"No Flow to Our Offense" - Geno expands on post-SC comments

[visitingcock]

Yes, and while we are at it, what's with this whole ranking nonsense anyway?
And what about making those other 63 teams feel bad in April?
Not to mention all the ones who don't even get to go to "THE BIG DANCE".
Maybe cut down the nets and give everyone a participation trophy before the first round starts.
Suspend Geno for one game each time he says something negative about a player. Better yet, fire his nasty butt and put someone more diplomatic in charge.
It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you avoid offending anyone.

You forgot safe space

 

[boontonbomber]

To me if it’s personal then it’s a big deal, if it’s just about basketball not so much. Most players at the D-1 level have been challenged by previous coaches, and knew what they signed up for when deciding to play for the UConn brand. None of us particularly enjoyed it, but if you knew it was aimed at making you a better player you understood what was behind it. If a player stole from a teammate, cheated on an exam, or embarrassed the university then it’s going to personal, as it should be.
Every coach has their own style, & this is Geno’s. As a general rule, no matter what your style, if you win it’s the right one.

JMO

in other words, winning is not the most important thing, it's the only thing.

 

[Rb335]

UCONN has the whole season to give Evina rest because of the Big East being not very good. So what's wrong with giving Evina extra time to help prepare for USF? That USF game was a tough game. So, whose to say those extra minutes with Minny didn't help Evina and as a result help the team overall?

Potentially, yeah. Although whose to say those extra minutes of playing time didn’t catch up to her in the 4th quarter against SC, playing a 3rd game in three days? All hypothetical scenarios of course.

I would tend to think that giving a young player an extra 5 minutes against a mid tier team would do more to facilitate the development of depth than a RS Senior playing their 4th full season of college basketball.

 

[ConwayGmck]

“We outscored them by 18 over a 10-minute stretch,” Auriemma said. “That’s us. We did that. And then defensively, they couldn’t get anything they wanted in the first half. So that’s us, too. And then they come out in the second half and punched us pretty hard and we didn’t respond that fourth quarter. So what are the takeaways? We’re really, really good, and we’re really, really bad. So if this was February I’d be (worried). But it’s November and we’ve got a long time to figure some of the things out, how to stay that team that outscores them by 18 and add to that and how to eliminate the team that didn’t respond in the fourth quarter.”


“We outscored them by 18 over a 10-minute stretch,” Auriemma said. “That’s us. We did that."

OK?? So, I don't know the context that the question was put in, to elicit Auriemma's response in the fashion it was given. But he's talking about that 20-2 scoring run in the 1st quarter that put them up 20-8. South Carolina scored 6 to open the game, and then scored 6 more to end the quarter, with a 2-pointer in the middle. CT leads 20-14.

South Carolina outscored CT 23-5 over the final 12 minutes of the game, after CT led 52-50. Soooo......yeah....


"And then defensively, they couldn’t get anything they wanted in the first half. So that’s us, too."

OK now wait a minute. South Carolina shot from the field in the 1st half 15-33 (.455), with 2-9 from the 3-pt. line. CT shot 14-29 (.483), with 2-4 from behind the arc. CT shot the (slightly) better %, but SC out-scored CT from the field just the same, 32-30 for the first half. CT was 6-6 from the charity stripe, to SC's 1-3. THAT's where CT was able to lead SC by 3 pts at the half. It WAS NOT by any damned defense.

Also, this article opens with the premise that CT pushed ahead "for a lead it held for the bulk of what become a 73-57 loss"

CT held the lead for 18:40 of the game. SC held the lead for 18:26.

14 seconds. That's some bulk, there........

LMAO

 

[Plebe]

“We outscored them by 18 over a 10-minute stretch,” Auriemma said. “That’s us. We did that. And then defensively, they couldn’t get anything they wanted in the first half. So that’s us, too. And then they come out in the second half and punched us pretty hard and we didn’t respond that fourth quarter. So what are the takeaways? We’re really, really good, and we’re really, really bad. So if this was February I’d be (worried). But it’s November and we’ve got a long time to figure some of the things out, how to stay that team that outscores them by 18 and add to that and how to eliminate the team that didn’t respond in the fourth quarter.”


“We outscored them by 18 over a 10-minute stretch,” Auriemma said. “That’s us. We did that."

OK?? So, I don't know the context that the question was put in, to elicit Auriemma's response in the fashion it was given. But he's talking about that 20-2 scoring run in the 1st quarter that put them up 20-8. South Carolina scored 6 to open the game, and then scored 6 more to end the quarter, with a 2-pointer in the middle. CT leads 20-14.

South Carolina outscored CT 23-5 over the final 12 minutes of the game, after CT led 52-50. Soooo......yeah....


"And then defensively, they couldn’t get anything they wanted in the first half. So that’s us, too."

OK now wait a minute. South Carolina shot from the field in the 1st half 15-33 (.455), with 2-9 from the 3-pt. line. CT shot 14-29 (.483), with 2-4 from behind the arc. CT shot the (slightly) better %, but SC out-scored CT from the field just the same, 32-30 for the first half. CT was 6-6 from the charity stripe, to SC's 1-3. THAT's where CT was able to lead SC by 3 pts at the half. It WAS NOT by any damned defense.

Also, this article opens with the premise that CT pushed ahead "for a lead it held for the bulk of what become a 73-57 loss"

CT held the lead for 18:40 of the game. SC held the lead for 18:26.

14 seconds. That's some bulk, there........

LMAO

Wow. So triggered. You have expounded at astounding length and in multiple postings on this perceived grievance of yours.

Just tell us the address to which we should send the massive trophy with the inscription "Congrats! You're right! They're wrong!"

 

[ConwayGmck]

Wow. So triggered. You have expounded at astounding length and in multiple postings on this perceived grievance of yours.

Just tell us the address to which we should send the massive trophy with the inscription "Congrats! You're right! They're wrong!"

I've responded once each to multiple statements of the same thing from the same source. You guys have referenced a banner that was hung up once, about five dozen times. Talk about Roy Rogers' horse.....

1886 SC-90, Conway, SC 29526. When should I be expecting the delivery??

 

[Twolf]

in other words, winning is not the most important thing, it's the only thing.

I’m sorry if that’s the implication you took from my post, because that’s not what I meant at all. I was referring to the many different styles that coaches use in an attempt to reach the same goal. John Wooden’s style and personality is 180 degrees from GA’s, yet they both are at the top of their peers in terms of championships. Tony Dungy won a NFL championship, and Mike Ditka, who was the polar opposite in terms of style & personality, won one also. Dungy was criticized as being too quiet and laid back, but winning a championship quilted the critics and made his style the right one because he won. This has nothing to do with winning at all costs at all. Your posts indicate that you are no fan of parts of GA’s coaching style, nothing wrong with that opinion, but if you think that he’s a win at all costs type of coach I would contend that his former players and his peers would tend to disagree. If he treated players unfairly or abused them you would see a mass exit, ala Syracuse, despite his championships and how many games he’s won.

JMO

 

[JRRRJ]

What depth to you claim? Certainly Geno does not see the depth. Azzi contributed well in two games out of four. Dorka is not contributing other than be 6'5". I have no idea what happened to Nika but she is not playing like last year. Caroline could use game minutes to develop. So you have the starters, two subs and potentially Aubrey who has been an athletic wonder but not an all around player particularly on offense, Geno says she has improved BUT he said the same thing about Nika, He has lost confidence in Caroline already even though he lauded her practice play. When the rubber meets the road Geno's players' don't show any real development.
Minutes per game
Starting five: Paige 36.3, Evina 35.3, Christyn 32.5. Olivia 28.3, Aalyiah 20.0
Substitutes: Azzi 19.5, Dorka 14.3
Bench: Nika 8.3, Caroline 6.3, Piath 2.0, Mir 2.0, Amari 0.0!, Aubrey injured.

I've seen a lot of minimizing of Dorka's contributions on this board, which is curious, as her productivity has been quite good, even given the paucity of time she has had to integrate with the starters in live games.

Per-40 values through 4 games:
First in offensive rebounds.
Second in defensive rebounds.
Second (by a hair) in total rebounds.
Third (by a hair) in steals.
Sixth in points.

She also plays decent post defense, though she's rushing to the perimeter too often.

Not much data to go on, so an event move or less can skew the results, but this is not a useless reserve.

 

[hoophuskee]

Potentially, yeah. Although whose to say those extra minutes of playing time didn’t catch up to her in the 4th quarter against SC, playing a 3rd game in three days? All hypothetical scenarios of course.

I would tend to think that giving a young player an extra 5 minutes against a mid tier team would do more to facilitate the development of depth than a RS Senior playing their 4th full season of college basketball.

Yes it definitely hurt her for game 3. But just like in the NCAA Tourney - why UCONN remains the number 1 women’s basketball program in cbb; it's because they are always playing for a title in the last week of the season (13 straight years?), in tourneys; he gets his teams to be in it the last week. And no other team in Div 1 modern 1980's+ era can claim that or is within a couple of games of what he's done in the last 13 it. So in this case, after the Minny game was decided, the most important game was not SC but USF. Unlike Stanford, UCONN didn't allow a non-top 10 team to beat them this year -- so far. That's why you don’t overlook USF to play SC. Had to beat USF 1st. And that's why you play Evina. As a result, this helps your seeding in the long run which is also extremely crucial.

Thus, I think winning the game is more important ,and imo developing cohesion among your big time players is far more important than developing the bottom tier of the bench. Additionally, I think playing your stars and having the prolonged success that UCONN has enjoyed over the years nearly ensures UCONN will maintain getting the top tier players. As a result, we're in a phenomenal loop of success that we can easily project that at least this year and next we remain a beast barring catastrophic injuries.

 

[jchusky]

I've seen a lot of minimizing of Dorka's contributions on this board, which is curious, as her productivity has been quite good, even given the paucity of time she has had to integrate with the starters in live games.

Per-40 values through 4 games:
First in offensive rebounds.
Second in defensive rebounds.
Second (by a hair) in total rebounds.
Third (by a hair) in steals.
Sixth in points.

She also plays decent post defense, though she's rushing to the perimeter too often.

Not much data to go on, so an event move or less can skew the results, but this is not a useless reserve.

now list turnovers, not boxing out, and free throw %.

 

[Skeets]

I've responded once each to multiple statements of the same thing from the same source. You guys have referenced a banner that was hung up once, about five dozen times. Talk about Roy Rogers' horse.....

1886 SC-90, Conway, SC 29526. When should I be expecting the delivery??

I sincerely hope that's not a real address.

 

[meyers7]

I love Geno, and I think he has the best basketball mind in the business, men or women. I really hate to say this, but I'm really getting tired of the way he chastises players publicly. These girls play their heart out, and if they screw up or just don't have a good game he can address this at practice or in his office. I myself get embarrassed whenever he does this at pressers, especially when the player is sitting right next to him at the table. I can't believe the university hasn't said anything to him, because from the outside many could say it is abuse, and lately this is becoming a very big topic. He may think it is funny, but to me it isn't. Like I already said, I love him, he's the best, but come on, treat the players with respect, at least publicly.

 

[meyers7]

in other words, winning is not the most important thing, it's the only thing.

No, not really. Geno is more after perfection than wins/loses.

 

[boontonbomber]

I’m sorry if that’s the implication you took from my post, because that’s not what I meant at all. I was referring to the many different styles that coaches use in an attempt to reach the same goal. John Wooden’s style and personality is 180 degrees from GA’s, yet they both are at the top of their peers in terms of championships. Tony Dungy won a NFL championship, and Mike Ditka, who was the polar opposite in terms of style & personality, won one also. Dungy was criticized as being too quiet and laid back, but winning a championship quilted the critics and made his style the right one because he won. This has nothing to do with winning at all costs at all. Your posts indicate that you are no fan of parts of GA’s coaching style, nothing wrong with that opinion, but if you think that he’s a win at all costs type of coach I would contend that his former players and his peers would tend to disagree. If he treated players unfairly or abused them you would see a mass exit, ala Syracuse, despite his championships and how many games he’s won.

JMO

To be very clear: my gripe with him is the post-game public criticism, that sometimes is pretty harsh. Again, I see no point in doing that. That others may do it doesn't make it right. In fact, when other coaches have thrown their players "under the bus" in postgames ,the Boneyard has been quick to point it out. And rightfully so. I've asked in the past, and I'm asking again, why should Geno be exempt. I really think, and some may think I'm being dramatic, that it is a betrayal of players for coaches to roast them in public. And to be really dramatic, it may be a bit of bullying. Certainly coaches have to be tough with their players at times. No one is saying that they should be coddled. But there is a time and a place. For example, I expect that he spent face-to-face time with Paige regarding her play against SC in the 2nd half. So what on earth IS THE POINT of airing it out in his postgame? I don't have a problem with different coaches having different styles. In the end, though, you would hope that they all would show respect for their players. I just don't think pointed public criticism shows that respect. JMHO.

 

[boontonbomber]

No, not really. Geno is more after perfection than wins/loses.

good luck with that.

 

[hoophuskee]

To be very clear: my gripe with him is the post-game public criticism, that sometimes is pretty harsh. Again, I see no point in doing that. That others may do it doesn't make it right. In fact, when other coaches have thrown their players "under the bus" in postgames ,the Boneyard has been quick to point it out. And rightfully so. I've asked in the past, and I'm asking again, why should Geno be exempt.

"Exempt?"

Are you implying that all of us as UCONN fans should not be bias against other teams and coaches as we might want to be/like to be?

And are all "harsh comments" the same level?

And who determines what is considered "harsh?" we all don't have the same definition.

And as a coach, we would expect the coach knows the player very well, right? So there are some players that Geno can joke around with while others don't like it, right? Because each person is different.
So why not trust the coach that has been winning for so long that he knows what he is doing? . . . And it seems at least his top level players don't ever transfer out, right? So he seems to be knowing the type of buttons to push, right? And we certainly don't, do we?

 

[ConwayGmck]

I sincerely hope that's not a real address.

It is. It's the address to my county's Solid Waste Authority.....

 

[boontonbomber]

"Exempt?"

Are you implying that all of us as UCONN fans should not be bias against other teams and coaches as we might want to be/like to be?

And are all "harsh comments" the same level?

And who determines what is considered "harsh?" we all don't have the same definition.

And as a coach, we would expect the coach knows the player very well, right? So there are some players that Geno can joke around with while others don't like it, right? Because each person is different.
So why not trust the coach that has been winning for so long that he knows what he is doing? . . . And it seems at least his top level players don't ever transfer out, right? So he seems to be knowing the type of buttons to push, right? And we certainly don't, do we?

Don't understand your 2nd sentence. UConn fans have felt, and should ,feel quite comfortable calling out other coaches when they think they've stepped over the line. So why shouldn't UConn fans feel comfortable calling out Geno? Tell me, why not Geno? A certain Duke coach was called out regularly here. Who determines what is harsh? Well, I guess the fans have the right to make that judgement.
I coached high school teams for 3 seasons for many years, and certainly knew that all my players reacted differently to my "coaching". But, in general, I tried to be careful what I said in front of the other players. Some things had to be said; some were best saved for one-on-one.
Geno's record should not exempt him from comments. Sorry, I'm not going to trust that Geno is infallible just because of his record. You don't mind his style; at times I do. I greatly admire what he has accomplished at UConn. But there are times when I wish he would keep his mouth shut. Nothing more to say.

 

[hoophuskee]

Don't understand your 2nd sentence. UConn fans have felt, and should ,feel quite comfortable calling out other coaches when they think they've stepped over the line. So why shouldn't UConn fans feel comfortable calling out Geno? Tell me, why not Geno? A certain Duke coach was called out regularly here. Who determines what is harsh? Well, I guess the fans have the right to make that judgement.
I coached high school teams for 3 seasons for many years, and certainly knew that all my players reacted differently to my "coaching". But, in general, I tried to be careful what I said in front of the other players. Some things had to be said; some were best saved for one-on-one.
Geno's record should not exempt him from comments. Sorry, I'm not going to trust that Geno is infallible just because of his record. You don't mind his style; at times I do. I greatly admire what he has accomplished at UConn. But there are times when I wish he would keep his mouth shut. Nothing more to say.

You've made it sound like all posters called out coaches from other teams combined with that if you call out other team’s coaches then you must call out Geno. That's not the case. But aside from that, what if you feel what the other coach did was worse? You seem to not want to distinguish between calling out. Unless you are saying every time a coach calls out a player it is exactly equal to any other comment made by any other coach that criticizes publicly? SO when for example the Florida coach Cam Newbauer was accused by players on his own team of different issues (you can google it), that is the same as what Geno is doing? You can tell the difference, right? For the record, these allegations could be completely false against Cam- I don’t know. I was just using this an example to show that there are differences.

And that is awesome that you coached and congrats super great for you. I mean that - awesome. And please don’t take offense. But why must Geno be exactly like you? SO following up with that- you agree that in all of sports there are some coaches thought of as "player’s coaches" vs others that are thought of as "tough coaches." right? Well what do you think "tough coaches do? They would be pretty brutal in some circumstances, right? Because even yelling can be considered bullying. I'll PM you where to find the article if you wish. It says that bullying can be a management style and I find it hard to believe the very tough coaches - the very tough ones don't use bullying in some manner.

And you have a style of things to be best said one-on-one. Well don’t you think Geno says things one-on-one too? But are you suggesting he must follow your guidelines exactly and if he isn't then he is going over-the-line? If so, how many former UCONN players can you find me or tell me about that have transferred that seem to agree with your philosophy that Geno has gone over-the-line? You are saying that, aren't you?

And the point of bringing up Geno's record is because there are also comments on here that what he is doing doesn't really help the player. That's why I brought it up. It's that his players aren't complaining though. The only ones that are complaining are fans on a chat board that have no idea the relationship of Geno’s relationship with the player.

I'm absolutely fine what he’s doing. And if I criticize other teams (and I may have bias against some teams anyhow which imo is no problem because sports is emotional)) – At least for me when I criticize other coaches, I tend to feel there is a definite separation between what Geno does vs the specific ones I criticized. And for the ones that have criticized other coaches, what if they were wrong in some cases for doing so??? They need to compound that wrong?

 

[Sluconn Husky]

UConn is 194th in PPG allowed and even worse by possession, 277th!

On offense, they aren't getting enough extra possessions from steals and offensive boards, and are playing pretty slow. 292nd in possessions per 40 minutes.

So there is a lot to work on, and not just on the defensive side.

 

[UConnCat]

UConn is 194th in PPG allowed and even worse by possession, 277th!

On offense, they aren't getting enough extra possessions from steals and offensive boards, and are playing pretty slow. 292nd in possessions per 40 minutes.

So there is a lot to work on, and not just on the defensive side.

How much stock should be put in rankings like these at this point in the season? A lot of schools have feasted on cupcakes. UConn has played all of 4 games none of which would be considered cupcakes.

 

[TeamFirst!]

It's been my experience that if you flog the horse too much they will not respond when you need them. You want to develop lions, not dogs that have been kicked repeatedly into compliance. Tito Francona got it and that's part of the reason why he has been so successful. Lot's of coaches know that. You don't have to say your best player was terrible in the media just after they lost their biggest game. But I'm tired of flogging Geno when 90% of you think he's beyond reproach.

That same mentality is what keeps him from playing subs more. He just can't stand losing. In the long run, developing that bench is what MIGHT make a difference for him in March. He's NOT doing it well so far. If his justification is to help the draft prospects of his seniors I get it a little. If he just refuses to lose any game for personal reputation reasons and is willing to ride his horse to death to maintain his win record I don't support it.

 

[jchusky]

How much stock should be put in rankings like these at this point in the season? A lot of schools have feasted on cupcakes. UConn has played all of 4 games none of which would be considered cupcakes.

Minnesota was a cupcake lollll, unless the Jacksonville Sharks are now some powerhouse that I was not awae of.

 

[UConnCat]

Minnesota was a cupcake lollll, unless the Jacksonville Sharks are now some powerhouse that I was not awae of.

Wrong. LOL A bad loss does not make a team a cupcake and Minnesota -- a middle of the pack Big 10 team -- is not a cupcake.

You have no idea what a cupcake is.

 

[meyers7]

good luck with that.

11 NC's, .886 winning percentage, 13 consecutive FF appearances, numerous Coach of the Year awards, Basketball HOF inductee, WBB HOF inductee, 1st, 2nd and 3rd longest winning streaks in WBB, multiple Gold Medals coaching the NT.

Seems to be working for him.