Geno talks 2017 and Final Four loss

[Sluconn Husky]

Sounds familiar but some new interesting stuff in this Michelle Vopel piece for ESPN.


"There were so many bad decisions that I made during that game that I would love to go back and redo," Auriemma said of facing Mississippi State. "Why did we not force the tempo more? Why did we get caught up in walking the ball up the floor? Well, that was my fault. We were playing the way they wanted us to play.

"In our half-court offense, some of the things that we tried to do just weren't going to work against them, with how aggressive and physical they were. We needed to go to something different. So when I look back, you can't really say, 'Well, that was a crushing blow, and it tore our hearts out.' No. The ones that kill you are the ones where you do everything right, and you still lose. We didn't do that last year. I don't think we deserved to win that game. Mississippi State did."

....

Auriemma feared it would come at the worst time. Actually, so did Taurasi. During the 2017 NCAA tournament, the Huskies legend was watching the HBO series "UConn: The March to Madness" and was alarmed by one sequence shown of practice.

"Diana told me, 'You guys were doing end-of-game situations, and you went five times in a row and missed getting the shot that you wanted,'" Auriemma said of a conversation he had with her after the loss. "And I had said on the show, 'Because we have a hard time executing this stuff, it's going to come back and cost us a game down the road.' And you know what? It did."


Auriemma, UConn ready for another ride to the top

 

[BostonCanuck]

Well this is refreshing.

The specifics Geno points out reflect the very same points we came up with during our many rounds of robust diagnosis (or was it group therapy?) here on the board, including the pace-of-game problem, and the rather puzzling lack of adjustments made during that game. His candor tells me that there's no way these things will be issues again this year. That's something I think I already understood implicitly, but hearing it this directly from him is such a relief!

Great nugget about Diana, by the way. He just loves that woman.

 

[oldude]

I appreciate that Geno is taking responsibility for not speeding up the game tempo. I have previously commented that Geno will never ever allow the Huskies to end up in a game like that again. With a deep bench and lots of talented players, I expect UConn to press and trap far more this season, pushing other teams to play much faster then they want to.

I expect to see UConn’s pressure defense during game 1 vs Stanford on Sunday.

 

[huskyd]

Sorry, can't buy this happy talk. It was heart-breaking to be so close to winning it all and then losing. The team worked so hard and overcame so many hurdles to get where it did--and then lose. That's supposed to be "good"? I get Geno's rationalization, but I just can't paint a happy face on the outcome. I'd rather have the 113 wins and the NC. I'm glad he feels out from under the pressure, though I think UConn will always be under the gun until they become mediocre. Don't want to see that. Ever.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

I expect to see UConn’s pressure defense during game 1 vs Stanford on Sunday.

I keep hearing that this deep team will allow for pressing defenses but I just don't see it. UConn will likely only go with seven against Stanford barring a rout. They might put some pressure on here or there but as an overall strategy Geno tends to think it's a gimmick.

 

[UConnCat]

My forever memory of the Miss State game will be Morgan Williams walking up the court pounding the ball in to the hardwood. The thought of it makes my head hurt.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Sorry, can't buy this happy talk. It was heart-breaking to be so close to winning it all and then losing.

Never understood this line of reasoning since it was first uttered last April. Had UConn been the 5th or 6th best team in the country then, sure, maybe you don't feel as bad with the final result. But as the best team playing a 21-pt underdog to get to a final against a 4-loss team that you beat earlier in the year, it's rather frustrating to come up short.

Does Geno really think a 113-game winning streak coming into this season, after a title and with all this talent, was somehow going to get into the heads of the players? I'm not sure why the 111 number was somehow more of a burden than 85 or 90 or 100. If they had won those two games they not only would've entered this season better, and as champs, but probably with more confidence and surety in themselves too.

 

[UConnCat]

Maybe Geno -- a coach for 30+ years with of 11 national championships and multiple winning streaks -- expressed a feeling none of us could ever possibly understand.

Time for an exciting new season.

 

[chrissaran]

I didn't realize UConn played Mississippi St. earlier in the year. They blew them out the previous year, but they did not play them during the 2016-2017 season.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

I didn't realize UConn played Mississippi St. earlier in the year. They blew them out the previous year, but they did not play them during the 2016-2017 season.

If you are referring back to my post, the 4-loss team that UConn beat previously was South Carolina. The 21-pt underdog was MSU.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I appreciate that Geno is taking responsibility for not speeding up the game tempo. I have previously commented that Geno will never ever allow the Huskies to end up in a game like that again. With a deep bench and lots of talented players, I expect UConn to press and trap far more this season, pushing other teams to play much faster then they want to.
it
I expect to see UConn’s pressure defense during game 1 vs Stanford on Sunday.

Just watched the players post game (FF) interviews. Abusive. But they spoke of Geno saying the team didn't stick to Miss St early and set them on their heels.\
In 2009 Geno with Megan Pattyson/Culmo(sp) said he was responsible for 2 losses up til then, I suggested in another post--he include the FF Ms St game. The kids also spoke of how Ms st took away everything they normally had done. After the half when Geno made a run that came with in a final shot of winning these kids still had issues with Ms height and post defense. Add to that Itty Bitty William had no one on Uconn giving her serious defense--foul trouble?? I'm sorry but bury this dead horse, one day last April was Geno's last chance to win it.

 

[Alydar]

UConn failed to dictate the pace for a couple of reasons. Miss St conceded rebounds on most of their shot attempts, opting to drop back on defense. And UConn committed more players to defensive rebounds. A third factor was that UConn was playing on tired legs after a season where they were out-sized in most of their games. I recall a comment from Bill Russell about being guarded by smaller players in which he said that they did good jobs for 3 quarters with their better quickness and leaping abilities but that in the 4th quarter their legs got tired while he was still 6'8".

I agree with Geno about not adjusting during the game. But that has been a Geno trait right along. I remember the 2008 FF semi loss to Stanford. Geno kept waiting for his team to execute what they usually do but Montgomery kept missing open 3's and Geno never altered their approach. He rarely comes up with a customized game plan, UConn opponents know exactly what they will face on the court and occasionally a coach comes up with an effective way of attacking it and their team executes it successfully. McGraw, Tara and now Vic are on that list.

UConn has not been a good "end of game" team for a while. Go back to some of the losses to N Dame. Dolson threw away a few passes late to lose games. She had a bad habit of passing only to Hartley in stressful situations and Diggins stole several of those passes. In the Stanford loss UConn had a couple of seconds and failed to make a long inbound, instead giving it to KML 90 feet from the basket and without a clue as to what to do. A lot of the problem has to do with UConn rarely finding themselves in a tight game with seconds left. In the 2 close games UConn had earlier in the season Chong nailed 3 pt shots to ice it with a minute or so left but UConn hardly ever faces a "last shot to win or tie" situation. The times they have been successful at it were when players like Bird, Taurasi or Moore just did it on their own.

It is nice to see that Geno accepted responsibility and didn't just throw his players under the bus like some coaches.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Maybe Geno -- a coach for 30+ years with of 11 national championships and multiple winning streaks -- expressed a feeling none of us could ever possibly understand.

Time for an exciting new season.

What does he know--He's no Pat Summit --- 1000 plus wins (let the comment fly)

 

[oldude]

UConn failed to dictate the pace for a couple of reasons. Miss St conceded rebounds on most of their shot attempts, opting to drop back on defense. And UConn committed more players to defensive rebounds. A third factor was that UConn was playing on tired legs after a season where they were out-sized in most of their games. I recall a comment from Bill Russell about being guarded by smaller players in which he said that they did good jobs for 3 quarters with their better quickness and leaping abilities but that in the 4th quarter their legs got tired while he was still 6'8".

I agree with Geno about not adjusting during the game. But that has been a Geno trait right along. I remember the 2008 FF semi loss to Stanford. Geno kept waiting for his team to execute what they usually do but Montgomery kept missing open 3's and Geno never altered their approach. He rarely comes up with a customized game plan, UConn opponents know exactly what they will face on the court and occasionally a coach comes up with an effective way of attacking it and their team executes it successfully. McGraw, Tara and now Vic are on that list.

UConn has not been a good "end of game" team for a while. Go back to some of the losses to N Dame. Dolson threw away a few passes late to lose games. She had a bad habit of passing only to Hartley in stressful situations and Diggins stole several of those passes. In the Stanford loss UConn had a couple of seconds and failed to make a long inbound, instead giving it to KML 90 feet from the basket and without a clue as to what to do. A lot of the problem has to do with UConn rarely finding themselves in a tight game with seconds left. In the 2 close games UConn had earlier in the season Chong nailed 3 pt shots to ice it with a minute or so left but UConn hardly ever faces a "last shot to win or tie" situation. The times they have been successful at it were when players like Bird, Taurasi or Moore just did it on their own.

It is nice to see that Geno accepted responsibility and didn't just throw his players under the bus like some coaches.

I agree with most everything you state, with the exception of the “tired legs” argument. No team was in better shape than UConn and they had 4 days rest. Throughout the season, the Huskies pulled away from much deeper teams like Baylor, TX, ND & SC in the 4th qtr.

MS St had a great game plan which they executed flawlessly. UConn did not respond effectively, but fitness had little to do with the outcome.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Me, I'm just sick of it. "The Loss", Geno saying it is the best thing that could have happened, everything that has been sandwiched between the two. New year. Let's look forward and just do it.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Me, I'm just sick of it. "The Loss", Geno saying it is the best thing that could have happened, everything that has been sandwiched between the two. New year. Let's look forward and just do it.

Do you think for one second Geno thought that loss was better than beating the pants off of Ms St?? Dead horses should never be ridden more than once.

 

[HoopsFan21]

I wish there was a way where to win the final four and the championship it wasn't do or die. If UConn and Miss St had to play a best of three who do you think advances? I've never been a fan of the flukiness of one game determining it all since I consider the post-season to have the final say on who the best team was that season which is why I like how pro teams have a best of five or seven.