Stokes

[meyers7]

"Ah, there you go. That's what Geno has said, or pretty much anyway. He said since Tuck and KML came back, and Stokes knew she was not going to be playing as much, her practices had dropped off. .

Please do not confuse this discussion with the facts. Doing so might mean people knew what they were talking about.

My bad. I'll try to remember to leave the facts out in the future.

 

[meyers7]

Soooo, now its time to genuflect and kiss his ring?

He is the motherfreaking Godfather. (or so I've heard)

 

[Icebear]

I was expressing my opinion. Coaches dont have to like every player on the team. You ask any coach in America and they all have had players they've loved, liked ....and God forbid .....not liked. It is possible Kiah falls into the latter category. I know saying anything negative about Geno on this board is "taboo" but it is my opinion.

But it does no good to speculate and simply create stories that very likely do not exist. Take her father's public word about it. Kiah loves UCONN and Geno.

 

[UcMiami]

As RSHER... points out, for a team of seven plus two to play as well as they did during the start of the year and then get a starter and a very good bench player back from injury is a huge adjustment - minutes for everyone but especially for the 'bench' players are going to be greatly altered, and it is going to result in a difficult adjustment period. For this transition to occur when it did, during finals and into Christmas vacation when practice time and games are disjointed makes it even more difficult as there is no routine. With only seven scholarship players minutes for the two non-starters were in the 15-20 min. range every game. Add two players you need to get back up to speed and want to get 15+ minutes per game and that is 30+ minutes that have to come from those other seven players - Chong, Banks, and Stokes minutes are going to be reduced.
And the flow that the team had achieved during the 8 game stretch is going to suffer as well - Uconn depends on precision passing and communication on defense. The combinations on the floor with 7 players are much different than what happens with 9 players and some of it is going to be ugly, especially as the 2 returners get both their minds and bodies back into game shape. There will be more turnovers, more stretches of play that appear a bit disjointed, and more adjustments by the coaching staff as they too get used to having the full compliment back. Geno had a funny comment in the post game, that was I am sure partly true: 'I thought I would try a New Year’s Resolution of mine and play all those guys a lot more minutes, and obviously that won’t happen again. That kind of got us away from what we were doing and we got stuck and we stayed stuck for the rest of the first half.' He also said: 'You know, this having nine guys available now, that’s all great, lovey-dovey and everything, but it’s going to take a while to get used to it when we play with six or seven most of the time. I have to a better job of figuring out who should be in with who and who plays well with who so we don’t just stand around and watch.'
Specific to Stokes - I didn't think he 'benched her' in the first half, I just though the team and coaches sort of lost their way in the first half especially on the offensive end and he was desperately trying to get it back. Kiah may be the least offensively aggressive of the nine scholarship players so her not being part of the attempted solution by the coaches made sense. She got a good run in the second half and played quite effectively, so looking at the 40 minute picture, I think she can be quite please.
Dolson, Stewart, and KML are going to get 30 +/- minutes a game each, which leaves 30 +/- minutes a game for Tuck and Stokes. Some games that will be 40 minutes, fairly evenly distributed, some games it may be 20 minutes and weighted to one or the other. That is the reality of team basketball with 9 good players. The same kind of distribution with the guards will be true as well - Jefferson and Hartley are going to get 30 +/- minutes a game leaving 20 +/- minutes for Banks and Chong. To expect anything else is going to lead to serious disappointment and some silly threads. The starting five need to get serious minutes consistently. It is a great luxury for this team to have an additional four players on the bench who can all push those starters and on any given day may demand more minutes at the expense of one of the starters or one of the other bench players. Rejoice in that.

 

[herbiep]

No, everyone is entitled to an opinion based on something real and even then not all opinions need to be voiced nor are those voiced necessarily valid.

and it seems that would be your unsubstantiated opinion....

 

[HuskyPup]

But it does no good to speculate and simply create stories that very likely do not exist. Take her father's public word about it. Kiah loves UCONN and Geno.

good point but I dont think he said she "loves" Geno...although I could be wrong.

 

[reno tony]

So I can have my own opinion that I don't need to justify and no matter how wrong everyone thinks it is, they won't throw stones at me on the Boneyard?

72 TO GO​

 

[Icebear]

good point but I dont think he said she "loves" Geno...although I could be wrong.

Actually, it was reported that she loves UCONN and Geno in at least one article.

 

[Icebear]

and it seems that would be your unsubstantiated opinion....

No, you substantiate it with every post you make.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

and it seems that would be your unsubstantiated opinion....

Actually herbiep though all things are in the eye of the beholder I think this thread substantiates Icebear just fine. I expect some curmudgeonly reply from you, but that is your self assigned role here I guess.

 

[Zorro]

I think what we need to do is get together on a set of suggestions to Geno and the staff as to what they need to do to improve this team. It is obvious that something needs to be done before absolute disaster strikes. I am sure that the coaching staff will be very grateful for any help we give them. Let me start the process with one humble suggestion; I think they need to make the players practice 3-point shots until they are so good that they can't possibly miss one. I have other suggestions, of course, but I don't want to hog the show, so......

 

[Zorro]

So I can have my own opinion that I don't need to justify and no matter how wrong everyone thinks it is, they won't throw stones at me on the Boneyard?

72 TO GO​

But they may throw bones.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

I think what we need to do is get together on a set of suggestions to Geno and the staff as to what they need to do to improve this team. It is obvious that something needs to be done before absolute disaster strikes. I am sure that the coaching staff will be very grateful for any help we give them. Let me start the process with one humble suggestion; I think they need to make the players practice 3-point shots until they are so good that they can't possibly miss one. I have other suggestions, of course, but I don't want to hog the show, so......

They should be required to play perfect, tight, aggressive defense w/o fouling, and under no circumstances, to ever get frustrated or show other questionable human emotions. It is amazing that some Boneyarders picked this up, while players and coaches seem clueless.

 

[jsloanjr]

Kiah is an up and down player and she might need to be the 1st sub in the game to get her feet wet and get her the ball to score.....If not, she does not play with the same confidence......She is old enough to know what is expected and bring it every night...Her fellow players need to get in her grill before the game and that is the team leaders out of the public eye.......WE need KS too be successful this season......No more turn back to the old ways.............2014 needs to be her breakout year.

 

[reno tony]

I believe Geno likes Kiah. How else would she be able to frustrate him the way she does. I like her a lot but she made some pretty poor plays..... like most did last night. She missed two layups and she was out of position on a back door pass. She may have missed an opportunity for a block. But Stewie missed four shots within arm reach for her so maybe the rims were at the wrong height or something weird was going on. I don't think Geno will give up on her as long as she shows some desire.

 

[RadyLady]

good point but I dont think he said she "loves" Geno...although I could be wrong.

For Pete's sake! What is the matter with you people? Do you not listen when people speak? Do you not know how things work at UConn?

• Playing time is earned at UConn.
• Geno does not let anyone cheat their talent.

Did you not watch the latest Geno show when something of this nature was discussed? Geno said that he may have upwards of 7 personalities on a team - and he cannot spend practices trying to deal with those personalities because if he does, nothing will get done. What he does is tell the players what his expectations are, and then proceeds to coach the players to meet those expectations.

And between Geno and Chris, practices are managed such that if one of them is after a player to get things done right, the other will back off so that the player does not feel that they are (forgot the exact language, so forgive me) being picked upon.

And, if a player needs some one on one, his door is always open - they can come in, ask for help, for advice on their careers, or to just shoot the breeze.

The focus is for the players to be prepared for life outside of UConn once they graduate, for the student to realize and be the best they can be.

Now - Kiah doesn't like Geno? Geno doesn't like Kiah? What a load of crap! You have no proof whatsoever to substantiate these statements. What you do know, as I said before, is that playing time is earned in practice, and that Geno will not let a player cheat her talent. Kiah is very talented, and Geno certainly will work to get her to realize this on a consistent basis which in turn will boost her confidence and performances in games. Some of this is on Kiah's shoulders, too. She has to take ownership of her game, her playing, and her commitment. The coaches cannot do it all. Some of this comes with maturity as well, and some players mature later than others.

I love Kiah, I love her game. I look forward to each time she gets on the floor, I have faith that she will be the great player we know, and Geno knows, that she can be. She will realize this and then world, look out!

But this speculation about this player and Geno, and about any player and Geno, is just inappropriate in my opinion. Seriously

 

[RadyLady]

I believe Geno likes Kiah. How else would she be able to frustrate him the way she does. I like her a lot but she made some pretty poor plays..... like most did last night. She missed two layups and she was out of position on a back door pass. She may have missed an opportunity for a block. But Stewie missed four shots within arm reach for her so maybe the rims were at the wrong height or something weird was going on. I don't think Geno will give up on her as long as she shows some desire.

or they could be rusty....I will give them the benefit of the doubt. Better now, I say, then March.

Go UConn!!!!!

 

[Sonny44]

Thanks for sharing.

Sometimes it's fun when posters explain why that is their opinion.

Not ganging up on you. Please don't dial 1-800-moderator.

No, everyone is entitled to an opinion based on something real and even then not all opinions need to be voiced nor are those voiced necessarily valid.

I guess you don't believe in "Women's Intuition"?

 

[pap49cba]

I sincerely hope that Kiah and/or her parents don't read the BY because if I was in their shoes I'd be really p1ssed about this senseless thread.

Kid messed up, got benched, and then played great in the 2nd half. Oh, BTW, no one mentioned Geno clapping after Kiah made a hustle play and hoop at one point in the 2nd half. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Icebear]

I guess you don't believe in "Women's Intuition"?

No. I do believe in reading psychological cues and emotional intelligence which most often can be the basis for intuition.

 

[ed4ourgirls]

. . . This is somewhat academic this year, but becomes really important next year. I would love for UConn to get Wilson, but I have a gut feeling -- based on nothing beyond an intimate acquaintance with Murphy (you know, the guy who discovered Murphy's Law) -- that Wilson will go elsewhere. . . .

Even if we get Wilson, Kiah will be our only true center next year. The others who
might play that position would be better described as power forwards.

Kiah got 4 boards and 3 blocks in 9 minutes yesterday. If she can add 8 - 10 points
per game to that kind of defensive production, she'll be fine.

 

[Sonny44]

No. I do believe in reading psychological cues and emotional intelligence which most often can be the basis for intuition.

Where does instinct figure in?

 

[Sonny44]

Even if we get Wilson, Kiah will be our only true center next year. The others who
might play that position would be better described as power forwards.

Kiah got 4 boards and 3 blocks in 9 minutes yesterday. If she can add 8 - 10 points
per game to that kind of defensive production, she'll be fine.

Easier said than done.

 

[ed4ourgirls]

Easier said than done.

Actually, she's averaging 6.3 ppg in about 20 minutes this season, so 8 - 10
points per game doesn't sound out of reach. With all the fire power around
her, 6 - 8 ppg from her would be good enough.

 

[Icebear]

Where does instinct figure in?

I think awareness of these clues and cues consciously or subconsciously is often attributed to being "instinct or intuition." It is possible to be trained in them.