Shea on UConn | The Boneyard

Shea on UConn

Absolutely brilliant! Shea demonstrates that she really did learn a lot from Geno and CD.

"Resilience" There aren't too many UConn alumnae who have more than Shea.

"It's not about us (the coaches)." Many coaches haven't really learned that. She makes it about the players, giving them guidance but not trying to mold them in her image. One of the great things about Geno is the subtle changes he makes year to year to incorporate the best characteristics of his players. Shea's embracing that.
 
Basingstoke said:
Shea is so impressive and, as much as I would love for her to eventually be Geno's successor, I am thrilled and excited to see her build something great at Vanderbilt.
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Some (not you) talk about her as if she's a shoe-in to take over for Geno. I get that she's an alum, but why would she? The expectations would be sky high with a real risk of failure, she's already built a top 10 team at Vandy, she's at a better academic school than UConn, Nashville is a vibrant college city (Belmont and Lipscomb are also there), and Shea is from the south (North Carolina). But I will say that Raleigh is about 530 miles from Nashville while Storrs is about 650 miles so it's not like Nashville is THAT much closer to her home...

I just think she's built something special there and taking over at UConn would almost be a no-win situation for her. Plus to move her family to the middle of nowhere - I think it all adds up to staying put...

I also think it would be a hard sell to get Carla to come back to UConn. I suspect the next HC will be Morgan Valley, or they will go outside the UConn family. Tonya and Jamelle have already failed at HC gigs, like Rizotti. Or maybe they'd look at Tamika Jeter or someone like that... but Jeter coaches at Dayton and she's literally from Dayton so she's literally coaching in her home town. Maybe $ might not make the move worth it...
 
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EricSD said:
Some (not you) talk about her as if she's a shoe-in to take over for Geno. I get that she's an alum, but why would she? The expectations would be sky high with a real risk of failure, she's already built a top 10 team at Vandy, she's at a better academic school than UConn, Nashville is a vibrant college city (Belmont and Lipscomb are also there), and Shea is from the south (North Carolina). But I will say that Raleigh is about 530 miles from Nashville while Storrs is about 650 miles so it's not like Nashville is THAT much closer to her home...

I just think she's built something special there and taking over at UConn would almost be a no-win situation for her. Plus to move her family to the middle of nowhere - I think it all adds up to staying put...

I also think it would be a hard sell to get Carla to come back to UConn. I suspect the next HC will be Morgan Valley, or they will go outside the UConn family. Tonya and Jamelle have already failed at HC gigs, like Rizotti. Or maybe they'd look at Tamika Jeter or someone like that... but Jeter coaches at Dayton and she's literally from Dayton so she's literally coaching in her home town. Maybe $ might not make the move worth it...
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I would be hard pressed to describe Storrs, CT as the middle of nowhere. There are approximately 600,000 people living within a 25 mile radius of Storrs.
 
EricSD said:
up to staying put...

I also think it would be a hard sell to get Carla to come back to UConn. I suspect the next HC will be Morgan Valley, or they will go outside the UConn family. Tonya and Jamelle have already failed at HC gigs, like Rizotti. Or maybe they'd look at Tamika Jeter or someone like that... but Jeter coaches at Dayton and she's literally from Dayton so she's literally coaching in her home town. Maybe $ might not make the move worth it...
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Morgan Valley's record as a head coach (University of Hartford) was 4-37. Looking at it from the outside, I sense that her comfort level and skillset fits well at the assistant coach level but probably not above that.

There will be many high level candidates who will throw their hats in the ring when the UConn job opens up, and I don't think that the powers that be at UConn should feel limited to only those with a UConn connection.
 
Direct and to the point. It's how she played, and how she coaches. I know that there is a lot of hope out there for her to eventually take the reins at UConn, but she is building her own legacy program at Vanderbilt, so let's not get our expectations too high.
 
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I don't see a reason for Shea to become Geno eventual replacement...she has elevated Vandi to be a top 5 team and should be the SEC coach of the year and a strong candidate for the national coach of the year. With this success, her recruits will be highly ranked, and she should start competing for National Championships in the next few years. In addition, she is the best WBB league and there is a lot of money available for NIL....going to UConn she will not be able to compete against the shadow of the greatest coach in WBB history
 
I( look at Shea's coaching record, she had like 15 years as an assistant between Pittsburgh and UConn. Those year were invaluable to her developing a coaching philosophy. The UConn/ Geno influence is obvious.

I don't see her leaving Vandy. She is building her own powerhouse in probably the most difficut league for women's basketball. And more power to her.
 
Huskee11 said:
Morgan Valley's record as a head coach (University of Hartford) was 4-37. Looking at it from the outside, I sense that her comfort level and skillset fits well at the assistant coach level but probably not above that.

There will be many high level candidates who will throw their hats in the ring when the UConn job opens up, and I don't think that the powers that be at UConn should feel limited to only those with a UConn connection.
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Honestly, I am more than a bit tired of these flare ups of the life after Geno chronicles. I wish to remain in blissful ignorance for as long as I can. About the only thing we know is it won't be Tennessee's coach.
 
EricSD said:
Some (not you) talk about her as if she's a shoe-in to take over for Geno. I get that she's an alum, but why would she? The expectations would be sky high with a real risk of failure, she's already built a top 10 team at Vandy, she's at a better academic school than UConn, Nashville is a vibrant college city (Belmont and Lipscomb are also there), and Shea is from the south (North Carolina). But I will say that Raleigh is about 530 miles from Nashville while Storrs is about 650 miles so it's not like Nashville is THAT much closer to her home...

I just think she's built something special there and taking over at UConn would almost be a no-win situation for her. Plus to move her family to the middle of nowhere - I think it all adds up to staying put...

I also think it would be a hard sell to get Carla to come back to UConn. I suspect the next HC will be Morgan Valley, or they will go outside the UConn family. Tonya and Jamelle have already failed at HC gigs, like Rizotti. Or maybe they'd look at Tamika Jeter or someone like that... but Jeter coaches at Dayton and she's literally from Dayton so she's literally coaching in her home town. Maybe $ might not make the move worth it...
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Eric- there are some serious concerns about your comments that I don’t think your doing to be a naysayer but here are my counter arguments:
1. Shea has not lived in NC since 1998.
2. Last I had heard, her mother moved to be near her and her grand-daughter.
3. Her husband is from Warwick RI with his family still there.
4. Yes, Vandy has aspirations to be an elite program BUT UConn IS AN ELITE program
5. Fear of failing is not something Shea has ever been worried or concerned about

To me, she is the only option as a potential successor (apologies to Carla, Jamelle or anyone else) but I am not the one making any decisions. It certainly would make me want to Continue to be an active ticket holder and donator to the program if it was Shea.
 
I love the defeatist attitude of UConn fans. We have so little to offer that any coach who is already successful would never want to come here. Wow!!! And what are the NIL packages of Vandy vs. UConn? Do people REALLY know or are they just making assumptions? How about the facilities? How about the fan base? UConn IS women's college basketball. Every kid out there knows UConn and most of them want to play at UConn. It is a much easier sell to recruits. Vandy just doesn't have the history that we do. There are a ton of reasons to want to coach at UConn.
 
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“They’ll be great basketball players… and that’s what I learned at UConn.”

You can really hear Geno and CD in that. Also the idea of getting out of the way — recruit kids who want to do something really hard, be a mentor, and then get out of the way.

One thing I wonder about is how you learn to assimilate great and near-great talents into a team. This is the thing Geno figured out. Lindsay at USC hasn’t figured this out yet, if I read the diaspora at the end of last season correctly. Shea assembled three talents, a great one in Mikayla, and a very good one in Khamil, and when she recruited a near great one in Aubrey the following year, she lost Khamil. Not standing in the way of her departure seems to have been the right move. Initially, I thought Vandy would be diminished by this, but it seems not to have had negative consequences. Now I wonder if she’ll be able to assimilate a third great or near great talent into that roster in the next year or two. This maybe the next hurdle.

And in case anyone wonders, I don’t know what really went on with Khamil over the summer. All I’m going by is that there were shifting announcements from Khamil, and Shea seemed to stay out of it as if she were willing to let her stay or go. From the outside, it looks like Khamil made a mistake, but Shea didn’t worry about her departure. Another Geno-ism: you want the kids who want to be there, not the ones who don’t.
 
Kat said:
Direct and to the point. It's how she played, and how she coaches. I know that there is a lot of hope out there for her to eventually take the reins at UConn, but she is building her own legacy program at Vanderbilt, so let's not get our expectations too high.
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I love Shea (my favorite all time) and it would be great to have her at UConn. But aside from the legitmate question about whether she would leave a program she is building ( and in a way better conference) her age might be a factor especially given that Geno has not signaled retiring soon. And for that matter Carla Berube is a few years older than Shea. Does UConn want to hire a coach approaching or in their 60s? Not sure. And all that is beyond the question of who wants to follow a legend, most successful coach in the sport’s history
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Geno turned 71 last year and I think his contract is until 2029.So, he will be 74 when his contract is up, but if he wins 2 more NC's I can really see him signing another 5 year contract and The school would love him to stay, He will be 79 years old at the end of the new contract. In today's society that is not old. Geno said one time " if I had 10 Stephanie Dolsons , I would coach for ever " and with the talent coming in and the talent out there in the future, that's what makes me say he would sign another 5 year contract. The only reason I can think of for him not to do it is, if he is not healthy enough. GO GENO!!!!! GO HUSKIES!!!!!!
 
Woof said:
. . . UConn IS women's college basketball. Every kid out there knows UConn and most of them want to play at UConn. It is a much easier sell to recruits. . .
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Blue chip kids don't come to UConn because of UConn. They come to play for Geno and to play in his
program. When Geno retires it won't be his program any more, and all the banners hanging from the rafters
will be Geno's banners, not the new coach's.
 
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