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Message: [QUOTE="oldude, post: 3665148, member: 7511"] Notwithstanding Allen Iverson’s impassioned diatribe about practice, it is difficult to imagine a time in college basketball when practice was more important. Since the premature end of last season, until recently, players have largely been on their own, with no 5x5 or 3x3 basketball, and the official start of this season still a question mark. Yesterday we learned that the start of the season may be pushed back to November 25 by the NCAA. There is also some interest for playing a WNBA style bubble season during the winter break. Some conferences like the Pac-12 and Ivy League have postponed all sports through the end of the calendar year. In a “worst case” scenario, there will be no college basketball during the 2020-21 season. The initial challenge is something mostly out of the players control. The University of Connecticut students, faculty and staff, must adhere to the health and safety protocols designed to control community spread of the virus, lest UConn goes the route of UNC by sending everyone home. As of yesterday, UConn’s total number of Covid-19 cases stood at 76, with 53 individuals in isolation and 23 having recovered. While any number of cases is cause for concern, so far UConn has dodged a bullet while other universities have seen positive cases spike to 1,000 or more. The really good news for UConn is that the state of Connecticut has done an admirable job of driving down the infection rate, thereby limiting the potential for community spread. Yesterday, the entire state reported only 127 new cases and 1 unfortunate death. With all the uncertainty surrounding the start of college basketball, players and coaches must [B]control what they can control[/B], and that is simply their motivation, attention to detail and effort during practice, whether it is organized under the coaches purview, or run by the players themselves. Specifically, relative to UConn WBB, there are both advantages and disadvantages present. On the plus side, UConn recruits highly motivated and intelligent young ladies. As Geno has stated many times, “We don’t teach effort at UConn.” In addition, there is no college staff that does a better job at developing players and preparing them to compete at the highest level. The downside is simply that this year’s UConn team is one of the youngest ever with 1 RS senior, 2 juniors, 2 sophomores and 6 freshmen. As always, leadership will be a critical component in the development of UConn WBB. UConn’s 3 captains, Christyn, Liv and Evina will have their work cut out for them to keep everyone focused. But UConn WBB has always had an abundance of leaders. I have no doubt, in short order, if not already, a number of younger players will assume leadership roles on this team. Is there any question that the kid from Minnetonka will be one of the leaders of this team? The immediate goal is to get to this season, however this season ultimately pans out, prepared to compete at the highest level. UConn WBB may be better suited at controlling what they can control than any other team in college basketball, and that means how they practice. Through all the pain and uncertainty that we have experienced as a nation, I continue to hold on to the belief that we will come through this, and BY’ers everywhere will once again rejoice in the pure beauty and dominance of UConn WBB. [B]I look forward to seeing everyone at the Mohegan Sun for the Big East tournament in March.[/B] [/QUOTE]

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