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John A: Team needs a vocal leader

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A most interesting thread, going in many directions

1. As a teacher and a conductor I were always taught the if things go askew, its the fault of the adult in charge. Don't
blame the kids, don't blame the sidemen in the orchestra, the dancers on stage, the singers et al if they don't follow you.
Blame yourself! I always thought that Charde was Geno's greatest failure...his responsibility.

2. At the beginning of the season there was a lot of talk of Caroline and loosey-goosey Stef leading the team. It's still
possible though each is going through their own little moments of doubt at the moment. I certainly remember Geno
instructing Steff not to shoot uncontested layups...it'll run up the score. Maybe a mistake.

3. Sometimes, a team with a lot of great players doesn't jell. It must make a coach tear their hair out. Look at the Tennessee
 
A most interesting thread, going in many directions.

When I was trying to learn conducting, a wise man told me that if things go askew its the fault of the adult in charge, not the sidemen, not the singers who never follow a conductor, not the dancers, who go whichever way they please, its your fault stupid! When I started teaching, I heard the same refrain....I always thought that Charde was one of Geno's great failures.

Remember the pre and early season. It was assumed the Caroline and that surprise loosey-goosey big girl would lead the team. Well, they found some roadblocks and it hasn't materialized; still could! Would be good. I distinctly remember Geno admonishing Steff for taking uncontested layups early. Maybe that was a mistake too.

I agree with those who in this post-Maya year cannot quite sense the team's identity and note that the team probably feeld the same way. Who's identity is clear? Kelly, KLM (mostly) Bria, the rest: not so much although Heather is getting close.

Team leadership is a big question mark. Remember item one. If no one shows up naturally, then the brain-trust has to make that decision (it seems like they already have).

Sometimes a team with lots of good players just doesn't come together. We all belittle Pat, but it could happen here as well, even next year.

And lastly and most controversially: It is not impossible that the many outside pressures on Geno|+ of course the absence of a Miss Moore, could have affected the team, slightly negatively (at least in the early going)? This is pure conjecture and not intended to start a food-fight.
 
It is to me beyond obvious that Charde purposefully resisted Geno's promptings, Mel as stated in her book wanted to punch her over the FACT that Charde would not buy into Geno's scheme. That this is even being debated is absurd to me, The announcers at the games stated as much, Mel stated this in her book, hell even my wife who is a rabid fan says as much. If you want to play the Schrodenger's(sp) cat game with this fine it is after all your prerogative. Me I'm moving on and am going to thoroughly enjoy this wonderful single malt scotch that is just in front of me.

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones, may the new year shine brightly upon you.

GO UCONN !!!!!!!
 
Cafe Poliziano said:
It is to me beyond obvious that Charde purposefully resisted Geno's promptings, Mel as stated in her book wanted to punch her over the FACT that Charde would not buy into Geno's scheme. That this is even being debated is absurd to me, The announcers at the games stated as much, Mel stated this in her book, hell even my wife who is a rabid fan says as much. If you want to play the Schrodenger's(sp) cat game with this fine it is after all your prerogative. Me I'm moving on and am going to thoroughly enjoy this wonderful single malt scotch that is just in front of me.

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones, may the new year shine brightly upon you.

GO UCONN !!!!!!!
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Are you speaking of the section VTC cited on page 151?
 
"Mel as stated in her book wanted to punch her over the FACT that Charde would not buy into Geno's scheme."

Cafe - I gotta' call BS on this one. You are 100% wrong. Thomas never wrote that she wanted to punch Houston because she (Houston) would not "buy into Geno's scheme" and that is FACT not your misread.
If what I posted is beyond your comprehension then read the book. Thomas said she wanted to punch Houston because she (Houston) was not responding to the help they (Thomas and Montgomery) were offering. That particular comment was very clear and I don't see how it could be misinterpreted. Scotch maybe?
 
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Msf22b - The dynamic between a high level coach and their players is way too complex to pass off a failure as attibutable to the adult. It's not grade school and it's not tee ball. Houston is in no way Auriemma's fault. Probably his greatest failure, but not his responsibility. That rests entirely on a person who for whatever reason was not willing or able to understand.

"Gee coach, I don't want to play your way and sometimes I get too tired doing all that running that the other players do. I'm a star and I deserve a break."
 
vtcwbuff said:
"Mel as stated in her book wanted to punch her over the FACT that Charde would not buy into Geno's scheme."

Cafe - I gotta' call BS on this one. You are 100% wrong. Thomas never wrote that she wanted to punch Houston because she (Houston) would not "buy into Geno's scheme" and that is FACT not your misread.
If what I posted is beyond your comprehension than read the book. Thomas said she wanted to punch Houston because she (Houston) was not responding to the help they (Thomas and Montgomery) were offering. That particular comment was very clear and I don't see how it could be misinterpreted. Scotch maybe?
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once I read that... I understood what I was dealing with! (throwing my hands up)

and thanks for the clarification
 
Husky68 said:
KML and Heather need to be leaders. Surprised? They knows how to play ball and makes efforts to make plays all the time (I don't mean they are the only one who play hard, no, I said "make an effort to make plays all the time").
Since that won't happen, I'll take over the role and here is what I say:

Geno - play Heather, don't play zone, play more two bigs at same time, teach how to press and stop dribbler (Sims and Diggins will kill Uconn otherwise), make Tiff the point guard.
Dailey - teach Stef to rebound out of her area, get her have wider base and more balance.
Shea - make Harley carry Stef twice around the gym for every time she walks or carries the ball in a game and it gets called (once for each time it doesn't get called); teach all guards to dribble; make all guards watch ND vs. Baylor game and how ND players used rim/reverse shots to free themselves on drives.
Marissa - teach Stef to be aware of where opposing players are so when she catches ball she doesn't freeze up not knowing what to do, advise Kiah that its ok to get close enough to opponent to get their sweat on her uni.

Stef - lose some weight and get in better shape, spread that butt and those legs out to make space, move, jump.
Tiff - don't step up by making bad plays early and late in games when you teammated hide, go find them; keep working on that mid range game, aim on layups; drive down middle so better angle for dish to bigs.
Doty - you will not play another minute if you pass up another opportunity to fast break or make a move on player isolated one on one from the wing; shoot the Sue/Renee mid range shot more.
Kelis Fisher - stop over passing and putting pressure on other players to make shots, finish, finish, and when in doubt finish.
Hartley - walk = sit; carry ball = sit.
KML - freshman can lead.
Heather - red shirt juniors who know how to play and are effective in what they know how to do and keep at it at all times, can lead; regardless of how the coach uses you against ND or Stanford or anyone else. Playing right is on you, not playing you is on Geno.
Kiah - call Tina.
Lauren - stop playing like a girl, stop dribbling over your shoulders, play like you are trying to win not run the clock, play like team needs you.
Michala - keep at it, seeing signs of getting job done, Bonner was skinny too and she did alright at Auburn.
Banks - watch Dixon defensive tapes, make layups.
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When it comes to being a teams leader you are likely more on the spot with your thoughts than some may think. A teams leader must be vocal without diminishing a teammates value to the team, but at the same time make their point about what is not going in the right direction, not always an easy thing to do, but imo must be done.
 
Husky68 wrote - "Stef - lose some weight and get in better shape, spread that butt and those legs out to make space, move, jump."

Exactly how will spreading one's butt improve defensive posture? Is there a no hands butt spreading technique? If not the defender has both hands occupied in the butt spreading process and won't be able to block shots or rebound.
 
pinotbear said:
"'Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
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I wish you wouldn't do that. Clueless, I had to resort to Google. I was purposely forced to read paragraph after paragraph of a WIKI article on Inigo Montoya. No matter how much I wanted to resist, I just had to know. It wasn't worth it. :(
 
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vtcwbuff said:
I wish you wouldn't do that. Clueless, I had to resort to Google. I was purposely forced to read paragraph after paragraph of a WIKI article on Inigo Montoya. No matter how much I wanted to resist, I just had to know. It wasn't worth it. :(
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INCONCEIVABLE!
 
vtcwbuff said:
Husky68 wrote - "Stef - lose some weight and get in better shape, spread that butt and those legs out to make space, move, jump."

Exactly how will spreading one's butt improve defensive posture? Is there a no hands butt spreading technique? If not the defender has both hands occupied in the butt spreading process and won't be able to block shots or rebound.
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I don't know about everyones make up, but when I stand with my feet close together like a ballet dancer and reach for the sky my butt kind of sucks in like a French person's face cheeks when they talk (Stefs normal posture, to the point where she sometimes looks like she has one foot on top of the other they are so close); when I spread my feet out like a New Zealand Maori tribesman (kind of the posture I want Stef to take) my butt spreads out.
 
Coaches need to help players be as good as they can be, including recognizing when what they want the player to do isn't what that student/athlete can do. Not sure if Geno had heart to heart with Charde about another school, but if didn't maybe should have. No real villan here, Charde didn't come for one day or one semester or one year and leave. She committed to Uconn and stuck with it through good and bad. Geno didn't pull her scholarship. Her playing time went down from 26 to 15 minutes a game from her junior to senior year, lot probably due to how good Maya was even as a freshman. Charde kept at it as far as I could tell on the court up till her final game against Stanford where she had 10 points in 26 minutes.
Purposefully resisted is not a term I would associate with Charde's stay at Uconn, more like "coach missed opportunity to help Charde to reach her FULL potential as a college player" he didn't know how and she couldn't help him 'cause she didn't know how to explain what she was feeling/seeing.
 
Not sure that Geno missed the opportunity. Most of her development was in her own hands.
 
Icebear said:
Not sure that Geno missed the opportunity. Most of her development was in her own hands.
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Are you suggesting that coach A had no responsibility to help Charde develop to her full potential?

Isn't there a thread, today, about the coach cutting practice short because he felt the team wasn't practicing to its full potential? (I assume most BYs would agree that player development and practice are closely related.)

Or was it possible that both coach A and Charde were never quite able to get on the same page vis-a-vis the expectation that Charde may have had about being a player at UConn and that coach A had of Charde being a member of the team?

Peace,

John Fryer
 
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John Fryer said:
Are you suggesting that coach A had no responsibility to help Charde develop to her full potential?

Isn't there a thread, today, about the coach cutting practice short because he felt the team wasn't practicing to its full potential? (I assume most BYs would agree that player development and practice are closely related.)

Or was it possible that both coach A and Charde were never quite able to get on the same page vis-a-vis the expectation that Charde may have had about being a player at UConn and that coach A had of Charde being a member of the team?

Peace,

John Fryer
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No Charde had particular issues that no one was able to break through. They had less to do with basketball.
 
Icebear said:
No Charde had particular issues that no one was able to break through. They had less to do with basketball.
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thats why I dont buy the "purposefully resisting" comment
 
Nor does anyone else - except one poster. The one thing I disagree with is the thought that Auriemma didn't know how to deal with it. It wasn't just Auriemma dealing with Houston. I'm sure all of the coaches were involved as were her team mates.

"You can lead a horse to water . . . ." comes to mind. If there was a failure it was Houston's.
 
Seems like "purposefully resisting" has no end in sight and it comes down to opinion and those pesky opinions are dismissed by one side or another. Like has been stated, some buy in some do not buy in, just like humans to act in such a fashion.
 
vtcwbuff said:
Nor does anyone else - except one poster. The one thing I disagree with is the thought that Auriemma didn't know how to deal with it. It wasn't just Auriemma dealing with Houston. I'm sure all of the coaches were involved as were her team mates.

"You can lead a horse to water . . . ." comes to mind. If there was a failure it was Houston's.
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oh come now, you could at least name that poster. What evil mean spirited individual would dare have a diverging opinion on such a topic.
 
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vtcwbuff said:
I wish you wouldn't do that. Clueless, I had to resort to Google. I was purposely forced to read paragraph after paragraph of a WIKI article on Inigo Montoya. No matter how much I wanted to resist, I just had to know. It wasn't worth it. :(
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Anything related to The Princess Bride is worth it.
 
Cafe Poliziano said:
oh come now, you could at least name that poster. What evil mean spirited individual would dare have a diverging opinion on such a topic.
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I don't know if the dissenter is mean spirited or evil. I do know that they may have a reading comprehension problem.
 
vtcwbuff said:
I don't know if the dissenter is mean spirited or evil. I do know that they may have a reading comprehension problem.
Expand ...

Might also be that who ever this individual is, said something that was over analyzed out of the general theme of its context by those with no clear understanding of what the initial statement was saying.


If there was a failure it was Houston's. Hmmm sounds a bit like you agree to some degree with what the individual in question was saying... hmmm interesting...
 
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