"I Can't Manufacture Any Kind Of Solution"

[HopJim]

Is it the chicken (coach) or the egg (freshmen)?

With all due respect to one of my favorite coaches of all time, all great coaches evolve. Belichick uses new approaches every game, Saban hires new coaches to accelerate offense, etc. Geno doesn't match the frosh to the team, its still Geno 1995. Understand why-unparalleled results but factors do change. Every season and match up different. Not sure he has any downside using a sub with a 30-40 point lead other than admitting he is changing. Had for an Italian from Norristown, PA to do so.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Agreed. They have to play not being afraid to make a mistake. When you play afraid that's when mistakes are made.

Geno isn't playing the freshmen because of a confidence issue. I recall Moriah Jefferson as a freshman being afraid to make a mistake. Whenever she did something even remotely wrong she looked to Geno to see his reaction. He played her even though she was not playing with the same unbridled confidence she had in high school. Apparently she has some talent that warranted playing her for meaningful minutes. I guess she was better than any of today's freshmen. Perhaps the 2017-18 freshmen are one big recruiting mistake. We will find out at season's end. I hope not because in my mind at least two need to step up for UCONN to win the NCAA. Has UCONN ever recruited high school POY who has played as few minutes as Walker has?

 

[Rocket009]

With all due respect to one of my favorite coaches of all time, all great coaches evolve. Belichick uses new approaches every game, Saban hires new coaches to accelerate offense, etc. Geno doesn't match the frosh to the team, its still Geno 1995. Understand why-unparalleled results but factors do change. Every season and match up different. Not sure he has any downside using a sub with a 30-40 point lead other than admitting he is changing. Had for an Italian from Norristown, PA to do so.

I think the question is when did the factors change? As a rule, freshmen have always been challenged by UCONN's system. This year it appears it is taking them a little longer to adapt than normal. If anything, it is likely that the complexities of the system are increasing making it harder to adapt to rather than the freshman changing.

The coaching staff constantly look at changing what they do. The drills and methods they used in 1995 are not the same as what they do now. They evolve, take out or modify what is not working well and look to enhance the things that are working well. If they kept everything the same, they would not be winning national championships. (See TN).

 

[SVCBeercats]

Had for an Italian from Norristown, PA to do so.

ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were the only non-Italian family in an Italian neighborhood in a PA coal town. I loved just observing the older folks in particular. I learned a lot of "sign language." When my father asked me why I ate more often at the Dello's and not my grandmother's, I learn the hard way tack is a good thing and I should not have responded Mrs. Dello's food is better.

 

[meyers7]

I sorely miss the freshman swagger of DT - or even the over confidence of Abrosimova - the aggressiveness of Shea Ralph.
They all seem very timid to me. It's not like they didn't know what playing for Geno would be like. It's not a mystery since he's been in the limelight for years now.

I think that might be Geno's biggest complaint with the bench.

 

[meyers7]

If he recruits a girl that is so unathlethic that she can't see the court in her first two years why bring her here to ride the pine.

I find Kyla to be a leader, knows the system, confident,

I think you may have answered your own question as to why Geno would bring her in.

 

[CocoHusky]

I think the question is when did the factors change? As a rule, freshmen have always been challenged by UCONN's system. This year it appears it is taking them a little longer to adapt than normal. If anything, it is likely that the complexities of the system are increasing making it harder to adapt to rather than the freshman changing.

The coaching staff constantly look at changing what they do. The drills and methods they used in 1995 are not the same as what they do now. They evolve, take out or modify what is not working well and look to enhance the things that are working well. If they kept everything the same, they would not be winning national championships. (See TN).

Meg Culmo, Rebecca Lobo, and Geno himself have been quoted as saying the opposite recently.

 

[JustinesGuy]

I think you may have answered your own question as to why Geno would bring her in.

Yeah. I was responding to another posters point saying Kyla cannot see more minutes because she's not athletic.

No surprise I've been a huge Kyla supporter for almost two years now. I think she can help the team now and in the future.

 

[Rocket009]

Meg Culmo, Rebecca Lobo, and Geno himself have been quoted as saying the opposite recently.

I think that's true at a high level, but on several shows over the years you see the assistants and Geno discussing how to change drills to make them better. In one Geno discusses how the staff are expected to come up with new ideas, and critique what they are doing to always try and improve it and prevent it from getting stale. (I'd point you to the shows if I could remember). I think it was part of the HBO series (maybe).

 

[CocoHusky]

I think that's true at a high level, but on several shows over the years you see the assistants and Geno discussing how to change drills to make them better. In one Geno discusses how the staff are expected to come up with new ideas, and critique what they are doing to always try and improve it and prevent it from getting stale. (I'd point you to the shows if I could remember). I think it was part of the HBO series (maybe).

The UCONN staff most definitely takes the approach of continuous improvement (tweaking) wherever possible.

 

[Twolf]

ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were the only non-Italian family in an Italian neighborhood in a PA coal town. I loved just observing the older folks in particular. I learned a lot of "sign language." When my father asked me why I ate more often at the Dello's and not my grandmother's, I learn the hard way tack is a good thing and I should not have responded Mrs. Dello's food is better.

I, like you, learned about tact the hard way. My parents sternly told me that “tact” was the ability to shut your mouth before someone else wanted to. BTW, tact doesn’t work with certain game officials, and a more direct approach is called for. Knowing which ones are which is always the tricky part of the equation.

 

[HuskylnSC]

The word I continue to hear Geno use about playing time is "trust". Now I would like to know the context of how he is using that. Trust them to do the right thing at the right time with maximum effort. Trust them to do the right thing most of the time?

When I have seen the freshmen come into the game. They have no difficulty on the offensive end. On the defensive end it is a different story. They wait too long to find their man or in transition to find the correct man. Notice how many times Geno has the seconds playing with Kia for a good portion. Kia instructs them on who to play and where to go. And if Kia doesn't do it, you will see Kyla gesturing and telling them what they should already know. Geno has said many times he knows all these girls can score (Saniya was the highest scorer in New York State), they don't know how to pay basketball. When they play basketball every day in practice they can play in games.