Geno Sizes Up Texas

[RockyMTblue2]

"This is going to be on campus. I think this is going to be crazy. I think the fact that they haven't beaten us is going to be a real issue. It is going to be hard for us because I think they are going to be off the charts crazy about beating us."

According to Aston (taking a page out of Frese's play book) its all about the recruiting. "It is recruiting because he is getting the best players, getting the most polished offensive players for sure and he is smart enough to do that, he is capable of it," and she continues on blending her recruiting and Geno's . A bit of a blither.

All sorts of quotes. UConn women ready for road test against No. 7 Texas

 

[BroadwayVa]

"This is going to be on campus. I think this is going to be crazy. I think the fact that they haven't beaten us is going to be a real issue. It is going to be hard for us because I think they are going to be off the charts crazy about beating us."

According to Aston (taking a page out of Frese's play book) its all about the recruiting. "It is recruiting because he is getting the best players, getting the most polished offensive players for sure and he is smart enough to do that, he is capable of it," and she continues on blending her recruiting and Geno's . A bit of a blither.

All sorts of quotes. UConn women ready for road test against No. 7 Texas

Good stuff!!

I keep posting but only Aston believes me! This is EASY. You recruit the top polished put them together and call that a team ---call it Uconn. It's EASY. Why the big deal of Geno coaching a practices defenses, offenses---you turn them lose and say---WIN. Easy. What was all this bull about Stewie becoming Stewie at the end of her frosh year---she entered as a number one WNBA draft choice. Silly Geno.
Finally someone get my message!!

 

[Suebird10fan]

Forgive me but reading about Aston's comments I can't help reposting something I posted a year ago yesterday.
---------------------

Watching UConn play it’s really hitting home that the system is rigged in their favor. When will the NCAA get a clue?!

For over thirty years Geno Auriemma and Chris Dailey have been building a culture of discipline, team-first attitude, willingness to be coached, getting the details right, and sacrifice for long term goals. Sure, it seemed innocent enough at first, but after a while it becomes insidious.

As if that’s not bad enough, Auriemma and Dailey have instilled a commitment to excellence in the culture as well. It doesn’t sound that bad, but when you combine all the discipline and team-first stuff with a commitment to excellence, you know what is bound to happen … winning!! As if Auriemma didn’t know that! And now the winning is completely out of control. Out. Of. Control!!!

The worst part of all, and here’s where the NCAA has really been asleep at the wheel, is that UConn takes a pass on uber-talented players who don’t fit into this culture. Now, technically there may not be a rule against this. But, other teams know what’s expected of them and follow the unwritten rule! Some programs are so committed to the good of the game that they take uber-talented but selfish and undisciplined players as transfers. Holly Warlick, bless your heart! How is UConn alone allowed to flout this convention?? I mean, if every team acted like UConn, selfish, undisciplined players would not be recruited by top programs. AAU coaches might be forced to try to emulate UConn’s culture. Heaven forbid!!

Thank goodness other coaches have had the courage not to follow UConn’s path. But as the Huskies pile on national championship after national championship, how long can we assume that will continue? Of course, Auriemma will retire one of these days, so perhaps the NCAA is just waiting him out. But that’s risky. A dangerous, deep-rooted culture like UConn’s has a good chance to survive a coaching change. Personally, I think the NCAA needs to act now.

 

[Bigboote]

According to Aston (taking a page out of Frese's play book) its all about the recruiting. "It is recruiting because he is getting the best players, getting the most polished offensive players for sure and he is smart enough to do that, he is capable of it," and she continues on blending her recruiting and Geno's . A bit of a blither.

This from the coach with ten McDonald's All-Americans on her team. She says they've failed the last couple of years when their offense stagnated. Which it's doing regularly now. I really like a lot of the players on this team, but they're not disciplined (see previous post).

Geno is always very gracious talking about UConn's opponents. He had some nice things to say about McCarty and Atkins. I saw a spot about them on LHN, and they really do seem like nice folks.

 

[eebmg]

I find some of Aston's comments silly. (Not mentioning the 10 AA already brought up)

1) Blurb 1 "It's recruiting. " is followed by " We need to score. We got stagnant on offense". If you are stagnant on offense, that is at least partially the coaching staff's fault.

2) "Underrated defensively". I keep hearing that all the time but anyone who watches UConn knows how elite our defense is (or can be).

 

[Cuango]

This from the coach with ten McDonald's All-Americans on her team. She says they've failed the last couple of years when their offense stagnated. Which it's doing regularly now. I really like a lot of the players on this team, but they're not disciplined (see previous post).

Geno is always very gracious talking about UConn's opponents. He had some nice things to say about McCarty and Atkins. I saw a spot about them on LHN, and they really do seem like nice folks.

I think UConn is going to destroy Texas tonight! Karen Aston should have kept her mouth shut instead of basically attributing Geno’s success to recruiting rather than coaching ability! We shall see, but I believe UConn will come out with smoke coming out of their ears! I feel sorry for Aston, but she shouldn’t have poked the bear? Besides, if anyone’s success is based on recruiting, it’s Aston’s! She has routinely cleaned up on the recruiting trail but so far, has little to show for it! I think she resents being dominated by another team but especially by a team coached by a man! However, to be fair, I remember when we played them in the final four(?) a few years ago, she became enraged with the media’s line of questioning when it was her turn at the podium and virtually every question was somehow more about UConn than Texas! While I don’t personally care for her superior, snooty attitude, and don’t think she is a top tier coach (recruiting aside), I do remember feeling bad for her that night as she waited and waited for a question about her team that was not prefaced with some variation of, “UConn hasn’t lost a game since Moby Dick was a minnow and Geno has asked the NCAA to make this 11th ring, a toe ring, as he has run out of fingers! What exactly are you going to say to your team after you get massacred tonight?” As I recall, her wait was in vain and she finally had to ask them to ask a question about her team and the tremendous year they had just had! However, though I felt bad for that night, she seems incapable of understanding that when someone owns you on the court, it’s best to wait til you actually beat them before you start talking trash!

 

[HuskyNan]

It’s sounds like Aston is making excuses for a possible loss before the game. I wonder what her players think of that?

Re: the recruiting business...

Texas has more than held its own on the recruiting front. On the current rosters of the two teams, the Longhorns have more players who were rated in the top 10 and top 20 in ESPN’s annual recruiting rankings than UConn.

 

[oldude]

I’m surprised at everyone questioning Aston’s comment, “It is recruiting because he is getting the best players.” Clearly, Aston would not have lost to UConn the last 3 years going on 4 if it just came down to coaching?

And this year, TX would not have lost to TN if the Vols didn’t have better recruits? OK, maybe.

And what about the TCU loss? They must have had better recruits. That loaded Horned Frog team that lost to Yale by 10 and recent TX victim Kansas by 9. Oh, wait a minute. How the hell did TX lose to TCU. Could it have possibly been coaching?

 

[Tonyc]

You can not win most big games on talent alone. You need to be disciplined. You need to be coachable. You need to understand BB is a team game and play it that way. I have UConn by 30 unless Geno clears the bench early which doesnt happen often. It could get ugly fast. Barring home cooking UConn is at a level when playing well that Texas hasnt seen. Talk all you want about whats wrong but if your the coach its your job to fix it. Team ball means balanced defense and balanced scoring. As a player you need to understand how to execute.

UConn is at a different level then other teams. Geno attracts players to come to UConn. As big of a game as this is for Texas and as big as the crowd will be UConn is used to it. They play big in big games because they know how to play under control. Tonite take note on UConns quickness on both sides of the ball. Note also UConns ability to play help defense a reason why they dont commit alot of fouls. Tonite is a good test to see how much better UConn has gotten over the 1st half of the regular season. I also expect Z and Walker to have really good games.

Let the show begin.

 

[eebmg]

It’s sounds like Aston is making excuses for a possible loss before the game. I wonder what her players think of that?

Re: the recruiting business...

Texas has more than held its own on the recruiting front. On the current rosters of the two teams, the Longhorns have more players who were rated in the top 10 and top 20 in ESPN’s annual recruiting rankings than UConn.

Which reminds me about Charlie Collier. I wonder if her schedule and proximity (I have no idea) will allow her to attend the game so we can give her a birds eye view
of the differences between TX and UConn?

 

[RockyMTblue2]

It’s sounds like Aston is making excuses for a possible loss before the game. I wonder what her players think of that?

It does have more than a suggestion of that. Including her we are playing this for the good of the game stuff. If Texas starts strong and the Huskies are on their heels the crowd might carry them through. I've got some jitters for this contest but I do like these stats: " Efficiency: UConn has shot 50 percent or better in each of the past eight games and is first in the nation in field goal percentage (53.1 percent). Texas is just 199th nationally in field goal percentage defense (40.3), and 147th in scoring defense (63.9 points a game)." From the Courant's Gameday in News.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Which reminds me about Charlie Collier. I wonder if her schedule and proximity (I have no idea) will allow her to attend the game so we can give her a birds eye view
of the differences between TX and UConn?

Who?

 

[oldude]

Which reminds me about Charlie Collier. I wonder if her schedule and proximity (I have no idea) will allow her to attend the game so we can give her a birds eye view
of the differences between TX and UConn?

I would seriously doubt it. It’s a school night. I assume she has practice and it’s a 2.5 hour drive from Houston to Austin. She would have to skip practice to get there on time, and either stay over in Austin for the night, or get back home after midnight.

 

[huskeynut]

When a head coach of a ranked team says Geno gets all the best recruits, you know there's a problem. Aston has bought into the hype. After Texas' loss to unranked TCU, Aston needs to rethink her words.

 

[Crossover]

I think UConn is going to destroy Texas tonight! Karen Aston should have kept her mouth shut instead of basically attributing Geno’s success to recruiting rather than coaching ability! We shall see, but I believe UConn will come out with smoke coming out of their ears! I feel sorry for Aston, but she shouldn’t have poked the bear? Besides, if anyone’s success is based on recruiting, it’s Aston’s! She has routinely cleaned up on the recruiting trail but so far, has little to show for it! I think she resents being dominated by another team but especially by a team coached by a man! However, to be fair, I remember when we played them in the final four(?) a few years ago, she became enraged with the media’s line of questioning when it was her turn at the podium and virtually every question was somehow more about UConn than Texas! While I don’t personally care for her superior, snooty attitude, and don’t think she is a top tier coach (recruiting aside), I do remember feeling bad for her that night as she waited and waited for a question about her team that was not prefaced with some variation of, “UConn hasn’t lost a game since Moby Dick was a minnow and Geno has asked the NCAA to make this 11th ring, a toe ring, as he has run out of fingers! What exactly are you going to say to your team after you get massacred tonight?” As I recall, her wait was in vain and she finally had to ask them to ask a question about her team and the tremendous year they had just had! However, though I felt bad for that night, she seems incapable of understanding that when someone owns you on the court, it’s best to wait til you actually beat them before you start talking trash!

Yes, that interview was painful. I love the way you parody it. I'm thinking you have a career in standup comedy.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

I have not been a BY'er for long (just the last few seasons)...so I'm sure most of you have seen/heard the same lame argument way more times and way longer than I have... that "Geno gets all the best players/recruits." When it's clear from all the recruit ranking services that Yes, Geno gets one or two of the "top players" most years, there are way more "top players" that go other places...I mean, the list gives the Top 100 players in the graduating class...Geno get a few...what happened to the other 98, 97 or so??? UConn is not the "top ranked recruiting class" most years (if ever??)... I've seen several times in several sports when coaches put together teams of All Stars who don't pull out the tournament championship...but the coach who had talented, TEAM first oriented players managed to win. It's exceptionally sad when Coaches with rosters filled with McDonalds AAs makes that argument... Maybe Coach Aston needs to ask herself what's different between her program and Geno's??

GO HUSKIES!!

 

[DallasBUFan]

I think it's coaching. When you 10 McDonalds AA's and yet you still can't win consistently as you would like and your teams is getting beat my mediocre or middle of the pack teams then you're the problem. Wether it's coaching or the type of players you're recruiting. Geno recruits the best, but doesn't only recruit them because they are supposedly a top player. I think he thinks of it as a puzzle. What is he missing to complete it? I mean UT will have like 8 post next season. That's a lot of bench time for many of them.

She has done a great job on getting the talent to Austin. It's what you do with the talent that equates to Championships.

 

[SCGamecock]

Because I’m a fan of neither team, I think I’m able to understand both Geno’s and Aston’s comments from an objective viewpoint.

I think Aston stepped over her own team when she said “UConn gets the best players..” not true at all, she needs to look at her own roster. Where I do partly agree with her is when she said “UConn gets the most polished players offensively”... UConn doesn’t tend to get ALL of the best players but more often than not if there’s a good polished offensive player out there, odds are she’s either going to end up in Storrs or she’s eyeing UConn extensively. I think most of you here will agree with me that UConn doesn’t recruit players that can’t score... UConn recruits/commits may not be the most athletic or defensive stalwarts but they almost always can score the ball. And IMO, there’s nothing wrong with recruiting that way... so I think that’s where Aston was trying to go with that statement. Also, where UConn recruits may lack defensively or athletically, they usually overcome it through coaching and Geno’s system on defense. Aston’s statement just came across negatively because she made the false statement that “UConn gets all of the best players”.. so she has egg on her face for that. Geno on the other hand, made a statement about “Texas having one of the most talented teams”.. he then specified further by explaining that they are one of the “most athletic teams”. Also further clarifying Aston’s point.. she has tons of McDAAs on her team, but if they’re not good enough offensively then UConn is going to blow them right off the court. All top 25 players aren’t created equally. Some are very polished offensively. Some are really good defensively. Some are outstanding athletes. Some have extraordinarily high basketball I.Q.’s.. The elite of the elite excel in more of these areas than their classmates. Lately, those extraordinary players tend to end up at UConn, ESPECIALLY if they are offensively gifted. Again, not always, but a lot of them end up in Storrs.

So many coaches just want to recruit players that are athletes, good defenders and rebounders but you need more than that if you want to compete with UConn because their players are usually gifted scorers first but also skilled defenders and rebounders as well... there needs to be more emphasis on recruiting basketball players that can put the ball in the basket... which is kind of the point of basketball in the first place. Geno understands that, but very few other coaches do. When Aston said “Geno is smart enough to do that”.. she’s right. He’s smart enough to recruit the players that fit his system, good enough to get them to commit and his system tends to be better than everybody else’s.

 

[oldude]

All this talk about who gets the best players lead me to take a look at the numbers. While HS ratings are somewhat subjective, I decided to look at each team's lineup for the last game played and cross-reference that player with their respective Hoopgurlz ranking. UConn has 2 players that were not ranked in the ESPN 100 (Kyla & Molly) TX has 3 (The Caron-Goodreau sisters, foreign born players from Quebec, and Jada Underwood).

I first looked at the starting lineups for each team in their most recent games vs Houston & Kansas respectively:

• UConn - Gabby (14), Kia (33) Lou (1), Pheesa (6), Danger (3) - Average Ranking = 11.4
• Texas - Atkins (3), McCarty (29), Sutton (6), Higgs (7), White (7) - Average Ranking = 10.4

Next I added in the two reserves that played the most minutes for each team and added their average in along with the starters:

• UConn - Z (23), Mikayla (13) - Top 7 Combined Average Ranking = 13.3
• Texas - Holmes (2), Aborowa (71) - Top 7 Combined Average Ranking = 17.9

Beyond that, the rankings of the remaining bench players, including recently departed AEH, for each team with just the average of the bench ratings is as follows:

• UConn - MW (1), AEH (16), Lexi (29), Batouly (53) - Bench Average Ranking = 24.8
• Texas - Booth (3), Patterson (4), Hosey (16) Littleton (33) - Bench Average Ranking = 14.0

While there is a somewhat arbitrary nature to my analysis, by Karen Aston's criteria, Texas has better players in their starting 5 and better players sitting on the bench. Only when you look at the top 7 players does UConn have a slight advantage. Considering that Texas has the home court advantage tonight, based on player rankings, Texas should win the game comfortably.

 

[WestCoastPup]

@SCGamecock - thanks for analysis. It got me thinking a bit, cause it's exactly opposite of what I believe separates UConn from the pack.

1) I agree that most elite players can score and possess various levels of other tangibles (athleticism, BB IQ, defense, passing, grit / high motor, etc). I think the rankings are heavily dominated by scoring.

2) I think most highly rated players can easily score, by definition. Thus, these top teams that successfully recruit highly rated players (top 30) are getting offensive weapons.

3) the difference is UConn, is that they build up the OTHER components of a players game, most notably - DEFENSE.

When I watch games from most top 20 teams, the scores are either low (because teams don't have effective offensive schemes, which masks the bad defense) or scores are high (cause teams don't have effective defensives schemes). I rarely see good defense ...

There are exceptions, but generally, you don't see consistently strong defense from top 2o teams, and that's what separates UConn from the pack.

 

[DallasBUFan]

I think that even helps validate my point. Geno picks players that will fit his puzzle and then develop them. So she kinda contradicted herself, since technically she has the best players (coming into the program). The difference is in the coaching! He can truly develop players and manages his team so well.

 

[southie]

I mean UT will have like 8 post next season. That's a lot of bench time for many of them.

8 post players, huh? Surely you're not counting a 6'1 tweener like Jordan Hosey and a 6'0 wing player like Jada Underwood? 6'4 Khaleann Caron-Goudreau hasn't been able to stay healthy her two seasons at Texas, and most likely moves on after this season (despite having one season of eligibility remaining). Even if she does return, she does not play inside as most of her shots have been from BTA.

The Official Website of the University of Texas Athletics

I would say we will have 6 post players next season (White, Aborowa, Boothe, Collier, Prince and Holmes), and Joyner Holmes still thinks she can play SF (despite my disagreement). But, we won't have a true SF on the roster next season, so if Holmes works hard at improving certain skills, that could end up being her spot with Texas going with a much bigger front line out of necessity.

 

[uconnfan68]

8 post players, huh? Surely you're not counting a 6'1 tweener like Jordan Hosey and a 6'0 wing player like Jada Underwood? 6'4 Khaleann Caron-Goudreau hasn't been able to stay healthy her two seasons at Texas, and most likely moves on after this season (despite having one season of eligibility remaining). Even if she does return, she does not play inside as most of her shots have been from BTA.

The Official Website of the University of Texas Athletics

I would say we will have 6 post players next season (White, Aborowa, Boothe, Collier, Prince and Holmes), and Joyner Holmes still thinks she can play SF (despite my disagreement). But, we won't have a true SF on the roster next season, so if Holmes works hard at improving certain skills, that could end up being her spot with Texas going with a much bigger front line out of necessity.

Our starting center is 5’11”.

 

[HuskyNan]

Because I’m a fan of neither team, I think I’m able to understand both Geno’s and Aston’s comments from an objective viewpoint.

I think Aston stepped over her own team when she said “UConn gets the best players..” not true at all, she needs to look at her own roster. Where I do partly agree with her is when she said “UConn gets the most polished players offensively”... UConn doesn’t tend to get ALL of the best players but more often than not if there’s a good polished offensive player out there, odds are she’s either going to end up in Storrs or she’s eyeing UConn extensively. I think most of you here will agree with me that UConn doesn’t recruit players that can’t score... UConn recruits/commits may not be the most athletic or defensive stalwarts but they almost always can score the ball. And IMO, there’s nothing wrong with recruiting that way... so I think that’s where Aston was trying to go with that statement. Also, where UConn recruits may lack defensively or athletically, they usually overcome it through coaching and Geno’s system on defense. Aston’s statement just came across negatively because she made the false statement that “UConn gets all of the best players”.. so she has egg on her face for that. Geno on the other hand, made a statement about “Texas having one of the most talented teams”.. he then specified further by explaining that they are one of the “most athletic teams”. Also further clarifying Aston’s point.. she has tons of McDAAs on her team, but if they’re not good enough offensively then UConn is going to blow them right off the court. All top 25 players aren’t created equally. Some are very polished offensively. Some are really good defensively. Some are outstanding athletes. Some have extraordinarily high basketball I.Q.’s.. The elite of the elite excel in more of these areas than their classmates. Lately, those extraordinary players tend to end up at UConn, ESPECIALLY if they are offensively gifted. Again, not always, but a lot of them end up in Storrs.

So many coaches just want to recruit players that are athletes, good defenders and rebounders but you need more than that if you want to compete with UConn because their players are usually gifted scorers first but also skilled defenders and rebounders as well... there needs to be more emphasis on recruiting basketball players that can put the ball in the basket... which is kind of the point of basketball in the first place. Geno understands that, but very few other coaches do. When Aston said “Geno is smart enough to do that”.. she’s right. He’s smart enough to recruit the players that fit his system, good enough to get them to commit and his system tends to be better than everybody else’s.

Geno recruits versatile players, which helps with the polish. The posts he recruits must be willing and able to pass the ball effectively and guards are expected to rebound. It’s rare for Geno to recruit a “pure”position player, preferring combo guards or G/F to a pure point or shooting guard. If they come in as a pure position player, they have to learn to expand their game.

 

[southie]

Our starting center is 5’11”.

And, she won't be playing that position at the next level. Hope she doesn't end up like Nina Davis at Baylor. It's great she is a true team player, but no one believes she will play Center in the pros.