UCONN Swagger-the Origin of [merged thread]

[CocoHusky]

"Because here's the thing: There's something different about UConn players. Around them is an aura: it's attitude, skill, personality. It's swagger, overflowing."

Great read full article here:
http://espn.go.com/womens-college-basketball/tournament/2015/story/_/id/12488113/oral-history

 

[DobbsRover2]

Got to be one of Kate's best ever. Lot of things I didn't know, like how the one-on-one defensive drill just goes on and on until the defender succeeds. And the fist fights. But now I know why there's kind of an odd changeover in 1988 when a lot of non-seniors disappeared. They weren't main cogs at all, though one had scored more than 10 ppg in her freshman year before Geno came. Great read.

 

[meyers7]

Great read. Wow.

 

[ballhawk]

Definitely, one of the best articles I've ever read about the Huskies. I love this team. I wish, at least, for the next few weeks that I lived near Storrs.

 

[terif831]

A lot of fun to read! Love it.

 

[Striper69]

Awesome!

 

[JudgeSCR]

Swagger school! Class is in.

Taurasi: "The swagger comes from him. I mean, we get players in there with no swagger, but he makes sure that at the end of the four years, you're leaving that place with the most confidence of anyone. That no one knows the game better than you. No one is mentally stronger than you. No one's ever going to outwork you in life. I think it's four years of swagger school more than anything else."

What more could anyone want for their children? What more could anyone want for themselves? You leave mentally strong! You leave with an ethic to outwork everyone! No one knows the game better than you!

My daughter often teases me that I have a "man crush" on Geno. She may be right but this article sums up my fascination. He is a great teacher of the game of basketball. He is a master teacher of the game of life. Some cannot abide the forging process. But if you can survive you have riches that go beyond the game.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I know swagger sells newspapers, and DT knows how to sell, but I think "swagger" is a little off the mark. Swagger suggests a certain amount of insecurity and the need to have your superiority noticed. That is not UConn. The team rolls out to the court completely contained in the certainty of being ready and you, across the court, are merely players in their game as they seek perfection. You, the opponent, are unacknowledged. Still a great read and the player insights are fantastic. Now, D, yeah, she did the swagger thing and, for her, it was a psychological hammer.

 

[meyers7]

I know swagger sells newspapers, and DT knows how to sell, but I think "swagger" is a little off the mark. Swagger suggests a certain amount of insecurity and the need to have your superiority noticed. That is not UConn. The team rolls out to the court completely contained in the certainty of being ready and you, across the court, are merely players in their game as they seek perfection. You, the opponent, are unacknowledged. Still a great read and the player insights are fantastic. Now, D, yeah, she did the swagger thing and, for her, it was a psychological hammer.

Disagree. Swagger doesn't suggest insecurity. Suggests confidence. Maybe a little arrogance. Which is fine. The other team shouldn't think they can beat UCONN, when UCONN walks on the floor. Games half won then.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Disagree. Swagger doesn't suggest insecurity. Suggests confidence. Maybe a little arrogance. Which is fine. The other team shouldn't think they can beat UCONN, when UCONN walks on the floor. Games half won then.

Read it again. I was trying to suggest that the UConn demeanor was beyond swagger and had the desired effect. Guess I was to subtle

 

[Striper69]

Swagger means you have confidence not that you're insecure about yourself. You think DT wasn't/isn't sure of herself?

 

[CocoHusky]

I know swagger sells newspapers, and DT knows how to sell, but I think "swagger" is a little off the mark. Swagger suggests a certain amount of insecurity and the need to have your superiority noticed. That is not UConn. The team rolls out to the court completely contained in the certainty of being ready and you, across the court, are merely players in their game as they seek perfection. You, the opponent, are unacknowledged. Still a great read and the player insights are fantastic. Now, D, yeah, she did the swagger thing and, for her, it was a psychological hammer.

Rocky,
You need to look up swag in an urban dictionary. It is ultimate of confidence and DT picture is right there next to the definition just in case you are still confused.

 

[geneticrex]

Read it again. I was trying to suggest that the UConn demeanor was beyond swagger and had the desired effect. Guess I was to subtle

This is neither the time nor the place for "subtle". THIS IS A UCONN FORUM!!!!

Now keep writing until you get it right!!!

 

[meyers7]

Read it again. I was trying to suggest that the UConn demeanor was beyond swagger and had the desired effect. Guess I was to subtle

Ok, I see where you were going now. I think this bit though "Swagger suggests a certain amount of insecurity" throws it off some.

As long as were ultimately on the same page.

And I weren't the only one.

 

[DobbsRover2]

I didn't realize that Swagger had become such a t-shirt rage, with"Got Swagger?", "Swagger Crew on Deck," "No one in my city can Swagger like me," "Swagger, Can't Buy It," "Swagger, do you have it?", "Swagger Jagger," "Swagger On," and "Swagger NY."

I'm sure Biff is already using the DT uni-pulling pic and turning "Swagger UConn" into a hot selling item. Still like the puffin Swagger pic though, even if it doesn't quite catch the Husky Swagger aura.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Oh, well, I guess I got it wrong about swagger. See I see swagger as someone like a certain 6'5" SC freshman smirking like crazy when she has been called for her second foul in a game at Gampel. When DT hits the orange stanchion in a certain enshrined beat down I see that as DT saying here I am, unbeatable. What I suspect is true, is real swagger is what I say it is - it is just there and natural. Problem is, in our modern age too many pretend swagger - having a loud mouth or a certain way of strutting your stuff isn't swagger. Any moron with underwear and a belt that's too loose can have swagger for the media. Swagger is doing "it" and moving through the crowd like they aren't there and it's a matter of indifference to you. That is what UConn does - we come out, we tip off, we measure you up, you're gone. We head to the showers and move on. We will know when it's party time. It's coming and it involves confetti and a big trophy.

 

[geneticrex]

I didn't realize that Swagger had become such a t-shirt rage, with"Got Swagger?", "Swagger Crew on Deck," "No one in my city can Swagger like me," "Swagger, Can't Buy It," "Swagger, do you have it?", "Swagger Jagger," "Swagger On," and "Swagger NY."

I'm sure Biff is already using the DT uni-pulling pic and turning "Swagger UConn" into a hot selling item. Still like the puffin Swagger pic though, even if it doesn't quite catch the Husky Swagger aura.

Swagger???

I don't even know er'.

 

[Striper69]

"Swagger" is how DT acts- cause she wants to and can.

"Humility" is how Stewie acts- also cause she want to act that way.

 

[MilfordHusky]

It's funny. I didn't find it a complimentary article and didn't enjoy it. I thought it focused on the negatives, without any compensating balance.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Swagger school! Class is in.

Taurasi: "The swagger comes from him. I mean, we get players in there with no swagger, but he makes sure that at the end of the four years, you're leaving that place with the most confidence of anyone. That no one knows the game better than you. No one is mentally stronger than you. No one's ever going to outwork you in life. I think it's four years of swagger school more than anything else."

What more could anyone want for their children? What more could anyone want for themselves? You leave mentally strong! You leave with an ethic to outwork everyone! No one knows the game better than you!

My daughter often teases me that I have a "man crush" on Geno. She may be right but this article sums up my fascination. He is a great teacher of the game of basketball. He is a master teacher of the game of life. Some cannot abide the forging process. But if you can survive you have riches that go beyond the game.

Your last paragraph is sooooo impressive and soooooo right on!!! Well done!

 

[Buzzyboy]

Disagree. Swagger doesn't suggest insecurity. Suggests confidence. Maybe a little arrogance. Which is fine. The other team shouldn't think they can beat UCONN, when UCONN walks on the floor. Games half won then.

I personally would like to think that swagger or confidence or whatever word you would want to use means that you are so secure in your ability to function in any type situation against anyone and so confident in your ability as well, that fear doesn't exist in your mind. I'd hate for it to be that somehow your body language is responsible or personna is responsible for intimidating the other team into losing their confidence or feeling hopeless in their ability to beat you. I would prefer it to be a positive about the Huskies and their performance and abilities and not the other team losing before they even get on the court because that almost seems to me to be cheating, in the sense that you aren't getting your opponents BEST. I would want to be victorious by taking your opponents best and beating them rather than having those opponents psyched out and as a result giving you less than their ultimate game. I don't feel I would get nearly the satisfaction winning that way but it's apparent that some here are totally content at beating their opposition before the opening tip. JMHO!!

 

[sarals24]

It's funny. I didn't find it a complimentary article and didn't enjoy it. I thought it focused on the negatives, without any compensating balance.

I didn't think it was negative so much as realistic. It takes a certain kind of player to be successful at UConn, and there is a very small number of those players available - and the ones that are able physically to do it might not be mentally strong enough. I thought Engeln's comments were telling. She might have physically been able to do it, and mentally wanted to do it, but she couldn't keep up. Sounds like the coaches were completely realistic with her about her chances at ever playing meaningful minutes.

But I can see where you would see the negatives. I think that once you're in the inner circle, you're in for life. But if you are on the outside, it is probably very cold, i.e. Shea not even acknowledging Morgan Valley as a recruit. (I also thought it was interesting that players have veto power over recruits. I wonder how many other programs operate that way?)

 

[DobbsRover2]

It's funny. I didn't find it a complimentary article and didn't enjoy it. I thought it focused on the negatives, without any compensating balance.

The players were in a lot of cases just being brutally honest that for all of them the years are a mixture of hell and heaven that taxes them to the extreme. I have read dozens of standard "complimentary" articles about UConn that didn't give a tenth the info about the program as Kate's. You can say maybe she focused on the extreme stuff from all the interview material she got, but that's a writer's prerogative, because she was trying to explain an aspect of UConn that doesn't get explored too much.

As fans we would love to think that the players just get developed through some tough drills that challenge them to get to the next level and become champions, but the nitty-gritty behind it is something that many of us prefer not to look at. But for those who buy into the system and become the mentors to the new players, the rewards in self-confidence and swagger are immense. Even for at least some of those like Lauren Engeln who decide they do not want to put themselves through four years of the UConn system, you get the sense that they do feel they got some strength for the future out of it.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Oh, well, I guess I got it wrong about swagger. See I see swagger as someone like a certain 6'5" SC freshman smirking like crazy when she has been called for her second foul in a game at Gampel. When DT hits the orange stanchion in a certain enshrined beat down I see that as DT saying here I am, unbeatable. What I suspect is true, is real swagger is what I say it is - it is just there and natural. Problem is, in our modern age too many pretend swagger - having a loud mouth or a certain way of strutting your stuff isn't swagger. Any moron with underwear and a belt that's too loose can have swagger for the media. Swagger is doing "it" and moving through the crowd like they aren't there and it's a matter of indifference to you. That is what UConn does - we come out, we tip off, we measure you up, you're gone. We head to the showers and move on. We will know when it's party time. It's coming and it involves confetti and a big trophy.

You are right that "swagger" can be defined with many connotations, and the standard dictionary definitions do often use words like "conceited" or "supercilious" that put the word on the bad side, though there are others that refer more to a "defiant strut" that are more complimentary. But recently the word has evolved quickly in at least some sectors to be a favorable term signifying ability and confidence. Words change over time, as "enormity" was once used to mean "great evil," and I have been told that in England the word "homely" is a positive word like "homey."

 

[Striper69]

The players were in a lot of cases just being brutally honest that for all of them the years are a mixture of hell and heaven that taxes them to the extreme. I have read dozens of standard "complimentary" articles about UConn that didn't give a tenth the info about the program as Kate's. You can say maybe she focused on the extreme stuff from all the interview material she got, but that's a writer's prerogative, because she was trying to explain an aspect of UConn that doesn't get explored too much.

As fans we would love to think that the players just get developed through some tough drills that challenge them to get to the next level and become champions, but the nitty-gritty behind it is something that many of us prefer not to look at. But for those who buy into the system and become the mentors to the new players, the rewards in self-confidence and swagger are immense. Even for at least some of those like Lauren Engeln who decide they do not want to put themselves through four years of the UConn system, you get the sense that they do feel they got some strength for the future out of it.

I wonder if any of the other schools run their programs like this or if they even need to? Did Baylor run theirs like that when Griner was there or was it just a case of Baylor simply having the best player in the country at that time?

I'm reading John Wooden's book "They Call Me Coach" right now. He goes in depth into his coaching philosophy and doesn't mention any tactics like these. The player were just required to be in better shape than their opponents.