New UConn Assistant Coach Morgan Valley

[bluedevil]

There’s a lot of construction going on by my apartment complex. I know nothing about that field, but I still compliment the men on their work every time I go by. Truly amazing how friendly they are to a retired college professor. Those who live in glass houses should never throw stones.

Or walk around naked.

 

[DEpup]

Did you say the same thing when we went from Marissa to Jasmine, who had a lot less experience than Morgan does when she was hired?!

Evidently from what I am reading is that Jasmine was young and cute so all good with her selection.... Are these remarks possibly shaped by a lack of inclusion and what a professional woman should look and act like? I can't help but think there are more underlying issues going on here and I'd like it to stop. Welcome back Morgan!

 

[fireford]

Or walk around naked.

At that point you're asking for stones to be thrown at your glass house.

 

[Twolf]

Coaching is about the only profession where someone who’s never met you and hasn’t played or coached a game in their lives has the chutzpah to criticize your hiring.

It would be like me showing up at a rock quarry and telling the guy on the bulldozer he doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing. I’m guessing that wouldn’t go over very well.

Anyone who’s ever coached knows that someone who wouldn’t know the difference between a butt screen from a flare screen, never watched a minute of practice, or had the slightest clue about program building would somehow know exactly who on your roster should be starting, getting the most shots, or never see the floor. Many times these people are successful in their chosen fields, and would never tell the undertaker how to embalm, or the bank President how to manage their bond portfolio, but somehow don’t know they’re doing exactly the same thing trying to play coach.
No matter what anyone else thinks about this hire the only person’s opinion that matters is the one whose program, reputation, and legacy is one the line with every decision that involves any player or team personnel. Every coach, at any level, deals with these situations, but knew going in that it comes with the territory. Much the same as a line from The Godfather- “this is the life we’ve chosen”. JMO

 

[RockyMTblue2]

This works for me. Welcome home Morgan.

“Some players just play the game. Morgan was always someone who looked at the game differently,” Auriemma said when Valley was hired at Hartford. “She studied the game a little bit differently. She always wanted to know what everybody was doing, instead of just, ‘What’s my role?’ You can tell when someone truly, truly, truly loves the game, and the game is really important in their lives. That was evident in Morgan from the time she was in eighth grade or ninth grade. … I think her passion and her love for the game has only grown since then. That’s the [kind of person] you want in the coaching profession.”

Five things to know about new UConn women’s basketball assistant coach Morgan Valley

The UConn women’s basketball team welcomed home Morgan Valley as assistant coach on Wednesday. Valley was most recently the head coach at Hartford, but did you know she worked under the two coaches that beat UConn this season? Here's five facts about the former Huskies player.

www.courant.com

 

[DefenseBB]

While reading this whole thread and the other AC Posting thread, I have wavered between bemusement at my colleagues and outright condemnation of their posts.
To wit:

• Geno does not need "a recruiting coordinator" as evidenced by Geno, CD's success over the years and specifically the current year and the next two classes ranked #1 or #2. Geno has spoken about recruiting and how it is his whole staff's effort. Plus with all the ambassadors that this program has, I doubt any stone has gone unturned.
• Geno has said this staff has "positionless coaches" as they talk constantly and work together. We seem to think CD and Jamelle will handle the posts and Geno and now Morgan will handle the guards but we really don't know and based on their success with putting out All-Americans anyone who claims we have issues is not based on reality
• College athletics is encouraged to have coaches and administrators move from one role to another across many schools to get rounded experience. Morgan has gotten that in spades and will enrich the UConn program with those experiences.
• Let's also understand that Vic Schaefer worked for Gary Blair, left and failed miserably at Sam Houston then went back to Gary's staff, won an NCAA title and got the MSU job and was phenomenal. Who's to say what the future will be for Morgan.
• Last and most important is regardless of the business you are in, as a manager you want someone who you know you can work with, who your team (specifically the coaching staff) will embrace and trust and I think CD and Jamelle are "all in" on this hire and look forward to Morgan's new perspective gained from all those P5 gigs.

A gentle reminder of 13 consecutive Final Fours, only 24 losses in those 13 years and 14 consecutive years of having at least 1 player on the WBCA All-American team. On the 14 consecutive teams, UConn earned 29 spots across 14 different players.

Any idea that Geno/CD need a "strong recruiter" or "player developer" to augment this team is absurd.

Let's welcome her with open arms, smiles on our faces and sincerity in our souls. Glad to have you back Morgan Valley!

 

[AYusef]

Exactly as I said earlier love her for everything she has to offer, but to me recruiting is the most important. The girls here will get better with her here, but she has to be able to bring in top talent. I’m not sold there, but what do I know.

Recruit? The brand does the recruiting, the po

Exactly as I said earlier love her for everything she has to offer, but to me recruiting is the most important. The girls here will get better with her here, but she has to be able to bring in top talent. I’m not sold there, but what do I know.

The 'brand" does the recruiting, the prospects for playing for a HOF coach does the recruiting, the littany of all time greats that have come through this program does the recruiting.

It is really amazing to me how some posters can be so negative towards a coach without even giving that coach a chance to succeed! Lets at least wait until Morgan has been at UCONN two or three years to see how she does.

Not only that but as a fan you wouldn't have a clue as to if she is a good coach or not!
All of this angst over the 3rd coach on the bench is laughable. I'm sure fans of other programs would be astonished at what keeps Husky Nation up at night. Think about it we could be Lady Vol fans who have gone from Pat Summit to Holly Warlick to Kellie Harper. Talk about sleepless nights.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

as far as I know she wasn't hired for her head coaching skills...........the question is whether she can add something to the program as an assistant and recruiter .............apparently the head coach feels she can......

Wasn't she hobbled in her playing career by bad feet? Wasn't that a chronic problem that impacted her playing time?

 

[Waquoit]

Why do people not like her for this?

Because she wasn't a star player.

 

[AYusef]

Wasn't she hobbled in her playing career by bad feet? Wasn't that a chronic problem that impacted her playing time?

Yes, Morgan had a good skill set and would've had a solid career but those darn feet...

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Interesting that the coaching staff was teaching Morgan how to coach when she was still a student. She learned from the best.

Sort of surprising that she knocked around so much. Two years each in nearly eight gigs? Something like that? Pretty exhausting to be constantly moving jobs like that. UConn assistants tend to stay for many years.

 

[Boreifs]

cbraaj, wow such negativity.
It would behoove you to be more positive.
Hope she proves you 300% wrong.

Kind of embarrassing given the quote from Geno in the Hartford newspaper.

 

[HuskyNan]

Wasn't she hobbled in her playing career by bad feet? Wasn't that a chronic problem that impacted her playing time?

Morgan had rather severe plantar fasciitis that made i painful to even walk. Geno once said “Morgan has the feet of a 200 year old woman” but she toughed it out and played.

I remember a game vs Rutgers in 2003 that was touch and go for most of the game. Morgan didn’t have a ton of points but she got all the key rebounds at the end of the game. Diana won the game but Morgan was part of the reason, too

 

[Plebe]

Sort of surprising that she knocked around so much. Two years each in nearly eight gigs? Something like that? Pretty exhausting to be constantly moving jobs like that. UConn assistants tend to stay for many years.

Coaching is a notoriously itinerant profession, and has become more so over time, especially for people starting out. Yes there have been exceptions, but increasingly rare. This ain't the corporate world. She's not some mid-career paper-pusher for IBM or Deloitte.

Are people really trying to make Morgan out to be some flighty vaudeville act? Do y'all seriously think so little of Geno Auriemma's and Chris Dailey's judgment that that you deem them unable to discern character or hire the absolute best person for the job?

Not singling out any one poster here, but it's truly unbelievable how ignorant and downright disrespectful some of the messages in this thread have been.

 

[stamfordhusky]

Evidently from what I am reading is that Jasmine was young and cute so all good with her selection.... Are these remarks possibly shaped by a lack of inclusion and what a professional woman should look and act like? I can't help but think there are more underlying issues going on here and I'd like it to stop.

There has not been one post on this thread that said anything about Jasmine's looks. That apparently is your focus, not any other poster. Every single post that mentions Jasmine focused 100% on the fact that she had far less experience than does Morgan.

You owe the entire Boneyard an apology.

 

[Boreifs]

Sort of surprising that she knocked around so much. Two years each in nearly eight gigs? Something like that? Pretty exhausting to be constantly moving jobs like that. UConn assistants tend to stay for many years.

An assistant coach for the men’s team at Siena lived in my complex for a year. He came from Penn State and then left for George Washington. In each case, the head coach had been fired. That is a normal existence for assistants; have ball, will travel.

 

[Charliebball]

Wasn't she hobbled in her playing career by bad feet? Wasn't that a chronic problem that impacted her playing time?

apparently she wasn't hired for her feet either!!...........

 

[BRS24]

Because she wasn't a star player.

Neither was Geno.

 

[HuskylnSC]

As long as she got what she wanted. Screw the kids! Good for Morgan! What a great role model! Couldn't back up what she said when hired at Hartford!

The administration screwed the kids and Morgan. Morgan was hired to coach D1 basketball and the kids signed up to play D1 The administration abandoned all of them. I would be looking for another job if the company downsized the position. And I bet you would too

 

[huskies29]

I

 

[SVCBeercats]

I know that second guessing has a long tradition here on the BY. But do we really want to second guess the hiring of an AC with a strong resume, a firm understanding of what it takes to succeed at UConn and the benefit of having been guided and mentored throughout her career by Geno & CD.

This is one of those decisions that we have to defer to the wisdom and judgment of the two HOF coaches who run the most successful program in the history of WBB.

What on her resume is strong? Geno is just being loyal and charitable to former player.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Funny how Morgan’s coaching experience is more extensive and more varied than Jasmine Lister’s and Shea Ralph’s yet somehow this hire is viewed negatively. I don’t get it.

So job hopping is now considered "more extensive experience?" Were all of her job changes her decision? If I received a resume of a candidate with 8 jobs in 17 years, I would place it into the good old circular file after shredding it.

 

[HuskyNan]

So job hopping is now considered "more extensive experience?" Were all of her job changes her decision? If I received a resume of a candidate with 8 jobs in 17 years, I would place it into the good old circular file after shredding it.

Young people job hop often. The days of retiring from your first job are long gone. It’s a new generation

 

[SVCBeercats]

• Let's also understand that Vic Schaefer worked for Gary Blair, left and failed miserably at Sam Houston then went back to Gary's staff, won an NCAA title and got the MSU job and was phenomenal. Who's to say what the future will be for Morgan.

You are right BUT it did not take him 7 jobs to get it right. I guess in 2 or 3 years I'll learn if her hire was an act of charity.

 

[UConnCat]

So job hopping is now considered "more extensive experience?" Were all of her job changes her decision? If I received a resume of a candidate with 8 jobs in 17 years, I would place it into the good old circular file after shredding it.

Yes, in this case it is when the job changes enhanced her responsibilities. Morgan has met a ton of people and established a ton of relationships in women's basketball because of her willingness to move and take on new challenges.

What you would do with a resume could not possibly be more irrelevant. Geno and Chris know Morgan and the reasons for her job changes.