Roster question

[wvhuskyfan]

Forgive my ignorance, but could someone please explain why we only have 11 players on our roster and only 9 of them scholarship players, when everything I have read states that a women's Div. 1 team is allowed 15 scholarship players?

 

[ThisJustIn]

Geno wanted to give every other program a fighting chance... So he's voluntarily reduced the number of schollys UConn will offer.

 

[triaddukefan]

Geno wanted to give every other program a fighting chance... So he's voluntarily reduced the number of schollys UConn will offer.

That doesnt seem to be working.... might need to reduce the scholarship number to about say................. 3

 

[UcMiami]

Geno has said in the past that he thinks a roster of about 12 scholarship players is best - more and you can't get everyone minutes, less and you are at the mercy of injuries and may not have enough players to run good practices.
That said, assembling a team is not a 'draft' situation - you can't just select players you want. Uconn is very specific in the type of players they recruit and every year it is a more limited universe than most programs recruit - and then they do not get everyone they recruit and when enough decide to go elsewhere the team ends up a bit short. About 10 years ago Geno missed on a few recruits and panicked a little and recruited someone more out of desperation and it didn't work out well - so they seldom add anyone to the final recruiting list. Geno would rather have an 'undermanned' team than screw up the chemistry by bringing in the wrong player(s).
And a few times in the past players who do come end up transferring - there would be three more players on the current team if that hadn't happened over the last three years. And those occurrences are impossible to plan for.

 

[John Glass]

I would imagine most good HS recruits want a chance to start. I doubt Geno promises anyone, anything.

 

[Zorro]

My favorite Geno recruiting story is that of Shea Ralph. Coaches had apparently been offering her the moon and a pony of her own. After she talked to Geno, her mom asked her what he had offered. Shea said "he offered me as much playing time as I can earn in practice, and that is the place I want to go." (paraphrased from memory, but close.) I think that is his standard practice.

 

[Husky1964]

Shea was a breakthrough recruit. Lobo and Sales were local. We brought in a top 5 kid from N.C. who went to Tennessee's summer camps and whose mother was a teammate of Pat Head Summit in the 70's.!!!!!!!! Later came Sveta and the TASK force and we had arrived. Getting the best women's player in the world shortly thereafter was the icing on the cake!!

 

[pap49cba]

Yep, Geno doesn't 'promise' anything. If you work your off, you'll play. And if you don't, you won't.

 

[pinotbear]

Forgive my ignorance, but could someone please explain why we only have 11 players on our roster and only 9 of them scholarship players, when everything I have read states that a women's Div. 1 team is allowed 15 scholarship players?

To sum it up: Geno doesn't want a 15 player squad, he'd prefer 12+/-. By a long shot, not everybody meets the qualifications that Geno & his staff seek.

Of the prospects who do - and, this is what some folks (truly) have trouble grasping - of the prospects who do, many do not want to come to UConn, or, eventually choose another program. It is simplistic, yet accurate, to say that UConn is not for everyone. There are no guarantees of stardom, of starting, of "special treatment"..and, I suspect, even some prospects who don't seek such things are intimidated by the idea of playing for UConn, of taking on the responsibility (and risk) of playing & practicing at such a high level, under such intense scrutiny. And, I believe that given the level of media attention, both local and national, the fanbase size and passion (that would be us), and the attention paid on-campus and back home, that scrutiny is perhaps uniquely intense in WCBB.

Fear of failure is a powerful, powerful thing - internally, and then add the pressure of trying to meet the expectations of friends, family, and hometown fans. There are always going to be those recruits with UConn potential who'd rather be a big fish in a medium or large pond, rather than risk becoming a smaller fish in the biggest pond in the women's college basketball universe. Some of them aren't attracted to all the hoopla that comes with UConn, they honestly prefer another school, another coach, an academic program at another place, or someplace closer to home.

Choosing a school simply isn't a "lock", a dead certainty. We've seen kids who were convinced they wanted UConn, came here, and changed their minds. We've seen every other school go through the same thing. In addition to that normal degree of uncertaintly, a UConn prospect has to meet the highest standards expected anywhere in WCBB. And, they have to really want to come to Storrs. Those "guys" aren't easy to find.

 

[Zorro]

So the only kids we get are those who are not only highly talented, but also highly motivated toward basketball success and also willing to work their butts off AND totally buy into the team-first concept. Guess we will just have to live with it.

 

[Phil]

Forgive my ignorance, but could someone please explain why we only have 11 players on our roster and only 9 of them scholarship players, when everything I have read states that a women's Div. 1 team is allowed 15 scholarship players?

We actually have ten. Polly (aka Briana Pulido) is on a basketball scholarship. This is arguably a technicality, as she was on a track and field scholarship. When she tried out for the basketball, her scholarship became a basketball scholarship. That would have been true had she remained on the track and field team, but she dropped track and field. She remains on scholarship, so she is a scholarship player. She also walked on, so she is a walk-on. In most cases, walk-on means non-scholarship, so many will refer to her as a non-scholarship player (maybe indirectly, by saying the team has nine scholarship players) but she is on scholarship.

 

[Icebear]

Yes, Phil, the announcers keep saying that all the time. They may well not realize that she is on scholarship, too.

 

[maddoggy]

I doubt it will catch on because old habits die hard, but a more accurate distinction would be recruited and unrecruited (un-recruited?) players.

This would also cover instances when someone starts without one but earns it in later years or when someone is told their scholarship is only guaranteed for the first year.

 

[sTu]

"Forgive my ignorance, but could someone please explain why we only have 11 players on our roster and only 9 of them scholarship players, when everything I have read states that a women's Div. 1 team is allowed 15 scholarship players?"

We have had some transfers contribute to the total scholarship players.

 

[Samanthabrown3]

My favorite Geno recruiting story is that of Shea Ralph. Coaches had apparently been offering her the moon and a pony of her own. After she talked to Geno, her mom asked her what he had offered. Shea said "he offered me as much playing time as I can earn in practice, and that is the place I want to go." (paraphrased from memory, but close.) I think that is his standard practice.

But she might have had fun with the pony.

 

[John Glass]

So the only kids we get are those who are not only highly talented, but also highly motivated toward basketball success and also willing to work their butts off AND totally buy into the team-first concept. Guess we will just have to live with it.

These type of kids are getting harder to find, that is probably why Geno just recruits a few kids every year

 

[AndyCT]

My favorite Geno recruiting story is that of Shea Ralph. Coaches had apparently been offering her the moon and a pony of her own. After she talked to Geno, her mom asked her what he had offered. Shea said "he offered me as much playing time as I can earn in practice, and that is the place I want to go." (paraphrased from memory, but close.) I think that is his standard practice.

I'm sure it is. Mel Thomas talked about the same thing in her book - while everyone else was promising her the sun, the moon and the stars (apparently she would have to share a pony), all Geno offered her was that same chance to earn playing time and that resonated with her:

"Coach Auriemma was different from other coaches because he didn't kiss my butt or promise me anything. Some schools told me I would start, average a certain number of points, or be the star of their program. None of those things were important to me...Coach told me, 'This is what we do here. We work harder than every other team in the country, and that's why we win. If you want to be a part of that, then come. If you don't, then don't come'"​

 

[SallyH]

Do you remember Tamika Williams' recruitment? Other teams had offered a private plane ride to campus, and when she asked Geno what he was going to do for her, he picked up a piece of paper and made a paper airplane and flew it at her, and said "here's you airplane". I think it was Ohio State who offered the plane ride and you have to realize that Dayton is about 50 miles away from Columbus.

 

[jsloanjr]

Geno and his tough Love are his secret to success. He and CD has developed a plan, a look and a feel for what makes a successful team and its starts with doing it the same way everyday, year after year...........28 years and nobody has done it better.. GO UCONN...#9 this April........