Jeff Jacobs: Reality bites Auriemma, UConn

[Orangutan]

Of course did anyone ever consider that from Azura's standpoint, Geno moved her inside for UConn's benefit as much or more then for her own....perhaps she decided that she wants to continue as a wing using her once fairly good three point shooting and she's learned as much as she wants to know about playing inside.

Personally, I always felt it was for UConn's benefit *and* Azura's benefit. When she played at Duke, I was always happy to see her settle for outside shots rather than go down low. She's not going to play wing (I'm defining wing as (2 or 3) in the pros. She's going to play 4. I think she's more likely to play 5 than 3. How in the world is she going to stay in front of WNBA 3s? That was always an issue with Delle Donne but you put up with it and hide her on D because she's so amazing on offense. But Stevens is nowhere near a Delle Donne on offense.

I get what you're saying, though. She would have had to play center for UConn and maybe she didn't relish a year of banging in the post. But I think she'll be doing more of that than shooting 3s in the pros. She shot 27% from 3 in her college career. Pro teams aren't going to put up with her shooting very many 3s unless she can improve that significantly.

This all sounds really negative. I think she has great potential, and there's a good chance she ends up on my team (the Sky). I just think her potential is mostly as a 4 who has an accurate shot out to 18 ft. or so. There's a big market for that. If she thinks she's a Delle Donne/Durant/Nowitzki, etc., I think she may be in for a bad time.

 

[willtalk]

Of course did anyone ever consider that from Azura's standpoint, Geno moved her inside for UConn's benefit as much or more then for her own....perhaps she decided that she wants to continue as a wing using her once fairly good three point shooting and she's learned as much as she wants to know about playing inside.

That is exactly it. I would suspect that Stephens and Geno got together and decided both their objectives before she even transferred. Uconn needed a post -not a wing and her coming to the team was as a post. It would serve Geno's purpose and also their initial program to improve her inside play. I think the problem was that her perspective of what she wanted was not the same as Geno's. Was it always that way or did her perspective change after she was at Uconn? She might have always willing to settle for less, not realizing that Geno will push his players to reach their peak potential. This is why he expressed frustration with her. She was never a Uconn type of player and could not handle the intensity of Geno's program. The program is not for everyone. What we know for sure is that is that at this time she did not believe the effort was worth it. That is entirely up to her. I for one was not surprised that she would leave. But I am surprised that Geno did not see it coming. Of course people might just be assuming that he was surprised.

 

[willtalk]

There is much talk about how Uconns lack of close games hurt the team. Most of that seems to be in respect to toughening up the players. However there is another factor to consider. Coaching! If you seldom have to make close game decisions you can get rusty and and complacent. There were numerous posts on substitutions that Geno might have made. One even directly attributed to his own quote.

The ability to strategize under end game conditions also need to be kept sharp. I saw this happen to Wooden one time in a game they should never have lost to ND. He just appeared to go to sleep on the bench and made no adjustments as the lead int that game dwindled away. He stated after the game that he lost the game not the team. That was the only close game UCLA was involved in the entire year and Wooden could easily have prevented it with a simple adjustment. By the time he did the momentum and lead had shifted already.

I think perhaps never having to make in game substitution adjustments during the year might have affected Geno as much as the lack of close games did the players. It's easy to forget things if you do not use them.

 

[Bronx23]

There is much talk about how Uconns lack of close games hurt the team. Most of that seems to be in respect to toughening up the players. However there is another factor to consider. Coaching! If you seldom have to make close game decisions you can get rusty and and complacent. There were numerous posts on substitutions that Geno might have made. One even directly attributed to his own quote.

The ability to strategize under end game conditions also need to be kept sharp. I saw this happen to Wooden one time in a game they should never have lost to ND. He just appeared to go to sleep on the bench and made no adjustments as the lead int that game dwindled away. He stated after the game that he lost the game not the team. That was the only close game UCLA was involved in the entire year and Wooden could easily have prevented it with a simple adjustment. By the time he did the momentum and lead had shifted already.

I think perhaps never having to make in game substitution adjustments during the year might have affected Geno as much as the lack of close games did the players. It's easy to forget things if you do not use them.

Excellent point I hadn't thought of!
And it might go deeper than just the last game as he has yet to win in overtime games, compared to his almost .900 percentage for his career. And yes probably part of it is he rarely ends up in overtime games. I strongly believe another big part is his offensive system where you don't either have a player in your program or don't encourage that player to modify / adjust and take over the offense. It doesn't mean playing like many men teams where the star gets the ball, and everyone else goes to the opposite side of the floor. It means that someone needs the ball in their hands to set up a play it a play is set up for them with screens or back door cuts. I'm lucky if I know 1/100 th of what Geno and the coaching staff know, but there is definitely something systemically off that needs attention!
Bronx23

 

[uconnfan68]

Do we how is Geno’s mom doing? That’s what I got from the article.

 

[the Q]

Excellent point I hadn't thought of!
And it might go deeper than just the last game as he has yet to win in overtime games, compared to his almost .900 percentage for his career. And yes probably part of it is he rarely ends up in overtime games. I strongly believe another big part is his offensive system where you don't either have a player in your program or don't encourage that player to modify / adjust and take over the offense. It doesn't mean playing like many men teams where the star gets the ball, and everyone else goes to the opposite side of the floor. It means that someone needs the ball in their hands to set up a play it a play is set up for them with screens or back door cuts. I'm lucky if I know 1/100 th of what Geno and the coaching staff know, but there is definitely something systemically off that needs attention!
Bronx23

I think this team just lacked someone who could do that.

The old guard had 3 players who could do that.

The closest we had was Gabby taking a forward off the bounce all year.

But really the offense is built around passing. But if no one is trying to get inside the zone, that doesn't really do nearly as much good.

 

[ocoandasoc]

While I can understand Z's decision as she'll be most probably selected 2nd in the WNBA draft, it is a mistake for her to leave. She would have a much longer career in the WNBA if she would have stayed for another year at UConn. Z's inclination is to roam the outside and shoot 3's which as she is far from a great 3 point shooter and being 6'6, a waste and makes her I. Tillis and how long of a career did she have in the WNBA? Geno was transforming her to be much more of a post player against her instincts and another year of doing that with strength training would have helped her tremendously. Oh well...

Everyone seems to forget she got two years of coaching at UConn even though she only played for a year. And, honest, there is decent coaching that goes on in the WNBA and no team is going to give up on a first round pick with Z's potential. Looking at this through her eyes, its hard to view it as a mistake or a bad decision.

 

[UConnNick]

The fact of the matter is : KLS did not get the ball, for the last shot, two years in a row . Nearly the same circumstances. Those facts are reality. KLS is the best " shooter " on the team. Since UConn owns 11 Championships , the coaching staff will never get criticism for that decision. Gabby is a wonderful player whom we will all miss. But, she is " not " UConn's best shooter. Most great coaches will live and die with their best shooter taking the final shot. It's up to the coaching staff to get KLS shots. In that sense the coaching staff failed miserably. The numbers don't lie. Facts are facts !

Knowing Samuelson would draw the most defensive attention, perhaps Geno thought a higher percentage play might be made by Williams. It didn't work out that way, but the play was well designed, just not well executed by Williams.

 

[Husky40]

That is exactly it. I would suspect that Stephens and Geno got together and decided both their objectives before she even transferred. Uconn needed a post -not a wing and her coming to the team was as a post. It would serve Geno's purpose and also their initial program to improve her inside play. I think the problem was that her perspective of what she wanted was not the same as Geno's. Was it always that way or did her perspective change after she was at Uconn? She might have always willing to settle for less, not realizing that Geno will push his players to reach their peak potential. This is why he expressed frustration with her. She was never a Uconn type of player and could not handle the intensity of Geno's program. The program is not for everyone. What we know for sure is that is that at this time she did not believe the effort was worth it. That is entirely up to her. I for one was not surprised that she would leave. But I am surprised that Geno did not see it coming. Of course people might just be assuming that he was surprised.

Willtalk, I respectfully disagree with your bolded statements. I never felt she wasn't a "UConn type of player". She seemed to fit in well with this team. I attended all the home games and some away games, and she always seemed happy. At the open practice this year she practiced hard and interacted well with her teammates and coaches. Did someone tell you she didn't believe the effort was worth it? I'm sure she wanted to play more in the third quarter of the ND game -- she's competitive and wants to be out on the floor helping her team -- but I find it hard to believe that it played a big role in her decision. She knew she would be a starter and go-to player for UConn next year, especially with Gabby graduating.

I think that her MOP performance in the regionals played a huge role in Azura's decision. This is what prompted the discussion (especially by ESPN) about her going in the top 5 in this year's draft. The turnaround between the regional and semifinal was only a few days with little time to discuss such things with coaches and family, and then her season was abruptly over. I think she and her family felt she couldn't pass on the opportunity to be drafted this high, especially since next year's draft has some really talented bigs. This is why I do think the coaches were surprised -- they may have begun to think it was a possibility after they heard how high she could go in this year's draft -- but I would be surprised if they (and even Azura) seriously considered her leaving until last weekend. I have no inside info -- just my thoughts based on my observations.

 

[Longtime fan]

I understand the concept, but most players that stick in the WNBA improve after they become a professional. Somehow there is some development happening.

But again, Z already had 2 years. Why was one more year going to make a drastic difference?

I'm sure that a lot went unspoken in her decision to join the WNBA. Among which has to be that she has completed her studies and will soon graduate. Perhaps she wasn't interested in signing on for a graduate level course of study, and the prospect of doing nothing
but BB ( unpaid ) and hanging around the dorms was daunting. And we'll never know, for sure, her relationship with the coaches and the team. She seems happy and pleasant, so one would think there is no problem on that front. But...

 

[wallman]

I think this team just lacked someone who could do that.

The old guard had 3 players who could do that.

The closest we had was Gabby taking a forward off the bounce all year.

But really the offense is built around passing. But if no one is trying to get inside the zone, that doesn't really do nearly as much good.

This is meant as no disrespect to Williams who I really like as a player but you seem to be overlooking the fact that Geno set up the play for KLS to get Williams the ball with enough time for her to take that one dribble and go up for a lay up against her defender. The pass was on the money and as other posters have pointed out it made the most sense as KLS would be over guarded if she was to receive the ball and she is the best on the money passer you have. Unfortunately, Williams decided to take a fade away.

 

[the Q]

This is meant as no disrespect to Williams who I really like as a player but you seem to be overlooking the fact that Geno set up the play for KLS to get Williams the ball with enough time for her to take that one dribble and go up for a lay up against her defender. The pass was on the money and as other posters have pointed out it made the most sense as KLS would be over guarded if she was to receive the ball and she is the best on the money passer you have. Unfortunately, Williams decided to take a fade away.

Gabby is one of my favorite UConn players ever. But I agree with your take.

And it's why I said the playcall was brilliant.

Gabby just didn't execute.

She had a much better look than either of the prayers ND hit to win their 2 games. That just happens sometimes.

But it's inexcusable that they were even in that position.