UCONN wins in spite of Geno

[BroadwayVa]

I do think Geno made a few coaching mistakes at the end. Don't think he realized Ching had 4 fouls, and then the miscommunication to Nurse, who also had 4. Had the game gone to OT, it would've been a challenge to not have the 2 primary ball handlers.

But Geno did coach the team through a shaky first half and then a 7 point deficit, so I guess we can keep him.

Son of a gun---I was just about to start the petition to have him removed for malfeasance of game management on the ground the Boneyard dis agreed with is final moment management. Then you went and kept him! Dang!!

 

[stamfordhusky]

The intentional fouling wasn't properly explained to the players. He was instructing them while the game was in play and there was too much confusion..

Agree 100%.

 

[hoophuskee]

He coached terribly in the last two minutes.

Don't the other 38 minutes count?

Yes he was awful the last 2 minutes.

But what the other 38? Why do you forget about that?

 

[Buzzyboy]

He coached terribly in the last two minutes.

How did Geno manage to keep his job this long! I'd chuck him this minute!

 

[bags27]

Let's appreciate that Geno was caught between a couple of impulses. That he played everyone except Lawlor (understandably) and Kyla (inexplicably) suggests that he is trying out a number of different combinations over the long haul and that he wants to give everyone some experience. A loss, as someone suggested above (or maybe the other thread) isn't the worst thing to relieve pressure. So, generally, he wanted the game to go its own way, without his overcoaching. But at the end, he needs to make quick decisions, and that suddenly pulls him into a different mentality.

And....he wasn't helped by his coaches who gave him the wrong information about the number of fouls to give (first time in years he's asked that question so naturally no one was prepared). And it was incredibly bad luck that Kia's foul suddenly turned into a shooting foul. And it wasn't his fault that Natalie couldn't effectively boxout on that last foul shot.

 

[hoophuskee]

All we can do is play the cards we're dealt. He may start Butler Thursday. He can't afford to fall behind at the start of the game, and play catch up the rest of the night.
You can't put Lou on her, two quick fouls in the 1st quarter, and she sits the rest of the half. Then you go to plan B.whatever that is. He'll figure out something, he always does. Geno earned his money tonight.

Probably a zone defense, right? Maybe pressure them up the court (not hard pressure) to eat a little time off the clock. Pressure doesn't always have to be to speed the game up or force turnovers. Though it would probably be nice to speed the game up but I don't know this early if they are capable to do that.

 

[AussieHusky]

I do think Geno made a few coaching mistakes at the end. Don't think he realized Chong had 4 fouls, and then the miscommunication to Nurse, who also had 4. Had the game gone to OT, it would've been a challenge to not have the 2 primary ball handlers.

But Geno did coach the team through a shaky first half and then a 7 point deficit, so I guess we can keep him.

The name is Chong!

Let's appreciate that Geno was caught between a couple of impulses. That he played everyone except Lawlor (understandably) and Kyla (inexplicably) suggests that he is trying out a number of different combinations over the long haul and that he wants to give everyone some experience. A loss, as someone suggested above (or maybe the other thread) isn't the worst thing to relieve pressure. So, generally, he wanted the game to go its own way, without his overcoaching. But at the end, he needs to make quick decisions, and that suddenly pulls him into a different mentality.

And....he wasn't helped by his coaches who gave him the wrong information about the number of fouls to give (first time in years he's asked that question so naturally no one was prepared). And it was incredibly bad luck that Kia's foul suddenly turned into a shooting foul. And it wasn't his fault that Natalie couldn't effectively boxout on that last foul shot.

While I agree with you for the most part, I would be remissed if I don't ask you how you knew?

 

[AussieHusky]

@vowelguy, sorry about that, I should know that as your name indicates, you would catch your misprint of Saniya's name.
Cheers!

 

[Fiftyish]

It's going to be a long season....

Yeah, but it's going to be fun. I've always enjoyed roller coasters and this season is going to be a stomach churning thrill ride.

 

[uconnever]

Naw---it's going to be a great season. look at the development that happened tonight with Collier, Dangerfield, Chong, Samuelson---they all learned a lot. And the ylearned they can come from behind if they work as a team and take better unrushed shots.
I enjoyed this game. This is ONE GAME with 8 or 10 kids that never played as a team --it take time to develop chemistry and to mentally know what each team member is going to do. Not a great game but fun to watch.

Agree. I think we need Nurse to score more and we can compete with most or all of the top teams. I expected Chong and Lou to score but if we get Pheesa,Gabby and Nurse scoring....then we will be better than I thought. As a side note.....I forgot South Carolina had those two transfers. If they gel well....then the title should be theirs. I think convincingly.

 

[Oldbones]

It's going to be a long season....

The longer the better...........................

 

[mdakota]

Geno has stated often in the past that nothing is ever good enough and people expect a lot from them. He must read the boneyard. lol... We won, it wasn't perfect, but it's a win and i'll take it. Stop complaining about how he coaches... unless anyone here has won 12 national championships?? no?? lol...

 

[Vowelguy]

@vowelguy, sorry about that, I should know that as your name indicates, you would catch your misprint of Saniya's name.
Cheers!

I have no idea what you're talking about. Unless autocorrect changed my spelling and a mod corrected it.

 

[Zorro]

These seasons are fun to watch, and GREAT to see in person, but it's tough to be a mod. There are lots of cranky-pants on the board when UConn doesn't win by 40.

THAT, your Huskiness, is why we pay you the big bucks!

 

[jennyo70]

I wonder if Nurse is sick. She certainly did not play well, by her own standards. During one of the time outs, I saw her coughing multiple times into her shoulder. I'm guessing her less than stellar play was a product of a cold/brief illness.

 

[donalddoowop]

I believe the point of this post was the mis-communication with Nurse on the foul. It appeared that Geno thought the team had another foul to give, and they did not. This is usually the responsibility of one of the assistant coaches; I expect that one of them will be running laps or fetching tea for Geno, tomorrow.

I will note that Geno was very calm for most of the game, while the officials were tanking the game. I almost looked like that Stanford game not too long ago, where he looked like he was OK losing the game to end the streak and take the pressure off. ALMOST...he didn't look that way after the SNAFU with Nurse and the foul.

I saw the Marissa telling Geno how many fouls they had.

 

[Huskies990411]

Don't the other 38 minutes count?

Yes he was awful the last 2 minutes.

But what the other 38? Why do you forget about that?

To be fair, the other 38 weren't perfect either (as a previous poster already mentioned), leaving Gabby in with 2 fouls in the first quarter to pick up her third. Love it when coaches show trust in their more experienced players, but this was her first game in this big of a role and a tough time to so intentionally show that trust. Easy for me to say I wouldn't have done the same; I watched from my living room couch, not the sideline.

Still, I do hear you and, bottom line, I agree with your point 100% that Geno coached a good game otherwise. I found myself impressed throughout with his reactions to and flexibility moving on from careless turnovers and early season "out of sync" moments. Of course, the normal expressions of frustration when truly warranted, but that kind of patience from a four time defending national championship coach is noticeable. This team needs that from him. They all understand there are big adjustments being made and some really impressive moments in the second half of their first game attempting to make them.

 

[AussieHusky]

I have no idea what you're talking about. Unless autocorrect changed my spelling and a mod corrected it.

That was probably it because you had written Ching instead of Chong. Lol

 

[BigBird]

These seasons are fun to watch, and GREAT to see in person, but it's tough to be a mod. There are lots of cranky-pants on the board when UConn doesn't win by 40.

I'll thank you to leave my pants out of this. Rants? Not so much. ;-)

Sorry. Just feeling quippy after a near-disaster was averted.

 

[HardHatGuy#2]

There were some iffy calls, but mostly the officiating was better than average, which is a plus for WCBB.

BOY, do I have to disagree with that. Officiating was terrible. The calls ranged from mass fouling with no call to silly touch fouls. Several times the whistle sounded WELL after the play, as if the officials either didn't know who was supposed to make a call OR had to make a call because there was just too much contact to ignore. The was no flow to the game largely because of the whistles (40 fouls called!). Late in the game the whistles were mostly silent (apart from "intentional" fouls), which didn't match the rest of the game. The refs protected Thomas 2-3 times down the stretch when she should have fouled out.

No, this was not a good performance on their part. Yes, it may have been the first game of the season for them, but they are professionals; they don't get to play that card.

 

[HardHatGuy#2]

And it wasn't his fault that Natalie couldn't effectively boxout on that last foul shot.

My take on that was that she did a good job boxing out, but got mauled by the FSU player. All I could say when looking at that play was that it was PAINFULLY clear who hit the ball last based on the motion of the player's arms, and that Natalie was lucky to get out of that play with her uniform intact.

Unquestionably two blown calls in one by the officials; either it was a foul by FSU, or OOB to UConn. All at a time where one official's assignment is to first watch the entry into the lane for violations, and second to watch for contact on the block, and they were in perfect position to do so,

Maybe they sneezed at an inopportune moment.

 

[caramel]

Didn't someone predict Connecticut would start 0 and 4?Guess that ends that prediction pretty quick!

 

[huskeynut]

I stayed off the BY on purpose during the game knowing we might have some "excited" posters. Then it was on to the Giants plus switching to Stanford beating up on Texas.

So, from a fan standpoint - a great game! For WCBB - a great game!!!

Young and somewhat inexperienced UConn showed what they are made of. They don't quit, they will scratch and claw the entire game. They played with passion! There were times last night were we caught glimpses of what this team is capable of. Napheesa was a beast and I'm not surprised. Lou was up and down but came through in the second half. Gabby has a 50/ 50 night. Kia was defintely subpar. Crystal showed a little moxie. Molly did a nice job. Sinaya played and showed her game, especially in the second half. And Natalie played well and we need her to build on last night.

Young team learning to play together in a hostile environment and coming away with a win is great. You know they are not satisfied with their perfomance. Things will improve. This will be an exciting season!!

And kudos to FSU. They are a very good team that will win their big share of games.

Now let's bring on Baylor. They will find out what a hostile environment Gampel really is.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Agree. I think we need Nurse to score more and we can compete with most or all of the top teams. I expected Chong and Lou to score but if we get Pheesa,Gabby and Nurse scoring....then we will be better than I thought. As a side note.....I forgot South Carolina had those two transfers. If they gel well....then the title should be theirs. I think convincingly.

Nurse is always tough---but she has good days and better days. I've been writing about how good Collier was in the USA's games--you saw against UFS how good she can be--thats how she attacked the basket for USA. I hope we have just seen the beginning of a great career. Chong really impressed me. When she had to she took charge--as a Senior that is what she has to do.
Gabby tried too hard--she'll settled down and not try to do too much same with katie Lou.
All in all except for part of the first half--UConn Women did us proud.

 

[BroadwayVa]

The name is Chong!


While I agree with you for the most part, I would be remissed if I don't ask you how you knew?

Watching the last 1 minute--Geno kept checking with Marissa--at one point he checked with her --walked towards the team then checked immediately again with Marissa--that is when a bit of the game management unraveled. Since all worked out in the end--I see no reason to make anything from it. If we expect perfection during times of stress--we need to move to heaven--I'm told everything is perfect there. I though the total coaching staff was involved with this game--in the first Half CD and Marissa got into the time outs--marissa had geno change the focus of one play from klS to Gabby--i was impressed Geno did what marissa told him to do.
If we believed in Geno for 11 Championships 17 Final 4's --it's foolish not to believe in him NOW.