In women’s basketball, it’s easier for the rich to stay richer

[NCorBust]

Chris Wagner / The Post-Standard Syracuse.com

 

[alexrgct]

I think the article hits on one of the
major issues but not all of them.

There's a reason Geno gets the recruits he gets; it's not like he arrived in Storrs in 1985 and recruits came flocking. The first key is having a system- understanding what kind of identity you want your program to have and to get the kids you have to buy in. Doris Burke, who played for Providence, noted that you could see an immediate difference with UConn. Even if they didn't have the athletes yet, they were just tougher and more disciplined. Then Geno got a bit lucky with Bascom needing to stay close to home...but he capitalized on that in a way that I bet Q won't with Brianna Butler (who is far more lauded out of high school than was Bascom). Geno also saw the potential in Jen Rizzotti and Kara Wolters, neither of which were highly recruited. And the success he had attracted blue chip players like Lobo and Sales who were close by.

So yes, there are fewer impact players in WBB, and the fact they stay four years adds to the talent advantage top programs enjoy. But coaching matters. A lot. And not too many programs have had a coach come in with the kind of vision Geno had and the focus/attention to detail to execute on that vision.

And even fewer programs have assistants like Chris Dailey either.

 

[uconnfan68]

Chris Wagner / The Post-Standard Syracuse.com

They can do just what Geno did. Not like he came to a top program. It's what he did to make it one. When I look at SU or Pitt, I don't see the discipline. Sorry Q and Agnes.

 

[ChicagoGG]

We have Geno and CD. And they don't.

 

[VAMike23]

I think the article hits on one of the
major issues but not all of them.

There's a reason Geno gets the recruits he gets; it's not like he arrived in Storrs in 1985 and recruits came flocking. The first key is having a system- understanding what kind of identity you want your program to have and to get the kids you have to buy in. Doris Burke, who played for Providence, noted that you could see an immediate difference with UConn. Even if they didn't have the athletes yet, they were just tougher and more disciplined. Then Geno got a bit lucky with Bascom needing to stay close to home...but he capitalized on that in a way that I bet Q won't with Brianna Butler (who is far more lauded out of high school than was Bascom). Geno also saw the potential in Jen Rizzotti and Kara Wolters, neither of which were highly recruited. And the success he had attracted blue chip players like Lobo and Sales who were close by.

So yes, there are fewer impact players in WBB, and the fact they stay four years adds to the talent advantage top programs enjoy. But coaching matters. A lot. And not too many programs have had a coach come in with the kind of vision Geno had and the focus/attention to detail to execute on that vision.

And even fewer programs have assistants like Chris Dailey either.[/quote]


+ 10

 

[NCorBust]

They can do just what Geno did. Not like he came to a top program. It's what he did to make it one. When I look at SU or Pitt, I don't see the discipline. Sorry Q and Agnes.

Yeah, when I read it, I thought when Geno started coaching Tenn. and some others dominated. Same as today but different teams. Did he whine or did he do something about it.? Today's coaches have to do the same thing. Perhaps they tried and their lack of coaching ability stopped them. They don't wish to admit that so they whine about the rich getting richer.

 

[rington]

"The rich get richer".......that's true in most sports, life.

 

[phil sampieri]

Yeah, when I read it, I thought when Geno started coaching Tenn. and some others dominated. Same as today but different teams. Did he whine or did he do something about it.? Today's coaches have to do the same thing. Perhaps they tried and their lack of coaching ability stopped them. They don't wish to admit that so they whine about the rich getting richer.

can't remember ex Dallas Cowboy coach who said of Don Shula and could be said of Geno= Quote- he could take hisn and beat yourin
and he can take yourin and beat hisn

 

[alexrgct]

can't remember ex Dallas Cowboy coach who said of Don Shula and could be said of Geno= Quote- he could take hisn and beat yourin
and he can take yourin and beat hisn

Believe it was actually Bum Phillips- Houston Oilers coach. His son Wade has also been a head coach, including HC of the Cowboys.

 

[Bestiarius]

can't remember ex Dallas Cowboy coach who said of Don Shula and could be said of Geno= Quote- he could take hisn and beat yourin
and he can take yourin and beat hisn

Ewwwww. Those would be messy games!

 

[phil sampieri]

Believe it was actually Bum Phillips- Houston Oilers coach. His son Wade has also been a head coach, including HC of the Cowboys.

Yes, it was Bum Philips Thanks

 

[NCorBust]

can't remember ex Dallas Cowboy coach who said of Don Shula and could be said of Geno= Quote- he could take hisn and beat yourin
and he can take yourin and beat hisn

"Don Shula (link) can take his'n and beat your'n," Bum Phillips, then the Houston Oilers coach, once said in his Texas twang. "Or he can take your'n and beat his'n."

 

[caravaggio]

Thanks for the history lesson, Alex! As a relative newbie, it was very insightful!

I think the article hits on one of the
major issues but not all of them.

There's a reason Geno gets the recruits he gets; it's not like he arrived in Storrs in 1985 and recruits came flocking. The first key is having a system- understanding what kind of identity you want your program to have and to get the kids you have to buy in. Doris Burke, who played for Providence, noted that you could see an immediate difference with UConn. Even if they didn't have the athletes yet, they were just tougher and more disciplined. Then Geno got a bit lucky with Bascom needing to stay close to home...but he capitalized on that in a way that I bet Q won't with Brianna Butler (who is far more lauded out of high school than was Bascom). Geno also saw the potential in Jen Rizzotti and Kara Wolters, neither of which were highly recruited. And the success he had attracted blue chip players like Lobo and Sales who were close by.

So yes, there are fewer impact players in WBB, and the fact they stay four years adds to the talent advantage top programs enjoy. But coaching matters. A lot. And not too many programs have had a coach come in with the kind of vision Geno had and the focus/attention to detail to execute on that vision.

And even fewer programs have assistants like Chris Dailey either.

 

[caravaggio]

Also, what were the rankings/ratings/opinions of Bascom, Rizzotti, and Wolters? Who else recruited them?

I think the article hits on one of the
major issues but not all of them.

There's a reason Geno gets the recruits he gets; it's not like he arrived in Storrs in 1985 and recruits came flocking. The first key is having a system- understanding what kind of identity you want your program to have and to get the kids you have to buy in. Doris Burke, who played for Providence, noted that you could see an immediate difference with UConn. Even if they didn't have the athletes yet, they were just tougher and more disciplined. Then Geno got a bit lucky with Bascom needing to stay close to home...but he capitalized on that in a way that I bet Q won't with Brianna Butler (who is far more lauded out of high school than was Bascom). Geno also saw the potential in Jen Rizzotti and Kara Wolters, neither of which were highly recruited. And the success he had attracted blue chip players like Lobo and Sales who were close by.

So yes, there are fewer impact players in WBB, and the fact they stay four years adds to the talent advantage top programs enjoy. But coaching matters. A lot. And not too many programs have had a coach come in with the kind of vision Geno had and the focus/attention to detail to execute on that vision.

And even fewer programs have assistants like Chris Dailey either.

 

[alexrgct]

Also, what were the rankings/ratings/opinions of Bascom, Rizzotti, and Wolters? Who else recruited them?

Not sure about rankings, but Bascom wouldn't be considered blue chip by today's UConn standards. She was definitely thought of as a good player- had been playing varsity from eighth grade, but this is New Hampshire we're talking about. Im going to guess she was more like a top 40-60 national recruit in today's recruiting environment. She was considering BC, Syracuse, and a couple of other northeastern schools. The issue was that she needed to stay fairly close to home because her mother was suffering from MS (and in fact passed away while KB was at UConn).

I honestly don't know if any big name programs were going after Jen and Kara. Jen was small and not perceived as especially athletic. Kara was perceived as a project more than a prospect. From Geno's perspective, Jen had the mental qualities and the work ethic to be successful at the next level, so he took a chance on her. Meanwhile, he says in retrospect that Kara was a "no brainer" just because 6'7" women's players with good hands don't grow on trees.

Lobo and Sales were legit blue chip kids. Lobo was a top 10 or so national recruit, and Sales was the #1 national recruit in 1994. Both were from places very close to UConn (Southwick, MA, and the Hartford area, respectively), which helped tremendously in the recruiting process at the time.

 

[Phil]

Re Bascom, according to Wikipedia, She narrowed it down to UConn, Boston College, Syracuse University, Rutgers University and Boston University.

 

[caravaggio]

Not sure about rankings, but Bascom wouldn't be considered blue chip by today's UConn standards. She was definitely thought of as a good player- had been playing varsity from eighth grade, but this is New Hampshire we're talking about. Im going to guess she was more like a top 40-60 national recruit in today's recruiting environment. She was considering BC, Syracuse, and a couple of other northeastern schools. The issue was that she needed to stay fairly close to home because her mother was suffering from MS (and in fact passed away while KB was at UConn).

I honestly don't know if any big name programs were going after Jen and Kara. Jen was small and not perceived as especially athletic. Kara was perceived as a project more than a prospect. From Geno's perspective, Jen had the mental qualities and the work ethic to be successful at the next level, so he took a chance on her. Meanwhile, he says in retrospect that Kara was a "no brainer" just because 6'7" women's players with good hands don't grow on trees.

Lobo and Sales were legit blue chip kids. Lobo was a top 10 or so national recruit, and Sales was the #1 national recruit in 1994. Both were from places very close to UConn (Southwick, MA, and the Hartford area, respectively), which helped tremendously in the recruiting process at the time.

muchos gracias, alex. it's surprising reading about kara....i wonder if it was considered a situation like the really tall player discussed earlier this year attending the rutgers prep school, "Bubbles" i think.

Sent from my gTablet using Tapatalk

 

[Henry]

Duke and North Carolina men have rosters filled with high school all-Americans. They don't win it all that often. Granted, the men's game is more competitive but the best players don't guarantee anything. The women's game is much more competitive than it was and will become more so. The women are where the men were in the 1980's in terms of competitiveness.

 

[VAUConnFan]

Duke and North Carolina men have rosters filled with high school all-Americans. They don't win it all that often. Granted, the men's game is more competitive but the best players don't guarantee anything. The women's game is much more competitive than it was and will become more so. The women are where the men were in the 1980's in terms of competitiveness.

I do not agree. Men's basketball in the 80's was very, very competititve with tournament upsets aplenty. The level of competition in the men's game was ratcheted considerably in 1975 with the expansion of the tournamant field to include multiple bids from the same conference.
IMO, men's basketball has been very competitive from my earliest recollection, 1963, when Loyola of Chicago won it all. 1966 was memorable because of Texas Western's run to the championship. Despite UCLA's dominance over the next 10 years or so, the game was quite compelling and produced a number of compelling teams and players. Who can forget the UCLA-Houston, Alcindor- Big E matchup at the Astrodome?