Geno's "Craziest" Moment*

[RegisteredUconn]

What's your nominee?

Every now and then I like to watch this sequence again because it is so preposterous on its face. How does a coach (even if he's the greatest coach in the history of WCBB) make that call in that situation?

The Stage: National Championship Game; just under 2 minutes to go; UConn nursing a 6 point lead.

The Characters: (as already noted) Best Coach; 4 of the top 6 seniors in the nation (as determined by WNBA draft position); 1 sophomore.

The Call: Position all 4 seniors (a group so talented even Pat Summitt said she might have to go to UConn's graduation and cheer when they picked up their diplomas) against one sideline; give the sophomore the ball and the entire other side PLUS the lane to operate in by herself.

The Result: 10 plus seconds of precious clock time drained; lead increased by 3 points; opponents senior leader and best player sent to the bench with 5 fouls.

The action starts at the 3:49 mark.

* in case I wasn't obvious enough, by "crazy" I mean "genius"

 

[pspr11]

Game in doubt, I want the ball in DT's hands.

 

[Carnac]

What's your nominee?

Every now and then I like to watch this sequence again because it is so preposterous on its face. How does a coach (even if he's the greatest coach in the history of WCBB) make that call in that situation?

The Stage: National Championship Game; just under 2 minutes to go; UConn nursing a 6 point lead.

The Characters: (as already noted) Best Coach; 4 of the top 6 seniors in the nation (as determined by WNBA draft position); 1 sophomore.

The Call: Position all 4 seniors (a group so talented even Pat Summitt said she might have to go to UConn's graduation and cheer when they picked up their diplomas) against one sideline; give the sophomore the ball and the entire other side PLUS the lane to operate in by herself.

The Result: 10 plus seconds of precious clock time drained; lead increased by 3 points; opponents senior leader and best player sent to the bench with 5 fouls.

The action starts at the 3:49 mark.

* in case I wasn't obvious enough, by "crazy" I mean "genius"

You can NEVER get tired of watching replays of UConn winning championships, thanks.

 

[MainefanSC]

That was our (the wife and I) 1st FF and I can recall it like it was last night! I do enjoy watching these games during the off season.

 

[Jmsdawg]

I remember the class Geno showed in the semi final loss to MSST, his reaction surprised me, he seemed to indicate it was meant to be and Morgan was meant to be the hero.

 

[ctfjr]

I was at that game and our group of fans were sure she was going to drive on Stacey D to get her to foul out. Kind of worked out that way, by accident.

 

[Triad]

What's your nominee?

Every now and then I like to watch this sequence again because it is so preposterous on its face. How does a coach (even if he's the greatest coach in the history of WCBB) make that call in that situation?

The Stage: National Championship Game; just under 2 minutes to go; UConn nursing a 6 point lead.

The Characters: (as already noted) Best Coach; 4 of the top 6 seniors in the nation (as determined by WNBA draft position); 1 sophomore.

The Call: Position all 4 seniors (a group so talented even Pat Summitt said she might have to go to UConn's graduation and cheer when they picked up their diplomas) against one sideline; give the sophomore the ball and the entire other side PLUS the lane to operate in by herself.

The Result: 10 plus seconds of precious clock time drained; lead increased by 3 points; opponents senior leader and best player sent to the bench with 5 fouls.

The action starts at the 3:49 mark.

* in case I wasn't obvious enough, by "crazy" I mean "genius"

@EricLA and I had a discussion on this particular game. DT's antic's were a few minutes before the end. Later Uconn was up by 11 or 12. No squeakter, but fun game.
What impressed me more than the game itself was the Energy and Gusto Sherri Coale congratulated Geno and the entire team.
Also, the Passing by UConn was as good as any team could possible pass the ball often 3 quick passes before the lay-up. Sherri, chastised this team in early Uconn games to not allow them to turn into a Uconn Layup drill. Funny, maybe true.
The end of the 2000 Uconn/Vols game in Hartford still gets a question mark from me?? Then Lawson ran around the court with her digit in the air, I dislike her for years over that. Now she one of my favorites.

 

[mbr33ct]

Here's one of Geno's craziest moment. You can tell he's loving it...he's biting his lower lip.

 

[BostonCanuck]

Wish we had seen more in-game tactics like this from the Huskies in the most recent Final Fours. In the post-Stewart era, Geno seems more or less inclined to leave important playmaking up to the players themselves. According to him, our best players have to outplay their best players and make shots, and X's and O's can be overrated.

 

[Essexdave]

Once asked why he decided to play Gabby Williams as a post he said, without the hint of a smile. “ I recruited a guard and when she got here she couldn’t shoot she couldn’t pass and she couldn’t dribble so I put her in the post.” That’s always been a favorite Geno moment for me.

 

[bballnut90]

What's your nominee?

Every now and then I like to watch this sequence again because it is so preposterous on its face. How does a coach (even if he's the greatest coach in the history of WCBB) make that call in that situation?

The Stage: National Championship Game; just under 2 minutes to go; UConn nursing a 6 point lead.

The Characters: (as already noted) Best Coach; 4 of the top 6 seniors in the nation (as determined by WNBA draft position); 1 sophomore.

The Call: Position all 4 seniors (a group so talented even Pat Summitt said she might have to go to UConn's graduation and cheer when they picked up their diplomas) against one sideline; give the sophomore the ball and the entire other side PLUS the lane to operate in by herself.

The Result: 10 plus seconds of precious clock time drained; lead increased by 3 points; opponents senior leader and best player sent to the bench with 5 fouls.

The action starts at the 3:49 mark.

* in case I wasn't obvious enough, by "crazy" I mean "genius"

There really havent been that many close UCONN wins in big moments, especially in the past decade. Not sure if these moments were Geno drawing up a play or not, but some of the most memorable ones include:
-Turner's miracle three to beat Georgia in 2006
-KML's back to back buckets that killed ND in 2015
-Bird's coast to coast buzzer beater
-DT's game tying 3 vs Tennessee in 2003
-DT's offensive rebound in the 2003 title game
-Sales game tying 3 in 96
-Rizzotti's coast to coast layup in 95
-Backdoor cuts everywhere in 2000 title game

Generally speaking, there have been more moments of other teams making brilliant plays to upset UCONN than vice versa. When UCONN wins it usually isnt close. If the game is close, the opposing team more often than not pulls it out.

 

[uconnell]

I was at the UConn v Georgia’s game in 2006 In Bridgeport. Turner was phenomenal. Great game. I think Andy Landers was the coach.