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Message: [QUOTE="Carnac, post: 2604547, member: 5798"] [B]What better program or model to emulate than UConn?[/B] It's a model that has proven to be successful if run properly and players that can produce the desired (coached) results. UConn always has a high number of "team" assists. That is a taught and learned behavior. If a player does not have a particular attribute in their game that coaches feel they must have to play in a particular system, it must be learned before they can function as part of that overall unit. "Me first" players don't do well in Geno's system. He has told us on many occasions that he will not recruit a player that is selfish, or has bad body language. Players that feel that they have to always take the most shots, or carry the team. Geno won't recruit any player that has an ego bigger than his. :D Most of these players are not great or even good defensive players. That is an undeveloped part of the game their previous coaches have not stressed. A player that regularly scores a large number of points a game is highlighted and sought after more so than a player that averages 15 rebounds, 7-8 blocked shots and 2-3 steals a game. Some of these players seldom share the ball. Chicks dig the long ball. They also like scoring. We all know how Geno feels about his teams playing good tight, stingy, turn-you-over defense. We always hear his players say in interviews how the team's defense leads to their offense. "I don't have to score a lot of points if I can keep you from scoring". How many times have we seen UConn hold a team to single digits in the first and or second quarter? Former Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda said "[I]You can't win a pennant in April, but you can lose one[/I]". You come out of the gates slow in April, and you're so far behind everyone else come May and June, you're playing catch up the rest of the season. The same can be said about a basketball game. You get outscored 15-20 points in the first quarter or first half, the game is over, unless the other team becomes over confident and stops scoring (takes their foot of the gas, which seldom happens). Crap happens. :eek: Coaches are constantly imploring their team to keep the pressure on, and keep playing hard. Don't let up. Several nights ago, a men's team was down 4 points with a second left in the game, and through a series of their opponents's mental and physical errors, they managed to win the game. A UConn fast break off of their missed shot is a team's worse nightmare. You can find yourself down double digits in the blink of an eye to UConn in 2-3 minutes due to their fast break baskets. UConn has had great success in holding leads. The last two games they lost in overtime, they had leads they were unable to hold. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach