Geno's video response to bracket with curious tidbits

[DefenseBB]

of insight regarding KLS, Kia and Meg Walker. While his discussion on Meg hit another thread on her 4th Qtr scoring, what I found curious were his comments about KLS (Lou) and what he has in mind for her to really tap into her upside. I say curious in a "happy, upbeat sense" as it reminds me of his ongoing Stewie observations. I also am drawn to conclude either rightfully or wrongfully that our board debates between KLS and Napheesa continually evolve about who is the better player (stats seem to favor NC) I find Geno seems to favor KLS, much like the prior 4 years where many could point to MoJeff while Geno regularly harangued Stewie as his go to star. Anyone, that was a great interview, despite his chewing discomfort!

 

[UcMiami]

It was a really enjoyable interview with a pretty reflective Geno in very relaxed mood. And yes, he does talk about Lou in this interview and in other interviews in a different way from Gabby and Napheesa. I do think he sees a future Lou that is on par with EDD and Stewart, and has a long way to get to that point but he sees a clear path to it. I think perhaps he has a slightly less lofty vision for Napheesa, still great and a potential WNBA all star, but maybe not a NPOY candidate. With Gabby, I think he is almost afraid of what she could be and saying too much - but he definitely wants her to at least find that level of the ND game on a daily basis - if she can expand out and become a 35-40% three point shooter ... she would be completely unique with no comparable player.

 

[eebmg]

I think we should differentiate between the level Geno prods a player and what Geno thinks of the player's overall ability. I n Lou's case, she is very emotional so Geno likes to push since he can better read and see that he reached the player.On the other hand, it seems to me that Naphessa is just so steady and even keeled that he does not need to push buttons in that way. She is very similar to Morgan Tuck and I am sure he appreciates Naphessa's consistency and excellence just as much as he appreciated Morgan's. He probably feels Naphessa is best motivated internally and subtlety and does not need the direct prodding that Lou may need and want.

Basically, the direct goading Geno does to a player may not be in exact correlation to what he thinks their ultimate potential is. Personality and how the player receives or needs such interaction is also part of the equation. I am not convinced Geno thinks Lou has higher potential than Naphessa especially if she perfects her 3 point game which she is already well on her way to doing

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

I think we should differentiate between the level Geno prods a player and what Geno thinks of the player's overall ability. I n Lou's case, she is very emotional so Geno likes to push since he can better read and see that he reached the player.On the other hand, it seems to me that Naphessa is just so steady and even keeled that he does not need to push buttons in that way. She is very similar to Morgan Tuck and I am sure he appreciates Naphessa's consistency and excellence just as much as he appreciated Morgan's. He probably feels Naphessa is best motivated internally and subtlety and does not need the direct prodding that Lou may need and want.

Basically, the direct goading Geno does to a player may not be in exact correlation to what he thinks their ultimate potential is. Personality and how the player receives or needs such interaction is also part of the equation. I am not convinced Geno thinks Lou has higher potential than Naphessa especially if she perfects her 3 point game which she is already well on her way to doing

I concur with your observation... and believe Geno uses different "tools" with different players. It appears that Pheesa takes things in, doesn't react, and produces pretty consistent results day after day... Lou on the other hand responds to his prodding, needling, sarcastic comments with "I'll show You, Coach" kind of reaction. I'm reminded of a game mid season when Lou had a terrible shoot around and Geno gave her a bad time about it...then she came out at game time and shot the hole out of the hoop (??... If that's a thing???). Lou responds to the "Challenge" put out their by Geno and I get the sense that is what he's going for. I also just looked at the Game Notes for the Tournament on UCONNHuskies.com women's basketball and Lou's combined stats for the last handful of games (Field Goal %, FT % and 3PT % ) are all pretty spectacular... he may also be making the point to put some pressure on her to Stay HOTT!!! With her 20 and Phessa's 20, he knows he starts every game with 40points... he wants her to do that throughout the tournament.

 

[DefenseBB]

As UCmiami points out in how relaxed he was in an informal way, I wonder if those were the usual beat writers that have a developed relationship with him. And in some ways I agree Napheesa is like Morgan Tuck. I don't recall the "jump" in skill and execution from Stewie or Morgan the was we saw it with these 3 but that may be due to the team having KML and Dolson who smoothed the transition in their soph years. I shudder at the thought of similar leaps this offseason for either them and Crystal Dangerfield.

 

[chrissaran]

If Lou stays hot and every one else plays their game, UConn will win. Remember, their game for the other six is really impressive for the four starters, and good to very good to excellent depending on the game for the subs. Crystal has had some excellent games and Nat has been solid of late.

 

[ricky]

of insight regarding KLS, Kia and Meg Walker. While his discussion on Meg hit another thread on her 4th Qtr scoring, what I found curious were his comments about KLS (Lou) and what he has in mind for her to really tap into her upside. I say curious in a "happy, upbeat sense" as it reminds me of his ongoing Stewie observations. I also am drawn to conclude either rightfully or wrongfully that our board debates between KLS and Napheesa continually evolve about who is the better player (stats seem to favor NC) I find Geno seems to favor KLS, much like the prior 4 years where many could point to MoJeff while Geno regularly harangued Stewie as his go to star. Anyone, that was a great interview, despite his chewing discomfort!

He's trying to motivate and get more out of Lou besides the three shot. But when he stated that Collier was "unguardable", to me that says "put the ball is Collier's hands and get the heck out of the way".

 

[Zorro]

Basically, the direct goading Geno does to a player may not be in exact correlation to what he thinks their ultimate potential is. Personality and how the player receives or needs such interaction is also part of the equation. I am not convinced Geno thinks Lou has higher potential than Naphessa especially if she perfects her 3 point game which she is already well on her way to doing

I think you make a good point here; Geno did not goad "Precious" all that much! And she was a pretty good player.

 

[Crossover]

I think we should differentiate between the level Geno prods a player and what Geno thinks of the player's overall ability. I n Lou's case, she is very emotional so Geno likes to push since he can better read and see that he reached the player.On the other hand, it seems to me that Naphessa is just so steady and even keeled that he does not need to push buttons in that way. She is very similar to Morgan Tuck and I am sure he appreciates Naphessa's consistency and excellence just as much as he appreciated Morgan's. He probably feels Naphessa is best motivated internally and subtlety and does not need the direct prodding that Lou may need and want.

Basically, the direct goading Geno does to a player may not be in exact correlation to what he thinks their ultimate potential is. Personality and how the player receives or needs such interaction is also part of the equation. I am not convinced Geno thinks Lou has higher potential than Naphessa especially if she perfects her 3 point game which she is already well on her way to doing

I completely agree. In addition, Geno has frequently complained that he does not know how to read Napheesa. Hard to press her buttons when you don't know where they are. In this respect, her impassive countenance (except when cheering on her teammates or being cracked up by Katie Lou) is a great shield against Geno's barbs.