Geno, let's not basketball anymore!

[Citrusdog]

Geno Auriemma takes issue with referees: ‘It’s not basketball anymore’ - Just Women's Sports

The UConn women's basketball coach said his frustration with the officiating led him to slam a water bottle on the court, drawing a technical foul.

justwomenssports.com

Excessive physicality is an equalizer or a way to reduce the effectiveness of an opponents player. This was first witnessed (for me) back in the Lambeer/Piston days. They could get by the more talented Celtics. So they made the game a physical fight - for a variety of reasons. This sucks and makes the game ugly. Additionally, it’s very obvious that UConn ‘being successful’ is not a ‘cultural choice’. I mean - eleven is enough. This is sickening - and no longer a game of skill. It’s disheartening at times. It shows how skilled the coaches and players really are. Having a chance to win without Paige and Azzi is pretty impressive. I am convinced that ‘refereeing’ is being polluted. Dawn is not Geno - SC is not UConn. Geno and UConn changed the game over the last 25 years. Some - don’t like it. I see bruising and abuse - no excuse. Just my opinion…

 

[donalddoowop]

it seems to me that 'freedom of movement' should NOT include the freedom for a player, when driving to the basket, to intentionally jump into the defender. that is rarely called an offensive foul and almost always the defender is penalized. it's disgusting and rampant for some players or teams and a real flaw in the game.

the rules committee should deal with this too,

Yes, yes, yes!

 

[Surly1]

Several years ago the NCAA rules committee promoted the idea of “freedom of movement” by cracking down on “hand checking”, “moving screens” and other tactics designed to impede player movement on the court.

Smart coaches, including Dawn Staley, Geno and others began emphasizing “bodying up” opponents on defense. There is, of course. a fine line between playing tight defense and impeding player movement.

What I witnessed on Sunday was Zia Cooke frequently using her shoulders and hips to impede Lou’s movement on the court, with an occasional tug on her uniform. It was not unlike what you see watching NFL CB’s covering receivers. I think there was only 1 foul called, and that was when Lou went sprawling on the court after a hip check by Cooke that would have impressed any NHL player.

I can understand Geno’s frustration as he watches one of the best shooters in WBB get beaten up on the court. Whatever happens during the remainder of this season, for the good of the game, it is incumbent on the NCAA rules committee to revisit the subject of freedom of movement to eliminate the practice of body checking and jersey grabbing in basketball

 

[Papa33]

Several years ago the NCAA rules committee promoted the idea of “freedom of movement” by cracking down on “hand checking”, “moving screens” and other tactics designed to impede player movement on the court.

Smart coaches, including Dawn Staley, Geno and others began emphasizing “bodying up” opponents on defense. There is, of course. a fine line between playing tight defense and impeding player movement.

What I witnessed on Sunday was Zia Cooke frequently using her shoulders and hips to impede Lou’s movement on the court, with an occasional tug on her uniform. It was not unlike what you see watching NFL CB’s covering receivers. I think there was only 1 foul called, and that was when Lou went sprawling on the court after a hip check by Cooke that would have impressed any NHL player.

I can understand Geno’s frustration as he watches one of the best shooters in WBB get beaten up on the court. Whatever happens during the remainder of this season, for the good of the game, it is incumbent on the NCAA rules committee to revisit the subject of freedom of movement to eliminate the practice of body checking and jersey grabbing in basketball

Fellow "old dude," this is an excellent summary/analysis of the unfortunate hyper-physical transition from hand checking to body checking that inhibits offensive movement and raises welts and bruises. And turns basketball into a form of assault.

 

[Surly1]

It takes a certain type of player to be able to counteract the type of "defense" Lou has been receiving this season, and more notably in recent games. While Lou has a scorer's mentality and can make one-on-one moves to get her own shot off, she's not overly quick, nor a prime ball handler. This is not meant as a criticism of her as I am an unabashed fan of her. A player like Caitlin Clark is much harder to defend one-on-one because she has the ball in her hands and usually makes her cuts already in motion. She also benefits because her shooting range begins the minute she walks in the building.

The SC game exemplified the void in not having Paige healthy and available. As much as I love Nika, she doesn't put fear in the opposing team for her offensive prowess. Paige has shown she can create her own shot with the ball in her hands and due to her underrated ability to elevate, get her shot off against taller defenders. Like others have mentioned, having either Paige or Aziz (shooters) on the floor would free space for Lou (she doesn't need much) and by extension, open the middle for Aubrey and/or Aaliyah. Unfortunately, this projected scenario was never able to get off the ground.

Hopefully, enough attention has been called to this flagrance that Lou might start receiving the respect other premier players receive. In the interim, I'd like to see Lou exploit more 15-ft off the dribble shots or go to the hole like she did late in the SC game. If the refs won't call the grabbing and holding, then force them to call the hacking while shooting.

 

[BBallF]

They saw what she did at Tennessee, so why wouldn't they target her? This is where you need one more shooter on the floor so you could have Paige or Azzi play opposite her and let them pick their poison.

Of course, but wouldn't it be nice to actually have an opposing team play by the rules of the sport. There's a novel approach.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

He's right and i think the women's game is becoming like the men's game just with poorer officiating.

And to be a little more specific we are see more and more players who have uncontrolled tempers and propensities to violence.

 

[BBallF]

UCONN has to be careful complaining about foul calls. Of all the teams out there they would be most impacted by foul happy refs. When you only want to play 5 players as Geno has shown the bench is non existent and those loose whistles could end up costing them the game.

When they have CD and back that should make it harder to hold on to one player to limit the scoring. Right now the idea is stop Lou and you take UCONN down to one player that can beat you on the offensive end of the court. I don't necessarily agree with that assessment but right now it might be a good plan.

The difference is that we don't hold, grab, bruise and push as a game plan.

 

[Carnac]

Maybe they should post the pictures of her bruises for all to see. I'd also like to see a montage of all the uniform grabs she gets. Public shaming the refs and the sport itself is clearly the only way change happens in women's sports....

An excellent idea Pup. Pictures don’t lie. No doubt those pictures at some point would find their way to the referees and their supervisors. Hopefully the media would address the pictures and ask questions.

 

[Bama fan]

When my youngest daughter played AAU ball in the early 2000s, she was on a good team and they went to the Nationals two years in a row. Playing teams from around the Southeast, her team had some skilled players and good shooters. They ran screens and cuts and played what some here call "true basketball". On their way to earning State 1/2 , they regularly played teams that did nearly nothing but bang, pull , push and shove. But her team managed to get to Nationals on their skill and speed. But once at Nationals, the play was still quite physical, but nearly every team played "good " basketball, shot well, defended closely, and made free throws when they got them. The teams were the top ones from each state, and the refs did not have to "control the game" , but rather let them play. This is no longer true around here, as the beaters and bangers are much more prolific. And they are taught to play that way. By the time they get to college, that is all they know. We have to keep AAU coaches more respectful of the beautiful game, if we want NCAA games to continue to be pleasing to the eye. Too often I hear people bemoan the way "Those kids" play, but in my eye nearly all the kids are learning bad lessons.

 

[Zinethar]

The way things are called today makes it difficult to fix. Other than the way Lou was being beaten in the SC game I felt there just were too many fouls called on both teams. Note the total number called. This SHOULD be unnecessary and can only be attributed to the refs not being consistent. When the calls are consistent the players (and coaches) quickly learn how the game is expected to be played that night (and should be every night). Both SC and UConn had no idea what a foul was to those officials in that game. If the game continues to be played as a violent aggressive game and officials called every foul there would be 100 called each game. That shows lack of consistency in the calls. No coach or player wants that. Was South Carolina wrong to play Lou the way it did? Apparently not as the officials ignored those fouls so obviously they were not fouls. UConn can bang with the best of them - when it has to but that doesn't mean they want to. I feel South Carolina would feel the same as both teams are well coached and can adjust.

 

[BBallF]

It takes a certain type of player to be able to counteract the type of "defense" Lou has been receiving this season, and more notably in recent games. While Lou has a scorer's mentality and can make one-on-one moves to get her own shot off, she's not overly quick, nor a prime ball handler. This is not meant as a criticism of her as I am an unabashed fan of her. A player like Caitlin Clark is much harder to defend one-on-one because she has the ball in her hands and usually makes her cuts already in motion. She also benefits because her shooting range begins the minute she walks in the building.

The SC game exemplified the void in not having Paige healthy and available. As much as I love Nika, she doesn't put fear in the opposing team for her offensive prowess. Paige has shown she can create her own shot with the ball in her hands and due to her underrated ability to elevate, get her shot off against taller defenders. Like others have mentioned, having either Paige or Aziz (shooters) on the floor would free space for Lou (she doesn't need much) and by extension, open the middle for Aubrey and/or Aaliyah. Unfortunately, this projected scenario was never able to get off the ground.

Hopefully, enough attention has been called to this flagrance that Lou might start receiving the respect other premier players receive. In the interim, I'd like to see Lou exploit more 15-ft off the dribble shots or go to the hole like she did late in the SC game. If the refs won't call the grabbing and holding, then force them to call the hacking while shooting.

Sounds well and good but there is only one Caitlin Clark and only one Paige. For the rest of the players, it's very hard to do anything when you are being grabbed, pushed, and bruised. Nor should Lou be the one who has to make changes due to flagrant rules violations by other teams. The officials are supposed to enforce the rules. When they don't they should be admonished, disciplined or terminated. It's really that simple. What if the officials in football allowed a defensive back to hold a receiver, or grab their jersey, or hit them on every play while they were downfield 20 yards? How long would they last? What if the first base umpire allowed a team to barrel into the first basemen on every ground ball? This is a conscious abdication of training responsibility by the NCAA and if someone gets seriously injured because of their failure to monitor, the NCAA should be the prime party to be held responsible.

 

[BBallF]

When my youngest daughter played AAU ball in the early 2000s, she was on a good team and they went to the Nationals two years in a row. Playing teams from around the Southeast, her team had some skilled players and good shooters. They ran screens and cuts and played what some here call "true basketball". On their way to earning State 1/2 , they regularly played teams that did nearly nothing but bang, pull , push and shove. And these were teams from a wide variety of locales, and teams with kids from many varied backgrounds. But her team managed to get to Nationals on their skill and speed. But once at Nationals, the play was still quite physical, but nearly every team played "good " basketball, shot well, defended closely, and made free throws when they got them. The teams were the top ones from each state, and the refs did not have to "control the game" , but rather let them play. This is no longer true around here, as the beaters and bangers are much more prolific. And they are taught to play that way. By the time they get to college, that is all they know. We have to keep AAU coaches more respectful of the beautiful game, if we want NCAA games to continue to be pleasing to the eye. Too often I hear people bemoan the way "Those kids" play, but in my eye nearly all the kids from any neighborhood are learning bad lessons.

Amen. AAU has been the anathema of true basketball skills and rules for decades.

 

[BBallF]

Look at Lou’s arm above her wrist

View attachment 83882

That is absolutely despicable.

 

[Cornell Lt]

It was clear that Lou was singled out and SC was determined to impede her by any means necessary.
There a a couple ways to hand this. The University can state their case to the head of officiating, Big East.
The players can take things in their own hands to send a message.

I'm all for sending a message. It'll only take a possession or two to send a message. Unfortunately with no current bench depth it would not make sense right now.

 

[npignatjr]

They all get it. Geno calls it “the Diana Taurasi treatment”.

View attachment 83883

That is going for a rebound. And no matter who it is not good for the game. Some programs coach it.

 

[HuskyNan]

Sounds well and good but there is only one Caitlin Clark and only one Paige. For the rest of the players, it's very hard to do anything when you are being grabbed, pushed, and bruised. Nor should Lou be the one who has to make changes due to flagrant rules violations by other teams. The officials are supposed to enforce the rules. When they don't they should be admonished, disciplined or terminated. It's really that simple. What if the officials in football allowed a defensive back to hold a receiver, or grab their jersey, or hit them on every play while they were downfield 20 yards? How long would they last? What if the first base umpire allowed a team to barrel into the first basemen on every ground ball? This is a conscious abdication of training responsibility by the NCAA and if someone gets seriously injured because of their failure to monitor, the NCAA should be the prime party to be held responsible.

Do you want a foul called on every possession?

 

[MSGRET]

I'm all for sending a message. It'll only take a possession or two to send a message. Unfortunately with no current bench depth it would not make sense right now.

Send Amari in for a couple of minutes with instructions to put a HARD BLOCK on a certain player a couple of times. That player just might get the message to not mess with so and so.

 

[BBallF]

Do you want a foul called on every possession?

First of all, thank you for all that you do for us fans.

If a defender bruises, grabs, holds or otherwise commits a foul on an offensive player on every possession, then yes. The game was designed to be played a certain way and the rules reflect that. You can't add holding ad hoc as a permissible form of defense to the existing rules because the entire game changes. If the officials start calling the game according to the rules, the players and coaches will adjust in very short order, perhaps even in that game itself. It is that simple.

In 2020-2021 in the Bilas report, he noted that the emphasis on freedom of movement by the officials resulted in an increase in scoring. The emphasis was not continued. In the May 5-7, 2021 report of the NCAA Women's Rules Committee they recommended moving the 3 point line back to 22' 1 3/4" to "reduce physicality and promote freedom of movement". It shows that the NCAA was aware of both the encroaching physical nature of the game and the lack of the ability of offensive players to move without restraint. Yet no recommendation was made to address the problem directly. If you are allowed by the officials to restrain and impede on every possession the game changes and the players are at risk not just for bumps and bruises but for serious injuries. The fact that the new 3 point line didn't work at all to achieve its stated goals above is not surprising because the root of the problem was not being remedied.

The whole "Let them play" approach doesn't work anymore, if it ever did. These women are bigger, stronger, more athletic, better trained and conditioned, than they ever were. The game is more physical by the year as this new type of basketball that Geno is lamenting is now taking over our sport in an insidious way. Players and coaches adjust to the officials. When the officials allow what they allowed in Sunday's game, you get what you would expect. For the good of the game, the NCAA should exercise its supervisory authority or be prepared to take responsibility for their inaction.

 

[HuskyNan]

Is everyone aware that UConn is a physical team? Calling every foul is a double edged sword

 

[BBallF]

Is everyone aware that UConn is a physical team? Calling every foul is a double edged sword

I agree. We are shorthanded and physical but we don't cross the line by grabbing a jersey, holding, pushing or bruising as a matter of game strategy. That is the difference. If they called all of those fouls on Sunday Lou would have had 30 points.

 

[MSGRET]

Is everyone aware that UConn is a physical team? Calling every foul is a double edged sword

Yes UConn is a physical team, but they aren't a dirty team. The holding, grabbing and hip checking that SC did to Lou was more than just posting a body like Nika does on defense.

 

[boontonbomber]

Several years ago the NCAA rules committee promoted the idea of “freedom of movement” by cracking down on “hand checking”, “moving screens” and other tactics designed to impede player movement on the court.

Smart coaches, including Dawn Staley, Geno and others began emphasizing “bodying up” opponents on defense. There is, of course. a fine line between playing tight defense and impeding player movement.

What I witnessed on Sunday was Zia Cooke frequently using her shoulders and hips to impede Lou’s movement on the court, with an occasional tug on her uniform. It was not unlike what you see watching NFL CB’s covering receivers. I think there was only 1 foul called, and that was when Lou went sprawling on the court after a hip check by Cooke that would have impressed any NHL player.

I can understand Geno’s frustration as he watches one of the best shooters in WBB get beaten up on the court. Whatever happens during the remainder of this season, for the good of the game, it is incumbent on the NCAA rules committee to revisit the subject of freedom of movement to eliminate the practice of body checking and jersey grabbing in basketball

Not sure you can mention Zia,and not mention Nika in the same breath. I think she gets away with a lot of contact.

 

[boontonbomber]

Yes UConn is a physical team, but they aren't a dirty team. The holding, grabbing and hip checking that SC did to Lou was more than just posting a body like Nika does on defense.

I think "posting a body" is quite generous.