Recruiting update from Rich

[hoopfan515]

Is it naïve to believe there has to be another Jessica Moore or Jamelle Elliott type player still out there in the class of 20104?

 

[Icebear]

Is it naïve to believe there has to be another Jessica Moore or Jamelle Elliott type player still out there in the class of 20104?

20104, pretty sure Geno won't be coaching by then unless UCONN's cloning program makes some great advances.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I certainly think there are some basketball programs out there that do not demand the same intensity as Geno and Uconn, but I doubt you would find a hair's breadth of difference, between Geno and Kim and Muffet and JPMcC, Tara, and CViv, and Jeff and ....
I certainly wouldn't want to be the one that raised my hand during a practice run by any of those folks and said, 'umm, can we slow down a little bit here, I seem to be sweating too much'! And for the most part those are the programs that are signing the players we wanted.

Actually, UcM, any number of other coaches and former player/broadcasters have consistently noted the difference between UConn practices and those of other programs. They note things like no tolerance for taking a play off, that Geno is willing to stick with one thing for a very long time until he gets what he wants, and a disciplined move from one exercise to another (no time off).

Jeff tells the story of his asking Geno if he and his team could watch a practice (this was a few years ago) and Geno surprised him by saying yes and Jeff said it was an eye opening experience for all those sitting in the bleachers.

 

[Vowelguy]

Is it naïve to believe there has to be another Jessica Moore or Jamelle Elliott type player still out there in the class of 20104?

Not sure what you mean. But if you're trying to ask if there's an under the radar player that UConn could still swoop in and get ... the answer is No.

 

[UcMiami]

Actually, UcM, any number of other coaches and former player/broadcasters have consistently noted the difference between UConn practices and those of other programs. They note things like no tolerance for taking a play off, that Geno is willing to stick with one thing for a very long time until he gets what he wants, and a disciplined move from one exercise to another (no time off).

Jeff tells the story of his asking Geno if he and his team could watch a practice (this was a few years ago) and Geno surprised him by saying yes and Jeff said it was an eye opening experience for all those sitting in the bleachers.

Yes I liked that Jeff story and think it reflects well on both of them - but that was also I believe in Jeff's first year as a head coach and I doubt he ignore his lesson - certainly his teams seem to not lack intensity since. (Might have been his second year but the first year Uconn visited Louisville under his watch.) And you will notice I did not include his previous HC in my list of names - though she does have an intense game face that would scare the bejezzus out of me! And I have never seen anyone make that comparison with Muffet or Tara or Kim or Pat. Again, I am not saying Geno is not a unique and exceptional coach, but this started because someone said a lot of post recruits are lazy and go to other programs because they are afraid of Geno actually demanding they work. And I think that is unnecessarily derogatory about both HS post players and Geno's fellow D1 coaches many of whom I admire.

 

[DobbsRover2]

I certainly think there are some basketball programs out there that do not demand the same intensity as Geno and Uconn, but I doubt you would find a hair's breadth of difference, between Geno and Kim and Muffet and JPMcC, Tara, and CViv, and Jeff and ....
I certainly wouldn't want to be the one that raised my hand during a practice run by any of those folks and said, 'umm, can we slow down a little bit here, I seem to be sweating too much'! And for the most part those are the programs that are signing the players we wanted.

All of these WCBB programs and many others are intense and demanding in ways that most BYers are only partially aware of, because demands take many different forms. Whether the intensity of the 8-on-5, and women vs. men UConn practices are just a hair's-breadth more intense than a Duke or Louisville practice is debatable, but "intensity" by itself is a meaningless term since there could be no more intense a practice than doing continuous wind sprints for an hour with a sack of b-balls on your back, though its contribution to a team's success would be minimal.

What makes for success is a system that integrates the strategy, execution, and flexible thinking with the repeated practice of plays in intense challenging conditions that gives a team the edge to win 8 or 9 titles. A haka dance performed with the most intensity ever will still not get you an NC unless you put in the necessary hours on the practice court -- though Stef doing a haka before the NC game in Nashville would probably go a long way toward sewing up another championship for the Huskies.

 

[pinotbear]

20104, pretty sure Geno won't be coaching by then unless UCONN's cloning program makes some great advances.

"Isn't it rich...aren't we.. a pair?"

 

[VAMike23]

20104, pretty sure Geno won't be coaching by then unless UCONN's cloning program makes some great advances.

Star Trek has already anticipated such exigencies. I like their solution.

We should put Geno, CD and Jen R. under glass like this and preserve their coaching acumen for future millenia.