So Carolina's Conditioning Coach.

[BroadwayVa]

Broadway - Agree that conditioning is a foundation for UConn's success. It is also clear that Staley had to look for other methods of improvement to keep moving up the ladder. IMHO I believe it is the second part of UConn's training method that sets them apart from everyone. That is---UConn does all basketball drills; fast breaks, set plays, lay-ups, moving without the ball, (on and on) --OVER AND OVER AND OVER UNTIL IT IS DONE RIGHT (probably need 5x in a row done right.) Staley mentioned last year in an interview that she DOES NOT do repetitive drills/skills/plays (not at that intensive level). She mentioned that Temple's men coach John Chaney was a talker, teacher, motivator, and not a "let's do that drill again" type of coach. (Chaney was saving many kids from the tough hood and put his focus on that part of teaching ) She learned some of her coaching style from Chaney--not Bobby Knight or Geno. Wilson and Coates are good players, but they were not trained in the style of UConn (who is??-nobody.) **A throw-in note--some people might remember that Collier won the "overall skills contest" at the All-American tournament. Phee was a Pheenom and rolled everyone--even the pure guards. Collier outperformed Wilson in 5 categories at the U-19 (well stated by Eric) and has all the skills, with motivation, fast motor, and awareness. Collier is going to be awesome.

Thanks again Coach---I knew Geno believed in learning by doing and muscle memory and doing the drills until everyone got them right. What I didn't know was he did it without the ball. Now I know coaches walk players thru drills without the ball that's common, but to run thru them over and over is uniquely Geno.
The amount of time Collier and Dangerfield were on the Staley directed floor is a testament to their talent and the regard Dawn holds for them and then there is ---she needed them~~!!! Collier was a pheenom, holy moley she's going to great to watch in her Uconn Uniform!!
I liked Chaney at Temple I agree he was no Bobby Knight (still like him too) and definitely no Geno.
Dawn has been, in the Olympics/USA team, with Geno--he has top notch player so all the prelims are done, yet he still is demanding--seems, from what I read (not red) Dawn wants to be a friend--like being a parent let the kids be friend of your kid, parents hold them to standards.

 

[alexrgct]

I don't think it's fair to put Maryland's second-half performance in the national semis conclusively on conditioning. It could simply have been mental. After all, it seemed clear by halftime that UConn was the superior team. And if the worst thing you can say is that Maryland wasn't as well-conditioned as UConn, well, how many programs are?

UMD has outlasted high-profile programs, including Tennessee twice, en route to consecutive final fours. Those results are worth taking seriously, as Brenda hadn't gotten her teams to the F4 since 2006. There's been some poaching of Maryland staff already, and drawing Katie Fowler from College Park to Columbia is another example of that.

I'm not saying Katie will lead South Carolina to glory, especially next season, but Dawn presumably feels it's a step in the right direction.

 

[PhillyCoach]

Before Kibitzer gets his motor warmed up again, I think you meant to say you got discombobulated, not that you got it discombobulated. At any rate that's what I've heard over the last 60 years.

Yo Wonk - I get what you are saying and I have heard "I got discombobulated" lots of years too. However, I was aware of the formal use and took liberty with it because -- I got the information (it) discombobulated. I confused and muddled the info (two popular and talented posters.) That's my story and I am sticking to it. I do appreciate the entertaining oversight though.

 

[Huskies Rule]

I'm not ignoring anything. I was at the game. I watched Maryland play. IMO, their conditioning was not good. UConn's conditioning was very good. Have a nice day.

Are you sure, David? I was there. And though we've never met, I didn't see you

 

[FAN11]

Ahem.

The poster used the verb dedicated to mean that South Carolina (wcbb) was the focus of discussion in this Boneyard thread. Fair enough - the meaning was clear and such usage is common and acceptable.

But I think that dedications are better applied to honoring someone or a group. We see this most often in books (authors always seem to do this), warships, buildings, bridges, airports, etc.

Think about it.

LOL, this is exactly why I joined the boneyard, never a dull moment here. It's going to be one interesting season.

 

[msf22b]

- After watching the SC bigs evaporate under the relentless pressure of UConn's transition game this past February, nothing short of a miraculous physical transformation by Coates, Wilson, White, Dozier and Imovbioh will change things very much.
-Sessions, Cuevas and Mitchell can run like the wind, but they'll be off to the races by themselves, leaving their huge front line far behind (despite Wilson fancying herself a guard).
-SC's frontcourt players are really big, but lumbering and plodding- their abilities (and limitations) far better suited for the half court, dump-it-into-the-paint, low post game. Yes, they'll be much bigger and taller than almost all of their opponents, and maybe even a tad quicker and better conditioned, but as a team, they'll never run with UConn.

While they're at it, Staley should also grab Stu Singer, Maryland WBB's "performance enhancement coach," whose job it is "to help keep players' minds in the right place." Hmm, how'd that work for the Terps last year?

I thought Maryland was supposed to have had a fine season.
Re-writing history?

 

[reno tony]

Since I haven't watched as many Maryland games as most of you, I am not able to analyze their style and speak of all their flaws like many of the BY experts. But what I can say is I have been to the last two Final Fours and so has Maryland. So my simple discombobulated analysis is they must be doing something right. And any addition to the SC squad from a successful program should only help. IMHO of course.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

- After watching the SC bigs evaporate under the relentless pressure of UConn's transition game this past February, nothing short of a miraculous physical transformation by Coates, Wilson, White, Dozier and Imovbioh will change things very much.
-Sessions, Cuevas and Mitchell can run like the wind, but they'll be off to the races by themselves, leaving their huge front line far behind (despite Wilson fancying herself a guard).
-SC's frontcourt players are really big, but lumbering and plodding- their abilities (and limitations) far better suited for the half court, dump-it-into-the-paint, low post game. Yes, they'll be much bigger and taller than almost all of their opponents, and maybe even a tad quicker and better conditioned, but as a team, they'll never run with UConn.

While they're at it, Staley should also grab Stu Singer, Maryland WBB's "performance enhancement coach," whose job it is "to help keep players' minds in the right place." Hmm, how'd that work for the Terps last year?

Well, I'm a little late to the thread, but you are discussing South Carolina so I thought I'd comment.

1. South Carolina hires a strength coach who says she intends to get the team in better condition and play fast. I'm not really sure how you concluded from reading the article that it would not result in better overall conditioning. The article clearly points out they they do a lot of running and other conditioning. If follows that if she actually is stepping things up from prior regime that conditioning will improve.

2. While I certainly agree that UConn had a better team in 2015 than South Carolina did and that Coates and Wilson struggled in the game at Stoors, I'm not really sure how you concluded that Coates and Wilson are plodding or unable to get out on the floor. Having watched the U-19s and the Pan Am games, it was pretty evident that Wilson and Coates are among the best athletes at their position in the women's game. I would describe neither as plodding. Having said that, I did want to point out how good I think Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson, and Dangerfield were in those tournaments. Stewart has an all around game that neither Wilson nor Coates can match at this point in time.

3. I think the idea is that South Carolina will go forward with against in 2015 is playing 10+ players and running weaker teams into the ground. And get in better shape for the tournament. Coates in particular can use the extra endurance, but she certainly can get up and down the court as well or better as most comparably sized players.

4. I don't think Carolina's 3 losses had a whole lot to do with deficiencies in the post. I think the problem was on the perimeter. A lack of shooters allowed better teams to collapse on the bigs, which made it tougher to operate. Additionally, against UConn particularly the big girl's three pointers..Mosqueda Lewis... kind of broke it open. Carolina was good enough at three positions to match up with UConn but was really outmatched at PG and SG/SF (the wing that was not Mitchell).

5. It remains to be seen how much progress Carolina will make at those guard spots this year. But there is decent chance that Wilson will make a big leap. We'll see. She still has a ways to go based on the U-19, but she looked totally comfortable being focal point of offense, I thought.