Gabby Williams

[UConnCat]

Banks saw the future, and it didn't include significant playing time for her. Eventually, the freshmen will be worked into the rotation.

You know this how? Where has it been said that Banks transferred because she didn't think she could beat out the freshmen for playing time? BTW, do you think Banks would have played against Stanford Monday night? I do.

 

[Ellie]

I'm curious, does anyone think that Geno's coaching of the Olympic team has hurt the Uconn team as far as developing the freshmen?

Not for Kia Nurse she was developing with the Canadian National Team! Sadie jumped leaps with individual skills but not within a team as talented as UCONN. Same can be said for Courtney who took her SR year off just to work with Dad on individual skills. Gabby was rehabbing even as she got to Storrs so Geno's US duties have got nothing to do with the Frosh easing into Prime-time readiness.

 

[meyers7]

Point taken ... just idle speculation ... though painting Geno into some "no win" corner is about as believable as this wheezing sixty-eight year old grandmother of six pole dancing on the Jerry Springer Show!

I think we've found your name for your "Custom Title" (below the avatar) - Pole Dancer or if it fits, Pole Dancing Grandmother.

Love it Ellie.

 

[RadyLady]

You know this how? Where has it been said that Banks transferred because she didn't think she could beat out the freshmen for playing time? BTW, do you think Banks would have played against Stanford Monday night? I do.

Absolutely she would play! she's a slasher and able to create her own shot, and she is fast as hell

 

[Aluminny69]

You know this how? Where has it been said that Banks transferred because she didn't think she could beat out the freshmen for playing time? BTW, do you think Banks would have played against Stanford Monday night? I do.

Why do you think Banks went to Penn State?

Yes, if Banks were still on the team, she would have definitely helped. I'm not sure how much Geno would have used her, given how little she played at the end of last year.

 

[polycom]

So on the Men's board some are just unnecessarily bashing the women's game but over here we have people who think they know more about coaching major D1 women's basketball than Geno....interesting place The Boneyard is...interesting place.

 

[Kibitzer]

If Nurse, the freshman, did not foul out she would have been on the floor for Soniya.

Nurse and Tuck each played 20 minutes and both fouled out. Clearly, neither will want a reprise of that box score line so I'm sure they will work hard to make sure it doesn't.

Important lesson learned.

We hope.

 

[j66kicker]

I'm curious, does anyone think that Geno's coaching of the Olympic team has hurt the Uconn team as far as developing the freshmen?

They started 'official' practice 1 week later than is allowed. Suspect any impact on developing the freshmen other than Nurse (no impact, as she wouldn't have been there anyway) is being more than offset by the recruiting advantages of being the USA coach.

 

[sawxfan23]

So on the Men's board some are just unnecessarily bashing the women's game but over here we have people who think they know more about coaching major D1 women's basketball than Geno....interesting place The Boneyard is...interesting place.

Geno is not infallible and believe it or not he has bad games just like everyone else and anybody who knows the game of basketball even a little bit(Geno himself included) will tell you he had a bad game against Stanford.

 

[UConnCat]

Why do you think Banks went to Penn State?

Yes, if Banks were still on the team, she would have definitely helped. I'm not sure how much Geno would have used her, given how little she played at the end of last year.

Saniya and Banks were both glued to the bench at the end of last year and Saniya is now starting.

Most have assumed the issue for Banks was concern about playing time with the incoming freshmen. I've not seen that confirmed anywhere. My understanding is that there was more to her decision than future minutes on the court.

 

[Aluminny69]

So on the Men's board some are just unnecessarily bashing the women's game but over here we have people who think they know more about coaching major D1 women's basketball than Geno....interesting place The Boneyard is...interesting place.

I don't care if you are John Wooden or Vince Lombardi, not every coaching decision will be correct. That does not in any way diminish Geno's many accomplishments. It makes him human, like the rest of us. Fans have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.

Believe it or not, Geno puts his pants on one leg at a time, just like the rest of us.

 

[RadyLady]

I'm curious, does anyone think that Geno's coaching of the Olympic team has hurt the Uconn team as far as developing the freshmen?

no

 

[Jonathan Husky]

Taking Chong out to play Gabby. She scored 18 pts. KML didn't get to double digits. If Geno thought it was a good thing to do to help us win, I would think he would have done it. I'm told our read & react motion offense is not the easiest thing to learn quickly. Silly fouls, poor free throw shooting, playing a quality team with a great game plan, on the other coast against an opponent with great guard play and young raw talent up front that played with a lot of heart and drained their threes and pull up jumpers, and easy lay ups to the hoop.
I don't think Gabby would have turned the tide last night. Or she would have been in I'm sure of it.

If he played Gabby it would have to be at a post position where she has practiced. It is also the area where the team needs help desperately.
Stokes had a really poor game. She was not only able to control the boards but was unable to set the screens that Stewie and KML needed and that Stef set so successfully last year. My guess is that Morgan and Gabby will get more minutes in the post unless Kiah plays much better. All the guards getting beat on defense will be remedied by working on rotation on defense in practice. The defense will get better but if the post play doesn't improve it will be difficult to win the competitive games. And, oh by the way. Geno blew it by not fouling when up 3 with 11.7 seconds to go.

But is only one game in November so RELAX

 

[meyers7]

I don't care if you are John Wooden or Vince Lombardi, not every coaching decision will be correct. That does not in any way diminish Geno's many accomplishments. It makes him human, like the rest of us. Fans have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.

Believe it or not, Geno puts his pants on one leg at a time, just like the rest of us.

But those are much nicer (tailored, $$$) pants.

 

[Kibitzer]

Believe it or not, Geno puts his pants on one leg at a time, just like the rest of us.

Speak for yourself!

Due to circumstanes beyond my control, I put my pants on both legs at once.

 

[Aluminny69]

Speak for yourself!

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I put my pants on both legs at once.

TMI

On second thought, my apologies if you suffer from some sort of disability.

 

[UConnCat]

So on the Men's board some are just unnecessarily bashing the women's game but over here we have people who think they know more about coaching major D1 women's basketball than Geno....interesting place The Boneyard is...interesting place.

Yes it is an interesting place. The fans of the men's team repeatedly tell us they hate women's basketball yet the thread on the loss to Stanford now stands at 167 posts. We're told the discussion is just about the basketball yet we're also told they hate the basketball. How does one explain this?

What's going on here, particularly the post after post about Geno's flaws as a coach, is pretty much a reflection of how we react to famous people in this country, particularly famous coaches because sports is the one arena in which the average fan believes he or she knows as much as a coach no matter how successful that coach is. Here, there's nothing like a UConn WBB loss -- and all it takes is one loss -- to renew the faith of many that all of us, particularly Geno, put our pants on one leg at a time. Many here highlight (or delight in) Geno's flaws that led to this loss or the losses from previous seasons. If you ask these fans whether UConn should be expected to win every game and they'll tell you, quite rationally, that it's unrealistic to expect to win every game. Yet, they'll explain how Geno is responsible for every loss suffered over the past few years. In other words, despite what the rational side of their brains say, there is a another part of their brain that says but for Geno's flaws and failures the UConn women would never lose a game, ever. Maybe the explanation for this is as simple as some here feeling better about themselves knowing and demonstrating that Geno is fallible. All men are created equal.

 

[polycom]

Yes it is an interesting place. The fans of the men's team repeatedly tell us they hate women's basketball yet the thread on the loss to Stanford now stands at 167 posts. We're told the discussion is just about the basketball yet we're also told they hate the basketball. How does one explain this?

What's going on here, particularly the post after post about Geno's flaws as a coach, is pretty much a reflection of how we react to famous people in this country, particularly famous coaches because sports is the one arena in which the average fan believes he or she knows as much as a coach no matter how successful that coach is. Here, there's nothing like a UConn WBB loss -- and all it takes is one loss -- to renew the faith of many that all of us, particularly Geno, put our pants on one leg at a time. Many here highlight (or delight in) Geno's flaws that led to this loss or the losses from previous seasons. If you ask these fans whether UConn should be expected to win every game and they'll tell you, quite rationally, that it's unrealistic to expect to win every game. Yet, they'll explain how Geno is responsible for every loss suffered over the past few years. In other words, despite what the rational side of their brains say, there is a another part of their brain that says but for Geno's flaws and failures the UConn women would never lose a game, ever. Maybe the explanation for this is as simple as some here feeling better about themselves knowing and demonstrating that Geno is fallible. All men are created equal.

You're the real MVP.

 

[Icebear]

Believe it or not, Geno puts his pants on one leg at a time, just like the rest of us.

Actually, I understand he sits on the edge of the bed and puts both legs on at the same time.

 

[stamfordhusky]

They started 'official' practice 1 week later than is allowed. Suspect any impact on developing the freshmen other than Nurse (no impact, as she wouldn't have been there anyway) is being more than offset by the recruiting advantages of being the USA coach.

With the NCAA rules that were enacted in 2012, a team is only allowed a certain number of days of practice prior to the first game - and there are a lot of mandated off-days if a team starts practice on the first permissible day. If UConn started a week late, they could still have practiced the maximum number of days. A number of teams don't start on the first permissible day.

 

[Bestiarius]

How do you know what Gabby would have done since she didn't get the chance. I didn't know you were clairvoyant.

I have the solution to this conundrum. Immediately after the first overtime ended, Geno should have called a "Mulligan" and replayed the overtime with Gabby inserted.

 

[Kibitzer]

TMI

On second thought, my apologies if you suffer from some sort of disability.

Please, no apologies. My post was entered with a big smile on my face. Life is what it is. So smile.

 

[uconnfan68]

Well we can agree to disagree. I respect your opinion. But I don't see what Geno has done as "a problem" I remember as kid - I envied UCLA. Do you remember Bill Walton's great game I think vs Lousiville in the Finals? It was perfection. Now I ahve it here. I see teams that beat us - the same way teams way back then would do when they beat UCLA. I don't see that as a problem at all. Further when we lose- there is no such thing as a blowout. Teams have to fight and claw - as a gerenal rule - to beat UCONN. SO I don't see "the problem here."

I remembered Memphis as the opponent, and I'm too lazy to look it up. I'm not concerned about a loss either... I just think that in the long run it would have been a benefit for the other frosh to have seen that level of competition. Maybe one of them would have been a nice surprise.

 

[UConnChapette]

Point taken ... just idle speculation ... though painting Geno into some "no win" corner is about as believable as this wheezing sixty-eight year old grandmother of six pole dancing on the Jerry Springer Show!

LMAO! Post of the day, hands down!

 

[UConnChapette]

I have been a follower of this team for a long time. Historically, Geno doesn't play freshmen a lot at the start of a season unless: they are extraordinary, or he has no other option. By the end of the season, the best players see the most minutes - regardless of class.

Geno doesn't like to lose, but he isn't afraid to lose. Especially in early OOC games.

Let's remember that there is a huge gaping hole in the lineup - two, in fact.. Two All Americans - who were the unquestioned vocal and emotional leaders of the team last year - have graduated. Kaleena, Breanna and Moriah did not have to fill this role last year. There is no experience on that front. While Saniya and Kiah saw more minutes last year than did Morgan, they have limited experience in playing big minutes in big games.

We have players coming back from injuries - Morgan and Gabby. We have another freshman that did not play basketball her senior year so is out of "competition" practice.

There are a lot of unusual dynamics at play that we haven't seen in a while. It amazes me how so many people expect UConn to pick up where they left off last year without missing a beat. This is a very different team than last year - in experience, in personality, in leadership.

There is a lot of growing to be done this season. And, there will be some growing pains along the way. It will be a fascinating season watching how this team evolves. And there may be more games where the question is not how much will UConn win by, but WILL UConn win than we have had in quite a while. I am fine with that. I am aware that others are not okay with that and may take issue with the fact that I am not all that bothered by the loss. Happily, I don't give a crap about that.

 

[Geno-ista]

If he played Gabby it would have to be at a post position where she has practiced. It is also the area where the team needs help desperately.
Stokes had a really poor game. She was not only able to control the boards but was unable to set the screens that Stewie and KML needed and that Stef set so successfully last year. My guess is that Morgan and Gabby will get more minutes in the post unless Kiah plays much better. All the guards getting beat on defense will be remedied by working on rotation on defense in practice. The defense will get better but if the post play doesn't improve it will be difficult to win the competitive games. And, oh by the way. Geno blew it by not fouling when up 3 with 11.7 seconds to go.

But is only one game in November so RELAX

Jon- I'm relaxed. I was responding to above posters saying we blew the game because Geno didn't play Gabby Williams. I agree that Tuck may be starting over Stokes soon enough. Gabby will play when Geno feels she's ready. The game was blown 10 times. Stokes tossing the 20 ft shot with 20 secs on the clock. 3-4 3 secs calls, chgs called on UConn when defender was in the box, KML taking chg just outside the box/ and getting called for block. Stewie block with a canton foul. Same on Nurse's 4th foul- perfect defense and Orrange goes to the line. If Moriah stays with Orrange, Samuelson was already doubled. Fouling gives the chance to drain the first shoy- throw a brick on the second , get a long rebound and hit a two or get fouled. They were in the bonus. No brainier if they weren't in the bonus. It was a fun game though!

 

[RadyLady]

I have been a follower of this team for a long time. Historically, Geno doesn't play freshmen a lot at the start of a season unless: they are extraordinary, or he has no other option. By the end of the season, the best players see the most minutes - regardless of class.

Geno doesn't like to lose, but he isn't afraid to lose. Especially in early OOC games.

Let's remember that there is a huge gaping hole in the lineup - two, in fact.. Two All Americans - who were the unquestioned vocal and emotional leaders of the team last year - have graduated. Kaleena, Breanna and Moriah did not have to fill this role last year. There is no experience on that front. While Saniya and Kiah saw more minutes last year than did Morgan, they have limited experience in playing big minutes in big games.

We have players coming back from injuries - Morgan and Gabby. We have another freshman that did not play basketball her senior year so is out of "competition" practice.

There are a lot of unusual dynamics at play that we haven't seen in a while. It amazes me how so many people expect UConn to pick up where they left off last year without missing a beat. This is a very different team than last year - in experience, in personality, in leadership.

There is a lot of growing to be done this season. And, there will be some growing pains along the way. It will be a fascinating season watching how this team evolves. And there may be more games where the question is not how much will UConn win by, but WILL UConn win than we have had in quite a while. I am fine with that. I am aware that others are not okay with that and may take issue with the fact that I am not all that bothered by the loss. Happily, I don't give a crap about that.

I'm starting to really like you Chappy

 

[HuskiesU]

Absolutely she would play! she's a slasher and able to create her own shot, and she is fast as hell

And play D

 

[HuskiesU]

UOTE="Geno-ista, post: 1133560, member: 3581"]Jon- I'm relaxed. I was responding to above posters saying we blew the game because Geno didn't play Gabby Williams. I agree that Tuck may be starting over Stokes soon enough. Gabby will play when Geno feels she's ready. The game was blown 10 times. Stokes tossing the 20 ft shot with 20 secs on the clock. 3-4 3 secs calls, chgs called on UConn when defender was in the box, KML taking chg just outside the box/ and getting called for block. Stewie block with a canton foul. Same on Nurse's 4th foul- perfect defense and Orrange goes to the line. If Moriah stays with Orrange, Samuelson was already doubled. Fouling gives the chance to drain the first shoy- throw a brick on the second , get a long rebound and hit a two or get fouled. They were in the bonus. No brainier if they weren't in the bonus. It was a fun game though![/QUOTE]
Tuck won't start over kiah for the fact we need rebounding and her defense present. Tuck can start tho she is an all around player my thing with her is she doesn't get off the ground much. Also kiah didn't play that bad just made a couple bonehead plays

 

[watanabe]

So on the Men's board some are just unnecessarily bashing the women's game but over here we have people who think they know more about coaching major D1 women's basketball than Geno....interesting place The Boneyard is...interesting place.

Instead of the Boneyard we should call this the "Lemon Tree"