If Geno could do it--Why can't any coach?

[wire chief]

The uniqueness of a Steve Jobs brilliance as applied to bball, seeing a totality beyond anyone else.
Though it may be GA/CD synthesis that's crucial.

 

[VAUConnFan]

1. Ariel Massengale
2. No, it was the step-dad. He was actually a mod on the Duke board and liked to trash talk Geno. Guy is a loon.

As with Tracy Lis, your word is going to have to be accepted on both Ms Massengale, about whose recruitment I know nothing ,and Ms Hunter's stepfather who gets mentioned very briefly in In Pursuit of Perfection.

 

[Waquoit]

As with Tracy Lis, your word is going to have to be accepted on both Ms Massengale, about whose recruitment I know nothing ,and Ms Hunter's stepfather who gets mentioned very briefly in In Pursuit of Perfection.

OK, but what point were you trying to make by calling me out?

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Hey Grayjay - I agree. IMHO this is one of the foundations of Geno's success. Geno has said it numerous times--"It is harder and harder to find the right players for UConn." Why? Because Geno/CD have a long list of personal qualities that supersede the BB talent.

What has Tenn., Baylor & South Carolina done in the past year? IMO, They have taken in recruits and transfers based mainly (maybe or maybe not 100%) ON TALENT or ranking!! On this board there have always been arguments about why Geno did not offer this player or that player. Also, there has been head scratching when Geno gives a quick offer to someone with a low ranking (Irwin or Bent.) Only Geno knows.
In addition - only a few posters have emphasized that UConn has 2 great head coaches (unofficially) and a great supporting staff. Geno/CD know that there are a finite number of skills that are necessary to be a champion. Visiting coaches and players see a practice and notice that certain elements are done OVER & OVER & OVER & OVER & OVER. Also, CD is even more relentless than Geno in reminding players about details. DT has made jokes about CD numerous times. She was like a "Chatty Kathy Doll" reminding them over & over & over. Even Dawn Staley has mentioned that she does not run her practices like UConn because she does not agree with the emphasis of repetition-(not at UConn level.) Of course, many visiting players see that as too much work and are not interested. Bobby Knight said, "the will to win is the will to work."
IMHO these are just two of many reasons why coaches don't follow Geno's system exactly. They either can't be that single-minded (they don't have a CD either) or they have their own style. Most coaches are working their butts off. However, PERFECT practice makes perfect. Just working hard does not always do the trick.

A small or not so small demurrer: Most coaches do not work their butts off according to a guy I trust a lot. Geno.

 

[VAUConnFan]

OK, but what point were you trying to make by calling me out?

Prior to your mentioning it as a UConn standard, I had not heard of UConn backing off of a recruit because of an overzealous father and wanted to learn more. There have been many stories of wary parents who were eventually won over, none of which specifically mentioned a skeptical father.

 

[svetbird]

among so many things listed he also changes his system to fit what players he has, not the ones he wishes he had. For all his bluster Geno is completely willing to grow and change where many seem to think they know everything.

 

[svetbird]

Combination of luck and great talent evaluation, along with player development:

1. Uconn was 9-18 in 1984-85 and improved to 12-15 in Geno's first season, then to 14-13 in his second. That serves as evidence to me that Geno was already a good developer of talent.

2. Kerry Bascom came at the right place and time with his mother's unfortunate health, desire to stay close to home as a result, and Geno's refreshing honesty. She pushed the program forward in a way that included uconn's first league championships, NCAA tournament appearances, and first trip to the Final Four in 1991.

3. This F4 bid coincided well with the success of the men's team, what with the NIT championship, the great run to the Elite 8' in 1990, and the unveiling of Gampel. This view of Uconn basketball as a whole on the rise is what Rebecca Lobo says in hindsight she wanted to join and bring to the top.

4. With Lobo, Geno had talent. Now, he had the opportunity to make great talent evaluations. In 19992, what a class he had: jamellle Elliott and Jen Rizzotti.. Any questions there?

5. Another great talent evaluation: Kara Wolters in 1993. Meanwhile, 1994 brought on the first national #1 high school recruit in nykesha Sales who a) got to witness that Uconn was headed in right direction, and b) just happened to live in Bloomfield, CT. Finally, Uconn now also had added two more excellent role players in Carla Berube and Pam Webber. Add these two to Jen, jamellle, nykesha, Kara, and Rebecca, and Geno has assembled his championship squad.

Geno went on to win a national championship in 1995 on the strength of a 35-0 record. Quite a step above 9-18, huh?

From there, Geno evaluates talent, recruits well along with his coaching staff, and develops talent beautifully along with CD ( another reason in herself that Geno does it). That is how he's gone from a losing program to championship to dynasty to "bad for the sport".

His ability to asses talent is incredible. To this day he doesn't sit back and figure he will just go after the number 1-50 recruits. He finds strong pieces (Dolson, Nurse...who are not highly recruited or thought of) and makes them into far better players than anyone thought they would be.

 

[Zorro]

If Beethoven could write 9 (or mebbe 9 1/2) great symphonies, why couldn't anybody?

 

[JS]

Prior to your mentioning it as a UConn standard, I had not heard of UConn backing off of a recruit because of an overzealous father and wanted to learn more. There have been many stories of wary parents who were eventually won over, none of which specifically mentioned a skeptical father.

It's not a skeptical father that's typically the problem, but one who comes on too strong, suggesting a potential for interference with the coaching process. This may be evident from demands during the recruitment or from a track record.

Other teams (I'm thinking Tennessee) have overlooked this factor to their regret. And there are more UConn turn-away examples than just Massengale, but it wouldn't be politic to name names. You could PM me if you want.

Waquoit's interpretation of your tone, BTW, was not unreasonable.

 

[Biff]

It's not a skeptical father that's typically the problem, but one comes on too strong, suggesting a potential for interference with the coaching process. This may be evident from demands during the recruitment or from a track record.

Other teams (I'm thinking Tennessee) have overlooked this factor to their regret. And there are more UConn turn-away examples than just Massengale, but it wouldn't be politic to name names. You could PM me if you want.

Waquoit's interpretation of your tone, BTW, was not unreasonable.

JS. Here's one from the past that applies to this subject. I'm sure you recall the reference.

BTW, In looking for this I found lots of stuff from over the years. Trouble is I can't remember the story behind many of the comics. I'm sure they were all funny at the time however.

 

[Zorro]

Mothers, too, have been known to be mega pains in the arse.

 

[JS]

JS. Here's one from the past that applies to this subject. I'm sure you recall the reference.

Why bless my soul, it's Oldie! Therein lies a tale.

Brittany Hunter's stepdad posted under the handle Newbie. At one time he pursued an anti-Geno campaign on the Duke board, saying he'd badmouth Geno to other player parents. His symbol for "blowing Geno's house down" was a Big Bad Wolf logo.

It was difficult to combat Newbie, because no one wanted to alienate Britt's family by calling him out -- until a champion appeared! Biff created the gif for Oldie, a cantankerous coot whose coughing breath resembled the Big Bad Wolf logo's huffing and puffing.

Except that Oldie directly battled Newbie, subtly and not so subtly implying that the latter was a flake and a blowhard. The tide turned, and down went the Wolf, courtesy of a knock or two in the chops from Oldie's cane.

The Wolf recovered enough, I'm glad to say, that he hobbled out on the court at Britt's UConn Senior Night to shake hands with Geno, and they all lived happily ever after.

 

[Zorro]

As with Tracy Lis, your word is going to have to be accepted on both Ms Massengale, about whose recruitment I know nothing ,and Ms Hunter's stepfather who gets mentioned very briefly in In Pursuit of Perfection.

Nan's word can always be accepted!

 

[Gus Mahler]

This is Kareem's statue at the Staples Center. He basically had to beg for it, long after Magic got his ...
View attachment 11566

I think Kareem probably deserved his statue at Staples. My point was that I don't think there are any statues of UCLA players at UCLA.

 

[Gus Mahler]

There's a statue of Wooden in Indianapolis.

Was there a Nike Swoosh when Wooden coached? [see lower left]

 

[Gus Mahler]

Thanks for the pix.
My tires move so fast I have difficulty reading them--then since I lived in Naugatuck
all tires had to be Goodyear.
Goodrich!!

Just think in 150 years from not the University will be tossing the statue in the pile of discards wondering who or why
this statue was ever erected, maybe sooner!!

Thanks Gus!!!

You're welcome. The pix were from Nan and j66.

Were your tires made of Naugahyde?

 

[Gus Mahler]

Here's the Pauley statue of Wooden (as opposed to the wooden statue of Pauley):

 

[j66kicker]

I think Kareem probably deserved his statue at Staples. My point was that I don't think there are any statues of UCLA players at UCLA.

Ahhh - sorry. Missed that

 

[HoopsFan21]

His ability to asses talent is incredible. To this day he doesn't sit back and figure he will just go after the number 1-50 recruits. He finds strong pieces (Dolson, Nurse...who are not highly recruited or thought of) and makes them into far better players than anyone thought they would be.

Dolson and Nurse were highly regarded recruits. Dolson herself said she had lots of offers besides UConn, Rutgers and Duke are ones that come to mind. Kia was a player a lot of the top programs wanted including Tennessee. UConn got into that game late because they thought she was a year younger than she actually was. I don't know why people keep perpetuating this myth that Dolson was some unwanted recruit ranked #1587th that Geno magically turned into a star when in reality I think she was ranked as a top 25 player by the recruiting services. Kia was already on the Canadian national team when she came to UConn, so clearly she was no slouch and was ranked in the top 20 or 30 of her class though it's tough to place international players.

 

[TroyHouse66]

Depicted here, obviously, teaching the half court game....

 

[hardcorehusky]

Tracy Lis

This is not true. Tracy was the all time leading scorer in the state but Geno felt she would not have meshed with what he wanted. Her father had nothing to do with it. It was a difficult decision to not recruit her as she would have added W's immediately, but Geno was building something and she did not fit in. He took a lot of flack as Lis made Providence a really good team while she was there. In the end, Geno made the right decision and Tracy had a great career in Providence.

 

[Geno-ista]

I think Geno is a coaching savant. I think he has it all. He knows the game between the lines, he knows X's and O's and why various sets work in various situations. He has the personality and charisma to recruit a special kind of person and her parents. He is generally very likable. He is a hard worker at least in that he goes out and sees what's going on the game--the AAU circuit, HS, international, etc. He is definitely a leader. He is driven. He is a communicator and can be a diplomat. Finally, as CD noted in The GA Project (and by others on this board), he knows which buttons to push with which player. He knows the psychology of reaching in and connecting the right wires.

I so very much enjoy watching the maestro perform.

Spot on great post Gus! most of his games, even against the top 10 opponents, are won long before the game is ever played. Conditioning, players with high BB IQ and world class practices and drills. Along with players that are willing to give everything to the program- it's remarkable!

 

[Geno-ista]

I just think you are wrong on this.

Many programs push the players to get in real basketball shape. If you could not pass the athletic requirements, you did not play at Rutgers for many years. Conversation across many fan-bases over the years convinces me that this is standard for teams that want to complete at a high level. It may well vary at lower levels, although probably not as much as we might think.

Every team has a system. Geno's is better than others. His isn't the only one to play "real" basketball, his isn't the only to play with discipline and toughness either. I'll hold up systems at Dayton, Green Bay, Oregon State and generally Stanford as systems that no one should question as "real basketball" and a more accurate description would be that 99% of teams don't play basketball the way Geno thinks it ought to be. Probably because they can't, due to the talent level they have.

In summary, I have long agreed that no other coach than Geno would have the success he has had even with the same talent. However, I'll argue that no other coach would not have improved their record if they had the UConn talent.

These other teams are loaded with McDonalds All Americans every year.what happens The years we land one lower ranked recruit like Saniya Chong or Kelly Farris- what happens to all the top players- they go somewhere- and it's not Uconn.
Geno teaches these kids to play team basketball better than anyone - period.
And he does it like Herb Brooks did it- he's not looking for just the best players, he's looking for the right players.

 

[svetbird]

Dolson and Nurse were highly regarded recruits. Dolson herself said she had lots of offers besides UConn, Rutgers and Duke are ones that come to mind. Kia was a player a lot of the top programs wanted including Tennessee. UConn got into that game late because they thought she was a year younger than she actually was. I don't know why people keep perpetuating this myth that Dolson was some unwanted recruit ranked #1587th that Geno magically turned into a star when in reality I think she was ranked as a top 25 player by the recruiting services. Kia was already on the Canadian national team when she came to UConn, so clearly she was no slouch and was ranked in the top 20 or 30 of her class though it's tough to place international players.

Geno has said (on the Geno show) that a lot of people wondered why he even recruited Dolson, and that she would have no chance to play for us. I know she was ranked but not expected to be the all star player she is. As for Nurse I saw a lot of rankings where she was not even top 50/ I don't think ESPN had her ranked at all. Yes I am sure many would have loved having them but they were not thought of as the game changers they actually are.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Geno had a work ethic instilled in him by an old world European/Italian parents that Americans especially today don't have!
He believes hard work/discipline at all times and in all situations is the only way to live one's life not just in BB!
With CD they set a standard of LIFE on and off the court to hold their players to that other coaches don't do, such as: no nail polish during the season, no head phones when out in public, no visible tattoos, intelligent talk to media & fans, nice to public media & each other, no tweet etc. during season, dress in warm-ups or good clothes when out in public not t-shirts and jeans, intelligent students, recruit individuals with a huge drive and organization in everything they do in their life not just BB, good support at home from parents that don't instill themselves in their child's success, recruit a person with a "take no prisoners" personality, he can take players with "IT" deep inside them and bring it out better than other coaches and really recruit girls that are winners in ever facet of their life!

 

[Woof 101]

Geno started at Uconn an unknown and un tried head coach. Until 1995 Uconn really didn't enter the top level of Women BB teams.
So Geno did not have an extraordinary personality or intellect or even Basketball experience. How did he do it?

I will answer the question but not the poll as it does not include a lot of questions or all of the above. No slander here but Geno & company were on the map and making progress long before 1995. They have been in the NCAA tourney every year since 88/89. In the vain of C as in championship I... C word here.
Candor... Not many have it like Geno, this resonates with players, coaches and fans alike. Of course many would use cocky...
Confidence...Walked in like he owned the place as those with this trait do. Then proceeded to go head to head with............Jim...
Calhoun...This over office space and the signs discriminating between UCONN basketball and UCONN women's basketball...
Clock...Timing is everything and his show began to shine in a decent market. A basketball state and fans that appreciate basketball played so well below the rim and isolation is not in the vocabulary...
Coaches...CD and company and all his assistants that have gone on to success.
Crowds...Again timing with coming to a state that likes basketball and has no pro sports put fannies in the seats...
CPTV... Not much to say here other than UCONN being the first to have their own TV station!
Sure this will not explain it to you but my contribution.... HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

[HuskyNan]

Geno had a work ethic instilled in him by an old world European/Italian parents that Americans especially today don't have!
He believes hard work/discipline at all times and in all situations is the only way to live one's life not just in BB!
With CD they set a standard of LIFE on and off the court to hold their players to that other coaches don't do, such as: no nail polish during the season, no head phones when out in public, no visible tattoos, intelligent talk to media & fans, nice to public media & each other, no tweet etc. during season, dress in warm-ups or good clothes when out in public not t-shirts and jeans, intelligent students, recruit individuals with a huge drive and organization in everything they do in their life not just BB, good support at home from parents that don't instill themselves in their child's success, recruit a person with a "take no prisoners" personality, he can take players with "IT" deep inside them and bring it out better than other coaches and really recruit girls that are winners in ever facet of their life!

know this for a fact, do you?

 

[VAUConnFan]

Prior to your mentioning it as a UConn standard, I had not heard of UConn backing off of a recruit because of an overzealous father and wanted to learn more. There have been many stories of wary parents who were eventually won over, none of which specifically mentioned a skeptical father.

Responding to my own comments regarding overzealous/skeptical fathers in the UConn recruiting process, it seems that problems Coach Auriemma had with Liz Sherwood's father were definitely mentioned in Pursuit of Perfection. However, nothing, absolutely nothing has indicated that UConn ever backed off of or even considered backing off of their recruitment of Ms Sherwood; Or in their recruitment of Brittany Hunter.

Recruiting is a tough gig and Coach Auriemma has certainly expressed a pointed disdain of it, but also deals intelligently with it because of its obvious importance. It is difficult accepting that UConn will back off of recruiting a talented player because of parent issues, and even more difficult believing that Coach Auriemma would find such an issue so daunting that he would choose to just walk away rather than figure out a way of dealing with it.

 

[UcMiami]

Depicted here, obviously, teaching the half court game....

And back in the day when dunking was not permitted in the NCAA - for obvious reasons!

 

[willtalk]

Depicted here, obviously, teaching the half court game....

No he is actually checking to see if the player's put on their socks correctly. lol.

In respect to the thread, while there are many posts that give valid reasons for his success, it is highly unlikely that any other coach will ever equal or even come close to his level of achievement. Even Gino could not do it if he entered as a coach in todays WCBB field. There is too much parity in respect to players and coaches. Geno started coaching when the level of WCBB coaches was not as good and emphasis on WCBB was not as keen as it is today. He was able to establish his and UConns brand at the opportune time. He was the vanguard of the new breed of coaches. Other coaches today are following his example so that makes him less unique. Today he would be competing with more coaches like himself.