To "knowlegeable" fans who want a part time Kelly.

[kfgreatbutnoj]

To the "knowledgable" fans who desire a part time Kelly Faris, rather than a fulltime one, I sentence you to two games with Kelly Faris as the OPPONENT. That oughta do nicely. Because I don't think a fan who wants a less than full time Kelly knows what they're talking about, so the knowledgable part is a joke. I truly believe that if an opposing coach was asked to take one player off of UConn, and put her on their team, DESPITE her shooting neurosis, I believe that person would very often be Kelly Faris.
I am also very frustrated by Kelly's non-offense; it seems like she got three players worth of defensive awareness, three players worth of body control, and instant defensive smarts, fantastic rebounding ability, but no players worth of offensive confidence, other than overall outstanding passing, which IS an important part of offense. I bet Stef and Kiah appreciate her in this way. WITHOUT self offense, she is outstanding. If she had it? 1st team All-America. She has everything BUT a shot, which she is shied completely away from. She makes early Ann Strother look like a "gun"! But for just this, the hounds want her to sit.
I believe Kelly is thinking about her shot, each time. I believe she sets up correctly(she is a very good foul shooter, remember), gets ready for a flawless shot, and then, at the very last split second, she says to herself, "It's getting bad now!/what if i miss again!" Instead, she might say to herself, in the last split second after setting up, "NAIL IT!!!" And I thought of something very weird- Perhaps she IS shooting perfectly each time, but the perfect shot in her perception is slightly farther than it actually is. Maybe if she intentionally shoots a little short, it will sink every time! I did that years ago, pitching- I was throwing outside all the time. Then I started aiming AT the batter! It went right in there!
While I'm at it, I am NOT in the energetic and possibly organized "dump Geno" faction. He is a great coach and a great and honest man. I'd be lost as a UConn fan, without him.

 

[rington]

I like your phrase "thinking about the shot." There are also a few others on this team who hesitate before they take an open shot. If you miss a shot, and are open 10 seconds later, take another one. I find this as one of the biggest faults of this team.
What it really shows , is lack of confidence. Can a team win without confidence??

 

[HuskyNan]

I like your phrase "thinking about the shot." There are also a few others on this team who hesitate before they take an open shot. If you miss a shot, and are open 10 seconds later, take another one. I find this as one of the biggest faults of this team.
What it really shows , is lack of confidence. Can a team win without confidence??

Lack of confidence or lack of maturity?

 

[Icebear]

Both/and...

 

[kfgreatbutnoj]

(I'm at the game, listening to the UConn fight song, and I hear about the "white and blue". I look out on the court, in this team had neither of these colors! Why don't I like this? Perhaps they could change the lyric to "Cheer for the sickening combination of grey and red")
Caroline Doty was extreme against shooting the other night, and it almost seems like a non-shooting sickness is going around. Kalena does not have it. Bria Hartley needs to come back to where she was at the middle of the year. The points that we needed were there, from her. Right when they started talking about her and Slylar Diggins, and Odyssey Sims, that's when her game fell off. She is one of those who now second guesses her shots, when before they just stroked in. It seems like she shoots when she drives, and they are twice her size, covering her tight though. I love her sliding completely by, not stopping to be rejected. Tiff is wonderful, but she sometimes goes on a road to nowhere, on a desperate drive against hundreds or even thousands of opposing players, if there that many on the court, at the opposite extreme. But SHE gets fouled a lot, on these excursions, which is very good. Tiff is very important.
But i bet other teams are not perfect, either.

 

[Wonkster]

Lack of confidence or lack of maturity?

Let's change targets, for the benefit of the OP. How about sitting Doty, instead?

You can't claim lack of maturity in Doty's failure to put up points, even for her limited floor time. Geno just can't have Faris and Doty on the floor together, or it's 3 on 5.

Geno must know that now, after Sunday. He needs to stop doting on Doty.
.

 

[easttexastrash]

Is it possible that this group does not respond as well to the "you are the worst player I've ever seen" motivational tactics that Geno uses? Is it possible that a more nurturing Geno is needed with this group to give them confidence? Is Geno capable of providing that?

 

[rington]

Lack of confidence or lack of maturity?

Good question, but CD also passed up a couple of open shots in the ND game.

 

[HuskyNan]

Is it possible that this group does not respond as well to the "you are the worst player I've ever seen" motivational tactics that Geno uses? Is it possible that a more nurturing Geno is needed with this group to give them confidence? Is Geno capable of providing that?

Obviously you have some kind of "in" that you know what Geno is saying to the team. Could you please tell us when he said someone on the team is the worst playerhe's ever seen?

 

[winlots]

To the "knowledgable" fans who desire a part time Kelly Faris, rather than a fulltime one, I sentence you to two games with Kelly Faris as the OPPONENT. That oughta do nicely. Because I don't think a fan who wants a less than full time Kelly knows what they're talking about, so the knowledgable part is a joke. I truly believe that if an opposing coach was asked to take one player off of UConn, and put her on their team, DESPITE her shooting neurosis, I believe that person would very often be Kelly Faris.
I am also very frustrated by Kelly's non-offense; it seems like she got three players worth of defensive awareness, three players worth of body control, and instant defensive smarts, fantastic rebounding ability, but no players worth of offensive confidence, other than overall outstanding passing, which IS an important part of offense. I bet Stef and Kiah appreciate her in this way. WITHOUT self offense, she is outstanding. If she had it? 1st team All-America. She has everything BUT a shot, which she is shied completely away from. She makes early Ann Strother look like a "gun"! But for just this, the hounds want her to sit.
I believe Kelly is thinking about her shot, each time. I believe she sets up correctly(she is a very good foul shooter, remember), gets ready for a flawless shot, and then, at the very last split second, she says to herself, "It's getting bad now!/what if i miss again!" Instead, she might say to herself, in the last split second after setting up, "NAIL IT!!!" And I thought of something very weird- Perhaps she IS shooting perfectly each time, but the perfect shot in her perception is slightly farther than it actually is. Maybe if she intentionally shoots a little short, it will sink every time! I did that years ago, pitching- I was throwing outside all the time. Then I started aiming AT the batter! It went right in there!
While I'm at it, I am NOT in the energetic and possibly organized "dump Geno" faction. He is a great coach and a great and honest man. I'd be lost as a UConn fan, without him.

KFtheGREAT: Great post ( at least the Faris part ). When listing all her wonderful traits, I'm not sure you mentioned "toughness." You probably took that one as a given. But since that is the trait that surely seems to be at the top of Coach's wish list right now, I thought I'd underscore it.

Interestingly, while watching the ND game, I was thinking that Faris and Doty ( with all her blasted injury baggage) were two of the kids who really give there all out there all the time and are probably the toughest on the team.......though I kind of think Banks would bring the same for us.

 

[DESERTDOG]

Obviously you have some kind of "in" that you know what Geno is saying to the team. Could you please tell us when he said someone on the team is the worst playerhe's ever seen?

 

[cohenzone]

I don't favor sitting KF as a general matter, because she is usually a net plus even if she isn't scoring. In the limited context of how the ND game was going, particularly in terms of defensive rebounding, KF did not seem to be having a very good game and ND's offensive rebounding was killing us. That's why I thought using Kiah and SD together for longer stretches with Kiah being given a rather narrow role to play as her main focus, namely weak side block outs, might have been helpful. Even HB could have handled that role, with the added factor in Kiah's case that she is definitely a more capable scorer than KF. Of course, that is a move that would have made sense only after it was clear that ND was using us on the O boards. But arguing for KF to be a part timer in most situations I think is not warranted.

 

[DESERTDOG]

Hey Wonkster - Kudos to you! I've been saying this all year! Please read my thread "The Bottom Line".

 

[winlots]

I like your phrase "thinking about the shot." There are also a few others on this team who hesitate before they take an open shot. If you miss a shot, and are open 10 seconds later, take another one. I find this as one of the biggest faults of this team.
What it really shows , is lack of confidence. Can a team win without confidence??

RING - goes without saying that lack of confidence presents a mountain of monumental dimensions when attempting to climb to the pinnacle of success in basketball, and probably in countless other endeavors as well. Are you maybe getting at the underlying issue of WHY some members of this squad seem to be coming up short there?

 

[winlots]

Lack of confidence or lack of maturity?

NAN - if you mean re Faris, I'll go with "confidence" given that particular choice......though I think there might be other relevant dimensions involved. If you are casting a wider net and talking about the squad as a whole, that becomes alot more complicated, I think.

 

[winlots]

Let's change targets, for the benefit of the OP. How about sitting Doty, instead?

You can't claim lack of maturity in Doty's failure to put up points, even for her limited floor time. Geno just can't have Faris and Doty on the floor together, or it's 3 on 5.

Geno must know that now, after Sunday. He needs to stop doting on Doty.
.

WONK - agree with your first part that lack of maturity is not an issue for Doty any more than it is for Faris.

I do not think Coach is "doting" on Doty.....though I appreciate your clever turn of phrase there. Still think we'll see her pop in a bunch of shots again this year, by the way. Hope so, as we all do.

 

[HuskyBandDad]

Is it possible that this group does not respond as well to the "you are the worst player I've ever seen" motivational tactics that Geno uses? Is it possible that a more nurturing Geno is needed with this group to give them confidence? Is Geno capable of providing that?

You are kidding right ?? I hope you are.

 

[JoePgh]

In the limited context of how the ND game was going, particularly in terms of defensive rebounding, KF did not seem to be having a very good game and ND's offensive rebounding was killing us. That's why I thought using Kiah and SD together for longer stretches ...might have been helpful

If Kiah played to her capability, that would be true. But in her limited minutes against ND, she was totally ineffective in contesting the boards with Notre Dame's players, particularly Peters and Novosel. She has to have the determination to use her physical skills before she can make a contribution to the game that warrants more significant minutes.

 

[winlots]

Is it possible that this group does not respond as well to the "you are the worst player I've ever seen" motivational tactics that Geno uses? Is it possible that a more nurturing Geno is needed with this group to give them confidence? Is Geno capable of providing that?

EAST-- we all have different views on that, I'm more than sure! But even the headlines in tonight's JI column on "Our Girls" suggests that Coach continues to go to the whip. Not sure that is the wisest course for the squad as a whole..... although some members of the squad might well need that.

 

[Bestiarius]

No doubt there is a mind element in shooting. Just ask the pro golfers about their shrink bills.

As an experiment, I'd like to see Geno tell KF that she MUST take at least 20 shots in a game. The taking would be stressed, not the making. With her mind off making the shots, and on taking them, I think that her shooting percentage will rise dramatically. She plays defense instinctivly and needs to play offense that way too. Tournaments probably aren't the place to try this experiment however. Perhaps early next year.

 

[HuskyNan]

Let's change targets, for the benefit of the OP. How about sitting Doty, instead?

You can't claim lack of maturity in Doty's failure to put up points, even for her limited floor time. Geno just can't have Faris and Doty on the floor together, or it's 3 on 5
Geno must know that now, after Sunday. He needs to stop doting on Doty.
.

Total career minutes played by Caroline, Tiff and Bria:

Caroline
2011-12.....588
2010-11........0
2009-10....986
2008-09....406
Total........1980 (47.9% of the minutes Tiff has played, 90.6% of the minutes Bria (a sophomore) has played)

Tiffany
2011-12......901
2010-11....1203
2009-10...1028
2008-09...1002
Total.........4134

Bria
2011-12.....976
2010-11...1209
Total........2185

 

[wbfree]

To the "knowledgable" fans who desire a part time Kelly Faris, rather than a fulltime one, I sentence you to two games with Kelly Faris as the OPPONENT. That oughta do nicely. Because I don't think a fan who wants a less than full time Kelly knows what they're talking about, so the knowledgable part is a joke. I truly believe that if an opposing coach was asked to take one player off of UConn, and put her on their team, DESPITE her shooting neurosis, I believe that person would very often be Kelly Faris.
I am also very frustrated by Kelly's non-offense; it seems like she got three players worth of defensive awareness, three players worth of body control, and instant defensive smarts, fantastic rebounding ability, but no players worth of offensive confidence, other than overall outstanding passing, which IS an important part of offense. I bet Stef and Kiah appreciate her in this way. WITHOUT self offense, she is outstanding. If she had it? 1st team All-America. She has everything BUT a shot, which she is shied completely away from. She makes early Ann Strother look like a "gun"! But for just this, the hounds want her to sit.
I believe Kelly is thinking about her shot, each time. I believe she sets up correctly(she is a very good foul shooter, remember), gets ready for a flawless shot, and then, at the very last split second, she says to herself, "It's getting bad now!/what if i miss again!" Instead, she might say to herself, in the last split second after setting up, "NAIL IT!!!" And I thought of something very weird- Perhaps she IS shooting perfectly each time, but the perfect shot in her perception is slightly farther than it actually is. Maybe if she intentionally shoots a little short, it will sink every time! I did that years ago, pitching- I was throwing outside all the time. Then I started aiming AT the batter! It went right in there!
While I'm at it, I am NOT in the energetic and possibly organized "dump Geno" faction. He is a great coach and a great and honest man. I'd be lost as a UConn fan, without him.

 

[rington]

RING - goes without saying that lack of confidence presents a mountain of monumental dimensions when attempting to climb to the pinnacle of success in basketball, and probably in countless other endeavors as well. Are you maybe getting at the underlying issue of WHY some members of this squad seem to be coming up short there?

Yes, when you fail, you start to doubt yourself. Then hesitation takes over. For a Freshman, I like the way that KML will miss a shot and come right back with another attempt. Reminds me of Larry Bird.

 

[Wonkster]

Total career minutes played by Caroline, Tiff and Bria:

Caroline
2011-12.....588
2010-11........0
2009-10....986
2008-09....406
Total........1980 (47.9% of the minutes Tiff has played, 90.6% of the minutes Bria (a sophomore) has played)

Tiffany
2011-12......901
2010-11....1203
2009-10...1028
2008-09...1002
Total.........4134

Bria
2011-12.....976
2010-11...1209
Total........2185

C'mon, Nan - this numbers table doesn't wash for a kid who puts out a trick shot video on the Internet. Doty is erratic as hell. She's had a couple of good games each year (Oklahoma as a freshman and Duke this season), but it just doesn't merit risking games like the one on Monday against Notre Dame - 22 minutes, zero points. That was a killer.
.

 

[Jonathan Husky]

Is it possible that this group does not respond as well to the "you are the worst player I've ever seen" motivational tactics that Geno uses? Is it possible that a more nurturing Geno is needed with this group to give them confidence? Is Geno capable of providing that?

It has worked well for 7 NCAA Championships and the best won lost record in WCBB over the past 15 years. That obviously is not the only thing he tells players and they all know that he really doesn't mean it. Ask all his All Americans, Wade Trophy and Players of the year