Geno does it all the time, but in the right way, whatever that is.
I strongly suspected somebody would mention this, and, it is an odd thing. One of the fairly frequent 'bones of contention" on this board is "how to treat players". It's a natural source of disagreement and confusion for a couple of reasons.
1. First, we all have different personal experiences with discipline/teaching/coaching/child-rearing that color our outlook.
2. Each player is different, and will respond to different method.
3. Each coach is different, and will be more comfortable and more effective with certain approaches over other methods.
There's a fourth factor that I've mentioned a few times. Like many here, I went to college and have children who went. Like a few folks, I also worked on campus for a while - in my case, from 1983 - 1996. The fourth factor is, college students are in a highly dynamic period in their life. Not only are their personalities individual, but, they are changing and maturing so much, and so differently. Some come in, barely 18, but think and act like they're 25. Some leave at 22, but still think and act like they're 15.
It's a real juggling act, for a coach, trying to figure out which "buttons to press" based on personality, but, in this age group, the "right button" can change, sometimes more than once, and in a short time frame.
It's like playing a high-stakes card game, but a game where the rules change as you play it - and, you have to recognize the changes and adapt on the fly.
What's really insidious is, the players are smart, and will try and "play young" or "play old" as it suits them. When threatened, they'll want to play the "I"m a kid" card - when denied something they want, they'll play the "I'm an adult" card. The coaching staff needs to be able to recognize when this is legitimate, and when it's a ruse to gain advantage.
Not easy to do - and, I think Sonny is right in saying that Geno will play the "criticize in public" card on occasion, and that he usually does it "in the right way, whatever that is."
If I had to guess, "the right way" is when there have been repeated attempts to make a point out of the public eye - and the player isn't listening, or is stubbornly rationalizing their refusal to accept it - particularly if it isn't a problem in comprehension, but, rather one of immature defiance. I think that when that happens, Geno basically feels that the player has determined to set their own agenda, and that he doesn't have to cover for them about it. He'll accept responsibility for his thinking and his decisions, but, he's not gonna make excuses for your thinking and decisions if you've steadily refused his guidance.
When it happens, when a UConn player gets called out in public, folks get upset at Geno - he's throwin' 'em under the bus, they're just kids, he's the adult here, yada, yada, yada.
But, he's trying to turn them into adults. And, one of the most important thing you need to learn as an adult is, you are responsible for your decisions - nobody else. Not coach, not Mom & Dad, not your peers, not your teachers, you are - and, you don't get to "own" just the good decisions, the successes. You get to own the failures, the stupid choices, the real foul-ups, the immature ones, the lack of attention, the sloppy, half-a$$ed ones too.
There's all kinds a' cliches about this sort of thing - "friends come and go, but, enemies accumulate", "Success has many fathers, but, failure is an orphan", "failures are the only things you can truly call your own" - but, in our current culture, admission of .. hell, not even failure, admission of less-than-stunningly success, is a sign of weakness.
Now, children are inclined to avoid the consequences of responsibility anyway - that's why it's doled out so carefully and gradually as they age and mature. But, we've seemed to "up the ante" when it comes to evading perceived blame. Nearly a year ago, I saw an on-line post that described the current-day American Public Eye as "The Land of "Gotcha!"". I think that's true. We're teaching children the destructive combination of "You're a special snowflake" and "you can't show ignorance/fallibility/weakness/flaws".
We tell 'em they're nearly perfect, and we tell 'em that admitting they're aren't nearly perfect is to be avoided at all costs. We've heard former players refer to Geno as "tearing you down, then he builds you back up again". I think this is part of what he tears down - this self-image of "I'm nearly perfect, and I can't possibly admit to myself or others that I'm not". I think part of what he builds up is "embrace your failures, learn from them - once you admit you can do better, that you don't know everything, then there's no limit to what you can improve upon." When that's the motivation to criticizing a player or a performance in public - not to excuse them or yourself, but to hold them accountable for an immature refusal to learn - then, it can be productive.
