Megans growth to Success

[Tonyc]

Before you can get better you have to get worse. Meaning you have to change the way your doing things and do things the way your suppose to do them. That comes from coaching and teaching and for the player it means changing the way they play the game. The hardest thing to do is change. Most people will never change they will always take the easy road. To become great at anything you have to re learn what youve been doing wrong for all your years. So your coaches work with you. Train you. Teach you the right way to play the game and then its repetition of those skills until it becomes reflexive. It does you no good to sit in the gym and shoot 500 shots a day if your doing it the wrong way. Thats why you have coaches. UConn has the best coaching staff for that in WCBB. They teach train and develop their players. Then its constant practice or doing it til you cant get it wrong as Bria Hartly has said. How long does that take? As long as it takes for you to get it. Everybody is different.

For Meg we have watched her over the years. Shes made a total commitment and its showing now. To make a total commintment you have to give up doing things the way youve been doing them and do things the way you have to to become successful. You have to have goals too. Meg has done that and the results are showing now. I remember a golf pro giving me a lesson. I stayed on the range after for 2 1/2 hours practicing what he showed me. I hit over 500 golf balls that afternoon. When I felt I had it down I went back up to the pro shop. The second asst pro said to me youve been down there over 2 1/2 hours what are you crazy its 94 degrees. I looked at him and smiled and said. The difference between me and you is that I hit balls til it becomes reflexive and you get a lesson and hit 20 to 30 balls and think youve got it. Then when you go out to play a match you have to think about what your doing and I dont and you screw it up. You see most people never make a total commitment to do anything in their lives. Most people try for a little while and then quit. I call that going back to your comfort zone. One thing Geno does is get you out of your comfort zone. That goes back to one of my ole sayings. Winners never quit and quitters never win. Meg is a winner. Right now there is no one in WCBB who is better then Meg. Shes the best player in the country and shes been trained and is being trained by the best coaching staff in WCBB. Meg has the want to. Meg has a dream and nobody can take that dream away from her and the best part is shes not where she wants to be yet because she has goals. I know that because Ive watched and studied winners. It all comes down to that little basketball court between your ears. Once you can do that then you have a chance to do something special in your life. Megan Walker is special.

 

[EricLA]

Love you Tony, but more paragraphs please!!! Still, well said!!

Just to add a little something extra...

People (including BY'ers) will often compare highly rated recruits coming out of HS as to how well they do their freshmen years. Sometimes it's hard because a player like Westbrook came to Tennessee and started right away from day 1. Megan, on the other hand, came off the bench as UCONN started Danger, Nurse, Williams, Collier and Samuelson.

But Tony's point is right in that I think UCONN starts from day 1 to break down freshmen, get them to stop all the bad habits, and do things the right way. I think it's one big reason UCONN freshmen not only struggle so much, but often look lost, because they are THINKING all the time. They can't play by instinct like they did in high school.

Perfect example is Boston this year. Not only does she start (out of necessity), but also while I have no doubt she's getting coaching, she's basically told "go out and do what you do best and we will work little by little on changing things". She' s not being broken of all her bad habits, and may never be as long as Dawn coaches her.

It takes time for freshmen to eliminate all the bad habit(s) they had, get the new repetitions over and over so playing eventually become instinct, and then put it all together on the court. Christyn was getting it towards the end of last year, but this year she's not improved nearly as much as even Megan. Why? IMHO because Christyn spent the summer traveling all over the world playing for different teams etc, and not working on her body and the repetitions and techniques that are required for her to be the best she can be.

I hope Williams stays home this summer and works on all the things she needs to do like Megan did. Transform her body. Work on the specific so she can be 100% present in every play on offense and defense every minute she's on the floor.

 

[da60]

Love you Tony, but more paragraphs please!!! Still, well said!!

Just to add a little something extra...

People (including BY'ers) will often compare highly rated recruits coming out of HS as to how well they do their freshmen years. Sometimes it's hard because a player like Westbrook came to Tennessee and started right away from day 1. Megan, on the other hand, came off the bench as UCONN started Danger, Nurse, Williams, Collier and Samuelson.

But Tony's point is right in that I think UCONN starts from day 1 to break down freshmen, get them to stop all the bad habits, and do things the right way. I think it's one big reason UCONN freshmen not only struggle so much, but often look lost, because they are THINKING all the time. They can't play by instinct like they did in high school.

Perfect example is Boston this year. Not only does she start (out of necessity), but also while I have no doubt she's getting coaching, she's basically told "go out and do what you do best and we will work little by little on changing things". She' s not being broken of all her bad habits, and may never be as long as Dawn coaches her.

It takes time for freshmen to eliminate all the bad habit(s) they had, get the new repetitions over and over so playing eventually become instinct, and then put it all together on the court. Christyn was getting it towards the end of last year, but this year she's not improved nearly as much as even Megan. Why? IMHO because Christyn spent the summer traveling all over the world playing for different teams etc, and not working on her body and the repetitions and techniques that are required for her to be the best she can be.

I hope Williams stays home this summer and works on all the things she needs to do like Megan did. Transform her body. Work on the specific so she can be 100% present in every play on offense and defense every minute she's on the floor.

 

[da60]

Well stated, I think you hit the nail! I am disappointed in her play as a recently said. She is a very nice and extremely talented young lady. She was all over the place except the Uconn gym and weight room. Geno definitely will reel her in and have her advance, just like MW. If handled correctly, she should be able to dominate. Just look at O and the jump she took.

 

[Ozimoto]

"But Tony's point is right in that I think UCONN starts from day 1 to break down freshmen, get them to stop all the bad habits, and do things the right way. I think it's one big reason UCONN freshmen not only struggle so much, but often look lost, because they are THINKING all the time. They can't play by instinct like they did in high school."

So Eric, are you saying that UConn is the USMC of women's college basketball?

 

[j66kicker]

So Eric, are you saying that UConn is the USMC of women's college basketball?

No, UConn is the Seal Team 6 of women’s college basketball.

 

[Plebe]

No, UConn is the Seal Team 6 of women’s college basketball.

Certainly an appropriate moniker considering how often UConn's had only a 6-player rotation in recent years.

 

[oldude]

Well stated, I think you hit the nail! I am disappointed in her play as a recently said. She is a very nice and extremely talented young lady. She was all over the place except the Uconn gym and weight room. Geno definitely will reel her in and have her advance, just like MW. If handled correctly, she should be able to dominate. Just look at O and the jump she took.

To be clear, Christyn “was all over the place” with Geno’s full blessing and support. He wanted her to develop her isolation abilities to take the ball and score. There are few better opportunities to achieve that goal than playing 3 on 3 against some of the very best players around the world.

 

[oldude]

"But Tony's point is right in that I think UCONN starts from day 1 to break down freshmen, get them to stop all the bad habits, and do things the right way. I think it's one big reason UCONN freshmen not only struggle so much, but often look lost, because they are THINKING all the time. They can't play by instinct like they did in high school."

So Eric, are you saying that UConn is the USMC of women's college basketball?

I’m reminded of the comment by Coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) in the movie Hoosiers, “I’m gonna break them down. Then I’m gonna build them back up again.”

 

[eebmg]

Breaking the player down so you can rebuild them is a bit simplistic. In many cases i think it is the case when effort or style does not fit but some players already have alot of desirable traits. Aubrey comes to mind. She is not being broken down. She already offers significant tangibles and intangibles and all geno has to do is build on a sturdy infrastructure

 

[Carnac]

Love you Tony, but more paragraphs please!!! Still, well said!!

Just to add a little something extra...

People (including BY'ers) will often compare highly rated recruits coming out of HS as to how well they do their freshmen years. Sometimes it's hard because a player like Westbrook came to Tennessee and started right away from day 1. Megan, on the other hand, came off the bench as UCONN started Danger, Nurse, Williams, Collier and Samuelson.

But Tony's point is right in that I think UCONN starts from day 1 to break down freshmen, get them to stop all the bad habits, and do things the right way. I think it's one big reason UCONN freshmen not only struggle so much, but often look lost, because they are THINKING all the time. They can't play by instinct like they did in high school.

Perfect example is Boston this year. Not only does she start (out of necessity), but also while I have no doubt she's getting coaching, she's basically told "go out and do what you do best and we will work little by little on changing things". She' s not being broken of all her bad habits, and may never be as long as Dawn coaches her.

It takes time for freshmen to eliminate all the bad habit(s) they had, get the new repetitions over and over so playing eventually become instinct, and then put it all together on the court. Christyn was getting it towards the end of last year, but this year she's not improved nearly as much as even Megan. Why? IMHO because Christyn spent the summer traveling all over the world playing for different teams etc, and not working on her body and the repetitions and techniques that are required for her to be the best she can be.

I hope Williams stays home this summer and works on all the things she needs to do like Megan did. Transform her body. Work on the specific so she can be 100% present in every play on offense and defense every minute she's on the floor.

Thanks Eric. Great post. You touched on some points that are sometimes either dismissed or overlooked by most fans i.e., why is Boston starting at South Carolina. Is it because of promises made during her recruitment, or because she's the best post on their roster? The contrast between South Carolina and UConn is broad as you stated. It would not surprise me to learn that Boston was guaranteed to start (among other things) if she came to SC. The only guarantees Geno gives potential recruits is the opportunity to compete for playing time.

If one understands that the standards and expectations are different at UConn versus other programs, they would more easily be able to temper their expectations of incoming freshmen. Geno reiterates his philosophy on incoming freshmen every year. No matter how great or accomplished they were in high school, they must be broken down, then built up, similar to what the armed services do to “boots” during basic training. The level of play between HS and elite Division 1 wcbb is as wide as the grand canyon. Some players can make that transition, some can't.

For those reasons, I follow Geno’s lead in having zero expectations for freshmen. Anything we get from them is gravy because Geno says it takes the average freshman a full year to grasp and completely understand his system. Sometimes UConn freshmen are forced to start (Christyn Williams) because of injuries or personnel shortages.

Megan had a difficult freshman year because of the media hype that preceded her arrival and her difficulty in learning the system. Look at her now. She’s got first team All American written all over her. She’s ready now. What she’s done these first 8 games, she’ll be doing all year. The freshmen will get it eventually. Some take longer than others.

The dynamics of recruiting changes from year to year. it's "cut throat" to say the least. The "elite" programs all recruit the same players. Coaches know their jobs/future depend on getting 1-2 of the best recruits from each up coming class. The standards that each coach has may be different from other coaches, which is why some programs are more appealing to recruits than others. Sometimes you miss on a recruit and realize later that you're glad you did. They didn't pan out to be as good as anticipated. Sometimes the ones you do get don't work out for different reasons, and transfer to other programs. Some recruits (Dee, Maya, KML, Stewie, Megan, Azzi, etc) are guaranteed "locks" to be great at the next level. With some, you roll the dice and hope you guessed right. Some fall through the cracks and are not highly recruited, but turn out to be great.

Aubrey is fun to watch right now. But as Geno reminded us, this is as bad as Aubrey and Anna will be during their time here. They’re improving and becoming more comfortable with every game. Think for a moment how good they’ll be 8 games into the season next year.

We’ve got a lot to look forward to the next few years. All of the talented freshmen scheduled to come in, going back home to the BIG East and renewing old rivalries and creating new ones. I'm fired up!!! This is a great time to be a UConn WBB fan. Hoo Rah!!!

 

[Bigboote]

There are many great points being made in this thread. Tony's golf allusion brought something to my mind.

I'm a musician and I was really into Irish music for several years. People hear Irish music and the first thing they think of is speed. When they try to learn it, they ALWAYS want to play faster than they can. Rather than "practice makes perfect," they practice sloppy playing and it becomes "practice makes permanent." I took a few lessons from a really famous flute player. He alluded to Jack Nicklaus (the golf tie-in). He read a book by Nicklaus in which Nicklaus said he never wastes a swing when practicing. My teacher was adamant that quality is more important than quantity when practicing. That I should have a plan every time I pick the instrument up. Part of that, of course, was consciously playing slowly but perfectly.

I agree with the sentiment above that a lot of the "break them down and build them up again" is ridding players of bad habits. I think the origin of bad habits is analogous to the Irish music I alluded to -- kids see LeBron or Diana make some otherworldly move and they try to emulate it, when they can't. So they arrive being able to do a few tricks but with poor fundamentals. The tricks need to be stripped away, and the fundamentals ingrained.

Geno's practices are renowned for having no wasted time. I suspect Megan learned that (from Geno and possibly from visiting Pheesa and Alex), so her training was very efficient last summer.