The Geno Auriemma Show 1/24/18

[MJL243]

The new Geno Show is posted. It is not to be missed! Geno talks about his decision to play the bench against Tulsa, people who call him mean, why he's mad at those who criticize his coaching, recruiting, transfers, Diana, Andi, Saniya's last shot against MSU, and more:

 

[HoopsFan21]

Wow you are fast. The show just ended less than an hour ago. Lots of talk about transfers on tonight's show for some reason.

 

[JustinesGuy]

The Justine Ward show was exceptionally good tonight. A must watch

 

[Mdoggie]

Good stuff!

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Illuminating as always. First time he's said that Saniya panicked in that situation last year.

 

[CL82]

Illuminating as always. First time he's said that Saniya panicked in that situation last year.

Yeah didn't love that.

I want to which BYer emailed him to say that he's too mean. Any guesses?

 

[Mdoggie]

Illuminating as always. First time he's said that Saniya panicked in that situation last year.

I knew it last year. If you know basketball you would have immediately known she went to fast and two early on her layup attempt.
Left too much time on the clock and she missed. Prefect senario for Miss St to win and they did. I actually yelled at her through my TV but she didnt listen.

 

[victor64]

I coached basketball for over 30 years. It saddens me that the best coach in America is subjected to the same second guessing garbage from so called fans that us mortals are subjected to. I think he should have played more than 6 against Texas-an opinion stated without observing one second of practice which makes the opinion incorrect. He may make an incorrect decision once in a while but they are all based on information gathered on and off the court. Good enough for me and should be good enough for every so called fan.

 

[HoopsFan21]

I coached basketball for over 30 years. It saddens me that the best coach in America is subjected to the same second guessing garbage from so called fans that us mortals are subjected to. I think he should have played more than 6 against Texas-an opinion stated without observing one second of practice which makes the opinion incorrect. He may make an incorrect decision once in a while but they are all based on information gathered on and off the court. Good enough for me and should be good enough for every so called fan.

Geno is the best coach in America because he coaches to win and not just to hand out participation trophies.

 

[HuskyNan]

I hope this video finally puts an end to the comments that Geno hasn't been communicating what he wants from his players. He says he's been talking to them for 8 months. His exasperation is pretty clear.

Re: the Saniya thing - he prefaced the whole story by saying he didn't blame her. I didn't hear an iota of criticism, just his observation on what happened. He knows, and something some fans should know, that humans are imperfect. They try their best; sometimes their efforts just don't get it done. He's not blaming Saniya, he was just rueful that she didn't make the shot. I hope the board doesn't lose its mind over the word "panic".

I loved the segment about the visiting coaches from other teams and the jazz band analogy. Some pretty good music in there, too.

 

[Charliebball]

Regarding Geno's comments on recruiting where he states that if you can't tell within 30 seconds which high school player is UConn quality that player is simply not.............I was speaking to a veteran high school WBB coach the other night about college recruiting and he told me he had an outstanding player about 10 years ago and was told that Geno was going to come and watch her play in her next home game...............sure enough Geno shows up during the second quarter, sits down for no more then five minutes and promptly leaves.........when asked why he was leaving Geno said "I've seen all I need to see"........................needless to say, that player went on to have a successful four year career but at a "lesser" program............

 

[oldude]

The Justine Ward show was exceptionally good tonight. A must watch

 

[HuskyBandDad]

Yeah didn't love that.

I want to which BYer emailed him to say that he's too mean. Any guesses?

Not me.

 

[HuskyBandDad]

Regarding Geno's comments on recruiting where he states that if you can't tell within 30 seconds which high school player is UConn quality that player is simply not...I was speaking to a veteran high school WBB coach the other night about college recruiting and he told me he had an outstanding player about 10 years ago and was told that Geno was going to come and watch her play in her next home game.....sure enough Geno shows up during the second quarter, sits down for no more then five minutes and promptly leaves....when asked why he was leaving Geno said "I've seen all I need to see"....needless to say, that player went on to have a successful four year career but at a "lesser" program..

High school recruiting can be very tough because of the overall talent level and competition at each school. I think many of the better players are discovered at AAU.

 

[Blakeon18]

Blast from the past on recruiting...I think I have this basically correct.

Geno went to watch some player at an AAU game and Mel Thomas caught his eye. After the game Geno went up to her....having never met her...and told her that she was coming to UConn and play for him....end of conversation. While Mel was being recruited by big time programs...UConn/Tenn/Ohio State etc... Cincy thought they had a great shot at her....a local gal...great relationships with the Cincy staff...parents Cincy alums. Members of that staff were regulars at her games thruout high school.

Before her verbal Geno goes to one of her games....watched for a couple of minutes till Mel made a basket...catches her eye and nods and walks out. I heard the Cincy staff was just beside themselves with frustration etc.

BTW: we win the NC in 2008 if either Mel or Kalana don't go down with a season-ending injury....much less if they both stayed healthy.

 

[scubadog]

I thought this was one of Geno's finest programs. Thoughtful explanations on many fronts. But, I would still like to know why he was so " uncomfortable " with his team going into last year's FF. Three all americans and an unbeaten team ?

 

[HuskyNan]

Blast from the past on recruiting...I think I have this basically correct.

Geno went to watch some player at an AAU game and Mel Thomas caught his eye. After the game Geno went up to her....having never met her...and told her that she was coming to UConn and play for him....end of conversation. While Mel was being recruited by big time programs...UConn/Tenn/Ohio State etc... Cincy thought they had a great shot at her....a local gal...great relationships with the Cincy staff...parents Cincy alums. Members of that staff were regulars at her games thruout high school.

Before her verbal Geno goes to one of her games....watched for a couple of minutes till Mel made a basket...catches her eye and nods and walks out. I heard the Cincy staff was just beside themselves with frustration etc.

BTW: we win the NC in 2008 if either Mel or Kalana don't go down with a season-ending injury....much less if they both stayed healthy.

Similarly, Geno went to West Virginia to see Alexis Hornbuckle (he had no chance; she was always going to Tennessee) and spotted the astoundingly underrecruited Renee Montgomery. The rest is history.

 

[Crossover]

Geno is the best coach in America because he coaches to win and not just to hand out participation trophies.

He doesn't coach to win. He coaches to make players better (in all aspects of their lives). There is a difference.

 

[HoopsFan21]

He doesn't coach to win. He coaches to make players better (in all aspects of their lives). There is a difference.

So winning that game in Texas was just luck? He could have plugged in Megan, Lexi, or Kyla and the result would have been exactly the same? So why didn't he if winning the game wasn't the most important thing? You don't think Holly Warlick coaches her players to be better in all aspects of their lives and that it's just a Geno thing?

 

[HuskyBandDad]

He doesn't coach to win. He coaches to make players better (in all aspects of their lives). There is a difference.

He absolutely coaches to win. Winning helps players in the aspects of their lives. He pushes like no other.
He tells recruits they may never lead the league in any statistic except wins.

 

[Golden Husky]

The Justine Ward show was exceptionally good tonight. A must watch

You may be biased but you're right. Excellent questions exploring serious topics that prompted interesting and revealing (at least for me) answers.

 

[meyers7]

Good show last night. Geno was definitely taking a shot at the knuckleheads here on the BY who envision themselves as world class coaches.

 

[huskyd]

I hope this video finally puts an end to the comments that Geno hasn't been communicating what he wants from his players. He says he's been talking to them for 8 months. His exasperation is pretty clear.

Re: the Saniya thing - he prefaced the whole story by saying he didn't blame her. I didn't hear an iota of criticism, just his observation on what happened. He knows, and something some fans should know, that humans are imperfect. They try their best; sometimes their efforts just don't get it done. He's not blaming Saniya, he was just rueful that she didn't make the shot. I hope the board doesn't lose its mind over the word "panic".

I loved the segment about the visiting coaches from other teams and the jazz band analogy. Some pretty good music in there, too.

Not only did he not blame Saniya, but he used that episode for the benefit of his teaching. Everyone who follows UConn basketball closely knows that Chong, in the end, was on of the best success stories in recent history. She was playing because she had earned Coach's trust, something withheld from her for almost 3 years. Just try. No need to be perfect. Mistakes happen. We're all human. Move on.

 

[DefenseBB]

Yeah didn't love that.

I want to which BYer emailed him to say that he's too mean. Any guesses?

HuskyNan?

 

[MilfordHusky]

Not only did he not blame Saniya, but he used that episode for the benefit of his teaching. Everyone who follows UConn basketball closely knows that Chong, in the end, was on of the best success stories in recent history. She was playing because she had earned Coach's trust, something withheld from her for almost 3 years. Just try. No need to be perfect. Mistakes happen. We're all human. Move on.

We probably wouldn't have beaten Florida State without Saniya and we might have lost to Maryland 2x without her. She was a real asset.

Geno says they practice late-game situations all the time, and they almost never get it right. Saniya is not an isolated case. Almost everyone does the same thing.