New UConn Assistant Coach Morgan Valley | Page 7 | The Boneyard

New UConn Assistant Coach Morgan Valley

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Some people are saying that she moved around too much. I believe that when she left Virginia Tech she saw the writing on the wall that the HC Dennis Wolff was most likely to be fired the following year and took the job offered by Washington HC Mike Neighbors. When she took the job at Arizona, Neighbors had just took the HC job at Arkansas and her job at Washington was most likely not going to be renewed with the next coach coming in. When she left Arizona it was because she finally got a HC position. With Hartford up in the air about maybe going down to Dvi III she would be a fool NOT to take the AC job at UConn. I think that Morgan will be a good AC and will fit in with the system and the coaches, who were her coaches when she was at UConn. Kelsey Plum raised her scoring average her final two years from 22.6 per game as a Sophomore to 31.7 as a Senior, the two years that Morgan was an AC at Washington. Kelsey has stated that it was Morgan Valley that was instrumental in making her the player that she is today.
 
HuskyNan said:
Interesting that the coaching staff was teaching Morgan how to coach when she was still a student. She learned from the best.

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Happy for UConn, sad for Hartford. Wish nothing but the best for Morgan and the UConn women's program. Hope she can get rid of the ah's and um's in her speech every sentence. If the high school coach is an English teacher they will not recommend UConn.
This is not an attack, simply something I had to learn in life and had pointed out in middle school by a English teacher , ah and um make you sound dumb, her mantra. Yes she was a tough bird but I look back on it with appreciation.
 
My 3 cents -

1 - as noted in the article linked somewhere in the thread (5 things to know about MV) it was noted that she was given much of the credit for Arizona's 2018 recruiting class, the best class ever recruited at Arizona. So, your fear that she cannot recruit (at all) is probably misplaced. Sure, these were not UConn level players, but why would a UConn level player have selected Arizona in 2018?

2 - I have absolutely no idea of why she was unsuccessful at Hartford, but it truly doesn't matter. Among the very good Assistant Coaches who turned out to be awful head coaches are 2 well known names from Rutgers - Jolette Law and Carlene Mitchell. Both failed completely at head coach, Jolette continues to have a first rate Assistant Coaching career while Carlene may have left coaching. But both were extremely strong Associate Head Coaches and recruiting coordinators at Rutgers in the day. That they bombed at Illinois and UCSB respectively does not change that.

3 - All the job changes were either upwardly mobile or, in the case of Washington to Arizona, yes, typically when the HC leaves so does the coaching staff. She left Washington when Neighbors returned to Arkansas and joined her former co-assistant coach, Adia Barnes.
 
For the folks who harp on MV record as a head coach, it's the same as in the NFL, some people are great coordinator but fail miserably when they are promoted to be a HC, and when they are fired and go back to being a coordinator, they find success again. As Marisa Mosley said in her interview posted in another thread, it takes so much more to be a HC than an assistant coach.
 
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My turn to join the ranks of the assumptive and presumptive on this post. I have never worked with Morgan and therefore are completely uninformed (ignorant) of the quality of her work. I see Megan's work history similar to mine in that she continually changed companies for increasing visibility and more pay (assumptive point). That's a plus. Geno knows her and her work habits (presumptive point) Therefore I assume she is detail oriented and engaged in careful, detailed documentation of her daily processes. Shea, I assume, left the position with clearly defined status on all her responsibilities. Morgan knows UConn and the 'UConn way' she will pick up on the ball that Shea has left and almost seamlessly regain any motion lost by the interruption and change of personnel.

Conclusion: The program is fine. Morgan will quickly (and probably is by now) a major contributor to the recruiting and training currently in process. Also anyone who has not worked directly with Morgan or UConn sports is also guilty of assuming and presuming (i.e., ignorance) that I am and none of our opinions matter at all. All we can do is trust in the process that has become the 'UConn way'

#BlledBlue #RearrangeTheTrophyCase
 
You know what? We have the two greatest coaches in WCBB and they are terrific recruiters. They have strict requirements for every person and player on their staff plus they make alot of money because of what theyve built. Now for me when they say that want someone to fill a position and I may not agree with it I ask myself what do they see that I dont see and I try to learn from it. I learned along time ago that when someone is better at their job then you, try to learn from them by what theyre doing and how I have to change to be more like them and gain the success that they have . Try to copy what their doing and are they a copy worth duplicating. Morgan imo is a great choice and she will get better just by working with Geno and his staff.
 
Twolf said:
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.
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This is even worse than that; here we have folks:
1. with ZERO Div. I coaching experience themselves commenting on the coaching abilities of MV;
2. who, for some reason (which they're unwilling to share, though I suppose that's a blessing), know better than the people who have chosen Morgan (and that's Geno, likely with input from Chris and Jamelle) and have been privy to much, much more than we are.

#1 is unsurprising, given the nature of online forums, but #2 strikes me as unbelievably arrogant.


Choosing someone to fill the role of a veteran team member is actually more than, if you pardon the expression, Xs and Os. One also needs to be able to be a positive addition to that team. Not everyone is a good team member-- and bad chemistry on a team is often the end of that team's ability to get the best out of everyone. (Incidentally, that also includes players on teams. So often the best teammate isn't the best player.) The whole is far greater than the sum of its parts on a high-functioning team.

This entire conversation, on this thread and earlier on the speculation thread feels like what I refer to as the Boneyard 2.0. Recent sniping and mean-spirited comments from fans (!) have made this board sound more like VolNation at its worst. (Even I though I take to bed after a bad loss), I actually do understand that our players are kids who learn to work hard and harder; our coaches work their butts off to help them. I'm not a Pollyanna by any means, but I also am extremely grateful to be a long-time part of a fan base for arguably one of the greatest sports dynasties in American history. When anonymous, online adults nitpick at all the perceived mistakes made by people they are supposedly fans of, well-- I just don't get it. Why be mean? It's possible to be critical but not mean; even my high school students know the difference.

Even when I'm upset or confused about games/playing/ perceived coaching "errors," at the end of the day, I'm still filled with gratitude for what UConn WBB has given to me.
 
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Woof 101 said:
Happy for UConn, sad for Hartford. Wish nothing but the best for Morgan and the UConn women's program. Hope she can get rid of the ah's and um's in her speech every sentence. If the high school coach is an English teacher they will not recommend UConn.
This is not an attack, simply something I had to learn in life and had pointed out in middle school by a English teacher , ah and um make you sound dumb, her mantra. Yes she was a tough bird but I look back on it with appreciation.
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Count the "ums" in one of Genos interviews, I may be wrong but I thk he gets his message across, and after all is said and done he may turn out to be a pretty good coach...jmo
 
oldude said:
Some folks in this crowd would turn on Mother Theresa.
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A birthday card I gave to my husband:

C6DBCEF2-F4DA-4254-9693-37AF4F261E01.jpeg
 
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KnightBridgeAZ said:
My 3 cents -

1 - as noted in the article linked somewhere in the thread (5 things to know about MV) it was noted that she was given much of the credit for Arizona's 2018 recruiting class, the best class ever recruited at Arizona. So, your fear that she cannot recruit (at all) is probably misplaced. Sure, these were not UConn level players, but why would a UConn level player have selected Arizona in 2018?

2 - I have absolutely no idea of why she was unsuccessful at Hartford, but it truly doesn't matter. Among the very good Assistant Coaches who turned out to be awful head coaches are 2 well known names from Rutgers - Jolette Law and Carlene Mitchell. Both failed completely at head coach, Jolette continues to have a first rate Assistant Coaching career while Carlene may have left coaching. But both were extremely strong Associate Head Coaches and recruiting coordinators at Rutgers in the day. That they bombed at Illinois and UCSB respectively does not change that.

3 - All the job changes were either upwardly mobile or, in the case of Washington to Arizona, yes, typically when the HC leaves so does the coaching staff. She left Washington when Neighbors returned to Arkansas and joined her former co-assistant coach, Adia Barnes.
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I so agree with your third point. I don't even consider moving from the Washington to Arizona job as an actual change. Her boss left and she followed a colleague who became head coach at Arizona. In the coaching world, that isn't really a job change....
 
SVCBeercats said:
So job hopping is now considered "more extensive experience?" :D 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.
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The cluelessness captured in this one sentence is of an epic and staggering scale.

Most fortunately for the UConn women's basketball program, your (implied) extensive experience as a hiring manager for [fill in blank with name of Fortune 500 (or not) company] scores a big fat ZERO on the scale of relevance to the hiring decisions that Geno and CD have been making now for, gee, more than three-and-a-half decades.

The zeal with which some people are prepared to substitute their own judgments for Geno's and CD's goes beyond -- and I shudder to say this -- the renowned delusions of a certain Coach Jumper.
 
veryolddog said:
My comments would not be positive and I do not want to discuss this any further. I made my position clear. If I cannot say anything good, I do not want to say it.
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Then in the future, don't bother saying anything at all if you aren't willing to back it up.
 
What shall we make of this stridulous carping?

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

Recruited by UConn.
Played on championship teams at UConn.
Employed by many fine wbb programs, helping two to earn their first final four participation.
Lengthy positive relationships with Geno Auriemma, Chris Dailey, Jamelle Elliott.

Geno is just being loyal and charitable to former player.

As he was when he hired Shea Ralph, and as he was when he hired Jamelle Elliott.

Does Geno hire (1) people he trusts to help him win, or (2) dead weight that he thinks will just collect a paycheck without making a strong contribution to the UConn program?

The author of the quoted cheapshots must think Geno is in favor of (2), above.
What does that tell us about the judgment of the cheapshot author?
 
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Recruiting is analogous to selling a product. If your product isn't good, it's a 'hard sell'. If your product is good, it's an 'easy sell'. UConn is an EZ sell, eh?
 
SVCBeercats said:
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.
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You are married to a time and era long gone by where the people in their 50s, 60’s and 70’s had very little job movement in their careers. Now, in all of life, taking on new roles every few years IS the new normal. You also have not been pay8ng attention to any other College Basketball programs and all the movement of assistants year to year. So yes, it I still experience and will be beneficial to our program. Perhaps some google searches for you could enlighten your understanding of the generations that have entered the job market sincerely your era. Just a suggestion so you are not viewed “as that’s old man of yells hey kid get off my lawn”...
 
Its amazing the amount of knowledge (not) these couch coaches have. I think the comparison by some posters to Volnation is warranted and correct. These last couple of years have seen more of this negativity showing up on the BY. Some have disappeared and some I have blocked.

Nothing I can say or do will change their minds. Nor will anyone else change their minds/ opinions. And I don't care to.

Bottom line, like it or not, Geno is running the program. And I will add CD, for it has been a co-coaching job since they started. They decide, not the fans. I am perfectly fine with these two choosing who they believe is best for the program. Their record over 30+ seasons speaks for itself. They have earned that right. If you don't like it - to bad. That's on you.
 
Uh Oh.
Make nice?
Decision has been made.
Let’s all see how it play’s out.
 
Some people are losing their minds over this topic. I’ve seen some horrible (no longer visible) responses that I never thought I’d see on the Boneyard. Stop this immature behavior immediately. I’m losing my patience and remember, it’s much easier to get rid of troublesome posters than clean up their messes.
 
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