Development of incoming freshman

[huskyd]

This freshman class has underwhelmed because of the "lessons" Geno tries to teach. He is making a mistake with how he uses his top recruits. Sure, winning by 30+ ppg is nice, but seeing the development of the players that will carry the torch for your program is more important. We will see more transfers in large bunches if Geno does not relax with this approach. Quite frankly it's obnoxious.

Breaking down your players for your own benefit is dangerous to the long term future of the program. The fans came to see the teamwork, camraderie, and effortless flow. They did not go to watch Geno. Or better yet hear about their deficiencies. Teach them and let them play, who cares if they fail. But let them play basketball and show their natural skillsets over National TV.


Play your Freshman, Geno.

NICE POST!

 

[Kaizen]

WNBA, Overseas WBB, or even life in the future. That next level.

And college coach, assistant coach, broadcasting ...or future doctor, professor etc.

 

[sarals24]

Geno seems to be playing more "head" game this year than any that I can remember. A freshman that makes a mistake during a game, gets yanked, yelled at, then doesn't get back into the game? Calhoun would do the same thing , but then would re-insert the player because he didn't want to hurt that players confidence.
Maybe we have too much talent?

I don't think he's playing games. I think he has less patience than he used to. I honestly don't think he cares about mistakes that are the result of trying to make plays - look at Kyla. She is earning more and more playing time because she does the fundamental things correctly (calling out screens, rotating on defense, etc) and tries to make plays out there. She's not the most talented, physically. But he trusts her at this point more than Megan, it seems.

And yes - say they had specifically focused on calling out screens in practice all week. Say it was a point of emphasis before the game. Now say your freshman goes in there and at the first sight of a screen, remains completely silent. That would drive me up a wall as a coach. I'm not saying that's what happened, but it's the little things that require no extra talent, only a little bit of focus and effort, that make teams go from good to great. Boxing out every time. Knowing who you're guarding. Calling out screens. Hand in the passing lane. These things don't require you to have Gabby's leaping ability, or KLS's sharp shooting. Anyone can do them. So when you take someone as talented as Megan and she can't be bothered to do the little things that someone like Kyla, who is clearly not as physically gifted, does every time, I can see where the frustration sets in for Geno.

 

[huskeynut]

Pmac923 - you are entitled to your opinion. But with over 30 years of teaching experience and over 20 coaching experience, I disagree with you.

 

[HoopsHoppy]

If you don't do it in practice , even if it is an all day practice , you won't do it in the game.

—————————————————————

And in the team development, both offense and defense (especially the latter) a player who isn’t working with teammates on switching, helping, being in the right spot screws up the dynamics and makes the players who know and expect what should be happening tentative and reacting late not just when the unprepared player is in the game but in the aftermath as well.

 

[oldude]

It's not just calling out screens. UConn's entire defensive scheme is predicated on communication. Calling out ball screens as well as primary and secondary switches is an integral part of UConn's man-to-man defense, where the Huskies will switch all over the court. If you have any doubt, watch Kia on defense. In addition to being the most fundamentally sound defensive player at UConn, she is constantly barking out commands to her teammates to make sure they're all in the right place.

 

[JordyG]

At no point did I ever try to discredit his success or tactics. He is the best motivator and teacher But I do have the right to question how he has chosen to handle his recruits within the last few years. The freshman will be your starters in 2 years and have no substantial run.

Clearly you have in mind someone or a group of someone's that you feel are or have been mismanaged. Have the courage of your convictions and come clean with names.

On the one hand you call him the best motivator and teacher, then on the other hand you question his teaching methods. You can't have it both ways my friend. He has treated this and every freshman class with the basic tenet that playing time is earned in practice. From his first day as coach at UCONN. Clearly you haven't been monitoring Geno for very long, which is why I assumed you have only a recent vested interest. Give your examples OF JUST ONE FRESHMAN that has been hurt by his methods. It couldn't be last year's freshman because Crystal is a starter. Two years ago it was Lou and Phesse who were All Americans as sophomores and may both be so as juniors. 3 years ago it was Kia and Gabby, so it must be someone(s) from this year. You get my drift? So I ask again. Either this is a case of tragic ignorance or self interest. Which is it?

 

[CocoHusky]

Clearly you have someone or a group of someone's that you feel are or have been mismanaged. Have the courage of your convictions and come clean with names.

On the one hand you call him the best motivator and teacher, then on the other hand you question his teaching methods. You can't have it both ways my friend. He has treated this and every freshman class with the basic tenet that playing time is earned in practice. From his first day as coach at UCONN. Clearly you haven't been monitoring Geno for very long, which is why I assumed you have only a recent vested interest. Give your examples OF JUST ONE FRESHMAN that has been hurt by his methods. It couldn't be last year's freshman because Crystal is a starter. Two years ago it was Lou and Phesse who were All Americans as sophomores and may both be so as juniors. 3 years ago it was Kia and Gabby, so it must be someone(s) from this year. You get my drift? So I ask again. Either this is a case of tragic ignorance or self interest. Which is it?

Another dead give away was this statement indicating that @Pmac923 might have a little more skin in the game that us causual fans. You can use a personal message if you you want.

But I do have the right to question how he has chosen to handle his recruits within the last few years.

 

[Mister2]

While I do not agree with the views of the OP, I suspect that they are shared by a not insignificant number of UCONN fans who do not post on this board. In fact, they would not be that unreasonable if one were to disregard Geno's track record. The real problem with the sentiment expressed in the OP is that it is almost impossible to argue against a system that has produced so much success for so long a period of time.

One important aspect of the debate on the relative importance of practice vs real game experience that no one has commented on is that the answer depends critically on the nature of the sport in question. In an individual sport (golf, tennis, etc), no amount of practice can replicate the pressure of real game experience, so the latter is of paramount importance. That is why even an elite player would require a long time to get back to the competitive level after a long absence, no matter how hard he/she practices during the absence. In a team sport, however, the opposite is true. When any player is just a cog in the wheel and winning and losing depends entirely on how well the wheel functions, practice is everything to perfect the functioning of the wheel.

 

[Charliebball]

my head hurts..............

 

[Zanzman]

At no point did I ever try to discredit his success or tactics. He is the best motivator and teacher But I do have the right to question how he has chosen to handle his recruits within the last few years. The freshman will be your starters in 2 years and have no substantial run.

Does he treat his freshman any different in the last few years then years ago. I don’t think do.

 

[HoopsFan21]

I see mistakes made in every game by every player. Who are we to say what was the point of emphasis in a practice? By singling out one player in such a humiliating way is just making it more likely that we will be seeing that player in an opposing uniform.

Well Stef and Bria's class was a 5 person class and only 2 graduated, so it happens. The worry here is that we now have two seasons, or half the team, of players that are developmentally behind. In 2 months we lose Kia and Gabby, so where does that leave the team going forward? We're going to need some players to figure some things out big time over the summer or else prepare for some lean years by recent UConn standards.

 

[oldude]

I see mistakes made in every game by every player. Who are we to say what was the point of emphasis in a practice? [mod edit; transfer speculation]

A couple comments:

• You are absolutely correct that we don't know what the point of emphasis was in practice. But as a general rule of thumb, Geno always emphasizes player communication on the court. In this case, MW failed in her responsibility to communicate to her teammate, Kia, who got hammered running into a screen that she did not see.
• Following your line of objection, who are we to say that MW was humiliated. What specifically did Geno do to humiliate her? Yell at her? Sit her down? Well guess what, MW just joined some pretty rarefied air, because he did the same thing to Rebecca, DT, Maya, Stewie, Lou and pretty much every other great player who decided to come to UConn. Geno's not coaching a bunch of little girls. He's coaching basketball players.
• Finally, by speculating on player transfers, you and several other posters on this thread are violating one of the expressly stated rules laid down by the administrators of this forum. I would strongly suggest that you cease such references.

 

[MSGRET]

Pmac923 is forgetting one of Geno's main rules and that is Not only he has to TRUST the player, but that player has to EARN the other players TRUST. If you can't call out a screen to one of your fellow players how in the heck are YOU going to earn their TRUST. If I was Kia, I think I would be a little leery of MW when it comes to her head being in the game after that screen.

 

[CocoHusky]

Well Stef and Bria's class was a 5 person class and only 2 graduated, so it happens. The worry here is that we now have two seasons, or half the team, of players that are developmentally behind. In 2 months we lose Kia and Gabby, so where does that leave the team going forward? We're going to need some players to figure some things out big time over the summer or else prepare for some lean years by recent UConn standards.

Lean years at UCONN will be much more depended that on the recruits that are coming in as opposed to players on the existing roster. Worse case is that UCONN starts next season with Crystal, Napheesa and KLS. Who would have a better trio in all of WCBB?

 

[Zanzman]

You could’ve saved us all alot of time if you had played this earlier

 

[JordyG]

my head hurts....

I just think it's kind of sad. I think also one bad apple....

 

[MSGRET]

A couple comments:

• You are absolutely correct that we don't know what the point of emphasis was in practice. But as a general rule of thumb, Geno always emphasizes player communication on the court. In this case, MW failed in her responsibility to communicate to her teammate, Kia, who got hammered running into a screen that she did not see.
• Following your line of objection, who are we to say that MW was humiliated. What specifically did Geno do to humiliate her? Yell at her? Sit her down? Well guess what, MW just joined some pretty rarefied air, because he did the same thing to Rebecca, DT, Maya, Stewie, Lou and pretty much every other great player who decided to come to UConn. Geno's not coaching a bunch of little girls. He's coaching basketball players.
• Finally, by speculating on player transfers, you and several other posters on this thread are violating one of the expressly stated rules laid down by the administrators of this forum. I would strongly suggest that you cease such references.

If you want to see humiliation go watch one of last years The Geno Auriemma Show's, where he states to Lou that he can't give her any Heart during the halftime speech of the FSU game. What do you think she might have been feeling after that was on.

 

[oldude]

If you wan to see humiliation go watch on of last years The Geno Auriemma Show's, where he states to Lou that he can't giver her any Heart during the halftime speech of the FSU game. What do you think she might have been feeling after that was on.

Don’t know exactly what Lou was feeling at that moment. What I do know is that Lou played well in the 2nd half of that game. UConn won that game along with 35 others last season. Lou was a consensus 1st team AA last season, and this season she has gotten even better in just about every facet of the game.

Like I said, Geno’s coaching basketball players, not little girls.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Don’t know exactly what Lou was feeling at that moment. What I do know is that Lou played well in the 2nd half of that game. UConn won that game along with 35 others last season. Lou was a consensus 1st team AA last season, and this season she has gotten even better in just about every facet of the game.

Like I said, Geno’s coaching basketball players, not little girls.

At the same time though, not everyone is cut out for the tough love routine. They aren't little girls, but they are still teenagers. Some are more mature than others at 17-18-19, and can handle it and see it as a challenge. Others shrivel up and crawl into a hole, perhaps never to recover. When you're in the coaching staff's position, I can see how they are really walking a fine line here.

 

[JS]

• Finally, by speculating on player transfers, you and several other posters on this thread are violating one of the expressly stated rules laid down by the administrators of this forum. I would strongly suggest that you cease such references.

Editing out rules violations is tedious, especially when they're quoted by others.

Be warned, OP and "others." Any more transfer talk gets dealt with by easier, though more severe, methods.

 

[Charliebball]

I just think it's kind of sad. I think also one bad apple....

I don't see any need to continue this thread at all........I'm trying to get in the mood for the South Carolina - Miss State game and this thread is giving me agita..................talking about transfers........I may transfer to the University of Maine at Oreno forum for the rest of the evening................if they have one...............

 

[MSGRET]

Don’t know exactly what Lou was feeling at that moment. What I do know is that Lou played well in the 2nd half of that game. UConn won that game along with 35 others last season. Lou was a consensus 1st team AA last season, and this season she has gotten even better in just about every facet of the game.

Like I said, Geno’s coaching basketball players, not little girls.

Correct, but I was just using that as an example. He yelled at her in the locker room and she played her rear off. But what I'm trying to convey to Pmac923 is that we didn't know that until it was shown on the show, and Lou persevered in the second half and didn't sulk on the bench or not have her head in the game.

 

[LesMis89]

Every year Geno is called out by fans here and there that think he's too hard on their favorite freshmen.
This year being no exception. A commenter recently posted a quote by Geno (I wish I could find it, I would copy & paste it) saying that most UConn fans don't know what they're talking about (he's also said that to Justine Ward on his TV show on SNY). This was in reference to some of the letters and e-mails he's received lately.

(I'm paraphrasing here) He said that It's hard for freshmen to come to UConn and pick up things right away. His system is very difficult to learn. He said it takes the average freshman a year to master his entire system. He said this group of freshmen can't do the things he wants them to do in practice for 3 days in a row, yet the fans want him to put them in a game anyway, and expect them to do all of the things correctly and successfully that they can't do in practice, like so many other coaches do.
Since the fans don't see what he sees everyday in practice, or know what he and the other coaches know, those fans make suggestions that he probably considers "uninformed and unrealistic". Geno does not do things THAT way.

Geno is considered by many college coaches and media types, the best and most successful coach in women's college basketball history. Why is this? Could it be because he does things differently than other coaches do.....like demanding things (standards) from his players that other coaches don't?

Like making every player earn their minutes instead of just giving it to them? Like demanding that all players be able to play defense to his satisfaction, instead of just going through the motions? Insisting that all of his players have a certain attitude and demeanor while at practice and during games? Like holding ALL of his players accountable? If Geno is the best coach in the game today, and his team rarely loses, what is he doing that the other coaches aren't?

A lot of things! Starting with not letting freshmen play until they reach the level of play (consistently) as the rest of the team. They have to be able to play UConn basketball, which is much different that regular Division 1 WCBB. It's why they seldom lose. They have to prove their proficiency in practice. Until they do, Geno can't/won't trust them enough to put them on the floor during meaningful minutes.

He has said many times, he's not going to put a player on the floor and allow her to embarrass herself, because she couldn't play well. The following is an excerpt from an article written after the Stanford loss in 2014: "Nurse played 20 minutes before she fouled out. Gabby Williams never even got a chance to step onto the court that day and on multiple occasions, Williams admitted she wasn't ready to play in a game of that magnitude".

If you want to play (and of course every player does), first you have to gain Geno's trust. You gain his trust in practice, not during games. You prove you can play with the other players in practice, not in actual games. At UConn, playing in games is your reward for learning the things you must learn to play for Geno. There are no exceptions. Geno has also said that most of the highly touted and highly rated blue chip players in high school can't play defense, so they must be taught. It's a lesson not learned overnight. It took Dangerfield a year to learn how to keep her man in front of her. If you've noticed, her defense is much better now than it was last year.

That's one of the differences (there are others) in Auriemma and other coaches. Just ask any D-1 coach or "long time" college basketball analyst, they'll explain it to you. Why does he get requests everyday from high school and college coaches requesting to come to campus and view his practices? Some of these coaches request they be allowed to bring their entire team. Because he's doing something no one else is doing, and he's very successful with it. When you figure that out, then perhaps you'll understand. His way works.

Nominate for POTD (minimally. Could be POTW or POTM)

 

[Crossover]

At the same time though, not everyone is cut out for the tough love routine. They aren't little girls, but they are still teenagers. Some are more mature than others at 17-18-19, and can handle it and see it as a challenge. Others shrivel up and crawl into a hole, perhaps never to recover. When you're in the coaching staff's position, I can see how they are really walking a fine line here.

Yes, and one of the challenges in recruiting is to identify who falls in which category. Geno and company have mastered this.

 

[Charliebball]

Ohhhh..................they do but everybody is complaining about the coach...................

 

[oldude]

At the same time though, not everyone is cut out for the tough love routine. They aren't little girls, but they are still teenagers. Some are more mature than others at 17-18-19, and can handle it and see it as a challenge. Others shrivel up and crawl into a hole, perhaps never to recover. When you're in the coaching staff's position, I can see how they are really walking a fine line here.

Geno is the best known coach in WBB. His methods are not a secret. All you have to do is watch the Geno Auriemma show or go on UTube to see what he’s like as a coach and what he expects from his players. These teenagers came to UConn expressly to play for Geno and be challenged by him.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Lean years at UCONN will be much more depended that on the recruits that are coming in as opposed to players on the existing roster. Worse case is that UCONN starts next season with Crystal, Napheesa and KLS. Who would have a better trio in all of WCBB?

I assume next year's starters are Crystal Dangerfield, KLS, Megan, Collier, and Z. That's a top 5 team in all likelihood, but I don't think that's a better team than this year's. We are losing our best shooter, best two all around defenders, and the team's spark plug. Make no mistake, we are losing a lot to graduation this year.

 

[Bigboote]

Practice makes perfect - maybe a silly saying, but it's true.

I prefer "practice makes permanent." If you practice the wrong thing over and over, you play it wrong every time. That's why Geno tries to get them to practice WELL.

 

[oldude]

Correct, but I was just using that as an example. He yelled at her in the locker room and she played her rear off. But what I'm trying to convey to Pmac923 is that we didn't know that until it was shown on the show, and Lou persevered in the second half and didn't sulk on the bench or not have her head in the game.

On that specific segment. There was some criticism of Geno’s comments to Lou on camera by many of us. The general consensus was that there was nothing wrong with Geno calling Lou out, but it should not have been on camera. For whatever reason, in subsequent airing of that show on SNY, the specific segment was edited out.