Ex-LVs team up with Geno

[JS]

And he's doing his usual shtick with Parker.

 

[stwainfan]

I think the they have fun with it.

 

[cardfan]

gotta love Catch! ​

---​

By now, both have had an extensive look at Auriemma. They have some thoughts set aside for Tennessee and their old coach as well.​

“Every day I go out,” Catchings said of Summitt, “I play for her.”

​

​

 

[connboy77]

Excellent article! Playing for both Pat and Geno must be a great experience.

 

[UConnCat]

Hilarious. Only Geno can work Bundini Brown into an interview about women's basketball. Speaking of the champ, it was nice to seem participate in the opening ceremonies last night.

 

[semper]

I love to think about what Parker would have been like had she gone to UConn... but I've always been afraid to speak about this because of the torrent of whatever it might unleash. With this article, though...one ponders....

 

[MilfordHusky]

I love to think about what Parker would have been like had she gone to UConn... but I've always been afraid to speak about this because of the torrent of whatever it might unleash. With this article, though...one ponders....

I'll jump in with you. I think it's the same with Diamond. Candace is an immensely talented and great player. But she has weaknesses. Geno would have made her shore those up. Just as Dee, Tina, and Maya got pushed, I believe that Candace would have been pushed beyond her current level.

I think that Geno's comments about Candace are his way of coaching her--you can be the best player; if you think you're the best player, then play like it. All the time.

 

[speedoo]

I'll jump in with you. I think it's the same with Diamond. Candace is an immensely talented and great player. But she has weaknesses. Geno would have made her shore those up. Just as Dee, Tina, and Maya got pushed, I believe that Candace would have been pushed beyond her current level.

I think that Geno's comments about Candace are his way of coaching her--you can be the best player; if you think you're the best player, then play like it. All the time.

I think it's really a moot point because Parker was always going to Tennessee, never even thought about UConn. I thought she was not pushed at all by Summitt, but instead was coddled, just as Holdsclaw was coddled. Whether Parker chose Tennessee in order to be coddled, instead of being pushed at UConn, I doubt we will ever know, and I won't speculate an opinion on that. But I have a strong opinion that Summitt coddled her, based on what I saw. I do think Parker pushed herself, and certainly was a great player while an LV, but she could have been pushed more and could have developed into a really great player by eliminating or minimizing the weaknesses we see today.

 

[cardfan]

I think it's really a moot point because Parker was always going to Tennessee, never even thought about UConn. I thought she was not pushed at all by Summitt, but instead was coddled, just as Holdsclaw was coddled. Whether Parker chose Tennessee in order to be coddled, instead of being pushed at UConn, I doubt we will ever know, and I won't speculate an opinion on that. But I have a strong opinion that Summitt coddled her, based on what I saw. I do think Parker pushed herself, and certainly was a great player while an LV, but she could have been pushed more and could have developed into a really great player by eliminating or minimizing the weaknesses we see today.

agree.

 

[semper]

I'll jump in with you. I think it's the same with Diamond. Candace is an immensely talented and great player. But she has weaknesses. Geno would have made her shore those up. Just as Dee, Tina, and Maya got pushed, I believe that Candace would have been pushed beyond her current level.

I think that Geno's comments about Candace are his way of coaching her--you can be the best player; if you think you're the best player, then play like it. All the time.

Yes! I was reading in between those lines, same as you. YOu are bold.

 

[stwainfan]

I have to say Summitt did challenge Parker. She said that she pushe Parker to better especially on defense. Parker may not have had a great game today. She still had a double-double. Rember Geno said she does things no one else can do. I expected more from players like Fowles who should haved played better.

 

[RadyLady]

I have to say Summitt did challenge Parker. She said that she pushe Parker to better especially on defense. Parker may not have had a great game today. She still had a double-double. Rember Geno said she does things no one else can do. I expected more from players like Fowles who should haved played better.

I have to say that Parker stepped up some of the time (in her college days), and it appeared that this was OK with Pat. She got the job done, eventually winning a couple of National Championships. Was she the dominent player of the ilk that we see when Geno is holding the reigns? We will never know.

Fast forward to today: Geno expects everyone to play their A+ game all the time. There were 21 turnovers today and a lot of sloppy, rushed plays, and definately some lacking attention to defense. Everyone will have to work on these things as a whole, without singling anyone out in particular

 

[MilfordHusky]

Yes! I was reading in between those lines, same as you. YOu are bold.

I used to be the Voice of Reason, but was stripped of that title. I'm now Your Man Soon (But Not Soon Enough) To Be in London.

 

[alexrgct]

I mean, Parker won two national championships, including one with a dislocated shoulder, and has an NPOY award to her credit. I love Geno and CD and think the world of them, but what was she going to do at the collegiate level at UConn that she didn't do at Tennessee?

 

[RadyLady]

I mean, Parker won two national championships, including one with a dislocated shoulder, and has an NPOY award to her credit. I love Geno and CD and think the world of them, but what was she going to do at the collegiate level at UConn that she didn't do at Tennessee?

. Was she the dominent player of the ilk that we see when Geno is holding the reigns? We will never know.

asked and answered

 

[MilfordHusky]

I mean, Parker won two national championships, including one with a dislocated shoulder, and has an NPOY award to her credit. I love Geno and CD and think the world of them, but what was she going to do at the collegiate level at UConn that she didn't do at Tennessee?

Become an even better player.

 

[alexrgct]

I'm just not willing to go there with supremely accomplished players like Parker. She checked off just about every box there is to check off as a collegian. Could she have been even more dominant playing for UConn? Maybe. But maybe things wouldn't have worked out as well for her, either. One never knows with hypotheticals. But her reality was pretty impressive.

 

[Icebear]

I'm just not willing to go there with supremely accomplished players like Parker. She checked off just about every box there is to check off as a collegian. Could she have been even more dominant playing for UConn? Maybe. But maybe things wouldn't have worked out as well for her, either. One never knows with hypotheticals. But her reality was pretty impressive.

We may not be able to antipathetic what might have been but that does not mean it is unreasonable flaws that have always been present in CP's game.

 

[Kibitzer]

We may not be able to antipathetic what might have been but that does not mean it is unreasonable flaws that have always been present in CP's game.

HUH?

 

[Icebear]

HUH?

Auto spell interference, antipathetic was supposed to be anticipate and a pair of fractured phrases ...to expect "that flaws".... "In CP's game" could be fixed. I had intermittent wifi.

 

[semper]

I thought you had been into the berry juice.

 

[RadyLady]

I thought you had been into the berry juice.

those bears will come up with just about any excuse....

 

[Justavisitor]

I'll jump in with you. I think it's the same with Diamond. Candace is an immensely talented and great player. But she has weaknesses. Geno would have made her shore those up. Just as Dee, Tina, and Maya got pushed, I believe that Candace would have been pushed beyond her current level.

I think that Geno's comments about Candace are his way of coaching her--you can be the best player; if you think you're the best player, then play like it. All the time.

It's ridiculous to think that Candace did not get pushed. It has been noted that no former player put in more hours in the gym than Candace did in improving her game during her time at TN. Catchings has always held this distinction, but Candace was a player that matched her in that regard. Candace entered TN as more of a finesse player and defense was not her strength. She left TN as a career leader in blocked shots and 2nd in history for rebounds per game. This is all attributed to TN elevating her to a player that works hard on both ends of the court. In addition, she learned how to bang in the paint and go strong against the likes of players like Fowles and not play the finesse game. This type of play is what led to her holding the record at TN for free throws attempted and made. The player that entered TN does not go to the W as a rookie and win MVP. The player that went through the TN program with a staff that elevated her to an elite status is the same player that did win MVP as a rookie. No other player in the history of the WNBA has done this. She achieved this based on what she learned at TN. Geno could not have done more than that.

As for flaws, there's not a UConn player or any other player that did not leave the college level with flaws in their game. Even Geno himself has noted flaws that even he wasn't able to get a player to correct during their time at UConn and I'm talking about recent, top, elite players. In addition, Geno was quoted as saying that one thing he learned from Pat was to not treat the players like a bunch of girls. He applauded how Pat "pushed" her players to achieve heights that even they themselves didn't think they would achieve.

Last, as a compliment to both coaches, WNBA teams have stated that they love to draft players from both TN and UConn, because these players understand the game and they also come into the W with the right work ethic already instilled. They have noted that these players come in better prepared than players from any other program.

 

[dtbtbtb]

IMO Parker could have been the best player of all time if she would have been coached by Geno. While she is a great palyer, a lot of that comes from her amazing talents. A high flying coordinated athletic 6'5 player with very good ball handling skills. While she achieved a lot in TN it was clear that she was taking plays off during games, especially on the defensive end. This is something that she could have not done at UConn. One of the reasons I’m excited about Stew coming to UConn is that I see her as very similar to Parker and I think we’ll see in those coming 4 years what happens when a real rare type of player gets the best coaching available!

 

[EricLA]

One can debate till the cows come home which coach woulda gotten more out of one player or another. In spite of the amazing record Pat has amassed as the winning-est in the game, I think it's pretty clear to most that Geno has done more at a much faster pace. If he coaches the same number of years (he's at 27) as Pat coached (38), he will blow all her records out of the water. he will surpass her in NC's in the next 3 years and 11 more years of coaching would give him about 1,190 wins, which would be about 100 more than Pat over the same time period. His winning % is already better and he will continue to put distance between his % and hers however long he coaches. any year he loses less than 4 games will continue to increase his winning %.

Pat is an all time great. But the numbers say Geno is a better coach. I know there's not a single Orange fan who would agree with that. Having said that, i've never been comfortable with saying "Player A or B" would have been much better had the come to UCONN. I think most would agree Geno teaches better offense and teaches players to think more while they are in college, but there are plenty of players out there who are uber-stars who never went to UCONN. And Pat certainly pushed her players just as hard as Geno does - I'm not sure there are any programs who have fitter players than UCONN or Tennessee.

I think the major thing that Parker has improved since leaving Tennessee is her offensive game. her FT%, mid range game, and 3 point shooting have all improved since she left. Was that a function of not learning enough at Tennessee? I doubt it. When you are as talented as Parker is it was inevitable that she'd continue to improve after leaving college, just as Maya has improved since leaving UCONN.

Bottom line, Parker is one of the best players in the world. But it's doubtful she would have won any more NC's while at UCONN or been an even better player.