"We can't shoot"

[dogpause]

Geno's words earlier in the season. Telling a team they can't shoot is really going to come back and haunt you. And it did.
Tell them they're rusty, in a slump, etc. Give them a goal. Give them hope. Words matter, coach.

 

[stormsurge]

You're right

Geno has no idea how to coach or help youngsters grow

Never did

Lucked himself into 11 NCs

This board has deteriorated

 

[HuskyNan]

Geno's words earlier in the season. Telling a team they can't shoot is really going to come back and haunt you. And it did.
Tell them they're rusty, in a slump, etc. Give them a goal. Give them hope. Words matter, coach.

The team isn’t nearly that fragile. He most likely pissed them off than damaged their psyches.

 

[dogpause]

The team isn’t nearly that fragile. He most likely pissed them off than damaged their psyches.

Point taken. However, being pissed-off doesn't make you a better shooter, but confidence does. I just think it's the one area that is somewhat delicate, similar to putting in golf.

 

[GoUconn7961]

OMG. Can we stop with this ABSURD armchair analysis of a coach who has WON 11 National Championships! Enough already.

 

[uconnfan68]

The team isn’t nearly that fragile. He most likely pissed them off than damaged their psyches.

That’s been his MO for decades.

 

[Charliebball]

don't worry.........next year's team will be able to shoot just fine........

 

[Vowelguy]

Geno's words earlier in the season. Telling a team they can't shoot is really going to come back and haunt you. And it did.
Tell them they're rusty, in a slump, etc. Give them a goal. Give them hope. Words matter, coach.

Yeah just like how he told Lobo every day she was the worst post player in America and then she played terribly in the final 4.

 

[Twolf]

Yeah just like how he told Lobo every day she was the worst post player in America and then she played terribly in the final 4.

Agreed, & that’s been Geno’s style forever. If a young coach, or a coach in a losing program tried that, a Mayflower truck would be parked in the driveway in the immediate future. An old coaching axiom- “whatever your style is, if you win consistently, it’s the right style”.

 

[oldhusky]

I think you build confidence by learning what is and what is not a good shot for you. If a coach knows a player is not a good enough shooter to be taking certain shots, he is not doing the player or the team a favor by encouraging them to keep taking those shots. A player who knows what their strengths and weaknesses are, and what the coach expects of them, can play more consistently within their intended role.

 

[PacoSwede]

in related matter, i wonder if anyone is aware of the staff's philosophy RE: adjusting players' shooting mechanics? certainly we've had some past players who clearly needed it but stayed the same.

i assume they wouldn't want adjustments midseason, but do they ever get involved at all? are any of them actually good at coaching shooting -- i wouldn't assume they don't have any great expertise.

or do they leave it to the kids themselves to figure out?

i'm sure shooting instruction is kind of a specialty; can they/should they bring in a guru to help with this in the preseason?

i've been surprised to hear some of our wnba kids comment that they learned how to improve their shooting after leaving storrs.

 

[uconnfan68]

in related matter, i wonder if anyone is aware of the staff's philosophy RE: adjusting players' shooting mechanics? certainly we've had some past players who clearly needed it but stayed the same.

i assume they wouldn't want adjustments midseason, but do they ever get involved at all? are any of them actually good at coaching shooting -- i wouldn't assume they don't have any great expertise.

or do they leave it to the kids themselves to figure out?

i'm sure shooting instruction is kind of a specialty; can they/should they bring in a guru to help with this in the preseason?

i've been surprised to hear some of our wnba kids comment that they learned how to improve their shooting after leaving storrs.

Most of them were great offensive players in HS. But shooting and scoring aren’t the same thing.

 

[donalddoowop]

OMG. Can we stop with this ABSURD armchair analysis of a coach who has WON 11 National Championships! Enough already

Enough of that already. We need to stop bringing this up. It is a thing of the past. The big thing now is that UConn has lost 4 consecutive semi-finals. Sure, many teams would love to get to one semi-final. However, rival coaches can tell recruits that going to UConn won't get you a NC but will get you to the FF. Come to our school and you can win a NC. Today's players, except for those who consider UConn their dream team, don't care about what happened in 2016. Soon, they are going to have to win another NC to keep recruits wanting to come. At least, that is what I believe.

 

[uconnfan68]

Enough of that already. We need to stop bringing this up. It is a thing of the past. The big thing now is that UConn has lost 4 consecutive semi-finals. Sure, many teams would love to get to one semi-final. However, rival coaches can tell recruits that going to UConn won't get you a NC but will get you to the FF. Come to our school and you can win a NC. Today's players, except for those who consider UConn their dream team, don't care about what happened in 2016. Soon, they are going to have to win another NC to keep recruits wanting to come. At least, that is what I believe.

So getting top recruits the past 2 years, and more in 2022, hasn’t convinced you we’ll have another chance?

 

[Childhood]

in related matter, i wonder if anyone is aware of the staff's philosophy RE: adjusting players' shooting mechanics? certainly we've had some past players who clearly needed it but stayed the same.

i assume they wouldn't want adjustments midseason, but do they ever get involved at all? are any of them actually good at coaching shooting -- i wouldn't assume they don't have any great expertise.

or do they leave it to the kids themselves to figure out?

i'm sure shooting instruction is kind of a specialty; can they/should they bring in a guru to help with this in the preseason?

i've been surprised to hear some of our wnba kids comment that they learned how to improve their shooting after leaving storrs.

I'm not sure if there is any shooting coach in college. And they have in NBA/WNBA.

 

[PacoSwede]

I'm not sure if there is any shooting coach in college. And they have in NBA/WNBA.

hmmmm .... that's odd. they have -- or had -- point guard camps and big man camps in the off-season

 

[Dokey]

You're right

Geno has no idea how to coach or help youngsters grow

Never did

Lucked himself into 11 NCs

This board has deteriorated

Geno is a fine coach. Even fine coaches make mistakes. I think he was in such shock in Arizona game in watching team unravel that he froze and failed to make necessary adjustments early in the game. That’s how he looked on the sidelines. Paige often looked defeated on the floor, missed shots she usually makes, CW tried but had little support. Both, however, just needed support on offense from others on floor. Liv was next to useless, Evina looked average, the offense continued to be a mystery to AG (she’s had two years to figure it out), Nika seemed less than 100% and didn’t help the offense. AE showed she was a freshman. Anna sat and sat and sat. Put her in and keep her in after five minutes into first quarter and we might have pulled it out with her passing ability and court iq aiding Paige and CW. And put in early she might have shot more threes. Instead, there was no real adjustment. Look how Tara used her players to beat SC, making quick adjustments. Sorry.

 

[BobbyJ]

in related matter, i wonder if anyone is aware of the staff's philosophy RE: adjusting players' shooting mechanics? certainly we've had some past players who clearly needed it but stayed the same.

i assume they wouldn't want adjustments midseason, but do they ever get involved at all? are any of them actually good at coaching shooting -- i wouldn't assume they don't have any great expertise.

or do they leave it to the kids themselves to figure out?

i'm sure shooting instruction is kind of a specialty; can they/should they bring in a guru to help with this in the preseason?

i've been surprised to hear some of our wnba kids comment that they learned how to improve their shooting after leaving storrs.

It's probably obvious by the lack of improvement in many of the kids that the coaching staffs don't do a lot of individual shooting instruction. Just Google "basketball shooting instructors" and you'll see there are many qualified people out there. Granted, they do it for a living but I have to believe they'd help out a motivated college kid for a nominal fee if the kid was willing to put in the time and work. But the kid has to want it. A lot of them put more time into dribbling between their legs than learning to shoot.

 

[Monte]

A great coach can not win with terrible players, AND a terrible coach can win with great players. The best coaches are the best recruiters.

 

[Littlemin]

More senseless blaming, frankly by people who just cannot accept that WCBB has changed, more good players, more good coaches, more good teams means a poor day, a “not your day”, especially in a FF, means you lose. The entitlement, and the ensuing whining and finger pointing after losing by many in this fan base, is borderline comical and “embarrassing“ to this basketball lifer.
They lost a single game to a better team on that day; with a team younger than any to have this kind of success this side of the Kentucky “one and doners“ on the men’s side; with the intangible “emotional kick starter“ of the team coming back from an injury.
Auriemma‘s mistake, and it is in complete hindsight, was not starting Muhl, who’s importance to this team he frequently acknowledged. Teams and players have personalities, personas, and UConn’s became decidedly different, much fiercer, when she entered the starting lineup; they seemed to lose that when she got hurt. Muhl brought something to this team, this program, that had been missing for a while, an edge, and it is an intangible I thought she might bring and posted about before she even stepped on the floor. A friend of mine had been one of the counselors in the international camp or whatever it was in Florida and told me about what a competitor she was, what a defensive player she was and especially how impressed he was that she seemed to go out of her way to match up against Bueckers.
The team had to be lectured to get their heads together by Makurat when they went down against Baylor and apparently the same “woe is me” malaise hit the team against Arizona. They didn’t start to play with emotion and urgency until Muhl got the ball and started pushing it, primarily in the 4th quarter, but the hole was too big and Arizona too good to change the outcome.
Now, this is all one man’s opinion and 100% speculation, they obviously beat Baylor without her, and I am admittedly an absolute huge fan of hers after seeing her play for myself.
I guess in summary, Uconn lost to a better team on that given day, nothing more, nothing less. They were a very good but very young team, good enough to beat two of the best teams in the country, but fell short of the NC. Their days of unbridled dominance are over IMO and in part have themselves to blame for the tremendous growth of the quality of WCBB. Get used to it.

 

[slepers]

Enough of that already. We need to stop bringing this up. It is a thing of the past. The big thing now is that UConn has lost 4 consecutive semi-finals. Sure, many teams would love to get to one semi-final. However, rival coaches can tell recruits that going to UConn won't get you a NC but will get you to the FF. Come to our school and you can win a NC. Today's players, except for those who consider UConn their dream team, don't care about what happened in 2016. Soon, they are going to have to win another NC to keep recruits wanting to come. At least, that is what I believe.

Which rival coaches ......... the ones that haven’t gone to any final fours. Look at the recruits for the next two years, Apparently his recruiting success have not taken a hit yet by those other coaches

 

[Cecil9]

Geno's words earlier in the season. Telling a team they can't shoot is really going to come back and haunt you. And it did.
Tell them they're rusty, in a slump, etc. Give them a goal. Give them hope. Words matter, coach.

His post-game pressers are a tiny fraction of the dialogue he has in person with the team.

 

[donalddoowop]

So getting top recruits the past 2 years, and more in 2022, hasn’t convinced you we’ll have another chance?

I'm saying this because of the last loss. Before this last loss, UConn got commitments from some top recruits. Let's see what happens from here on out. It may hinder recruiting and it may not. The line UConn used to have of "come to UConn and win NC" is no longer necessarily true. That is one of the big reasons recruits choose UConn. I was not talking about before but now, after this last loss. With other teams now getting top recruits it won't be as easy for UConn to win NC as often as some fans think. However, my main point was that UConn fans need to stop bringing up the 11 NC. That is in the past. This message is also for you, slepers.

 

[eebmg]

I'm saying this because of the last loss. Before this last loss, UConn got commitments from some top recruits. Let's see what happens from here on out. It may hinder recruiting and it may not. The line UConn used to have of "come to UConn and win NC" is no longer necessarily true. That is one of the big reasons recruits choose UConn. I was not talking about before but now, after this last loss. With other teams now getting top recruits it won't be as easy for UConn to win NC as often as some fans think. However, my main point was that UConn fans need to stop bringing up the 11 NC. That is in the past. This message is also for you, slepers.

I think more important than the winning of NC's (I know they like to say it and it is great but I believe it is ultimately a secondary concern and even if it is important, no other program can say they are more likely) as stated explicitly by the recruits themselves is the level of player development and path to the WNBA and International Ball. Having Pheesa and Crystal take back to back ROY surely has helped. Other recent success stories in Europe which hopefully will translate better in the WNBA include KLS and Gabby and even Megan Walker has come on in Europe

Also, I assume Geno uses a particular type of honesty that will always attract a specific type of player who knows this is what they need.

Finally, the chance to play with Paige and Azzi among others should keep us at the top for the near future

 

[donalddoowop]

I think more important than the winning of NC's (I know they like to say it and it is great but I believe it is ultimately a secondary concern and even if it is important, no other program can say they are more likely) as stated explicitly by the recruits themselves is the level of player development and path to the WNBA and International Ball. Having Pheesa and Crystal take back to back ROY surely has helped. Other recent success stories in Europe which hopefully will translate better in the WNBA include KLS and Gabby and even Megan Walker has come on in Europe

Also, I assume Geno uses a particular type of honesty that will always attract a specific type of player who knows this is what they need.

Finally, the chance to play with Paige and Azzi among others should keep us at the top for the near future

I agree.