Rizzotti named to nat'l team staff

[pap49cba]

Will act as advance scout and court coach...

LINK

 

[j66kicker]

Further training for eventually replacing Geno

 

[MilfordHusky]

Further training for eventually replacing Geno

Could be. I was thinking Sue or Dee.

 

[UcMiami]

Glad she is on the staff. Should be fun for both Geno and her to get to work together.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Further training for eventually replacing Geno

I don't know Rizzotti might be too old by then. She would be almost 50 by the time Geno retires. How many years would she realistically want to coach?

 

[easttexastrash]

I don't know Rizzotti might be too old by then. She would be almost 50 by the time Geno retires. How many years would she realistically want to coach?

15?

 

[jcoton56]

Well deserved!

 

[ed4ourgirls]

When the time comes, I hope we don't make the same mistake that Tennessee has by
insisting that the new coach must have a UConn connection.

We should hire the best coach available.

 

[meyers7]

Good for her. And good for Geno and the National Team.

More UCONN connections, you know who is gonna melt down.

 

[HoopsFan21]

What about Sue Bird? Always thought she'd be great as a coach. Her playing days are winding down, so after a few years break from basketball, maybe she could start house hunting in Storrs. Geno can then hire her on as an assistant grooming her over the course of 5 years or so to take over as head coach when he retires. I imagine Geno will still be around the program after he retires, maybe to help recruit or stopping by on occasion to provide some extra motivation during practice.

 

[j66kicker]

I don't know Rizzotti might be too old by then. She would be almost 50 by the time Geno retires. How many years would she realistically want to coach?

Well she's 40 now, so if Geno coaches for ten more years (certainly possible I guess), then she would be 50. 50-year-old head coaches change schools for better jobs all the time without the expectation that they'll stay 15-20 years. Wouldn't that be the ultimate coaching job for Jen?

Others have suggested Dee and Sue, but Jen is also a UCONN All American and all-time great. And she has a bunch of NCAA and USA basketball head coaching experience, where they have zero coaching experience of any type.

 

[doggydaddy]

Is this a recruiting violation?

 

[alexrgct]

Is this a recruiting violation?

if it is good for recruiting, it is clearly by default a recruiting violation. Directly or indirectly good for recruiting is a violation. Being a good recruiter is a recruiting violation. Winning nine NCs and having been to 15 Final Fours? It's a gosh darn recruiting violation, gosh darn it. And winning 90 games in a row? The program should be burned at the stake.

 

[doggydaddy]

if it is good for recruiting, it is clearly by default a recruiting violation. Directly or indirectly good for recruiting is a violation. Being a good recruiter is a recruiting violation. Winning nine NCs and having been to 15 Final Fours? It's a gosh darn recruiting violation, gosh darn it. And winning 90 games in a row? The program should be burned at the stake.

So, is this a recruiting violation?

 

[jsloanjr]

Good luck Jen.........

 

[winlots]

Is this a recruiting violation?

DD: I'm pretty sure that if we take her out to the ball diamond and have her throw out the first pitch, kinda like the Dodgers did with the Philly kid, there shouldn't be any problem what so ever, eh?

 

[DaddyChoc]

What about Sue Bird? Always thought she'd be great as a coach. Her playing days are winding down, so after a few years break from basketball, maybe she could start house hunting in Storrs. Geno can then hire her on as an assistant grooming her over the course of 5 years or so to take over as head coach when he retires. I imagine Geno will still be around the program after he retires, maybe to help recruit or stopping by on occasion to provide some extra motivation during practice.

ummm sort of like Shea?

 

[HoopsFan21]

ummm sort of like Shea?

I don't think Shea is going to be head coach of UConn. Just like Jamelle wasn't going to be, and she spent over a decade as an assistant to Geno. I don't think the succession plan has even been thought of at this point to be honest, but in the last year of Geno's current contract I'm sure that process will start to ramp up.

 

[MilfordHusky]

My view is that Sue Bird would be a fabulous UConn coach. She knows the game as well as anyone and is driven, intelligent, articulate, and attractive. She has street cred and is widely respected and admired. She can walk into a home interview with 12 FIBA gold medals around her neck and an autographed copy of Bird at the Buzzer.

But, alas, Sue says that Storrs is too small a town for her. I hope she's still interested. If she's not, that Ballhog Chick in Phoenix says she wants to coach. Is is possible that Geno's successor would have as big a personality as his?

 

[easttexastrash]

I bet Mulkey could transition from Waco to Storrs. Do you sell animal print clothes up there?

 

[RadyLady]

My view is that Sue Bird would be a fabulous UConn coach. She knows the game as well as anyone and is driven, intelligent, articulate, and attractive. She has street cred and is widely respected and admired. She can walk into a home interview with 12 FIBA gold medals around her neck and an autographed copy of Bird at the Buzzer.

But, alas, Sue says that Storrs is too small a town for her. I hope she's still interested. If she's not, that Ballhog Chick in Phoenix says she wants to coach. Is is possible that Geno's successor would have as big a personality as his?

Bigger. Diana would be an interesting choice as a coach, likely not a head coach right away. I see her with great leadership when on the floor, and how that translates to a coaching position should be an interesting thing to watch. She is a smart girl, and she knows her basketball. We know that despite the "ball hog" moniker, she works to get her teams on the floor involved and is a great motivator. Can she apply the same or similar techniques without wearing a uniform? I would be really interested to see how she would fare in a coaching situation.
The entertainment factor may be high, and the evolution of her teams and coaching style something to watch.

 

[j66kicker]

I bet Mulkey could transition from Waco to Storrs. Do you sell animal print clothes up there?

Mostly canine-oriented - not sure how the doggie tops would work with metal pants....?

 

[VAUConnFan]

1. Is there anyone here willing to actually question whether Ms Rizzotti gets this position without her connections to Coach Auriemma? Yes, this is how the world turns, but still...
2. Is there anyone here willing to put forward the name of a black successor to Coach Auriemma? Is there any chance the women's program will go in the same direction as the men's program? If the women's program eventually does what the men's program did in picking a UConn alum from California who had to work extraordinarily hard to get a professional contract, then I have the perfect candidate in mind.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Would DT be like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson unable to cope with players that don't have the same work ethic that she does? I can see DT getting frustrated at players who aren't as talented as she is or the player with potential but is unwilling to put in the time to meet or exceed her potential. That's why so may great players are unable to be effective coaches.

Bigger. Diana would be an interesting choice as a coach, likely not a head coach right away. I see her with great leadership when on the floor, and how that translates to a coaching position should be an interesting thing to watch. She is a smart girl, and she knows her basketball. We know that despite the "ball hog" moniker, she works to get her teams on the floor involved and is a great motivator. Can she apply the same or similar techniques without wearing a uniform? I would be really interested to see how she would fare in a coaching situation.
The entertainment factor may be high, and the evolution of her teams and coaching style something to watch.

 

[RadyLady]

Would DT be like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson unable to cope with players that don't have the same work ethic that she does? I can see DT getting frustrated at players who aren't as talented as she is or the player with potential but is unwilling to put in the time to meet or exceed her potential. That's why so may great players are unable to be effective coaches.

That is a question for which we do not know the answer now, although I must say that we have seen her work with many players without as much talent as she (seriously, how many really are at her level? very few I think), and we have seen her motivate all kinds of players first at UConn, who knows in Europe, and now in Phoenix to get on the same page and get to the ultimate goal .

Getting players to buy into a system is key to success Geno has that ability and I'm betting that Diana does too although I realize that at the end of the day, this is a wait and see kind of thing.