Geno take on Gabby

[Geew1992]

He said he was surprised by how much she improved because he never saw her do any of these things. I would love to know what made him recruit her then.

 

[UcMiami]

Well, she was purely a guard in HS, and she played very little beyond her sophomore season. per HG:
Ultra-athletic combo guard handles, attacks, finishes in transition; consistently attacks rim; elevates on mid-range game to the arc; injury (knee, twice) in 2012, 2014; one of the most explosive performers and surprises in the class of 2014.

 

[Scotter]

I assume Geno is talking about the things he has said about Gabby all season long. He had never seen her sustain high energy and focus for long stretches let alone for 40 minutes like she has done this season. She had shown occasional flashes as a passer, but the entire offense had never run through her. In her career at UConn he had never relied on her to take let alone make a jump shot, and especially not in a critical situation. He had never seen her be the person to direct the entire defense. He had never seen her be a team leader.

The Gabby that Geno recruited was a great athlete, but also had the body control Geno looks for. Gabby also had the unselfishness and other character qualities Geno and the coaches look for. The potential was obvious, whether that potential would be realized is the question Geno was talking about.

 

[eebmg]

I am sure she showed great signs in HS leading to the recruiting. I think it is more a comparison of what he saw of Gabby early on at UConn. By Gabby's own admission, she was very poor and could not be trusted (especially in big games) early on in her freshman year. I do not think Lou or Pheessa ever had such dramatic lows during their freshman year and both showed some sparks as well during year 1. That sticks out in a coaches mind so it is hard to turn around. I am sure it is the same with Saniya. Geno says he never expected her to have such a good year. Why? I never saw it at UConn

 

[Sonny44]

He said he was surprised by how much she improved because he never saw her do any of these things. I would love to know what made him recruit her then.

Instinct.

 

[CocoHusky]

In Geno defense he maybe just be getting old. It is also easy to miss Freshmen & Sophomore Gabby when you have Stewie, Moriah and Morgan being brilliant every game and KLS and Kia being brilliant most games. All Geno needed to do was pay attention to Boneyarders and he would have seen plenty of posting in praise of Gabby and advocating more playing time. One poster ( ok it was me ) praised Gabby as the best interior passer and sated that Gabby had PG like skills. Of course this is the BY and I was beaten into submission by firm misguided statements like "Gabby is no PG."- never said she was.
On second though it is not a good idea for Geno to come to the BY, because he might find out that he was the only thing standing between Saniya being AA and a four year UCONN starter.

 

[OldAlum]

I remember a clip last year or the year before on SNY of Geno watching gabby in practice and being wowed. He said something like "She has a chance to be really, really good!"
I was struck by the difference in Gabby freshman year being totally overwhelmed in the NC game and in her sophomore year starting and confidently contributing. Then this year...

 

[Biff]

I remember a clip last year or the year before on SNY of Geno watching gabby in practice and being wowed. He said something like "She has a chance to be really, really good!"

I was struck by the difference in Gabby freshman year being totally overwhelmed in the NC game and in her sophomore year starting and confidently contributing. Then this year...

It was on the SNY Husky All Access show in December 2014 which was at the beginning of her Freshman season. He was talking to Rosemary (trainer).

With this and almost all of Geno quotes/quips, one needs to take a perspective of not necessarily taking his words literally. He constantly speaks in positive and negative exagerations and many times he speaks with subtle messages to his players and others. If you take each quote and line them up you will often get inconsistencies but if you stay at high enough level and follow what else may be happening at the time you can often piece it all together....well maybe not all the time but sometimes.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I think what Geno has never seen Gabby do before was take over games. She didn't do it last year, because we had the Big 3. Mo passed the baton to her upon graduation, so Gabby is now the undersized 1-player wrecking crew.

 

[YellwJcket999]

Geno knew what he had when he recruited Gabby. She had shown what she could do.:
"As a sophomore, Williams led Reed High to the Class 4A state title.
As a junior, she was averaging 30 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and seven blocks when she completely tore her ACL and partially tore her MCL in her right knee.."

Hartford Courant:
Last year was a busy one for Gabby Williams, filled with transitional tasks that would easily spin the head of any 18-year-old freshman.
She moved from high school to college, from Nevada to Storrs. She worked on mending after a second season-ending knee injury early in her senior season at Sparks High in Reno. And she accepted the challenge of a shift from guard to forward, presented by the UConn coaching staff during her first summer on campus.

And yet, from just about every imaginable perspective, her freshman season was a great success. Williams, who once dreamed of being an Olympic hurdler or high jumper, came off the bench 38 times and for an average of 15.6 minutes. She finished sixth on the team in scoring (8.3), third in rebounding (5.7) and led it in field goal percentage (63.7).

She also recorded five double-doubles in the regular season to aid her selection to the American Athletic Conference's All-Freshmen team and as its sixth player of the year.
------------------
Geno on what he saw in Gabby coming out of high school.
Hartford Courant:
When the coaching staff first saw her play, Williams handled the ball on the perimeter most of the time.
"It was like she was playing against junior high kids," Auriemma said. "She's just so athletic. So big and so strong, she'd just take the ball and go coast to coast.[...]
When she arrived at Storrs, Williams also looked around and saw a team loaded with guards.

"We took a look at some things she could do," Auriemma said. "She's actually a pretty good passer. She made a couple the other night, a couple more today. She has guard instincts but the body of someone who can play around the basket.

"I don't think anyone when we were recruiting her thought she's going to be great in the lane. We just thought she was a great athlete who's going to be a pretty good basketball player."
---------
Sophomore season

Here are some highlights

and here


The signs were there and I don't think Geno was that surprised to see her perform at such a high level this year. It has been in the works since her freshman year. She just needed the Stewart, Tuck and Jefferson to move on along to get her chance to fully show what she could do. Geno often peppers the media with negative remarks to push his players buttons and motivate them to higher levels.

 

[Geew1992]

Geno knew what he had when he recruited Gabby. She had shown what she could do.:
"As a sophomore, Williams led Reed High to the Class 4A state title.
As a junior, she was averaging 30 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and seven blocks when she completely tore her ACL and partially tore her MCL in her right knee.."

Hartford Courant:
Last year was a busy one for Gabby Williams, filled with transitional tasks that would easily spin the head of any 18-year-old freshman.
She moved from high school to college, from Nevada to Storrs. She worked on mending after a second season-ending knee injury early in her senior season at Sparks High in Reno. And she accepted the challenge of a shift from guard to forward, presented by the UConn coaching staff during her first summer on campus.

And yet, from just about every imaginable perspective, her freshman season was a great success. Williams, who once dreamed of being an Olympic hurdler or high jumper, came off the bench 38 times and for an average of 15.6 minutes. She finished sixth on the team in scoring (8.3), third in rebounding (5.7) and led it in field goal percentage (63.7).

She also recorded five double-doubles in the regular season to aid her selection to the American Athletic Conference's All-Freshmen team and as its sixth player of the year.
............
Geno on what he saw in Gabby coming out of high school.
Hartford Courant:
When the coaching staff first saw her play, Williams handled the ball on the perimeter most of the time.
"It was like she was playing against junior high kids," Auriemma said. "She's just so athletic. So big and so strong, she'd just take the ball and go coast to coast.[...]
When she arrived at Storrs, Williams also looked around and saw a team loaded with guards.

"We took a look at some things she could do," Auriemma said. "She's actually a pretty good passer. She made a couple the other night, a couple more today. She has guard instincts but the body of someone who can play around the basket.

"I don't think anyone when we were recruiting her thought she's going to be great in the lane. We just thought she was a great athlete who's going to be a pretty good basketball player."
.----..
Sophomore season

Here are some highlights

and here


The signs were there and I don't think Geno was that surprised to see her perform at such a high level this year. It has been in the works since her freshman year. She just needed the Stewart, Tuck and Jefferson to move on along to get her chance to fully show what she could do. Geno often peppers the media with negative remarks to push his players buttons and motivate them to higher levels.

I agree Geno doesn't always say things to the media that he says behind close doors. He said this on the Geno Show. He said he expected Pheesa and Lou to do what they are doing. Gabby was a surprise. He didn't know she could do the things she's doing.

 

[CocoHusky]

"I want to be the best and be with the best, I want to win national championships and I felt that this staff can get me some national championships."
Gabby Williams on Good Friday March 29th 2013.
The New Haven Register Blogs: Elm City to Eagleville: Father of latest UConn commit gives his blessin

 

[CocoHusky]

I agree Geno doesn't always say things to the media that he says behind close doors. He said this on the Geno Show. He said he expected Pheesa and Lou to do what they are doing. Gabby was a surprise. He didn't know she could do the things she's doing.

You got to finish Geno entire quote though because the rest of it is important. Geno said he's never seen her do it 'On Demand' in the biggest games against ND and SC Gabby goes OK coach I got this."