Everything Geno says in public has multiple meanings

[diggerfoot]

So because Houston never did buy into Geno‘s style of coaching that was the coaches fault ? So out of hundreds of young women Who bought into coaches style there was one or two who didn’t want to was his problem, not.

??? That one person is not a perfect match for every other person in the world has nothing to do with “fault,” with either player or coach. That should be intuitive to anyone. There is more to coaching than style or system. In particular there are relationships. Why on earth would you think that Auriemma can maintain the most productive relationship with every type of person out there. That is just a strange response to me.

 

[phil sampieri]

??? That one person is not a perfect match for every other person in the world has nothing to do with “fault,” with either player or coach. That should be intuitive to anyone. There is more to coaching than style or system. In particular there are relationships. Why on earth would you think that Auriemma can maintain the most productive relationship with every type of person out there. That is just a strange response to m

 

[phil sampieri]

Which is ? In my world if you as a player can’t or won’t buy into their coaches system or style they are on the wrong team. The greatest of the greats have had trouble in the beginning getting
adjusted but when they did get it, what happened ?

 

[hoophuskee]

however you want to decipher them, with a 6-3 record and a clearly underperforming team, Geno's comments don't appear to be having their desired effect so far this season........

I don’t agree. Losing to SC is no shame.

Losing 3 of your core players of which one is the best - and expecting a win vs GA Tech when three were lost suddenly is a bit too much. Losing to a good Louisville team with 3-4 potential core players out is not underperforming either.

 

[hoophuskee]

There are players...especially of late, that played better in the pros than they did at UConn...not that they performed badly in college, just better in the pros.
Danger...much better
Pheesa...better (perhaps natural growth)

I don't get your point. IS this good or bad for Geno?

 

[Charliebball]

I don’t agree. Losing to SC is no shame.

Losing 3 of your core players of which one is the best - and expecting a win vs GA Tech when three were lost suddenly is a bit too much. Losing to a good Louisville team with 3-4 potential core players out is not underperforming either.

losing to Georgia Tech and Louisville under the circumstances with the highly ranked players UConn still has on the court is an underachievement............if UConn's starters played anywhere near their potential, they win both those games............only the South Carolina loss is understandable.......

 

[TeamFirst!]

Happy New Year.

I thought this point was obvious, but from some recent posts, I gather it is not.

For example, Geno said recently he had no idea how to fix the team. This comment seemed to upset many. "Oh, Geno is so negative." Etc. Hmm. I thought the message was clear. "You, the players, need to figure this out. You, the seniors, who are so inconsistent. You need to figure it out. Don't look to me."

Or, when he said about CW, "You are uncoachable." He was sending her a message. "You are in charge of the quality of your play, not I. You are an upperclassman now. Take responsibility. Play like the All American you can be."

The examples are endless.

Sometimes I think that if Geno posted on BY anonymously, he would be excoriated for his negativity.

I find Geno very deep psychologically, very astute about human nature. Everything he says, he says for a reason or three. He would never throw a player under the proverbial bus. Never. And he is very caring and loyal to his players. After the infamous Saniya Chong moment in the Mississippi State game, Geno did not say one negative word. Not one. That is not who he is.

Thoughts?

I know it's considered blasphemy to criticize Geno but he is his own worst enemy sometimes too. He says he manages a very high pressure environment and that some kids struggle with that and then what does he do? He calls those same kids "uncoachable" and flag that they "can't shoot". He applies pressure. He manages one of the most pressure sensitive environments in college basketball and he does little to reduce the pressure. Teams like Arizona win with far less talent because of their environment.

We are in a world where not all the top players are in the northeast corridor any more and sucked up by Uconn. There is a lot of parity and many of the top players in the South are going with Dawn Staley's approach, which has some weaknesses of it's own but managing pressure is clearly not as acute a problem. Staley's teams "get up" for each game and if their offense isn't clicking their defensive pressure intensity, physicality and waves of players eventually wear you down. It's a lot easier to maintain that defensive posture when you are fully bought into the team concept and not worried about being ripped into any second by the coach.

We could be better.

 

[oldude]

losing to Georgia Tech and Louisville under the circumstances with the highly ranked players UConn still has on the court is an underachievement............if UConn's starters played anywhere near their potential, they win both those games............only the South Carolina loss is understandable.......

There is not another team in WBB that could withstand losing their top player, along with 3 front line reserves, and not subsequently struggle against GT and Louisville.

 

[JellyBean]

We have listened to Geno for 36 years, so we are used to what he says, and sometimes what he means. We know he cares about the players, we know he is tough on them, we know he doesn't care what he says, even in public. So, in essence, we know we can expect anything from him, and I admit, I don't always like what he says. The bottom line is, he is the best coach of all time, he is our coach, and he will always be our our coach, and although most outsiders don't understand him and don't like him, I really don't care.

 

[Charliebball]

There is not another team in WBB that could withstand losing their top player, along with 3 front line reserves, and not subsequently struggle against GT and Louisville.

didn't Missouri just beat South Carolina with only seven players and with their best player out? I don't believe any of those seven players were rated number one in the country coming out of high school or number five in the country or number six in the country or All Big Ten............probably none in the top one hundred..........as Geno likes to say nobody is going to feel sorry for UConn under those circumstances.....

 

[Bald Husky]

I have never thought about this before ever, but what we have here is a split team with different personalities. When I thought about it, our seniors are actually real seniors compared to the freshmen and sophomores. I may not be making any sense, so please bear with me. On the court you can see the aggressiveness of the new kids, the joy of playing hard, and although Liv, EW, and CW play hard, they don't seem to play aggressive, taking their time making a play, or just doing nothing until the shot clock winds down. Have you ever seen EW, CW, and Liv on Tictok unless Paige is involved, or anything on social media? Paige and the others are constantly doing something. There is definitely a personality difference between the seniors and the rest of the team. Next year, I think the entire aura of the team will change, and I think the team will be more exciting to watch. These girls have all played together in USA basketball, and now they will play together at UConn. This generation is now the Pandemic generation, just waiting and waiting to play like they have a year or two before. Their excitement just to play, plus the anticipation to play together for our iconic program will make for great theater.

Still, we have this year, and hopefully we can make it memorable, but next year, God willing, it can be the best year in a long time, and I just can't wait.

 

[TCC Kid]

Happy New Year.

I thought this point was obvious, but from some recent posts, I gather it is not.

For example, Geno said recently he had no idea how to fix the team. This comment seemed to upset many. "Oh, Geno is so negative." Etc. Hmm. I thought the message was clear. "You, the players, need to figure this out. You, the seniors, who are so inconsistent. You need to figure it out. Don't look to me."

Or, when he said about CW, "You are uncoachable." He was sending her a message. "You are in charge of the quality of your play, not I. You are an upperclassman now. Take responsibility. Play like the All American you can be."

The examples are endless.

Sometimes I think that if Geno posted on BY anonymously, he would be excoriated for his negativity.

I find Geno very deep psychologically, very astute about human nature. Everything he says, he says for a reason or three. He would never throw a player under the proverbial bus. Never. And he is very caring and loyal to his players. After the infamous Saniya Chong moment in the Mississippi State game, Geno did not say one negative word. Not one. That is not who he is.

Thoughts?

Psychologically??? And you know this how? I don't dispute your views but I always looked at Geno's words, just Geno's words at the moment in the moment. I think we/some/a few (take your choice, tend to over think Geno's comments. His words could be all you say. I don't have any way of knowing more than accepting the words as words.
As to his comment about The loss that he had no idea of how to fix it. Maybe that was true, at that precise moment in time. And that is how I took it. Also, it is possible with a microphone in his face, and frustrated with the loss he should not have had, he blurted out frustration, not facts.
Geno is no more or no less human than others. He has vast knowledge of how HE wants the game to be played. That view has led him to more wins/year coaching, more FF's, more NC's. And his approach was different than any coach prior to 2000. Other Coaches listen, watch and learn. We are seeingt he Geno game in nearyly every top NCAA WCBB school/team. Is it any wonder Uconn has superb competition??

didn't Missouri just beat South Carolina with only seven players and with their best player out? I don't believe any of those seven players were rated number one in the country coming out of high school or number five in the country or number six in the country or All Big Ten............probably none in the top one hundred..........as Geno likes to say nobody is going to feel sorry for UConn under those circumsWtances.....

Well stated. I keep saying Basketball players don't forget the basketball they learned. Sometimes re-education has negative effects. Your point is well taken. You don't NEED a team of No.1 players --but it helps.

 

[hoophuskee]

losing to Georgia Tech and Louisville under the circumstances with the highly ranked players UConn still has on the court is an underachievement............if UConn's starters played anywhere near their potential, they win both those games............only the South Carolina loss is understandable.......

Fundamentals are the cornerstone for successful basketball teams. And this team right now is lacking in one fundamental that it doesn’t make one bit of difference of what they were ranked. And this is shooting. This flaw drops UCONN back to everyone else. Last year the current players struggled to shoot well from the perimeter so this year when you take away the two more consistent outside shooters (Nika and Paige. Nika was 37.3% from 3 once she got her feet wet and before her injuries.), why should we expect much different? All we had is "hope" this year they could show to be better shooters.

Without the ability to shoot the basketball, every team is doing what Jeff Waltz has said. Pack the paint. Right now, just as we saw all last year, UCONN doesn’t have the skill (or experience taking Ducharme into account) to counter this basic fundamental flaw of shooting. Geno can’t “order” them to make shots. The team can't be consistent without being able to execute this basic fundamental. If they had a power low post game they could overcome it to a certain extent but they don't have that either.

 

[Alydar]

Can't say for sure but isn't this conversation held whenever UConn loses a couple of games?

 

[Cuango]

however you want to decipher them, with a 6-3 record and a clearly underperforming team, Geno's comments don't appear to be having their desired effect so far this season........

I don’t agree. Losing to SC is no shame.

Losing 3 of your core players of which one is the best - and expecting a win vs GA Tech when three were lost suddenly is a bit too much. Losing to a good Louisville team with 3-4 potential core players out is not underperforming either.

We’ll said!

 

[Cuango]

I know it's considered blasphemy to criticize Geno but he is his own worst enemy sometimes too. He says he manages a very high pressure environment and that some kids struggle with that and then what does he do? He calls those same kids "uncoachable" and flag that they "can't shoot". He applies pressure. He manages one of the most pressure sensitive environments in college basketball and he does little to reduce the pressure. Teams like Arizona win with far less talent because of their environment.

We are in a world where not all the top players are in the northeast corridor any more and sucked up by Uconn. There is a lot of parity and many of the top players in the South are going with Dawn Staley's approach, which has some weaknesses of it's own but managing pressure is clearly not as acute a problem. Staley's teams "get up" for each game and if their offense isn't clicking their defensive pressure intensity, physicality and waves of players eventually wear you down. It's a lot easier to maintain that defensive posture when you are fully bought into the team concept and not worried about being ripped into any second by the coach.

We could be better.

We will be better! When we are healthy! Until then, none of this is relevant.

 

[TCC Kid]

I know it's considered blasphemy to criticize Geno but he is his own worst enemy sometimes too. He says he manages a very high pressure environment and that some kids struggle with that and then what does he do? He calls those same kids "uncoachable" and flag that they "can't shoot". He applies pressure. He manages one of the most pressure sensitive environments in college basketball and he does little to reduce the pressure. Teams like Arizona win with far less talent because of their environment.

We are in a world where not all the top players are in the northeast corridor any more and sucked up by Uconn. There is a lot of parity and many of the top players in the South are going with Dawn Staley's approach, which has some weaknesses of it's own but managing pressure is clearly not as acute a problem. Staley's teams "get up" for each game and if their offense isn't clicking their defensive pressure intensity, physicality and waves of players eventually wear you down. It's a lot easier to maintain that defensive posture when you are fully bought into the team concept and not worried about being ripped into any second by the coach.

We could be better.

If speaking against Geno or criticizing his words/actions/deed is blasphemy on this forum, then there has been lots of blasphemy these last 6 years and this one is would have most of us excommunicated.

 

[oldude]

didn't Missouri just beat South Carolina with only seven players and with their best player out?

Just as I said. Mizzou struggled to beat SC in OT without their best player…

Your point is well-taken. Teams have to play up when someone goes down, although in Mizzou’s case, they were down just 2 players from their typical 9 player rotation in big games.

 

[hard2please]

lets face it, geno is a has been, a one trick pony, a flash in the pan. without the boneyard to prop him up, hed be diving for golf balls in cromwell, but he would be really really really good at it.

 

[Skeets]

Does Geno give subtle double meanings in his public comments? Yes, most of the time. But in my very few opportunities to speak with Geno, I didn't find him to be insightful or witty, just snide. Could be because he is so much of a more superior human being than yours truly.

 

[jchusky]

I know it's considered blasphemy to criticize Geno but he is his own worst enemy sometimes too. He says he manages a very high pressure environment and that some kids struggle with that and then what does he do? He calls those same kids "uncoachable" and flag that they "can't shoot". He applies pressure. He manages one of the most pressure sensitive environments in college basketball and he does little to reduce the pressure. Teams like Arizona win with far less talent because of their environment.

We are in a world where not all the top players are in the northeast corridor any more and sucked up by Uconn. There is a lot of parity and many of the top players in the South are going with Dawn Staley's approach, which has some weaknesses of it's own but managing pressure is clearly not as acute a problem. Staley's teams "get up" for each game and if their offense isn't clicking their defensive pressure intensity, physicality and waves of players eventually wear you down. It's a lot easier to maintain that defensive posture when you are fully bought into the team concept and not worried about being ripped into any second by the coach.

We could be better.

totally agree with you, similar to parenting imo there are times to be harsh on your kids, but when the times are tough it's best to comfort them and be behind them even if they are wrong. Also for anyone that thinks that a coach can live off history, I can present you Roy Williams, Coach K, and this season Jim Boeheim who is 9-9. Not saying Geno can't win another national title, but let's not act like other great coaches also don't return to winning it all.