Your point about scoring and hot and cold stretches within a game are clearly accurate. Geno has always fielded teams whose offense runs like a Swiss watch. Invariably, when you hear people speaking about UConn, they praise the beautiful offense. However, there is another aspect of the game that Geno values even more and that he is equally adept at teaching. That being of course defense! Though often overlooked in favor of the “beautiful” offense, it is UConn’s defense hat allows us to (for the most part) survive the Syla Swords type, unconscious go offs. On the rare occasion where we come across a player in the “zone” like Swords and we are struggling to score ourselves, our defense keeps us in the game until someone, Azzi in this case, finds her stroke and (hopefully) wins the game.
This “two-headed monster” is really the reason that UConn has been so dominant for so long. No disrespect to other coaches, but you rarely see other teams where the skill level (and attention to) offense and defense is so even. Usually, a team will have either a better defense or a better offense and they are appreciably stronger in one area of the game. Obviously, talent has a lot to do with this but even so, regardless of the relevant talent level, most programs are stronger or weaker in one aspect of the game than the other.
Again, no disrespect intended but we can see a perfect example of this with Duke. Now, I absolutely love Kara but the simple truth is, her teams are unbelievable defensively but seem to consistently struggle on offense. I truly believe that had her offense been equal to her defense, we would have been playing them instead of South Carolina last year. Their defense was simply unbelievable yet they just could not score enough points. We are seeing this again this year. Her team is struggling offensively and now the defense ,is slipping as well. Look at Brenda Fiese at Maryland! She always features a strong offense that overwhelms most teams but falters against good teams because they cannot stop them from scoring.
Geno has always stressed defense first and of course has the genious to teach it to his kids. However, unlike most coaches, he also possesses the same genious for teaching offense! This two way ability that he possesses is imo largely the reason for the incredible dynasty that he (and CD) have managed to give to the game! Of course there is recruiting, staff choice and retention, support from the Administration, fan base, health, depth, and a myriad of other things, but the defense/offense balance is the key!
