Shea --Missing The Big Picture. | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Shea --Missing The Big Picture.

mustafa said:
Evidently people on this board don't really think that UCONN is a truly special program unmatched by anything ever seen in college sports.
Evidently a decent city in a good league with a program that gets little to national pub is more attractive than the most dominant women's program in history with an entire state hanging on nearly your every word where you are immediately one of the most famous and known people.
An entire state that almost lives and breaths women's basketball and you get the publicity and star status only dreamed about anywhere else cannot match Vandy? NO, not buying it. Frankly, I'm a bit pissed that people here don't think that we're all that great. Must be the general misguided thinking in CT.
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UConn is great because of their coach. That's the case in men's basketball and even more so in the women's game. I'll guess that the list of head coaches who resigned from a P-5 program to take a mid-major job is very short.
 
Shea Ralph sounds good. But she has to revive a dead program and make it convincingly successful before she becomes the heir apparent to a man that took a dead program and made it the program that everyone competes to be the same as today.

Hopefully, the assistant coach may have that accomplishment to his or her career. But to replace Geno and Chris, UConn needs to hire a coach with a proven track record of success. If it does not and just goes for a former name with no track record, this program could end up like the men's program. They are nowhere near where they were under Calhoun. Imagine if they hired a Patino. And, football, well that's another story: 70's years of whatever.

Remember: Connecticut is a cheap state and buys only the bare necessities. Geno is paid good money, because he is only one that keeps Connecticut relevant. If they are not prepared to be competitive financially and after big talent, the program will probably become mediocre. Sue Bird and DT are big names and would help in recruiting, but their track record is winning basketball games, not coaching a program to victory.
 
I was under the impression that Sue recently purchased a house in Greenwich.

True or not?
 
mustafa said:
Evidently people on this board don't really think that UCONN is a truly special program unmatched by anything ever seen in college sports.
Evidently a decent city in a good league with a program that gets little to national pub is more attractive than the most dominant women's program in history with an entire state hanging on nearly your every word where you are immediately one of the most famous and known people.
An entire state that almost lives and breaths women's basketball and you get the publicity and star status only dreamed about anywhere else cannot match Vandy? NO, not buying it. Frankly, I'm a bit pissed that people here don't think that we're all that great. Must be the general misguided thinking in CT.
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The odds are stacked against UConn remaining "UConn" after Geno.
 
Interesting to note that the Geno UConn hired in '85 would not come close to being a candidate for the same job today. Of course, it's really nothing like the 'same job'.
 
Blakeon18 said:
I was under the impression that Sue recently purchased a house in Greenwich.

True or not?
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Greenwich is not central CT, it is suburban NYC. Not sure of her real estate purchase, but no one commutes to Uconn from the western CT coast.
 
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When John Toner hired Geno in '85, he could only do so because he was under zero pressure to get it right. Nobody cared. Geno got them good in a couple of years but took 10 years to reach the top, where he's kept them for 25 years. Whoever is next will not get a honeymoon or grace period. The pressure on whoever hires his replacement and the pressure on that replacement will be unimaginable. We'll most likely get the safest choice, least subject to critique - and it won't go well. Look at the heat Geno catches here for a run of semi-final loses. Do you think Toner ever imagined him coaching UConn in a final four? It's a year one expectation for his replacement.
 
JoePgh said:
Shea has to do well at Vanderbilt to be a plausible candidate to be Geno's successor. That will be a challenge. Her big problem is that she is not a "household name" among high school prospects. That will make it difficult for her to recruit competitively with other SEC coaches.

That is why Sue Bird tops my list of potential next UConn coaches. Her celebrity status in the WBB world trumps her lack of coaching experience in my mind.
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jazz said:
From what I have read and heard, J has little interest in coaching and it seems she might have only took the Uconn job to work with GA, which I assumes she find enjoyable.

Does anybody think Shea left, in part due to some issues she and GA had with her departure from the team during the tournament? I vaguely remember GA said something that made it seem like he was not happy with that situation. Maybe, I got it wrong, just asking...
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I think that was all out of Shea's hand, there was protocol in place that she had no control over. I highly doubt Geno had any issue with her.
 
JoePgh said:
Shea has to do well at Vanderbilt to be a plausible candidate to be Geno's successor. That will be a challenge. Her big problem is that she is not a "household name" among high school prospects. That will make it difficult for her to recruit competitively with other SEC coaches.

That is why Sue Bird tops my list of potential next UConn coaches. Her celebrity status in the WBB world trumps her lack of coaching experience in my mind.
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I would love to see Sue as the next coach, however I don't see it happening. I think that at this time she would find the job to restrictive. She has been a player and recently an on air tv personality, The WNBA season is no longer that WCBB she has the ability to travel and pick her jobs outside of playing. Coaching at UCONN would be a full time job, I'm not sure she is ready for that much commitment at this time.
 
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AYusef said:
I think that was all out of Shea's hand, there was protocol in place that she had no control over. I highly doubt Geno had any issue with her.
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I don't know of any protocol that lasts for 3 weeks.
 
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Notre Dame people think a possible future UCONN HC could be Meghan Duffy who is at Marquette. She's a builder, good, young, feisty, energetic coach who can do great things with UCONN type brand and resources.
I tend to agree.
Anyways, I hope this is something that we need to address 10+ years from now.
 
Magruber said:
Notre Dame people think a possible future UCONN HC could be Meghan Duffy who is at Marquette. She's a builder, good, young, feisty, energetic coach who can do great things with UCONN type brand and resources.
I tend to agree.
Anyways, I hope this is something that we need to address 10+ years from now.
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Yes, I think UConn should hire the best coach available, whether they have
former UConn connections or not.
 
The new asst. coach must be able to recruit which is in my opinion the most important ingredient! I really don't care if she is a former UCONN player or not.
 
AYusef said:
I think that was all out of Shea's hand, there was protocol in place that she had no control over. I highly doubt Geno had any issue with her.
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That is what I originally thought as well, but then I heard there might have been a rift with her and GA over it.
 
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HopJim said:
Geno is one of the all time great coaches but UConn Women's Basketball is a brand.
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Exactly...However, it will be very difficult to maintain this level of sheer excellence. Though I fully expect Geno to add a few more NC to his resume before he hangs them up.
 
I don't mind assumptions in posts. I don't mind presumptions in posts. I don't mind wild predictions in posts. BUT when it comes to fiction, leave me out.
 
jazz said:
That is what I originally thought as well, but then I heard there might have been a rift with her and GA over it.
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I don’t doubt that you heard it, but the reason I would discount it being accurate is that if it were true it would have been handled face to face with neither party having anything to gain by it becoming public. If either made it public, it not only is negative PR for both parties, but would hurt team morale knowing the staff wasn’t all on the same page. I’m not saying it didn’t happen, because I know no more than you, but I am saying if it’s true I don’t believe anyone else would have ever heard about it, & it would have been handled in a professional manner- something both individuals take pride in exhibiting.
 
jazz said:
From what I have read and heard, J has little interest in coaching and it seems she might have only took the Uconn job to work with GA, which I assumes she find enjoyable.

Does anybody think Shea left, in part due to some issues she and GA had with her departure from the team during the tournament? I vaguely remember GA said something that made it seem like he was not happy with that situation. Maybe, I got it wrong, just asking...
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LOL, no. Vanderbilt was an excellent opportunity at the school at which her husband was an assistant I knew intimately. They are about to drop off ton of money building facility and they take women’s basketball seriously. There are only a handful of jobs like that in the country and she got one of them. We don’t have to look any further than that for her motivation. In fact, the fact that she got it without head-coaching experience speaks well of both her and Connecticut program.
 
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Zanzman said:
Heard from where. The honey please
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I don't remember to be honest. I thought GA has said something that was less than happy with Shea's decision. Anyway, I'm happy to drop it since nobody has collaborated it.
 
MooseJaw said:
I would love to see Sue as the next coach, however I don't see it happening. I think that at this time she would find the job to restrictive. She has been a player and recently an on air tv personality, The WNBA season is no longer that WCBB she has the ability to travel and pick her jobs outside of playing. Coaching at UCONN would be a full time job, I'm not sure she is ready for that much commitment at this time.
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I’m always puzzled when I hear people touting Sue or Dee as the best choices to succeed someone like Geno. Geno is a brilliant coach! They were brilliant players! We have absolutely no idea if they would or even could be a great coach! I would rather find someone with at least some kind of track record that shows they actually know something about coaching!
 
Whoever the choice is to eventually succeed Geno IMO it needs to be done fairly soon- at 65 he is far closer to the end of his career than to the beginning. Thankfully he is in good health and still enjoys the pressures that come from leading a very successful program. However that could change at any time. I'd hate to see everything he & CD built circle the drain because UConn had to scramble to find their successors (I don't think CD will follow Geno as HC)
 
Cuango said:
I’m always puzzled when I hear people touting Sue or Dee as the best choices to succeed someone like Geno. Geno is a brilliant coach! They were brilliant players! We have absolutely no idea if they would or even could be a great coach! I would rather find someone with at least some kind of track record that shows they actually know something about coaching!
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Agree 100%. I'm amazed when former players at the NBA, NCAA M&WBB are mentioned as possible coaches/successors/saviors. On what basis? Just imagine the depth of knowledge that is acquired over the years for Geno, Hammon, Pop, Jackson, Tara, etc, etc.
 
Beemer said:
Whoever the choice is to eventually succeed Geno IMO it needs to be done fairly soon- at 65 he is far closer to the end of his career than to the beginning. Thankfully he is in good health and still enjoys the pressures that come from leading a very successful program. However that could change at any time. I'd hate to see everything he & CD built circle the drain because UConn had to scramble to find their successors (I don't think CD will follow Geno as HC)
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Well, you really can’t keep a coach-in-waiting on the bench. That almost never works well. If the cupboard is stocked, you’ll have plenty of suitors, but following a legend is going to be a daunting task for anyone.
 
I am very curios to see how Kara Lawson does at Duke. I know she has some NBA experience, but if she thrives, I would think someone like Rebecca Lobo could as well. I like her as a candidate because she's established roots in CT, she has the personality for the media aspect of the job, and she is a recognizable face to all kids currently being recruited. If they watch any big games, they know Rebecca Lobo.

I think we place a lot of emphasis on coaches that frankly most kids don't even know. I respect the work Duffy is putting in, but prior to us moving to the woeful big east, nobody paid much attention to what she was doing at Marquette. Kids watch the P5 conferences on TV, so you'd like to think the coach will come from those schools. I still think Shea could be lured back, along with Marissa to fill CDs role, if they both have success at that level. Shea seems to have the brand recognition more than Marissa, but the hire of Valley shows the program likes to keep it in the family.

Thankfully, Geno definitely has some good years left, so a qualified candidate may surface in the years to come. In the meantime, we need the Big East to become a mini power 5 conference with teams like Marquette, Villanova, Depaul & Seton Hall regularly making the NCAA Tournament. Right now, recruiting has no issues because of the allure of playing for the best coach in the business. When he retires, it will be a less proven coach, great facilities, average academics, somewhat undesirable location, and a mediocre conference.
 
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