The differences between UConn and everybody else

[Tonyc]

You know what was very obvious to me last night. MD is underdeveloped and not disciplined. When I look at UConn in a tuff game building a lead with their two stars sitting on the bench and 3 bigs in foul trouble and UConn is continuing to build their lead and they're smiling and laughing which shows me they are confident and relaxed. This is why kids come to UConn. This is one of the differences for playing at UConn. Development, confidence, and learning the game and most importantly they earn it with hard work its not handed to them.

You see today to compete to many recruits are being promised and handed positions just so that their coach can get them in hopes of competing. Kids are pressured by friends and future teammates to come with them to play with them. Ive never met anybody who was handed something for nothing and didn't want more. Let me give you an example. Tell your kids they don't have to work and you will give them an allowance for getting good grades and see how long it takes for them to ask you for more money??? LOL some of you know what I'm talking about. LOL
I felt for Thomas. She is a very good player with players around her who are not taught and developed on the basics. If they played at UConn, Geno would have them on the bench until they learned how to play the game the right way. Look at the level Kiah Stokes is playing at? Unbelievable. She's smiling having fun and feels like shes part of something. Why? Because she earned it and wasn't promised anything but an opportunity. She wasn't handed it for doing nothing. She had to earn it. It wasn't a free pass. Geno didn't say to her come to UConn and I guarantee you will start. Im sure he said something like you come to UConn and this is what we've done and if you work hard I will give you a chance. UConn is a opportunity with a personal development program tied to it....along with a National Championship or more. This is why a team like MD cant compete with UConn. UConn has a system and you can plug a UConn player into it and they will execute what they've been taught in practice and trust what they do. That's why when KML Stewie Kiah and Stef are on the bench they team continues to roll. This is why it is very important to have good guards and why next season we have some good guards who can handle the ball coming in.

We may never see coaching like this again in any sport, because in other sports especially mens sports they leave early to play professionally . What we have at UConn is something special. What we have is a program that other coaches aspire to be like. Other programs when recruiting will try to knock down UConn because of their new league or because they play up north where its cold in the winter. They can't knock what UConn has accomplished. See at UConn we don't have to tell recruits we are going to win the league or NC. We do and we have. Other coaches who haven't even won a league championship are telling recruits they will win a NC when they've never even won a league championship. I heard a comment yesterday that opposing coaches are telling recruits when you interview with other team ask them how tuff their conference is? To that I say to the recruit ask that coach how many league championships they've won and when was the last time they got to the Final 4 and won a NC?????? They haven't in most cases. When you number 1 at the top the view doesn't change for everybody else. End of Subject.

 

[msf22b]

You know what was very obvious to me last night. MD is underdeveloped and not disciplined.


Even Thomas for all her ability.

 

[RoyDodger]

This reminds me of the announcement of Diamond DeShield's choice to go to UNC and her statement that it would allow to play the game her way. This from Rich Elliott (dated May 9, 2012) sums it up:

Bret McCormick, the managing partner and publisher of All-Star Girls Report, annually evaluates more than 5,000 players. He was one individual who was not at all surprised that DeShields committed to North Carolina last Saturday along with Allisha Gray, Stephanie Mavunga and Jessica Washington.

“I thought that was the best place she should have went, to be honest,’’ McCormick said. “Sure, it would’ve been great to go to Connecticut, but that’s one place that they’ll let her kind of do what she wants to do. (UConn coach) Geno (Auriemma) wouldn’t have let her do that. And I don’t want to make Connecticut mad, but based on what she’s shown that was probably the best place for her to go. If she wanted to buy into what Geno did then you want go play for Geno because there’s only one school legitimately year in and year out that can compete for the national championship. And that’s Connecticut. Every few years maybe Notre Dame. Every few years somebody else comes along. But that’s the only school that you can do that. And I know she really liked North Carolina. In the long run, it probably just worked out better for everybody I would say.’’

 

[UcMiami]

Tony - Usually I find your post a little to over the top, and their is that aspect here as well but more controlled and more realistic and well stated. (I enjoy the other posts as well, but they occasionally threaten the mojo gods!)
I especially like the comment about Thomas - and I have felt the same way with many other players. You see the skill, you see the desire and drive, and as a fan of the sport and of talented athletes you feel frustrated at the lack of direction, support, discipline, whatever they are getting that prevents them from being everything they could be. And occasionally you get a glimpse of their frustration.
At the same time we only focus on the basketball court and everything else that goes into the experience and growth of four years of college is discounted in our view - but is actually so much more important. So ... I think it is presumptuous of us to 'feel' for any of these players - at least if it extends to anything beyond our 40 minute window into their week.
And there is no question that a player like EDD did not have either the success or the developmental opportunities in college that she could have related to basketball, but that she is probably saner and had a better college experience at Delaware than she would have had at Uconn. And I always wonder about a player like Charde staying at Uconn - in the end she has made Uconn very proud and developed into what appears to be a wonderful woman, but ... it wasn't easy for her and might she have been better off and happier at another school? She made it through, she had a successful Uconn career, and a good pro career, but ...

 

[chrissaran]

I have to disagree about the coaching in the men's game. Certainly Mike Krzyzewski is one of the best ever in any sport. A college coach, who has never coached in the pros, but has the respect of the U.S. Olympic team members, is something special.

 

[Tidepool]

To add to Tony's basic point, there's this quote after Stanford beat Cal Poly yesterday,

''The UConn game was a great game for us, too, to understand the pace we have to play at,'' VanDerveer said. ''We'll keep coming back to that one all season.''

 

[baggerbob]

Tony great post, don't have the article from the post standard, but Breanna when she committed to UConn, said and this isn't verbatim. One of the major reasons she was going to UConn was Geno would make her the best player she could be.

 

[caramel]

You know what was very obvious to me last night. MD is underdeveloped and not disciplined. When I look at UConn in a tuff game building a lead with their two stars sitting on the bench and 3 bigs in foul trouble and UConn is continuing to build their lead and they're smiling and laughing which shows me they are confident and relaxed. This is why kids come to UConn. This is one of the differences for playing at UConn. Development, confidence, and learning the game and most importantly they earn it with hard work its not handed to them.

You see today to compete to many recruits are being promised and handed positions just so that their coach can get them in hopes of competing. Kids are pressured by friends and future teammates to come with them to play with them. Ive never met anybody who was handed something for nothing and didn't want more. Let me give you an example. Tell your kids they don't have to work and you will give them an allowance for getting good grades and see how long it takes for them to ask you for more money??? LOL some of you know what I'm talking about. LOL
I felt for Thomas. She is a very good player with players around her who are not taught and developed on the basics. If they played at UConn, Geno would have them on the bench until they learned how to play the game the right way. Look at the level Kiah Stokes is playing at? Unbelievable. She's smiling having fun and feels like shes part of something. Why? Because she earned it and wasn't promised anything but an opportunity. She wasn't handed it for doing nothing. She had to earn it. It wasn't a free pass. Geno didn't say to her come to UConn and I guarantee you will start. Im sure he said something like you come to UConn and this is what we've done and if you work hard I will give you a chance. UConn is a opportunity with a personal development program tied to it....along with a National Championship or more. This is why a team like MD cant compete with UConn. UConn has a system and you can plug a UConn player into it and they will execute what they've been taught in practice and trust what they do. That's why when KML Stewie Kiah and Stef are on the bench they team continues to roll. This is why it is very important to have good guards and why next season we have some good guards who can handle the ball coming in.

We may never see coaching like this again in any sport, because in other sports especially mens sports they leave early to play professionally . What we have at UConn is something special. What we have is a program that other coaches aspire to be like. Other programs when recruiting will try to knock down UConn because of their new league or because they play up north where its cold in the winter. They can't knock what UConn has accomplished. See at UConn we don't have to tell recruits we are going to win the league or NC. We do and we have. Other coaches who haven't even won a league championship are telling recruits they will win a NC when they've never even won a league championship. I heard a comment yesterday that opposing coaches are telling recruits when you interview with other team ask them how tuff their conference is? To that I say to the recruit ask that coach how many league championships they've won and when was the last time they got to the Final 4 and won a NC?????? They haven't in most cases. When you number 1 at the top the view doesn't change for everybody else. End of Subject.

My hats off to Thomas,as do you,Tonyc.She is an outstanding player,and scored well against a great defense.She has the tools and desire,and I sure love watching that talent come through,whether an opponent or not.It is too bad that she doesn't have more structure around her.She will become a player to watch in the pros though.