"The best thing that ever happened"

[Bigboote]

I think he's trying to put the best face on what has to be a deeply disappointing experience. After all, he's an incredibly competitive guy.

But I also think he means what he says: he wants proportionality in the game, a sense that others can beat UConn, and so UConn's achievements aren't because of something beyond others' control: such as that UConn recruits the best and/or that Geno should really have moved beyond WCBB into the NBA or something, because he's just too good for this game.

So, I think Geno really believes what he said, but I also think he wants to win every championship every year. He knows that if he flies too close to the sun, his wings will melt, but that never stopped anyone from trying....

"Best thing that happened to some of these kids, best thing that happened to our program and our fans, and best thing that happened to women's basketball." I definitely buy the last part of this. When I saw the thread title, I suspected his main point was that it's the best thing for WBB in general.

 

[bags27]

I don't buy the Karlie thing for a picosecond (it wasn't a life threatening injury: just bad luck, exactly the kind that Lou had experienced the year before in the NC). Lou's got the heart of a lion (even if her feet are often in cement on rebounds ). She's a killer, and I'm completely confident there was absolutely nothing in her head except trying to play her very best.

 

[BobbyJ]

"They, us, everybody thinks it is probably the best thing that ever happened," Auriemma said during American Athletic conference media day on Monday. "Best thing that happened to some of these kids, best thing that happened to our program and our fans, and best thing that happened to women's basketball.

"I think it was refreshing. The worst thing that could have happened is Connecticut wins another championship in a down year. What's that say about everybody else in our game?"

http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball...s-basketball-2017-womens-final-four-loss-best

I'm Ok with most of his statement if that's how he wants to spin it but one part of it kind of rubs me the wrong way. I know the external expectations were a little lower than normal preseason but I don't believe the kid's expectations were. And since his comments were postseason, I'm not sure that the kids felt like the composition of their team, their all out season long efforts, and national runnerup results by a point represented a "down year". Maybe I'm reading it wrong but I wouldn't have added that last paragraph. It kind of sounds to me like "our team wasn't that good and nobody else was very good". A little too cocky even for him.

 

[Scotter]

My comments about the impact of Karlie has almost nothing to do with distractions, or heart, or anything concious. My comments were about involuntary body chemistry. Watching a competitive sporting event where you have an emotional investment is going to cause chemical reactions. You're going to experience higher levels of adrenaline and anxiety whether you want to or not, especially when your sister get hurt. Your body only has so much ability to process and chemically respond. When you are already in an anxious situation given the magnitude of a final four game anything on top of that is further going to stress your body's processing ability.