UCONN wins in spite of Geno

[watanabe]

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

Lol.
His job is hanging by a thread...

 

[BroadwayVa]

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...

Over the years--I have noted that Geno or someone on his staff reports to him what is written (then in the Courant) in the Boneyard because you can tell from his comments --he does not like some of the comments. Geno does not have very think skin.
Put yourself in his position win 11 NC upteen Conference titles 17 final 4's and "FANS" second guess, nit pick, make coaching suggestions
your skin would lose it's thickness too. His life goes from adoration to damnation depending on a single WBB game.

 

[CocoHusky]

Over the years--I have noted that Geno or someone on his staff reports to him what is written (then in the Courant) in the Boneyard because you can tell from his comments --he does not like some of the comments. Geno does not have very think skin.
Put yourself in his position win 11 NC upteen Conference titles 17 final 4's and "FANS" second guess, nit pick, make coaching suggestions
your skin would lose it's thickness too. His life goes from adoration to damnation depending on a single WBB game.

If Geno's skin is impacted in anyway by anything that is written here on the BY, he should not be! If anything, Geno is probably like the rest of us, laughing his ass off.
If by chance Geno is reading, I want to know why Natalie Butler wasn't a starter-last year.

 

[LouS]

Wasn't thrilled with the intentional fouling either. Thought it was poor strategy to begin with considering how much time was left. Things like Nurse's inadvertent foul on the shot happen when you make players foul intentionally.

They had fools to GIVE. You use them to take away time and disrupt the opponent, granted the Nurse's inadvertent fool was unfortunate but she should have know were shed was (beyond 3 pt line).

 

[Teacherdeb]

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'm living in South Carolina for the winter, so I'll use a southern expression- bless your heart, Nan, for moderating-and thanks.

 

[HuskyNan]

I'm living in South Carolina for the winter, so I'll use a southern expression- bless your heart, Nan, for moderating-and thanks.

I think "bless your heart" isn't so much a compliment, but I appreciate the sentiment.

 

[meyers7]

They had fools to GIVE. You use them to take away time and disrupt the opponent, granted the Nurse's inadvertent fool was unfortunate but she should have know were shed was (beyond 3 pt line).

Agree, giving those fouls was a brilliant strategy. Execution, not so much. Partly due to communication problems. Those can be easily fixed. I'm sure Geno will talk the team through what he was trying to accomplish there at the end. (They probably realize it already, but in the heat of the moment, things didn't work as they should have.)

More coaches should do this. 1) in close games getting to the bonus so that if you need to foul to try 3 for 2, you are able to 2) with fouls to give disrupting the offense is a good thing, make the team inbound the ball 3) if you're ahead it takes away the 3 ball (or should, Nurse ) only giving the team a chance for 2 FTs and then they foul and it becomes a FT shooting contest while your team is in the lead. Don't give them the chance to tie or take the lead.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

They had fools to GIVE. You use them to take away time and disrupt the opponent, granted the Nurse's inadvertent fool was unfortunate but she should have know were shed was (beyond 3 pt line).

They weren't taking away time. All they were doing was adding up the foul count, fouling Chong out of the game, and eventually putting Nurse in a bad position. To my knowledge Geno hasn't stated whether or not he told Nurse to foul. Either way, it was a 3-pt game with plenty of time left. Just make FSU work and defend the perimeter. The Noles weren't exactly shooting lights out in the game and at worst you get the ball back with time remaining.

 

[CocoHusky]

Agree, giving those fouls was a brilliant strategy. Execution, not so much. Partly due to communication problems. Those can be easily fixed. I'm sure Geno will talk the team through what he was trying to accomplish there at the end. (They probably realize it already, but in the heat of the moment, things didn't work as they should have.)

More coaches should do this. 1) in close games getting to the bonus so that if you need to foul to try 3 for 2, you are able to 2) with fouls to give disrupting the offense is a good thing, make the team inbound the ball 3) if you're ahead it takes away the 3 ball (or should, Nurse ) only giving the team a chance for 2 FTs and then they foul and it becomes a FT shooting contest while your team is in the lead. Don't give them the chance to tie or take the lead.

Exactly what I thought and saw. Good strategy. Breakdowns in communication & execution 1) Can't have Saniya who was having a brilliant second half commit her 5th foul when you have fouls to give. 2) The instruction to Kia to commit a foul should have said to do it before the ball was inbounds as FSU did to Napheesa just a few seconds before. 3) Kia ( Same as Saniya) should not be using her 5th foul that way.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

if you're ahead it takes away the 3 ball (or should, Nurse ) only giving the team a chance for 2 FTs and then they foul and it becomes a FT shooting contest while your team is in the lead. Don't give them the chance to tie or take the lead.

Not with that much time left. And not with a 7-player rotation in heavy foul trouble. Maybe with 5 seconds or so to go. Also, they weren't taking the lead down three.

 

[bizarro aj]

The refs were what made this game close. How about that foul call on Dangerfield in the 4th quarter when she didn't even touch anyone? The early fouls took uconns aggressiveness on defense away in the first half which was the turning point in the game.

 

[VAMike23]

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

thank God he didn't write "Cheech" ... !

 

[Artifact]

When Geno was questioned about this team's lack of experience & height, he remarked, nevertheless, he was going to have a 'lot of fun' coaching this team'. I did not get that impression last evening. It also seemed that the coaches were asleep, on the bench, in regard's to the team foul count. However, congratulations to the players on there first season win !

 

[BroadwayVa]

If Geno's skin is impacted in anyway by anything that is written here on the BY, he should not be! If anything, Geno is probably like the rest of us, laughing his ass off.
If by chance Geno is reading, I want to know why Natalie Butler wasn't a starter-last year.

Typical of you---always picking an argument with me!! I have asked him about Butler . If I knew you were interested I would have informed him it was YOU who wanted to know--then I could have saved my hearing a bit. A direct reply was @#$%%#@@ mind your own business!! It was very COLORFUL Language--(Coco --as you know me and many don't this is obviously ALL tongue in cheek)

 

[BroadwayVa]

The refs were what made this game close. How about that foul call on Dangerfield in the 4th quarter when she didn't even touch anyone? The early fouls took uconns aggressiveness on defense away in the first half which was the turning point in the game.

I agree--with the way it was being called Uconn was lucky to field 3 players for the second half. 20 fouls when was the last time Uconn had that many?? 3 fouls on Gabby in 4 minutes?? Second half was better but --the call on Crystal was immoral.

 

[boontonbomber]

Never have understood why people here are jumped on for wondering about the moves, or lack of moves, by the coaches. Seems to me that that's part of the discussion that goes on in any forum made up of passionate fans of a team. Why not wonder why Gabby was left in the game , only to pick up her 3rd foul with 3+ quarters still to play? I yelled at the tv then, and again yelled to get Samuelson out after she got her 2nd foul in the second quarter. Sorry, gotta wonder why they weren't yanked. Actually , why should I be sorry?

 

[CocoHusky]

Never have understood why people here are jumped on for wondering about the moves, or lack of moves, by the coaches. Seems to me that that's part of the discussion that goes on in any forum made up of passionate fans of a team. Why not wonder why Gabby was left in the game , only to pick up her 3rd foul with 3+ quarters still to play? I yelled at the tv then, and again yelled to get Samuelson out after she got her 2nd foul in the second quarter. Sorry, gotta wonder why they weren't yanked. Actually , why should I be sorry?

I think this forum is the perfect place to "reasonably" wonder about such things. Unreasonable though is the title of this thread which implies that we have an incompetent coach and perfect players.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Agree, giving those fouls was a brilliant strategy. Execution, not so much. Partly due to communication problems. Those can be easily fixed. I'm sure Geno will talk the team through what he was trying to accomplish there at the end. (They probably realize it already, but in the heat of the moment, things didn't work as they should have.)

More coaches should do this. 1) in close games getting to the bonus so that if you need to foul to try 3 for 2, you are able to 2) with fouls to give disrupting the offense is a good thing, make the team inbound the ball 3) if you're ahead it takes away the 3 ball (or should, Nurse ) only giving the team a chance for 2 FTs and then they foul and it becomes a FT shooting contest while your team is in the lead. Don't give them the chance to tie or take the lead.

Most Coaches (and I've heard that Geno is one) usually practice every final second game management scenario. As you say--especially with a team new to playing together--cross communications happen. If Geno had discussed what his intend was--I believe he did--the team should have known what was expected. To put it another way defecation occurs!

 

[BroadwayVa]

I think this forum is the perfect place to "reasonably" wonder about such things. Unreasonable though is the title of this thread which implies that we have an incompetent coach and perfect players.

Perfectly said!!

 

[Baroloboy]

Big Geno fan for almost 2 decades. Best coach in WCBB by a mile but it can't be denied that he had a bad game last night. No need to reprise the questionable decisions he made during the game as set forth in this thread. But the bigger issue was that the team was simply not adequately prepared. 17 turnovers and a turnover margin of -8. Last year average turnover per game was 11 with a turnover margin was +8.9---that's a difference of almost 16.9 in the turnover margin. In addition 21 fouls. I understand that this is the first game of the year but this was a coaching failure. The good news is that it can be and will be addressed.

 

[CocoHusky]

Most Coaches (and I've heard that Geno is one) usually practice every final second game management scenario. As you say--especially with a team new to playing together--cross communications happen. If Geno had discussed what his intend was--I believe he did--the team should have known what was expected. To put it another way defecation occurs!

It sure didn't look like it. With 21 seconds left in the game Napheesa was at the free throw line shooting two. It important that she shooting 2 because there is no more 1 and 1 in WCBB. The strategy (to foul) and communication (exactly who fouls & when) & the decision on what defense after the fouls shots, should have taken place while Napheesa was at the line. A common trick that coaches use to extend the time without using a time out is to sub in between foul shots. This forces the refs to acknowledge the subs and buys the coach more time. Also because FSU did not have any time outs it gives the coach a chance to see the Offense being set up. So if the strategy was to foul this is where you might sneak sub a player like Crystal or Molly to protect Saniya from her 5th foul.
The decision to foul was not made until the ball was almost at half court and Geno picked the double wrong person Saniya. Double wrong because Saniya had 4 fouls (as did Gabby, Kia, KLS) and also wrong because in WCBB there is nothing that says you have to foul the person with the ball. 2) UCONN did not pressure the inbounds pass so FSU could have advanced the ball to half court without the clock moving. Napheesa only had 2 fouls the perfect execution of the strategy would have been for Napheesa to grab the closest person to her in a FSU jersey-just like FSU did to her a few seconds earlier.
One last point, Brown made a heady play by shooting the ball on the Nurse foul. How did she know she was going to get fouled? Because she was standing right there when Geno told Kia to foul.

 

[reno tony]

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.

You got that right. Some of you sound like the fair weather fans on, dare I say it, the Volnation.

 

[reno tony]

BobbyJ---I don't much like agreeing with someone who disagrees with Geno's game management--but i thought the same thing. in my stupid unpracticed coaching opinion i thought Geno's use of Dangerfield was some of his best coaching--and leaving Gabby in to get her 3'd within 4 minutes of the beginning of the game--wasn't. So now all my brownie points for supporting Geno have been used up agreeing with you--what shall i do now"/???? And not one atta-boy in sight.

I thought the same about Gabby until she sat out the rest of the first half. Sitting on that bench must have been terrible for her and will make her think a little about being so aggressive early in the game. Maybe that was his lesson for her.... or not. Anyways.... atta-boy!

 

[Vancat]

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.

omg the men's board is beyond cranky.

 

[meyers7]

Not with that much time left. And not with a 7-player rotation in heavy foul trouble. Maybe with 5 seconds or so to go.

Nope, that's exactly when you would do it. Under the time clock. Strategy was good, it wasn't executed well. Agree, you don't have players (ball handlers) on 4 fouls carrying this out.

Also, they weren't taking the lead down three.

You don't play for the tie away. Don't let them get a chance at a 3.

Again, good strategy, poor execution. First game of the season, first time they've been in a close game in a long time, we'll have to give them a little room for error.