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Message: [QUOTE="Rb335, post: 1995140, member: 2685"] Watching this game made it clear to me why Uconn has reached such sustained success. Geno demands the best from his players and is willing to lose if his players don't perform. He demands every player to go 110% for all 40 minutes or they will be put on the bench. Compound that mentality with good talent, and uconn elevates to another level, a level that just talent can't reach. There were times tonight when I watched Turner and Deshields play that I couldn't help but think that if they were on Uconn, Geno would have pulled them from the game. The difference with Muffet and other top coaches is that they seem to keep their players best players on the court regardless of how they are playing. They coach to win the game with their best talent rather than use the game as a tool to improve. There is no way Geno would ever allow Diamond to play complete disinterested basketball for stretches, nor would he allow an offensive talent to simply stand and not touch the ball for minutes on end. There were stretches where she didn't take more than three steps on an entire offensive possession. Zero movement. Remember when KML would "disappear?" Geno would tell her to find the ball and get involved or she would be on the bench. If Deshields had that motivation and bought in, she could be one of the best offensive talents in the country. She was great for stretches tonight and could really turn around the Vols season if she could put 40 minutes together consistently. Similarly, Geno would never have allowed a talent like Turner to get to this stage of her career without expanding her game. She was solid defensively for stretches, but imo, how can she even be considered for AA when she is reluctant to take a 10 ft jumper. Geno would have pushed her to become more complete, otherwise she would be on the bench. Players at uconn don't earn minutes based on talent, they earn those minutes by proving they want to be playing and that they are listening to the demands Geno is making of them. They are buying in. We see it over and over again, players enter the program with certain skills and graduate as well rounded basketball players. I guess the word I'm looking for is complacency. Other programs seem to allow players to be complacent and get by on their natural talents. Geno would never allow two players with that talent and athleticism perform at the level they are at this late in their careers. Tonight I really understood how lucky we are to watch our team and watch the coaching genius that is Geno. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach

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