Thoughts about Ines as back up PG against Princeton | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Thoughts about Ines as back up PG against Princeton

As I read through this thread and it's discussion of the "bench", I was reminded of a quote from the movie Gettysburg from about 30 years ago. The South is getting hammered and Lee says to Pickett, "General you must look to your Division" Pickett responds, "General ... I have no Division". I keep thinking, "Coach you must look to your bench". Geno responds, "I have no bench".

Certainly not the most pleasant thought but right now unfortunately the reality.
 
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You saw what happens when Nika is hurt. It was the last few moments of chaos and turnovers, as we failed to defeat the Princeton pressure. Without Nika from the onset, we have no lead. And if we have to rest Lou, we have about 15 points. Maybe.
 
OK I will go into dangerous territory here, and I'm sure I will get plenty of disagreement, but by my definition Geno runs up the score all the time. In my opinion when the game is decided, the players that are out of the normal rotation should be in there, and generally with the reserves in the rotation, not the starters.

We can all disagree over at what margin the game is over, but there are many games where Uconn is ahead by 30-40 points and the third stringers don't come in until there is only a couple of minutes left. Could he have put them in much much sooner without jeopardizing the outcome of the game? Of course but he doesn't. IMO there are quite a few games where the starters could sit the entire 4th quarter.

It certainly appears that Geno would rather leave the starters in till very near the end and win by 40 instead of giving the bench more play much earlier and only win by 35 for example. I consider that to be running up the score.

Having said that, there are a number of reasons why a coach might do that. Some of the statistical rating services probably take the margin of victory into account and winning by 40 instead of 35 helps that rating. Some star players that you recruit may not want to sit much of the 4th quarter of a blowout, I do think Geno wants to develop chemistry between the core rotation, and continuing to play them after the outcome has been decided adds to their experience together, but of course that strategy has the downside of not developing the end of the bench for when they may be needed for a significant role due to injuries.

There are trade offs in many things including how playing time is administered, but if you look at the clock and the score, and the game is clearly over and your stars are still in the game, that is running up the score to me.
You left out (imo) another reason why Geno doesn’t put the bench players in sooner. Geno has long been quoted as saying that playing time is earned in practice. I believe Amari’s lack of playing time (for example) is likely due to her effort in practice. Geno imo, does not want to reward poor practice habits/effort/performance! Now some may argue that is cutting off your nose…. , but I’m not so sure. He is playing the long game and may be reluctant to change that policy for the short term. He seems to have done all right so far and I am willing/happy to give him the benefit of the doubt. His and CD’s attention to the culture they have created here at UConn is one of the things (a very big part, imo) that has allowed this team to become the greatest Women’s Basketball Program in history! Changing core principles for short term success is fraught with danger!
 
I think Geno has to balance some complicated factors.
Not in order of importance
1) Winning games
Unless he’s in cahoots with big time gamblers, the MOV probably doesn’t interest him
2) the physical health & condition of his players
3) the emotional health and morale of the players
Some freshmen can handle pressure and adversity
Some don’t learn how until they are juniors
4) giving everybody the opportunity to get real game experience which they will all need in order to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence to perform at the level expected by a top echelon program.
Paige spoiled us and set the bar at a ridiculous height for all freshmen who follow her.
Geno has shown that he will take the heat and second guessing for his decisions.
He has also shown a determination not to be pressured into taking a short term viewpoint in response to adverse circumstances.
He will NOT push players into situations that he believes would be detrimental to their development.
I guess it’s a pretty good system
 

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