McCallie-Sums up the difference in one sentence.

[pppggg]

McCallie said. "We fought and then we didn't fight. “ That sentence sums up what separates UCONN from the rest of the country. Other coaches can’t get their girls to do it for one night, even a big night on national TV. Geno gets his girls to do it night after night regardless of who they are playing.

 

[DaddyChoc]

why is it so hard to do? coaches are too soft, pampering at the college level?

 

[Bestiarius]

More accurately, "They were better than us in every way." I can't believe the Duke players just gave up. They were beaten and couldn't overcome.

 

[ThisJustIn]

why is it so hard to do? coaches are too soft, pampering at the college level?

I think this is a hard thing to do at all levels -- of life. I'm guessing that many of us complain about the work ethic of others -- how "hard" they work. If we turned an honest lens on ourselves and our work ethic, what would we see? Imagine if everyone worked as hard as they thought other folks should...

 

[pap49cba]

why is it so hard to do? coaches are too soft, pampering at the college level?

Too often, this is what happens when a coach calls his players out....

LINK

 

[Fightin Choke]

Too often, this is what happens when a coach calls his players out....

LINK

I don't think it is ever a good idea to berate or humiliate a player in public, whether it's a press conference, a comment to a journalist, or a tweet. Of course a coach needs to keep the players accountable, but there is plenty of opportunity for that out of the public eye (e.g., in practice/film sessions, in the coach's office, etc.).

 

[doggydaddy]

I think this is a hard thing to do at all levels -- of life. I'm guessing that many of us complain about the work ethic of others -- how "hard" they work. If we turned an honest lens on ourselves and our work ethic, what would we see? Imagine if everyone worked as hard as they thought other folks should...

I'm retired. I also retired my work ethic.

I'm working on retiring all my ethics.

 

[Striper69]

I don't think it is ever a good idea to berate or humiliate a player in public, whether it's a press conference, a comment to a journalist, or a tweet. Of course a coach needs to keep the players accountable, but there is plenty of opportunity for that out of the public eye (e.g., in practice/film sessions, in the coach's office, etc.).

Where's that Coach Mora vid?

"Playoffs...playoffs?

 

[Stray Cat]

I don't think it is ever a good idea to berate or humiliate a player in public, whether it's a press conference, a comment to a journalist, or a tweet. Of course a coach needs to keep the players accountable, but there is plenty of opportunity for that out of the public eye (e.g., in practice/film sessions, in the coach's office, etc.).

Totally agree! His comments were better suited for the locker room...not in public.

Southern Illinois athletic director Mario Moccia said one of the core reasons Barry Hinson was hired as the men's basketball coach two years ago was because the 52-year-old coach "brings passion into the equation."

Passion is one thing...making yourself and your program look like a total a*** is another. This coach would no longer have a job if I was the AD!

 

[Artifact]

Duke is loaded with the most talented women's star players in basketball. They are great individual players but share little to no team play! Whose responsibility is that?

 

[DaddyChoc]

Too often, this is what happens when a coach calls his players out....

LINK

I see the frustration... Im just talking about the effort, its not a bad thing to say I want my team to do everything like UConn.

I guess some teams are so desperate for wins and talent they accept whatever from whomever.

Geno wasnt always on top but he demanded effort and perfection. He was able to tell you about yourself and left you with options.

Of course his track record speaks for itself these days.

 

[Aluminny69]

McCallie said. "We fought and then we didn't fight. “ That sentence sums up what separates UCONN from the rest of the country. Other coaches can’t get their girls to do it for one night, even a big night on national TV. Geno gets his girls to do it night after night regardless of who they are playing.

For me, this statement is a gross over simplification. It takes a lot more than "fighting" to win a game. It also takes a lot more than just a "will to win." If you wanted a relative simplification, basically for a period of time, Duke's shots just didn't go in. ( 0 for 12 or something like that.)

If you broke the game down into four minute segments, there were segments that UConn won, and segments that Duke won. For those segments that Duke outplayed UConn, would she say (or anyone) that UConn didn't fight? No. UConn just made some dumb passes. It happens.

If McCalllie were being honest, she would have said that her game plan didn't work, and she didn't adjust. It appeared to me that the game plan was to play a sagging zone, with double coverage of Stef inside. They left KML alone, because she hadn't played for 8 games, and was just coming back from injury. Not a bad assumption, but it didn't work. And Duke didn't adjust fast enough.

One of the reasons that McGraw and ND were successful against UConn was that ND usually had a good game plan for UConn, and if it wasn't working, they changed to something that did work. IMHO, McGraw (sp.? too lazy to look it up.) is as good as Geno at making halftime adjustments.

My observation is, there are very few women's coaches who are willing to take responsibility for a loss. (Men's coaches too, maybe.) As a former coach, I can attest to the fact that sometimes players just don't do what you coached them to do. But at the same time, a coach needs to constantly assess their game plan, and think about what they can do better to help their team have a chance to succeed. Saying that their team wasn't willing to "fight" for a victory is non-productive in my opinion.

Okay, now I'm starting to ramble, so I'll stop here.

 

[EricLA]

I agree with Alumni69 for the most part. The last 5 minutes of the first half where Duke outscored UCONN by a bunch, and the periods in the 2nd half where they whittled the lead from close to 25 down to 12 or 13 - I'd say Duke was still fighting throughout the game.

However, is it fair to say Duke didn't adjust? Is there ANY team out there who would lose by less than 20 to UCONN at full strength? MAYBE Notre Dame. But it's how ND's players are coached. You can't just prepare for UCONN for a week before the game and change your colors, so to speak, expecting a close game or a win. It's how your team prepares every single day.

How many teams does UCONN play where there is an inordinate amount of dribbling by 1 player, or very little passing, ball movement, or motion offense? On top of that, how many coaches teach their players to THINK and create their own offense based on what the defense is giving you? My answer would be very few. Perhaps only UCONN and Notre Dame.

Could Duke have played zone more? Or a box and 1 with someone sticking to KML all night? Heck, with KML, you can play awesome defense for 30 seconds, lose KML on a last second screen, and because she gets her shot off so fast, BAM she hits a 3 and it feels like your defense sucked when it was actually great for 30 seconds.

I'm not trying to make excuses for Duke or McCallie, but you can't change who you are for 1 game to try to beat UCONN. You have to look at how UCONN plays, and more importantly, how they practice, and adjust what you do from that if you want to beat them, especially when they have so much talent.

 

[FairView]

McCallie said. "We fought and then we didn't fight. “ That sentence sums up what separates UCONN from the rest of the country. Other coaches can’t get their girls to do it for one night, even a big night on national TV. Geno gets his girls to do it night after night regardless of who they are playing.

I the coach saying UConn wanted it more?

 

[John Glass]

JPM should have said "we didn't play hard, smart, and together for 40 minutes"

 

[UcMiami]

I think this is generally a cop out when coaches say this - only very occasionally have I seen a team whose spirit is truly broken and the players quite trying (with the exception of the last few minutes of a blow-out, and generally then it is the bench on the court and they actually have high energy because it is the only time they get in.)
What bothers me is - you are the coach, if the team isn't playing well use your time-outs, if they still aren't playing the way you want them to, find some players on your bench who will even if they don't have the skill level of your starters - send a d___ message.
Quotes like coach P after the game ... 'we weren't doing ______' or 'we didn't have enough _____'! If that is true, then what were you doing during the game cause you sure weren't coaching. It is fine to say, 'we tried to do ____ but the opponent stopped us'. Or 'we just couldn't find a way to counter ____'. But to say we didn't do something is saying you forgot, or you couldn't be bothered, or you didn't practice well enough.
An example ... after the third wide open KML jumper, how about saying ... the next time KML is left wide open, I am pulling all of you off the court and putting the bench in. I don't care if we give up three straight lay-ups because three people are focused on #23, but she gets no more open 3 pointers. Or change to a box and one defense and tell the one she is done for the night the next time KML is left open.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

McCallie-Sums up the difference in one sentence.

Cam sums up the difference in one sentence: "UConn has Geno, and we don't."

 

[arty155]

Cam sums up the difference in one sentence: "UConn has Geno, and we don't."

"I foresaw this... The force is too strong is this one... we’re losing him to the Storrs Side…"

 

[Sonny44]

For me, this statement is a gross over simplification. It takes a lot more than "fighting" to win a game. It also takes a lot more than just a "will to win." If you wanted a relative simplification, basically for a period of time, Duke's shots just didn't go in. ( 0 for 12 or something like that.)

If you broke the game down into four minute segments, there were segments that UConn won, and segments that Duke won. For those segments that Duke outplayed UConn, would she say (or anyone) that UConn didn't fight? No. UConn just made some dumb passes. It happens.

If McCalllie were being honest, she would have said that her game plan didn't work, and she didn't adjust. It appeared to me that the game plan was to play a sagging zone, with double coverage of Stef inside. They left KML alone, because she hadn't played for 8 games, and was just coming back from injury. Not a bad assumption, but it didn't work. And Duke didn't adjust fast enough.

One of the reasons that McGraw and ND were successful against UConn was that ND usually had a good game plan for UConn, and if it wasn't working, they changed to something that did work. IMHO, McGraw (sp.? too lazy to look it up.) is as good as Geno at making halftime adjustments.

My observation is, there are very few women's coaches who are willing to take responsibility for a loss. (Men's coaches too, maybe.) As a former coach, I can attest to the fact that sometimes players just don't do what you coached them to do. But at the same time, a coach needs to constantly assess their game plan, and think about what they can do better to help their team have a chance to succeed. Saying that their team wasn't willing to "fight" for a victory is non-productive in my opinion.

Okay, now I'm starting to ramble, so I'll stop here.

True, but you also have to come up with a game plan that your kids are capable of, no?

 

[jsloanjr]

IMO, she has not developed her players...........Has EW got better or worse since she got to Duke?........Attitude starts at the top..........That is why Geno and UCONN are so successful.......