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Message: [QUOTE="JoePgh, post: 1991709, member: 1131"] Geno's first long winning streak was from 2001 to 2003 (72 games if I recall correctly). In more recent years, his teams have had two winning streaks of at least 90 games. Does this indicate that he is a more effective coach now than he was back then, or just that the WCBB talent is less evenly distributed now than it was in the early days of the 21st century? My personal opinion is that Geno IS a better basketball coach now than he was then, and was better then than in the mid-1990's when the first NC was won. I think the clearest indication of this is the greater emphasis in recent years on transition offense -- getting shots before the opponent's half court defense can set up. Since about 2005 when Ketia Swanier came to Storrs, UConn has never been without exceptionally fast guards, usually not just one but two or three. That was not the case in the earlier days -- before then, Sue Bird was the only UConn guard with conspicuous speed. Players like DT, Nicole Wolff, Maria Conlon, Jen Rizzotti, and the Valley sisters, whatever their other skills, were not quick or fast. It wasn't really possible to run a system based heavily on transition with those guards. Since then, not just Ketia but Renee, Tiffany Hayes, Lorin Dixon, Bria Hartley, and of course Moriah have been cut from an entirely different cloth -- and the offensive system has changed to take advantage of that. The games that we have seen this year against ranked teams like DePaul and South Florida, where UConn built up a 20 to 30 point lead in the first quarter, would not have been possible with Geno's teams of an earlier era. I think that up until Diana graduated, Geno taught a Princeton offense that was based largely on ball movement and deception in a half-court offense, and did not require unusual speed or quickness to execute. Since that time, I think he has taken his cues from NBA offensive schemes, with the San Antonio Spurs probably being his major source of guidance. I suspect that he is nearly alone among WCBB coaches in growing his technical understanding of the game so much in this relatively late stage of his career. Frankly, I wonder if there are any other WCBB coaches who pay the slightest attention to the NBA or try to learn anything from it. I see no indication that is the case for anyone but Geno. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach

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