Geno Auriemma: Champions Are Not Born, They Are Made ...Here

[BroadwayVa]

I am quoting you, but not 'picking on you' with the following comment:
This is to me the fallacy that gets repeated and is not dissimilar to the 'we aren't tough enough' or 'we need to play harder' lines coaches spew after losses.

No - not anyone can do it, in fact probably no one can do what Geno and CD have done or what any other coaching legend in any other sport does. It isn't about the hours and the effort from coaches and players - I am sure there are coaches across the country putting in more hours and more effort than Geno and CD, and players spending more hours in the gym and weight room than the Uconn players. Yes you need the hours and the effort, but much more importantly you need the eye and the mind - and they aren't handing those out for free. And you need the psychology and the teaching skills, and those are pretty rare as well.

What separates Uconn from the pack is not effort or talent, but the intelligently focused and motivated application of those traits. And no one does it better than Geno and CD, and whichever assistants they choose to cultivate in their art. And at the level they perform, it is similar to great artists, or Nobel laureates. That 'magic' cannot just be taught and it certainly can't be copied.

Apparently someone else can do it and did it--got 8 NC's and over 1000 Div 1 wins---See the thread on Why Pat Summit wins.
If you read and believe what is written--Pat's process replicates Geno's process and is as demanding. I could recite all the old:
She played less talented team--yes with less talented player. Or women's basket ball wasn't as it is today--but it was equal until 2007
Geno's mystique is extraordinary--Geno is --believe it or not--just human. The world revolves and evolves and leader who shall never be replicated again; people find new leaders to perform equal or better. There also is the much spoken about by Geno --the newer generation of players will not accept the harder more demanding style of coaching that made Pat and Geno successful.
Geno's greatest asset is the people he has chosen to be his Staft--Medical, Training, Assistant, Associate, --and the way he uses them--he is not the MASTER to whom they must fall in line to obey--at times probably--usually collaborative efforts are the norm.

Merry Christmas---and thank you for your positive approach to posting the whole year.

 

[Zorro]

And we can't forget Knoxville!

Sure you can. I have.

 

[DaddyChoc]

and as much as 1995 was the start... I'd like to know when things really became the norm, Id say when TASSK Force came along. #routine #practice #weights #unison #Geno'sWay

 

[BroadwayVa]

and as much as 1995 was the start... I'd like to know when things really became the norm, Id say when TASSK Force came along. #routine #practice #weights #unison #Geno'sWay

DaddyChoc: Geno-s started here learning the Woman's game and Uconn. Along with that he had idea's. Some worked some failed
I'm willing to wager that 20 / 30 percent of Geno's processes, practices, focus's, have changed in the last 10 years. Every business if it is to always get better has to evolve, and change (if only in a minor sense). Some things remain nearly the same: The intensity of practices, strength training, Conditioning, expectation about Defense

 

[msf22b]

Consider this season.

Observing the returning squad from the perspective of last season's performance, there wasn't a whole lot to be hopeful about.

-Saniya had evolved into a lower ranked role-player,
-Natalie was injured,
-Kia had dissolved in emotional distress more than once
-KLS was sometimes wildly off in her long range shooting and was just initiating a full-court presence.
-Pheesa had her moments (Texas game...after Geno yelled at her) got quite a few boards, but also
had her passive moments.

Out of this, an undefeated #1 (thick NY, Brooklyn accent)?

I don't know how he (they) does (do) it.

Certainly he (they) have learned to adapt their coaching to the current (changing) psychological requirements.

He speaks about the team playing UConn style ball at times (what ever that is) but as Supreme Ct, Justice Potter Stewart famously observed, "I know it when I see it," (Jacobellis v. Ohio, 1964).

One constant appears to be a smooth switching defense, that puts unusual pressure on any opponent.

But this season, the offensive production from this group is quite extraordinary considering the absence of an experienced point, a go-to inside presence on both O and D and Wonder Woman, who could do it all, from anywhere...including, being the defender of last resort...How could that be replaced, duplicated?

The answer is: it can't but he instead, discovered a mechanism that allowed his 3 somewhat undersized forwards to create havoc within their rapidly expanding comfort zones.

An amazing accomplishment...Do we all remember last year's credo that it was all about guard play.
Sure, if you have Moriah.
Haven't heard it much this season....have you?

 

[DaddyChoc]

DaddyChoc: Geno-s started here learning the Woman's game and Uconn. Along with that he had idea's. Some worked some failed
I'm willing to wager that 20 / 30 percent of Geno's processes, practices, focus's, have changed in the last 10 years. Every business if it is to always get better has to evolve, and change (if only in a minor sense). Some things remain nearly the same: The intensity of practices, strength training, Conditioning, expectation about Defense

10, 16yrs all about the same... Im sure it took a while. Geno doesn't have to be in the country and Im sure Gabby and Kia can run the practices just fine. I recall Tiffany being very vocal at the start of her senior season during those preseason workouts

 

[UcMiami]

10, 16yrs all about the same... Im sure it took a while. Geno doesn't have to be in the country and Im sure Gabby and Kia can run the practices just fine. I recall Tiffany being very vocal at the start of her senior season during those preseason workouts

Doris said there was an immediate change the first year Geno took over very apparent the first time Providence played a Geno coached team. Uconn had always been a walk over game, and while they still didn't have much talent, it was no longer an easy game. Certainly there was a progression, and change hasn't stopped happening, but I think he and CD had a pretty good ides of what they were doing from the beginning. CD talking about getting the first team sweaters and establishing the pride that went along with being a member of the team (even if no one else knew!)

 

[BroadwayVa]

Doris said there was an immediate change the first year Geno took over very apparent the first time Providence played a Geno coached team. Uconn had always been a walk over game, and while they still didn't have much talent, it was no longer an easy game. Certainly there was a progression, and change hasn't stopped happening, but I think he and CD had a pretty good ides of what they were doing from the beginning. CD talking about getting the first team sweaters and establishing the pride that went along with being a member of the team (even if no one else knew!)

Agreed~~A new broom sweeps clean--meaning even a new coach makes changes--some positive and some not. Any manager starting a new position has a VISION of what he wants to accomplish. Much has been written of the Dynamic Duo and their visions--
The good thing about inheriting a terrible program--even minor successes look great. Analysts will spend years dissecting the program

 

[BroadwayVa]

Doris said there was an immediate change the first year Geno took over very apparent the first time Providence played a Geno coached team. Uconn had always been a walk over game, and while they still didn't have much talent, it was no longer an easy game. Certainly there was a progression, and change hasn't stopped happening, but I think he and CD had a pretty good ides of what they were doing from the beginning. CD talking about getting the first team sweaters and establishing the pride that went along with being a member of the team (even if no one else knew!)

Agreed~~A new broom sweeps clean--meaning even a new coach makes changes--some positive and some not. Any manager starting a new position has a VISION of what he wants to accomplish. Much has been written of the Dynamic Duo and their visions--
The good thing about inheriting a terrible program--even minor successes look great. Analysts will spend years dissecting the program

 

[Bronxjeff]

Saniya's game face!!! Wow!

 

[HGN]

Great piece...........And I think it was very appropriate to have the cover picture of a senior (Saniya) .

GO HUSKIES!!

 

[ctfjr]

And we can't forget Knoxville!

Where?

 

[JavaMan]

And we can't forget Knoxville!

Where?

KNOXVILLE!

Haven't you heard about the Grinnell College WBB program. A lot of their fan base lives in Knoxville, Iowa, a short distance from the school. Word is they're out to get UConn!

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Oh...wait! I might have them mixed up with the other women's college basketball team. Eureka College, near Knoxville, Illinois.

Well, whichever one it is, we need to straighten them out.

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