Good video analysis of the team, nothing people here don't already know

[UCinsider]

"nothing people here don't already know"​

Oh yeah? I didn't know that Ashlynn Shade was "Big Ten Rookie of the Year in '23-'24"!

 

[CL82]

Does Geno have a "better game plan"? I don't think so, if you mean he designs novel plays to use in games. He runs the same plays as any other coach can. In fact, he shares his 'secrets' with rival coaches, invites them to come to his practices. That can't be the difference. Also, like any other coach, he develops a 'scout' to determine how to defend the tendencies of opposing players and teams. This is what every coach does. It doesn't distinguish UConn from any other team

"Game planning" isn't necessarily some sort of "secret play" rather it is matching up so that you utilize your strengths and exploit your opponents weaknesses, while hiding your own. Geno is exceptional at forcing opposing teams out of what they want to do while figuring out ways to allow us to do the things we want to do not withstanding the opposing teams defense. He may well be one of the best ever at this.

You are absolutely correct that Geno has been terrific at showing other coaches how he runs a practice and I truly believe that it has advanced the women's college basketball game. Other coaches have been very vocal about how much it helped them. But none of that has anything to do with the chess match that two coaches do when doing their "game planning" for a game.

 

[Bone Dog]

"Game planning" isn't necessarily some sort of "secret play" rather it is matching up so that you utilize your strengths and exploit your opponents weaknesses, while hiding your own. Geno is exceptional at forcing opposing teams out of what they want to do while figuring out ways to allow us to do the things we want to do not withstanding the opposing teams defense. He may well be one of the best ever at this.

You are absolutely correct that Geno has been terrific at showing other coaches how he runs a practice and I truly believe that it has advanced the women's college basketball game. Other coaches have been very vocal about how much it helped them. But none of that has anything to do with the chess match that two coaches do when doing their "game planning" for a game.

I agree with you completely. This is what I meant by “the scout.” Some analysts talk about him in similar terms to the way Bill Belichek was always described as “taking away the opposing team’s best weapon.”
I think Geno does focus on this, in effect making opposing coaches win with their second or third best weapon.

The thing is, as good as Geno may be at game planning in this sense, it doesn’t really distinguish him from his peers. They all do this, or at least try to. Whatever game planning he comes up with depends entirely on his players being able to, or in my idiom having the will to put it into effect.

Consider the ND game from last season. The scout on Hidalgo was to make her go to her left. Kaitlyn KK and Ash did exactly this and held her to 4 points on 2 for 6 shooting. That was masterful game planning. Unfortunately, they didn’t close out on her at the perimeter quickly enough, went under screens and missed a couple switches and Hannah hit 6 of 11 three point attempts. I think she finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists. In effect, she torched the master plan with a double double.

Of course, lots of mitigating circumstances might be cited — it was early in the season, Azzi was out, we shot abysmally from 3, Jana got 4 fouls in 15 minutes, Liatu King got an easy whistle on over-the-back fouls, etc. Whatever the case may be, a game plan went awry because the players weren’t able to implement it. By the end of the season, game plans didn’t go awry anymore.

 

[CL82]

The thing is, as good as Geno may be at game planning in this sense, it doesn’t really distinguish him from his peers.

Agreed to disagree. He may be the best ever at this.

 

[Bone Dog]

Agreed to disagree. He may be the best ever at this.

I think you misread my remark. I didn't say he wasn't the best ever at this. I merely said that doing game-planning doesn't distinguish him from his peers. They all do it, some better, some worse. Geno may well be the best of them at it. In context, the suggestion I responded to was that his virtue is game planning, not teaching self-discipline, i.e. fostering the will to win. My point is that what he teaches is more important than what he plans, and the ND game is one way to see it. If you disagree with me, it ought to be about this, not something I didn't actually say.

 

[CL82]

you misread my remark. I didn't say he wasn't the best ever at this. I merely said that doing game-planning doesn't distinguish him from his peers

Of course, every coach does pretty game planning. Heck that happens all the way down to the rec level.

Geno happens to be exceptionally good at it, which definitionally does distinguish him from his peers.

Agree to agree?