Why didn't Geno have a bigger bench available? | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Why didn't Geno have a bigger bench available?

sun said:
I like the idea of awarding a scholarship or two to a deserving Connecticut student because I believe that they would be less likely to transfer.
In 2023, two Connecticut high school basketball players were ranked as 2023 ESPN Top 100 recruits with both committing to Virginia Tech WBB.
#58 Carys Baker is a 6'1" forward at Loomis Chaffee that's a prolific 3 point shooter and volleyball player.
#65 Mackenzie Nelson is a 5'8" PG at St. Luke's School with a reputation for stealing the ball.
They're both 4 star recruits with a 93 rating & videos of them can be found on the Maxpreps site.
These are just 2 examples of CT BB players who could easily fill a need at UConn and I'm sure there have been many others.
Not sure if Carys Baker is the daughter or not of Vin Baker of the Hartford Hawks & Boston Celtics.

2026 SportsCenter NEXT 100 - ESPN

Get the inside scoop on the top ranked high school girls' basketball players. In-depth player briefings, film and more on ESPNHS.com.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
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Do you really think that players like these are likely to sign up to be benchwarmers at UConn rather than have a starting role at another top-quarter program, including nearby ones such as Seton Hall, Villanova, or St. Johns? Would coming to UConn even be a good decision from their standpoint?
 
Pretending this 20, even 5 years ago is unrealistic. Players have the ability to move if they so desire. And they do. You are not going to be able to stockpile top talent on your bench for a year or two at most places. And even if there are players in the portal, are the compatible with the culture of UCONN? Geno is only taking a certain type of kid. These last two years have been anomalies. He's used this roster size and player rotation for 35+ years and he is the G.O.A.T. I defer to his experience and expertise.
 
sun said:
I like the idea of awarding a scholarship or two to a deserving Connecticut student because I believe that they would be less likely to transfer.
In 2023, two Connecticut high school basketball players were ranked as 2023 ESPN Top 100 recruits with both committing to Virginia Tech WBB.
#58 Carys Baker is a 6'1" forward at Loomis Chaffee that's a prolific 3 point shooter and volleyball player.
#65 Mackenzie Nelson is a 5'8" PG at St. Luke's School with a reputation for stealing the ball.
They're both 4 star recruits with a 93 rating & videos of them can be found on the Maxpreps site.
These are just 2 examples of CT BB players who could easily fill a need at UConn and I'm sure there have been many others.
Not sure if Carys Baker is the daughter or not of Vin Baker of the Hartford Hawks & Boston Celtics.

2026 SportsCenter NEXT 100 - ESPN

Get the inside scoop on the top ranked high school girls' basketball players. In-depth player briefings, film and more on ESPNHS.com.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
Expand ...
I just looked up Carys Baker, she is definitely the daughter of Vin Baker. She looks just like him.
 
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vtcwbuff said:
I think the BE rule is that in order to field a team you must have a minimum of 7 scholarship players.
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That's the NCAA rule. 7 to start and one to finish as long as the ref's believe the one can ossibly win the game.
 
Performance said:
It amazes me that with all UCONN has accomplished (repeated final fours, 11 national championships etc., etc. not to mention recruiting great players) people still question Geno as to why he does or doesn't do certain things:rolleyes::confused:
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Because forum people always have the best answers. When what you think is never applied, you never see it fail so to you it’s always the best answer or solution. It’s that simple.
 
Carnac said:
THAT will be Geno's dilemma, but he knows how to handle it. He'll always have plenty of "intelligent and informed" imput to fall back on from the Boneyard. :D Less minutes for the starters in games that are decided early.
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Agree! I mean, all he has to do is ask and we will tell him what to do.

:)
 

Why didn't Geno have a bigger bench available?​


I don’t know. What were you thinking of? Something like this?

068B2FCA-6F1C-430C-9E5A-EA65E87A3AA3.jpeg
 
USC can't field a team either. But not because of injuries. It's because they have decided that "field" is a bad word.
 
.-.
Years ago the major men’s sports teams at most of the larger universities had junior varsity and freshmen teams. If a varsity player was lost to an injury they would elevate one of the junior varsity players to the varsity team. Freshmen teams went the way of the rotary dial phone and party lines when freshmen became eligible for varsity play. Junior Varsity teams have been in a steady decline toward obsolescence for years. I don’t recall any jv women’s teams at UConn - but Avery Point had a women’s basketball team for years. Does anyone know the status of that team (does it still exist, or is it on hiatus, the number of available players, or if players on that team are considered UConn players who could be moved to the Storrs team, immediately, in an emergency situation)? Hopefully this now a mute point - but could be useful if we get another 100 year’s storm sooner than later.
 
HuskylnSC said:
That's the NCAA rule. 7 to start and one to finish as long as the ref's believe the one can ossibly win the game.
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Thats why we need Azzi or Paige active, so if that happens and one of them is left holding the bag, we have a chance to win.
 
dtbtbtb said:
Next season with 14 players, everyone will wonder how will players 9-14 get any minutes...
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Creme will use that to make UConn a 3 seed preseason.
 
Moot
Forego said:
Years ago the major men’s sports teams at most of the larger universities had junior varsity and freshmen teams. If a varsity player was lost to an injury they would elevate one of the junior varsity players to the varsity team. Freshmen teams went the way of the rotary dial phone and party lines when freshmen became eligible for varsity play. Junior Varsity teams have been in a steady decline toward obsolescence for years. I don’t recall any jv women’s teams at UConn - but Avery Point had a women’s basketball team for years. Does anyone know the status of that team (does it still exist, or is it on hiatus, the number of available players, or if players on that team are considered UConn players who could be moved to the Storrs team, immediately, in an emergency situation)? Hopefully this now a mute point - but could be useful if we get another 100 year’s storm sooner than later.
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Moot point. Sorry.
 
Mdoggie said:
How “good” are they if they’re 7th or 8th?
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I don't remember the timing exactly, although it can be sourced easily. In any case, I would not have expected Geno to give Ines any playing time other than in routs. But she has changed some minds, I think. A pretty decent performance and contribution from a freshman unknown , except to Portugal. We'll see if he picks up where'd CD left off. In other words, will gene give Muhl several breathers during a game?
 
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driveway said:
Anyone beside Geno know that answer. Is the UConn Women's season in jeopardy due to the possibility of not being able to filed teams in the future due to injuries. Why not carry walk-ons? Too much trouble?
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I'll bet a few months ago you said how is Geno going to give everyone enough minutes? And now what's with Geno? Why doesn't he carry 15 scholarship players and stash 3 or 4 more on a track or water polo or tiddlywinks scholarship? :D:rolleyes:
 
dtbtbtb said:
Next season with 14 players, everyone will wonder how will players 9-14 get any minutes...
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There's different ways that it can be done.
One way would be to let some of them play every other game so that they can play more minutes than they would if they were only a small role player.
Instead of giving a player 5 - 7 minutes, they could get 10 - 15 minutes every other game, when it's doable.
That could be better than letting some players stagnate on the bench for too many games.
Even if it takes 3 games to get a player some decent PT, it's better than nothing.
The reality is that most everyone practices & trains hard when they get to UConn.
 
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sun said:
There's different ways that it can be done.
One way would be to let some of them play every other game so that they can play more minutes than they would if they were only a small role player.
Instead of giving a player 5 - 7 minutes, they could get 10 - 15 minutes every other game, when it's doable.
That could be better than letting some players stagnate on the bench for too many games.
Even if it takes 3 games to get a player some decent PT, it's better than nothing.
The reality is that most everyone practices & trains hard when they get to UConn.
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Just do it!

South Carolina vs. Stanford - Women's College Basketball Box Score - November 20, 2022 | ESPN
 
Rblack335 said:
Consider that not all players recruited finish their four years of eligibility at their original school. Players who would’ve been on the roster this year had they not transferred or left early.

Senior- Ana Makurat
Junior- Mir McLean, Piath Gabriel, Autumn Chassion (walk on)
Sophomore- Saylor Poftenbarger

That’s 5 players who left the program, likely allowing room for Lou and Ines this year.
Geno was clearly worried about depth this past offseason when Bueckers got hurt, and thank goodness he was able to pick up those two guards.

Historically we have carried a roster under the maximum number of scholarship players. But next season we’ll have 14. It’s just bad luck that this season we’ve had historic number of injuries. I don’t think he’s against having more depth.
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very true, and now a couple of those players who left might wish they hadn't
 
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Mdoggie said:
How “good” are they if they’re 7th or 8th?
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Right now only Brady has no collegiate track record. Nika. Paige, Aayliah. Dorka, Aubrey, Azzi, Caroline, Lou....Ines, Patterson,, Amari, Seems to me that without Paige and Ice we have a pretty good team on the floor with the first seven. And my money says almost every team in the country would love to have anyone of the seven taking up a starter slot on most teams, With Paige and Ice (projection) I really see 9 players could start and play significant minutes for most D1 schools. Just my eyes looking at talent.
 
Forego said:
Years ago the major men’s sports teams at most of the larger universities had junior varsity and freshmen teams. If a varsity player was lost to an injury they would elevate one of the junior varsity players to the varsity team. Freshmen teams went the way of the rotary dial phone and party lines when freshmen became eligible for varsity play. Junior Varsity teams have been in a steady decline toward obsolescence for years. I don’t recall any jv women’s teams at UConn - but Avery Point had a women’s basketball team for years. Does anyone know the status of that team (does it still exist, or is it on hiatus, the number of available players, or if players on that team are considered UConn players who could be moved to the Storrs team, immediately, in an emergency situation)? Hopefully this now a mute point - but could be useful if we get another 100 year’s storm sooner than later.
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Avery Point has (or had) a baseball team. I watched them practice during a campus visit with my daughter years ago. I vaguely recall a newspaper article about a regional UConn campus's basketball team. Might have been UConn Waterbury? They got hand-me-downs from Storrs.

BTW, Avery Point is a beautiful campus.
 
SVCBeercats said:
I'll bet a few months ago you said how is Geno going to give everyone enough minutes? And now what's with Geno? Why doesn't he carry 15 scholarship players and stash 3 or 4 more on a track or water polo or tiddlywinks scholarship? :D:rolleyes:
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No, I never said that. Snarkiness becomes you.
 
Performance said:
It amazes me that with all UCONN has accomplished (repeated final fours, 11 national championships etc., etc. not to mention recruiting great players) people still question Geno as to why he does or doesn't do certain things:rolleyes::confused:
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Two things can be true (and in this case are):

Geno is a coaching genius.

He is not infallible.
 
dtbtbtb said:
Next season with 14 players, everyone will wonder how will players 9-14 get any minutes...
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How about if he gives them 5-10 minutes in blowouts?

So this year, for example, they could have played in 11 of the first 17 games (i.e., not against SC, Stanford, Texas, Iowa, ND, Maryland), and probably all 12 of the remaining BE games.
 
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