Its safe to say Geno is having a lot of fun coaching this team.
Yes, it's very safe to say that. Here's why: Coaches like/love to coach. They like a real challenge. Coaches like building a program. The last four years, Geno arguably had the best class (threesome) of all time, as they did something
no other class had ever done. Their freshman year, he had to change some mindsets and attitudes, and instill some personal and team discipline. The second year (after they had learned and embraced the UConn way of playing basketball), all he had to do is pretty much just roll a basketball out into the court, blow the whistle, and tell them to "get after it" (I'm being facetious of course).
He had everything on the last 3 teams. Leadership, experience, talent, and the experience of going the distance to win it all. It was a foregone conclusion that UConn was the elephant in the room the entire season. They were winning games by 30 - 50 point margins. Most of their games were over by half time. His starters rarely played more than 25 minutes a night. He also had Gabby and Napheesa coming off the bench as 6th & 7th women. When tournament play got into the second weekend, his bench shrunk down to those two players. All of the pundits, analysts and fans had UConn winning the NC every year, as they had morphed into a Goliath.
That
is not the case today. Nothing is guaranteed or can be taken for granted. He's had to replace 3 starters, his bench is extremely shallow and he added 3 freshmen. This year, there's a boogeyman lurking out there somewhere looking to hand the Huskies their first defeat (and they know it). He can leap out of the shadows at any time. Yes, UConn is winning games not many people thought they would at the beginning of the season, but they're not out of the woods just yet. They've still got one more giant to slay (@Maryland Dec 29) before they begin conference play on January 1st at the University of Central Florida.
Geno has said several times in recent post game pressers, that HE sees things in practice (and games) that he doesn't like. Things that are not being done to his satisfaction. Things that only he and his staff can see. Things that they try and hide until they can be fixed. His asking for some "
happy pills" for Christmas should be a clue. There is a much smaller margin for error now than in recent years. So, for all of those reasons (and more), Geno has to actually coach this year. I'm guessing he loves the challenge. Imagine for a moment the buzz in WCBB that would abound if Geno and his staff can pull out another NC this year.
A year that many thought was to be a rebuilding or "off" year for the program. I've said many times in recent posts that if Geno can pull THIS ONE off, not only should he be named coach of the decade, they should change the name of the NC trophy to "The Geno Auriemma Trophy". As in the "
Lombardi" trophy in the NFL and The
Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy, which is the championship trophy awarded annually by the
National Basketball Association (NBA) to the
winner of the
NBA Finals. The name of the trophy was the
Walter A. Brown Trophy until 1984. Those trophies bare their names because they had a huge impact on the game. The same can be said for Geno on WCBB. I know this may seem like heresy, but I also think there are many others in the sports world that think if the trophy is to be renamed, it should be the "Pat Summitt" trophy.
The word on the street was (during the summer) and is, if you're going to beat UConn, you'd better do it THIS year. Because with the class they have coming in, and the two transfers that will be eligible, it will be back to business as usual for the Huskies, winning games by 30-40 points. Next year, more of the same as he welcomes in those 4 new freshmen into the program that will have to go through his "boot camp", and learn how to play basketball "the UConn way". Is Geno having fun coaching his team this year, you bet. No doubt he's pleased with the results thus far.
