Development of incoming freshman

[Pmac923]

Eleven (11) National Championships, Women's Basketball HOF & Naismith Basketball HOF <> Enough Said !!!

So fans can't be critical on the best coaches bc he's won more than everyone else? You can make the case that you should criticize them more! He's been at the University for over 30 years and these players only get 4. It was a post about the players getting a fair shake. Maybe they are or maybe they aren't but the short answers and the demonstrative attitude is becoming a bit tacky in my opinion.

There's a fine line in college athletics between winning and losing (ie - the mens program) Maybe he can mold the group he has and teach them in practice, and keep them happy. From there I'll admit I'm wrong, unlike many posters on this board.

But all I get out of these 9 pages is

1) Geno will NEVER do wrong.


2) This board will do anything at all costs to protect Geno.


3) Trust the system.


4) Do NOT ever criticize Geno. He is the greatest.

I am a HUGE Geno fan but he's gotten especially ornery this past year and it may not work for him with this group. Or will it?

 

[meyers7]

But all I get out of these 9 pages is

1) Geno will NEVER do wrong.


2) This board will do anything at all costs to protect Geno.


3) Trust the system.


4) Do NOT ever criticize Geno. He is the greatest.

And therein lies your problem. There is a lot more for you to get out of this thread.

 

[HuskyNan]

Meg failed to call out a screen that could have gotten Kia badly hurt. Geno was irate after that. I'm not sure what Mikayla did, other than 2 poor passes that led to TOs.

She looked overwhelmed

 

[HuskyNan]

So fans can't be critical on the best coaches bc he's won more than everyone else? You can make the case that you should criticize them more! He's been at the University for over 30 years and these players only get 4. It was a post about the players getting a fair shake. Maybe they are or maybe they aren't but the short answers and the demonstrative attitude is becoming a bit tacky in my opinion.

There's a fine line in college athletics between winning and losing (ie - the mens program) Maybe he can mold the group he has and teach them in practice, and keep them happy. From there I'll admit I'm wrong, unlike many posters on this board.

But all I get out of these 9 pages is

1) Geno will NEVER do wrong.


2) This board will do anything at all costs to protect Geno.


3) Trust the system.


4) Do NOT ever criticize Geno. He is the greatest.

I am a HUGE Geno fan but he's gotten especially ornery this past year and it may not work for him with this group. Or will it?

Nothing Geno is doing this year is new. He’s treated his freshmen the same way since he started at UConn. Unless there’s an injury or the freshman is otherworldly (Maya, Diana) she will have to earn her stripes in practice.

 

[Carnac]

Being NPOY with all the other accolades earned at the HS level IMO means nothing once you get to college. Chances are you didn't have to play a lick of defense depending on what HS you went to. Your HS coach wanted to win and the best player got the ball in their hands all the time. And Mom and Dad might have been the unwanted baggage in the kids duffle bag with sideline coaching and bad mouthing coaches and AD's. You certainly don't train in HS at the level you would train in college and lets face it unless parents were paying for outside training you did what the school offered. Some of these kids get to the college level and are shell shocked. You become the little fish in the big pond and might think you'll be the freshmen difference maker. Not happening at UCONN that's for sure! I've been watching for a few years now and the difference between freshmen/sophomore season is huge. Most get it and do better some it takes longer. Some (not many) are even satisfied with being on a winning team and helping where they can knowing they will never start and get very few minutes. Ask the walk on's Pulido and Lawlor. They had every opportunity to walk off and didn't!. Go Huskies!!!!

Good post. I said the same thing a few days ago, it just took me longer to say it. Folks that are at odds with Geno's tactics and philosophy hopefully will read this post. It pretty much capsulizes Geno's unique coaching and teaching methods and philosophy that some find odd, strange or offensive. No doubt some will still take exception to its tenor. Players that come to UConn come for different reasons. All of them have been admonished by Geno, his coaches and the players (during campus visits) exactly what they can expect if they commit to UConn.

There are no surprises the first day of practice. The freshmen come to UConn with their eyes wide open, knowing how demanding Geno is. Regardless, they still experience things they are not ready for. I remember last year Dangerfield saying "on camera" during an interview the first week or two of official practice (paraphrasing) "Nothing I did or experienced in high school or AAU prepared me for what I'm going through now in these practices."

There's no substitute for experience. Freshmen don't come to UConn "game ready". Just like recruits in the armed forces, they have to be broken down for X number of weeks in basic training, then built back up before they become serviceable, and deemed ready for field duty assignments. No one enters any armed forces branch in the U.S., and goes directly to a field or combat unit.

I realize my use of military ops and procedures regarding new recruits may not be the best example of the question at hand, but you get my drift.

 

[Pmac923]

She looked overwhelmed

Does that warrant a benching? Maybe a suspension?

Call a timeout and get it right in the moment. No need to set an example that way. It's a tactic that might've worked in the past.

 

[HuskyNan]

Does that warrant a benching? Maybe a suspension?

Call a timeout and get it right in the moment. No need to set an example that way. It's a tactic that might've worked in the past.

Suspension? That’s news to me. Where did you hear that?

 

[Orangutan]

do the posters on your forum think MM can do no wrong? You post anything contrary to the status quo on the BY and you get spanked around here.....I just happen to enjoy stirring things up when I think there may be another way.......

Oh I forgot another thing the ND folks constantly second-guess Muffet on: Dara Mabrey. Like Muffet and Niele don't know how to evaluate point guards...good grief.

 

[Carnac]

Marshall from Christ the King is a 6'4" forward but also fits the UConn mold...if I'm not mistaken, just one more year to graduation for the two aircraft carriers (Brown and McCowan) after that the mobile 6'4" recruits will have fewer issues to deal with

UConn could really use a mobile, aggressive and coach-able " 6-4/6-5 "aircraft carrier". What a wonderful addition to the roster that would be. The trick is finding a player(s) of that size who is willing to work very hard, and really wants to be the best player and teammate they can possibly be. Not just go to a program that will play them day 1, and push them through their system to the next level, making little or no demands on them on or off the court.

 

[Orangutan]

I am a HUGE Geno fan but he's gotten especially ornery this past year and it may not work for him with this group. Or will it?

"Especially ornery"? I'm not so sure. Seems to me that he's the same as he ever was. Doesn't every past Husky have their story about how hard Geno was on them initially?

I'm not saying he's infallible. Trust me, there is a lot I don't like about the guy. But this is how he handles young players and typically it works out for him well.

You talk about a "fair shake". Well, this is Geno's fair shake. These kids knew what they were getting into or at least they ought to have known. If they wanted to get big minutes regardless of how sloppy or undisciplined they are on the court, they should have gone to Tennessee.

 

[CocoHusky]

But all I get out of these 9 pages is

Uhm.. we are way past nine pages. We have more pages than Geno has Championships

 

[UConnCat]

Watching the freshmen play makes me ornery. Fortunately I get to change channels.

 

[Carnac]

Oh I forgot another thing the ND folks constantly second-guess Muffet on: Dara Mabrey. Like Muffet and Niele don't know how to evaluate point guards...good grief.

It would be interesting to find out how many of those critics have played/coached basketball at the college level, and what makes them "experts" allowing them to second guess someone that's been doing it for over 30 years (and has been relatively successful).

 

[Carnac]

Watching the freshmen play makes me ornery. Fortunately I get to change channels.

Patience Cat, you must have patience with these young lambs.

 

[CocoHusky]

It would be interesting to find out how many of those critics have played/coached basketball at the college level, and what makes them "experts" allowing them to second guess someone that's been doing it for over 30 years (and has been relatively successful).

Can't cosign that having played or coached at the college level makes a person a more valid critic. Many of the things being critiqued such as, how best to motivate, at it's core, has little to do with basketball.

 

[Charliebball]

Oh I forgot another thing the ND folks constantly second-guess Muffet on: Dara Mabrey. Like Muffet and Niele don't know how to evaluate point guards...good grief.

they'll find out about Dara soon enough...................I watched her in person two weeks ago against top competition and she was simply awesome...............hard to know how she compares to your incoming guards but the kid is the quickest and best ball handler of the three Mabreys by miles and maintains that nasty streak you all know and love..............

 

[JordyG]

So fans can't be critical on the best coaches bc he's won more than everyone else? You can make the case that you should criticize them more! He's been at the University for over 30 years and these players only get 4. It was a post about the players getting a fair shake. Maybe they are or maybe they aren't but the short answers and the demonstrative attitude is becoming a bit tacky in my opinion.

There's a fine line in college athletics between winning and losing (ie - the mens program) Maybe he can mold the group he has and teach them in practice, and keep them happy. From there I'll admit I'm wrong, unlike many posters on this board.

But all I get out of these 9 pages is

1) Geno will NEVER do wrong.


2) This board will do anything at all costs to protect Geno.


3) Trust the system.


4) Do NOT ever criticize Geno. He is the greatest.

I am a HUGE Geno fan but he's gotten especially ornery this past year and it may not work for him with this group. Or will it?

Again, if you think Geno has gotten "Particularly ornery this past year" you are clearly new to UConn. Geno has gotten softer over the years, not harder, and any former player will tell you so.

1) Hard to criticize success. As Colin Cowherd says Nick Saban is a bit of a jerk. Bill Beli(at least write "I quit as HC" on the back of a check)chick is a bit of a jerk, Jim Harbaugh is a bit of a jerk, Greg Popovich is a bit of a jerk, Kim Mulkey is a bit of a jerk, Muffet McGraw is a bit of a jerk. What do these people have in common? All of these guys do things wrong. No one is perfect. Where they are rarely wrong is in plying their craft. In sports, as Belichick says, stats are for losers. The only stat that matters are the W's. Many people here criticized Geno when he put the AEH matter on blast in a private conversation. However, it didn't necessarily make what he said wrong, although the context may have been. How he handles his charges is one place where he has consistently, year after year, been proven a genius. "Maybe he can mold the group he has and teach them in practice, and keep them happy". I asked you this question before and you had no answer then, and of course you'll have no answer now. Name one year where he has been wrong. Name one player that has stayed the full four who he has failed to pull their greatest potential from. Have the courage of your convictions and pull one name out your ahhh, hat. Let's be clear. A good, winning coaches job is not to make all of his players happy. If you are happy getting 5 mins a game you are not UConn material. You should use that unhappiness to become all the player you can be. Earn your minutes by going hard, harder and smarter in practice. Hone your game in practice. Support your teammates in practice and in games. As has been said here before in a quote from John Wooden, "The bench is a great teacher".

2) Geno doesn't need our protection. He is universally considered the greatest coach in the history of WCBB. However, it is easy to defend against ill considered, ill informed, ad hominem attacks that are so obviously based not any fact, but informed only by ignorance or self interest. Perhaps even irrational self interest.

3) Here you are correct. Any system that has won twice the number of championships than the rest of the coaches in WCBB combined is were my money would go. Every time. A coach that has brought his team to 10 consecutive Final Fours, well, I'd say that his system is the best and easiest to trust. Put my coin right on the nose.

4) Since you are new to The Boneyard and new to UConn WCBB this perception is specious and naive. Perhaps if you'd even bothered to look past the last 8-10 years on this site you'd have seen a lot of criticism of Geno from a lot of quarters. [personal attack deleted]

 

[meyers7]

Does that warrant a benching? Maybe a suspension?

Call a timeout and get it right in the moment. No need to set an example that way. It's a tactic that might've worked in the past.

So Geno should have used a "team" timeout to instruct one player in something that he'd been talking to her since probably August? Really?

 

[meyers7]

Oh I forgot another thing the ND folks constantly second-guess Muffet on: Dara Mabrey. Like Muffet and Niele don't know how to evaluate point guards...good grief.

Probably cause they've never had any decent ones.

 

[Twolf]

Does that warrant a benching? Maybe a suspension?

Call a timeout and get it right in the moment. No need to set an example that way. It's a tactic that might've worked in the past.

I still can’t tell if your posts are serious, or if you’re trolling, but if you are serious you definitely lack understanding of how most college coaches operate. Calling a timeout to get it right when they have heard the same thing 2 1/2 hours a day since October will accomplish exactly what? If the athlete has been coached to talk, and switch ball screens, as an example, and choose not to do it most coaches are then going to try to find someone else who will. Why would you waste a timeout to tell an athlete what they already have been coached to do, is within their control, and they choose not to execute? Everyone loves to watch the pace UConn plays at, the discipline the team exhibits on the floor, and the amazing success the program has achieved. You can rest assured that wasn’t achieved by the coaching staff just saying do it this way, pretty please. Lessons are learned, sometimes the hard way, but if the player had control of it, that was their choice.

None of this suggests the coaches are perfect, and they would admit it if you asked them, but their method of team building has resulted in a program that is the gold standard in their chosen sport, so their modus operinda must not be as far off as you suggest in your posts. As for your suggestion a mistake might warrant a suspension- I would offer that as exhibit A as to why there might be a suspicion of trolling. JMO

 

[BobbyJ]

I’m having a hard time believing that there’s been this many well informed responses to such an obviously uninformed original post. Probably as necessary as a full court press with a 40 point lead in the 4th qtr.

 

[Rixxx]

Two things, on Dara Mabrey, I think that the number of recruits ahead of her may have had something to do with her decision.
Also, keeping with the topic, does anyone know if the coaches might be working with Mikayla on her shot? There will be times behind the arc when the team needs a three, but she won't have time to set up and shoot from her waist.

 

[meyers7]

I asked you this question before and you had no answer then, and of course you'll have no answer now. Name one year where he has been wrong. Name one player that has stayed the full four who he has failed to pull their greatest potential from. Have the courage of your convictions and pull one name out your ahhh, hat.

Well that one is fairly easy. He's even admitted he never could get through to her. But then even some of her teammates had trouble getting through to her. And she was one of my favorite Huskies.

Charde Houston.

He couldn't get the offensive Kiah Stokes out either.

 

[Golden Husky]

Meg failed to call out a screen that could have gotten Kia badly hurt. Geno was irate after that. I'm not sure what Mikayla did, other than 2 poor passes that led to TOs.

See, this is why I visit The Boneyard; you actually can learn things here. Thanks for the explanation, Milford. Given the videos I've seen of CD and Shea imploring players to communicate--an absolute necessity in UConn's switching defense--this makes perfect sense.

 

[Charliebball]

UConn could really use a mobile, aggressive and coach-able " 6-4/6-5 "aircraft carrier". What a wonderful addition to the roster that would be. The trick is finding a player(s) of that size who is willing to work very hard, and really wants to be the best player and teammate they can possibly be. Not just go to a program that will play them day 1, and push them through their system to the next level, making little or no demands on them on or off the court.

the skinny mobile posts are perhaps cruisers or maybe destroyers .............to qualify as an aircraft carrier you have to weigh more then Geno................