I Love Geno, but...........................

[Kevin G]

Unless anyone of us are in the locker room with Geno and the team and with them during all their practices, private or public, then we really don't know the full story. Given that his players say they love him speaks bigger volumes.

 

[Sonny44]

Looks like I took a beating on this one.
I stand by my comments though.
And remember the title was " I Love Geno......"

 

[Adesmar123]

[Looks like I took a beating on this one.]

Sonny, are you trying to make us feel badly?

 

[VAMike23]

Looks like I took a beating on this one.
I stand by my comments though.
And remember the title was " I Love Geno......"

Just because I disagreed with you on this one doesn't mean I still wouldn't buy you a beer [so to speak].

 

[Husky68]

Looks like I took a beating on this one.
I stand by my comments though.
And remember the title was " I Love Geno......"

I stand by my comments also, and I don't love Geno.

 

[UConnCat]

I like this one from Rich Elliott's twitter:

.@genoauriemma was asked what he wanted to see in the 2nd half. His response: ``A game of basketball to break out.'

I don't think that's asking for too much.

 

[FairView]

Just because I disagreed with you on this one doesn't mean I still wouldn't buy you a beer [so to speak].

If we're buying beer with the people we disagree with, count me in. Boneyard Happy Hour would be a fun event!

 

[Tonyc]

Hey Geno dosnt hold back. What he said was little tuff and he nailed it. He dosnt want them to become complacent. He dosnt want them to accept mediocrity and he wants them to understand even though they won by alot they didnt play well enough to beat the top teams. We played a D2 team and werent blowing them out. It was pretty close early on. If we had been playing Baylor Stanford or TAM we couldve been in big trouble.

As far as players performance. Every player on the team shouldve had a good night because as good as Pace is in D2 we are D1 and shouldve blown them away from the start. Shooting 14% from 3 pt range and allowing Pace to hit all those outside shots early on without making an adjustment is unacceptable. Frankly if Caroline and KML dont play againest Holy Cross Ive got to wonder if we struggle if we play like we did in the first half.

When Ive had a bad day on the golf course the golf professionals dont hold back. They lay me out. They tell me I stink, all the bad shots I made and I get a tongue lashing. If you want to be the best youve got to take to face to face hammering and understand its only going to make you better. The reason Geno is so successful is because he doesnt stand for anything but excellence. When he tells you like it is your facing the facts. Thats part of growing, its part of motvation and it lets you know exactly where your at .

IMO weve played to exhibition games and didnt score 90+ points. That bothers me but it also shows me where we are as a team and what we need work on. I said this in another post. Kiah and Stef both have great outside shots. When the team chemistry kicks in with the freshman we are going to be explosive. Yeah and now think about next season when we had the 3 headed monster.

 

[VAMike23]

If we're buying beer with the people we disagree with, count me in. Boneyard Happy Hour would be a fun event!

Virtual beers only! I'm spending my real money on Hoop Streams and HuskyVision

 

[Waquoit]

Looks like I took a beating on this one.
I stand by my comments though.
And remember the title was " I Love Geno......"

I gotta ask, do you make the same post if the coach was talking about a men's team?

 

[meyers7]

i actually don't disagree with Sonny. the 2nd half was much better. my dad was at the game and he felt the same way Geno did about the first half. 2nd half was a different story tho. Geno did echo CD's comments on WTIC after the game tho. having said that, i'm not sure how many of the players actually read Rich elliots blog at this time of the year. i'd th ink they are too busy with school, hoops, etc...

however, it's not t hat i disagree with Geno with regards to his comments, or his ability to motivate players, i just think there were things in the 2nd half that were positive.

But it may not have been what Geno was looking to get out of this game.

 

[Sonny44]

I gotta ask, do you make the same post if the coach was talking about a men's team?

Not sure.
I was referring to the freshmen and the opposing team mostly.
I mean you clobber the other team and you say this wasn't even worthwhile for us - an obvious insult.

 

[MarieM]

pretty sure Pace knew they were going to be beat badly

 

[BooRadley]

Not sure.
I was referring to the freshmen and the opposing team mostly.
I mean you clobber the other team and you say this wasn't even worthwhile for us - an obvious insult.

Sonny,

I read something different into his words.

I played some D1 baseball after I got out of the service. My coaches and managers tended to view the value of our play through the lens of attaining practice goals. In other words, if we spent the time running up to the game practicing five skills and won but didn't perform those skills up the coaches expectations, the game was definitely not a success in their eyes.

I took Geno's comments to be a reflection of the disconnect between his expectation of performance on a set of items repeatedly worked on during practice and the actual perfromance of these items in a "easy" game.
If he accessed the team as having performed in a grey zone, neither showing it's need to repeat the training nor showing it's mastery of the training,,, then what's a coach to take away from the game. Practice matters and any coach wants to see the the effects of the practice in the fruits of good play in games.

Your Ol' Pal Boo

 

[Vowelguy]

I mean you clobber the other team and you say this wasn't even worthwhile for us - an obvious insult.

Not at all. You are completely misinterpreting what he said.

 

[ctchamps]

Not sure.
I was referring to the freshmen and the opposing team mostly.
I mean you clobber the other team and you say this wasn't even worthwhile for us - an obvious insult.

If we focus on the margin of victory then his statement has one meaning. If we focus on degree of execution it has another meaning. Geno's greatest strength is his insistence on perfection. He admits it is also a weakness because he rarely is satisfied with his teams play. His comment was about execution.

It can be argued you chose to put down Geno by stating "sometimes he doesn't think before he speaks" and because he doesn't communicate in the same manner you do he must not have "good people management". Furthermore it could be argued you chose to complain about this in public vs. sending Geno a message. These would be absurd arguments because the consensus is that Geno could handle these criticisms.

I'm aware you're intent is to defend potentially vulnerable people. That is a noble purpose. I can't argue against this. It certainly is possible that some of the players you're concerned about are vulnerable and can misinterpret Geno's intention. We just don't know. But the same argument could be made regarding anyone, including Geno. Our opinion regarding Pat Summit has changed dramatically once her condition became public. Her circumstances indicate everyone has the potential to be vulnerable.

The way I look at your OP is that I think you have some of the same qualities as Geno - an insistence on perfection of execution. In his case its about his players running plays. In your case it's about how we should speak to one another. You have decided that freshmen and players losing in a lopsided game are vulnerable. The comments Geno made, hit you like someone scratching their nails on a chalkboard. When Geno observed sloppy playmaking it had the same affect.

And both of you have expressed your discomfort. He feels justified with what he expressed and considers it important. The same applies to you. You are both micromanagers. The only difference between the two of you is the cause you have chosen. He feels its important to develop players and not only is comfortable with his methods, but will argue the values. You feel it is important to develop players but you're uncomfortable with some of his methods and will argue the detriments. And both of you will have supporters and detractors.

When it comes down to it, applying your protocols most likely would have positive and negative impacts. The reason is that every person has a different personality and each responds differently with various approaches. If you need proof re read this thread without taking it personally and recognize that each person replying to you has developed a unique view of the world with our own variation of how we should think, feel and act in this world. Sometimes these variations create tensions with negative outcomes. Sometimes the variations provide tensions with positive outcomes.

 

[willtalk]

Still, tough to argue with a coach who has the track record that he does. Geno has always had his hand directly on the pulse of his team, and has been pretty good at knowing how to motivate his players depending on their makeup that season....--------------

What would their choice of cosmetics have to do with their ability to play basketball? Unless he feels that negative feng shui might adversly effect team synchonicity.

 

[DaddyChoc]

keep in mind "other coaches" use the same tactics that Geno did here so be careful down the road when you say "geesh she/he is throwing the team under the bus".

 

[Kibitzer]

Geno may have expressed himself badly (in someone's opinion). The players may have played (well, first half). But we as posters can't really feel badly about any of this commotion unless we have lost our sense of touch or are wearing heavy gloves. Feel as bad as you like, though. Especially if it makes you feel good.

 

[Icebear]

keep in mind "other coaches" use the same tactics that Geno did here so be careful down the road when you say "geesh she/he is throwing the team under the bus".

Yeah, but you know what color buses are.

 

[RoyDodger]

Ah, Geno. Such an interesting character. Last February a friend from SF (who now lives in Atlanta) sent me the following:

>>Also, I have a pretty good friend who is a diehard fan of the Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team. She was estatic when they beat your UConn team. She specificially cited Geno Auriemma as the reason she's loathes that team. If I remember correctly, her rant had something to do with his lack of class and humility -- and that Pat Summit can't stand him. I'm just a very casual follower of women's basketball, but he doesn't seem to have a very good reputation outside of Connecticut. It may just be jealousy of his incredible success. I'll have to ask her for specifics, but I'm sure you've heard the stories.<<

My response (slightly edited):

>>Anyone who thinks Geno Auriemma lacks class and humility doesn't know him. We see him regularly on the Geno Auriemma TV show before games on Connecticut public TV. It's hosted by Meghan Pattyson Culmo (who played for Geno in the 1980s). Have been watching him for years and love the guy. He has an unusual sense of humor, but that's all it is. The girls who play for him** love him, even when he rages at them when they're playing lousy. And consider the results. The UConn women have now won 106 of their last 107 games since the fall of 2008.
**The women who played for him in the past rave about him. And they come back to UConn pretty regularly. Incredible players like Rebecca Lobo, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Swin Cash, Renee Montgomery, Tina Charles, and currently the best women's college player in the country, Maya Moore (who is about to graduate with honors). Every girl on the team graduates. When one of his current seniors, Lorin Dixon, was a freshman, she was doing poorly in school. Auriemma, knowing he needed her for the NCAA tournament, sent her back to school at the beginning of the tournament. She missed a couple of games, but got her academic act together. She's now Dean's List as a senior and headed for a master's degree after graduation. To Geno Auriemma, academics is a priority. I wonder how many coaches care that much about that.
Also consider his assistant coaches. Recently, one of his great players, Jamelle Elliott, became head coach at University of Cincinnati. When Cincinnati first played UConn last year, she was welcomed back with love. Her team is playing poorly this year. When UConn played Cincinnati, Auriemma played the subs so that the game wouldn't embarrass Elliott too much. And consider Chris Dailey. She has been Auriemma's assistant head coach since they started together at UConn 26 years ago!! She's had many opportunities to leave and become a head coach. And turned them all down. Can you imagine such loyalty?
Incidentally, Chris Dailey was recently rated the fourth best recruiter in the country by ESPN magazine.
As for Stanford, they are a great team and could well win the NCAA championship this year. They have a great program and a great coach. And they always give the UConn women a very hard time.
As far as I'm concerned, anyone who thinks Geno Auriemma is hateful, is ignorant of the guy and simply envious of his and his team's incredible success. The guy is currently one of the five best coaches in college basketball.
And I have no objection if you pass this on to your Stanford friend. <<