Great Geno Show

[Ouremblem]

Havent seen one of these in a while, and I missed the first few minutes, but some great stuff ...

• Can't put Stef in low post, because otherwise they double off Kelly's man, and then it's all on Kelly. Only works if all 4 perimeter players are scoring threats. That said, even if Kelly shoots, it still doesn't solve the problem of getting Stef the ball more. ... As a result, they need to move Stef around a lot.
• Kiah needs to assert herself more.
• Buck didn't play because we needed offense. Defense wasnt the problem.
• KML, like most frosh, pouts when things don't go well.
• Bria takes on responsibility to do the stuff in big games. But she also makes too many mistakes. Wouldnt be as much of an issue if she had more help.
• Team does not seem to have a leader. Geno downplayed this, but I thought MPC correctly pushed this point.
• Diggins did foul Bria on late steal; and Doty did not travel on that layup.
• ND's late steal and baseline layup to tie -- Tiff just stood there defensively.
• This is one of the worst teams he's coached at getting the ball into the post.
• Banks has made a lot of progress in practice since Xmas. Geno expects solid contributions from her soon.
• Kelly wears different sneakers because she has bad feet and this was the only comfortable shoe they could find for her.
• Before her wrist injury, Buck was playing well defensively. Wrist certainly won't help offense.
• They have questioned BE head of officials on seeming discrepancy between Diggins/Novosel getting fouls, but Hartley not.

I think BB has to get more playing time in blowouts so we have another guard who can beat quality opponents like Baylor & ND off the dribble like BH does. My other thought concerned LE. She does have nice shooting form, and isn't getting much PT. Why not develop her into a designated 3 point shooting threat like Dennis Scott was for games like Baylor where we frankly have not hit from outside but desperately need to? SOMEBODY aside from Bria has to step up and hit the 3 against Baylor, and while we will lose some quickness on defense when LE comes in, our problem hasn't been defense against Baylor & ND down the stretch, it's been lack of scoring. Why not have her work exclusively in practice on hitting the 3 and then bring her in for a minute or two with the starting unit in games we expect to romp in so she can get some good looks and see what happens? I don't think we can continue to ignore this lack of offense in certain big games down the stretch. LE came to UConn with confidence. I don't know if she's lost it, but this would at least give her a role on this team. She is also strong physically. I don't think shooting the 3 regularly would involve much change in her shooting form.

 

[boontonbomber]

That was the worst Geno show I have ever seen. He was whining about the refs and the spoiled UConn fans....Of course he had his sidekick yucking it up constantly.

good to read your post. after reading the first few posts , i thought i was the only one who felt this way about geno's latest classless performance. ref mistakes are part of the game. it's sad, and wrong, for a coach of his stature to, basically, blame the loss on the officials. the big east should tell him to shut his mouth, and get back to coaching. and, though she wouldn't, the hall of fame coach for the other team should tell him the same thing. the arrogance displayed in his criticism of uconn fans did not surprise me, since it's not the first time. it's a good thing that uconn doesn't lose more often, because geno is one guy who really doesn't know how to handle losing.

 

[alexrgct]

good to read your post. after reading the first few posts , i thought i was the only one who felt this way about geno's latest classless performance. ref mistakes are part of the game. it's sad, and wrong, for a coach of his stature to, basically, blame the loss on the officials. the big east should tell him to shut his mouth, and get back to coaching. and, though she wouldn't, the hall of fame coach for the other team should tell him the same thing. the arrogance displayed in his criticism of uconn fans did not surprise me, since it's not the first time. it's a good thing that uconn doesn't lose more often, because geno is one guy who really doesn't how to handle losing.

And thank God for that.

At least he didn't cancel the most important series/rivalry WCBB because he lost a recruit in his home region. Talk about being a poor loser...

 

[alexrgct]

My problem with his show last night is that he deflected all the blame for the ND loss away from himself. IMO we lost because he didn't manage to give Bria a breather or two, something Muffett did twice for both Diggins and Novocel. All one needs to do is go to the game log and see what Bria did during the last 5 minutes of regulation and in overtime....basically nothing. Whose fault is that?

And to whose credit is it that we were in position to beat an exceptionally experience ND team on the road at all with the team he's got this year? You can criticize something he did wrong, but that requires acknowledging everything he's done right to get to the point of that decision even being a factor in the outcome of this game.

 

[Olde Coach]

I hope I'm not alone in being as disgusted by all this negativity as you seem to be about how a great coach, (trying to protect his players) is a whiner.
Credit him for one thing if nothing else. He answers questions honestly and doesn't give vanilla answers to pertinent questions.Isn't all this Bu----
booing. Read the first post here and learn

+100 Phil.

The Geno bashers need some reality checks.

Tom Brady loses some games. And so does his coach. And so did Michael Jordan and his coach. And they all have made many mistakes along with their successes.

By any objective standard, Geno is the best coach in Women's Basketball: Hall of Famer. Olympic Coach. Winner of 90 consecutive games. Best active winning percentage. Probably has more alumni return more often than any other WBB coach. President of Women's College Basketball Coaches Association -- even though most of the electors are women.

And what is the coaching resume of the folks who are attacking him? Diddly-squat by comparison.

I thought Geno's whole take on protecting his kids was thoughtful, wise, and informative. It was a perfect topic to explore on the Geno show. Most fans have no idea of what Geno's relationships with his players are -- of how much the coaches and players are really teammates. In military jargon --- they share the same bunker and they have each other's back for every day of training, and every game over a five month period (and in many cases for the rest of their lives). The coaches may often have to push the kids -- but it is always tough love and is understood and appreciated by the kids.

I thought Geno was very informative on how difficult it is for the UConn players to "meet the expectations of Uconn fans, and the whole history of the program." It's a tough assignment -- especially for the freshmen.

Geno's 1st responsibility after a disappointing loss is to help his players stay positive and confident. They watch film together. They share fair criticism. And then they go to work and "fix some things" without losing their faith, swagger, confidence and commitments to one another. Last night's game (Providence) offers a lot of proof that Geno and the kids have done some fixing and kept their chins up. (All this while the whiners have been complaining that both the kids and the coaches are incompetent.) The whiners should be ashamed.

The bottom line is that the Geno we saw last night on his show with Meghan is a brilliant coach at far more than the x's and o's of basketball. His success in building character and teaching life skills to 18-22 year olds is really exceptional.

UConn fans should thank their lucky stars every day that an immigrant kid from Italy has grown up to be the head coach of the Uconn Women's Basketball Team.

 

[alexrgct]

I thought Auriemma was really defensive. He has always struck me as one of those ego guys that have no problem dishing it out but can't take any criticism.

I am really getting tired of his "expectations" bull. It's the same old rant about the fans after every loss. Of course the fans have high expectations but if the BY is any indication of fan expectations for this team he would know that most fans were expecting several losses this year and the majority expected a tough go at ND. He needs to understand that fans are going to analyze and comment on a loss. He also needs to understand that some are going to look at the game as a stand alone and the team's record over the last umpteen years has nothing to do with it.

We should take a poll. How many BY fans jumped off a bridge or climbed out on a ledge?

Nice to hear that Buck was not injured for the ND game but it makes it tougher to understand why she didn't get some minutes. I'm not sure I understand the "no offense" label Auriemma has hung on Buck. She has a higher shooting percentage, gets to the FT line about the same and actually produces more PPM than Dolson. She's also a better rebounder.

I won't argue that Geno isn't thin-skinned; in fact, he is.

However, let me suggest the possibility that some folks on the BY are a little thin-skinned themselves. To wit, any time Geno says something about the fan base, there seems to be a portion of the BY that takes those comments personally. I agree that the criticisms he gets on this forum are relatively mild for the most part. There are some odd comments here and there (ones that suggest Pendergrast should have a sit-down with Geno and berate him for poor decisions he made during the Baylor game, for instance), and some that I don't agree with but are less odd (such as whether he should have yelled at KML). But the question remains: is that necessarily the criticism he was responding to? His email address is widely known, and now he's on Twitter, so he gets plenty of comments from God knows who with God knows what level of vitriol and idiocy.

The reason I raise the question is that last spring during NCAA Attendance-gate, the people who seemed to take the comments most personally were not remotely the people at whom he was aiming the comments.

FWIW, Buck did play in the Providence game, but her hand is clearly bothering her. When it gets hit, it hurts her visibly, and it's her dominant hand.

 

[meyers7]

Also, did he mention any four-guard teams who've won the Championship?

LOL!!!

 

[Icebear]

My problem with his show last night is that he deflected all the blame for the ND loss away from himself. IMO we lost because he didn't manage to give Bria a breather or two, something Muffett did twice for both Diggins and Novocel. All one needs to do is go to the game log and see what Bria did during the last 5 minutes of regulation and in overtime....basically nothing. Whose fault is that?

I don't think Geno deflected anything from himself and I think your assumption about the loss and why we loss is completely inaccurate although impossible to meassure either way.

 

[Ruffian75]

And to whose credit is it that we were in position to beat an exceptionally experience ND team on the road at all with the team he's got this year? You can criticize something he did wrong, but that requires acknowledging everything he's done right to get to the point of that decision even being a factor in the outcome of this game.

My point is that he is blaming everyone but himself.

We lost a game. Where is the Quinnipiac Bridge?

 

[boontonbomber]

And thank God for that.

At least he didn't cancel the most important series/rivalry WCBB because he lost a recruit in his home region. Talk about being a poor loser...

so while you're a good coach and recruiter, you can't , also, show a little class when losing ?? there are plenty of good coaches around who seem to be able to be gracious in defeat. but, when it comes to geno, it seems that many boneyarders do not have a problem with his inability to show a little humility,honesty, and class when they lose.

 

[pinotbear]

so while you're a good coach and recruiter, you can't , also, show a little class when losing ?? there are plenty of good coaches around who seem to be able to be gracious in defeat. but, when it comes to geno, it seems that many boneyarders do not have a problem with his inability to show a little humility,honesty, and class when they lose.

no, we do not perceive the"inability to show a little humility, honesty, and class". You speak as if that's a fact: many of us do not agree.

 

[Drumguy]

That was the worst Geno show I have ever seen. He was whining about the refs and the spoiled UConn fans....Of course he had his sidekick yucking it up constantly.

I didn't see the show, but why is reciting facts about officiating whining. He acknowledges ND is very very good, but the reffing has to be even and can make a difference in a game. You have to live with it, but thinking back to last year's loss at Stanford, MM was held on every play and it wasn't called. In the long run officiating evens out but sometimes you have to lay it out there so it gets back to even. Basically you should stop your whining ... don't watch the show if you don't want a homerville view.

 

[Olde Coach]

I don't think Geno deflected anything from himself and I think your assumption about the loss is completely inaccurate although impossible to meassure either way.

Listen to the show again. Geno did say he made some mistakes in the Baylor game (I'm sure) and in the ND game as well (I think).

 

[alexrgct]

so while you're a good coach and recruiter, you can't , also, show a little class when losing ?? there are plenty of good coaches around who seem to be able to be gracious in defeat. but, when it comes to geno, it seems that many boneyarders do not have a problem with his inability to show a little humility,honesty, and class when they lose.

I think it's debatable that he doesn't show any "HHC" after defeats, but even if he didn't, yes, I'd be OK with a coach whose worst trait is that he really, really hates to lose.

He's defended his kids after the ND loss rather than throwing them under a bus. He makes a point of scheduling games where UConn has the greatest chance of losing. He wrote a six-figure check to the WCBA without flinching when it seemed like they wouldn't have funding to start training WCBB coaches on a lot of critical soft skills pertaining to coaching young women. He made a point of recruiting Brittney Griner to try out for Team USA even though a) he didn't need her for the Olympic team to be successful, and b) this experience could only help BG become a better player. So he may react emotionally after a loss, but he's been extremely classy in many, many other ways, and has always done right by the game, not just his program.

 

[vtcwbuff]

The thread isn't about a loss. Contrary to Auriemma's opinion most of us can count and are aware of UConn's record.
The thread is about Auriemma's attitude on the Geno Show aired last night. Nothing new there, but that doesn't make it any less irritating. Why spend half the show whining about bad calls (ever wonder why no one mentions it when the bad calls go UConn's way) and ranting about spoiled, hater fans?

 

[Icebear]

Listen to the show again. Geno did say he made some mistakes in the Baylor game (I'm sure) and in the ND game as well (I think).

Exactly, OC, Geno wasn't deflecting anything and he did hold himself accountable. Ultimately Geno sees himself as responsible for the team as well and for putting them in the right position to succeed. However, he, also, realizes it is a process and doesn't happen over night. These two games were lost in many varying ways any of which could have tipped the scales toward UConn.

As alex said Geno defended his kids after the game noting that others were not taking note of the many things the team did well and choosing only to focus on the negative.

Even in addressing the issue of the uneven officiating he still held the team accountable to figure out what ND was doing different to draw the fouls and then adjusting to mimic that in their own play. In otherwords, take action in response to the officiating to force the officials to even out the calls.

 

[Artifact]

One noticing improvement of last night's Providence game, that I recall, was their was no loud irritating exclamation during the broadcast of the of the Santa Claus scream of ' Ho, Ho, Ho.'

 

[Jonathan Husky]

"Buck didn't play because we needed offense. Defense wasn't the problem."

I don't get this. Was UConn behind the entire game? Doesn't he justify playing Kelly because of her defense? The simple math is, if you can stop the other team from scoring, then you don't have to score as many points to win. Defense and Offense balance themselves. Unless UConn was losing by ten or more the entire game, the statement doesn't make sense.

He justifys playing Kelly because she is the BEST all around player on the team and is one of the assist and steal leaders on the team as well as its best defensive player. You can't remotely compare Heather's defensive play to Kelly's all around play. Heather has contributed more defensively than in the past but she doesn't contribute at all on offense. I also think that Heather's wrist injury is not completely healed.

 

[magic]

Havent seen one of these in a while, and I missed the first few minutes, but some great stuff ...

• Can't put Stef in low post, because otherwise they double off Kelly's man, and then it's all on Kelly. Only works if all 4 perimeter players are scoring threats. That said, even if Kelly shoots, it still doesn't solve the problem of getting Stef the ball more. ... As a result, they need to move Stef around a lot.
• Kiah needs to assert herself more.
• Buck didn't play because we needed offense. Defense wasnt the problem.
• KML, like most frosh, pouts when things don't go well.
• Bria takes on responsibility to do the stuff in big games. But she also makes too many mistakes. Wouldnt be as much of an issue if she had more help.
• Team does not seem to have a leader. Geno downplayed this, but I thought MPC correctly pushed this point.
• Diggins did foul Bria on late steal; and Doty did not travel on that layup.
• ND's late steal and baseline layup to tie -- Tiff just stood there defensively.
• This is one of the worst teams he's coached at getting the ball into the post.
• Banks has made a lot of progress in practice since Xmas. Geno expects solid contributions from her soon.
• Kelly wears different sneakers because she has bad feet and this was the only comfortable shoe they could find for her.
• Before her wrist injury, Buck was playing well defensively. Wrist certainly won't help offense.
• They have questioned BE head of officials on seeming discrepancy between Diggins/Novosel getting fouls, but Hartley not.

I actually enjoyed the show a lot. I'm not bothered by ranting about "us" spoiled fans. I was a little disappointed that he didn't mention Doty and the fact she's not been a scoring threat. Since neither her or Kelly are threats it's really easy to take Steph out of the game. He is showing great loyalty to CD , but it does make it easier for good teams to defend huskies, especially in the post.

 

[Ruffian75]

One noticing improvement of last night's Providence game, that I recall, was their was no loud irritating exclamation during the broadcast of the of the Santa Claus scream of ' Ho, Ho, Ho.'

Are you mimicking the Yuckster? Ahyuck, ahyuck, ahyuck.

 

[S1836]

That was the worst Geno show I have ever seen. He was whining about the refs and the spoiled UConn fans....Of course he had his sidekick yucking it up constantly.

He was not only whining, but I thought he was actually more depressed than I remember him ever being -- disappointed just like many of us.

 

[Husky68]

Why all the hate from Geno on his show? Tell us again about how much money you make. Gee-wiz; a few questions from the press about losing a very winnable game and everyone is the enemy.



How about some reflection on how the individuals and team is progressing vs. where they can get to instead of some snit about fans being spoiled. A lot of fans are knowledgeable and unlike some teams fans, not all Uconn fans have orange colored glasses where we think the coach can not make any mistakes.



You stated how coaches and players (and refs) make mistakes and then refuse to accept any questions about your coaching: in terms of lineups, individual skills improvement, game strategy and in game adjustments.

1. Dolson is not athletic enough to be focal point of offense as scoring center against “good” teams. Her move is “catch and finish”; not something that you can get more than a couple of times a game. Even FD stopped it.
2. Other than Bria, (and Tiff if has open lane) none of the girls are comfortable moving in the open court with the ball; Doty in particular does not make plays and/or passes too quickly up to the deep wing (with little to gain and lot of turnovers) or stops for shot instead of driving; Kelly over passes rather than finishing. Practice their handle and being comfortable finishing themselves where that is the play – this will also help stop all the walks and carries.
3. Heather is best rebounding (especially offensive) and defending center, needs some meaningful minutes. In less than half the playing minutes Heather has 5 fewer offensive rebounds and about the same number of blocks and steals as Dolson. And this isn’t all against scrubs, Heather played a little more than half as much as Dolson against Baylor and had same number of rebounds and one more block and steal than Dolson. Heather is almost shooting 60% from the field (higher than Dolson).
4. How many open 3’s does the 2-3 zone need to give up before you put it out of its misery.
5. Passing offense is good, but the good teams (Baylor and ND) take away the three point line, Dolson covered (can’t get open or comes out real high) which leaves only drives (or Kelly 3’s). 2nd half of both Baylor and ND games tough hand checking took KML out, Bria tried to be one man offense off dribble (Tiff more against Baylor). Answer – Stef (or Heather) in low post, flash Kelly or KML to foul line and let them make plays.
6. Working Banks and Kiah in for real minutes is good. Especially Kiah as PF and Banks for press.

Against anyone other than Baylor, ND and Duke (or real good game by Rutgers/Gtwn/NC) before the NCAA tournament it is unlikely that Uconn will lose regardless of any improvement in play. The Uconn players are that good. So the only time can really judge coaching is in these games and so far it is two losses where Uconn seemed to have the upper hand for much of the games.

Uconn is so good I would expect that a team of Heather, Kiah, Michala, KML and Banks would be a top 25 team and would beat the starting Uconn unit more times than Uconn will lose this year. I doubt Stef eats Heather up in practice, Doty would have her hands full with KML, Banks would dog Hartley, Kiah would be a lot for Faris to handle and would be hard for Tiff to step up against Michala to carry the starting five.



In fact if practice is the most important thing, I’d like to see the Uconn 1st and 2nd teams play each other in 1st one to 11 to see who starts the next game.



Chill out Geno, fans have fun asking questions, Toto is not going to pull back the curtain and expose the Wizard of Uconn and ruin your million $ gig.

 

[pinotbear]

Once again: this board reeaaalllly needs an ignore button.

 

[HuskyNan]

Once again: this board reeaaalllly needs an ignore button.

There is now an Ignore feature. To Ignore a poster, click on that person's handle. A brief Profile will come up that includes the Ignore button.

 

[Ruffian75]

Uconn is so good I would expect that a team of Heather, Kiah, Michala, KML and Banks would be a top 25 team and would beat the starting Uconn unit more times than Uconn will lose this year. I doubt Stef eats Heather up in practice, Doty would have her hands full with KML, Banks would dog Hartley, Kiah would be a lot for Faris to handle and would be hard for Tiff to step up against Michala to carry the starting five.

You gots to be kidding

 

[bruinbball]

Kelly over passes rather than finishing.

Her A/TO ratio compared to her FG % tells me her passing is just fine and probably preferred to her shooting.

 

[Tonyc]

I really liked the Geno show. Picking on the fans I thought was very entertaining and Geno just having fun with it. The replays showing the refs missing easy calls ala Carolines layup and slapping Bria in the elbow both were discussed on the Boneyard and I thought were great and Genos comments about ND fouling every play and showing replays to back it up and all the rest was great to get out in the open. Maybe the refs will take note. Hey The Geno Show is entertainment just think you could be watching Pat Summitt????? LOL That would increase sales of Bayor asprin. LOL

 

[rington]

That was the worst Geno show I have ever seen. He was whining about the refs and the spoiled UConn fans....Of course he had his sidekick yucking it up constantly.

The one thing I think Geno does wrong is to get after the "spoiled" Uconn fans. Many of you know how much blood, sweat and tears we put forth following this team. It is not wrong for a true fan to question something which may make their rooting experience better. He will never know how many real fans plan their work and leisure times to follow his team, nor how much time they spend each day reading about the team in the newspapers and on sites such as the Boneyard.
I have never met Geno, but he seems like a real likeable guy. It is too bad that he, at times, rips the people who support him the most. You know he likes to win(who doesn't?), but don't make fun of the people who want it just as bad as you do.

 

[Icebear]

Once again: this board reeaaalllly needs an ignore button.

There is an ignore button. Click on the offending posters name and when the inset pops up look towards the upper right hand corner. Click on ignore and all sign of my offending posts disappear. Oops.

 

[alexrgct]

If you choose to ignore Icebear, however, you'll lose 40% of the posts in this forum, so be careful what you wish for.