Geno Auriemma: "Mr. Women's Basketball" | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Geno Auriemma: "Mr. Women's Basketball"

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Great Article. One point you get from it. Playing for Geno will stretch you. Make you somebody special, somebody you never thought you could be. His teachings make you successful at whatever you do because you have learned what it takes to win. You learn the price you have to pay to be great. The girls who play for him have their lives changed forever and his teachings will last their lifetime. Many of his teachings will not be realized until years later. A truly great story about a legend in his own time.
 
When Taurasi left UConn without her degree to play in the WNBA, [Geno] banned her from the campus until she got her degree.

This I did not know. Good for Geno.
 
"Girls don't learn how to play basketball the way guys do," says Geno. "Guys learn in an empty gym in 3-on-3 games. There's 20 other guys waiting to play if you lose, so you've got to learn to read the floor, see things, and react or else you lose and sit down for an hour. That's hard to teach, and that's basically what I'm teaching my 'guys,' how to be instinctive players. From early on, girls learn basketball on organized teams, not in pick-up, three-man games. They want to be told by me what to do. I want them to know what to do on their own. I don't want to be too much the Padrone so they're always looking to the sidelines for me to tell them something. I tell them, ‘Yo, dude, Christ, you figure it out.'"

This explains a lot about why certain players don't play, doesn't it?
 
Sally Jenkins (sallyjenx) recently tweeted; "The main anecdotes in Pat Jordan's piece on Geno Auriemma come from Jackie MacMullen's book. Only, he never mentions that. Pure class."
 
cardfan said:
Sally Jenkins (sallyjenx) recently tweeted; "The main anecdotes in Pat Jordan's piece on Geno Auriemma come from Jackie MacMullen's book. Only, he never mentions that. Pure class."
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Sally Jenkins, ghost writer for Pat Summit's books. 'Nuff said.
 
What does Sally's accusation about Pat Jordan using Jackie MacMullen's work without giving proper credit, have anything to do with Pat? Sally is sticking up for Jackie, who authored the book about Geno/UConn.
 
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Excellent read. Also loved that his family has roots a few towns over from where my parents are from in Italy.
 
The middle section, starting with the part about the problem with Geno's book, sounds off base to me. In the book he says what a jerk he was for treating that UConn reporter like that (but he did tell the anecdote; was he apologizing for what everybody knew or putting in the self-deprecation so he could tell the anecdote?). CD says how supportive he was when her father died, not that he was so focused on himself. And he banned Diana from Gampel (not campus) to motivate her to get her degree. I think he broke Sue Bird to see how far she could go under pressure (but I don't like that story myself). So Jordan's article is one-sided, but doesn't every story have two sides?
 
I think he took anecdotes from the book and used them to tell part of the story, about how Geno sees himself, how the rest of the world sees him, etc. He definitely mentions the book and the ghostwriter, so...isn't that giving credit? I'm confused...
 
sarals24 said:
I think he took anecdotes from the book and used them to tell part of the story, about how Geno sees himself, how the rest of the world sees him, etc. He definitely mentions the book and the ghostwriter, so...isn't that giving credit? I'm confused...
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Exactly, and since Jackie's job was helping with Geno's autobiography and Geno told the story on himself isn't crediting the book misplaced, also.
 
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cardfan said:
Sally Jenkins (sallyjenx) recently tweeted; "The main anecdotes in Pat Jordan's piece on Geno Auriemma come from Jackie MacMullen's book. Only, he never mentions that. Pure class."
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Sally Jenkins posted 3 tweets today. The one you quoted, another where she rips the author for claiming something to the effect of Pat Jordan stating the Williams Sister would do nothing in tennis(which has been deleted) and this tweet: "Pat Jordan thinks wimmin didnt play proper hoops til recently. That's going to come as a surprise to Miller, Swoopes, Staley, Lesley..."

It's obvious she has some sort of agenda or beef with Pat Jordan. Her last personal tweet prior to this was on Feb 17th.
 
bruinbball said:
Sally Jenkins posted 3 tweets today. The one you quoted, another where she rips the author for claiming something to the effect of Pat Jordan stating the Williams Sister would do nothing in tennis(which has been deleted) and this tweet: "Pat Jordan thinks wimmin didnt play proper hoops til recently. That's going to come as a surprise to Miller, Swoopes, Staley, Lesley..."

It's obvious she has some sort of agenda or beef with Pat Jordan. Her last personal tweet prior to this was on Feb 17th.
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that's was my take, a beef toward Jordan.
 
HuskyNan said:
When Taurasi left UConn without her degree to play in the WNBA, [Geno] banned her from the campus until she got her degree.

This I did not know. Good for Geno.
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I didn't either!! I didn't even know she left without getting her degree... that seems crazy to me.. 4 years and a sociology major, how in God's name do you not get your degree?!
 
Kait14 said:
I didn't either!! I didn't even know she left without getting her degree... that seems crazy to me.. 4 years and a sociology major, how in God's name do you not get your degree?!
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I believe that occurs for some because they leave for the WNBA beforevfinishing classes in the spring semester. The timing of the start of the league is not good for all schools. I do not remember if this was the full basis of Diana's situation. I suspect not since Geno used such a heavy stick.
 
Kait14 said:
I didn't either!! I didn't even know she left without getting her degree... that seems crazy to me.. 4 years and a sociology major, how in God's name do you not get your degree?!
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She had a LOT going on. But Geno isn't one to accept excuses.

Some, many of the UConn players have been model students. Diana isn't in that group. I think she planned to just finish on time, but back to back to back national championships, and the pressure of carrying the team the last year got to be too much of a load, and studies slipped. I wouldn't be surprised if she thought it was no big deal, but Geno wasn't about to let that go, so he told her she wasn't allowed back to visit until she finished. IIRC it wasn't the fall semester, but the following spring when she completed it.
 
ericsandiego said:
overall very good article, but disappointed that he felt the need to drop so many f-bombs. really no excuse for that, especially with a reporter. he's certainly intelligent enough to use better words in casual conversation. it's not like he was all fired up and screaming at a ref...
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That's how men talk, eric.
 
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bruinbball said:
Sally Jenkins posted.... this tweet: "Pat Jordan thinks wimmin didnt play proper hoops til recently. That's going to come as a surprise to Miller, Swoopes, Staley, Lesley..."
.
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Isn't that tweet just proof that Jenkins still doesn't get? She is talking about great individual players, Jordan was emphasizing Geno's team approach to the game. Summitt was all about "defense and rebounding". She would bring in the most athletic players she could and motivate them within an inch of their life. Her offense was all about chucking the ball up and getting the rebounds for the putbacks. Geno with his passing and cutting took the game to the next level.
 
HuskyNan said:
When Taurasi left UConn without her degree to play in the WNBA, [Geno] banned her from the campus until she got her degree.

This I did not know. Good for Geno.
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Just curious - how do you get a degree without going on campus, at least to a limited extent?
 
Waquoit said:
Isn't that tweet just proof that Jenkins still doesn't get? She is talking about great individual players, Jordan was emphasizing Geno's team approach to the game. Summitt was all about "defense and rebounding". She would bring in the most athletic players she could and motivate them within an inch of their life. Her offense was all about chucking the ball up and getting the rebounds for the putbacks. Geno with his passing and cutting took the game to the next level.
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Yes, Sally Jenkins doesn't get. Nor is she accurate to the article. It isn't that Pat Jordan thinks that it is that Geno thinks that and has worked hard to change the game. There was little in the article that we haven't heard from Geno directly or through the horde.
 
Cheddie said:
Just curious - how do you get a degree without going on campus, at least to a limited extent?
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I believe that Diana came back in the following spring and attended classes to receive her degree. It is, however, possible, with the professor's permission, to take some classes on line.
 
I don't think Geno would ever ask anyone to work harder than he himself has done. Think of what he has accomplished since he immigrated as a small child. He, to me, has accomplished what was once called "the American Dream." To come here, work hard, and make yourself and your family a good life. Many of our parents and grandparents did the same, to different degrees. God bless him!
 
What surprised me in the article was when they had finished lunch somewhere & went outside for the reporter to smoke a cigar & Geno to smoke a cigarette! Never ever have I heard anywhere that Geno smokes - other than the occasional cigar!! :(
 
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"Diana Taurasi came back and got her degree. When I heard through the grapevine that she thought she'd be too busy to finish up, I got really upset. Diana's parents never went to college. The fact that she did a tremendous source of pride for them. I tried to explain to her that by not getting her degree, she'd be written off as just another dumb jock. I told her she'd just be perpetuating the idea that great players give lip service about going to school, and that would be wrong. I sent her an e-mail telling her she could never set foot on my court again if she didn't come back and enroll in school. She sent me a two-word answer: yes, sir."
- Geno In Pursuit of Perfection, Geno Auriemma with Jackie MacMullen
 
Waquoit said:
That's how men talk, eric.
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No, not all men talk that way. I surely don't, and most of the people I associate with don't. I'm no saint, but I never use foul language. It really isn't necessary to make a point.
 
"I would love Dee to come back and remain part of the Connecticut program, but I've already told her she is not welcome back on this campus until she graduates. She knows I mean it.
It's not Dee's fault she didn't finish. The WNBA screws up women's basketball. They start their training camps in April, and if you are someone like Diana, who has played international ball for most of her career, you can't make up courses in the summer. If you have to start your pro career in April, then you're not going to be able to graduate on time. That means a kid like Diana has to come back in the fall or the winter to finish. I told her if she doesn't, she'll never be allowed on these courts ever again. Her parents deserve that. I went into their home and told them her daughter would graduate with a degree.
In January of 2005, Dee took me at my word. She came back to Connecticut and enrolled in classes to complete her degree."
Geno In Pursuit of Perfection , Geno Auriemma with Jackie MacMullan
 
Rosie said:
What surprised me in the article was when they had finished lunch somewhere & went outside for the reporter to smoke a cigar & Geno to smoke a cigarette! Never ever have I heard anywhere that Geno smokes - other than the occasional cigar!! :(
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I agree. Kind of a disappointing thing to hear about someone with such high standards and a role model.
 
Not a ton of info there. Does he smoke regularly? Does he enjoy an occasional cigarette after a meal? What it a Malboro Red, or a smooth clove to cleanse the pallette?
 
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