Really, really important article about Geno

[bags27]

Please forgive me, Rocky, for duplicating your article which you found and posted, but I fear that your title "Will it Stick?" that focuses only on a possible nickname for Williams (Okey Dokey) won't attract enough attention on such a momentous day (start of the season).

Folks, this is a really important article. It goes to the heart of how much work is involved in the top program and by the guy who can ride off into the sunset as the greatest WCBB coach (maybe just omit WCBB?) of all-time, but works as hard as he did in 1995 and appreciates the game as much as then. Who else brings the same enthusiasm and respect to their work for so long?

Jeff Jacobs: UConn Women's Basketball Recruiting Is More Than Just Okey-Dokey

 

[BostonCanuck]

Jacobs sourced most of his article from an interview with Geno at Werth that ran about half an hour and is posted elsewhere on the board. His extended comments about central Arkansas being a different America came across as almost condescending to my ear, but maybe that's just me.

 

[mntncougar]

Jacobs sourced most of his article from an interview with Geno at Werth that ran about half an hour and is posted elsewhere on the board. His extended comments about central Arkansas being a different America came across as almost condescending to my ear, but maybe that's just me.

I need to know one thing. Where can I get a camo cap with the Husky logo on it? Seriously!

 

[RegisteredUconn]

...It goes to the heart of how much work is involved in the top program and by the guy who can ride off into the sunset as the greatest WCBB coach (maybe just omit WCBB?) of all-time, but works as hard as he did in 1995 and appreciates the game as much as then. ...

Bags, thanks for taking a second bite of this apple. The article itself is a good one but you're right about the importance of Geno's work ethic to this program.

One thing though. Hard work is one thing when survival is the reward. Hard work is something else entirely when hard work IS the reward. When I was working for my survival hard work was often drudgery. When I decided to retire (the first time), it felt like I was liberated. Hard work was no longer drudgery. I enjoyed it. Suddenly it was the work I found liberating. I was brought back by my former employer for several projects. I was even re-hired. I did much the same things I had before with many of the same people. The difference was I never experienced drudgery again.

Software firms have gone through periods where so many essential personnel are "Microsoft millionaires" that the company has to treat them as if they were volunteers. Work has an entirely different feel to it when you volunteer. I suspect Geno has entered a phase in his life where, in reality, he is a volunteer coach of the Huskies. He doesn't see his job the same way you early/mid career folks do.

 

[HuskyNan]

I need to know one thing. Where can I get a camo cap with the Husky logo on it? Seriously!

This one?

 

[pinotbear]

Jacobs sourced most of his article from an interview with Geno at Werth that ran about half an hour and is posted elsewhere on the board. His extended comments about central Arkansas being a different America came across as almost condescending to my ear, but maybe that's just me.

With the caveat that I have not heard the interview, just read it - so, I don't have access to voice inflection, tone, etc., - I'd be a bit slower to assume condescension. I base this on a couple of things. First, and most importantly, it IS a very different America. Although born in CT, and having lived in southern New England for roughly 40 of my 60 years, the other 20 years have been spent in Virginia, New Mexico (current), and, mostly, KY. I could write pages on the differences between the northeast corridor and KY, and I'm learning the vast differences between the southwest and the eastern 1/3 or so of the country. With modern travel and communication, those differences are shrinking - but, they are still there.

Second, even bright people can be remarkably obtuse about this - their life, their environment is "normal" and they assume that's the way it is. I worked for over 11 years at an expensive, good quality New England liberal arts college. Full of bright kids, educated staff, international programs - all that stuff. Yet, you could stump people with pretty basic questions about US geography and demographics. I think it's good to remind folks, even in urbane CT, that "our" way isn't necessarily the best way, the only way, or even desirable.

Last, I think Geno is more widely-traveled and culturally broadened than most of us. He had to adjust, completely, as a boy. He's traveled the world coaching - and, recruiting. He has had to coach kids with widely disparate backgrounds. So, I think he's way beyond condescending something like small-town mid-America - I think he's taking the opportunity to remind the rest of us to open our minds a bit.

 

[UcMiami]

One thing though. Hard work is one thing when survival is the reward. Hard work is something else entirely when hard work IS the reward. When I was working for my survival hard work was often drudgery. When I decided to retire (the first time), it felt like I was liberated. Hard work was no longer drudgery. I enjoyed it. Suddenly it was the work I found liberating. I was brought back by my former employer for several projects. I was even re-hired. I did much the same things I had before with many of the same people. The difference was I never experienced drudgery again.

A little off topic but this struck a chord with me - I dropped out of college to do theater and my parents convinced me to go back and get my degree two years later. Coming out of HS there was no choice involved about college, it was just the progression you went through and I treated it and my courses as drudgery for the most part. When I went back, it was a choice I was making and one that involved giving up a certain amount of freedom so I knew exactly why I was taking those classes and getting that piece of paper. I was more serious and definitely enjoyed/appreciated the process and the experience in a way I had not the first time around.

Bags - thanks for drawing attention to this article - I passed over the other thread based on the title as you suspected some might.

 

[eebmg]

Jacobs sourced most of his article from an interview with Geno at Werth that ran about half an hour and is posted elsewhere on the board. His extended comments about central Arkansas being a different America came across as almost condescending to my ear, but maybe that's just me.

Yes. I made the same comment on the "nickname" thread. In listening to the interview, it starts out humorous but then it veers close to
condescending but you can almost see Geno catch himself and reigns it in a little. In some sense it is understandable since Geno often likes to talk about groups and stereotypes and has commented that if it is true, it should not be an issue etc. I suppose it is simply a danger of willing to talk on any subject.

 

[j66kicker]

Jacobs sourced most of his article from an interview with Geno at Werth that ran about half an hour and is posted elsewhere on the board. His extended comments about central Arkansas being a different America came across as almost condescending to my ear, but maybe that's just me.

Not just you. I hope he doesn't offend his new recruit

 

[MilfordHusky]

I recall Geno commenting on visiting Kalana Greene in South Carolina. He said he was really in the middle of nowhere, but his GPS said he was in the right place. He looked more closely and found the house. I can picture driving down a narrow road, seeing a grove of trees covered in moss, and then noticing a modest house hidden behind them.

Not every recruit comes from a big house in Southern California or an apartment in New York City. I like the diversity. Like Tiffany, Christyn has a southern accent. It may make her stand out in Connecticut, but not in a negative way. It's just different. It's part of who she is and, to me, it's rather endearing. As Geno notes, she has a very fun personality. That and her game will allow her to stand out.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Please forgive me, Rocky, for duplicating your article which you found and posted, but I fear that your title "Will it Stick?" that focuses only on a possible nickname for Williams (Okey Dokey) won't attract enough attention on such a momentous day (start of the season).

Folks, this is a really important article. It goes to the heart of how much work is involved in the top program and by the guy who can ride off into the sunset as the greatest WCBB coach (maybe just omit WCBB?) of all-time, but works as hard as he did in 1995 and appreciates the game as much as then. Who else brings the same enthusiasm and respect to their work for so long?

Jeff Jacobs: UConn Women's Basketball Recruiting Is More Than Just Okey-Dokey

Okie Dokie--used by Nutmeggers (before they became the hoitie toity Constitution state) for many years. Ms (Little Rock) Williams could chose a more up to date name--but none will work better for a UConn Frosh--when asked by geno to do anything , just say Okie Dokie. He'll like that.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I recall Geno commenting on visiting Kalana Greene in South Carolina. He said he was really in the middle of nowhere, but his GPS said he was in the right place. He looked more closely and found the house. I can picture driving down a narrow road, seeing a grove of trees covered in moss, and then noticing a modest house hidden behind them.

Not every recruit comes from a big house in Southern California or an apartment in New York City. I like the diversity. Like Tiffany, Christyn has a southern accent. It may make her stand out in Connecticut, but not in a negative way. It's just different. It's part of who she is and, to me, it's rather endearing. As Geno notes, she has a very fun personality. That and her game will allow her to stand out.

If you think a Little Rock accent stands out in Connecticut. You could have been me 45 year ago or so in Little Rock with a damn yankee accent---and speed of speech. I slowed down and spoke more distinctly for those in UALR, as they requested. Ms Williams lives in a world where those accents are no long so pronounced. We congealed a bit since then.

Jacobs sourced most of his article from an interview with Geno at Werth that ran about half an hour and is posted elsewhere on the board. His extended comments about central Arkansas being a different America came across as almost condescending to my ear, but maybe that's just me.

Canuk---you are correct. If dropped off in Conway in a deep dark night, except for the clean malls, and the thousands of displaced yankees you many not know where you are.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I wonder how many women's college coaches have a budget for a private plane now and then? I got uncomfortable with Geno's meanderings there for a while, but he started listening to himself and backed out of it as best he could.

 

[BroadwayVa]

With the caveat that I have not heard the interview, just read it - so, I don't have access to voice inflection, tone, etc., - I'd be a bit slower to assume condescension. I base this on a couple of things. First, and most importantly, it IS a very different America. Although born in CT, and having lived in southern New England for roughly 40 of my 60 years, the other 20 years have been spent in Virginia, New Mexico (current), and, mostly, KY. I could write pages on the differences between the northeast corridor and KY, and I'm learning the vast differences between the southwest and the eastern 1/3 or so of the country. With modern travel and communication, those differences are shrinking - but, they are still there.

Second, even bright people can be remarkably obtuse about this - their life, their environment is "normal" and they assume that's the way it is. I worked for over 11 years at an expensive, good quality New England liberal arts college. Full of bright kids, educated staff, international programs - all that stuff. Yet, you could stump people with pretty basic questions about US geography and demographics. I think it's good to remind folks, even in urbane CT, that "our" way isn't necessarily the best way, the only way, or even desirable.

Last, I think Geno is more widely-traveled and culturally broadened than most of us. He had to adjust, completely, as a boy. He's traveled the world coaching - and, recruiting. He has had to coach kids with widely disparate backgrounds. So, I think he's way beyond condescending something like small-town mid-America - I think he's taking the opportunity to remind the rest of us to open our minds a bit.

Born and raised in Connecticut and only in Va for 15 years but traveling and momentarily meeting people in Southern and Western states can give an East Coast person a not accurate belief, especially with all the WRONG stereotypes thrown around for people South and West.
I only taught in UALR for about 7 years. I began with my east coast bias thinking them all under educated and ignorant. That ended quickly, within the first week. Not as poorly educated as some in the NE.
I don't know if I'm more accepting than most (which I doubt) but I worked with people from nearly every state. In rural Va some of the Rural accents are still alive, but when pushed for understanding they are hidden. Same was true in Arkansas--oh, she'll have cute, pleasant words, but Geno will know exactly what she says. I can't recall any student in my classes that used Arkansan specific words or accents. They were all about the age plus a year or two of Ms Williams. We as fans would be making a terrific mistake speaking long about her accent. Arkansans for the most part are independent people and smart.

 

[tomcat]

Guess I was not the only one who was disturbed by the way Geno came across in, yes, his judgment of what that part of Arkansas is like. I hate to say it, but he was condescending and once said, he couldn't walk it back. It's not like he hasn't had to chase recruits into the countryside before. If the point he was trying to make was that this was more "country" that anywhere else he'd seen, well, why would he feel the need to say that at all? It's just one of those topics for which, as the communications folks say all the time, "the optics are terrible."

And unless he is actively trying to make "Okie Dokie" the kid's nickname (and why the hell would he?) , mentioning the phrase just once would have done the trick, allowing him to tell a cute and funny story. But I think he said "Okie Dokie" a ouple of times more, reinforcing the oddity of something she said.

After all, just think about Ahmnu., which stuck for at least a little while on Faris. The lesson to be learned is that sometimes, the best thing to do is just shut up.

 

[msf22b]

I didn't think Geno's remarks were necessarily condescending rather his incredulity at the different strains of America, much of which most of us are at least partially unaware.

Driving to Ohio for research last year, I made a point to detour through West Virginia, a place I'd never been to and spent a day driving through small towns, closed mines, speaking to a great many folks, whose life has been uprooted by globalism and the the march to renewables and cleaner fuels.

The Western side of the Appalachians is a virtual separate country, not to be underestimated or forgotten.

 

[bags27]

Modern media and sound bites encourage us to have tunnel vision: judging comments out of the larger context.

If we were having a direct conversation with (say) Geno, and he said these things to our face, the first thing we'd think is: he's a compassionate, social-savvy person. He means well. Whatever we're "hearing" isn't meant as condescension, but as offered with respect or perhaps with a bit of humor.

 

[BostonCanuck]

Yes, this is an instance where Geno just got up on his hobbyhorse, as he seems increasing apt to do lately, and frankly the press members around him were enjoying it a little too much, as well. So after feeding off them for a while, he ended up talking himself into a corner. Usually these longer stories of his end with an insightful point or some other good payoff. But this one never did, and as I kept listening, I personally came to the conclusion that its main purpose was to mock. Certainly no harm intended, but it did not come across well.

 

[meyers7]

This one?

Close, but Geno's had the Husky Logo on it.

 

[augustaTC]

Geno, I believe, is the last person in the world who'd be purposely condescending. He's never very far from where he came from and if he strays, his Mom will smack him upside the head. Having said that, he does say some odd stuff now and then....pretty much stream of consciousness dialogue. That's Geno. He would no more mean to disparage someone's home than he would refer to Lou as a shut-down defensive star. I think he was genuinely taken with Christyn's infectious personality and the '50's America quality of where she lives. Did he express it eloquently? Not even close. But he'll make up for it.

 

[Padutch5]

Geno, I believe, is the last person in the world who'd be purposely condescending. He's never very far from where he came from and if he strays, his Mom will smack him upside the head. Having said that, he does say some odd stuff now and then....pretty much stream of consciousness dialogue. That's Geno. He would no more mean to disparage someone's home than he would refer to Lou as a shut-down defensive star. I think he was genuinely taken with Christyn's infectious personality and the '50's America quality of where she lives. Did he express it eloquently? Not even close. But he'll make up for it.

I think we all say some odd stuff now and then. We just don’t have reporters recording every word.

 

[Padutch5]

Jacobs sourced most of his article from an interview with Geno at Werth that ran about half an hour and is posted elsewhere on the board. His extended comments about central Arkansas being a different America came across as almost condescending to my ear, but maybe that's just me.

Geno has become a northeasterner. I find most of us think we are superior to the rest of the country. I have news for you. Most of this country is not as politically correct and sensitive as we are. With Geno, what you see is what you get. I respect that and apparently, so do his players.

 

[tomcat]

Yeah, I guess you're right. And I would agree that he would never try to be condescending (He's a man who never forgets the extremely humble place he came from).

But in the world of communications (the one in which I live) it's what appears to be the case, rather than what is, that counts. It's all too easy for someone to suggest that he';s making fun of these country folk. And if you want to consider how that could be used, consider how someone could use it the next time UConn is in a tough recruiting battle for some kid from, yup, the country.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Geno has become a northeasterner. I find most of us think we are superior to the rest of the country. I have news for you. Most of this country is not as politically correct and sensitive as we are. With Geno, what you see is what you get. I respect that and apparently, so do his players.

We aren't?

 

[Woof 101]

Jacobs sourced most of his article from an interview with Geno at Werth that ran about half an hour and is posted elsewhere on the board. His extended comments about central Arkansas being a different America came across as almost condescending to my ear, but maybe that's just me.

Yes, this is an instance where Geno just got up on his hobbyhorse, as he seems increasing apt to do lately, and frankly the press members around him were enjoying it a little too much, as well. So after feeding off them for a while, he ended up talking himself into a corner. Usually these longer stories of his end with an insightful point or some other good payoff. But this one never did, and as I kept listening, I personally came to the conclusion that its main purpose was to mock. Certainly no harm intended, but it did not come across well.

Take this with kindness as it is meant, it is just you. Some should lighten up and realize not every word out of a head coach has to be lawyer speak and perfect English. Geno has been speaking the way he does for decades and now some find him condescending??? Of which he can be, but there is not a trace of it here. That will come in comments when she is on the floor in practice and not performing.

He made light of a innocent country term that is not heard in many parts of the country. He landed the #1 player in the country, which means he spoke well enough to convince her and her family that he should be her mentor for the next four years.
It's all Okey-Dokey with me.....