Im looking at UConn next season with the 2 transfers and adding Walker. Its a no brainier for a NC, if thats what Walker wants. I think she does and I have no inside information. Its just a hunch. To become successful you must pay a huge price, you must pay it in advance and there are no guarantees. Playing for Geno, well these comments are true. When Stevens transfered from Duke it was said she was coming to UConn to win a NC. I think most people involved in Womens BB know that. There is only one number 1 and thats Geno and UConn. Geno is the very best in developing young women into great people and great BB players. The development is not about who you are...but about what you become through your 4 year journey at UConn. At UConn its all about winning NCs and the development process is tuff, and its worth it. It isnt easy going through hell and back every single day at practice but the end result of what you become both on and off the court makes it all worth it for the rest of your life. Winning is a habit unfortunately so is losing. At UConn losing isnt an option because of the work put in, in advance, it very seldom happens.
As good as some other teams are this season they will not be as well prepared to do battle with UConn. The reason is because they will not do what Geno demands from his players and staff. Its called dedication. It took Geno and Chris almost 20 years to get to where their teams are today. Theyve weeded out the nonsense and the negative attitudes and built something that others will not be able to catch up to. Just when some fans were concerned and doubting Geno and why he wasnt getting certain players was because they did not know what was hanging in the thoughts of transfers... here we are with Butler Stevens and Batouley (spelling). Not bad pick ups huh. Yeah UConn is still the team to beat, still the number 1 draw in WCBB and they will remain there.
An excellent post Tonyc. I share and concur with your observations 100%. You bring up some salient and insightful points. Sometimes, not having any inside information is not a bad thing.
When you've been looking at anything for a while, you learn to trust your instincts. You learn how to judge and process information gathered from the old "eye test". You learn to trust those "gut feelings (a hunch)". That old adage remains true today: "if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, IT'S A DUCK"!! There are reasons why no other program has been able to sustain the level of success that UConn has. Years and years of experience, and learning from mistakes in errors of judgement (an of earning from the mistakes of others). It's like being a gourmet cook. They know when a dish they're preparing is perfect.
I think you very adequately nailed it when you stated "
The development is not about who you are...but about what you become through your 4 year journey at UConn. At UConn its all about winning NCs and the development process is tuff, and its worth it. It isn't easy going through hell and back every single day at practice but the end result of what you become both on and off the court makes it all worth it for the rest of your life. Winning is a habit unfortunately so is losing. At UConn losing isn't an option because of the work put in, in advance, it very seldom happens".
Syracuse women's head coach
Quinton Hillsman said it best in a post game comment after the his team's loss to UConn for the nation championship this past April, He said
"UConn has forgotten how to lose". To become the best at anything, you
must be willing to pay the price, whatever it is. Many players talk the talk, but are not willing to walk the walk. That walk often times consists of a long and arduous journey. A journey that pushes you, and forces you to go far beyond places and limits you thought you could ever go. The rub for any coach is to have or acquire the ability to recognize not only potential in a player, but also to also know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that a player can fit seamlessly into your program and flourish. Geno has done that.
He has become a master at evaluating surface talent, latent talent, and the external forces (coaches, parents, friends, national ratings or rankings, etc) surrounding a player which have played a major role in their development. This is why Geno a staff will sometimes target a player that is not on the radar of other programs, or pass on one that is projected to be a "can't miss" by national rating/ranking services. It's not a secret what Geno does, or how he does it, yet no one has been able to match the prolonged greatness/success of his program. If it was easy, anyone could/would be doing it. Obviously it isn't.
Tip in - 4 of the 5 players that started today's game of the USA women are UConn alumni (Bird, Taurasi, Charles & Moore). All except Charles (WNBA) has won championships /gold medals at every level: College, WNBA, Olympics. UConn continuously turns out some of the best players in the country. This is not by accident or coincidence, It's by design.
A trend that will no doubt continue as long as Geno is at UConn. Go Huskies.
