Finally Geno's Take On Azzi and Leadership

[RockyMTblue2]

“Her personality is such that she likes being in the background to somebody else, whatever that case, whoever that may be, whatever that may be,” Geno Auriemma explained.

So with Paige it "shoot damn it" and that will not be a problem with Azzi. Instead it will be "lead damn it". Just yesterday I was thinking on this and casting no Shade, I though Ash could do it. But she isn't a starter? Well it seems Ash is stepping up to be that second voice.


"The biggest thing I want to challenge myself with this year is being another leader for this team, being a vocal leader on and off the court,” Shade said. “I think having experience being an upperclassman now, it puts me in a position to guide the younger guys and just be another voice that people can turn to on the team.”

Like Fudd, that isn’t something that comes naturally to Shade."

And the one I'd put money on KK:


KK Arnold has been preparing to take over point guard duties from the minute she stepped on campus and understands that job requires leadership. She made an effort to learn from Bueckers, Chen and Nika Mühl before and is now well-prepared for her new role.

“I feel like my voice can be a good thing and a positive for the newcomers — the transfers and the freshmen… knowing the ropes around our program, knowing what coach wants, what we want as a team and how we want to go about things on the court,” Arnold explained.

Connolly, UCONN WBB WEEKLY

​

 

[CL82]

From the UConn weekly email:

As UConn marched to its 12th national championship last season, Paige Bueckers and Kaitlyn Chen handled the bulk of the team’s leadership duties. But with the pair off to the WNBA, the Huskies need new voices to lead the way.

So far, two veterans have stepped out of their comfort zone to fill the void: Azzi Fudd and Ashlynn Shade.

So there's our answer. No doubt, KK as point guard will provide some leadership, as will Carol as a a senior, but it seems like the key voices will be Azzi and Ashlynn.

 

[victor64]

If Carol can earn 15 to 20 a minutes a game, she will be the voice heard most. IMO.

 

[VaConnFan11]

It has been my experience that leaders are born and not made and "making" someone a leader can be detrimental. I am guessing that Azzi will lead more by example than by voice. That should be enough for this team.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

If Carol can earn 15 to 20 a minutes a game, she will be the voice heard most. IMO.

We've seen her do that and also in practice. Honestly I'd like someone to take the job away from Azzi. Being "the Voice" could put here off of her game and I want all of the beautiful game every game.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I forgot this quote from Azzi in the original post:

“One step at a time,” Fudd said. “Saying the things I see, whether it's starting with just my stuff on defense or on offense like, ‘Oh, here comes the screen,’ and ‘Screen right,’ ‘Switch this.’ Then progressing that to what I see, like, ‘Oh, you should do this,’ or ‘You should do that.’ Calling huddles — we've been playing a lot more pickup and that's been really helpful for me. To have my team, we have our team meeting before, during and after the game like, “Let's do this. Let's run this. Cut here.’ So I think it's a learning process.”

 

[Bone Dog]

I love the sound of those pickup games. We see occasional video clips of such things. But wouldn’t it be cool to be able to watch one through from the stands. Sigh. That’s their time, not ours.

I agree with those who think Ash will step up to a more substantial leadership role, whether she starts or not. She knows how to be the anchor, to steady a team. Without Paige there will be a void and I expect her to fill it.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

From the UConn weekly email:

As UConn marched to its 12th national championship last season, Paige Bueckers and Kaitlyn Chen handled the bulk of the team’s leadership duties. But with the pair off to the WNBA, the Huskies need new voices to lead the way.

So far, two veterans have stepped out of their comfort zone to fill the void: Azzi Fudd and Ashlynn Shade.

So there's our answer. No doubt, KK as point guard will provide some leadership, as will Carol as a a senior, but it seems like the key voices will be Azzi and Ashlynn.

Certainly, if UConn WBB Weekly says it it must be true. Trouble is they also said KK with less of an * than either Azzi or Ash and last year KK was all over it in huddles.

 

[Alydar]

The two best players on the team are not extroverts, (at least from my POV) but they managed to lead the team in the final game and that will do more for the confidence of the rest than anything they might say.

 

[CL82]

Certainly, if UConn WBB Weekly says it it must be true. Trouble is they also said KK with less of an * than either Azzi or Ash and last year KK was all over it in huddles.

Lol, I'm sure they're wrong and you're right.
😉

 

[oldude]

I’m really not concerned about leadership on this year’s team. There are so many outstanding young ladies capable of stepping up as leaders that it will be a non-issue. Don’t overlook our international contingent in that regard. Jana, Serah & Blanca all appear to be intelligent, articulate individuals who are more than capable of expressing themselves.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

How is Blanca's English. I haven't seen any interviews.

 

[Bone Dog]

How is Blanca's English. I haven't seen any interviews.

It’s pretty good. Good enough to take classes in English.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Lol, I'm sure they're wrong and you're right.
😉

Finally:

 

[reelfan]

Leadership by small committee.

 

[Conn-yak]

It has been my experience that leaders are born and not made and "making" someone a leader can be detrimental. I am guessing that Azzi will lead more by example than by voice. That should be enough for this team.

Leaders aren’t born. Some people are born with traits or characteristics that help them be better leaders. Just because someone has charisma or is verbally motivational, doesn’t necessarily mean they are better leaders. There are numerous ways to motivate, persuade, and drive others to be great or build the team.

There is an art and a science to leadership. The best leaders are great at understanding both.

I do agree that you can’t force someone to be a leader if they don’t want to be. It can blow up in everyone’s face. However, if they want to do it, they’ll need to be challenged to improve their shortcomings.

I think all of us can agree that Geno is great at pushing the right buttons to help our players grow into the best versions of themselves both on and off the court.

 

[Skeets]

Reminds me of what H Norman Schwarzkopf (at least I think it was H Norman) said about leadership. "The difference between management and leadership is that you can't manage troops into battle, you have to lead them.

 

[CL82]

Reminds me of what H Norman Schwarzkopf (at least I think it was H Norman) said about leadership. "The difference between management and leadership is that you can't manage troops into battle, you have to lead them.

I think I've told the longer version of the story on The Boneyard, but a friend of mine gave Schwarzkopf and early morning ride on his jet to a shooting event. Schwarzkopf arrived exactly on time, which everybody agreed was "late" including the general. Perhaps to make up for that he broke out a couple of his best Gulf war stories. When he got to the payoff lines, he looked over at my friend, who, as was his habit, had gone to sleep as soon as they were wheels up. Schwarzkopf looked at the other passenger on the trip and said "Man! Your friend hard is to impress!"

 

[RockyMTblue2]

The two best players on the team are not extroverts, (at least from my POV) but they managed to lead the team in the final game and that will do more for the confidence of the rest than anything they might say.

I'm not going to lie and say I can recall whether Maya was a vocal leader. Forced to choose I'd say probably not. But she revealed the central flaw of leading by example when you are really, really, really good. Geno would complain bitterly about the rest of the team just standing around watching her! This team is just too good, too into the system to do that if we discover a dominant leader by example... or two...or three.

 

[oldude]

I'm not going to lie and say I can recall whether Maya was a vocal leader. Forced to choose I'd say probably not. But she revealed the central flaw of leading by example when you are really, really, really good. Geno would complain bitterly about the rest of the team just standing around watching her! This team is just too good, too into the system to do that if we discover a dominant leader by example... or two...or three.

Maya was probably the most demanding leader ever at UConn. She was relentless with everyone, but particularly with freshmen. Stories suggest that she went as far as to throw them out of the locker room if they didn’t measure up.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Maya was probably the most demanding leader ever at UConn. She was relentless with everyone, but particularly with freshmen. Stories suggest that she went as far as to throw them out of the locker room if they didn’t measure up.

I'm guessing she got angriest when someone else took the ball? Just kidding. The standing around thing was real.

 

[oldude]

I'm guessing she got angriest when someone else took the ball? Just kidding. The standing around thing was real.

Back then, Geno was a lot tougher on his players, and Maya’s “take no prisoners” attitude undoubtedly appealed to Geno’s coaching philosophy. Nowadays Geno has just become and old softy….😘

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I just saw a Connolly artice on Maya in this week's UConn WBB Weekly. Typical thoughtful Maya. She concludes:

“We have to be better together as a community, especially now more than ever,” she said. “When I get a chance to speak, it's hopefully to encourage us to be better together because it's the best way to be, best way to win, the best way to play.”

Amen.

 

[diggerfoot]

Maya was probably the most demanding leader ever at UConn. She was relentless with everyone, but particularly with freshmen. Stories suggest that she went as far as to throw them out of the locker room if they didn’t measure up.

More demanding than Rizzotti? Lobo probably disagrees.

 

[Bone Dog]

The “standing around thing” was also real on the first two teams Paige led. We called it “Paige watching.” In her last two seasons, she seemed better able to cure her teammates of it. And in her final season, with Azzi and Sarah and the others, this was a lineup with lots of watchable talents. Though the second half of the Oklahoma game is pretty comical when observed with this in mind. They weren’t simply Paige watching. But she gave them plenty to watch. And those final two baskets, when Sarah kept feeding Paige, it was almost like a satire of the phenomenon.

This coming season, there will be even more watchable talent, too much to make standing around waiting for just one hero to win games a serious problem. The core 6 or 7 (or 8?) are all watchable. And when Caroline and Ayanna step on the court everyone will want to work extra hard to get them moments to shine. At least that’s my guess.