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Message: [QUOTE="Huskee11, post: 5321633, member: 7171"] I am not worried about the motivation level for the 2025-2026 team. There was certainly the motivation in 2024-2025 created by the fact that UConn had not won since 2016, and because they all wanted Paige to go out a winner. Those dynamics are missing now. But, winning in 2025 also took "the monkey off their backs" and in my opinion they will play with a great deal of confidence, energy, and freedom. They know they can do it and the nine year burden has been lifted. I also think that the way in which they completely dismantled the other top competition will give them confidence that they know how to win, while the struggles that they had earlier in the season (especially at Tennessee) will be a humbling reminder that it is again going to require maximum effort. They are a smart, well-coached group capable of learning the right lessons. Also, they will be motivated by how wonderful it all felt and how great it will be to have that championship feeling once again. And finally, the immense depth and talent on the roster will create an extremely competitive process for earning playing time and the motivation to play well enough to simply get on the court will have everyone in top shape, motivated and focused. And Geno has many ready answers to any slippage of effort on the court. There are potential pitfalls, of course. In various sports we have seen teams and players get fat and happy and let success get to their heads. It is also always possible that internal competition can create discord and bad feeling. I simply don't see any of that happening on a Geno-coached team, especially given what we already know about the character of the fifteen. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach