The trap! Auriemma's opinion

[JoePgh]

not a fan of trapping at that point in the game, either, but, since you mentioned it, most baseball people have no problem with bunting to break up a no-hitter.

If the game is 1-0 in the 9th, then of course you would bunt against a no-hit performance -- not to spoil the no-hitter but to win the game. One run in that game is critical. And I hope no one would think that violates any rule, written or unwritten. On the other hand, if the score is 8-0 and the only reason to bunt is to spoil the no-hitter, then that is at least stupid and probably unsportsmanlike. It is also irrational, because if you are down by 8 runs in the 9th, you cannot be sacrificing outs, as you might if it was critical to score a single run. The same thing applies to stealing bases or dropping down sacrifice bunts late in the game when the score is lopsided -- it is irrational and probably driven by a player's desire to enhance individual statistics.

In the basketball game, if UCF were down by 2 points in the last minute, then of course they might trap even if they had never done it before -- and I'm sure Geno would not complain about it. They certainly would do that if Kyla came into the game. In a close game, however, the only way Kyla would enter is if there were an injury or a foul-out by a starting player.

 

[dogged1]

If the game is 1-0 in the 9th, then of course you would bunt against a no-hit performance -- not to spoil the no-hitter but to win the game. One run in that game is critical. And I hope no one would think that violates any rule, written or unwritten. On the other hand, if the score is 8-0 and the only reason to bunt is to spoil the no-hitter, then that is at least stupid and probably unsportsmanlike. It is also irrational, because if you are down by 8 runs in the 9th, you cannot be sacrificing outs, as you might if it was critical to score a single run. The same thing applies to stealing bases or dropping down sacrifice bunts late in the game when the score is lopsided -- it is irrational and probably driven by a player's desire to enhance individual statistics.

In the basketball game, if UCF were down by 2 points in the last minute, then of course they might trap even if they had never done it before -- and I'm sure Geno would not complain about it. They certainly would do that if Kyla came into the game. In a close game, however, the only way Kyla would enter is if there were an injury or a foul-out by a starting player.

For Shame! Isn't it a violation of the unwritten rules of the boneyard to write a common sense post?

 

[boontonbomber]

If the game is 1-0 in the 9th, then of course you would bunt against a no-hit performance -- not to spoil the no-hitter but to win the game. One run in that game is critical. And I hope no one would think that violates any rule, written or unwritten. On the other hand, if the score is 8-0 and the only reason to bunt is to spoil the no-hitter, then that is at least stupid and probably unsportsmanlike. It is also irrational, because if you are down by 8 runs in the 9th, you cannot be sacrificing outs, as you might if it was critical to score a single run. The same thing applies to stealing bases or dropping down sacrifice bunts late in the game when the score is lopsided -- it is irrational and probably driven by a player's desire to enhance individual statistics.

In the basketball game, if UCF were down by 2 points in the last minute, then of course they might trap even if they had never done it before -- and I'm sure Geno would not complain about it. They certainly would do that if Kyla came into the game. In a close game, however, the only way Kyla would enter is if there were an injury or a foul-out by a starting player.

so where is the line drawn? 4-0, 3-0, …..games have been won with 9th inning rallies of that much or more. that's baseball. you play the game 'till the 3rd out. not stupid, not unsportsmanlike, not irrational. it's baseball. laying down a bunt is not exactly the easiest way to get a hit anyway. are you suggesting that once the score reaches some point( again, what is that point?), then batters simply take 3 down the middle and walk away. most pitchers working on a no-hitter want batters to do everything they can to break it up, so that they really can most enjoy the accomplishment. having pitched a couple myself, I know what it means.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Lawson played to the final buzzer- maybe beyond it.

Thank you, Coco, for the post. That was simply amazing to me. Why not just sit back in a zone and let the clock run out? And was HCPS not able to call off the dogs?

Anyway, that's water long past the bridge.

 

[phil sampieri]

Except they weren't just cheering. They were going batshit as if they had just won the national championship instead of having their hat handed to them. Not only were they screeching and jumping around, they were stepping on the court, and they were taunting and posing.
I have probably watched a thousand WCBB games and I have never seen that sort of behavior by a loser.

When did they do this what quarter and time

 

[CocoHusky]

When did they do this what quarter and time

It was with about 6:00 left in the 4th quarter after a MW traveling call.

 

[JordyG]

It was with about 6:00 left in the 4th quarter after a MW traveling call.

Let 'em dance. The day and time will come when Geno does the same against them when UConn is up by 35. We'll see if it's so funny then.

 

[river rat]

There was also extended mocking

 

[Centerstream]

It was with about 6:00 left in the 4th quarter after a MW traveling call.

They also did the same celebrating when their players would make a 3 point shot

 

[Centerstream]

To keep stirring the pot, late in the 4th quarter, like with less than 3 minutes to go, we did do some double teaming and trapping when UCF got to half court. It created a couple of turnovers and one where CW and the UCF player collided on the baseline and we got the ball (about the 1:50 mark). As Mikayla was dribbling up the court, it certainly looks like Coach Abe is giving Geno a "look" (1:46 mark). Then at the 1:22 mark and with 04 seconds on the shot clock, Crystal drains a 3. Kyla is already at the scorers table. UCF has yet to try to trap us in this quarter. On defense we applied token pressure and UCF misses a jumper. At the 49.2 mark, our starters are taken out of the game. UCF is in a zone. As soon as the pass goes to Kyla, the 2 UCF players mug her...and the rest is history.
When Geno did his walkby, it certainly looks like Coach Abe was a bit surprised.

The end.

 

[Centerstream]

Part 2.

I just watched the replay of the 2/11/2019 game against South Carolina and a similar thing happened. As soon as the starters went to the bench with 1:00 or so to go, they started trapping our bench players. We got the ball back with 20 seconds left in the game and USC trapped Molly just after she got across midcourt. She turned the ball over (I think it was due to the shock as she thought that she was just going to dribble the game out). The score was 97-78.

The end.

 

[tomcat]

Lots of things are allowed that are considered poor sportsmanship if they are instituted at certain times or in certain ways.

Agreed. Just because something is legal doesn't make it bush league.

 

[Niles]

Agreed. Just because something is legal doesn't make it bush

Agreed. Just because something is legal doesn't make it bush league.

Aaahh the days where Kia Nurse would have responded just perfectly.

 

[chrissaran]

This reminds me of Greg Schiano having his players dive at the Giants players knees when Eli took a knee to end the game. Under his direction his players could have cost a Giants player their career. It's bush league, which is why he didn't last long in the pros. Yes, Eli has had his day, and the Giants need to move on if anyone was wondering.

 

[DefenseBB]

I'm a bit of a purest. If trapping is allowed don't be awestruck when it happens. Yea the timing stunk, but it was legit, no ref calls because of the trap (yes the foul after). It is part of the game. Accept it or get a rule to change it. Geno knows that. He was being emotional and an Emotional Geno dosen't always think before he speaks.
Geno probably was angry with the whole UCF game and latched on this to make a point.

I am with Broadway on this. Even when you put subs in, their goal is to play offense and defense. They're supposed to have skills and if the other team has their own subs in, the UConn subs should be able to handle the trap. Is it unseemly, yes, but it is still a part of the game that is allowed. Geno has always had the team dribble it out when there was less than 30 seconds in the game and he has the ball while winning-that's good social/sportsmanship etiquette. It doesn't mean that the other team will show that. No one wants to hear this but, are not UConn subs also taught how to handle presses and how to dribble effectively? There's better battles to argue about vs. UCF than that. UCF will continue to play an overly physical style until they get elite athletes with great fluidity, then Coach A will be the one complaining about the other teams physicality! Kudos for what she has achieved but NO KUDOS for how she has achieved it or how they have behaved with it!
Unfortunately, this conference is still a rather pathetic lot of team that has not made any real in-roads on recruiting or Top 50 wins. Maybe Cincinnati, maybe UCF continues, maybe Houston and hopefully Jose gets USF to recover will show continued evolution. After that, we still are not a great crew of programs in this sport.