1). Or that Staley's influence helped her break through moreso than Hatchell? It can be viewed both ways.
OD, I sorta disagree with you (a first as I totally respect your insight). Geno coaches up tempo and transition game because he has the talent that can, and the players want to do that. But, maybe more importantly Geno has always been about defense, even if it means a lower scoring game. Geno once said that he doesn't play the game that the first team to 100 points wins. I think Geno is a "defense first" coach and relies on the recruited talents (and some coaching) to win offensively. It's good to be blessed.
Yes, once upon a time Geno was all about defense. Every game in the OBE was a war played in a phone booth. Tough defense is still part of UConn’s DNA. But Geno’s greatest ability is that he learns and evolves.
And if there was, I highly doubt she was our top target. SC needed a CENTER, not another forward. We got our center.
This is quite a verdict.
Does Diana Taurasi count?
www.sbnation.com
I know Dawn is a great recruiter, but not seeing a lot of SC games, I really don't know if she is a good gametime coach. From many games that I have seen, I'm not so sure, but as I already said, haven't seen enough to really make a correct observation.
Bald Husky, I have a legitimate question for you (and other 'yarders). At a top program level (let's define that as a perennial Top Ten contender), what qualifies for a "good game time coach"?
I’m always surprised by the sensitivity to people commenting that “so and so (a coach) wins because he/she gets the best recruits.” Duh! Every coach wins in varying degrees according to the amount of talent on their roster. Sure, some coaches do more (or less) with that talent than others do but let’s face it, in the top echelons of virtually any sport, the ability to recruit top (and appropriate) talent is absolutely critical to being able to compete for a championship.
All had what I call the “Bum” ability but some clearly had more than others. While I will not presume to rank them according to their “Take your’n or his’n” abilities (except for Geno as the clear #1) I will say that my ranking would most definitely not follow the number of titles won as the main criterion.
All that you wrote above was well stated, but the last paragraph ... especially the 1/2 ... couldn't have been stated better.Now, I would say there have been five and 1/2 truly great coaches in the past 40 years. Geno, Kim, Pat, Dawn, Tara, and Muffet!
There is a phase, "Recency bias." Prior to winning the National Championship," for several years it appeared that Dawn was receiving a significantly larger % of positive reviews than Geno. My view is that I have loved Geno as a coach for 20+ years and I try not to get too high or low. Since that is hard to do, always great to be in the fan base whose team won it all!
I do not consider myself an adequate judge of good game time coaches. I generally assume that coaches at the top have this quality on their way their, even though after they arrive they now are winning with superior talent.
As I see it, no put downs, just observations. Dawn is a very good recruiter, being part of the Olympic coaching staff, assistant and head coach helped her program in recruiting for years. Dawn is a good practice coach, it seems obvious. Dawn is a good but not great game coach, if she has a big talent advantage she wins games, and in most games, she has a big talent advantage. Question, when was the last time SC was perceived to have less talent than their opponent? I can't think when either. When was the last time SC won a game as an underdog? How many games has SC lost in recent memory as the favorite?
This one's easy: They were clear underdogs against UCLA this season and it showed in their one matchup. Still, I take your point. Dawn's had many really dominant seasons, especially in recent years, but also several when the team wasn't ranked in the top-10. Here's a link to their ranking history, which probably tracks when they had to play as underdogs pretty well.
www.sports-reference.com
This one's easy: They were clear underdogs against UCLA this season and it showed in their one matchup. Still, I take your point. Dawn's had many really dominant seasons, especially in recent years, but also several when the team wasn't ranked in the top-10. Here's a link to their ranking history, which probably tracks when they had to play as underdogs pretty well.
South Carolina Women's Basketball AP Poll History | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
Check out South Carolina's Complete College AP Polls History and More About College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
Interestingly, during the Stewie years they were underdogs sometimes, and sometimes not, and Dawn still scheduled games with UConn despite this. They were as close to being equals when it was Stewie vs A'ja, and also when it was Moriah vs Bianca Cuevas and Tiffany Mitchell. But Stewie and Moriah typically won those matchups. Here's a highlight video from the best of those games, with SC ranked #1 and UConn ranked #2. This one includes some awesome Moriah highlights, including one around the 5:25 minute mark when Moriah takes a rebound baseline to baseline and beats everyone (including Bianca) down the court. Normally, you'd say a pass gets the ball down the floor faster than someone running with a dribble. But that wasn't always the case with Moriah, as on this day. [Also a sweet post move by Kiah at the 6:20 mark -- a baby hook She must have learned from Stewie.]
I’m reminded of something Geno said after the Huskies beat Tennessee in a championship game. Geno was asked if he outcoached Pat Summitt. He said he didn’t think so, that sometimes he’d call a time out a draw up a play then “…the kids go out onto the court and do something I’ve never seen before “. He went on to say that if players get hurried up, they’d “lose their minds” occasionally.
scratch ND, substitute LSU
Not discounting your opinion, but I will be EXTREMELY surprised if ND earns the right to host the first and second round games as a #4 seed. To be clear, unless they somehow acquire more talent to support their depleted roster, they will exceed my expectations simply by qualifying for the NCAA tournament this year. I see them in an underdog role a lot this season.
Agree, or better yet, Oklahoma. Top three scorers returning, plus the #3 recruit.
Yes agree, Oklahoma has the players to compete, but not to prevail.
I'd say something similar about USC. They've lost a lot. Unless Juju miraculously rehabs more quickly than ordinarily happens, I don't see them as a top 20 team. Without Kiki and Rayah and Clarice, they lose pretty much all their front court depth. Iwuchukwu as the starting center? With who playing next to her? Yakiya Milton? Kennedy Smith will probably have to handle it. Samuels and Jones at guard would make for one of the smallest backcourts, unless Kara Dunn wins the starting spot over Samuels -- which is a formula for Samuels hitting the portal at the end of next season. Yes, Jazzy can have an impact. But with little supporting cast, I don't see her having a great freshman season. And personally I think the situation looks no better even with Juju making a miraculous early return. The problems that led to the mass exodus two months ago would very likely return.
I really like what McDowell has to offer. She kept climbing in the rankings for a reason. Her time playing for Brazil also will help her jumpstart her college career since she already has experience against pros. She is a really efficient shooter who knows how to get to her spots (reminds me of Bueckers in that aspect of her game). More than likely she will be backing up Tessa off the bench. She looks a lot more seasoned than most of our recruits from the past few years and I expect she will be in the SEC freshman of the year conversation.
In answer to when Dawn last lost to superior talent, I would have to say both UConn games last season! I think we had better talent than SC.
