The Team According To Geno | The Boneyard

The Team According To Geno

"I'm not excited at all about the start of practice," he said. "We lost the (Wade Trophy) national player of the year. I guess this is just the way the world is now, but we have five new players, a lot of them are young, and there is a lot to put together.

Expand article logo

"I guess you should be excited about that, and I guess I will be after Monday when I have our first practice, but right now going into I am like dreading it. I'm thinking ‘This just can't look good.' But as days go on and as leaders start to emerge and as people start to assert themselves, I think it will be fun to see how it grows."

I really like his sports coat. Elegant.
 
The usual "well you as a group haven't accomplished anything" gimmick to inspire the returnees on a title winner.

The big piece here is that Carol's health is still not reliable. As someone suffering similarly, I am not surprised. It is harder to fake it on off days when you are expected to complete at a high level.
 
Yes, it's definitely going to be dreadful! These five new players who barely know a dang thing about basketball. "It's that orange circular metal thing up there by the glass, you need to throw the ball through that in order to obtain points in this game, capiche?" ;)-
 
Geno's statements should not surprise anyone. This a a new team even though key players return.

Williams has to adjust to a new offense and defense. Heckel is in the same position. The freshman are all new.

I'm not surprised about Caroline.

But this is what Geno and company are very good at - bringing it all together. It will take some time. Last year the team gelled after the Tennessee loss. I expect the growing pains early on.

Looking forward to seeing this team develop.
 
Some more quotes...

"Ice (Brady) we need her to be better," Auriemma said. "Jana once she gets back on the court … we just need guys to be better."

"We had some players look good at Sacred Heart," Auriemma said. "They looked like they have made some progress. Some of those we haven't seen yet. But I thought Kayleigh (Heckel) looked good. We didn't get to see Blanca (Quiñonez), but Blanca is really, really good. The young guys are intriguing.

"Serah Williams, it is hard coming in here after you have played three years of college somewhere else and all of a sudden you have to change some of the ways you do things."

We've seen/heard that Caroline and Ayanna look good so far. Kayleigh has impressed. Serah has struggled. I love that he's already talking up Blanca. Yet another reason I'm switching my starting prediction from Ash to Blanca. But the starting "center" is way up in the air. Could be Ice, Serah, Jana, or maybe even Ayanna? Will be fun to watch how it goes...
 
RockyMTblue2 said:
"I'm not excited at all about the start of practice," he said. "We lost the (Wade Trophy) national player of the year. I guess this is just the way the world is now, but we have five new players, a lot of them are young, and there is a lot to put together.

Expand article logo

"I guess you should be excited about that, and I guess I will be after Monday when I have our first practice, but right now going into I am like dreading it. I'm thinking ‘This just can't look good.' But as days go on and as leaders start to emerge and as people start to assert themselves, I think it will be fun to see how it grows."

I really like his sports coat. Elegant.
Expand ...
Typical Geno.........did anybody expect that he would be giddy over the prospect of dealing with all of these new players or even the returning players for that matter? I expect to see that same pained Geno look throughout the preseason before they go out and start kicking some serious butt..... 😊
 
This is typical Geno talking. What impressed me most was his reference to him counting on Caroline playing to her potential that she showed as a Rookie. I've been rooting for her since she arrived and was sad for her injuries that cut her short. I truly believe Caroline will be part of the starting line-up when she shows she is back. I am the any thing is possible GUY and I predict UCONN will go undefeated this year and win No.13. I am the possible GUY that believes anything is possible. I predict that UCONN will go undefeated this year as I don;t see anyone that can beat them!! GO HUSKIES!!!! GO NEWCOMERS!!!!!
 
This is classic Geno. I’m betting he’s absolutely giddy over this roster. I think first of all, he’s bent on giving Paige her flowers, I think he’s likely deliberately underplaying Caroline in order to keep expectations low, and he’s pushing Ice and Jana to keep the pressure on them. He is the master at this kind of verbal messaging. I’d bet a lot of money that every single thing he said there was carefully calculated to send a particular message to both individuals and the team as a whole.

He is just sooo smart about what his players need and how to motivate them to fulfill their potential. He does have a lot of work ahead of him as he begins to mold this incredible collection of talent into the dominant powerhouse most people are expecting, but I’m thinking underneath that grumpy pessimism, he’s rubbing his hands together in anticipation.
 
Next 12 said:
This is typical Geno talking. What impressed me most was his reference to him counting on Caroline playing to her potential that she showed as a Rookie. I've been rooting for her since she arrived and was sad for her injuries that cut her short. I truly believe Caroline will be part of the starting line-up when she shows she is back. I am the any thing is possible GUY and I predict UCONN will go undefeated this year and win No.13. I am the possible GUY that believes anything is possible. I predict that UCONN will go undefeated this year as I don;t see anyone that can beat them!! GO HUSKIES!!!! GO NEWCOMERS!!!!!
Expand ...
Personally, I don't see Carol starting if she isn't available on a consistent basis. A reserve role where she plays more heavily on good days makes far more sense than changing the starting lineup every few games. It also puts less pressure on her. A lot of this is unknown territory and there is little reason to force things early.
 
ec33 said:
Personally, I don't see Carol starting if she isn't available on a consistent basis. A reserve role where she plays more heavily on good days makes far more sense than changing the starting lineup every few games. It also puts less pressure on her. A lot of this is unknown territory and there is little reason to force things early.
Expand ...
I agree. Continuity is important. It's one thing to recognize that Carol has the talent to start. It's another to worry about whether she can do it for a bunch of games in a row when others could be developing their own wisdom about the game. All I can really say is "Go Carol! You got this, girl!"
 
I think I was one of only 9 people that had Caroline starting in the Who Will Start post from several months ago. I’m happy to see her making progress and the brief highlight videos give me hope. Geno loves Senior stability and if healthy, I still think she starts. That said, Geno may limit her minutes early in the season. Healthy and playing like she did as a freshman, Carol would be a great compliment player to Azzi, Sarah, KK, and the team.
Go Huskies..!!
 
Last edited:
Next 12 said:
This is typical Geno talking. What impressed me most was his reference to him counting on Caroline playing to her potential that she showed as a Rookie. I've been rooting for her since she arrived and was sad for her injuries that cut her short. I truly believe Caroline will be part of the starting line-up when she shows she is back. I am the any thing is possible GUY and I predict UCONN will go undefeated this year and win No.13. I am the possible GUY that believes anything is possible. I predict that UCONN will go undefeated this year as I don;t see anyone that can beat them!! GO HUSKIES!!!! GO NEWCOMERS!!!!!
Expand ...
i'm rooting for caroline, too, but this is some serious hopium for a pretty stacked team and a player who has barely played in multiple years.
 
I've seen too little of CD in the NCAAs and practice. I have concerns about speed and speed of decision making. Fixable. Would I love to see her make a major contribution to a championship season, of course.
 
Bone Dog said:
I agree. Continuity is important. It's one thing to recognize that Carol has the talent to start. It's another to worry about whether she can do it for a bunch of games in a row when others could be developing their own wisdom about the game. All I can really say is "Go Carol! You got this, girl!"
Expand ...
I'd prefer to see Caroline coming off the bench as a stabilizing influence rather than as a starter......
 
DavidinNaples said:
I think I was one of only 9 people that had Caroline starting in the Who Will Start post from several months ago. I’m happy to see her making progress and the brief highlight videos give me hope. Geno loves Senior stability and if healthy, I still think she starts. That said, Geno may limit her minutes early in the season. Healthy and playing like she did as a freshman, Carol would be a great compliment player to Azzi, Sarah, KK, and Serah.
Go Huskies..!!
Expand ...
....and Ash
 
Charliebball said:
I'd prefer to see Caroline coming off the bench as a stabilizing influence rather than as a starter......
Expand ...
Geno has said that Caroline is day to day. What he means is, even though she is doing very well now, they don't want to over work her to prevent her problem from coming back. Because of that, I don't see her starting but will be the first or second off the bench. If healthy she will be very valuable to the team, but with all the talent we have there is no need to play her more than 15-20 minutes a game.
 
I agree. I think she could end up being first off the bench. I think one of our bigs will start by process of elimination not because they necessarily earn it on day 1. (Serah probably won't be Serah until midway through the season) That means about 5 minutes in we'll go to small ball and Caroline comes in at the 4 as Sarah slides to the 5.
 
I agree with Charlieball that Caroline is better coming off the bench. While I wish her well, I've never been a fan. Always thought that she was better coming off the bench. Just not fast enough for the first team even though she did make timely plays. Shot is not consistent enough!
 
Coaching is HARD when you have limited talent, but equally as hard when you have this much. What strikes me as unique about this years team is the number of above average two way players they appear to have. Even after losing Paige, I expect team scoring to go up because I can’t remember the last time the interior defense has had this many shot blockers. Should allow the guards to gamble on defense and get some easy buckets.
 
It wasn't that long ago when another Caroline of note started despite a rather glaring drawback. Over the years there's been a few more like this who made it through rehab and four years of the program. Geno loves his seniors and I for one will be shocked if CD doesn't start.
 

Attachments

  • 87871a940e286ed6c781da616b19ad7d.jpg
    87871a940e286ed6c781da616b19ad7d.jpg
    50.1 KB · Views: 20
noirwestern said:
It wasn't that long ago when another Caroline of note started despite a rather glaring drawback. Over the years there's been a few more like this who made it through rehab and four years of the program. Geno loves his seniors and I for one will be shocked if CD doesn't start.
Expand ...
Several differences. Caroline Doty was a starter the preceding three years. She did not have a debilitating condition that could flare up at any time. The team was not as loaded as is the current team. The player she started over, Tiffany Hayes. was her best bud, and was fine with Caroline starting. In fact, if memory serves me Tiffany advocated for it.
 

Online statistics

Members online
186
Guests online
5,121
Total visitors
5,307
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
164,661
Messages
4,405,622
Members
10,221
Latest member
abbbb


.
..
Top Bottom