Inês article

[Tonyc]

For Ines she is young and perhaps can be developed the way Geno does it. Fundamentals are the key to any sport. How to execute properly is very important. Ines is young and Geno has time to bring her along and teach her the right way to do things.

 

[Skeets]

I've been wondering about a 17-year-old European coming to the US for college. I think that's unusual -- they're usually 19, maybe 18. I'm wondering if she's exceptionally bright (skipped a year) or otherwise leaving high school a year early.

Svet was very young too.

 

[Jc718]

Svet was very young too.

Yeah, Svet was 17 her entire freshman season. Didn’t turn 18 until the July before her sophomore year.

 

[JellyBean]

Thanks for sharing the article. I am loving this kid already! She likes to push the ball up the court and can shoot. Hmmm. Should be interesting. I like what I saw on YouTube (Croatia vs Portugal). I like her pace and her defense isn't that bad. That European experience is going to be nice for the program. I just hope that she doesn't lose that confidence and just plays freely.

 

[Bigboote]

Yeah, Svet was 17 her entire freshman season. Didn’t turn 18 until the July before her sophomore year.

Thank you and the others who have enlightened me. There’s obviously variability in Europe just as there is in the US.

 

[Carnac]

There's no excuse for most of those misses. Watch Bueckers and Fudd around the basket. They both developed a tear drop and are also deadly kissing high off the glass with various ball spins. KML also had an assortment of dipsy-doo shots that seemed to always go in.
I suspect that it's a skill that requires thousands of shots to master and not every player is that dedicated.

When my son was a girls assistant JV basketball coach at their local high school, sometimes I would go to their practices to watch.

I was puzzled why so many players were missing lay-ups while running a lay-up line. After getting permission from the coach to share an observation with his girls, I told them I noticed that too many of them were missing the easiest shot they could get in a game.

I told them they were not taking the drill seriously. I asked them “how do you expect to make a lay-up with all the pressure that comes when playing a game, not to mention someone trying to prevent you from making the basket, when you can’t make a simple easy no pressure lay-up in a lay-up line”? They stopped taking the shot for granted, and started making more of them. I reminded them “you play as you practice.”

 

[Zarathustra]

If you like fantastic " dimes" check out #21 Ticha Penicheiro's
top 10 assists on Youtube. Ines will be wearing her WNBA
jersey #21 at UCONN. Ticha is from Portugal, of course... and Old
Dominion University, class of '98?? I could not even follow the flight of the
ball on most of these highlights. ENJOY! May Ines follow in
her countrywomen's footsteps ( i.e. all star stuff in WNBA) and
in her "unconscious", no look passes. Z

 

[Bigboote]

When my son was a girls assistant JV basketball coach at their local high school, sometimes I would go to their practices to watch.

I was puzzled why so many players were missing lay-ups while running a lay-up line. After getting permission from the coach to share an observation with his girls, I told them I noticed that too many of them were missing the easiest shot they could get in a game.

I told them they were not taking the drill seriously. I asked them “how do you expect to make a lay-up with all the pressure that comes when playing a game, not to mention someone trying to prevent you from making the basket, when you can’t make a simple easy no pressure lay-up in a lay-up line”? They stopped taking the shot for granted, and started making more of them. I reminded them “you play as you practice.”

Practice doesn’t necessarily make perfect, but it does make permanent.

I’ve been known to play Irishmdance music, which is generally played at breakneck tempo. Really really fast in Geno parlance. It was drilled into me again and again, start a new tune SLOWLY and do that till you can play it well. If you play fast but sloppily, all that slop will nwvwr go away.

As Miracle Max would say, rush a miracle man and you get rotten miracles.

NCAA athletes need to continue to work on basic skills.

 

[Cuango]

Sorry, we do not play junior colleges.

Could they?

 

[Carnac]

Practice doesn’t necessarily make perfect, but it does make permanent.

I’ve been known to play Irishmdance music, which is generally played at breakneck tempo. Really really fast in Geno parlance. It was drilled into me again and again, start a new tune SLOWLY and do that till you can play it well. If you play fast but sloppily, all that slop will nwvwr go away.

As Miracle Max would say, rush a miracle man and you get rotten miracles.

NCAA athletes need to continue to work on basic skills.

Amen brother!!! The "Wizard of Westwood", former UCLA men's basketball coach John Wooden would tell his players............"Be quick, but don't hurry."

 

[Carnac]

For Ines she is young and perhaps can be developed the way Geno does it. Fundamentals are the key to any sport. How to execute properly is very important. Ines is young and Geno has time to bring her along and teach her the right way to do things.

In some respects, you could say Ines is almost a blank canvas. She has many things (nuances) to learn about how the game is played in the USA at the elite college level than what she is use to. It's night and day, and played at a much faster pace.

 

[Alydar]

For Ines she is young and perhaps can be developed the way Geno does it. Fundamentals are the key to any sport. How to execute properly is very important. Ines is young and Geno has time to bring her along and teach her the right way to do things.

I think it was Geno who commented on Euro players when Makurat arrived that in Europe the HS age girls spend much more time practicing over playing. It's the opposite here, especially in AAU. He said he prefers they be fundamentally sound.

With 2 elite guards arriving for 2023/24 I can't see Geno adding a player he needs to develop. He must be somewhat sure she can help now.

 

[Carnac]

I think it was Geno who commented on Euro players when Makurat arrived that in Europe the HS age girls spend much more time practicing over playing. It's the opposite here, especially in AAU. He said he prefers they be fundamentally sound.

With 2 elite guards arriving for 2023/24 I can't see Geno adding a player he needs to develop. He must be somewhat sure she can help now.

I completely agree!!!!

 

[UConnCat]

Really informative piece on Ines.

How Inês Bettencourt went from junior college signee to UConn in nine days

The freshman guard from Portugual was a late addition to the UConn roster after Paige Bueckers went down with a torn ACL.

www.theuconnblog.com

Of note:

• Ines initially planned to attend Northwest Florida to get her foot in the door of college ball in the US;
• Northwest Florida won the NJCAA championship in 2021;
• Morgan Valley was the first to reach out after the U18 Div B FIBA tournament (I'm guessing that while Jamelle was at the Div A tournament in Greece Morgan was watching the B tournament on Youtube);
• Eventually Ines and her family spoke with the entire UConn staff;
• Ines had other offers after the August FIBA event;
• “I think I’m both,” Bettencourt said when asked if she considers herself a point guard or a combo guard. “When I do have to shoot, I shoot. When I have to pass, I pass. So I think I’m both. I’m not a selfish player.”
• “In the beginning, it’s going to be hard, I know, because it’s a different country, a different way they play from European basketball. It’s more technical,” she said. “But I think I’m going to settle in.”
• Says she will "need to study hard."

 

[UConnCat]

Another story by Lila Bromberg of the Courant.

‘Really crazy’: How Inês Bettencourt’s last-minute recruitment to UConn women’s basketball came together

Inês Bettencourt had never been to the United States before arriving in Storrs last week. The 17-year-old from Sao Miguel, Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal, intended to leave home and…

www.courant.com

 

[Zarathustra]

Excellent two articles. I see Nika and Dorka has her two " Moms" ( taking over
from Evina! ) Of course, we know that Morgan Valley really just wanted another
sports' minded baby sitter for Jay Jay! Go Ines.! Welcome to the BIG EAST and
UCONN WBB!

 

[Zarathustra]

Also, I'll be interested to see if Ines gets to play against St. Johns. Rayven
Peeples, # 20, 6'3" , is 5th year player for St. John's this year and played
at Northwest Florida Community College. Ravyen was the leading scorer on
that team. Rayven is from Detroit, but it will be interesting, to me at least, to see if
they get to play against each other.
Ines is fortunate to have Dorka to help her. Dorka , I believe, is taking her Master's
Degree in Sports Managment, so she should be a great mentor for Ines, as
well as a fitting role model.
Don't forget the birthday party, UCONN LADIES.
Ines Bettencourt's 18th birthday is September 29, 2022!!! EVERYBODY EATS!! Z

 

[UConnCat]

And another article on Ines from Maggie.

Behind UConn women’s basketball freshman Inês Bettencourt’s late commitment: ‘I couldn’t refuse it’

Inês Bettencourt was supposed to be starting her freshman year at Northwest Florida...

www.nhregister.com

 

[Carnac]

Practice doesn’t necessarily make perfect, but it does make permanent.

I’ve been known to play Irishmdance music, which is generally played at breakneck tempo. Really really fast in Geno parlance. It was drilled into me again and again, start a new tune SLOWLY and do that till you can play it well. If you play fast but sloppily, all that slop will nwvwr go away.

As Miracle Max would say, rush a miracle man and you get rotten miracles.

NCAA athletes need to continue to work on basic skills.

That's what former Wake Forrest and San Antonio Spur basketball star Tim Duncan did........work on "basic basketball skill." That's why he got the nickname "The BIG Fundamental."

Why is Tim Duncan called Big Fundamental?

But only one nickname felt right for Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal said. “I called him "The Big Fundamental" because his fundamental skills were perfect,” O'Neal said. “I put him in the same category as Larry Bird. Larry Bird didn't run fast or jump high
Why is Tim Duncan called Big Fundamental?

But only one nickname felt right for Duncan, O'Neal said. “I called him The Big Fundamental because his fundamental skills were perfect,” O'Neal said. “I put him in the same category as Larry Bird. Larry Bird didn't run fast or jump high , but he'd eat you alive with his fundamentals.