John A. tweets some post-practice "Geno's"

[pap49cba]

John Altavilla ‏@jaltavilla
Comedy excerpt from Geno: "Why are none of these freshmen as far along as Kalana Mosqueda-Lewis was at this time.?"

John Altavilla ‏@jaltavilla
Geno punchline: " KML came here with an attitude. The other three have a tendency to be space cadets.”

John Altavilla ‏@jaltavilla
Geno thinks ranking high school players, from 1 to whatever, is one of the dopiest endeavors in the history of mankind

John Altavilla ‏@jaltavilla
Geno says there is no way to know what a player is made of until she gets to campus "and then you cross your fingers."

John Altavilla ‏@jaltavilla
Geno says Morgan Tuck "is a lot better than she has had the chance to show."

John Altavilla ‏@jaltavilla
Geno: "If Morgan didn't worry so much, she'd be great. If she had #KML mentality, she'd start and play 30 minutes."

John Altavilla ‏@jaltavilla
Geno says there is tremendous pressure on college coaches to teach because of the unpreparedness of many young players.

John Altavilla ‏@jaltavilla
Geno: " Our freshmen and sophomores have a long way to go."

 

[schmendrick]

Didn't he make the space cadet comment about Brianna Banks last year? Guess it worked.

 

[UCONNfan1]

I get that some of that may be motivation but it's disappointing when you consider he's basically saying aside from KML, none of the rest are ready for prime time (Kiah, Brianna, Morgan, Moriah or Breanna). I have no doubt they will get it sooner or later, but maybe they are just too passive in relying on the upper classmen at this point... I will say I think Banks has been much better than she was last year. A few offensively-challenged games hasn't changed that...

 

[MilfordHusky]

Kaleena is a rare one. She was not afraid to wear the jersey of one of the greatest of all time. Parade Magazine ranked her as the #4 player in the nation as a 15-year old sophomore, then #3 and #1 her last two years. She was on the nation's top HS team. As Geno noted, she acts much older than her age. She is a hard working, fearless, and talented player.

I thought Stewie would be similar, but despite tremendous skills and experience, she has more of a learning curve. Her mindset is different.

Interesting comment on Morgan. Pair her with Kaleena for workouts next year. KML will pass along some Kelly Faris.

Most frosh have a steep learning curve. Even Maya didn't know exactly what she was doing, but she had talent and hard work to cover it up. Kaleena had a little more of a transition, but she was damn good last year.

I think the underclassmen will be fine. They just need to keep listening and working. It may take longer than we hoped. If just 2 of Brianna, Kiah, Breanna, Moriah, and Morgan really step up this season, we'll win it all.

 

[meyers7]

Sounds a bit hyperbole from Geno. KML doesn't even play 30 minutes a game. I wouldn't put too much into these comments.

 

[Goodgood]

Remember Griner in the freshman year? She was skinny as a rail and Tina took her to the cleaners. Well, Breanna is going through the same thing. She is going to get stronger with time and she will be special. Right now, she is competing with older and stronger players and just as big. She is smart and dedicated, she knows what she has to do...

 

[Bestiarius]

I think Geno's negative comments actually take pressure off the freshmen. It sets fan expectations to a lower level, so when they screw up, we are more likely to say "no problem, to be expected" rather than "what the H is wrong with her?" The future is bright.

 

[alexrgct]

Remember Griner in the freshman year? She was skinny as a rail and Tina took her to the cleaners. Well, Breanna is going through the same thing. She is going to get stronger with time and she will be special. Right now, she is competing with older and stronger players and just as big. She is smart and dedicated, she knows what she has to do...

Griner was the best player on a team that made the F4. I realize it's not fair to compare everyone to her, but still.

 

[Tonyc]

Ive see alot of golfers with alot of talent that never practice, that really dont care what they shoot, pretty much go through the motions and at times have very good rounds and other times look a mess. Well thats the way it is in all sports. There will be many people watching the Super Bowl today wishing they were playing. Many dreaming of greatness unfortunatly most of those dont have the talent to play in a Super Bowl. The point here is many of us see the greatness in players and we think "only if". Only if they did this or that. Well some players want it more then others, some let negitive thoughts get in the way and just plain think to much instead of letting their talent take over and some just dont care. The special ones will work harder then everybody else until they reach their goals. For those who want it and have talent and are coachable they have a chance. For those who choose to go through the motions well there is no hope.

Im not to concerned about this UConn squad. They have the talent, they have the coaching, and they are disiplined. All it takes now is time to develop and get healthly. One thing Ive noticed this season is the improvement of Stef KML BB and Kelly. I see Kellys play as infectious. Alot of our team is trying to duplicate what Kelly does. Listening to Kelly in interviews shows me she has coaching ability. She will play professional ball and I expect to see her back on the bench coaching at UCOnn someday.