Geno embarrasses his starters today | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Geno embarrasses his starters today

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BackBay said:
I know he wanted to send a "message", but that was a poor look. Some players just dont respond to this. If I was a recruit, I would be thinking long and hard about playing here & if its right for me. Could explain why the sudden increase in transfers & poor recruiting lately.
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Actually, I'm surprised he has waited as long as he has before doing something like this.
 
Jmsdawg said:
The starters were not playing like they usually do and they played much better especially on defense after Geno pulled them, in addition, the bench played well while they were in so looks like it worked!
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For the Bench, the 5, Geno and us---that was a win win, win, win. Lessons learned all around. The Bench PROVED they can actually play when their backs are against the wall. GREAT.
 
I am not a believer in "tough" love coaching. Lobo said she never remembered him taking out all five starters at once. These players do not like being embarrassed like that in public. ( I know, who am I to question a HOF coach, yada, yada, yada)
Look at the shooting numbers for the game, pretty bad, no confidence....
 
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Embarrassing your players , and this came up last year with MW, does not instill confidence.....
 
Didn't see the game, only reading about this now. UCONN is going to need bench play contributions in the NCAA Tournament. League play is where your coach is going to have the opportunity to develop the bench. I watched the ASU vs Cal game today, and ASU subs 5 at a time. I realize that is a departure for UCONN, but if the starters came back in the game at some point, not sure that is "embarrassing"? If 5 kids can't come back from sitting on the bench for a bit, they probably aren't worthy of playing at a D1 program.
 
my2cents said:
I am not a believer in "tough" love coaching. Lobo said she never remembered him taking out all five starters at once. These players do not like being embarrassed like that in public. ( I know, who am I to question a HOF coach, yada, yada, yada)
Look at the shooting numbers for the game, pretty bad, no confidence....
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If a Player wilts when they get tough love. They might need to get a little mentally tougher I’m just saying. Not everything is gonna be sunshine and rainbows especially at the D1 Level. I’m not a UCONN fan but I’m just saying
 
JordyG said:
I've heard this before from new members and those new to UConn BB. Let's just say this has always been and always will be Geno's style. Fortunately it won't change for you or anyone else new to UConn's mode of play. So far it's worked rather well for him, all the banners, all of the League pros and Olympic champions he's produced in Storrs. 'Nuff said.
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Most of his former players love him.
 
meyers7 said:
Cool is in the eye of the beholder. But it is very accurate.
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I decided to not respond to this poster,, as I could see no advantage to doing so. But, I will just note: the entire thread is based upon a rather severe criticism of the coaching. We certainly have threads/comments devoted to criticizing other coaches and programs. We even will criticize player's performance, and sometimes players themselves, whether UConn or other school's. I've seen comments criticizing freshmen, after their first exhibition games. Criticism is prevalent. I fail to see why egregiously foolish posters should be exempt. I further note, I did not identify individuals, nor, in fact, identify which POV I found idiotic. If somebody self-identifies as being singled out, well, that's kinda revealing, is it not?
 
I think this is an interesting thread, and I always appreciate someone willing to take the backlash and post something critical here. But I don't think yesterday's move was that radical, they only sat five minutes of game time, and in general the starters responded well. Many other programs rest their starters five minutes every half, and some pretty good basketball coaches (Dean Smith and Hubie Brown come to mind) have played second units as units.

My question was why CW was pulled again in the second half. In the postgame, Geno said she responded well to the benching, and she certainly showed some good hustle on D and the boards.

Also, I think not playing ONO more is a huge mistake. I know she's raw and not ready, but she needs to develop and stay involved in the games, plus she's already a pretty good rebounder. She was the last sub to come back in at the end of the game, and I think she's the one with the potential to help the most in March.
 
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my2cents said:
Embarrassing your players , and this came up last year with MW, does not instill confidence.....
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It's worked pretty well with most of his players over the years. Maybe you should take over instead.
 
JSB60 said:
I think this is an interesting thread, and I always appreciate someone willing to take the backlash and post something critical here. But I don't think yesterday's move was that radical, they only sat five minutes of game time, and in general the starters responded well. Many other programs rest their starters five minutes every half, and some pretty good basketball coaches (Dean Smith and Hubie Brown come to mind) have played second units as units.

My question was why CW was pulled again in the second half. In the postgame, Geno said she responded well to the benching, and she certainly showed some good hustle on D and the boards.

Also, I think not playing ONO more is a huge mistake. I know she's raw and not ready, but she needs to develop and stay involved in the games, plus she's already a pretty good rebounder. She was the last sub to come back in at the end of the game, and I think she's the one with the potential to help the most in March.
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Play Olivia Nelson Odota much more !!
 
willtalk said:
Geno's system has had a long record of success. He can not be anything other than what he is. It might be that the number of players that appreciate what Geno and his system can do is diminishing. If that is so then it will be just one more example in the decline of basic basketball fundamentals. It might lead him to come to the same conclusion that John Wooden did in respect to his continuing in coaching.
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I think you are on to something here. Geno's been coaching women's college basketball for over 30 years now. Very few coaches (heck, very few people!) find it easy to change at this stage of their careers. Add to that his tremendous accomplishments- there are no worlds in women's basketball left for him to conquer. It might be time to stop & smell the roses.
 
Beemer said:
I think you are on to something here. Geno's been coaching women's college basketball for over 30 years now. Very few coaches (heck, very few people!) find it easy to change at this stage of their careers. Add to that his tremendous accomplishments- there are no worlds in women's basketball left for him to conquer. It might be time to stop & smell the roses.
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Geno has always said that one of the reasons he stick around is so that that each individual player can experience what it is like to win a championship. On the current UCONN rosters only two players have had this experience. Next year that (lack of championship experience) might apply to the entire roster. I'm guessing there is no way Geno walks away from that challenge.
Which brings up an interesting question, I'm sure many BY would know the answer to. What is the last UCONN recruiting class to graduate without a championship?
 
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CocoHusky said:
Geno has always said that one of the reasons he stick around is so that that each individual player can experience what it is like to win a championship. On the current UCONN rosters only two players have had this experience. Next year that (lack of championship experience) might apply to the entire roster. I'm guessing there is no way Geno walks away from that challenge.
Which brings up an interesting question, I'm sure many BY would know the answer to. What is the last UCONN recruiting class to graduate without a championship?
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2008, right?
 
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CocoHusky said:
Which brings up an interesting question, I'm sure many BY would know the answer to. What is the last UCONN recruiting class to graduate without a championship?
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2007-08, I think-- and also class of 1999. We've been through a drought twice before (and it was fine). No one is guaranteed anything-- and that includes starting, or playing, on a team.

To address the OP: why would any player believe she had a right to play? Or even to start? What's the definition of a starter? Just someone who happened to start that game. Geno doesn't anoint starters for an entire season.

I was a starter my first year of high school softball-- and then I wasn't. A better player came after me. (And worse, followed me to college.) I was mad and petulant at first; I was going to quit. Then, you know what happened? I licked my wounds and worked harder on being a better player. Yes, I was embarrassed at first (but I was only 15). I had to prove to my coaches that I, too, could start. And that's what happened my last two years of high school. It was all on me.
 
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my2cents said:
Embarrassing your players , and this came up last year with MW, does not instill confidence.....
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And a coach who lets things slide does not instill confidence. Geno does not let things slide. Would you be complaining if he just pull Lou, Pheesa and Crystal instead of the entire starting 5? Did he embaras Stewie, Morgan and Moriah when he pulled them?
 
CocoHusky said:
Geno has always said that one of the reasons he stick around is so that that each individual player can experience what it is like to win a championship. On the current UCONN rosters only two players have had this experience. Next year that (lack of championship experience) might apply to the entire roster. I'm guessing there is no way Geno walks away from that challenge.
Which brings up an interesting question, I'm sure many BY would know the answer to. What is the last UCONN recruiting class to graduate without a championship?
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As I recall, before the start of the 2007-08 year, he said that players who went to UConn for four years and never got to a Final Four were like students who graduated from Harvard and then worked at McDonalds. I thought that was an interesting analogy.

If they don't win an NC this year, then it could come true for Crystal, Molly, and Kyla -- although they have all been to Final Fours (may not have actually played in them, however).
 
Also, today's Courant notes, in the five takeaways from yesterday's game, that the "Starters understand benching," for what it's worth. Article here.
 
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Rebecca Lobo said she did not remember Geno benching all 5 starters at once. However, if you watch the pregame show for the 2015 game against #1 South Carolina, Rebecca recalls Geno being upset with the performance of his starters when she was a junior. UCONN was playing Seton Hall on January 4, 1994, and Geno benched 4 of 5 starters for the entire second half and UCONN lost 74-53. The starters were angry, but they got the message.

Rebecca was having this discussion, because Geno had just benched Stewart, Tuck, and Stokes in the game prior to the South Carolina game.
 
I am not trying to win an argument on here about whether Geno is a good coach or not, he's the best.
But I don;t think he's perfect either, and I don't believe he feels he is perfect either.
I just think that some players respond better than others by benchings, being yelled at, ridiculed, etc...and based on the fewer options this team has, its just something to be careful about.
 
I have been playing around with two words in my head. 2 words that I think are appropriate to what I am experiencing of late on the Board: 'Waiting' and 'Nervousness'. We have become enveloped by them, and they knaw at us. Every talk, discussion, etc., takes us into something having to do with 'decline', problems, a look towards the 'problems' of next year. Does anybody here remember laughter? the joy of a game-- win or lose? I'm trying very hard to separate our players from the players that the Boneyard will have. As someone thousands of miles from Storrs, I have only Replays to watch. So, I am sure that there are things in the games that I might be missing. They are one of today's top teams.
And Geno has not changed much in my eyes. Over the years I have been mildly critical of certain things he said to the media regarding young people. Am still critical. But, interestingly, the ND coach has now echoed him verbatim-- only to say, he isn't alone.
 
huskeynut said:
Did he embaras Stewie, Morgan and Moriah when he pulled them?
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Yes, that's sort of the point. Otherwise you'd just call a timeout right?
 
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