Dawn's last chance to beat Geno?

[Gamecockfan77]

While all good observations, a few of the top women's college basketball teams are moving to having dominate 4's and 5's that may not move as well in offenses similar to UConn's motion system, but can pound the boards and work for close shots. The issue these teams have had is to be able to combine these assets with strong point guards. Baylor won with this style with B Griner and is again using the same system, now with two dominate bigs. My vote is that UConn will for several more years continue at #1, but over time will be interesting to see what style wins out.

Like most systems, the performance is going to vary greatly with how good the performers are.

UConn will be absolutely fine so long as they are putting five offensively capable players on the floor who can balance the floor and take advantage of any defensive opening.

The systems creates those opportunities for them, but ultimately it is the caliber of player that determines whether those opportunities are converted.

 

[oldude]

While there are many elements that are required for a team to reach the elite level in WBB, sustained excellence can only be maintained by consistently recruiting great players.

For UConn that means two things. 1st, Get every top player out of your back yard, and Geno has a very large back yard: all of New England, NY, NJ, DE, PA & hopefully DC (Azzi).
I would be absolutely stunned if Aliyah Boston goes anywhere but Storrs.

2nd, compete for top recruits nationally/internationally. Currently, UConn’s roster includes players from NV, NC, CA, MO, TN, VA, GA, OK & CN

As for SC, certainly they appear to own the state of SC. But once you get beyond the state line the results are mixed. With UNC & Duke it’s difficult for the Gamecocks to consistently pursuade NC recruits to head south. As for neighboring GA, UConn will have pulled the GA HS POY in both 2017 (Coombs) & 2018 (ONO).

On a national basis, SC appears to be strong in the talent rich state of FL, and Dawn remains effective in her old Temple stomping ground of NYC/NJ, but it remains to be seen if Dawn can expand SC’s national reach extensively.

Pulling Harris out of IN was a big “get” for SC. In 2018, SC has another top recruit out of FL and a solid recruit out of GA. Dawn has been able to effectively supplement any recruiting shortfalls by shopping the waiver wire for transfers, which everyone seems to be doing these days.

In the long run, whether it’s enough for SC to continue to challenge for a national championship remains to be seen.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

In general, across all sports, South Carolina has been most effective in SC, GA, NC, FL and NY/NJ.

It has sporadic success up the I-95 corridor and on occasion in Alabama. Beyond that, its the rare bird who ends up in Columbia, SC.

To me, the critical state has tended to be Georgia. And that's typically a hard one for SC as it is well picked over and Atlanta in particular has been a hard road. No accident to me that the key additions that made the team a national title winner were two Georgia girls who didn't pick South Carolina to begin with.

 

[oldude]

In general, across all sports, South Carolina has been most effective in SC, GA, NC, FL and NY/NJ.

It has sporadic success up the I-95 corridor and on occasion in Alabama. Beyond that, its the rare bird who ends up in Columbia, SC.

To me, the critical state has tended to be Georgia. And that's typically a hard one for SC as it is well picked over and Atlanta in particular has been a hard road. No accident to me that the key additions that made the team a national title winner were two Georgia girls who didn't pick South Carolina to begin with.

Agree with you on talent level from the state of GA. While UConn has pulled a handful of players out of the state, most notably Maya, the biggest concern for SC, imo, is a resurgent UGA program in Athens.

 

[huskyd]

Whatever you may think of Dawn Staley, she’s done a remarkable job turning SC into one of the elite WBB programs in the country, bringing the school it’s first national championship in WBB last season. Throughout her basketball career, Dawn has been named to multiple AA teams, the NPOY twice, a 3-time Olympian, 6-time WNBA All-star and an inductee into the Basketball HOF in Springfield, MA. Dawn has done just about everything you could imagine as a player and coach, with one notable exception. Dawn’s teams have never beaten a Geno Auriemma coached team.

It could have happened last season when Dawn brought her loaded Gamecock team to Gampel, but on that night Gabby Williams and her teammates played heroically against the much bigger, much deeper SC team as UConn’s winning streak hit the century mark. It then looked as if a surging Gamecock team would have the opportunity for a rematch against the Huskies in the national final, but MS St ended that possibility.

I’m certain that SC didn’t lose any sleep over the fact that they won their national championship against a team with a different canine mascot than anticipated. Undoubtedly Dawn and her team would love to beat the team that represents the gold standard in WBB. While it’s always possible that SC & UConn could meet again this season, on a neutral court, during the Big Dance, tomorrow could be it for this season.

The Gamecocks, lead by AA and NPOY candidate A’ja Wilson, will be at home before a packed house in Columbia. As a result of graduation and injuries, the Gamecocks are not as strong as they were last year, IMO; and once Wilson graduates at the end of this season, they may never again have the firepower to beat a Geno Auriemma coached team.

Great players win championships, something every Husky fan knows. Don’t get me wrong, Dawn is a good recruiter and she’s always got the welcome mat out for talented transfers, but finding a powerful, athletic 6’5” star in your backyard isn’t something that happens every day. Last year’s championship and the Olympic HC gig certainly give Dawn a lot of credibility, but I just don’t see SC competing year-in and year-out for McD AA’s with the likes of Baylor, TX, ND, TN and a certain school in northeastern CT.

There’s a lot of coaches that have never beaten a Geno Auriemma coached team, particularly in recent years. Dawn’s last best chance to accomplish that feat may well be tomorrow night.

Absolutely correct (meaning: I agree with you).
Emily Dickinson wrote "Hope is the thing with feathers/that perches in the soul." A game cock is a "thing with feathers," but that bird doesn't fly. So hope, for SC, is available but not likely to win many games. When Aja leaves there will be much less wind beneath the Gamecock's feeble wings. And, you're correct, recruiting there will not turn up a local girl as special as Wilson any time soon. Had Aja come to UConn she'd have four NC rings. Obviously, that's not the most important thing for her, but for national recruits it may be. I like Dawn, but she's no Geno. As you said, "last best chance."

 

[JordyG]

Whatever you may think of Dawn Staley, she’s done a remarkable job turning SC into one of the elite WBB programs in the country, bringing the school it’s first national championship in WBB last season. Throughout her basketball career, Dawn has been named to multiple AA teams, the NPOY twice, a 3-time Olympian, 6-time WNBA All-star and an inductee into the Basketball HOF in Springfield, MA. Dawn has done just about everything you could imagine as a player and coach, with one notable exception. Dawn’s teams have never beaten a Geno Auriemma coached team.

It could have happened last season when Dawn brought her loaded Gamecock team to Gampel, but on that night Gabby Williams and her teammates played heroically against the much bigger, much deeper SC team as UConn’s winning streak hit the century mark. It then looked as if a surging Gamecock team would have the opportunity for a rematch against the Huskies in the national final, but MS St ended that possibility.

I’m certain that SC didn’t lose any sleep over the fact that they won their national championship against a team with a different canine mascot than anticipated. Undoubtedly Dawn and her team would love to beat the team that represents the gold standard in WBB. While it’s always possible that SC & UConn could meet again this season, on a neutral court, during the Big Dance, tomorrow could be it for this season.

The Gamecocks, lead by AA and NPOY candidate A’ja Wilson, will be at home before a packed house in Columbia. As a result of graduation and injuries, the Gamecocks are not as strong as they were last year, IMO; and once Wilson graduates at the end of this season, they may never again have the firepower to beat a Geno Auriemma coached team.

Great players win championships, something every Husky fan knows. Don’t get me wrong, Dawn is a good recruiter and she’s always got the welcome mat out for talented transfers, but finding a powerful, athletic 6’5” star in your backyard isn’t something that happens every day. Last year’s championship and the Olympic HC gig certainly give Dawn a lot of credibility, but I just don’t see SC competing year-in and year-out for McD AA’s with the likes of Baylor, TX, ND, TN and a certain school in northeastern CT.

There’s a lot of coaches that have never beaten a Geno Auriemma coached team, particularly in recent years. Dawn’s last best chance to accomplish that feat may well be tomorrow night.

There is also the fact that Geno will not be coaching forever which further narrows Dawn's window. People who think an OOC game against UConn isn't as important as a conference game next week against at team they've owned in MSS misses the point.

 

[JordyG]

Geno has earned the players he gets and he routinely does a magnificent job with them. All the credit in the world to him for implementing that great system and curating the right fits for it.

South Carolina doesn't have five top 15 players who are all great passers and shoot well from the perimeter. I'm sure we'd like to have them, but they just aren't there.

With that said, I don't think South Carolina has really had a great offensive flow consistently during this run. There were some games early this year when Spann was healthy where the flow and tempo was really good, but she got hurt and conference play always turns into a slog.

South Carolina could stand to be much better offensively and it starts with winning recruiting battles for players who don't have fatal flaws on the perimeter. But you also need to give those players the confidence to take and make those shots.

Watching South Carolina guards being fearful to take three point shots with no defenders within five feet has been painful for most of this run.

Well said. It doesn't have to, and in my opinion, won't be that way forever for Dawn. But the caveat is she'll need the players to contend for another championship. With that fan base and alumni support Dawn needs to recruit, and do it soon.

 

[SCGamecock]

Geno has earned the players he gets and he routinely does a magnificent job with them. All the credit in the world to him for implementing that great system and curating the right fits for it.

South Carolina doesn't have five top 15 players who are all great passers and shoot well from the perimeter. I'm sure we'd like to have them, but they just aren't there.

With that said, I don't think South Carolina has really had a great offensive flow consistently during this run. There were some games early this year when Spann was healthy where the flow and tempo was really good, but she got hurt and conference play always turns into a slog.

South Carolina could stand to be much better offensively and it starts with winning recruiting battles for players who don't have fatal flaws on the perimeter. But you also need to give those players the confidence to take and make those shots.

Watching South Carolina guards being fearful to take three point shots with no defenders within five feet has been painful for most of this run.

All of this pretty much. I couldn’t have said it better.

I think the most impressive offensive flow we had in these past 5 or 6 years was just last year.. late in the season when we lost Coates and started playing 4 out/1 in.. Harris at PG, Cuevas at SG, Davis at SF, Gray at PF and Wilson at C. Gray and Wilson had exceptional chemistry on the court. Those are all 4 players you have to defend anywhere on the court... Harris was shy on the perimeter but even she could burn you if you left her open and you had to guard Wilson everywhere as well because she’s a playmaker naturally.

I am NOT a fan of the double post system but with Coates and Wilson (and Welch and Ibiam before them), the double post system has worked so well for us because they are so dominant.. but the force it into the paint offense limits our guard play and I think that has caused us to suffer when it comes to recruiting dynamic wing players with SC establishing the reputation of being a "post-centric" offense/program. If you’re noticing, Dawn being who she is, almost always gets the point guard she wants in a recruiting class and it seems our PG recruiting keeps improving. Sutton, Walker, Sessions, Harris, Henderson.. you’ll begin to see what she wants at that spot and how she builds her team around that...Ironically, we missed on both of the PGs we recruited for 2015 (Lambert and Cooper) and one of them still ended up on our roster. Sutton/Walker were great playmakers and off the bounce. Sutton is still one of the best guards I've seen in a SC uniform with the ball in her hand (although Mitchell was just as good and I think Destanni Henderson will have something to say about that before it's all over). Sessions was a great scorer at the high school level but with Coates/Wilson on the horizon, Dawn recruited her with the intentions of her being a playmaker. I think Sessions got TOO good at being a playmaker that it caused her own offense to suffer and it became mental for her. Harris is a great all around point guard, super high basketball intelligence and a leader, the perfect player to lead this team into a new era post-Wilson. Henderson is a great passer/playmaker but she's an elite level scoring point guard. She really shines when she's hunting for her shot, which is often.

So SC does well recruiting PGs and does a decent job with Forwards... the one area we severely lack in is recruiting wings, whether it be shooting guards or small forwards. We have not done well there at all, which is surprising given how well SC did developing Mitchell into a WNBA caliber guard even though she was at the bottom of the top-50 out of high school. Perhaps it's a thing of SC recruiting these players then pulling out in favor of better players, but that's hard for me to believe considering who we've brought in in return. Or maybe it's just these players choosing other schools over SC. Or perhaps it's a case of a class filling up quickly (2017) and players (Westbrook) deciding not to visit because of that.

In 2015, we missed on Destinee Walker (UNC).

In 2016, it was Leaonna Odom (Duke), Nicole Ekhomu (FSU) and Jensen Caretti (Ohio State).

In 2017, it was Westbrook (Tennessee) and Deauzya Richards (Baylor).. although we did get Grissett and Jackson with Grissett projected as a wing at the time but she obviously had a growth spurt and is now a 6'3 power forward for us. The jury is still out on Jackson's ceiling.. is she more Asia Dozier or Tiffany Mitchell? We'll see.

In 2018, Williams crushed us (UConn), Zarielle Green for whatever reason swapped SC for Tennessee at the last minute, committed to Kansas, THEN actually committed to Tennessee after being convinced to take a visit (which tells me she was a take for SC but something happened)... Elizabeth Balogun chose Georgia Tech mostly for academic reasons and Rhyne Howard, who I thought was definitely coming to SC, committed to Kentucky instead.

SC won it's first title when it had dynamic players at all positions... not just at PG and Forward. I don't think we'll get our next one until we get better on the wings.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Absolutely correct (meaning: I agree with you).
Emily Dickinson wrote "Hope is the thing with feathers/that perches in the soul." A game cock is a "thing with feathers," but that bird doesn't fly. So hope, for SC, is available but not likely to win many games. When Aja leaves there will be much less wind beneath the Gamecock's feeble wings. And, you're correct, recruiting there will not turn up a local girl as special as Wilson any time soon. Had Aja come to UConn she'd have four NC rings. Obviously, that's not the most important thing for her, but for national recruits it may be. I like Dawn, but she's no Geno. As you said, "last best chance."

you ever see the end of Ol' Yeller?

 

[oldude]

you ever see the end of Ol' Yeller?

I’ve seen the movie, but I’m a little confused by the analogy. Are you suggesting that Geno is an old rabid dog that should be shot (not an entirely inappropriate analogy), or are you saying that Dawn just stole a piece of meat and we should start referring to her as “Young Yeller?”

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I’ve seen the movie, but I’m a little confused by the analogy. Are you suggesting that Geno is an old rabid dog that should be shot (not an entirely inappropriate analogy), or are you saying that Dawn just stole a piece of meat and we should start referring to her as “Young Yeller?”

the former I'm afraid. I meant it well. Reasonably well.

I didn't have any emily dickinson on point. I'm more Dr Seuss these days.

 

[oldude]

the former I'm afraid. I meant it well. Reasonably well.

I didn't have any emily dickinson on point. I'm more Dr Seuss these days.

Geno can be one ornery old dog from time to time, but we’ve seen no foaming at the mouth so far.

 

[HuskylnSC]

It took Geno how many years to win another championship after he won his first.. 5, I believe. And that was in an era when WBB had 1 great power (Tennessee), a rising power (UConn), and a few other good programs... WBB is way more competitive now IMO, so while it may take longer than 5 years, I don't think this is it for Dawn.

Having just won her first last year. She will build off of that. No, our recruiting didn’t improve overnight with the 2018 class post championship.. but it will improve. She’s relentless in that aspect.

SC caught lightning in a bottle with recruiting the years prior to 2015.. Welch, Mitchell, Dozier, Sessions, Ibiam, Coates, White(transfer), Duckett(transfer), Wilson all essentially local/regional players, all top 100 players. The instate talent in SC comes in waves.. 2011-2014 was an impressive wave that produced a few top 50s and a #1. Dawn supplemented those players with out of region players like Cuevas, Roy, Cliney.. and added a few really good transfers along the way in Imovbioh, Gray and Davis. Recruiting wise, 2011-2014 was a perfect storm of talent that somehow all ended up at SC.. that talent carried us from 2015 to now, with A’ja/Cuevas being the last of that “generation”. Dawn made use of that and got at least 1 title out of it (which kinda makes sense being that most of those players were around for the years of transcendent Breanna Stewart, who was greedy and won everything lol).

Talent wise, SC went into a great slump after 2014.. a really bad one. So bad that I think the state of SC may have produced only 1 top 100 player between the years of 2015-2018, Shayla Bennett (UNC) in 2016.. other players I thought could've been top 100: Kameron Roach (Kentucky) in 2017 and the underrated D'asia Gregg (Georgia Tech) in 2018. Going along with this statewide slump, SC also failed to strike big on the recruiting trail.. landing a few big fish here and there with Harris (2016) and Grissett (2017) but going blank in 2015 (our lone player, Shay Colley from Canada, transferred) and bringing in good classes still but missing most of their big out of state targets for 2017 and 2018 (Henderson is VERY important going forward). This slump is also reflected on our roster as there are no players from SC on our current roster after A'ja Wilson.

Interestingly enough and right on time it seems, the talent is slowly creeping back up in the state of SC. And while I don't think this next wave will rival what SC produced from 2011-2014.. SC is now a title winning program and if Dawn can use that to land these big instate players from the 2019-2022 classes and begin getting big out of state players as well then you can expect SC to continue being in the mix. Never say never, but there's almost too much positive in play at SC for the program to regress to anything less than a good team.

So with all of that said, my answer to your question depends on how long Geno continues coaching because I think in another 5 years or less SC will be right where UConn was around 2000/2001..

Regardless of the sport, Football, Basketball, baseball or WBB, SCAR is a regional recruiter that has occasionally hit the jackpot with a transcendent player. As long as they remain only a regional recruiter, they will only compete for the brass ring sporadically.

 

[HuskylnSC]

Geno has earned the players he gets and he routinely does a magnificent job with them. All the credit in the world to him for implementing that great system and curating the right fits for it.

South Carolina doesn't have five top 15 players who are all great passers and shoot well from the perimeter. I'm sure we'd like to have them, but they just aren't there.

With that said, I don't think South Carolina has really had a great offensive flow consistently during this run. There were some games early this year when Spann was healthy where the flow and tempo was really good, but she got hurt and conference play always turns into a slog.

South Carolina could stand to be much better offensively and it starts with winning recruiting battles for players who don't have fatal flaws on the perimeter. But you also need to give those players the confidence to take and make those shots.

Watching South Carolina guards being fearful to take three point shots with no defenders within five feet has been painful for most of this run.

If you will watch UConn teams over the years, there is no one system. There is no curating of player to perform in the system. The system changes as the players change. That is what great coaches do. They develop individuals to be the best that they can be and then create a system that puts them together with the best possibility for victories.

I recently saw a clip where Geno said that what he missed the most from the early years is beating teams they weren't supposed to beat. There were many games when we were the underdog and not only to TN. UConn has not always had top 10/20 players. But they have always had top 10 effort form the players they had.

The one defining aspect of the "system" is that if the player does not give 100% effort 100% of the time, they are not playing regardless of the opportunity for victory. And that is why I have been a loyal UConn fan since Lobo.

 

[cbraarj]

I really thought it was coming after the four in a row when he said on stage after being presented the trophy "and now there are no more worlds to conquer." I expected him to add to that "so I'm done."

That was Stewies, Moriahs and Morgans night! Geno never does it like that!

 

[JustinesGuy]

I sure hope not, although I do believe that when the little Italian decides to hang it up, it will be a surprise announcement at the end of a season, hopefully not for years to come.

Hopefully Justine and Geno stay at uconn for many years to come

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Regardless of the sport, Football, Basketball, baseball or WBB, SCAR is a regional recruiter that has occasionally hit the jackpot with a transcendent player. As long as they remain only a regional recruiter, they will only compete for the brass ring sporadically.

Depends on what you mean by regional and what sport you are talking about. You can win championship after championship in football just dominating FLA, GA, SC, NC. with maybe a little more reach in the Southeast.

Our baseball team was/will-likely-be-again dominant without really getting too far north of the Triangle.

Is basketball going to win big every year on that model? Probably not.

To do what UConn is doing you absolutely have to get the best players no matter where they are. I don't think that's really particularly realistic for most anyone else these days. Maybe Notre Dame?

I think UConn is largely unique. And until UConn stops being able to do that, no one else is really going to have the opportunity to dominate like UConn.

 

[cbraarj]

All of this pretty much. I couldn’t have said it better.

I think the most impressive offensive flow we had in these past 5 or 6 years was just last year.. late in the season when we lost Coates and started playing 4 out/1 in.. Harris at PG, Cuevas at SG, Davis at SF, Gray at PF and Wilson at C. Gray and Wilson had exceptional chemistry on the court. Those are all 4 players you have to defend anywhere on the court... Harris was shy on the perimeter but even she could burn you if you left her open and you had to guard Wilson everywhere as well because she’s a playmaker naturally.

I am NOT a fan of the double post system but with Coates and Wilson (and Welch and Ibiam before them), the double post system has worked so well for us because they are so dominant.. but the force it into the paint offense limits our guard play and I think that has caused us to suffer when it comes to recruiting dynamic wing players with SC establishing the reputation of being a "post-centric" offense/program. If you’re noticing, Dawn being who she is, almost always gets the point guard she wants in a recruiting class and it seems our PG recruiting keeps improving. Sutton, Walker, Sessions, Harris, Henderson.. you’ll begin to see what she wants at that spot and how she builds her team around that...Ironically, we missed on both of the PGs we recruited for 2015 (Lambert and Cooper) and one of them still ended up on our roster. Sutton/Walker were great playmakers and off the bounce. Sutton is still one of the best guards I've seen in a SC uniform with the ball in her hand (although Mitchell was just as good and I think Destanni Henderson will have something to say about that before it's all over). Sessions was a great scorer at the high school level but with Coates/Wilson on the horizon, Dawn recruited her with the intentions of her being a playmaker. I think Sessions got TOO good at being a playmaker that it caused her own offense to suffer and it became mental for her. Harris is a great all around point guard, super high basketball intelligence and a leader, the perfect player to lead this team into a new era post-Wilson. Henderson is a great passer/playmaker but she's an elite level scoring point guard. She really shines when she's hunting for her shot, which is often.

So SC does well recruiting PGs and does a decent job with Forwards... the one area we severely lack in is recruiting wings, whether it be shooting guards or small forwards. We have not done well there at all, which is surprising given how well SC did developing Mitchell into a WNBA caliber guard even though she was at the bottom of the top-50 out of high school. Perhaps it's a thing of SC recruiting these players then pulling out in favor of better players, but that's hard for me to believe considering who we've brought in in return. Or maybe it's just these players choosing other schools over SC. Or perhaps it's a case of a class filling up quickly (2017) and players (Westbrook) deciding not to visit because of that.

In 2015, we missed on Destinee Walker (UNC).

In 2016, it was Leaonna Odom (Duke), Nicole Ekhomu (FSU) and Jensen Caretti (Ohio State).

In 2017, it was Westbrook (Tennessee) and Deauzya Richards (Baylor).. although we did get Grissett and Jackson with Grissett projected as a wing at the time but she obviously had a growth spurt and is now a 6'3 power forward for us. The jury is still out on Jackson's ceiling.. is she more Asia Dozier or Tiffany Mitchell? We'll see.

In 2018, Williams crushed us (UConn), Zarielle Green for whatever reason swapped SC for Tennessee at the last minute, committed to Kansas, THEN actually committed to Tennessee after being convinced to take a visit (which tells me she was a take for SC but something happened)... Elizabeth Balogun chose Georgia Tech mostly for academic reasons and Rhyne Howard, who I thought was definitely coming to SC, committed to Kentucky instead.

SC won it's first title when it had dynamic players at all positions... not just at PG and Forward. I don't think we'll get our next one until we get better on the wings.

The thing with Dawn that you brought up and Dawn didnt see was How Coates hurt the team more than helped it offensively. She clogged the lane and she hindered what Aja in the post. Dawn should have recognized this by Wilsons Soph year! SCs offense improved after the injury to Coates! I thought it also hurt Mitchell in her Sr. year and I am not counting Tiffanys injuries.

 

[SCGamecock]

Regardless of the sport, Football, Basketball, baseball or WBB, SCAR is a regional recruiter that has occasionally hit the jackpot with a transcendent player. As long as they remain only a regional recruiter, they will only compete for the brass ring sporadically.

Basketball is the only sport you listed where SC actually needs to recruit nationally. There is MORE than enough football talent for SC in the South (remember, people come to the South for football players, not vice versa). Same for baseball... SC recruits nationally when needed for baseball, but doesn’t really have to because SC is top 5 in producing D1 baseball players per capita. We also routinely get the best baseball players from Georgia, North Carolina and Florida. Basketball is the only sport you listed where SC’s backyard falls short in talent.

 

[cbraarj]

I dont see anyone dominating like Uconn or Tennessee have done ever again! The teams that have won 2 in the NCAA period USC with Cheryl Miller, Stanford with Tara and Baylor with Kim. After Geno leaves Uconn will fall back to the pack but not like Tennessee. IMO Geno stays to at least 70 as long as he is healthy!

 

[HoopsFan21]

That was Stewies, Moriahs and Morgans night! Geno never does it like that!

After his no more worlds to conquer comment I was 50/50 on him turning towards the three of them and saying something along the lines "and like you three, I am done." That line felt like the way you would conclude a story or book.

 

[JordyG]

Mostly I agree. Yet Geno adapts his system within the framework of a Princeton based, option/motion offense. It has always been read, recognize, and react. He will make necessary tweaks according to the strengths and weaknesses of his team; he will add variances such as options off of the skinny post; he'll run sets off the elbow, fake and real screens etc. But the framework remain the same.

 

[shizam]

I agree that SC will continue to get talented players so long as Dawn is the HC. Where I may differ slightly is that I don’t necessarily see SC bringing in that one transcendent player like Wilson who puts them over the top in challenging UConn and/or winning a 2nd national championship.

The fact that Wilson grew up a short distance from SC’s campus can not be underestimated in her decision to become a Gamecock. While, there are a number of very good players in SC, it’s not like TX, CA or other WBB hotbeds that produce Blue Chip prospects year after year. In addition, SC does not have the same national recruiting ability of a TN, ND or UConn imo.

Great stuff. One point I will add is Dawn will continue to grab elite transfers. She had better cause she reminds me of Holly Warlick. Dawn is basking in the deserved attention but hates it at the same time because she has so much trouble communicating. She is brutal with the media. Holly is the worst and Kim seems brain dead too.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

The original Geno question is just too variable with so many factors to control so I would not hazzard a guess. The more important question to me is if the SC program has staying power to be a national contender and imho, the answer is an emphatic yes. Recruiting in the long term should be strong

1) SC plays in front of the biggest home crowds
2) Her program seems able to coach already high quality players to the next level into the WNBA
3) She is the coach of the National team.
4) They play in a very competitive conference.

On the other hand, I do not expect Miss St. to go away so those 2 programs will be fighting tooth and nail for recruits etc. I think TN, TAMU, Missouri, LSU, Georgia? will stay in the top 20 regularly but will not seriously challenge for the conference or national championship

I think Vic Schaefer will take the A&M job when Gary Blair retires and MSU will move back to the pack in the SEC. Holly Warlick is already 59 or 60 so I don't expect her at Tennessee more than another 5 or 6 years. Keep an eye on Joni Taylor at Georgia as the next team to contend in the SEC. As long as Dawn is at USC, we will contend, IMHO.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

I take the highlighted one step further---if any one would step up and provide that challenge--ND was very close.
When you look at Miss St actions after winning against Uconn--it has to be the thrill of a lifetime-reminds me of when Uconn beat Tn Vols the very first time--you would think they just won the super bowl, the Olympics, National Champions etc--all it was --was a TV unscheduled game--not much --just Uconn Beating the best of the best then---now the top of the mountain belongs to Uconn--who can take the top from Geno??

As long as Geno is coaching, he will be at the top. I think the real question for you guys is who will replace him when he retires.