It was a great season...

[msf22b]

Please!
No recriminations.
it was a wonderful season, one for the ages.
And I enjoyed every moment of it...
And have nothing but good will.

Mississippi State had a wonderful game plan, stuck to it and beat us; deservedly.
Yes, they caught us at less than our best, but that's BB
Good for the game; great for them.

We can start streaking again next November.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Yep, I think she'll have Tina Charles type motivation next year.

The thing is, it didn't seem like she needed that.

She was so much more advanced than Tina in the mental toughness and composure department, as a sophomore. Extremely impressive. That's what makes tonight's performance so disappointing -- our steadiest player wilting under the spotlight.

That said, I agree that she should come back even more motivated and eager to make amends next year. Can we fast-forward to November?

 

[HuskyNan]

The thing is, it didn't seem like she needed that.

She was so much more advanced than Tina in the mental toughness and composure department, as a sophomore. Extremely impressive. That's what makes tonight's performance so disappointing -- our steadiest player wilting under the spotlight.

That said, I agree that she should come back even more motivated and eager to make amends next year. Can we fast-forward to November?

The whole All American thing could have made her put more pressure on herself. I think she was actually trying too hard and ended up making mistakes then losing confidence.

 

[NHFan]

Great post but some of the comments about these young ladies are way over the ledge! And I think of myself as being a glass half empty kind of a guy? Great season and over achieved. Will win it all next season!

 

[Bill In Georgia]

You can do 100 deeds well, but you never hear about them, but do one wrong and you hear about it.... After the last four seasons I didn't think there would be a tomorrow, nor did the small national fol owing of Women's College Basketball. Going into the season TonyC and I said 5-7 losing efforts, maybe make the elite 8, and that was it..But what happened was astonishing...We kept waiting for the gals to come back to earth, and they did not ..until last night...
If you feel bad, imagine how they feel, the coaching staff, all the parents and real fans who make all this possible.
But there is a tomorrow and the kids will be back with big time support.etc....and will reel off 3-4 nationals..
So congratulation's to our bevy of sweet heart basket-ballers, the best coaching staff ever, and the UConn Nation and supporters, for making it a pleasure and honor to be associated with America's Team and program!!

 

[willingtonfan]

Could we please stop with the recriminations of the players? They are 18, 19, 20 and 21 year old young ladies. They are NOT professionals; they are NOT (despite how they often make it appear) an assembly line of machines expected to make a flawless product every time.

If your son or daughter of their age took an exam with 114 questions and got 112 right (our combined last three seasons record) you would give them a huge hug and tell them how wonderful that was and their grade would be an A+.

If Jordan Spieth went out to the Masters next week and whatever tournament he will play in after that and scored par or better on 112 of his next 114 holes and 111 in a row it would be hailed by all and sundry as a performance for the ages.

These kinds of strings of excellent performance in ANY human endeavor simply DO NOT HAPPEN. And yet these young ladies have done just that. If they had lost in game #2, 7, 15 or 22 of the season and gone on to win the national championship that would have been hailed as an amazing feat. It's only because this loss ends the season that we are so disappointed. But that does not justify the imposition of unreasonable expectations on 18-21 year old young ladies.

This group of young ladies has represented our state and its university in a manner that is by any measure one might apply (other than one that demands perfection) absolutely stellar. The sheer statistics are totally atypical of what one normally expects from 18-21 year old young ladies.

In the past three seasons they have a record of 112-2. Just stop and think about that. They accomplished something (the streak) that (a) no team in the history of team sports at the collegiate level has ever done (I reject the Penn State tennis streak - college tennis competitions produce a "team" winner but only by adding up the results of individual matches; it's not really a team sport), (b) nobody, I repeat nobody, on this board or anywhere else conceived as a possible thing to be accomplished, and (c) will very likely never even be approached let alone matched or surpassed. So they will forever be a part of history. How many of you can say that about anything you, or your teenage children, have accomplished?

So could we PLEASE look at what has just happened with a little bit of perspective?

There's a quote attributed to a number of coaches: "When you chase perfection, sometimes you can catch excellence." Well, in this humble correspondent's opinion, these ladies have caught excellence and one unfortunate ending to one game last night doesn't take it away.

Now, criticism of the coach is certainly fair game -- he IS an adult and a professional being paid for what he does. But the players are neither and I think we need to keep that in mind as we analyze last night's game.

Just wanted to put things in a little perspective....

 

[GoUconn7961]

If Geno himself can talk about a lack of maturity, some of our players not being ready for the stage, then I think it's fair game for us to discuss here.

Yes, but the difference is Geno's tone. He's not throwing them under the bus. He understands that they've over achieved this year and his criticisms aren't complaints or finger pointing.

 

[VillageHusky]

Could we please stop with the recriminations of the players? They are 18, 19, 20 and 21 year old young ladies. They are NOT professionals; they are NOT (despite how they often make it appear) an assembly line of machines expected to make a flawless product every time.

If your son or daughter of their age took an exam with 114 questions and got 112 right (our combined last three seasons record) you would give them a huge hug and tell them how wonderful that was and their grade would be an A+.

If Jordan Spieth went out to the Masters next week and whatever tournament he will play in after that and scored par or better on 112 of his next 114 holes and 111 in a row it would be hailed by all and sundry as a performance for the ages.

These kinds of strings of excellent performance in ANY human endeavor simply DO NOT HAPPEN. And yet these young ladies have done just that. If they had lost in game #2, 7, 15 or 22 of the season and gone on to win the national championship that would have been hailed as an amazing feat. It's only because this loss ends the season that we are so disappointed. But that does not justify the imposition of unreasonable expectations on 18-21 year old young ladies.

This group of young ladies has represented our state and its university in a manner that is by any measure one might apply (other than one that demands perfection) absolutely stellar. The sheer statistics are totally atypical of what one normally expects from 18-21 year old young ladies.

In the past three seasons they have a record of 112-2. Just stop and think about that. They accomplished something (the streak) that (a) no team in the history of team sports at the collegiate level has ever done (I reject the Penn State tennis streak - college tennis competitions produce a "team" winner but only by adding up the results of individual matches; it's not really a team sport), (b) nobody, I repeat nobody, on this board or anywhere else conceived as a possible thing to be accomplished, and (c) will very likely never even be approached let alone matched or surpassed. So they will forever be a part of history. How many of you can say that about anything you, or your teenage children, have accomplished?

So could we PLEASE look at what has just happened with a little bit of perspective?

There's a quote attributed to a number of coaches: "When you chase perfection, sometimes you can catch excellence." Well, in this humble correspondent's opinion, these ladies have caught excellence and one unfortunate ending to one game last night doesn't take it away.

Now, criticism of the coach is certainly fair game -- he IS an adult and a professional being paid for what he does. But the players are neither and I think we need to keep that in mind as we analyze last night's game.

Just wanted to put things in a little perspective....

While criticism of Geno may be "fair game," I would respectfully submit that it verges on the absurd to whine about a couple of questionable game management desicisions or suggest Geno has a perceived inability to win close games when viewing his unprecedented, unequaled, and almost certainly never to be rivaled record of success.

 

[Topdawg]

Big thank you to the team! Was fun to see you grow through year and have many spectacular accomplishments. A healthy and happy off-season to you.