Megan speaks

[Charliebball]

Understand you are concerned about the players and share that concern. Understand that you are frustrated you don't have access to everything that goes into player-related decision making. But isn't it just a wee bit presumptuous to think that your bits of information and distant vantage point is better or more relevant than the coaches and players and staff?

I'm not sure why it's hard to agree that for every additional minute a player is on the court there is a greater inherent risk of a new injury or the aggravation of an existing injury.............I haven't heard of too many players getting injured while sitting on the bench although I am aware that pink eye has been going around in Bergen County WBB circles recently.................this is not open to medical question, it's a simple fact..............I am not saying that I know better then the medical staff, I'm saying that sitting on the bench is safer for a player then playing in the game in the fourth quarter with your team up by 36 points.....................Geno often made the decision to play some of his starters longer then they usually would because he was not satisfied with the play of his bench players.......................therefore one could fairly make the argument that he is "risking" the health of his starters in order to make a point to his bench players...........now you can question how great that "risk" is or agree that this is a worthwhile risk necessary to maintain the UConn "Way" but no matter how you try to deny it this is a situation that all coaches have to deal with during the season

 

[jaundicedeye]

Boneyard has become the samizdat of WCBB without state censorship.
It is the Shakespeare of WCBB dramas, the Conan Doyle of WCBB detective stories and the Tolstoy of WCBB novels.

A bit florid but I'll roll with it and agree!

 

[augustaTC]

Geno often made the decision to play some of his starters longer then they usually would because he was not satisfied with the play of his bench players

Assumes you know what "then (sic) they usually would" is. But he said that, didn't he? Well, if you believe every word that comes from Geno's mouth as gospel, I suppose you can draw that conclusion. Personally, I take most everything he says with a grain of salt, sometimes many.

Maybe that's why he left the starters in or maybe he had another reason he chose not to share or maybe he goofed or maybe that's the first answer that popped into his head when questioned. The point is, you don't know what goes thru his mind when he makes decisions because he may or may not share it, or only share part of it, or maybe it's what his experience and gut said to do.

The last part of your last sentence is the most valid: that's one of the things coaches do - they make decisions, and it's still a bit presumptuous to think you know better. You might I guess, in which case maybe you should apply for Ollie's job!

Not picking on you Charlieball, just tired that all a thread needs is "Megan" in the title and it eventually devolves into second guessing Auriemma and his staff. Tedious.

 

[Charliebball]

Assumes you know what "then (sic) they usually would" is. But he said that, didn't he? Well, if you believe every word that comes from Geno's mouth as gospel, I suppose you can draw that conclusion. Personally, I take most everything he says with a grain of salt, sometimes many.

Maybe that's why he left the starters in or maybe he had another reason he chose not to share or maybe he goofed or maybe that's the first answer that popped into his head when questioned. The point is, you don't know what goes thru his mind when he makes decisions because he may or may not share it, or only share part of it, or maybe it's what his experience and gut said to do.

The last part of your last sentence is the most valid: that's one of the things coaches do - they make decisions, and it's still a bit presumptuous to think you know better. You might I guess, in which case maybe you should apply for Ollie's job!

Not picking on you Charlieball, just tired that all a thread needs is "Megan" in the title and it eventually devolves into second guessing Auriemma and his staff. Tedious.

No worries.......................I never said I knew better, I'm just stating my personal unease with the additional minutes logged by players that I believe didn't need to be on the court.......,,,.........I watched Crystal's play deteriorate due to shinsplints and wondered why the heck she was still out there when the team had a big lead.........................I was chastised for my opinion because Geno and the med staff "knew better" yet the next thing we know she's not practicing or playing in games................but you are correct.................this is a Megan Walker thread that I have somehow hijacked......................sorry about that...........

 

[Mister2]

Why do you predict so confidently that Christyn Williams’s freshman experience will be similar to Megan’s, rather than to that of Kia Nurse, Bria Hartley, Stef Dolson, Caroline Doty, Tiffany Hayes, or Renee Montgomery — all of whom started or played major minutes as freshmen under Geno?

I used the word "when" in the sense of a strong "if".

 

[HuskyNan]

The sports department has someone who is tasked with reading the Boneyard. He is this. Surprise? My clients are buying technology to better understand what their client want. We are clients of the UConn AD .

The Compliance Department reads the Boneyard. This I know for a fact as I met the folks up there after the infamous NCAA complaint that was basically 30+ pages of Boneyard posts.

 

[JellyBean]

This young lady is going to be okay. Year 1 is done and she went through some growing pains. She is going to be okay.

 

[MD#12Fan]

This young lady is going to be okay. Year 1 is done and she went through some growing pains. She is going to be okay.

I don't agree with your characterization. I believe we're talking about a process. There's no "year 1 is over" aspect to this. First of all, year 1 is not over. One could claim the season is only half over. Have you ever seen the saying, "The journey is the destination".
The point is that the UConn basketball program is uncompromising. It is because of that that UConn experiences unparalleled success year after year. Being a part of that experience is life-changing for these girls. Girls go to UConn because of that and because they know they will leave UConn as better players and people. Watch the HBO documentary, UConn: March to Madness, episode 4. If the interview with Saniya Chong's mother doesn't move you, you're not human.
Geno calls it "walking through the front door". I think that means doing things right, no short-cuts.
Now- in this 2nd half of the season- what would it mean for Meg and the UConn program for her to do something to contribute to this team's success!

 

[Bama fan]

Boneyard has become the samizdat of WCBB without state censorship.
It is the Shakespeare of WCBB dramas, the Conan Doyle of WCBB detective stories and the Tolstoy of WCBB novels.

That is quite a promotional encomium for our humble BY. I love the "samizdat' reference. Fairly abstruse but damn funny!

 

[Bronx23]

Why do you predict so confidently that Christyn Williams’s freshman experience will be similar to Megan’s, rather than to that of Kia Nurse, Bria Hartley, Stef Dolson, Caroline Doty, Tiffany Hayes, or Renee Montgomery — all of whom started or played major minutes as freshmen under Geno?

In my opinion (looking from a distance), I think that the difference between freshmen who play a lot and those who play less has very little to do with basketball skills, and quite a lot to do with personal maturity and more specifically work ethic. The ability to learn quickly what the coaches are teaching is also a factor.

Based on press releases (an admittedly unreliable source), it seems possible that ONO and C. Williams may have the personal assets that will allow them to contribute more as freshmen than this year’s group has done.

I concur with the point that playing time has a lot to do with what a would call social/emotional/effort factors than skill or general athleticism.
I'm sure someone else here may have the #'s of minutes played by each player, but I'd guess that Kyla & Molly have either have played close to or maybe even more minutes than MW. Yes they are both sophs and she is a freshman and they've had a full year longer to get "it". I'd also guess that a year ago, they were further along is understanding, accepting and beginning to integrate those things into their effort and play.
Bronx23

 

[DriveLH]

I concur with the point that playing time has a lot to do with what a would call social/emotional/effort factors than skill or general athleticism.
I'm sure someone else here may have the #'s of minutes played by each player, but I'd guess that Kyla & Molly have either have played close to or maybe even more minutes than MW. Yes they are both sophs and she is a freshman and they've had a full year longer to get "it". I'd also guess that a year ago, they were further along is understanding, accepting and beginning to integrate those things into their effort and play.
Bronx23

Actually, Megan Walker played 439 minutes, Molly Bent 216 and Kyla Irwin 268.

 

[DefenseBB]

Is that you Phil Mushnick?

That is definitely not a fair comparison- Charlie has put reasesrch, thought and logic into his position, to which The person to whom you refer has virtually never done and certainly not in respect to his hack job he wrote on Geno.

That said, people are entitled to their own interpretations and CBB’s perspective is congruent in that with 3 of our players that have nagging injuries that have or are flairing up, it absolutley is a fair comment that at these flair up times, Gabby, Crystal Dangerfield and KLS could have played until the game was at hand and then been rested to prevent aggravation.

I also think the medical staff is on top of the situation and gives the coaches and players the facts and best options. Sometimes practice time is limited if warranted, if required games are sat out. For the most part I do think they exercise good judgement on this, however with respect to these 3, extra time sitting in many of these would not have been the worst thing and the staff would not have compromised their principles.

Geno is arguably the best BB Coach of all time, however he is not infallible or all knowing so sometimes criticism is logical and discussion is ok to occur.

 

[bags27]

Just gonna keep repeating: 2020-2021 NPOY.