Sue Bird Awarded Role Model of the Year

[Huskie78]

Nice interview with comments about UCONN, WNBA, Olympics, Stewie, coaching, and Lady Vols.

 

[HoopsFan21]

GREAT interview. I especially liked the part about character. Please note Tennessee fans that think Geno cheats.

 

[uconnfan68]

Nice interview with comments about UCONN, WNBA, Olympics, Stewie, coaching, and Lady Vols.

I'm about to be jobless... yeah, not for long.

 

[divots]

This video should me mandatory viewing for every potential UConn recruit.

 

[jimazee]

Wow...Sue has always been exceptional in many ways.

No letdown expected here.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Smart, thoughtful and articulate. As someone who has interviewed folks, I'm impressed with the care she gives to the whole process ("who do you want me to talk to"). She's eminently quotable. I just flashed on Spurs' Pop, and the disdain he has for interviewers - and, while I recognize why (a combo of ego, 30 seconds is a useless interview time, I've got things to do - like coach my team) being interviewed is a wonderful opportunity to educate. Sue gets that.

 

[ChicagoGG]

That was great!! Thanks for sharing! Sue is such an exceptional woman, and that really comes thru in this interview.

 

[UcMiami]

Smart, thoughtful and articulate. As someone who has interviewed folks, I'm impressed with the care she gives to the whole process ("who do you want me to talk to"). She's eminently quotable. I just flashed on Spurs' Pop, and the disdain he has for interviewers - and, while I recognize why (a combo of ego, 30 seconds is a useless interview time, I've got things to do - like coach my team) being interviewed is a wonderful opportunity to educate. Sue gets that.

I give coaches and players a fair amount of slack in the interview/news conferences before during and after games in the stadiums/arenas - with usually pretty inane questions, time constraints, and the distraction of the competition itself any quality of response is unexpected. It is much easier to respond to more general questions in more relaxed environments without the distraction of a specific competition.

That said, the above was great. And one of the reasons I like Geno so much is that he tends to be more reflective in his required press conferences - he has it easier than many because he is so infrequently asked 'what went wrong'!

 

[Kibitzer]

This video should me mandatory viewing for every potential UConn recruit.

. . . and:

- Geno's book;
- Mel Thomas's book;
- any one of a jllion recorded interviews of Diana or Maya;
- bio of Rebecca; AA, ESPN Star, and UConn Trustee;
- SNY's "Making of a Dynasty";
- The snazzy pre-game promo shown before home games;
- The SNY ad ("Geno and his Rings"); and,
- A bound and autographed collection of TonyC's inimitable Boneyard posts.​

{That last one is too tuff to resist.)

 

[huskyd]

One of the toughest qualities to acquire in life is perspective, the ability to look back and see where you are and how you got there. For Sue, bless her soul, to say the development of her character was the chief product of her time at UConn shows that she gets it. One suspects that she had innately a lot to do with the person who emerged at 35, but understanding and counting her blessings is a special gift. We could argue endlessly about whom we'd like to see take that last shot at the buzzer, but in the game of life, for me, it'd be Sue Bird.

 

[UcMiami]

Good time for a question for the board:
Being a English professor's son, it really bothers me when college coaches and college graduates cannot or choose not to speak grammatically correct English - and I am not talking about the nature of extemporaneous speaking, where complete sentences are interrupted by new thoughts, or obviously errors, or the 'Kibitzer' type of corrections. I know that some of this is an actual choice and 'cultural' but it just grates.
So is this just my age or does this bother others? And those who are more recent college students, is this type of tortured English usage actually acceptable in the classroom and in written work?

 

[huskyd]

. . . and:

- Geno's book;
- Mel Thomas's book;
- any one of a jllion recorded interviews of Diana or Maya;
- bio of Rebecca; AA, ESPN Star, and UConn Trustee;
- SNY's "Making of a Dynasty";
- The snazzy pre-game promo shown before home games;
- The SNY ad ("Geno and his Rings"); and,
- A bound and autographed collection of TonyC's inimitable Boneyard posts.​

{That last one is too tuff to resist.)

While you're distributing homework, Kib, add my favorite (please), "The Same River Twice."

 

[UcMiami]

. . . and:

- Geno's book;
- Mel Thomas's book;
- any one of a jllion recorded interviews of Diana or Maya;
- bio of Rebecca; AA, ESPN Star, and UConn Trustee;
- SNY's "Making of a Dynasty";
- The snazzy pre-game promo shown before home games;
- The SNY ad ("Geno and his Rings"); and,
- A bound and autographed collection of TonyC's inimitable Boneyard posts.​

{That last one is too tuff to resist.)

And
ESPNs four part series from last year.
SNY's Geno show (and CPTVs)
SNY's legends series and other specials.

 

[huskyd]

Good time for a question for the board:
Being a English professor's son, it really bothers me when college coaches and college graduates cannot or choose not to speak grammatically correct English - and I am not talking about the nature of extemporaneous speaking, where complete sentences are interrupted by new thoughts, or obviously errors, or the 'Kibitzer' type of corrections. I know that some of this is an actual choice and 'cultural' but it just grates.
So is this just my age or does this bother others? And those who are more recent college students, is this type of tortured English usage actually acceptable in the classroom and in written work?

No, UC, as a former college professor, I believe that it's safe to say the use of incorrect English grammar and punctuation is not OK. But the larger issue is the students' ability to carry over from school what constitutes education: using the language well in life. As I've said here before, education is a gift you give yourself, and it immediately sets you apart from those who don't care or don't know. Your education follows you throughout your life; it greatly enhances life. Being in command of language is a great feeling, just as facility with any tool makes the job easier.

 

[Kibitzer]

Being a English professor's son, it really bothers me when college coaches and college graduates cannot or choose not to speak grammatically correct English.

 

[Fiftyish]

Great interview. Doesn't sound like she has much interest in coaching UConn or any other team...at least not in the near future.
Point of reference; the award was presented by the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce.

 

[Baroloboy]

GREAT interview. I especially liked the part about character. Please note Tennessee fans that think Geno cheats.

Exceptional young woman. Her emphasis on the character building experience of being part of the uconn program and its long term benifit to her hightlights a key reason Geno and his program are so consistently successful. No matter how talented a recruit is unless they they see the raw material to mold into an adult of great character they are not interested. How many great kids--not just great players--- have come through Uconn's program over the years. We could do a lengthy thread on that subject alone.

 

[Biff]

My favorite quote: "Ptttttt"