Too bad Coach of the Year is named before the seaon is over

[CTrefugee]

The precision and execution shown over the last month is not an accident.
You rarely see offense and defense this good.

We all know that the GOAT was also the GO This Year.

 

[hoopsfan22]

It helps to have Paige, Azzi, and Sarah like it did when he had Stewie, Tuck, and Mo. A team that starts three essentially pro basketball players that were the #1 recruits in their respective classes should be pretty dominant. I am with you on the broader point though about voting for these awards before the season is over.

 

[oldude]

Considering that Geno completely outcoached Cory Close, this years COY, as well as completely outcoaching Dawn Staley, last years COY, twice, I have to agree with CTrefugee on his OP.

 

[Jonathan14]

Out of curiosity, I just did some Googling and saw that Cori Close won the 2025 AP, Naismith, and WBCA Coach of the Year Awards. She also won the Geno Auriemma Award (known before this season as the U.S. Basketball Writers Association National Coach of the Year Award).

I like Cori. She wouldn't have been my first choice for COY this season, but I don't have a big problem with her being recognized for her successes. It is kind of funny, though, for her to win the Geno award only to lose to him so handily in the Final Four. (Maybe they should have waited until his retirement to name the award after him?)

I also learned that Larry Vickers of Norfolk State (and now of Auburn) was the Kay Yow National Coach of the Year and Niele Ivey was The Athletic's Coach of the Year, a distinction that was awarded on March 4. I like the Vickers pick for its creativity in recognizing a talented coach who had terrific success this season with a program not made up of McDonald's All-Americans and 5-star recruits. As for Niele, I think she is a good coach in general, but this was not the season to recognize her above all other DI coaches. That selection aged like milk. Definitely an argument for making these picks later in the season.

 

[Maleficent9]

It helps to have Paige, Azzi, and Sarah like it did when he had Stewie, Tuck, and Mo. A team that starts three essentially pro basketball players that were the #1 recruits in their respective classes should be pretty dominant. I am with you on the broader point though about voting for these awards before the season is over.

I mean, Close had the top 3 recruits in the 2022 class in Betts, Rice, and Barker. Add two more 5-stars from the same class in Gardiner and Jaquez. The talent gap isn't that large.

 

[Cuango]

The knock on Close has always been that while she recruits with the best of them, she always underachieves and cannot close the deal. Close, but no cigar. Not sure why they can’t wait a week or two so the voters have the whole picture? Oh well, I’m reasonably sure Geno isn’t losing any sleep over it. He has plenty of them though imo, he probably should have several more than he has. His coaching over these past five years has been among his best ever!

 

[Jackalope]

you can't spell GOAT without Geno Aureimma...

 

[Golden Husky]

Recruiting is part of a coach's job. Geno has been successful because he's had good players and good players have come to UConn because Geno has been successful at maximizing their potential both on and off the court. To diminish Geno's coaching accomplishments because he's been able to recruit elite players is absurd.

 

[BBallF]

Considering that Geno completely outcoached Cory Close, this years COY, as well as completely outcoaching Dawn Staley, last years COY, twice, I have to agree with CTrefugee on his OP.

Ya think? The transformation of this team this year was mesmerizing and the performances in the FF were epic in my mind. It reminded several of my friends who only started watching women's basketball lately of the late 1960s and early 1970s Knicks, It was that kind pf play. He should have been COY last year getting to the FF with 6 players. This year was a no brainer but the award is a regular season award and actually flawed on that basis alone. You coach a team to a number 1 rating before the Big Dance and you lose hypothetically in the first or second round you ain't COY in my mind.

 

[Boreifs]

The Coach of the Year has had six players enter the Portal. What’s wrong with that picture?

 

[oldude]

The Coach of the Year has had six players enter the Portal. What’s wrong with that picture?

After suffering the biggest loss in the history of the FF…..