Geno's Extended Presser

[Bone Dog]

Once we start to hear:
“G-d forbid someone should make a free throw”
Or
“I guess everybody forgot to get back on defense”
Or
“Nobody wants to shoot, but that’s ok cause nobody CAN shoot”
Or
“Maybe next game we can have more assists than turnovers”
…We’ll know he’s ready to coach.

Yeah, “Nice” Geno is a little unnerving. I guess CD can pick up the “mean” slack.

 

[Carnac]

..Lou will be much more of an asset than a liability.

...way more, way, way... way more.

At 24 years old, she certainly won’t make any freshman mistakes.

 

[JoePgh]

I like his take on the newcomers. He sounds more like the optimistic Boneyarders than the pessimists.

My favorite line was that when Caroline and Lou are both on the floor, it’ll be really fun.

I detected some sarcasm in his tone of voice when he made that statement (about "really fun" to have Caroline and Lou on the floor at the same time). It sounded like he was implying that in practice, they are competing to make the same plays rather than playing in a way so that one complements the other.

Really, they are very similar players -- similar in size, skillset, and attitude. They both like to be relied on by their teammates to make the big play when it is needed. But because of their similarity, I can imagine that it may be difficult to have them both on the floor at the same time. They may both have the same major weakness: slow-footedness on defense. Apparently Lou also has issues with passing and ball-handling, which she never had to do at Fairfield.

The small forward position has a lot of competition: Caroline, Lou, Aubrey, and maybe Ayanna. Now that Aubrey seems to have a jump shot (a really big deal if she shows it in games), she could be a contender for big minutes at that position. Ayanna is probably more natural as a 4 than a 3, but there is a lot of competition there too (Aaliyah and Ice), but Ayanna is so talented that she has to play somewhere.

As is often the case in these situations, those who get the minutes will be those who play the best defense, and/or those who fit best into the team's offense.

In a way, it's good that Caroline and Ayanna may have minutes limitations in the early part of the season because of convalescence from injuries, so Lou and Aubrey might get more minutes than would otherwise be possible. It would be wonderful if they play so well that Caroline and Ayanna get nervous about their own minutes, and crank up their game because of it.

 

[Bald Husky]

Of course Lou is going to be wonderful. Yes, the D she'll face will be tougher, but it won't all be focused on her. The only question mark for me is whether she can play D up to Geno's standards. That he thinks she'll play a big role suggests he thinks she's picking up the defensive schemes just fine.

If she is rooming with Nika they can fight each other to get to the bathroom every morning. LOL

 

[eebmg]

I detected some sarcasm in his tone of voice when he made that statement (about "really fun" to have Caroline and Lou on the floor at the same time). It sounded like he was implying that in practice, they are competing to make the same plays rather than playing in a way so that one complements the other.

Really, they are very similar players -- similar in size, skillset, and attitude. They both like to be relied on by their teammates to make the big play when it is needed. But because of their similarity, I can imagine that it may be difficult to have them both on the floor at the same time. They may both have the same major weakness: slow-footedness on defense. Apparently Lou also has issues with passing and ball-handling, which she never had to do at Fairfield.

The small forward position has a lot of competition: Caroline, Lou, Aubrey, and maybe Ayanna. Now that Aubrey seems to have a jump shot (a really big deal if she shows it in games), she could be a contender for big minutes at that position. Ayanna is probably more natural as a 4 than a 3, but there is a lot of competition there too (Aaliyah and Ice), but Ayanna is so talented that she has to play somewhere.

As is often the case in these situations, those who get the minutes will be those who play the best defense, and/or those who fit best into the team's offense.

In a way, it's good that Caroline and Ayanna may have minutes limitations in the early part of the season because of convalescence from injuries, so Lou and Aubrey might get more minutes than would otherwise be possible. It would be wonderful if they play so well that Caroline and Ayanna get nervous about their own minutes, and crank up their game because of it.

I disagree. He sounded and looked very sincere to me saying that. I interpret that comment as having 2 players who have the ability to work hard to find and make a variety of shots without fear or over thinking. Geno likes his players confident.

 

[Skeets]

What if Coach P starts borrowing from CD’s wardrobe on the sideline?

Nooooo, no old lady clothes (please note the smiley. If I had gone to Rutgers, there's a remote possibility I might have had a class with CD).

 

[Mdoggie]

Geno didn’t say much about Dorka, Aaliyah, or Deberry. I know Dorka is still recuperating somewhat, but hopefully omitting much mention of the bigs (he did praise Ice which is good) is just because he’s giddy about the guards rather than worried about the bigs.

I like how we are able to read into what he said and didn’t say. Feels good to create your own narrative out of the blue.
He didn’t say much about the coaching staff. I sure hope everything is alright and he is not planning on replacing them. See how that works?

 

[Skeets]

The 5% that Geno is talking about at the end of the presser is BY posters, he is not going to say who. He doesn't want to let them know that he not only reads the BY, but posts as well.

Ha, I'm positive he's not the Deacon or Coco. Sorry guys (or girls). I couldn't resist. OK, you are free to poop on me

 

[Mdoggie]

@JoePgh look at the clip again. You just might change your mind.

 

[Conndog]

I like how we are able to read into what he said and didn’t say. Feels good to create your own narrative out of the blue.
He didn’t say much about the coaching staff. I sure hope everything is alright and he is not planning on replacing them. See how that works?

Geez, just a question

 

[oldhusky]

I disagree. He sounded and looked very sincere to me saying that. I interpret that comment as having 2 players who have the ability to work hard to find and make a variety of shots without fear or over thinking. Geno likes his players confident.

Adding to your comments I think Geno's confidence that both players are willing to look for and make their shots is partly based on when we will most likely see that combo together. That is when Azzi is getting a breather, and the third guard in Nika is more passer/defender than scorer. Having your best scorer/shooter on the bench puts more pressure on others to create shots and Caroline and Lou can do that.

Of course sometimes it will be Nika sitting and Azzi at the point, and the burden of scoring on Caroline and Lou will be reduced. No matter what combination of the main four you put at 1-3, we will have a minimum of 2 shooter/scorers out of the 3, and when Nika sits 3 out of 3. Even when Nika is in, you have a passer to get the ball to the other two shooters, so all combinations look to be very good offensively on paper as long as we stay healthy.

 

[Bone Dog]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Lou in games as much as Nika. I can imagine sets in which both can be useful in different ways, and there's sure to be a lot of overlap.

 

[Carnac]

I would really like for Geno to give us a similar “state of the team” report (to a beat writer) now that practice has started, once a week at the end of practice on Friday or Saturday.

Just a quick 4 or 5 minite update would do. It would keep us informed on the progress of the players and who is stepping up and impressing the staff.

I’m paticularly interested in the progress of the newbies. Depending on who you ask, there are various degrees of expectations for each one. Right now, Geno seems to be very impressed with Lou and Ice.

 

[Carnac]

Nooooo, no old lady clothes (please note the smiley. If I had gone to Rutgers, there's a remote possibility I might have had a class with CD).

Skeets, I’m reminded of the time last year when Randy Rucco and Rebecca Lobo were calling a WCBB game on TV. Rucco introduced Lobo as” that Hall of Famer, old number 50, Rebecca Lobo.”

The first thing Lobo said when it was her turn to speak was “who are you calling “old”? She did not like being called or referred to as “old”, and immediately put Rucco in check. They’ve worked many TV broadcasts since then. On their broadcasts that I’ve seen, he has never referred to her as “old” since.

I’m going to take a wild leap and go out on a limb and bet that Dailey won’t appreciate or find any humor in your reference to her attire being that of an “old lady.” What do you think?

 

[Bone Dog]

There's a video somewhere of a practice session in which Paige pesters CD to wear one of her jackets.

 

[Skeets]

Skeets, I’m reminded of the time last year when Randy Rucco and Rebecca Lobo were calling a WCBB game on TV. Rucco introduced Lobo as” that Hall of Famer, old number 50, Rebecca Lobo.”

The first thing Lobo said when it was her turn to speak was “who are you calling “old”? She did not like being called or referred to as “old”, and immediately put Rucco in check. They’ve worked many TV broadcasts since then. On their broadcasts that I’ve seen, he has never referred to her as “old” since.

I’m going to take a wild leap and go out on a limb and bet that Dailey won’t appreciate or find any humor in your reference to her attire being that of an “old lady.” What do you think?

Hence the smiley face

 

[Carnac]

Hence the smiley face

One small correction to my comment. Lobo’s broadcast partner is RYAN Rucco, not Randy.

 

[Bama fan]

Geno didn’t say much about Dorka, Aaliyah, or Deberry. I know Dorka is still recuperating somewhat, but hopefully omitting much mention of the bigs (he did praise Ice which is good) is just because he’s giddy about the guards rather than worried about the bigs.

I did not hear anyone ask about them, so perhaps he just answered the questions without much improvisation. But I wish he had talked about the bigs too.

 

[Bama fan]

The 5% that Geno is talking about at the end of the presser is BY posters, he is not going to say who. He doesn't want to let them know that he not only reads the BY, but posts as well.

I am not sure that is true. Geno is seldom wrong, and if he does read the BY he knows the 5% estimate is far too low.

 

[eebmg]

I am not sure that is true. Geno is seldom wrong, and if he does read the BY he knows the 5% estimate is far too low.

He was being purposefully genteel. He knows the percentage is a lot higher. We are a stiff necked lot.

 

[CL82]

. OK, you are free to poop on me

 

[TeamFirst!]

If you watch Azzi's Big East Presser interview there was quite a bit of time talking about playing the PG position, which Azzi said was her normal position growing up. I'm just going to come out and say it. Caroline and Lou are going to put up the most shots and if they are as successful as I think they will be it will open up Azzi's game for maximum efficiency. Geno said Azzi can penetrate as well as anyone on the floor. If we are a championship level team, she's our point guard. I think Azzi, Lou and Caroline are going to be getting 25 minutes a game plus and in important games make that 30. My only question is can they stay healthy. Geno has a good interior group as both Ice and Ayanna will contribute to AE and Dorka's interior game. This is a great team with the bigs all working hard and Lou, Caroline and Azzi on the exterior with Nika keeping them fresh.

 

[Gus Mahler]

One small correction to my comment. Lobo’s broadcast partner is RYAN Rucco, not Randy.

Friendly additional comment: it's Ruocco.

Something I've wondered about in recent years: He always introduces Lobo as "the Hall of Famer." When she's in the studio, she's also (at least usually) introduced as such. I wonder if it's in her contract?