UConn could be successful post-Geno and we’d lose interest — that’s a possible scenario. Many of us (including me) love the program because we love the culture Geno and CD have created, it’s about self-discipline and team bonding. They build that culture on the basketball court by focusing on team defense. They build it off the court by recruiting the right personalities and supporting them in lots of little ways. As a result, they can get extraordinary effort and ‘buy-in’ from the whole roster in the best years.
There is no mystery in the offense or defense Geno has the team run. He shares it with rival coaches freely. Everything is about how he teaches it and it makes for “beautiful basketball” as more than one rival coach has said. Geno is not the only irascible, comical, sarcastic, witty coach out there, but he may be uniquely insightful into the way young athletes think.
I can imagine UConn succeeding — getting to final fours and maybe even winning another NC or more, and many of us wouldn’t love the type of basketball that got us there. For example, we wouldn’t love the sort of teams Kim would build — though thousands of LSU fans love what she gives them. I don’t think we’d love the teams Vic would build even as we celebrated any wins that came along. Same goes for Cori or Lindsay — their teams wouldn’t satisfy us. At least, this would be the case for the first several years. Once the glow of Geno’s dynasty had faded a bit from memory, we might eventually be open to whatever new team culture a new coach would build.
One example of a new coach who seems to have succeeded in continuing a great coaches is program is Jan Jensen at Iowa. She’s a longtime assistant and former player, so she benefits from continuity and is young enough to continue for a decade or more. It’s possible that Kate Paye could have similar success at Stanford, though the jury is still out on what she’s building there. Niele Ivey stumbled of late, but she could be another case. I might also include Kim Barnes Arico, though her record is not seamless. And the most notable is Dawn who took over a middling program and built a significant powerhouse.
One thing that distinguishes the success stories is avoiding an over reliance on transfers. The ones who’ve stumbled, like Niele, and Lindsay, may have done so because of a superstar talent that couldn’t be fully assimilated into the recruiting culture. This is one of the dangers of the portal. And yet, the fan bases for teams like Tennessee and LSU still support them in great numbers. They must find something to cheer for in them. UConn fans (not including me, I fear) could do the same if a portal team were to be installed at Storrs if it meant winning. I realize I’m all over the map here, but I’m just spitballing.
Are there young coaches who want to build team culture the way Geno and CD have, and will the AD and the fans give them the time to do it? If there are any, I’m sure Geno already knows who they are. If I had to guess, I’d say they aren’t already on Geno’s staff. And they’re probably not elsewhere in the Big East, though Kara Consuegra looks promising. When she talks about her team, she focuses on their buy-in to the program. That’s a good sign for Marquette. Jim Flanery is another example, but he’s not a candidate either. I’m looking for coaches who build programs based mainly on recruits and who teach team defense. Geno knows where all the young ones are.
