Geno/KML and Dolson/Oriakhi

[Sonny44]

2 thoughts to ponder over your Monday morning coffee:

1) Do you think Geno's "going off" on KML a few times during the ND game was the right move? As well as sitting her during OT.

While it may very well help her down the road, isn't the goal also to win the game? His getting in her face seemed to totally take her out of the game mentally.

2) With new and talented post players coming in for the women next season (a la Drummond with the men's team), any shot that Dolson has an Oriakhi-like junior year? I realize that she is much more talented/valuable to her team than AO, but I'm just wondering how her game will be affected when someone who is simply better arrives on the scene.

OK...now ask the waitress for that refill and feel free to reply.

Yes, I do. KML's 2 turnovers in the last two minutes cost us the game. She was lost out there for several minutes, playing like a freshman. Oh wait, she is a freshman, not a criticism, just not ready for that situation yet.

 

[UConnCat]

Yes, I do. KML's 2 turnovers in the last two minutes cost us the game. She was lost out there for several minutes, playing like a freshman. Oh wait, she is a freshman, not a criticism, just not ready for that situation yet.

Tenn's Massengale, another freshman, played a terrible game on the road at UVA earlier in the season. She shot the ball poorly, committed 7 TOs and fouled out. Since then, she seems to have grown up a lot and is playing very well (though I haven't watched recent Tenn games). There's nothing like adversity to expedite the growth process for freshmen. Let's see how KML responds.

 

[alexrgct]

2 thoughts to ponder over your Monday morning coffee:

1) Do you think Geno's "going off" on KML a few times during the ND game was the right move? As well as sitting her during OT.

While it may very well help her down the road, isn't the goal also to win the game? His getting in her face seemed to totally take her out of the game mentally.

2) With new and talented post players coming in for the women next season (a la Drummond with the men's team), any shot that Dolson has an Oriakhi-like junior year? I realize that she is much more talented/valuable to her team than AO, but I'm just wondering how her game will be affected when someone who is simply better arrives on the scene.

OK...now ask the waitress for that refill and feel free to reply.

Generally speaking, the goal is to win. However, there are battles and wars. Notre Dame in particular is a war. We will definitely play them once more, probably play them twice more, and may well play them three more times. Geno has a young team with very little margin for error, and he may think that sending a message that no one is above being benched for poor play is more important to winning the war than trying to win this particular battle. Down the road is a lot more important than this particular game, even if UConn fans are spoiled by not seeing a ton of teams that are works in progress.

People comparing KML to Charde are ignoring the fact that Charde had a much rougher upbringing, that KML has played an enormous amount of high level basketball heading into college, and I'm sure she's been yelled at a lot. She played for one of the premier HS programs in the country. I don't care how good you are- you're gonna get yelled at.

Geno is generally very much on point as to when to get on his kids and when to not to. I trust his judgment.

There is little to no chance that Stef's and AO's situations are related. For one, AO has never been a consistent player, though he has shined in moments. For another, AO lost his hs teammate and good friend Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, something Stef doesn't have to deal with. For another, Drummond and Breanna aren't really analogs. I suspect we'll see a lot of lineups where Stef is the 5 and Breanna the 4.

Stef is getting swarmed in the post. She needs another consistent post threat, and it's my hope and expectation that Breanna can be that player. I think BS's arrival makes Stef better, not worse.

 

[boontonbomber]

i think that getting in a player's face in practice is a whole lot different than doing it during a timeout. players are different, but geno seems to use the same approach no matter who he's dealing with in those situations. i've never liked the screaming in the face, no matter who the coach is. just seems to me that geno is a bit out of control at those moments, and it's not the time to be out of control. he looked that way on saturday, and maybe it affected the outcome.

 

[VAUConnFan]

2 thoughts to ponder over your Monday morning coffee:

1) Do you think Geno's "going off" on KML a few times during the ND game was the right move? As well as sitting her during OT.

While it may very well help her down the road, isn't the goal also to win the game? His getting in her face seemed to totally take her out of the game mentally.

2) With new and talented post players coming in for the women next season (a la Drummond with the men's team), any shot that Dolson has an Oriakhi-like junior year? I realize that she is much more talented/valuable to her team than AO, but I'm just wondering how her game will be affected when someone who is simply better arrives on the scene.

OK...now ask the waitress for that refill and feel free to reply.

The first question has been discussed and dissected in depth.

One can only hope that Ms Dolson will be as dominant on the boards as Alex Oriakhi was during his national championship sophmore season. What I like is that Oriakhi contributes without demanding the ball in the post, sets great screens, protects the middle, and keeps defenses honest.

The determination as to whom is better will be made once the season plays itself out. Stefanie Dolson is a good ballplayer.

 

[Icebear]

add IMO or JMO to this too! or would you rather I say "Icebear I discount your post" (running out the back door)

Why discount any post, it is afterall that person's opinion and can always received for what it is and respected as another pice or view of the puzzle that is life. Differing opinions are not the end of the world.

 

[DieHardHusky]

KML's going to be just fine, keep in mind she is only a freshman!

 

[phil sampieri]

i think that getting in a player's face in practice is a whole lot different than doing it during a timeout. players are different, but geno seems to use the same approach no matter who he's dealing with in those situations. i've never liked the screaming in the face, no matter who the coach is. just seems to me that geno is a bit out of control at those moments, and it's not the time to be out of control. he looked that way on saturday, and maybe it affected the outcome.

Imagine if he didn't get on his players during the game, we'd probably be 220-0- Most coaches can accept physical errors but what
freaks them out is when they after a play is drawn up , the player doesn't perform their task. Charde, IMO would have been worse if
someone ignored her lack of consentration, which was her single most problem.

 

[Huskyfaninsd]

Regarding the KML question, I am sure there has also been instances where KML has committed the same mistake in practice. I don't have a problem with Geno screaming at his players, its part of being an athlete. While Geno wanted to win the game, I think his biggest worry is the team's performance in March. I believe KML won't make the same mistake again and/or will be more aware next time he points something out. If not mistaken, Geno commented that KML had a "I never committ a mistake" attitude. Hence, after this game, I am sure KML will listen to Geno even more. I hate that we lost, but I feel this loss will benefit the team in the end.

 

[boontonbomber]

Imagine if he didn't get on his players during the game, we'd probably be 220-0- Most coaches can accept physical errors but what
freaks them out is when they after a play is drawn up , the player doesn't perform their task. Charde, IMO would have been worse if
someone ignored her lack of consentration, which was her single most problem.

nothing wrong with getting on your players during a game. i am not at all convinced that screaming in a player's face,though, is better than sitting that player next to you and emphatically pointing out the mistake. or save it for after the game. i do not see any good coming out of choosing that moment to get in a player's face, especially the way geno does. in my mind, it is especially important to do everything you can to calm your team down in a situation like the other night, rather than freaking out. i don't know about 220-0, but they might have won that game the other night. they certainly looked out of control during that overtime.

 

[Georgestarr7]

Chicken/Egg discussion: Has KML's game fallen off because of Geno's yelling at her or is Geno yelling at her because her game has fallen off? IMHO Geno does treat each player individually and I remember him commenting at the beginning of the year how KML is made of tough stuff; how he can get in her face about a mistake and she will just say "OK, coach" and go out to fix it. She'll be OK; no, she'll be great.

 

[Husky68]

Every good coach I had or my kids had was a screamer, yeller, in your face guy. Geno is no different. The nice sweet talk nicey nice coaches didnt win. One quality of being great is being mentally tuff and being able to take what your coach dishes out , because when you face an opponet who is trying to intimadate you, you can overcome it.

Was Wooden a screamer? Not big on dramatics of screaming and yelling, just don't think well coached team or players get much benefit from it. I like the guys who seem to be thinking/analyzing during the game and give instructions to players - Hormets coach, new Alabama boys coach and Muffettt are examples of how its done. Now if player isn't listening, etc., you use the bench.

 

[Icebear]

Oh, I could understand the benching if he had an equal of superior player to replace her.

Since that isn't/wasn't the case I understood the benching as being a completely negative directed at KML.

Peace,

John Fryer

If you don't bench her you send her a worse message that may cost you much more in the long run.

 

[Brad Palmer]

Did someone just post: "What I like is that Oriakhi contributes without demanding the ball in the post, sets great screens, protects the middle, and keeps defenses honest."?

This someone must be mistaking Alex for another unknown player

 

[Brad Palmer]

Re: Geno's yelling...

It may be that we have so few close games, but he does seem to go overboard and lose a bit of control when things get hectic. Now I don't expect him to go "Mr. Rogers" when there's an OT game like ND, but he really seems to complain to the refs a lot more, scream at players a lot more, look slightly flustered a bit more during these types of games. Don't waste an entire TO yelling at a player for something that is basically over and done with. Usually you want your leader remaining somewhat calm in the face of chaos.

Still the greatest coach ever in women's basketball, just think he may not be the best ever in close games/tight situations. You can't be the best in every aspect of the game or then our opponents would have no chance at winning!

 

[ed4ourgirls]

I know this topic has been done to death, but I just wanted to take
issue with a few of the posters who feel that Geno treats all his players
the same - by yelling at them. I think like any good coach he learns
which buttons to push with which players.

Someone with an AAA-type personality like Diana probably has to be
hit over the head with a 2x4 just to get her attention. The same
approach used on a shy and sensitive person like Nykesha Sales would
doubtless be counterproductive.

And we all know why Keesh got the knickname "Precious" from her
team mates.

 

[cferraro04]

After reading the Jim Fuller piece in the New Haven Register it became clear to me that Geno and Kaleena agree with my position with regards to those who think that Geno is risking ruining KML's drive by openly criticizing her at games... I ask you does this sound like Kaleena should be compared with Charde? Does this sound like a young lady who feels she is being humiliated by Geno in public...I don't think so...

LINK

"I let myself get out of the game, let my teammates down and that should never happen again," Mosqueda-Lewis said. "I really don't know what happened, I just got into a funk and I blacked out, zoned out.

"I expect a lot out of myself so when I am not performing at my best and not helping out the team in some sort of way, it really hurts. After the Notre Dame something in me just changed, I just have to fix something within myself, I have to be more committed to the team. I have to be more for my all teammates for anything to get better for anything to change.

"The same thing did happen in the Baylor game and it did happen in the Notre Dame game, hopefully I have gotten those feelings out of the way and hopefully now coming to practice with a different mindset is going to get me ready for those other games."

Auriemma said that of the concerns he has with this group, getting Mosqueda-Lewis shots in high-profile games isn't even on the radar screen.

"It is so much earlier for guys like Bria Hartley, Diana Taurasi to get any shot any time you want because they have their ball in their hands all the time and they don't have to worry about anybody getting it to them," Auriemma said. "There were times when I thought she had a chance to make a play and didn't, there were times when she was open and we didn't get her the ball and then there were times when she just hid because she was probably a little bit gun shy. That is why you play all of these games and that's why it is hard to win on the road most times. I am not worried about it."

 

[rington]

You cannot say a mistake or two in the final minutes are reasons for a loss. Mistakes made in the first half are just as costly as later ones. A shot made in the first half counts as 2 points----same thing in the final minutes. A team wins, or loses, a game; not one player.

 

[Wonkster]

JMO is one of the most useless phrases going...

JMHO is even more useless.

JMHO.
.

 

[Wonkster]

You cannot say a mistake or two in the final minutes are reasons for a loss. Mistakes made in the first half are just as costly as later ones. A shot made in the first half counts as 2----same thing in the final minutes...

.
Thank you! And missed free throws in the first half hurt just as much as missed free throws in the second half.
.

 

[Icebear]

JMHO is even more useless.

JMHO.
.

Yep, even worse.

 

[Kibitzer]

Jerry Kramer wrote a memorable book about playing for Vince Lombardi (which Jerry did extremely well). One great quote: "Coach Lombardi treated all of his players just the same -- like dogs!"

No coach achieved greater success or earned greater respect and even deep affection from his players.

Geno is not dissimilar.

KML did not play well vs. Notre Dame. We all saw it and she knows it. She will get at least one more shot at Notre Dame. She not only has skill, she has grit. I am confident she will excel. Then Geno can treat her like a precious pet dog.

 

[John Fryer]

Then Geno can treat her like a precious pet dog.

Those were professional football players that Coach L may or may not have treated like dogs.

KML is a student athlete and it is highly doubtful that she would ever want coach A to "treat her like a precious dog!"

That is a very imappropriate comparison.

John Fryer

 

[alexrgct]

Those were professional football players that Coach L may or may not have treated like dogs.

KML is a student athlete and it is highly doubtful that she would ever want coach A to "treat her like a precious dog!"

That is a very imappropriate comparison.

John Fryer

Pretty sure she wouldn't describe herself as being treated like a dog of any sort. I think a lot of posters have a hell of a lot thinner skin than KML does from reading her post-game quotes, and thank God for that.

 

[Kibitzer]

Those were professional football players that Coach L may or may not have treated like dogs.

KML is a student athlete and it is highly doubtful that she would ever want coach A to "treat her like a precious dog!"

That is a very imappropriate comparison.

John Fryer

Perhaps I should have stopped at "precious." That was the nickname given to Nykesha Sales by her teammates because Geno was loathe to criticize her, for whatever reason. It is obvious that Keleena is not another "precious" player.

Jerry Kramer worshipped his coach, Vince Lombardi, and his comment was made in joking admiration, not as a nasty evaluation. In any event, KML will most assuredly rebound and play her heart out for her coach, whether she is precious or not.

Peace

Kibitzer