Geno says 30-win seasons are coming to an end

[oldude]

Between injuries and the struggle to develop a deeper bench, this season has weighed more heavily on Geno than most. There are times on the sideline, sitting on the bench, glasses off, rubbing his nose with his thumb and forefinger, when he looks considerably older than his 63 years.

Recruiting has gotten much tougher, defined more and more by key misses of top post players that would have continued UConn’s dominance for years to come. This is the 4th year in a row that at least one player transferred out, although Nat certainly gets a pass for last year.

Geno is a lot closer to the end of his career than the beginning. Who knows what’s going on in his head?

 

[meyers7]

I've said before, I'm not worried about next year. KLS, Collier and Stevens as Sr's? With Dangerfield running the point. Those 4 and anyone of us have a decent shot at a NC.

Between Walker , Camara, Williams, ONO, Irwin, Coombs, Bent, Gordon (possibly Magbegor), I imagine Geno can find 2-3 players who can contribute.

2 years down the road? Who knows how the players will develop. But normally they tend to develop pretty well at UCONN. As long as UCONN is getting the talent, which they still seem to be doing.
But Dangerfield, Williams, Walker, Camara, ONO wouldn't be a bad starting 5 to think about.

Remember, towards the end of Jefferson's FR year, there were some on the BY who had their doubts she would ever be able to contribute meaningfully. And she become arguably the best UCONN PG ever.

So relax. Don't think too far down the road. Things will probably change drastically.

 

[CTBballfan243]

At some point, after Geno retires, UConn WBB will likely go the way of LaTech and Old Dominion. There will be no reason for recruits to come to Storrs when Geno and CD retire. Also, being in the AAC and not being in a P5 conference will really hurt recruiting. The end is coming, it's not a matter of "if" but "when".

 

[oldude]

At some point, after Geno retires, UConn WBB will likely go the way of LaTech and Old Dominion. There will be no reason for recruits to come to Storrs when Geno and CD retire. Also, being in the AAC and not being in a P5 conference will really hurt recruiting. The end is coming, it's not a matter of "if" but "when".

While you outline one possible scenario, I've started to consider another in my mind. Certainly whoever follows Geno will face an almost impossible task when it comes to duplicating his success. The names most commonly mentioned are Jen (congrats for securing her 1st invite to the Big Dance at GW) and Shea, who bleeds Husky Blue.

What if UConn decides to go a different route? They could still hire a UConn alum, but maybe one with a significant national profile. Names that come to mind are Sue Bird, DT and Maya. Bird and DT in particular are reaching the end of their pro careers. The other name that comes to mind is Rebecca Lobo. All of these ladies know the game, understand the requirements to be successful at UConn and they are revered in WBB.

Their notoriety might just enable UConn to continue to recruit top talent. What HS player wouldn't want to learn how to play the game from the very best?

 

[Junkaroo Jam]

I personally "was" mildly concerned for next year with Kia graduating and Walker not playing like a number 1 rated player. Nothing has changed 2 plus months later.

I'm still concerned for two years from with KLS and crew leaving.

Of course kids will get better and new comers will come and make there mark.

I'm still uneasy about things after this year.
We will miss Kia more than we know

Agree with you Walker no way 1 rated player. So many better freshman players on WCBB teams. Geno may have screwed up on this one.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

This year and last year have been Coach Geno's finest works of coaching. He's done it virtually without a bench, and certainly without a strong post player. UConn's success has been due to finesse, wonderful, wondrous teamwork, and luck- he hasn't been hit with any devastating injuries. But the lack of a big, dependable post player caught up with us in the semi-final game. This year we have a better post player, but one who still clearly yearns to be a forward, and whose game is mostly about finesses, not power.

And, as Coach Geno has stated many times, the bench has been a very troubling disappointment. Last night no one but Z scored off the bench. No one.

Next year we will lose two players who have been foundation stones of the team's success for four years. Gabby was a major spark plug off the bench since she was a freshman. Walker will be back, but whether the HS POY will show up, or this year's freshman will show up, is very much to be discovered. We will get two highly rated HS kids, but will lose two stalwarts. Whether the other bench players will step up also remains to be seen.

Coach Geno can be sarcastic, and can needle great players to push them to ever greater heights of performance. But quite often, as with this blunt assessment, he can be brutally honest.

As it's been noted here, UConn has gone years with good, but not great teams. Between the departure of D and the arrival of Tina, the team suffered through a drought of top talent. The past few years have constituted the Golden Age of Connecticut Basketball. We should not consider the program's recent greatness as immutable and unassailable.

Sometimes Coach Geno doesn't kid.

 

[JoePgh]

Agree with you Walker no way 1 rated player. So many better freshman players on WCBB teams. Geno may have screwed up on this one.

Whom do you have in mind ("so many better freshmen")? It seems trollish to make that statement without supplying any names. If you are thinking of someone like the guard at Texas A&M, I'm quite confident that Walker and even Coombs could have had that kind of season if Geno had given them equivalent minutes and equivalent tolerance for mistakes and bad shots. Fortunately that was neither necessary nor a good way to develop the talent, so he didn't.

On the larger question of UConn's future after next year, it seems to me that if Ezi decides to come, the gravy train will continue with basically no interruption. If she doesn't, then 2019-20 might be a 3 or 4 loss season and maybe not a Final Four season, although that is far less than a certainty. The starting lineup previously mentioned (Crystal, C. Williams, Walker, ONO, and Camara or whoever steps up to the plate), assuming that there are one or two bench players among that year's freshmen who can do as much as Walker has done this year) would certainly be a Top 5 to Top 10 team.

 

[cohenzone]

Of course when the 2019-2020 season rolls around UCONN won't be the only team with significant personnel losses. A 2019-2020 Huskies team doesn't have to be as good as the current Huskies. It just has to be better than the teams it faces in 2019-2020. By 2019-2020 who among the elite programs won't have lost significant pieces from current teams?

Yeah, but clearly the laws of nature are that the rest of the world suffers while Geno trades a Rolls Royce for a Mazzerati. We are not mere mortals.

 

[JustinesGuy]

Agree with you Walker no way 1 rated player. So many better freshman players on WCBB teams. Geno may have screwed up on this one.

Yeah I mean the hope is she's knows what to work on come this off season. Coming into uconn I'm sure all the girls think they work and train hard, but as you start camp Geno I bet it's pretty eye opening, both physically and mentally( getting the system and meshing with upperclassmen).
Walker will have every opportunity to make her mark here starting next year. I hope she does. Just because I'm critical doesn't mean I'm not rooting like hell for her. If she's doesn't fire and CW goes thru an understandable freshman learning curve we will be in some trouble.

 

[Charliebball]

As great a coach as Geno is, he is not God; he cannot create something out of nothing. Don't forget that UCONN has in fact had stretches of lean years; they were of course few and far between, but they existed.

I posted the following in another thread, but it seems equally relevant here:

"A major reason why UCONN has been able to sustain its dominance over such a long period of time is because, with a few exceptions, it has always been successful in attracting at least a PAIR of recruits year after year who later become elite players. However, after KLS and Pheesa in 2015-16, UCONN had failed to do so in 2016-17, and again does not seem likely to be able to achieve that in 2017-18. I think Geno is genuinely frustrated with the bench (except Z) because he can see a serious crisis looming 2 years down the road after KLS, Pheesa, and Z graduate, unless a couple of current benchers step-up their development NOW.

In a way, UCONN has been bailed out by transfers in the recent 2 years: by Nat in 2016-17 (yes, without Nat, I think UCONN would have lost a couple of games in the regular season), and by Z in 2017-18. I know we will have a great pair of recruits next season, but even if they fully live up to their HS rankings, they won't be able to fully compensate for the lack of significant further development in the 1916-18 classes."

I'll wait till the end of next season before making a judgement about this year's freshmen class...............the 2016 class has been somewhat criticized for only bringing in one standout but after going back to look at the ranked players from the entire 2016 class, there were very few who have become great players on other teams...................other then Cox, UConn didn't miss out on a whole lot...........

 

[Sluconn Husky]

I'll wait till the end of next season before making a judgement about this year's freshmen class.....the 2016 class has been somewhat criticized for only bringing in one standout but after going back to look at the ranked players from the entire 2016 class, there were very few who have become great players on other teams....other then Cox, UConn didn't miss out on a whole lot......

The Huskies were in on Kelly Jekot, Jackie Young, and Erin Boley at one time or another. Those would've been really nice additions.

 

[DefenseBB]

When I woke up this morning and starting reading this thread, I immediately tuned into the Weather Channel to see if, in fact, the sky was falling or if the forecast was for the Armageddon asteroid was predicted to hit our planet in 2019-20. Luckily, no such forecast was shown and I breathed a sigh of relief.

So on March 5, at 30-0, scheduled to play a nicely coached Bearcat team who poses no real threat to the Huskies-why are we talking about this?

There are a couple of thoughts that I hope many think about that were presented on this thread: Geno is not God-which is true, he is a basketball savant however and he knows it is on him to develop a bench. I think his current issue is a "relative value trade" concept-the bench pales in comparison to the "starting 6". Seriously, 4 of the 6 are legitimate candidates for 1st All-American, 3 of them ARE ALL-AMERICANS. Z and Crystal Dangerfield are going to be All-Americans either next year for Z and/or in two years for Crystal Dangerfield. That is pretty daunting to compare a 6 person squad who just KNOW what to do every time down the court to 6 other not as heralded players whose skill or maturity level is not the same.

Coaching is about adjusting and when the team chemistry changes each year, Geno, CD, Shea and Marissa all rethink their strategy. I have no doubt they will do much the same over the next few seasons. Water seeks it's own level, meaning, players develop at different paces even when pushed. MW has shown glimpses, maybe not as many as Crystal Dangerfield did last year but MW is in a significantly different position than what Crystal Dangerfield was in. When she's with the second unit, she looks more comfortable and confident. Camara needs to show the effort in practices to get more playing time as she is a true talent and force down in the block, why she doesn't play more is a headscratcher to me. Coombs is an unknown to me. Her shot is odd and suspect for too many blocks against it and her slashing ability is unknown.

Yes, at some point, the UConn team will again encounter 2, 3, 4 or even 5 loss seasons-heaven forbid!!! And yet, while Geno is here, the TEAM will evolve each year like it always has and will be considered a favorite to advance to the Final Four like it has for the past 15 years, 10 of which have been successfully navigated.

Now, can we get back to the regularly scheduled programming of the 2017-18 Championship Season March? (see what I did there with the word "March"? )

DefenseBB

 

[oldude]

I'll wait till the end of next season before making a judgement about this year's freshmen class.....the 2016 class has been somewhat criticized for only bringing in one standout but after going back to look at the ranked players from the entire 2016 class, there were very few who have become great players on other teams....other then Cox, UConn didn't miss out on a whole lot......

Really?

Holmes & Sutton - TX
Ionescu & Hebard - OR
Young - ND
Charles & Watson - MD
Harris - SC
Slocum - Formerly MD, now OR St

Not saying that UConn recruited all of them, or that they are all great players, but I would certainly suggest that Holmes, Ionescu, Charles & Slocum are all potential AA candidates, and the rest are all really good.

 

[Junkaroo Jam]

Whom do you have in mind ("so many better freshmen")? It seems trollish to make that statement without supplying any names. If you are thinking of someone like the guard at Texas A&M, I'm quite confident that Walker and even Coombs could have had that kind of season if Geno had given them equivalent minutes and equivalent tolerance for mistakes and bad shots. Fortunately that was neither necessary nor a good way to develop the talent, so he didn't.

On the larger question of UConn's future after next year, it seems to me that if Ezi decides to come, the gravy train will continue with basically no interruption. If she doesn't, then 2019-20 might be a 3 or 4 loss season and maybe not a Final Four season, although that is far less than a certainty. The starting lineup previously mentioned (Crystal, C. Williams, Walker, ONO, and Camara or whoever steps up to the plate), assuming that there are one or two bench players among that year's freshmen who can do as much as Walker has done this year) would certainly be a Top 5 to Top 10 team.

Don't want to get into a back and forth. Yep the kid T A&M, couple kids at TENN and one at SC. Just to name a few that are playing better

 

[trb123]

Very disappointed with the freshmen. I know that Walker's perfomance is comparable to Collier in her first season and perhaps with those of Tuck and Jefferson. There was one freshman in each class (KLS and Stewart) who was far ahead. I cannot find a similar player among these freshmen. When Kia Stokes and Brianna Banks were freshmen, Stokes was a commanding presence on the court with her rebounds and blocks.

Their poor practice and lack of effort continues to raise the specter of Kristen Phillips repeatedly.

Geno is more persnickety about recruiting than a brahmin is about his food. Then why does the first year stink so much?

 

[RegisteredUconn]

He’s giving notice to the bench.

Parkinson's Law: Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.

That Geno has the time to focus so intently on his bench tells me that I shouldn't be too worried about this team.

Law of Increasing Returns: When output outpaces input.

That Geno can spend time productively preparing future teams this late in the season is because he has tapped into the law of increasing returns. He is now in possession of the well-oiled machine he spent decades developing.

In the movie Executive Decision Kurt Russell, an airline passenger with a couple of lessons in pursuit of a private pilot's license, is called on to land a jumbo jet. After "successfully" (albeit terrifyingly crashing and destroying the jetliner in the process) returning the plane to the ground without loss of life, Russell deadpans, "These things almost land themselves, don't they?"
Right now, Geno is Kurt Russell and UConn is the plane (without the terror and destruction).

 

[oldude]

Very disappointed with the freshmen. I know that Walker's perfomance is comparable to Collier in her first season?

After the conference tournament 2 years ago, during the long layoff before the Big Dance, Geno suddenly announced to the press that Pheesa looked really good in practice. In the tournament, Pheesa played well as a key reserve off the bench, and became the 1st player off the bench when Lou went down with a broken foot.

Maybe there’s still a chance for MW to undergo some type of late season transformation.

 

[Roger G]

the lack of significant further development in the 1916-18 classes."[/QUOTE]
You have to keep in mind that we were embroiled in WWI during those years.

 

[Bama fan]

Holly does. Why can't everybody? {/snarkasm}

Snarkasm. Great neologism! Applause ,applause. Pretty sweet from a lower order primate!

 

[cferraro04]

Registereduconn: "Parkinson's Law: Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.

That Geno has the time to focus so intently on his bench tells me that I shouldn't be too worried about this team.

Law of Increasing Returns: When output outpaces input".

Since we are quoting universal laws....I have one that can apply to the UConn phenom that has spoiled us for over a generation.... It is called entropy: a : the degradation of the matter and energy in the universe to an ultimate state of inert uniformity

• 
  
  
  • Entropy is the general trend of the universe toward death and disorder. A trend for all systems in the universe to mover towards: chaos, disorganization, randomness. The idea of entropy comes from a principle of thermodynamics dealing with energy. It usually refers to the idea that everything in the universe eventually moves from order to disorder, and entropy is the measurement of that change.

 

[Charliebball]

Really?

Holmes & Sutton - TX
Ionescu & Hebard - OR
Young - ND
Charles & Watson - MD
Harris - SC
Slocum - Formerly MD, now OR St

Not saying that UConn recruited all of them, or that they are all great players, but I would certainly suggest that Holmes, Ionescu, Charles & Slocum are all potential AA candidates, and the rest are all really good.

True, I should have added to my remarks by saying that of the better performing recruits in the 2016 class most were not going to UConn anyway because there was no mutual interest................just going on memory Ionescu and I think Slocum too couldn't even figure out which coast they wanted to play on never mind which school..............what part of the bench would Holmes be sitting on right now? Harris was always an SC lock........Watson would be sitting at the end of Geno's bench, Young was an early ND lean, Sutton had no UConn interest etc.etc, etc.........you have to admit out of the Hoopgurlz top 100 that's a pretty short list..............I'll stand by my point that there were pretty slim pickings for UConn in 2016 and thus his selection of two players not listed in the Top 100................

 

[Charliebball]

Between injuries and the struggle to develop a deeper bench, this season has weighed more heavily on Geno than most. There are times on the sideline, sitting on the bench, glasses off, rubbing his nose with his thumb and forefinger, when he looks considerably older than his 63 years.

Geno is a lot closer to the end of his career than the beginning. Who knows what’s going on in his head?

Heck I can only hope to look that good when I'm 63!!!

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I've said before, I'm not worried about next year. KLS, Collier and Stevens as Sr's? With Dangerfield running the point. Those 4 and anyone of us have a decent shot at a NC.

Between Walker , Camara, Williams, ONO, Irwin, Coombs, Bent, Gordon (possibly Magbegor), I imagine Geno can find 2-3 players who can contribute.

2 years down the road? Who knows how the players will develop. But normally they tend to develop pretty well at UCONN. As long as UCONN is getting the talent, which they still seem to be doing.
But Dangerfield, Williams, Walker, Camara, ONO wouldn't be a bad starting 5 to think about.

Remember, towards the end of Jefferson's FR year, there were some on the BY who had their doubts she would ever be able to contribute meaningfully. And she become arguably the best UCONN PG ever.

So relax. Don't think too far down the road. Things will probably change drastically.

Sage advice. Cannot believe in tourney time we are in this spot. To reinforce your point I offer:

 

[trb123]

After the conference tournament 2 years ago, during the long layoff before the Big Dance, Geno suddenly announced to the press that Pheesa looked really good in practice. In the tournament, Pheesa played well as a key reserve off the bench, and became the 1st player off the bench when Lou went down with a broken foot.

Maybe there’s still a chance for MW to undergo some type of late season transformation.

With these freshmen I cannot build my hopes for future as high as I could in the recent past.
I will welcome any improvement.

 

[bballnut90]

I’m not sure where a lot of the concern comes in. The freshmen aren’t playing because your team is so loaded with talent that you have a former AA coming off the bench. Honestly there isn’t room for them on this year’s roster to make an impact. Yeah they’re taking time to adjust, but Geno makes statements like this almost every year or two.

Freshman regularly struggle or take time to develop at Connecticut. We’ve seen it over and over again where players will be in Geno’s dog house and things eventually click for them, and they make massive improvements. It just happened this last off season with Dangerfield making strides, and the year before that we saw Williams and Collier make massive improvements. I doubt anyone expected Chong, Gabby Williams, Stef Dolson, Moriah Jefferson, and several other UCONN players to develop into the seniors they’d become if you saw them as freshmen. Give them time before worrying about them.

For anyone worried about players transferring, keep in mind it is incredibly rare for a player with a future at UCONN to transfer. The only example I can think of is Samarie Walker leaving mid year as a freshman. All other transfers were players who recognized they’d never contribute during important games.

Now, for anyone who is saying recruiting is getting harder, UCONN is missing out on post recruits, etc, keep in mind you have the #5 recruit coming in next year who is a post, and it sounds like you’re in the mix for several in 2019.

Next year you’ll have three #1 recruits on the roster, plus Dangerfield, Stevens, Collier, and a top 5 freshman coming in. No need to worry about racking up another likely undefeated season.

The year after you’ll still have 2 top recruits, Dangerfield, ONO, any players from the 2019 haul, and the currrent freshmen will be juniors, and will likely be much better by that point.

Teams that do need to worry are ones who over rely on one player (like South Carolina) or who graduate massive classes (Notre Dame in 2019-20, Mississippi State next year) without an influx of talent to replace them. UCONN always lands 1-2 quality kids from each class (usually including a #1 recruit), and as a result, the cupboard isn’t going to be bare until they stop doing so.