Current Huskies Talk About AEH & Geno Explains His Recruiting Philosophy

[Charliebball]

Interesting stuff:

The New Haven Register Blogs: Elm City to Eagleville

 

[Kaizen]

Geno always finds the talent girls ...

 

[caramel]

Always a joy understanding the coach's agenda in seeking players.One thing you can always count on at Connecticut,is that each and every one,will be committed to the team,as a team,and not the individual,both on and off the court.I think this is why Connecticut is so successful.Many good players do not come here.Those that do,are the right ones to grasp the system and thrive in it.
Such girls as Stokes probably could have been the star on another team,but in all probability,wouldn't be the complete player she is today.
The atmosphere of team translates into why our girls keep coming back long after the college days are over for them.
Even after Geno has hung up his clipboard forever,even after someone else takes over this great program,the foundation of what Connecticut is will carry on.

 

[BigBird]

This blog article is a must-read for anyone interested in UConn WBB recruiting. I haven't been around this board or this team's fanbase very long, but I haven't read anything previously that lays it out quite so clearly and forcefully. When BY'ers start in on why a student is being recruited or not recruited, they should read (or re-read) this.

 

[BroadwayVa]

This blog article is a must-read for anyone interested in UConn WBB recruiting. I haven't been around this board or this team's fanbase very long, but I haven't read anything previously that lays it out quite so clearly and forcefully. When BY'ers start in on why a student is being recruited or not recruited, they should read (or re-read) this.

This was an excellent article on Chong's former teammate and Geno's/Uconn's beliefs in recruiting.
I've read and heard much of this--the one thing that was new to me was: We'd rather get no recruits than the wrong ones (paraphrasing). I believe that is the team goal--no trouble makers--but in the past 15 years or so a few slipped through. Anyone who wants to know what will keep Geno at Uconn longer--don't get any kids that are a daily chore to control or teach.
Molly Bent is an excellent example of Geno's belief. She flew under the radar, mostly. Nothing fancy just pure hard working dedicated kid with a Dad, who she loves and respects, who coached her--so much she isn't ready to let Geno be her new Dad--not right away. It would not surprise me if ms Bent does not become a major player for Geno/uconn.

 

[Shorty Dee]

I enjoyed reading all the articles.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Geno always finds the talent girls ...

Geno about the new kids: they all know each other, they have all spent time together. There are not looking over each others shoulder. We told them up front that your success at Connecticut has nothing to do with who else is coming and we understand tha

 

[Charliebball]

Imagine that...............four players offered, four players signed..................I wonder what Jeff Walz thinks about that?

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Geno is the master! Geno has the old world understanding of life which makes up his coaching philosophy!

 

[Carnac]

Always a joy understanding the coach's agenda in seeking players.One thing you can always count on at Connecticut,is that each and every one,will be committed to the team,as a team,and not the individual,both on and off the court.I think this is why Connecticut is so successful.Many good players do not come here.Those that do,are the right ones to grasp the system and thrive in it.
Such girls as Stokes probably could have been the star on another team,but in all probability,wouldn't be the complete player she is today.
The atmosphere of team translates into why our girls keep coming back long after the college days are over for them.
Even after Geno has hung up his clipboard forever,even after someone else takes over this great program,the foundation of what Connecticut is will carry on.

The more stories like this that we are able to read, gives us more and more insight in to how Geno thinks, and allows us to make more informed and more "intelligent" guesses, when we try to figure out or predict what he's going to do before he does it. It's the same thing if you listen to him in post game interviews or the Geno Auriemma Show. Out of the mouth, the hearts speaks.

 

[Carnac]

Imagine that.....four players offered, four players signed...I wonder what Jeff Walz thinks about that?

That's a huge 500 piece "jigsaw" puzzle Walz hasn't begun to figure out yet. In a puzzle that large, when you open the box and pour out the pieces, they all look alike.

 

[donalddoowop]

This was an excellent article on Chong's former teammate and Geno's/Uconn's beliefs in recruiting.
I've read and heard much of this--the one thing that was new to me was: We'd rather get no recruits than the wrong ones (paraphrasing). I believe that is the team goal--no trouble makers--but in the past 15 years or so a few slipped through. Anyone who wants to know what will keep Geno at Uconn longer--don't get any kids that are a daily chore to control or teach.
Molly Bent is an excellent example of Geno's belief. She flew under the radar, mostly. Nothing fancy just pure hard working dedicated kid with a Dad, who she loves and respects, who coached her--so much she isn't ready to let Geno be her new Dad--not right away. It would not surprise me if ms Bent does not become a major player for Geno/uconn.

It would not surprise me if Ms. Bent DOES become a major player for Geno/Uconn.

 

[cbraarj]

Geno started this in 1994 when he recruited Nykesha Sales and Monick Foote. The 2 best players in the country at their position. He called up Foote and decided not to recruit her anymore. He decided to concentrate on Sales. He stated that he didnt like it when players came for a visit and he offered them a scholarship that they wanted to visit the other schools first and would let him know. He didnt like that but also he couldnt recruit 2 players and tell one of them we are waiting for so and so and we will let you know after there visit. He said it wasnt fair on both sides.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Geno started this in 1994 when he recruited Nykesha Sales and Monick Foote. The 2 best players in the country at their position. He called up Foote and decided not to recruit her anymore. He decided to concentrate on Sales. He stated that he didnt like it when players came for a visit and he offered them a scholarship that they wanted to visit the other schools first and would let him know. He didnt like that but also he couldnt recruit 2 players and tell one of them we are waiting for so and so and we will let you know after there visit. He said it wasnt fair on both sides.

I have read most of what was written about him in the Courant and other early publications but I don't recall reading this about his Sales recruiting. That's new to me (or I forgot it)--thanks.

If the kid had any kind of ego at all---playing second fiddle isn't for them. I bet he changed his thinking and knows the game today is take all the offers and analyze them -- discuss them--and then make a selection--1994 and 2016 --are much different, even for Geno.
Geno has tried, no one is always successful, to be fair to the recruits and to his team. Geno is far from a perfect human being, but I have loved his dedication to his current and former players , his "give back to the community (total) and of course his winning.

 

[BroadwayVa]

That's a huge 500 piece "jigsaw" puzzle Walz hasn't begun to figure out yet. In a puzzle that large, when you open the box and pour out the pieces, they all look alike.

I like Walz, liked him more when he took over from Collins, but his progression as a coach is a bit disappointing. He came roaring on the big stage as a Head Coach--lots of talk of him one day being another Geno. He's done well with some talent --

 

[bags27]

This is really an astonishing article in that Geno is opening up more and more as he 1. gets older and wiser; 2. can view the world of WCBB from high above. That he is so super-selective about even those he invites to campus gives him the time to focus on only the very most important things for his team. A perfect example of K.I.S.S.

 

[UcMiami]

I like Walz, liked him more when he took over from Collins, but his progression as a coach is a bit disappointing. He came roaring on the big stage as a Head Coach--lots of talk of him one day being another Geno. He's done well with some talent --

Like with any organization there is a huge transition between the 'start up' phase and the 'expansion' phase of a basketball program. Walz has done an excellent job with the start up phase at Louisville and has gotten better results than anyone else I can think of (Dawn has done very well, too, as have a couple of upstarts in the NW in Oregon State (Rueck) and Washington (Neighbors.)) He has done so with second rank recruiting talent which he has trained well and coached in games superbly.

It is only in the last few years that he has broken through in the recruiting stakes, and so I consider this to be the beginning of the 'expansion' phase of his 'enterprise'. So far, it doesn't appear that he has adjusted to the new reality of recruiting success that matches the performance success - he is still using his scattershot approach to recruiting, and has yet to focus more specifically on building a specific team - looking at his roster and identify the missing pieces for the next few years and narrowing his efforts to fill those needs with quality instead of quantity.

A lot of businesses fail in this transition, for sports teams, the 'failure' is in becoming an up and down middle ranker. When you have too large a roster of good players, you can miss the occasional great player and/or fail to develop the good player into a great one.

 

[carpe diem]

All this is wonderful reading and reassuring for all fervent UCONN WBB fans, to which I ascribe. But...... as we know just from the last few years not all heralded recruits end up staying. I would be interested in other BY take on why particular players somehow got recruited, matricuated, some playling more than others, and left to attend less successful programs. My own lack of understanding is why anyone would not have being part of what is likely a NC would not stay for that reason. Obviously wanting more playing time is an issue. But did something go wrong in the recruiting process elaborated in previous posts? They were all recruited with the idea they would be team players, hard workers, and able to make the team better. So what underlies this conundrum?

 

[JoePgh]

All this is wonderful reading and reassuring for all fervent UCONN WBB fans, to which I ascribe. But. as we know just from the last few years not all heralded recruits end up staying. I would be interested in other BY take on why particular players somehow got recruited, matricuated, some playling more than others, and left to attend less successful programs. My own lack of understanding is why anyone would not have being part of what is likely a NC would not stay for that reason. Obviously wanting more playing time is an issue. But did something go wrong in the recruiting process elaborated in previous posts? They were all recruited with the idea they would be team players, hard workers, and able to make the team better. So what underlies this conundrum?

To answer your question about why certain players choose to transfer out of a NC-winning program, I would say, first of all, that EDD and Samarie Walker are sui generic -- completely unique situations. The other recent transfers all followed a common theme of being too low on the depth chart and not having any prospects of earning significant minutes: Courtney Ekmark, Brianna Banks, the player who transferred to USC (Courtney's classmate), and two players in the Stef/Bria class: Michala Johnson and the player from California who transferred to Boston College. (Sorry I'm forgetting some of these names.)

I don't find it difficult to understand why players who were big stars in high school and AAU, and highly ranked nationally, would not look forward to "riding the pine" for four years even if the result were four national championships. Any good player is going to want to use her skills and develop them further, even if she recognizes that a WNBA career is probably not in the cards.

Why does Geno recruit players if he knows that their reasonable expectations for playing time are not likely to be satisfied? I doubt that he does. He is playing a betting game just as much as the players are, because he cannot be certain who else he is going to get in a particular class. For example, in this year, would he have recruited both AEH and Lexi Gordon if he knew he was going to get Megan Walker? I think probably not. Would he have recruited Courtney Ekmark if he knew that he was going to get both Kia and Gabby, and that Gabby's knees would hold up as well as they have so far? Would he have recruited Brianna Banks if he knew that he would land Moriah Jefferson a year later?

There is just too much uncertainty in the whole process to be able to prevent situations where you have more players than you need at certain positions, without taking a risk that you won't have enough.

 

[UcMiami]

All this is wonderful reading and reassuring for all fervent UCONN WBB fans, to which I ascribe. But. as we know just from the last few years not all heralded recruits end up staying. I would be interested in other BY take on why particular players somehow got recruited, matricuated, some playling more than others, and left to attend less successful programs. My own lack of understanding is why anyone would not have being part of what is likely a NC would not stay for that reason. Obviously wanting more playing time is an issue. But did something go wrong in the recruiting process elaborated in previous posts? They were all recruited with the idea they would be team players, hard workers, and able to make the team better. So what underlies this conundrum?

I did an analysis of the recent transfers in another thread which I'll copy in here - but in the last few years that transfers have either stayed for at least one NC or left in their first semester - the ones leaving in the first semester I read as realizing they made a serious mistake in their choice of school either because of personal reasons, or not feeling comfortable with the actual coaching they were receiving. To think that minutes had something to do with it that early in the process seems unlikely. For the others ... realizing you don't have what it takes to crack the meaningful minutes and having already experienced an NC, the choice seems to be pretty logical.

I don't really think that is a valid generalization:
Boykin - left for personal reasons after starting her freshman year injured
Ekmark - left for playing time after not playing well enough in the system to get meaningful minutes
Edwards - left for personal reasons in her freshman year (two months into a season is not about minutes.)
Banks - left for personal reasons after an injury plagued career.
Engeln - Left for playing time after not playing well enough to get meaningful minutes
Johnson - Left for a variety of reasons including playing with her sister after struggling with injuries
Walker - Left for personal reasons

So of the last 7 transfers out four left for personal reasons, while the other three may well have left primarily because of playing time, but the playing time was tied into their ability to perform at the level of their surrounding teammates - in each case there were minutes available on the team the years they left if they had the ability to earn it.
On the current team, we have no idea about our three freshman in terms of their ability nor are we really sure about Butler and I suppose we could say there are questions about our two transfers in, though the general assumption is they have a lot of talent and will thrive. And we of course don't now how the adjustment to Uconn and college will go for our four signees.

On the other side of the 'playing time' issue is a pretty long list of players who have stayed while never cracking the significant playing time equation or not cracking it in their first few years. of the recruited players in the recent past - Chong and Kiah stand out, but Gabby also struggled as a freshman to see meaningful minutes and the jury is out on Butler after an injury plagued first year.

 

[cbraarj]

I have read most of what was written about him in the Courant and other early publications but I don't recall reading this about his Sales recruiting. That's new to me (or I forgot it)--thanks.

If the kid had any kind of ego at all---playing second fiddle isn't for them. I bet he changed his thinking and knows the game today is take all the offers and analyze them -- discuss them--and then make a selection--1994 and 2016 --are much different, even for Geno.
Geno has tried, no one is always successful, to be fair to the recruits and to his team. Geno is far from a perfect human being, but I have loved his dedication to his current and former players , his "give back to the community (total) and of course his winning.

Genos book In Pursuit Of Perfection.

 

[chuck.r]

To answer your question about why certain players choose to transfer out of a NC-winning program, I would say, first of all, that EDD and Samarie Walker are sui generic -- completely unique situations. The other recent transfers all followed a common theme of being too low on the depth chart and not having any prospects of earning significant minutes: Courtney Ekmark, Brianna Banks, the player who transferred to USC (Courtney's classmate), and two players in the Stef/Bria class: Michala Johnson and the player from California who transferred to Boston College. (Sorry I'm forgetting some of these names.)

I don't find it difficult to understand why players who were big stars in high school and AAU, and highly ranked nationally, would not look forward to "riding the pine" for four years even if the result were four national championships. Any good player is going to want to use her skills and develop them further, even if she recognizes that a WNBA career is probably not in the cards.

Why does Geno recruit players if he knows that their reasonable expectations for playing time are not likely to be satisfied? I doubt that he does. He is playing a betting game just as much as the players are, because he cannot be certain who else he is going to get in a particular class. For example, in this year, would he have recruited both AEH and Lexi Gordon if he knew he was going to get Megan Walker? I think probably not. Would he have recruited Courtney Ekmark if he knew that he was going to get both Kia and Gabby, and that Gabby's knees would hold up as well as they have so far? Would he have recruited Brianna Banks if he knew that he would land Moriah Jefferson a year later?

There is just too much uncertainty in the whole process to be able to prevent situations where you have more players than you need at certain positions, without taking a risk that you won't have enough.

Sadie Edwards (USC), and Lauren Engeln (BC)

 

[Kibitzer]

All this is wonderful reading and reassuring for all fervent UCONN WBB fans, to which I ascribe. But. as we know just from the last few years not all heralded recruits end up staying. I would be interested in other BY take on why particular players somehow got recruited, matricuated, some playling more than others, and left to attend less successful programs. My own lack of understanding is why anyone would not have being part of what is likely a NC would not stay for that reason. Obviously wanting more playing time is an issue. But did something go wrong in the recruiting process elaborated in previous posts? They were all recruited with the idea they would be team players, hard workers, and able to make the team better. So what underlies this conundrum?

I have often posted my fervent beliefs:

1. Nothing in the vast field of sports management is more important than the ability to evaluate skills of individual athletes; and,

2. This becomes absolutely vital -- indeed, the difference between success and failure -- when trying to project how an athlete will perform at the next level.​

For a prime example, consider the vast expenditure of resources by NFL teams to prepare for the annual draft of college football players. This event is the life blood of every franchise. Thousands of hours and millions of dollars by every team, every year. Yet 29 teams missed multiple opportunities to select Joe Montana or Tom Brady. Other examples (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) abound.

College coaches face an even more formidable challenge: evaluating teen-agers with fewer resources (mainly "eye-tests") and considerations (e.g., academics, parents) that go beyond athletic skill.

Geno's scorecard includes occasional misses, to be sure, but far more (extra base) hits than any competitor. Eleven NC's are but one manifestation of his preeminent capacity for assessing -- then recruiting and developing -- talent.

I rest my case.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Genos book In Pursuit Of Perfection.

AH--SO, as some orientals once said! Now that you tweeked this leaky sieve I call a brain, I do recall that publication. Thanks.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Like with any organization there is a huge transition between the 'start up' phase and the 'expansion' phase of a basketball program. Walz has done an excellent job with the start up phase at Louisville and has gotten better results than anyone else I can think of (Dawn has done very well, too, as have a couple of upstarts in the NW in Oregon State (Rueck) and Washington (Neighbors.)) He has done so with second rank recruiting talent which he has trained well and coached in games superbly.

It is only in the last few years that he has broken through in the recruiting stakes, and so I consider this to be the beginning of the 'expansion' phase of his 'enterprise'. So far, it doesn't appear that he has adjusted to the new reality of recruiting success that matches the performance success - he is still using his scattershot approach to recruiting, and has yet to focus more specifically on building a specific team - looking at his roster and identify the missing pieces for the next few years and narrowing his efforts to fill those needs with quality instead of quantity.

A lot of businesses fail in this transition, for sports teams, the 'failure' is in becoming an up and down middle ranker. When you have too large a roster of good players, you can miss the occasional great player and/or fail to develop the good player into a great one.

Thanks---Good analysis. I understand startup/transition/ break out phases--of business.
A personal belief is that Education fails children with the expectation of the grading system. In Business and in life--failure is an excellent learning tool. Although NOT the only learning tool. Often humans learn more from their failures than their successes. The trick is to determine what part of the failure was worth keeping.

I like the manner in which Walz handles his kids. For the most part I think they buy into his processes--and is a huge part of coaching success.

I take it you, like me, wish him success.