Questioning coaching

[Rowdy831]

Coaches learn a lot more from the criticism than they do the compliments. Geno is clearly one of the great BB coaches of all time, the best in my opinion. His knowledge of the game is second to none, but collectively the other coaches know things he doesn't and that is how he keeps his edge. When people offer opinions they aren't saying they know more than him or that he isn't great, they are just commenting on how they see things.

 

[HuskyNan]

Hurley‘s major sin is he is constantly being compared to Jim
Calhoun who some on the men’s board seem to have forgotten had some underperforming teams. A comment in this thread suggests GA doesn’t instill confidence by letting players play through mistakes. I think they never saw Jim Calhoun’s merry go round substitutions. .

Exhibit A

If Jackson Played for Calhoun…

He would be riding the bench for some of the lapses he had once again tonight. The technical, the unnecessary charge, the wild shots…. I don’t put this on Jackson but rather Hurley. He is going to have to hold him more accountable because we will not be able to compete at the highest levels...

the-boneyard.com

 

[huskeynut]

Everyone is entitled to the their opinion. Criticizing the coaching is an opinion.

As I see it, the two biggest complaints on Geno's coaching/ coaching style is 1. he doesn't recruit enough bigs and 2. he dosen't play the bench in games and allow them to grow and develop. These 2 complaints have been beaten to death on this board over the last few years.

As to bigs, the problem is that UConn doesn't have an Aaliyah Boston according to those who complain. Some are convinced we can't win another national championship without a big banger, at least 6' 5" or taller, in the low post. Olivia wasn't big enough or strong enough. She had to "beef up" to play the post. And this went on for four years. She didn't do this, she didn't do that and on and on.

I will also say Chrystin Williams was another target for complaints. I swear she could never do anything right according to our "experts,"

Playing the bench. This really heated up last season when injuries started to decimate the team. This year has been just as bad because injuries have us down to 8 healthy scholarship players. I will just say that Geno has, since he started at UConn, a philosophy that each player will earn the game minutes in practice. They must earn his trust. Geno's record shows that earning minutes in practice has been pretty darn successful over 35+ years.

My opinion.

 

[cgshuskie]

A generally very sad post. Criticism is not fact, it is just an opinion. What good is a post if it doesn't
reflect opinion and if opinion is disrespected and de valued? It's human to criticize!

 

[jazz]

Hurley‘s major sin is he is constantly being compared to Jim
Calhoun who some on the men’s board seem to have forgotten had some underperforming teams. A comment in this thread suggests GA doesn’t instill confidence by letting players play through mistakes. I think they never saw Jim Calhoun’s merry go round substitutions. .

This season has been borderline miraculous. For a huge chunk of the season they have had 4 players on the bench (if Brady is as good as advertised) who alone would be NC contenders. So with a depleted team that is going through an exhausting stretch, they take #1 down to the wire then have to travel to play a good, disciplined team and only were out of it the last few minutes. And, BTW, Geno subbed a good bit in this game. The world ended, we lost 2 in a row for the second time in 30 years. Geno isn’t perfect, but even when half full like this year he manages to put out way more Rolls Royces than Edsels.

In case this was meant for me, Jim was a great coach and he often allowed players to make mistakes and remain in the game.

 

[MD#12Fan]

Hurley‘s major sin is he is constantly being compared to Jim
Calhoun who some on the men’s board seem to have forgotten had some underperforming teams. A comment in this thread suggests GA doesn’t instill confidence by letting players play through mistakes. I think they never saw Jim Calhoun’s merry go round substitutions. .

This season has been borderline miraculous. For a huge chunk of the season they have had 4 players on the bench (if Brady is as good as advertised) who alone would be NC contenders. So with a depleted team that is going through an exhausting stretch, they take #1 down to the wire then have to travel to play a good, disciplined team and only were out of it the last few minutes. And, BTW, Geno subbed a good bit in this game. The world ended, we lost 2 in a row for the second time in 30 years. Geno isn’t perfect, but even when half full like this year he manages to put out way more Rolls Royces than Edsels.

I agree with you heralding Geno for the success this season. Nothing short of miraculous.
But I believe 2 things can be right at the same time.
IMO (and I’m entitled to that) the team is going to run aground sooner than later if Geno doesn’t mix up his tactics. I want to see more pressure out front, for one reason that is where our strength is. Nika and AG aren‘t tired. Also I want more slashing to the hoop on offense. “Dribble-drive pitch”. Get AG some lanes to slash and Nika and AE. I hate the big at the high post. Dorka’ s hit some big 3’s but still. I hated Liv out there too. I liked Dolson out there. Gabby could drive from there but she never could hit the free throw J consistently. Get Dorka on the block. Dribble drive pitch gets Lou open shots.
And yes I’m a peewee league legend with 1100+ victories and NC’s too many to count. I also have an opinion.

 

[cohenzone]

In case this was meant for me, Jim was a great coach and he often allowed players to make mistakes and remain in the game.

Not that often. But anyway, Jim never particularly played more than 8 guys regularly. Auriemma has a significantly longer hook than Calhoun ever did. Even a few games sitting right behind JC was instructive on just what a perfectionist he is. Great coach obviously.

This is a totally weird UConn year. Because blow outs are less common because of injuries and the end of benchers are now the whole bench, one could argue that they should get more time than in years past. . Patterson has typical frosh issues and maybe needed time for less demanding situations, then missed a bunch of games. DeBerry is near the end of her second year. I‘d be astounded if GA wouldn’t like to give Dorka more time off, but DeBerry has little trust from Geno. Ines isn’t ready for major minutes.As i said, one can argue that GA could give these kids more floor time, but if that yielded more losses. I can only imagine the fan melt down given what 2 losses in a row have produced.

 

[boontonbomber]

Coaches learn a lot more from the criticism than they do the compliments. Geno is clearly one of the great BB coaches of all time, the best in my opinion. His knowledge of the game is second to none, but collectively the other coaches know things he doesn't and that is how he keeps his edge. When people offer opinions they aren't saying they know more than him or that he isn't great, they are just commenting on how they see things.

A good example of "how they see things

Coaches learn a lot more from the criticism than they do the compliments. Geno is clearly one of the great BB coaches of all time, the best in my opinion. His knowledge of the game is second to none, but collectively the other coaches know things he doesn't and that is how he keeps his edge. When people offer opinions they aren't saying they know more than him or that he isn't great, they are just commenting on how they see things.

Re: "on how people see things", a post here mentioned players worried about making mistakes, and that post received a bunch of "likes". When players are playing "scared" they are not going to play. How I "see things", Amari and Ayanna are far from comfortable on the floor. It's actually sad to see players who have had so much success in their past basketball years looking so helpless out there. Some players worry, some just go out and play. Do you coach them all the same way?

 

[cohenzone]

Coaches learn a lot more from the criticism than they do the compliments. Geno is clearly one of the great BB coaches of all time, the best in my opinion. His knowledge of the game is second to none, but collectively the other coaches know things he doesn't and that is how he keeps his edge. When people offer opinions they aren't saying they know more than him or that he isn't great, they are just commenting on how they see things.

That’s true. The chances are pretty strong that GA does get some ideas from watching other teams, and its also true that a bunch of coaches learn from him. I kind of suspect, though, that observations from the average fan rarely make GA say, •I wish I’d thought of that.”

 

[snowkot]

Oh boy - delicate topic this.

FOR ME, coach's strengths, where he really has no equal, are his sheer force of personality, integrity, charsima, investment and connection with his players, both within and beyond basketbtall, and love of the beauty of team basketball. As a result, his early recruiting and game approach fostered success, where success fostered more recruiting success, sort of the "snowball rolling down a snow-covered mountain" paradigm. UConn's recruiting from the mid-90's to now have been with extraordinary - Lobo to Fudd and beyond. He's cultivated the best partnership in the game, perhaps within all of coaching, men or womens, regardless of sport, with Chris Dailey. Sensational assistants. That's led to immaculate game prep, scouting and tactics. UConn, over the years, has approached each game as, or better, prepared than any other team in the country. All leading to a record that is unmatched, and almost certainly will never be matched, in the history of the game. He truly is the John Wooden of the women's game.

However, nobody's perfect, everyone has strengths and weaknesses. FOR ME, his in-game management, and rotations can be disappointing, at times downright frustrating. Most recently, versus South Carolina, failing to play offense-defense, forcing his two most important players (3 pt shooter, point guard) to foul out in a two-possession game, was coaching malpractice. This season, a rigid 5-player rotation has resulted in the mentally tired player narrative, affecting games, justified by citing his bench's inability to score. Some would counter with DeBerry's one-time 13 points, others would cite her other results. Either way, perhaps potentially sacrificing a game or even two to afford substancial minutes to his 3 bench players, for the long term health (mental or otherwise) of his starters until the team is whole again, might be a better approach, with the added advantage of improving his bench through in-game reps.

End game management (1 minute and under left) has been a concern - the losses on final possesions to Notre Dame (OT), the national semifinals, some squandering leads under a minute. Shooting with too much time remaining (Miss. State OT). Saniya Chong and Gabby Williams with final shots. The counter is obviously, players play, coaches coach - granted.

We all have opinons...

 

[cohenzone]

I agree with you heralding Geno for the success this season. Nothing short of miraculous.
But I believe 2 things can be right at the same time.
IMO (and I’m entitled to that) the team is going to run aground sooner than later if Geno doesn’t mix up his tactics. I want to see more pressure out front, for one reason that is where our strength is. Nika and AG aren‘t tired. Also I want more slashing to the hoop on offense. “Dribble-drive pitch”. Get AG some lanes to slash and Nika and AE. I hate the big at the high post. Dorka’ s hit some big 3’s but still. I hated Liv out there too. I liked Dolson out there. Gabby could drive from there but she never could hit the free throw J consistently. Get Dorka on the block. Dribble drive pitch gets Lou open shots.
And yes I’m a peewee league legend with 1100+ victories and NC’s too many to count. I also have an opinion.

I bow to a pee wee legend. I have a 1-0 lifetime pee wee record as a sub coach. Unbeaten is my middle name. My difference with you is pretty much dismissing the exhaustion factor. They made a ton of unforced errors against Marquette that to me are signs of mental fatigue. Also, GA himself has said they aren’t moving, which is more likely a sign of nental and maybe physical fatigue. Nit disagreeing with your stategies, but I’d guess he’s considered the options. I’m sure he’s turedctoo, his mother died, he was sick and they have been on the go They went through a stretch of a lot of games in a short time with almost no bench, played the top team almost even and then had to travel to play a decent team. Yes it was a clunjer, but even then they were in it until the lat few minutes. And nobody shooting well. They are still on the road today. We shall see if they are reenergizef.

 

[oldude]

Geno has very limited options. He has one quality shooter who draws lots of attention, and no ability to spread the floor until Caroline and/or Azzi return. Opposing coaches are not stupid. It’s pretty clear how to stop UConn, chase Lou all over the court and pack everyone else in the paint to swarm UConn’s Bigs whenever the ball goes inside. With the present roster, Geno has little flexibility to do anything about it.

He has to rely overwhelmingly on his starting 5 as the bench has provided 0 points in 5/6 games. The bench is not getting any better as they don’t have the opportunity to go hard in practice against the starters, because Geno, with the guidance of Andrea Hudy, has cut back substantially on practice time and intensity. As a result, the reserves, who have the greatest need for hard practices in order to develop the ability to play in real games, are not getting hard practice time.

Under the circumstances, the fact that UConn has managed to hang around the top 5 for most of the season is nothing short of remarkable and, quite frankly, a testimony to Geno’s remarkable ability to adapt and compete.

 

[MD#12Fan]

I bow to a pee wee legend. I have a 1-0 lifetime pee wee record as a sub coach. Unbeaten is my middle name. My difference with you is pretty much dismissing the exhaustion factor. They made a ton of unforced errors against Marquette that to me are signs of mental fatigue. Also, GA himself has said they aren’t moving, which is more likely a sign of nental and maybe physical fatigue. Nit disagreeing with your stategies, but I’d guess he’s considered the options. I’m sure he’s turedctoo, his mother died, he was sick and they have been on the go They went through a stretch of a lot of games in a short time with almost no bench, played the top team almost even and then had to travel to play a decent team. Yes it was a clunjer, but even then they were in it until the lat few minutes. And nobody shooting well. They are still on the road today. We shall see if they are reenergizef.

Super post! Thanks for that! Wish I read your writing more. The site has gotten blander recently. There is room here for more nuanced opinions. I’ve written glowingly about what Geno has done the last three years through all this crap. I‘ve also managed to post some criticisms of his passing game. They are not getting the ball in optimum positions. Just a basic 1-2-2 set with screening on both sides sets up driving lanes. What if a D had to actually adjust to AG, AE, and Nika driving by them. Hmm, open looks for Lou? Post looks for Dorka. Come on, he’s losing these big games now. If we think UConn has the talent to win, then IMO it’s fair to talk about why it’s not happening. For example, sorry for this, AG is not a pure shooter. She’s awkward. She’s only going to ever be so good against top competition. However she’s one of the best slashers in WCBB. Why isn’t her ability being exploited? Just an example. It’s been happening for a few years now. Gabby cannot be a high post if she can’t make a 15 footer. What happened, as a result? Teams sagged against her and the middle got clogged. We were all there. Lose to Miss St. No way! You’re right. Looking forward to the game today. Best to you.

 

[MD#12Fan]

I bow to a pee wee legend. I have a 1-0 lifetime pee wee record as a sub coach. Unbeaten is my middle name. My difference with you is pretty much dismissing the exhaustion factor. They made a ton of unforced errors against Marquette that to me are signs of mental fatigue. Also, GA himself has said they aren’t moving, which is more likely a sign of nental and maybe physical fatigue. Nit disagreeing with your stategies, but I’d guess he’s considered the options. I’m sure he’s turedctoo, his mother died, he was sick and they have been on the go They went through a stretch of a lot of games in a short time with almost no bench, played the top team almost even and then had to travel to play a decent team. Yes it was a clunjer, but even then they were in it until the lat few minutes. And nobody shooting well. They are still on the road today. We shall see if they are reenergizef.

Oops. I was kidding about the peewee stuff. Can’t comment on GA unless you have 11 NC’s and +1100 wins.
‘Not even GA can beat your 1.000 winning %

 

[MD#12Fan]

Geno has very limited options. He has one quality shooter who draws lots of attention, and no ability to spread the floor until Caroline and/or Azzi return. Opposing coaches are not stupid. It’s pretty clear how to stop UConn, chase Lou all over the court and pack everyone else in the paint to swarm UConn’s Bigs whenever the ball goes inside. With the present roster, Geno has little flexibility to do anything about it.

He has to rely overwhelmingly on his starting 5 as the bench has provided 0 points in 5/6 games. The bench is not getting any better as they don’t have the opportunity to go hard in practice against the starters, because Geno, with the guidance of Andrea Hudy, has cut back substantially on practice time and intensity. As a result, the reserves, who have the greatest need for hard practices in order to develop the ability to play in real games, are not getting hard practice time.

Under the circumstances, the fact that UConn has managed to hang around the top 5 for most of the season is nothing short of remarkable and, quite frankly, a testimony to Geno’s remarkable ability to adapt and compete.

Dribble drive pitch. Remember Arkansas. We’ve got players that can break down defenses. Then Lou ca. find the open spots. AG is a dynamic slasher. She doesn’t need 5 back screens to get to the rim. Get her driving lanes. Nika is tough as nails. She can exploit driving lanes. She doesn’t need 5 back screens to find an opening. Lou needs space. If she gets it, she’s bottom. Dorka needs looks at the low block.
There most certainly are things we can do. I’m frustrated. Miss St, AZ, SC, ND, Marquette.
‘The passing game is Rembrandt. Players become more sophisticated players running it. Probably helps them professionally. Time to shelve it until next year, when you’ll have essentially a WNBA team. This team is gutsy beyond belief but limited in what they can do. Please get them in positions they can have success. Slash, slash, and slash some more.

 

[jazz]

Not that often. But anyway, Jim never particularly played more than 8 guys regularly. Auriemma has a significantly longer hook than Calhoun ever did. Even a few games sitting right behind JC was instructive on just what a perfectionist he is. Great coach obviously.

This is a totally weird UConn year. Because blow outs are less common because of injuries and the end of benchers are now the whole bench, one could argue that they should get more time than in years past. . Patterson has typical frosh issues and maybe needed time for less demanding situations, then missed a bunch of games. DeBerry is near the end of her second year. I‘d be astounded if GA wouldn’t like to give Dorka more time off, but DeBerry has little trust from Geno. Ines isn’t ready for major minutes.As i said, one can argue that GA could give these kids more floor time, but if that yielded more losses. I can only imagine the fan melt down given what 2 losses in a row have produced.

I agree this year is weird. I also don't think that AD or Ines has done enough to give GA much faith in them to give them more time. The things those two are good at are completely mitigated by what they are not good at. AP in the otherhand is completely perplexing. I'd say she has regressed over the year. Is that her or is she being forced to think so much that she can't really be as effective as she would be otherwise?

Now in previous years, GA has had low tolerance for mistakes and as stated, this can be good and bad. I take a long road point of view and allow them to play through some mistakes so they aren't playing with the idea of being too afraid of makings mistakes which them leads to more mistakes. Maybe they will be better players as a result at the end of the year and then we might be able to count on them for a few minutes in big games.

My recollections of Jim are a bit different than yours. He had a short bench at times in his career but an 8 man rotation is fine and not short in my view. Also there is the different dynamic between young men and women at that age and how they may react with criticism from a icon like figure or the idea of letting down somebody held is such high regard.

Also, I always thought Jim got more out of his players than any other coach I had seen then or since. He knew how to let a kid play to his strengths and mesh that in with the team. GA generally needs great players to make his system go. He makes the player change their ways to mesh with the team. Your really need to be good at a variety of things to get playing time with GA. That is how I see it.

of course it has worked well for GA since he is such a great recruiter, had great players and for the most part, he made them better and won lots of championships. Not so well the last several years when we lost games that we should have won in the final 4. Getting to the final 4 is great however until you lose to a team you should have beaten or at least I think GA could have coached us to victory.

I think 10-15 years ago, GA was head and shoulders better than most every coach he went up against. Now it is more of a level playing field. Lots of good coaching and recruiting out there. Fortunately, GA is one of them, but not necessarily head and shoulders better as he once was.

 

[sun]

Can anyone recall whether Geno has ever spiked a water bottle onto the court during a game in the past 30 years?
If not, then fans may want to admit that could have been a rare, once in a coaching career learning experience.
After the next record ending loss to Marquette Geno said in effect that it was the 1st time that the team has ever failed to perform for him.
Maybe it was some kind of a lesson in coaching Karma that Geno received.
They say that it's never too late to teach an old dog new tricks, which means to adjust a dog's behavior.
They often recommend using treats but maybe getting the stick instead works too.

 

[MD#12Fan]

Can anyone recall whether Geno has ever spiked a water bottle onto the court during a game in the past 30 years?
If not, then fans may admit that was a once in a coaching career learning experience & quite a rare event.
After the next record ending loss to Marquette Geno said in effect that it was the 1st time that the team has ever failed to perform for him.
Maybe it was some kind of a lesson in coaching Karma that Geno received.
They say that it's never too late to teach an old dog new tricks, which mean to adjust their behavior.

Nice!
Maybe nobody in history has commanded the respect of his players like Geno. The Rushmore of coaching- Coach K, BK in his prime, Wooden, Lombardi, Pat
So so subtle. The team saw his poor judgment. I was a supervisor for 10 years, a coach, and a teacher for 25+. You do things that hurt your group’s trust. Hopefully you restore it. But regardless it is affected, even for an icon like Geno.
Luckily 8th graders have short memories. Every day starts fresh. Ted Lasso, “be a goldfish”.
In HS I played for an iconic coach, he coached Big John Thompson at Carroll in DC. We had a D1 player and Coach had us try to get him the DC single game record for points. Baylor, Bing, Dantley….. We got him 63 that night. Turned out to be 4 points short. Always disliked coach’s decision to do that. I felt kinda used. Anyway actions matter.

 

[VaConnFan11]

My criticism of Geno in the South Carolina game is that he said multiple times that UConn needed to make 10 three's to win. The team only shot 6. It is the coach's responsibility to create and run plays to get his players open for the shots they need to take. For those of you who will say that South Carolina took those shots away, then he got outcoached.

The Marquette game was just a weird game. I can see an argument for him being outcoached pregame there, because Marquette was well prepared defensively. If you just look at Marquette's stats for the game, you say UConn won by double digits.

If UConn can have 10 players for the Big East Tournament and beyond, I like their chances. They will be the most battle tested team in the country.