Geno's Greatest Coaching Job Ever?

[oldude]

Long time Husky fans will certainly dispute my premise that this season was Geno’s greatest coaching job ever, as well they should, but I will make the case and look forward to everyone’s critiques.

UConn has a great history of AA guards and wings: Jen, Svetlana, Shea, Renee, Sue, DT, Maya & Mo to name a few. But the strength of all of UConn’s championship teams, with the possible exceptions of DT’s last 2, has been great frontcourt players who played tough defense and rebounded relentlessly at both ends of the court: Rebecca, Kara, Tamika, Asia, Swin, Tina, Steph, Kiah, Stewie & Tuck to name a few.

Geno knew that fact as well as anyone when he told the team before their 1st game, “We don’t have anyone as long as Stewie or as wide as Tuck this season, so we’re going to have to do other things to defend opposing post players.” Geno also knew that he had only four returning players that he could count on and that “big game” experience was also in short supply. When Geno stated clearly on numerous occasions that this team was going to lose a few games, he was speaking the absolute truth as he saw it.

Geno being Geno, he wasn’t going to roll over and accept losses without a fight, so he put together a team of 2 pg’s, one 2-guard (Gabby) & 2 wings, with no true center or power forward. He did his best to develop some kind of a bench, finally got steady play from a little-used senior guard and threw every defensive scheme he could think of at a succession of big, deep & talented teams on UConn’s schedule. Throughout the season, Geno talked about, “Hiding this team’s weaknesses.” For the most part, UConn’s game planning, strategy and execution was flawless throughout the season as the Huskies took down all comers, surprising everyone including their head coach.

Fast forward to Friday night vs MS St, basically the same team UConn blew out by 60 last year. Friday afternoon I watched last year’s blowout again and what I saw was Tuck using her strength, footwork and smarts to prevent McGowan & Okori from getting anywhere near the glass and Stewie roaming the base line to reject shot after shot when one of the Bulldogs athletic wings or guards beat a Husky defender off the dribble.

On Friday night, the Huskies came within one play of beating MS St, but all those weaknesses that Geno, his coaches and the team had masked so brilliantly throughout the season were exposed by Vic Schaefer and his big, deep and talented team. UConn got beaten up on the boards, particularly in the 1st half. The bench provided very little support so UConn was basically limited to their starting 5 on the floor for most if not all of the 45-minute game. Throughout the game and down the stretch, UConn did not execute well the many plays that could have put them in the finals, demonstrating, as Geno indicated that they weren’t “mature enough yet to handle those situations.”

In hindsight, it is absolutely amazing that this Husky team beat the teams they beat to finish the season at 36-1, one play short of the national championship game. IMHO, this was Geno’s greatest coaching job ever. He has set up the foundation for next year’s team and beyond, when the cavalry arrives and UConn will be incredibly talented, big enough to match opponents with size and deep enough to play pressure defense for 40 minutes. It’s should be a beautiful thing to watch.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Long time Husky fans will certainly dispute my premise that this season was Geno’s greatest coaching job ever, as well they should, but I will make the case and look forward to everyone’s critiques.

UConn has a great history of AA guards and wings: Jen, Svetlana, Shea, Renee, Sue, DT, Maya & Mo to name a few. But the strength of all of UConn’s championship teams, with the possible exceptions of DT’s last 2, has been great frontcourt players who played tough defense and rebounded relentlessly at both ends of the court: Rebecca, Kara, Tamika, Asia, Swin, Tina, Steph, Kiah, Stewie & Tuck to name a few.

Geno knew that fact as well as anyone when he told the team before their 1st game, “We don’t have anyone as long as Stewie or as wide as Tuck this season, so we’re going to have to do other things to defend opposing post players.” Geno also knew that he had only four returning players that he could count on and that “big game” experience was also in short supply. When Geno stated clearly on numerous occasions that this team was going to lose a few games, he was speaking the absolute truth as he saw it.

Geno being Geno, he wasn’t going to roll over and accept losses without a fight, so he put together a team of 2 pg’s, one 2-guard (Gabby) & 2 wings, with no true center or power forward. He did his best to develop some kind of a bench, finally got steady play from a little-used senior guard and threw every defensive scheme he could think of at a succession of big, deep & talented teams on UConn’s schedule. Throughout the season, Geno talked about, “Hiding this team’s weaknesses.” For the most part, UConn’s game planning, strategy and execution was flawless throughout the season as the Huskies took down all comers, surprising everyone including their head coach.

Fast forward to Friday night vs MS St, basically the same team UConn blew out by 60 last year. Friday afternoon I watched last year’s blowout again and what I saw was Tuck using her strength, footwork and smarts to prevent McGowan & Okori from getting anywhere near the glass and Stewie roaming the base line to reject shot after shot when one of the Bulldogs athletic wings or guards beat a Husky defender off the dribble.

On Friday night, the Huskies came within one play of beating MS St, but all those weaknesses that Geno, his coaches and the team had masked so brilliantly throughout the season were exposed by Vic Schaefer and his big, deep and talented team. UConn got beaten up on the boards, particularly in the 1st half. The bench provided very little support so UConn was basically limited to their starting 5 on the floor for most if not all of the 45-minute game. Throughout the game and down the stretch, UConn did not execute well the many plays that could have put them in the finals, demonstrating, as Geno indicated that they weren’t “mature enough yet to handle those situations.”

In hindsight, it is absolutely amazing that this Husky team beat the teams they beat to finish the season at 36-1, one play short of the national championship game. IMHO, this was Geno’s greatest coaching job ever. He has set up the foundation for next year’s team and beyond, when the cavalry arrives and UConn will be incredibly talented, big enough to match opponents with size and deep enough to play pressure defense for 40 minutes. It’s should be a beautiful thing to watch.

Just an opinion, no facts, observation---I think Maya's final year was great--this team had 4--as it became 5--talented kids 2 Soph, 2 Jr, 1 Sr---some say YOUNG but many successful teams have lineups like this--albeit with as supporting cast--or at least one the Coach would play--Miss St--as running players in and out all game--fouls were not a concern.
In Maya's final game (I believe she made 36 points) she had no help. This year the Talent and at this time of the year--experience--and 6 (or 7) players to use. Maya was nearly alone.
I guess with overall in either case Geno masked the weakness (but nearly everyone knew : no bench, fouls) in either team.

 

[BostonCanuck]

I would agree unconditionally if you included only everything up until Friday night. If you include Friday night, then the assessment becomes more complicated, as Geno's performance during the semi-final was far from his finest hour. Like anyone, Geno has strengths and weaknesses. And what we saw during games like FSU, Baylor and now MSU, is that late in-game coaching when the score is close is a skill that Geno could improve on. These situations call for more than just the pushing of emotional buttons, such as "Win this game for us, Crystal!" They require the timely and proper emphasis of fit for purpose tactics around things like controlling game tempo, timing on fouls to give, and shot clock management. He needs to be actively shepherding his team to victory, instead of sitting back to see if they can apply the things they've learned in practice more or less on their own.

The bigger picture here is that Geno and his staff need to go back and reassess their overall approach to the game. The formula for beating UConn is now out there, laid bare for all to see. You slow game pace down to limit the number of their offensive possessions, and you use pressure defense against the guards in particular to pin them up near the center line, and disrupt the perimeter passing game. Every team, especially the good ones, are going to be using this formula against UConn next year. Geno needs to recognize this, and come up with countermeasures. It won't be hard. Look, I'm a huge believer that a passing offense is better than a dribble offense, but it has its limits. UConn players need to be encouraged to further develop their one-on-one skills, so that when needed, they can also play the type of game that South Carolina used last night to dismantle Mississippi State.

 

[oldude]

I would agree unconditionally if you included only everything up until Friday night. If you include Friday night, then the assessment becomes more complicated, as Geno's performance during the semi-final was far from his finest hour. Like anyone, Geno has strengths and weaknesses. And was we saw during games like FSU, Baylor and now MSU, late in-game coaching when the score is close is a skill that Geno could improve on. These situations call for more than just the pushing of emotional buttons, such as "Win this game for us, Crystal!" They require the timely and proper emphasis of specific tactics fit for purpose, around things like game tempo, fouls to give, and shot clock management. He needs to be actively shepherding his team to victory, instead of sitting back to see if they can apply the things they've learned in practice more or less on their own.

The bigger picture here is that Geon and his staff need to go back and reassess their overall approach to the game. The formula for beating UConn is now out there, laid bare for all to see. You slow game pace down to limit their offensive possessions, and you use pressure defense against the guards in particular to pin them up near the center line, and disrupt their perimeter passing game. Every team, especially the good ones, are going to be using this formula against UConn next year. Geno needs to recognize this, and come up with countermeasures. It won't be hard. Look, I'm a huge believer that a passing offense is better than a dribble offense, but it has its limits. UConn players need to be encouraged to develop their one-on-one skills a little more, so they can also play the type of game that South Carolina used last night to dismantle Mississippi State.

Excellent post. Thinking back to the HBO episode when UConn struggled to execute in practice their "last shot" with 10 seconds on the clock, it was in fact a foreshadowing of the last offensive play vs MS St.

If you recall Geno talked about it all comes down to "players making plays this time of year." I suspect that those words were in Saniya's head when she drove to the basket in OT.

 

[VAUConnFan]

1. 2003 - UConn loses its best recruiting class and wins the NC while losing just one game during the season with Diana Taurasi, Jessica Moore, Ashely Battle, Maria Conlon, and three freshmen.
2. 2006 - almost gets to the Final Four with an extremely young team and no established go to player.
3. This year's team. Very few of anyone expected this team to enter the tournament undefeated and the overall #1 seed.

Still, very diffficult to argue against the OP's well stated opinion.

 

[Wally East]

Huh. I opened this thread expecting to read about the 1991 season. No respect for the past

THAT was Geno's greatest coaching job. No question. One blue chipper + a bunch of regionally recruited players went to the Final Four and were a couple of lousy calls on Kerry Bascom away from beating Virginia and going to the title game.

Taking a team full of high school All-Americans, including one rated #1, to the Final Four, regardless of experience? A cake walk compared to '91

 

[VAUConnFan]

When Coach Auriemma did more with less:
1. 2003 - UConn loses its best recruiting class and wins the NC while losing just one game during the season with Diana Taurasi, Jessica Moore, Ashely Battle, Maria Conlon, and three freshmen.
2. 2006 - almost gets to the Final Four with an extremely young team and no established go to player.
3. This year's team. Very few if anyone expected this team to enter the tournament undefeated and the overall #1 seed. It is not Coach Auriemma's best job because, at season's end, he put 3 All Americans on the floor. The 2006 team had no All Americans and the 2003 team had one 1st Team All Big East player(Taurasi) and one 3rd Teamer(Strother).

Still, very diffficult to argue against the OP's well stated opinion.

 

[oldude]

Huh. I opened this thread expecting to read about the 1991 season. No respect for the past

THAT was Geno's greatest coaching job. No question. One blue chipper + a bunch of regionally recruited players went to the Final Four and were a couple of lousy calls on Kerry Bascom away from beating Virginia and going to the title game.

Taking a team full of high school All-Americans, including one rated #1, to the Final Four, regardless of experience? A cake walk compared to '91

Really appreciate the post. Like many fans, I got hooked on UConn WBB in 95. I suspected that Geno and CD pulled off some miracles back when getting great basketball players to come to Storrs was sort of like convincing surfers to move to Kansas.

 

[UcMiami]

Oldude - nice OP.
I also think back to Geno talking about teams he has taken to the FF that were not ready to win it all. Sometimes they have anyway, but usually the result is the one we had this year. People can talk about coaching or players, but I think it primarily comes down to experience as a team. Stef and Bria as freshmen and sophomores weren't experienced enough even with the (one of the) ultimate go to senior on their first team in Maya. Diana as a freshman wasn't enough combined with the TASS to prevail when they lost their senior leadership. And 91 both coaches and players were sort of in awe. 2008 freshman Maya and sophomore Tina just not ready. And this year even fabulous Gabby and Kia with the super sophs weren't quite there.
The one exception to that is 1996 - missing Lobo, but with enough experience and leadership that you couldn't use not being ready as an excuse - Geno described that game as just being TN's turn - Uconn had beaten them three in a row, and now it was their turn (in OT)

I agree - masterful coaching job. Incredible performance by the team. One step too far given their experience.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Huh. I opened this thread expecting to read about the 1991 season. No respect for the past

THAT was Geno's greatest coaching job. No question. One blue chipper + a bunch of regionally recruited players went to the Final Four and were a couple of lousy calls on Kerry Bascom away from beating Virginia and going to the title game.

Taking a team full of high school All-Americans, including one rated #1, to the Final Four, regardless of experience? A cake walk compared to '91

One thing I will say is that the quality of women's basketball has shot up astronomically in the past 25 years. There are so many gifted players now compared to what we saw back then and that also applies to women's recruiting services. There may have been a couple of women on that team that were simply overlooked because they were local kids who never were seen by scouting services. It was easier to find a diamond in the rough back then, I'm sure. In no way do I want to diminish what Geno and Chris have built and how it started, though.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Oldude - nice OP.
I also think back to Geno talking about teams he has taken to the FF that were not ready to win it all. Sometimes they have anyway, but usually the result is the one we had this year. People can talk about coaching or players, but I think it primarily comes down to experience as a team. Stef and Bria as freshmen and sophomores weren't experienced enough even with the (one of the) ultimate go to senior on their first team in Maya. Diana as a freshman wasn't enough combined with the TASS to prevail when they lost their senior leadership. And 91 both coaches and players were sort of in awe. 2008 freshman Maya and sophomore Tina just not ready. And this year even fabulous Gabby and Kia with the super sophs weren't quite there.
The one exception to that is 1996 - missing Lobo, but with enough experience and leadership that you couldn't use not being ready as an excuse - Geno described that game as just being TN's turn - Uconn had beaten them three in a row, and now it was their turn (in OT)

I agree - masterful coaching job. Incredible performance by the team. One step too far given their experience.

Great points, indeed. I sure would have liked to have seen them have a shot at South Carolina, though. Never will be a big Dawn Staley fan. I think their loss Friday just had to do with matchups for this Huskie team. We played a Mississippi team playing "their perfect game" while we struggled and probably choked a bit. I do, however, like the tenacity the team showed in getting back into the game despite playing anything close to their "A" game.

 

[JoePgh]

I would agree unconditionally if you included only everything up until Friday night. If you include Friday night, then the assessment becomes more complicated, as Geno's performance during the semi-final was far from his finest hour. Like anyone, Geno has strengths and weaknesses. And what we saw during games like FSU, Baylor and now MSU, is that late in-game coaching when the score is close is a skill that Geno could improve on. These situations call for more than just the pushing of emotional buttons, such as "Win this game for us, Crystal!" They require the timely and proper emphasis of fit for purpose tactics around things like controlling game tempo, timing on fouls to give, and shot clock management. He needs to be actively shepherding his team to victory, instead of sitting back to see if they can apply the things they've learned in practice more or less on their own.

The bigger picture here is that Geno and his staff need to go back and reassess their overall approach to the game. The formula for beating UConn is now out there, laid bare for all to see. You slow game pace down to limit the number of their offensive possessions, and you use pressure defense against the guards in particular to pin them up near the center line, and disrupt the perimeter passing game. Every team, especially the good ones, are going to be using this formula against UConn next year. Geno needs to recognize this, and come up with countermeasures. It won't be hard. Look, I'm a huge believer that a passing offense is better than a dribble offense, but it has its limits. UConn players need to be encouraged to further develop their one-on-one skills, so that when needed, they can also play the type of game that South Carolina used last night to dismantle Mississippi State.

The countermeasures were in evidence at the end of the 2nd quarter and the beginning of the third quarter, when UConn put on a 27-10 run. At the beginning of the second half, their shooting was over 50%. The fact that the game was close from the middle of the third quarter to the end was (I think) mainly the result of foul trouble for Napheesa and Gabby, coupled with perhaps some fatigue and some nerves as they realized what was at stake. I don't think that it invalidates the pass-based offensive approach at all, but it may take some specific coaching in how to combat what MSU was doing. Next year, if they face the same kind of defense with more experience and maturity (not to mention more depth in the front court), I expect that it will be a completely different story.

I certainly would not like to see UConn go to a one-on-one based offense to counter this kind of defense, and I don't think that will happen while Geno is at the helm.

 

[JoePgh]

One thing I will say is that the quality of women's basketball has shot up astronomically in the past 25 years. There are so many gifted players now compared to what we saw back then and that also applies to women's recruiting services.

Geno commented on this a couple of months ago. Basically he said that the individual talent and skills have never been better among the high school population, but the 5-on-5 skills have never been worse. Players never learn to play as a team either in high school or in AAU, and have to be taught the very basics of that when they get to college, even if they are quite gifted.

But UConn seems to be recruiting players who at least WANT to learn to play as a team, and that is probably more than half the battle.

I will be interested to see if the uber-talented Tennessee team next year will be successful, since I doubt that they will learn to play as a team, and since they chose to come to Tennessee with that coaching situation, there is reason to doubt if they even want to learn that.

BTW, this does not just apply to basketball. There was a front-page article in yesterday's New York Times about how baseball players coming out of high school into the professional ranks are great with power hitting and power pitching, but they have no clue about team skills such as running the bases, tagging runners properly, throwing to the right base, etc. That is because skills like those will not get them a scholarship or a major league contract, but a 95 mph fastball or a home run swing will get them those things.

 

[BostonCanuck]

The countermeasures were in evidence at the end of the 2nd quarter and the beginning of the third quarter, when UConn put on a 27-10 run. At the beginning of the second half, their shooting was over 50%. The fact that the game was close from the middle of the third quarter to the end was (I think) mainly the result of foul trouble for Napheesa and Gabby, coupled with perhaps some fatigue and some nerves as they realized what was at stake. I don't think that it invalidates the pass-based offensive approach at all, but it may take some specific coaching in how to combat what MSU was doing. Next year, if they face the same kind of defense with more experience and maturity (not to mention more depth in the front court), I expect that it will be a completely different story.

I certainly would not like to see UConn go to a one-on-one based offense to counter this kind of defense, and I don't think that will happen while Geno is at the helm.

I agree with everything in your post. I did not mean to imply that the team move to a dribble and one-on-one BASED offense. Rather, we need a larger toolbox so that there are more options the team is comfortable deploying when the situation calls for it.

Things were looking great in the third quarter. As we inched ahead, I for one was sure that, hey, we got this. But the game was lost in the forth quarter and in OT, when game play reverted to the patterns of the first half. As bad as Pheesa was over the course of the entire game, our guard play in the forth quarter may actually have been worse. All three of our guards were totally unprepared for what MSU did to them on defense, and seemed to lack the awareness and skills needed to counteract it.

 

[VidNick]

Geno has won 9 of his 11 Championships on the backs of Superstars (Taurasi, Moore, Stewart). These players were (are) head and shoulders above just about every player in the world. EDD would have just added to the riches Uconn has enjoyed. There are only a few (Parker, Catchings, Griner,EDD) comparable players in the past 15 years. As Geno said: "I have Di and you don't"

As a Uconn grad and fan I watch the women because I love how they play the game. They do it like the old Celtics, the Warriors and Spurs. Some years more than others. To me this is Geno's greatest talent. This year's team was about as much fun to watch as any I can remember. The sum was much greater than the parts. To say they were not mature enough to win the title is a cop out. They needed a little bit of real on the fly coaching the other night. Sometimes just a timeout is needed to settle people down. On the Olympic team Taurasi told Geno: "sometimes you need to draw up a play".

Over the years I have been surprised by the lack of on the fly X's and O's in the few situations that Uconn has been challenged. I don't think it is a coincidence they have lost most of the close/OT games they have played.

The good news is that if Uconn had better in the moment coaching the other night, the Stanford game a few years ago and several Notre Dame games in Stewies 1st year, Uconn might have a 5 or 6 year winning streak and even more people would dislike the program and say it was bad for the game.

 

[GoUconn7961]

2004
4 losses on the season
National Championship

 

[Aluminny69]

One disappointment has been the lack of development of Natalie Butler. How much is Geno's responsibility? Obviously, I have no way of knowing. At the beginning of the season, several posters felt that Nat's development was critical to the success of the team. She definitely would have helped. During the six minutes that she did play, the lead shrunk from 13 points to eight at the half. For me, Nat's problem is bringing the ball down to her waist when she rebounds, or receives a pass. The coaches have had three years to work on that, with not a lot of success. Again, I don't know how much of that is due to Natalie's athleticism, and she has developed, just not enough to be trusted in critical situations. But certainly part of this rests with Geno. Just my very humble opinion. Feel free to disagree.

BTW, I don't see Natalie getting a lot of minutes next year, unless there is a drastic change.

 

[VidNick]

Natalie has had very few meaningful minutes here entire time at Uconn. Prior to the other night she had no meaningful minutes in the tournament. How can a player develop under those circumstances. I would have liked to see her in the game trying to counter their size advantage. Conversely, Crystal Dangerfield slowed our offense to a crawl when she was in the game and played her usual poor defense, yet she got significant minutes, as she has all year.

 

[BostonCanuck]

One disappointment has been the lack of development of Natalie Butler. How much is Geno's responsibility? Obviously, I have no way of knowing. At the beginning of the season, several posters felt that Nat's development was critical to the success of the team. She definitely would have helped. During the six minutes that she did play, the lead shrunk from 13 points to eight at the half. For me, Nat's problem is bringing the ball down to her waist when she rebounds, or receives a pass. The coaches have had three years to work on that, with not a lot of success. Again, I don't know how much of that is due to Natalie's athleticism, and she has developed, just not enough to be trusted in critical situations. But certainly part of this rests with Geno. Just my very humble opinion. Feel free to disagree.

BTW, I don't see Natalie getting a lot of minutes next year, unless there is a drastic change.

Couldn't agree more about Natalie. Such a shame she was unable to provide meaningful minutes when Geno was compelled to sit Pheesa, but the two MSU bigs kept right on bagging rebounds and scoring in the paint.

But I don't fault Geno. Player development is one area where he is the indisputable master. Nat apparently had a very solid season just before she transferred to UConn. I never saw her play then, so that perhaps limits my insight. But I strongly suspect that she has maxed out and unfortunately is not going to get much better. Her conditioning was much improved this year, but, she just does not have the hands and body control. She sure gave us some great minutes in some earlier games this year, though. That and the determination she showed all year makes her a difference maker to celebrate.

 

[Carnac]

Friday's loss mirrored the Stanford loss back in 2014.

• A 2 point loss in overtime.
• Big shots (Orrange/William) were made by the opponent to win the game.
• 1 more basket of free throw in regulation wins the game for UConn, making overtime unnecessary.
• UConn helped their opponent win. UConn did not bring their "A" game.
• When UConn did get a lead, they could not hold it.

The stage was just as big for MSST as it was for UConn. This was their first trip for all of their players. IMO, it just came down to resolve. Who wanted it more, and how much were they willing to fight for it. Geno told them at the beginning of the year, it was going to be a dog fight. At some point in the season, they were going to meet a team that wanted what they had, and would be willing to do everything they could to take it from them. Geno said all year: "If we bring our "A" game, no one will beat us". He was right. The first time this season they didn't, they lost.

No doubt those lectures came to mind as our girls sat in the locker room in tears after the game. 2016-2017 was a good run for UConn, but it wasn't their year. The returning members will take this lesson in stride (remembering the gut wrenching feeling of losing a BIG one), and carry the lessons learned to next season. As I watched the championship game yesterday.

I couldn't help but wondering why MSST could not have had the game against UConn that they did against SC. Morgan William was so ineffective yesterday, she did not play in the 4th quarter. All of the returning UConn members will no doubt learn from the experience of going that far in the national tournament, and that experience will serve them well next season. All good things must come to an end. Next season's team can begin the season without the pressure of extending a win streak, and just go about their business of winning games, one at a time. I have a feeling that this time next year, UConn Nation will be celebrating another NC, as this team lives up to ALL of they hype and expectation.

 

[Bayareahusky]

Also interesting that score was exactly the same I think as one of the other great upsets in NCAA history, Villanova over Georgetown in 1985 66-64

 

[oldude]

One thing I will say is that the quality of women's basketball has shot up astronomically in the past 25 years. There are so many gifted players now compared to what we saw back then and that also applies to women's recruiting services. There may have been a couple of women on that team that were simply overlooked because they were local kids who never were seen by scouting services. It was easier to find a diamond in the rough back then, I'm sure. In no way do I want to diminish what Geno and Chris have built and how it started, though.

Following up on your post, one thing I've been struck by this season is both the quality and quantity of big, talented post players in WBB. I knew that top teams like ND, MD, TX, tOSU, MSU, SC and Baylor had exceptional post players, but when you start looking around the country many 2nd tier teams have one or more talented posts 6'4" or better. Teams like KSU, Duke, NC, TN, SMU and just about every team in the Pac12 have BIGS who can play.

Oregon wasn't even on my radar until after they stunned MD, but there they were in the Elite 8 game vs the Huskies with a pair of talented freshmen starters at 6'4" & 6'5".

I think we've reached a transitional point in WBB where any team is going to need 1 and probably 2 or more big, athletic post players to win a national championship.

As for UConn, they will always get their share of talented guards and wings that Geno will turn into AA's and WNBA stars, but the recruiting battle for bigs is going to determine who wins championship. Over the next few seasons UConn should be well stocked with Z, Batouly & Charli Collier, but it sure would have been nice if Wilson and/or Cox had decided to come to Storrs.

 

[UcMiami]

On lack of Xs and Os specific to this game - hmmm, down by 16, adjustments and take the lead. Those close losses and overtime losses strike me more as players making plays or not - Gabby for all her brilliance against MSS missed a series of driving layups - one of the things that has amazed me is how good she is at making shots off the glass from every angle imaginable and making them at incredibly high percentages. Napheesa as well. And Uconn shooting 68% on FTs vs. a yearly average of 78%

Strategically - Uconn's whole offense for 36 games used Gabby at the high post to relieve pressure (and sometimes Napheesa) because she was invariably given some space by slower centers and forwards. MSS decided to play tight and contest that pass, and at 6'7 McCowan was able to get a few steals on those specific passes. They may have given up a few more drives because of that, but with everyone else locked in and very active defensively it was effective in disrupting the Uconn flow on offense.

 

[oldude]

As good as this team was, they really didn't have anyone like DT or Maya (who does?) who could just take the ball and score. I'm hoping that Megan Walker becomes that player next year or soon thereafter.

 

[Big Mick]

..... To say they were not mature enough to win the title is a cop out. They needed a little bit of real on the fly coaching the other night. Sometimes just a timeout is needed to settle people down. On the Olympic team Taurasi told Geno: "sometimes you need to draw up a play".

Over the years I have been surprised by the lack of on the fly X's and O's in the few situations that Uconn has been challenged. I don't think it is a coincidence they have lost most of the close/OT games they have played.

The good news is that if Uconn had better in the moment coaching the other night, the Stanford game a few years ago and several Notre Dame games in Stewies 1st year, Uconn might have a 5 or 6 year winning streak and even more people would dislike the program and say it was bad for the game.

Have to totally agree with your assessment.

It is a copout to say that this team wasn't mature enough to win that game. We had 3 legitimate All Americans, a point guard with more experience than the rest in WCBB and two other guards in the top echelon. What other team comes close?

In the end it came down to Geno and as VidNick points out Geno doesn't do plays for the game situation. In a tie game, possession UCONN and with 26.8 seconds on the clock, the play was to hold the ball for one shot for the win OR take the second 5 minute OT. Simple! What did we get: play on instinct and go for the score when the opportunity presents. Yep, the opportunity presented at 17 seconds and when that failed there was only ever going to be one ending after that. Granted, William made the perfect defensive play: she was picked off by Nurse and instead of trying to fight through the pick, she dashed behind to the rim on the weak-side AND arrived there before Chong. Truly magnificent defensive anticipation. As everyone in the building and watching at home knows, there was never going to be a blocking call in that situation. That result though, reinforces the need for Xs and Os in those situations.

I think in the end that the team trusted Geno more than Geno trusted the team.