Reeling Geno Auriemma not sure issues with UConn women’s basketball team can be ‘fixed’ after 57-44 loss at Georgia Tech

[D J B]

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Reeling Geno Auriemma not sure issues with UConn women’s basketball team can be ‘fixed’ after 57-44 loss at Georgia Tech

The first game of the (temporary) Paige Bueckers-less era as she recovers from a tibial plateau fracture that’ll keep her out six to eight weeks spelled — by UConn standards — cat…

www.courant.com

 

[D J B]

A few quotes. It's many, but it's a long article.

“I don’t think it’s gonna get fixed. I really don’t,” he said.

“And what I see is a team that’s somewhat disheveled. And that’s all me. Somehow, someway, I do not have the ability at this point in time to affect my players to make sure that we’re in a better place mentally and physically and play the kind of basketball we need to play.”

“We’re disorganized, that’s the biggest thing I can tell you,” Auriemma said. “We’re disorganized as a group right now, from the coaching on down, everybody. There’s just no sense of we have a plan of how we’re going to execute, how we’re going to get a bucket, who’s going to get it for us.”

“That fourth quarter, we didn’t respond, which has happened before with this team,” Auriemma said. “So you can blame Paige not being here. Yeah, that’s part of it. But that’s not the real story.”

 

[D J B]

It will either depress them, or it will wake them up. Either way, it is what this team needs. If it depresses them, then it is what they deserve. If it inspires them, then they are bigger than they thought they were.

 

[uconnfan68]

Or just the opposite.

 

[pvdoggy]

If you are the team and you hear your coach says that things can't be fixed, how are you supposed to react?

 

[D J B]

If you are the team and you hear your coach says that things can't be fixed, how are you supposed to react?

How about prove him wrong? Or, you can roll over and give up. There is a choice to be made here.

I think I know which boat you're in. Let's see which boat the players are in.

 

[VA Huskie]

If I’m a top player and my coach says it’s basically hopeless… I do what I need to do to prove him wrong! Watch out UCLA

 

[Aluminny69]

 

[Geesworld]

This Press conference was disturbing from my favorite coach. There is parity in women's basketball and it's a good thing for the sport. No time for sulking. I once heard Geno, say, "It's supposed to be hard." Yet he takes a loss, then act as if it's the end of the world. That attitude is no better than a missed layup or disheveled offense he complained about. His job is to coach thru ups and downs. Twenty schedule games left and the coach has a defeated outlook on the rest of the season. Not good! Glaring problem is Coach hasn't made adjustments in a very long time and it's concerning to me when looking at our future in comparison to other programs. In the two losses, this season, we had epic melt downs in the 4th quarter, with no plans on how to stop the bleeding. Yes it's on the players but what are the adjustments to help these 18 to 22 year old players grow and be successful. I believe in Geno but maybe a loss like this will make us realize what the women's collegiate game has become. Parity!!

 

[Blueballer]

If you are the team and you hear your coach says that things can't be fixed, how are you supposed to react?

You know how many times he's said stuff like this over the years? A LOT. There's a method. And you if you don't know that by now you never will.

 

[willtalk]

What makes Paige special is her understanding of the essence of the game. They new recruits that are basically the products of AAU do not have that understanding and do not have the patience to allow it to be taught to them. The system Geno runs is not geared to players like he had in the past. The average product of AAU is not focused on learning team basketball. Bird say it but she got it from Geno- Basketball is not really so much about How, but When. Most players coming into college programs already know how, they just do not know when. And most do not have the depth to understand the importance of learning what they do not know already.

The type of player like Paige who has the skill set along with the BBIQ aned desire to improve is scarce. Paige made it possible for Geno to run his system and for the team to play the game like it was meant to be played. Without her the team is clueless.

Geno was a student of Wooden and used his system to make UConn the dominate force in WCBB just like Wooden did, for a time, on the mens side. Wooden, once said a few years after he retired, that he believed he could not coach the new type of player coming out of high school. It just took longer for the WCBB to devolve to that level, but it might be there already. Geno's system might not be workable in todays WCBB, but it is not because it is obsolete, but because the game itself has degressed to represent flash over substance.

 

[eebmg]

If I’m a top player and my coach says it’s basically hopeless… I do what I need to do to prove him wrong! Watch out UCLA

Thats great if basketball was 1 on 1.

 

[Littlemin]

If you are the team and you hear your coach says that things can't be fixed, how are you supposed to react?

By proving him wrong

 

[caseyb7]

Disturbing interview after - ANOTHER - disturbing game.

Something far deeper than the absence of Paige Bueckers and injuries to others is amiss here - and glimpses of that tumor have been visible to those attending games live or watching on the screen.

The traditional Connecticut basketball culture is not in play - discipline, minimal fouling, making free throws, assists, stingy defense - and has not been evident this season.

Lots of talent - we're told - but no team.

Something is fundamentally amiss deeper than bad execution: coaching conflict, disaffected player attitude, behavioral issue, usage issue, who knows. Maybe Sailor Poffenbarger's transfer was a harbinger from seeing things she too thought could not be fixed.

I thought Geno was surprisingly candid when he said he didn't think he could fix the problem. I hope that is motivational speak, but things are amiss in a manner I don't think I've ever seen in my decades following the team.

Pray for rain.

 

[Geesworld]

How about prove him wrong? Or, you can roll over and give up. There is a choice to be made here.

I think I know which boat you're in. Let's see which boat the players are in.

That's exactly what I was thinking about Coach. There is a choice. The young adults chose him. Now do what you are Payed millions for.

 

[Conndog]

If Geno thinks he doesn't know if he can fix the problem, then I'd rather we have a coach who thinks he/she can fix the problem. And part of the problem is him and not being able to coach/teach offensive sets/plays well.

 

[uconnfan68]

If Geno thinks he doesn't know if he can fix the problem, then I'd rather we have a coach who thinks he/she can fix the problem. And part of the problem is him and not being able to coach/teach offensive sets/plays well.

Just maybe he needs all those missing players to fix it.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

That's exactly what I was thinking about Coach. There is a choice. The young adults chose him. Now do what you are Payed millions for.

I like the fact that he gave Amari some minutes, she showed right away what a great player she is. Don’t know why she’s been buried on the bench.

 

[HuskyNan]

I like the fact that he gave Amari some minutes, she showed right away what a great player she is. Don’t know why she’s been buried on the bench.

She was often out of position on defense and needed to be directed where to go on the court. She’ll learn but leaving her in a game like last night’s would have been discouraging and counter-productive to her growth.

 

[Oldschoolbb]

I think it comes down to a lot of players who have not progressed/panned out during their careers at UConn. Plus, PB is the closest equivalent to Larry Bird in terms of making teammates better (see e.g. the Celtics the year before he joined to his rookie year, still the biggest one-year improvement in NBA history, iirc). Her play covers up a lot of blemishes. Now they are all on display.

 

[Surly1]

She was often out of position on defense and needed to be directed where to go on the court. She’ll learn but leaving her in a game like last night’s would have been discouraging and counter-productive to her growth.

Exactly. Too many people throw superlatives like “great” around as if everyone was playing T-ball. Paige is great. Most believe Azzi, when healthy, will be great. That’s all who the term applies to on this team.
Amari showed a glimpse of her talent and a mere prelude of what she may be. The same applies to Ducharme. I realize people hope otherwise, but she is another work in progress. Griffin keeps getting mentioned that her return is the antidote to the team’s disarray. She’s never been a starter nor is she the answer to the team’s offensive woes.
People seem to enjoy speculation. The current struggles are something that invariably all programs suffer through. After 37 years, Geno doesn’t know what he is doing? 13 consecutive Final Fours! At some point, dynasties end - happens in every sport. Teams no longer play in awe of the UConn jersey. That’s a good thing. It implies winning will be much harder. Harder, but definitely more satisfying. If not this year, then next.

 

[Dove]

I've had a feeling for a couple of years that he is getting soft. As is the staff.

It was easy to blame the team when they took punches and didn't recover. But lately, I think it's more than them.

Coach?

 

[Stymie]

Cold, direct approach.
Coach, you assembled this team.
You make the big bucks.
Coach them up into something that can at least be ‘competitive’.
Years of failing to develop a functioning reserve plan in favor of innumerable roll over wins has come home to roost.
You’ve got at least two future stars still serviceable (Caroline and Amari).
No more shoulder shrugs.
No more glib pressers.
Do it.

 

[CL82]

Disturbing interview after - ANOTHER - disturbing game.

Something far deeper than the absence of Paige Bueckers and injuries to others is amiss here - and glimpses of that tumor have been visible to those attending games live or watching on the screen.

The traditional Connecticut basketball culture is not in play - discipline, minimal fouling, making free throws, assists, stingy defense - and has not been evident this season.

Lots of talent - we're told - but no team.

Something is fundamentally amiss deeper than bad execution: coaching conflict, disaffected player attitude, behavioral issue, usage issue, who knows. Maybe Sailor Poffenbarger's transfer was a harbinger from seeing things she too thought could not be fixed.

I thought Geno was surprisingly candid when he said he didn't think he could fix the problem. I hope that is motivational speak, but things are amiss in a manner I don't think I've ever seen in my decades following the team.

Pray for rain.