffitt McGraw (or CViv in the past) whose teams challenge his own team is less than admirable. I thought that he divulged too much information publicly about Samarie Walker and the circumstances of her departure (phone calls to her parents, for example), seemingly just to protect his own reputation of being a reasonable coach.

But in percentage terms, especially when it comes to gauging the effect of his words and actions on players whom he knows very well, he is right far more often than most of us, and more often than any manager that I have observed in the professional world. But as I said in another post, his percentage on that is not 100%. Some players really don't react well to his style (Kelly Schumacher supposedly didn't return to campus for several years after her graduation because of her friction with him), and some may avoid UConn because of their distaste for his style. But that is not the typical case. Whether it is the case with Saniya remains to be seen.

 

[meyers7]

Your athletic career is a fleeting thing and should be used to its' fullest advantage so that 20 years from now you are not sitting and wondering shoulda, woulda, coulda, but that is just my opinion.

I agree wholeheartedly. That's why I think she should stay and take advantage of the great opportunity in front of her.

 

[Zorro]

If everyone is so worried about how Saniya stands with Geno, why don't we designate someone to ask him and maybe he will share his thinking with us. Or not.

Actually, while I generally find Joe's posts interesting and perceptive, I personally find this whole line of speculation useless and offensive. Just mho.

 

[bags27]

I just wanted to reply to this snipped of your post - while the service academies may not have the best teacher nor the most creative educational environment, the rigor of their academic instruction is second to none, I think. And that sets a floor beneath their graduates that is not surpassed by any of the great universities in this country. So I think you sell them a little short in the above..

I was intending the same point; if it didn't come through that way, thanks for clarifying it for me.

 

[TimeWillTell]

Saniya was a Sophomore at the time of the Stanford game and had rightly earned her starting spot. But her inconsistent play and loss of confidence did not start after the Stanford game as you are implying. It actually started early in her Freshmen year. For example, Saniya came off the bench as a Freshmen and was brilliant sparking the team against Stanford 3rd game of the season when it seem like no one else could find the basket. By the end of the season she was not a part of the regular rotation but had several good moments during the season.
If you feel bad for Saniya you should also feel bad for Senior Kiah Stokes because she was also removed from the starting lineup after the Stanford game. All-American Bria Hartley was removed from the starting line also-For the benefit of the team. UCONN WCBB is a very competitive (perhaps the most competitive). Geno pushes buttons constantly but don't believe for one second that there is a player sitting on the bench that could help the team win and Geno and the staff have not found a way to utilize that player.

I DID NOT imply in my post that Saniya only lost confidence and consistency after the Stanford game her sophomore year!! As we ALL know, when freshmen arrive at Storrs, to play WCBB for UConn, it becomes an almost overwhelming task trying to learn the offensive and defensive schemes and combine that with the extreme physical nature of practice. To perform consistently well, like a senior/junior (and very occasionally a sophomore) would, is next to impossible........and Saniya was no different during her freshman year than the vast majority of other freshmen who came before her...she was inconsistent with a wavering confidence level.

What I WAS implying in my post, was that Saniya used the summer, early fall and weeks of practice before the first game of her sophomore season, to become a player the coaches (including Geno) and her teammates had very high praise for and earned her a starting position on the best women's college basketball team in the nation. Saniya was in a good place, mentally and physically.......and when Geno yanked her from the starting lineup after the Stanford game, I think it shook her to her core, and she hasn't been the same since.

I did feel bad for Kiah Stokes......especially her first 3 years. In Kiah's senior year, Geno finally realized he wasn't going to turn her into an offensive juggernaut and used her for the situations that would bring out the best in Kiah, and that would help our team win.......... and occasionally, Kiah even scored a bunch too.

While we are at it, I'd like to mention Charde..........I thought Geno put the shackles on her offensively. He refused to let Charde out past the 3 pt arc and every time she did so, he wasn't happy. Charde was strong and very athletic and I'm sure Geno thought she could be dominant down low, especially when being defended by a guard. (just like he's doing with Gabby, although in Gabby's case, I think it's a good thing to do.........for a while)
Well Charde liked to shoot the three ball too! Check out her high school numbers. But I wouldn't be surprised if Charde shot 10% from long distance (long 2 or 3) in her career at UConn with all the looking over her shoulder at the bench.........Experiencing more freedom in the WNBA, Charde became a WNBA ALL-STAR.

Geno's a great coach....one of the very, very best there is..........wouldn't be an Olympic coach if he wasn't. But he has made some mistakes IMHO....both situationally and personnel wise. I guess that's only being human.