Geno gave Renee some tough love

[UConnCat]

It's been well-documented how much affection and respect Geno has for Renee. But according to John A's blog in which he writes about the Sun and Renee coming off the bench, Geno had some tough advice for Renee when she was cut from the USA national team:

Montgomery scored 23 against the Silver Stars, the most points scored by a Sun bench player since she scored 33 in 2010 against the Lynx, with whom she began her career.

“Renee Montgomery?,” said Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes. “She broke us down.”

Should Montgomery be asked to remain in that role all season, her former UConn coach, Geno Auriemma, believes it might be the best thing for the remainder of her career. When Montgomery was cut from USA Basketball’s World Championship team in 2010, Auriemma, the national team coach, had some advice for her.

“When I cut Renee, I told her that she wasn’t good enough and she wasn’t mature enough,” Auriemma said earlier this week. “She needed to grow up. And these things will help her grow up.”

http://courantblogs.com/uconn-women/sun-lynx-battle-of-the-unbeatens/#more-1462

Geno never stops taking players out of their comfort zone. Take note, Brianna Turner.

 

[sarals24]

That's got to be such a strange feeling, telling a player that you coached for four years that she isn't good enough. Especially when you were such a factor in molding her into the player that she is.

 

[Wonkster]

.
What am I missing here? I thought 'committees' determined team makeup, not the coach.

 

[sarals24]

And since he has a personal relationship with her, I'm sure he felt comfortable telling her why she was cut. Sounds like he knows how to motivate her, too. Maybe this will help her make future teams.

 

[easttexastrash]

Maybe Montgomery isn't as good as Bird or Whalen right now, but take those two out of the picture and she is the USA point guard, in my opinion. To say that she isn't good enough may only mean that she isn't on their level yet, but she will be there before too long, in my opinion. I think she is one of the best point guards in the women's game and could probably be the starting PG for any other country.

I am a HUGE fan of Montgomery. I love watching her play and I hope that she continues to work hard so that she can take the reins once Bird leaves the game.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I thought that Renee's shot selection at UConn was not quite good enough for her first 2-3 years, but she improved it and hit a solid percentage her senior year. There is no question about her toughness and leadership. I think that she has a real shot at the 2016 Olympics.

 

[EricLA]

so much for the absolutely moronic Orange comments that Geno only wanted players on the national team because they went to UCONN, or that he steered the committee into taking undeserving UCONN grads.

 

[ucdt3]

.
What am I missing here? I thought 'committees' determined team makeup, not the coach.

They do, but he has input. And I'm sure he took her aside and used "I" as a way of motivating her to get her ass ready for the 2016 Olympics. Telling her she "wasn't good or mature enough" was just another "Genoism".

 

[semper]

She is REALLY improving, in what I have seen this year. Hope she will make it the next time around!