Geno has something to say to Caroline doubters

[blackbird]

I think Geno is just a bit of a Papa Bear.

It's alright if he chastises his girls, but he'll get very upset if someone else attacks them. Particularly someone like Caroline, who Geno clearly has a soft spot for. (As, I don't think it's completely logical to give her minutes over Moriah, and I know it's not logical - if it's going to continue - to start Doty over Hartley.)

Geno is also in a different circumstance than any other coach in the country. These are a bunch of kids who are expected to be elite and never lose. They are almost expected to be Robots. And the fans have gone from loving the team and their flaws to expecting perfection.

Geno's said himself, it's a blessing and a curse. But I honestly think he's just defending his players against unfair criticism. This is a "down year" for the Huskies when they are virtually a lock for the final four and their only losses are to the #1 and #2 team. Caroline Doty, three surgeries later, just can't play against the two best guards in the country. Bria Hartley struggled after having ankle issues for most of the year. Breanna Stewart struggled as a freshman. Fans can sometimes forget they are people..

So yes, Geno's defensive when it comes to his players. But I can see why. There isn't another team with the pressure that these players have. People even expect Lebron James to lose games..

 

[jsloanjr]

CD has an affect on this team without scoring........Those 12 days off after the ND loss has given this team a new lease on life......Doty, Stewart, Tuck, Faris have all benefited.......They were not healthy then they will get another 6 days off before see ND (MAYBE) in NO........UCONN will be waiting for who ever shows up.........

 

[vtcwbuff]

Not a Papa Bear. I think he still has many of the same insecurities that Luigi had when he was a little Italian kid in the neighborhood. IMO that's why he responds to criticism the way he does.

 

[blackbird]

He doesn't respond to criticism about himself. He responds to criticism about his players.

I remember him being a little upset whens someone came up to him and said a loss was probably good for the team. Which he agreed with. Then the fan went on to say that it would probably "humble" the players. That bothered him.

He's said himself that he thinks players win games and coaches lose them.

 

[UConnCat]

Not a Papa Bear. I think he still has many of the same insecurities that Luigi had when he was a little Italian kid in the neighborhood. IMO that's why he responds to criticism the way he does.

Ah. So in addition to arm-chair coaches on the board we are now blessed with arm-chair shrinks.

 

[Icebear]

Not a Papa Bear. I think he still has many of the same insecurities that Luigi had when he was a little Italian kid in the neighborhood. IMO that's why he responds to criticism the way he does.

I believe the board bears would heartily welcome Geno into the den.

 

[Vowelguy]

Ah. So in addition to arm-chair coaches on the board we are now blessed with arm-chair shrinks.

Not a new phenomena (unfortunately). I guess you've forgotten the posts that said they "could tell" that player X was clinically depressed just by looking at her demeanor on the bench, OR that PHS "must be" far along in her dementia based on how she looked/acted during the games.

We have no shortage of "experts".

 

[RadyLady]

Not a new phenomena (unfortunately). I guess you've forgotten the posts that said they "could tell" that player X was clinically depressed just by looking at her demeanor on the bench, OR that PHS "must be" far along in her dementia based on how she looked/acted during the games.

We have no shortage of "experts".

in any walk of life.

 

[Icebear]

Not a new phenomena (unfortunately). I guess you've forgotten the posts that said they "could tell" that player X was clinically depressed just by looking at her demeanor on the bench, OR that PHS "must be" far along in her dementia based on how she looked/acted during the games.

We have no shortage of "experts".

That is not in the least what I said and that you think it was shows your incompetence on the matter.

 

[VAMike23]

A complaint I have with basketball fans in general is that they rely on the number of points scored to determine whether or not a player is good or not. Isn't that one of the complaints we fan have had about the public's perception of Kelly? It's only this year she's been looking for her shot but we fans know how invaluable she is to the team, whether she scores or not.

I would extend your point to the fans on the 'Yard who will quote statistics and then stand pat, as though the numbers tell all. They don't. It's one thing to say, as Caroline said yesterday, "The numbers don't lie." But that doesn't mean they always tell the whole story, or that the interpreter is infallible. Kelly's impact is a prime example, but there are many others.

 

[vtcwbuff]

He doesn't respond to criticism about himself. He responds to criticism about his players.

I remember him being a little upset whens someone came up to him and said a loss was probably good for the team. Which he agreed with. Then the fan went on to say that it would probably "humble" the players. That bothered him.

He's said himself that he thinks players win games and coaches lose them.

Not so. Where do you think the comments about fan coaches are coming from?

 

[vtcwbuff]

Ah. So in addition to arm-chair coaches on the board we are now blessed with arm-chair shrinks.

Read his book. Then think about why he would bother to take the time to criticize "arm chair coaches?" Why should it bother him at all? It comes with the territory.

As for arm chair coaches, how many here have never second guessed a coaching decision at a sporting event? Whether it's a pitching change or a lineup change, or a 4th and 1 situation?
That's what fans do. It comes with their territory and it has zero impact on what's going on in the arena. That's why Auriemma should quit bitchin' about it.

 

[hoopfan515]

Caroline performs better in the starting line up rather than coming off the bench. If Bria can score a lot of points off the bench, that might be what is best for this TEAM.

 

[baggerbob]

Great players don't always win championships, great teammates do. Caroline is an example of a great teammate, even when her body won't allow her to do the things she once did she carries on, doesn't complain. All championship teams need heart, and a soul Caroline provides both for this team, that can't be measured in points, rebounds, assists.

 

[vtcwbuff]

Ah. So in addition to arm-chair coaches on the board we are now blessed with arm-chair shrinks.

You really should get to know Auriemma's character a bit before making snarky comments. Here's just one of my armchair sources - A
John Altavilla column from a couple of years ago.
A couple of quotes from the article -

"And he also talks about the inherent insecurity which has driven him his entire life. "Act like I know everything about everything so no one will say you're the dumb kid from Italy. Am I insecure? Absolutely,"

"He talks about his temper, how reactionary he is sometimes to criticism from the public, "

 

[blackbird]

Caroline performs better in the starting line up rather than coming off the bench. If Bria can score a lot of points off the bench, that might be what is best for this TEAM.

Except against the elite teams, when Caroline will struggle to bring the ball up the court (If Diggins and Sims decide to pressure her), add nothing on offense, and get beat pretty badly on defense.

And I'm as big of a fan of Caroline as there is. I wish the above wasn't true, but I've seen it enough to know it is. If you want to play Caroline in a big game, you've got to play her when she's next to Hartley, so that Bria can take some pressure off of her. (And quite frankly, the reverse is true too. Caroline helps Bria out by allowing Bria to not have to be the point guard.)

Btw: I'm so glad the boneyard has so many psychologists. Between Hartley playing "passionless" and Geno being so insecure that his comments defending his players are really about deflecting blame and wanting to be right all the time, a book should probably be written.

And yes, I know he doesn't like criticism and he's always searching for perfection. But that's not why he sticks up for his players.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

To me this is one of the most tiresome themes/debates of this season. In part, maybe large part, because I really like who CDoty is, a leader with a sense of humor. I suspect that for some the frustration over BH's erratic performance has added spice to the dialogue over C Doty. I hope the NCAA run is successful for all and we have more positive topics to chatter about for a couple of weeks.

 

[UConnCat]

You really should get to know Auriemma's character a bit before making snarky comments. Here's just one of my armchair sources - A
John Altavilla column from a couple of years ago.
A couple of quotes from the article -

"And he also talks about the inherent insecurity which has driven him his entire life. "Act like I know everything about everything so no one will say you're the dumb kid from Italy. Am I insecure? Absolutely,"

"He talks about his temper, how reactionary he is sometimes to criticism from the public, "

So, it wasn't your diagnosis; it's Geno's self-diagnosis.

I'm fully aware of what Geno has said about the insecurities he felt as an immigrant kid. He's talked quite openly about it. The fact that his childhood insecurities and challenges affect his adult behavior to this day means he's no different than about 99.99% of the adults in this world. The fact that he knows it and admits it probably puts him in a much smaller category.

My comment was directed at the level of scrutiny that goes on over every coaching move and some of the comments he makes. We're told it wasn't protective Geno who made that comment; it was insecure Geno. Okay then.

There are days I'm just stunned by it and this is one of those days.

 

[Buzzyboy]

UConn has played very well against Baylor and Notre Dame, only to really falter in the last minutes with uncharacteristic mental mistakes that are so atypical of any Geno team. What is contributing to them is beyond me but I would love to have a healthy Caroline Doty (which she isn't) playing in those final moments as she did a few years back before her ACL's diminished her abilities, particularly on the offensive end. She was a pretty substantial scoring threat prior to these ACL injuries even if she only showed it sparingly, deferring to Tina and Maya and other more senior Huskies. She will always be one of my very favorite Huskies! I hope she gets the chance to walk off into the sunset with a victory net around her neck.

To be fair, the national championship team on which Ms Doty was the point guard featured the two best players in WCBB that season who would go on to become WNBA Rookies of the Year, and two other players currently on WNBA rosters. Play well against Maryland and in the games remaining and Coach Auriemma can stand up and take jabs at at all the doubters and enjoy the last laugh.

It is also fair to say that everyone here is rooting for Caroline Doty to play well and to contribute. The criticisms are not necessarily leveled at her, but at the team's weaknesses against better teams. The better teams are few and far between, thus, relatively, so are the criticisms.

C

 

[pinotbear]

I believe the board bears would heartily welcome Geno into the den.

he's got the right personality, and he'll bring wine: I vote "yea"!

 

[Buzzyboy]

Thats just coaching. I am not a hater, and admire her perseverence (and feel sorrow for what her potential was). However, she does not provide anything on offense or defense to elevate the team. In most games it is fine because the other offensive talent overwhelms the opponent and masks her weakness.

But where weaknesses show, as they surely always do, is against the elite teams. She cannot matchup with oddysey sims or Diggins. She gets exposed off the dribble and cannot generate anything on offense. Having a pg that struggles to create offense on the bounce kills end of shot clock sequences and she really hurts the team there. If you are looking at why we cannot close games that is our problem.

With that diagnoses over, I hope she has the games of her life in the next 4, hits some big shots and finishes ger career with performances that make us eternally wonder, what if?

sent from my Galaxy Note 2 using tapatalk

I think that despite her limitations Caroline Doty has done quite a bit in those games to stabilize the team under an onslaught of defensive pressure. She runs the offense pretty efficiently despite her physical shortcomings. Geno isn't out to screw up his team's chances for another title by allowing someone whose incapable of performing to run the point. Obviously he feels that she may be the best option because of her cool head and her knowledge of how the offense is meant to be run. The fact that you would assume Geno would have her out there if he felt that "she really hurts the team there" is lunacy, indeed. As much as he loves her as a person and a gritty kid, you seriously believe he would jeopardize the team's winning to show his affection?????? What better options do you think he has???? Bria has played less than stellar ball, with turnovers and hesitation and poor shooting. We all hope she comes out of it but she isn't A POINTGUARD and our freshman from Texas has shown flashes but she isn't really ready for the stretch against the best of the best.

 

[vtcwbuff]

"I'm fully aware of what Geno has said about the insecurities he felt as an immigrant kid.

Then why take issue with the comment I made if it's true? Did you really believe my comment was based on nothing? Although I don't think you have to be a shrink to figure out the source of some of his behavior.

I have watched Auriemma for 20 years. I admire and respect what he's done for women's basketball. Sometimes he cracks me up, often he impresses me, he has occasionally left me dumbfounded and sometimes on rare occasions, he has pissed me off.

 

[vtcwbuff]

Not a new phenomena (unfortunately). I guess you've forgotten the posts that said they "could tell" that player X was clinically depressed just by looking at her demeanor on the bench, OR that PHS "must be" far along in her dementia based on how she looked/acted during the games.

We have no shortage of "experts".

You guys are confusing "experts" with a poster offering an opinion. The rub is that there is a segment of BY posters that would like to stifle those opinions that they find disagreeable.

 

[doggydaddy]

You guys are confusing "experts" with a poster offering an opinion. The rub is that there is a segment of BY posters that would like to stifle those opinions that they find disagreeable.

By stifle, you mean disagree with. I haven't seen any censorship.

 

[msf22b]

Shouldn't this discussion include Bria and her reassignment?
Isn't that the real issue?

 

[phil sampieri]

You guys are confusing "experts" with a poster offering an opinion. The rub is that there is a segment of BY posters that would like to stifle those opinions that they find disagreeable.

You know what Geno must have meant was fans posting 8 times on the same GD subject. I know I am tired of reading your posts. I know delete.

 

[vtcwbuff]

By stifle, you mean disagree with. I haven't seen any censorship.

No I don't mean disagree. I'm a fan of disagree. I mean stifle. Mostly by personal attacks.

There is no censorship here because the mods won't censor unless BY rules are violated. There are people here that would prefer that no criticism ever be posted and anything that they consider negative should be banned.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

No I don't mean disagree. I'm a fan of disagree. I mean stifle. Mostly by personal attacks.

There is no censorship here because the mods won't censor unless BY rules are violated. There are people here that would prefer that no criticism ever be posted and anything that they consider negative should be banned.

How many times do you need to say this? Your point is made and taken.

 

[vtcwbuff]

You know what Geno must have meant was fans posting 8 times on the same GD subject. I know I am tired of reading your posts. I know delete.

Phil - The ignore button is always there. Why don't you use it?

 

[vtcwbuff]

How many times do you need to say this? Your point is made and taken.

OZ - Is the point off the mark? If it were there wouldn't be anything to discuss. I post something about Autiemma being insecure and a couple of posters crap all over me. Shouldn't I be able to respond?