Geno: This has to be April Fools

[storrsroars]

"But they don't try hard or play any defense! It's all dunks and a me-first plays!!"

- stereotypical NBA critic who probably hasn't seen a game since 2002

And that's Geno's (and Bilas' and Darly's, et.al.) point in the big picture. You get to a point (and with me, it was Iverson and ISO play in NBA post-MJ) where the game becomes so unappealing to watch that you lose fans to other forms of entertainment. I never went back to the NBA. Probably won't either. Once a league/sport loses a fan, odds are pretty good they lose them forever... those people just develop other habits. I gave up the NFL for most part 3-4 years ago as well - Sundays are far more productive and enjoyable.

As far as UConn goes, I'll keep watching all sports because it's my school. But I'm not watching other schools nearly as much (admittedly part of that is no longer being in BE).

 

[kyleslamb]

He's not 100 percent correct, even if some of his points are accurate.

The reason I say it's definitely not 100 percent is because if he'd bother to look at the stats, the field goal percentages have been stagnant for 20 years. They've hovered nationally at 43/44 percent since the early-mid 1990s. In other words, the ability to shoot has not been an issue as he's suggesting.

The problem really isn't even pace, directly. If the game weren't such a physical sport now because of fewer fouls being called and a lot more contact, I don't think people would gripe at the pace.

 

[kyleslamb]

Shot clock needs to be at 24. 30 at the most, 35 is ridiculous.

I promise you, want to see the game get worse? Go to a 24 second shot clock with the current officiating problem not being addressed.

Think the game is ugly now? Try to make teams get good shots off 11 seconds quicker without rectifying the defenses beating them to death.

No shot clock change is an adequate solution until the game is cleaned up physically. Once that is done, a 24 or 30-second shot clock will be fine. As I said in my previous post, though, I don't think the pace of the game would be as much of a problem if it were more free-flowing. When you have a lot of ball movement and a more fluid game free of contact, the number of possessions is not as big an issue.

 

[mauconnfan]

Bobby Huggins was on Sirius radio today and was quite annoyed with Geno's comments. I'm guessing based on what he said there's a lot more annoyed form the men's side then not!

 

[Gurleyman]

Do ya think he liked our win against Butler? It was one of the ugliest games ever played, yet beautiful of course.

Funny thing is that our last two national championships have had a couple of persistent talking points - the offenses were inept in 2011, and Calipari had a shrewd coaching move going to a zone at the end of the first half. Yet both were largely the result of us having two key guys on the bench in foul trouble for last 8-10 minutes of the first half (Lamb and Oriakhi in 2011, with Kemba joining them with about 3:00 left, and Daniels/Boat last year). Both times, our offense kicked into a better gear when we had our full team back out on the floor.

Just find it odd that both times, we managed to be sitting our #2 and #3 options for an extended amount of time and it was never a factor in the analysis.

 

[EricSD]

I mean this with 100% sincerity: I absolutely love watching blowout wins. They're so satisfying. I could watch my team ruin people all day.

True. BUT I will admit I enjoy a blowout of Rutgers much more than a blowout of Eastern Carolina. If the women ever play Tennessee again, I hope they win by 60...

 

[Waquoit]

For what its worth Jay Bilas thinks the points are correct.

So if I'm keeping score correctly we have Geno, Bilas and Morey on one side. Mau, James and Huggy Bear on the other.

 

[mauconnfan]

So if I'm keeping score correctly we have Geno, Bilas and Morey on one side. Mau, James and Huggy Bear on the other.

You forgot you with Geno and Bilas - that should make your day Waqjob.

 

[jibsey]

Don't forget that we're seeing the best basketball in the final 8 because during the regular season we get to see lesser talent play even worse, and that included our own offense many times. It seems to me that the refs are not letting the big men play, when you think about some of the touch and nothing fouls that were called on AB this year. Then on the other side someone gets hammered in the lane and no call, so how do you address the inconsistencies in officiating? The decline in great 4 year talent is really only a big factor for about 5 or 6 schools who get the superstars every year but it shows up in the final 4 in Duke and Kentucky who have players leaving early. We have 2 players that could leave after next year and that means our team just be a an offensive juggernaut, we'll see.

 

[mauconnfan]

http://www.courant.com/sports/college/hc-state-of-mens-basketball-game-0403-20150402-story.html

Not exactly agreeing but showing Geno respect obviously.

 

[UConnWingman]

Shot clock issue is a huge one. Cut it down to 30 at the minimum. Too many refs look to make a statement in getting big men their 2nd foul within the first four minutes of the game. The biggest issue to me is essentially the "one and done" rule. This Kentucky team, 38-0 with all the accolades that go along with it, wouldn't even crack the top 10 of the best college basketball teams ever. Why? Because college basketball is at its best when you have great teams loaded up with upper class men talent. Guys that completely buy in to a system, and they do so because they recognize the finite nature of their talent. Having a bunch of freshmen out 'freakishly athlete' other teams doesn't make for good basketball. This is why "the best" college basketball games are played nowadays at the mid-major level.

 

[Waquoit]

You forgot you with Geno and Bilas - that should make your day Waqjob.

Just being my humble self.

 

[ctchamps]

So Geno expresses his position and this forum takes off in two directions.

The first direction is over the points he made in which people support his points, reject his points, partly agree with his points, or add points he's missed. Thought this direction had a lot of good thoughts.

The second direction regards whether Geno should have presented these points with some taking issue over a women's bb coach talking about men's bb and some supporting his right to do so. I thought this direction makes a great case on how we create sets and subsets regarding issues. I used to think that most of us were just fans with or without some history of playing organized bb. But I must have been mistaken. It seems the overwhelming preponderance of us are men's bb coaches or have been men's bb coaches at the college level and we insist that only this fraternity of experts has the right to express an opinion. Good to know this forum is populated by many with pedigrees.

 

[mauconnfan]

So Geno expresses his position and this forum takes off in two directions.

The first direction is over the points he made in which people support his points, reject his points, partly agree with his points, or add points he's missed. Thought this direction had a lot of good thoughts.

The second direction regards whether Geno should have presented these points with some taking issue over a women's bb coach talking about men's bb and some supporting his right to do so. I thought this direction makes a great case on how we create sets and subsets regarding issues. I used to think that most of us were just fans with or without some history of playing organized bb. But I must have been mistaken. It seems the overwhelming preponderance of us are men's bb coaches or have been men's bb coaches at the college level and we insist that only this fraternity of experts has the right to express an opinion. Good to know this forum is populated by many with pedigrees.

Oh Lord why?

 

[James]

So Geno expresses his position and this forum takes off in two directions.

The first direction is over the points he made in which people support his points, reject his points, partly agree with his points, or add points he's missed. Thought this direction had a lot of good thoughts.

The second direction regards whether Geno should have presented these points with some taking issue over a women's bb coach talking about men's bb and some supporting his right to do so. I thought this direction makes a great case on how we create sets and subsets regarding issues. I used to think that most of us were just fans with or without some history of playing organized bb. But I must have been mistaken. It seems the overwhelming preponderance of us are men's bb coaches or have been men's bb coaches at the college level and we insist that only this fraternity of experts has the right to express an opinion. Good to know this forum is populated by many with pedigrees.

he can express his opinion, but what evidence is there that the womens game is ahead of the mens game? Please, the whole shot clock thing is negligible due to the fact teenage girls can't play defense. the womens game fine and its OWN product; but when you start saying one is more adaptive to change than the other... the is just outlandish. its like peeling an onion there are far too many issues with the mens game at the moment.

 

[mauconnfan]

he can express his opinion, but what evidence is there that the womens game is ahead of the mens game? Please, the whole shot clock thing is negligible due to the fact teenage girls can't play defense. the womens game fine and its OWN product; but when you start saying one is more adaptive to change than the other... the is just outlandish. its like peeling an onion there are far too many issues with the mens game at the moment.

That's alright James you're in great company with Me and Huggy!

 

[2Husky]

Lots of people make the point that the men's and women's games are very different. Again the original question was specifically about the men's game, and the answer didn't compare the two, even though it acknowledge the women's game also has problems. Not sure why people keep bringing this back to the women's game, but I can think of two ways the men's game is behind the women's. 1) the shot clock (how is it that "unathletic girls" can get a shot off in 30 seconds, but the big strong men need 35?) 2) The media timeouts, in the women's game now if timeouts are called near a media timeout it becomes the media timeout so there aren't so many breaks. With things like that it sure seems like the women's game is more adaptive, probably because its less popular and they are willing to try things to grow, and the men's game felt they were already very popular and are desperately trying not to lose fans. But this is really an unrelated discussion to the original point of the thread.

People have commented one of the big problems is the last 2 minutes of the game take 20 minutes of real time. I think that is a problem, and obviously reducing timeouts will help that. how about only giving 10 seconds to sub for someone to foul out and don't let teams go to their benches, don't make it a defacto timeout. I also think having a shorter shot clock will help at the end of the game because teams won't be able to run as much time off and they will be able to play out the game longer before needing to foul.

Also look at soccer, its the most popular sport on the planet, and many games end with a score of 1-0, maybe men's basketball wants to be more like soccer. They could get rid of the shot clock completely and then the first team how has the ball with the lead can run out the game clock for 38 minutes, just like soccer.

 

[ctchamps]

Oh Lord why?

he can express his opinion, but what evidence is there that the womens game is ahead of the mens game? Please, the whole shot clock thing is negligible due to the fact teenage girls can't play defense. the womens game fine and its OWN product; but when you start saying one is more adaptive to change than the other... the is just outlandish. its like peeling an onion there are far too many issues with the mens game at the moment.

Not questioning peoples need to disagree with his opinions. Just stating he has as much right as anyone to express them. And in expressing them he is no more or less offensive than any of us who make a choice to speak up or stay silent for that matter. My issue isn't with differences of opinions. My issue is choosing to hold him to a different standard.

If you guys aren't doing that than I apologize for misunderstanding this point.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I genuinely don't understand the hostility around what he said. I didn't read it as any sort of "the women's game is vastly superior" sort of proclamation - in fact, he explicitly says the opposite. So why are people acting so offended? What makes men's college basketball immune to criticism? It's very tough to deny that the game has gotten less enjoyable to watch. I mean, duck, I'm a UConn fan and I found myself hitting fast-forward on some of their games this season.

 

[mauconnfan]

Lots of people make the point that the men's and women's games are very different. Again the original question was specifically about the men's game, and the answer didn't compare the two, even though it acknowledge the women's game also has problems. Not sure why people keep bringing this back to the women's game, but I can think of two ways the men's game is behind the women's. 1) the shot clock (how is it that "unathletic girls" can get a shot off in 30 seconds, but the big strong men need 35?) 2) The media timeouts, in the women's game now if timeouts are called near a media timeout it becomes the media timeout so there aren't so many breaks. With things like that it sure seems like the women's game is more adaptive, probably because its less popular and they are willing to try things to grow, and the men's game felt they were already very popular and are desperately trying not to lose fans. But this is really an unrelated discussion to the original point of the thread.

People have commented one of the big problems is the last 2 minutes of the game take 20 minutes of real time. I think that is a problem, and obviously reducing timeouts will help that. how about only giving 10 seconds to sub for someone to foul out and don't let teams go to their benches, don't make it a defacto timeout. I also think having a shorter shot clock will help at the end of the game because teams won't be able to run as much time off and they will be able to play out the game longer before needing to foul.

Also look at soccer, its the most popular sport on the planet, and many games end with a score of 1-0, maybe men's basketball wants to be more like soccer. They could get rid of the shot clock completely and then the first team how has the ball with the lead can run out the game clock for 38 minutes, just like soccer.

Alright you re one of the idiots I need to educate obviously. You are clueless to star but thats okay there's a lot of you. You need to star you argument in a way different pattern than you like to use, like how many women are there for 4 years or even 3 years compared to them men? I respect your ideals but you're totally lost.......thanks for stopping by thought. The mens game, despite their inability to score as much as we'd like, is years ahead the womens why? Because they have 5 athletes on the court basically 90% of time where the women are lucky to have 50 % of athletes on the court vs the Huskies.

Other than that you're a smart fan!

 

[Padutch5]

who the hell cares about womens basketball history? Look i got respect for ann meyers, mainly cause she signed a contract in the nba. and she isn't on a high horse, does playbyplay for suns games and is awesome.

Also, all this blabber about the damn shot clock, the most glaring issue is the 3inthekey. all basketball should be played under the same set of rules. there is this new culture of 'hoops snobs' discussing college hoops, it , dont watch it. watch a superior product in the NBA. but OH the nba is terrible! they don't play defense or try hard!

junk defenses that are enabled by the no 3inthekey call is killing the game. also for some reason there is no clear path foul. oh , and possession arrows. do a jump ball.

But no everybody wants the hot take like the freaking shot clock is doing the damage here. I might agree with the some timeout stuff, but thats about it. I can't believe geno has the nerve to bring up the word 'entertainment'. Basketball is about behemoths executing physical feats not seen everyday, not 10 unathletic college girls running plays to precision because nobody is playing defense.

Why don't we give the macho crap a rest. To be clear, I have both women's and men's season tickets. The men and women do play different games. This is not a slam at the UCONN a men, but the passing of the UCONN women is rarely see in any men's team. The men's game has degenerated into three or four guys standing around waiting for the ball while one player looks for an opening.
The men's game was not meant to be played like football in shorts. I suggest you take a ride up to Springfield to see the game as envisioned . The wrestling that goes on under the basket is impossible to ref. how many times have we seen a body slam under the basket not called while ticky tack touches around the perimeter are called.seeing so many 6 foot 10 inch men ( and up) with few skills other than being able to dunk is not what the game was meant to be. Fundamentals have gone down hill.
By the way, those of you so critical of the women's game, the UCONN a men could have used a three point shooter like KML this year. I suspect you haven't watched a women's game when you call then "unathletic".

 

[Padutch5]

Bobby Huggins was on Sirius radio today and was quite annoyed with Geno's comments. I'm guessing based on what he said there's a lot more annoyed form the men's side then not!

Anything or anyone that annoys Huggins is good in my book. I don't think I'd quote him.

 

[zyron]

Why don't we give the macho crap a rest. To be clear, I have both women's and men's season tickets. The men and women do play different games. This is not a slam at the UCONN a men, but the passing of the UCONN women is rarely see in any men's team. The men's game has degenerated into three or four guys standing around waiting for the ball while one player looks for an opening.

Because women don't have the length or the quickness of men to steal those passes, it is really that simple.

 

[James]

Because women don't have the length or the quickness of men to steal those passes, it is really that simple.

how is this so hard to understand? i never pile on the womens team, love their success. but they aren't peers to the mens team. its a different sport, which geno acknowledged. he can have his opinion, but once he starts talking about the 'womens game being ahead' he lost me. no wonder jc hated his guts

 

[UCFan1513]

He's just angry that the sport he coaches gets no attention

 

[uconnfan68]

He's a hoot until he thinks he's too much as he did in this interview. The "hoot" guy is in the women's game, the arrogant guy comes out at times like this. Heck if there's only 10-15 teams who know how to play basketball and UConn didn't make the tourney they aren't one of them. Guess KO gets the Fung Wah from Geno huh? He talks too much and loves to hear himself. don't give me the deflecting business for his team, they don't need it.

As someone else said let's see him take the men's Fordham job and get a national championship out of it. Then he can spew all the BSD he wants. Until then he coaches a bunch of fairly athletic women against teams who have payers who can't guard 60 year old men. Tough job 90% of the time huh?

Who makes you listen? He's coached boys before, at age group level, and was pretty successful. Now you say he needs to make Fordham a National Champion for you to think he can coach. Even JC couldn't do that.

 

[uconnfan68]

how is this so hard to understand? i never pile on the womens team, love their success. but they aren't peers to the mens team. its a different sport, which geno acknowledged. he can have his opinion, but once he starts talking about the 'womens game being ahead' he lost me. no wonder jc hated his guts

He didn't say that. He said women were even worse. He was talking about the game as a spectator.

 

[David 76]

Actually, I think he said the men were far behind, the women are behind too but not as far behind.

Much ado about nothing. Geno doesn't have much of a filter. But he never equates the games and if any men's coach made that quote there would be no story. The big problem is not what he said, but that he is a coach in the women's game. Whoa! How dare he!
If it sounds a little arrogant, ever heard Geno talk before?
Was it a slam? Was it even the equivalent of saying "All their fans are senior citizens and nursery school students" No way. Should they have both kept their mouths shut? Definitely.

 

[Pudge]

Bobby Huggins was on Sirius radio today and was quite annoyed with Geno's comments. I'm guessing based on what he said there's a lot more annoyed form the men's side then not!

I think Huggins teams are amongst the most annoying teams to watch. If I am to be fair ... I have watched Coaches like Huggins all my life. It was a City game technique. Rougher and more intense guarding 90 feet. I understand why he is good; I am glad I never root for him.

 

[mauconnfan]

Who makes you listen? He's coached boys before, at age group level, and was pretty successful. Now you say he needs to make Fordham a National Champion for you to think he can coach. Even JC couldn't do that.

JC DID do that. Upon from the Yankee Conference was Fordham.