Genoisms From His Show (12/30)

[JoePgh]

I thought that Geno's comments on the "Geno Auriemma Show" that aired after the Cincinnati game were some of his better bon mots in recent memory. He was interviewed by Kerith Burke, and they covered a variety of topics. Although I use quotation marks below, what follows is a "best effort" paraphrase:

• On Morgan Tuck as a freshman, showing a clip from practice in her freshman year: "She's like a senior. She is in great shape, everything is effortless, she's the best passer, she doesn't miss layups ...". Geno said that the other two members of her class (Stewie and Moriah) were "mercurial" but Tuck was just steady even early in her freshman year.
• On Moriah as a freshman: "She was like that toy you get for Christmas that goes around on a track. You make it go really fast, and as soon as it hits the first turn, it flies off the track and lands under the kitchen stove, and you can't find it for a while. That was Moriah as a freshman. When we told her that wasn't going to work, her response was to go even faster."
• On KLS and Napheesa, he said that their games are similar to Stewie and Tuck respectively. In some practices, KLS looks great, and in other practices you wonder how she could have been the best player in the country. Whereas Napheesa is just steady, like Tuck was.
• He said that he asked both of them what they were thinking as they practiced and played with the more experienced players. They said that they know the older players are very good and are capable of winning, so they just want to help out. So Geno said to them, "You mean that even though we lost the greatest 3-point shooter in the history of womens' college basketball, and one of the best shot blockers ever, we're still just as good as we were last year, because if you think that, you're out of your mind. We need you to fill in some of what we lost from last year." It seemed that came as a revelation to them.
• He said freshmen have to walk a fine line between being too deferential to the upper classman and being too cocky and not being able to back it up. Most freshmen, including both of this year's class, are overly deferential. The only freshman who wasn't that way was Maya, and she could back it up.
• He talked about how both he and CD had to teach a class in their first four or five years at UConn. He taught a tennis class and didn't take it too seriously, but CD taught a jogging class and took it very seriously. He said CD likes to tell people what to do, so the class was right in her comfort zone. He thought that "...if they hadn't gotten Bin Laden when they did, I thought they should have sent CD after him. No one can hide from her."

 

[UcMiami]

Good summary - but on the next to last bullet point - I suspect there were a few others besides Maya:
1. DT - don't think she ever deferred to anyone!
2. Jen - there were some stories about her clashing with a few upper classmen her freshman year
3. Sveta - 'You did not bring me from Russia to pass the ball!'

 

[wire chief]

Good summary - but on the next to last bullet point - I suspect there were a few others besides Maya:
1. DT - don't think she ever deferred to anyone!
2. Jen - there were some stories about her clashing with a few upper classmen her freshman year
3. Sveta - 'You did not bring me from Russia to pass the ball!'

3..."or to set screens"

 

[JSB60]

Good summary - but on the next to last bullet point - I suspect there were a few others besides Maya:
1. DT - don't think she ever deferred to anyone!
2. Jen - there were some stories about her clashing with a few upper classmen her freshman year
3. Sveta - 'You did not bring me from Russia to pass the ball!'

4. Kerry Bascom--didn't she have a fight with a senior in her first year?

 

[Siestakeyfan]

I thought that Geno's comments on the "Geno Auriemma Show" that aired after the Cincinnati game were some of his better bon mots in recent memory. He was interviewed by Kerith Burke, and they covered a variety of topics. Although I use quotation marks below, what follows is a "best effort" paraphrase:

• On Morgan Tuck as a freshman, showing a clip from practice in her freshman year: "She's like a senior. She is in great shape, everything is effortless, she's the best passer, she doesn't miss layups ...". Geno said that the other two members of her class (Stewie and Moriah) were "mercurial" but Tuck was just steady even early in her freshman year.
• On Moriah as a freshman: "She was like that toy you get for Christmas that goes around on a track. You make it go really fast, and as soon as it hits the first turn, it flies off the track and lands under the kitchen stove, and you can't find it for a while. That was Moriah as a freshman. When we told her that wasn't going to work, her response was to go even faster."
• On KLS and Napheesa, he said that their games are similar to Stewie and Tuck respectively. In some practices, KLS looks great, and in other practices you wonder how she could have been the best player in the country. Whereas Napheesa is just steady, like Tuck was.
• He said that he asked both of them what they were thinking as they practiced and played with the more experienced players. They said that they know the older players are very good and are capable of winning, so they just want to help out. So Geno said to them, "You mean that even though we lost the greatest 3-point shooter in the history of womens' college basketball, and one of the best shot blockers ever, we're still just as good as we were last year, because if you think that, you're out of your mind. We need you to fill in some of what we lost from last year." It seemed that came as a revelation to them.
• He said freshmen have to walk a fine line between being too deferential to the upper classman and being too cocky and not being able to back it up. Most freshmen, including both of this year's class, are overly deferential. The only freshman who wasn't that way was Maya, and she could back it up.
• He talked about how both he and CD had to teach a class in their first four or five years at UConn. He taught a tennis class and didn't take it too seriously, but CD taught a jogging class and took it very seriously. He said CD likes to tell people what to do, so the class was right in her comfort zone. He thought that "...if they hadn't gotten Bin Laden when they did, I thought they should have sent CD after him. No one can hide from her."

NICE JOB !!!!!

 

[MilfordHusky]

Maya could really back it up. She finished 2nd in the AP POY voting to Candace Parker as a freshman. She also finished 2nd to Tina Charles as a junior. She finished 1st the other years. No one else has ever been close to 2--1-2-1.

 

[MilfordHusky]

If Napheesa is like Morgan, and Lou is like Stewie, I really like that!!