Why is everyone freaking out this season?

[bags27]

Low basketball IQ.
Unrealistic expectations.
Anonymity of cyber space.

The best reasoned differences of opinion on this board are about basketball because the game has so many different ways it can be played, enjoyed and strategized.

Some of the worst spite on this board are those that are based on the fallacy of UCONN WBB players being errorless basketball players, in reality no such player exists at UCONN or elsewhere.

If many of us were forced to verbalize (face to face) our opinions the tone of many post, at a minimum, would be far different.

These two. Times 1000.
So many folks are responding emotionally, rather than as fans studying the game with measured perspective. I find myself checking other boards more and more, just to get a break from all the static here.

What I still greatly admire are the folks, like Coco and others, who know not only the game but also follow closely high school development. Those threads are discussions I can't find elsewhere, and I'm grateful for them. But many of the discussions of current UConn players and of Geno's use of them are often painful.

 

[ASweet3781]

I think the elephant in the room is that most fans of UConn women's basketball are senior "seasoned" citizens or young children/teens. Perhaps those groups are more likely to be a little more emotional/reactive when things aren't going the way they think they should be going. They also tend to be more overprotective of the players.

I think it falls into 3 groups.

1. We are spoiled rotten. I think most of us have all fallen here at times.

2. Some are generally concerned that some of the same personality/team makeup flaws that led to the Mississippi State loss are still present. I think some expected after that loss based on how we lost, what we returned, and who we added, we would be a 2002/2009 style take no prisoners peddle to the medal for 40 minutes team. At times we have been. At times we haven't. Perhaps those were unrealistic expectations.

3. I think the other group which probably led to Nan's post are those that react to almost every struggle or low point with either over the top criticism or over the top protectionism. This was evident this week in the Megan Walker thread and the Andra transfer thread. It's usually evident in the final 5 minutes of a game if Molly Bent, Kyla Irwin, Camara, and Coombs get outscored by another teams starters. It's also usually evident whenever Tennessee plays.

Walker's 13 games into her college career. I can recall games where she helped us win, UCLA and Notre Dame. I can recall a game just about a week and a half ago where she came off the bench to hit her first 6 shots. I can recall some games where she looked like the 7th player on a roster with 6 All American level players playing ahead of her. I can recall some games this week where she struggled. This of course led a rather hysterical lengthy thread about how someone disapproves with how Geno is treating her and this is not what Megan must have expected as the #1 ranked player. Totally over the top reaction. Especially seeing many top ranked players at UConn struggled mightly during their freshman seasons.

With reaction to Andra transferring, you would have though UConn lost a potential 1st team All American. "I am very sad this happened...." "I am heartbroken...". It's really not that big a deal. Andra is going to a place where she is happy and can develop and play. The other 2 freshman guards Coombs and Gordon have more opportunities for minutes to develop. Not to mention Megan and Kyla. The team which Geno has said has been bogged down in practice by the freshman has one less player to be bogged down by. UConn has the #1 ranked guard coming in next year and is involved with all the 2019/2020 top guards. Seems to be a win/win. You would have never have guessed reading some of those posts in that thread though.

Whenever Tennessee plays a game I cringe. I really don't think much about Tennessee at all anymore. The last time we played them and the last time they played in a Final 4, George W. was President. That's a long time. Also, Pat Summitt was stricken with an ungodly disease that robbed her of at least 10 years of coaching not to mention 20 years of her life. During the same time the UConn program has surged past them with unprecedented success. So needless to say I am puzzled as to all the constant threads trying desperately to diminish this years Tennessee team whenever they have a good game. I mean, really, who cares? If they are as overrated as some claim and just the benefactors of good luck, we can have a chuckle if they lose in March. But the obsession to tear them down seems like extreme sour grapes which is odd seeing we have nothing to be sour over right now. Perhaps that intensity explains some of the same over the top comments about our own team?

 

[bags27]

I think the elephant in the room is that most fans of UConn women's basketball are senior "seasoned" citizens or young children/teens. Perhaps those groups are more likely to be a little more emotional/reactive when things aren't going the way they think they should be going.

Actually, from what I can sense, it is us "senior "seasoned" citizens who are most tempered in our observations.

 

[mbr33ct]

Worrying is a function of age to a degree, and some of us here on the BY are a bit long in the tooth.

Nowadays, I worry about my family, my health, a growing list of domestic and global problems and whether UConn’s recent blowout win masked some underlying problem with the team.

When I was younger, my biggest worries were whether or not I had a clean pair of underwear and where to go drinking that night.

About them clean pair of underwear, your Mother must of told you in case you got into an accident...right?

 

[Blueballer]

Actually, from what I can sense, it is us "senior "seasoned" citizens who are most tempered in our observations.

I resemble this remark.

On the plus side at least this topic has buried the silly "Megan Walker" thread

 

[tomcat]

I certainly do not watch the board with the same level of scrutiny as Nan, but I disagree with her premise. Start with the team. UConn has consistently great teams, this one potentially among them, so when people complain, they are complaining about a really good team.

That said, I believe (without any research to back it up, and who would want to go back and score all those posts on a positivity/negativity scale?) that there have been years when people have been just as critical of players and, at times, the coaching. Coaching critics now have pretty much gone by the boards, because with each passing year, Geno sets new standards and it becomes harder and harder to knock the best coach in WCBB.

Critical posts are a significant part of this board for several reasons. First, the BY is an interesting combination of statistics nuts, older folks and everyone else. Older folks tend t0 dither about stuff -- I know I do -- and if they're like me, are natural worriers. Last year's Final Four certainly gave us a good reason to worry. "OMG, it could happen again!" Well, probably not,but it's worth spending some emotional energy thinking about it. The way I see it, if I worry myself half to death about what could go wrong, a victory is that much sweeter.

And besides, isn't one of the purposes of this board to give fans an opportunity to explore the "What-ifs?" Some of those discussions tend toward the negative as well, but what's wrong with that?

Yes, we're spoiled and yes, we worry too much and yes, we sometimes set ridiculous standards. IMHO, that's what fans do.

 

[tomcat]

Some folks are being turn off by the excessive aggression of some posters here. They either have become lerkers, or simply have lost interest, and don't visit the BY anymore. I have several of those posters on my ignore list. Posters that are OK with your comment as long as they agree with it, and it doesn't go against what they believe to be true or real. They will give you chapter and verse, and attempt to beat you down if they think you're wrong. We've all seen it. Just a few days ago a couple of posters really went at it. All the poster was doing was giving his personal opinion. Can a personal opinion be wrong? Some seem to think so. Thank God for the ignore feature on this board. It makes coming here so much more enjoyable.

Well, now, this post is calling out something entirely different. If the issue is not what people are saying but how they are saying it, I could not agree more. I've noticed a certain level of snark on the board that we al could do without. But I did not think that was what Nan was referring to.

 

[tomcat]

Sorry but I see it all the time. Maybe you don't see much of it because some of it is edited out, some of the worst is deleted.

Some don't see a line between critiquing a player's game vs. criticizing or postulating on that person's character. Some don't seem to see a line between critiquing are disagreeing with a posters position vs casting disparaging remarks against the poster.

In the end, the owner, admins and mods run this site with as much of a common vision and expectation of content as can be humanly expected. There are always other sites that moderate with other standards and that is their choice as it is the choice of people to post on this or other sites.

OK, then, so maybe the rest of us aren't agreeing about the tone and attitude because we don't see it, because the moderators have removed it, as they should have. If that's the case, all we really can do is acknowledge your concerns, take it to heart to the extent that it applies, and move on.

 

[GoUconn7961]

This is true for me, too. Before I post anything, I read it twice and make absolutely sure it isn't something that makes me vulnerable to attack. That's pretty sad, because very nearly everything on these boards is a matter of opinion.

I do the same thing! I read over my post first in the hopes that I'm not offending someone with my opinion. And being critical about something is much different than being mean or directly attacking a person. I tend to lurk more than post because so many people take things out of context.

 

[Gus Mahler]

About them clean pair of underwear, your Mother must of told you in case you got into an accident...right?

I had a roommate in college who, when the need arose, would simply turn them inside out and go on.

 

[Huskie78]

I'm a glass half full kinda guy. I generally stay away from the negative stuff.
I'll leave the coaching to the man who as 11 championships, a 1,000+ victories, and all kinds of ridiculous streaks!
I like to think he knows what he's doing.
When the team is clicking (which is most of the time) they are really, really, REALLY
fun to watch! Go Huskies!!

P.S.: We ARE spoiled.

 

[Mister2]

Execution, execution, execution.

In a recent interview, Geno said (I paraphrase): "while winning is the obvious end result one hopes for--that's why we play this game--at UCONN we win a lot, so it's no big deal to win a game; the most important thing is, when you're walking out the door after a game, you don't want to say 'yes, we won, but I played lousy.'"

While for most coaches winning is the ultimate and only objective, for UCONN and Geno they have entered into the rarefied realm that winning has become simply a BY-PRODUCT of striving for perfect execution--for each player in her individual role, and for the team as a unit.

I think it is in the execution where much of the angst lies this season, compared to the last. For some reason I am not getting the vibe that the current team as a whole is executing as well as the last team, despite having played a less tough OOC scehdule. Much of this could be a teething problem when Geno has to integrate as talented a player as Z into the machinery, thus perhaps causing a temporary disruption to the dynamics of the whole team. Hopefully such a teething problem would be smoothed out come tournament time.

 

[Roger G]

My opinion is that not "everyone" is freaking out. Perhaps more are than usual, but hyperbole often makes a bad situation worse. I, for one, am very content enjoying this year's team, even during the tense moments of the Texas game I was loving this team. At the same time, I saw some things that they will need to work on in order to make it 12 NCs. That's OK, in my opinion.

 

[trb123]

I know that we are undefeated. That is not the point. What bothers me most that half the team (now that AEH has departed) sits on the bench midway thru the season. What is the plan B if the top half fails? I did not enjoy at all when UConn trailed most opponents in 4th quarter scoring.

There was a post on McGraw's bench that said the Geno has built UConn from scratch developing players in the mid 80s and early 90s. Now he does not have to. He gets the cream of the crop of his own choosing and he builds a juggernaut. All that crash-landed today. I would like to know if he would have put in a concerted effort to develop the bench by the end of January without today's game.

 

[Biff]

All that crash-landed today.

I'm sorry but that is just way over the top hyperbolic. First you create a strawman (well actually take a strawman created by some unknown poster on an opponent's board that needs to justify their situation is just not their fault) and then you use a well fought win as a justification for that strawman?

I can't come close to agreeing with that.

 

[Carnac]

Well, now, this post is calling out something entirely different. If the issue is not what people are saying but how they are saying it, I could not agree more. I've noticed a certain level of snark on the board that we al could do without. But I did not think that was what Nan was referring to.

The following was the post that Nan wrote that I responded to: I responded to the highlighted bold parts.

Because the angst is pervasive and it’s affecting the overall mood of the board to the point where people either don’t want to post or they’re afraid to. We know certain posters’ feelings about problems they may perceive yet these posters say it over and over again. There’s one poster with a favorite complaint and if I see it for the 150th time -this season!- I may put my fist through my monitor. And I think the count currently stands at 149.

Beyond that, some folks that are fretting feel the need to impose their angst. Let’s say someone posts something like, “I though Player X was great tonight. She scored 15 points and had 7 rebounds. I love to see her play” someone has to, has to like it’s a compulsion, point out that Player X only shot 4-12 and had 3 turnovers and they may preface their post with “you don’t know much about basketball”. The OP, who may not be particularly basketball savvy, may feel embarrassed and could potentially avoid posting so as not to be shown up again.

This is a real scenario. I’ve gotten emails and PMs and folks tell me theses stories when I meet them at games. And just look at this thread. It started out on one topic but posters felt the urgency of repeating the same complaints we’ve been reading since November.

I don’t care if people want to have threads for fretting over players and games. But why rain on everyone’s parade? If you think someone missed the turnovers and 33% field goal percentage, it’s not always necessary to ruin the game for them.

 

[BobbyJ]

I don't remember ever seeing so much angst over an undefeated, #1 ranked team that's put on so many dominating performances in my life. I really do not get why some see disaster in every missed shot, impending doom in every turnover, and the team's imminent fall from the pinnacle with every narrow 30 point win. It's confounding.

Did these folks watch the games on tv this past week? How many of those other top 10 teams played a perfect game every single time? That's a rhetorical question because none of them did. The UConn team, and all of the teams, are made up of human beings who have good days and bad, just like you and me and every other person on this earth. If we expect them to be perfect every time, well, that's just unreasonable. Yet, invariably UConn fans will freak out if someone makes a mistake. It's stunning to me that we would expect 18-22 year old kids to be more perfect than we are ourselves.

I just don't get it.

Because many on the forum went overboard with unrealistic expectations about this team being untouchable. Last year there were a couple basic weaknesses that the coaches had to really work around that are still there. And when good coaches with some talent to work with expose them somewhat, the natives get restless and need someone to blame.

 

[hoophuskee]

1-- Other teams have scholarship players too.

2-- Too many posters believe that just because UCONN recruits you and you put on the jersey as a frosh that you are entitled to minutes and will easily get better and make the team better just by giving the player more minutes.

3-- Too many posters overrate freshmen. I can't believe how many people thought this class was super elite. Meg Walker is disappointing - but last year so was Danger. Because posters overrate freshmen. Relax. Meg will be fine in time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4-- Impatient fans. Nervous fans.

 

[hoophuskee]

I think alot of us have our nerves on edge after last year's loss. Makes sense that every warning sign is discussed and assurances given. The fact that MSU looks better than last year is also on my mind at least.

Last year's team was 36-1. It was a phenom season. Nobody expected that team to be like that. Well maybe tony etc. I can remember CD giving the story of the guy at the banquet saying "Nice season coach." I think many heard that recently on TV. What did CD say to the guy? "No! It wasn't a nice season. A nice season is 23-10. We were 36-1." I just don't get the feeling that most (not all) posters on here that are so worried about the bench and future years really agree with CD that last year was a terrific season. Then some of us get labelled as some type of homer.

We just beat a very good team tonight and there is angst about the bench instead of more celebration that we're undefeated and have played 1st or 2nd best schedule. It's really weird. Even this talk about Miss State? Who are they? Every year is different. We're supposed to be worried about them in January? UCONN is undefeated. But I do enjoy the dialogue.

 

[Plebe]

Low basketball IQ.
Unrealistic expectations.
Anonymity of cyber space.

The best reasoned differences of opinion on this board are about basketball because the game has so many different ways it can be played, enjoyed and strategized.

Some of the worst spite on this board are those that are based on the fallacy of UCONN WBB players being errorless basketball players, in reality no such player exists at UCONN or elsewhere.

If many of us were forced to verbalize (face to face) our opinions the tone of many post, at a minimum, would be far different.

As concise and astute an assessment as I have ever seen.

Edit to add: I find that the maelstrom of the game threads is where most of the negative posting is concentrated. In the heat of the competitive moment, people spew out all sorts of frustration and exasperation. I personally don't enjoy partaking in that as a shared experience, and so it generally works better for me to stay clear. The other threads seem to be a bit more level-headed and equanimous. But of course, each poster's mileage may vary.

 

[Tonyc]

We are Spoiled. We are used to winning every game by double digits and no competition. This team is number 1 in the country and many fans expect us to continue to win by double digits every game. Well we dont have Stewie anymore. She is the reason why we won 4 NCs and every game by double digits . Shes the difference between this years team last years team and every team for the next few years. With that said we are not like every other team...we are better only difference is we arent going to win every game by double digits or 30+ points especially against top teams. We may but lets not count on it. Leave that to me LOL .

 

[meyers7]

We used to have a mechanism for dealing with all the negative nellies.

 

[triaddukefan]

 

[j66kicker]

I went to the game last night and I can't believe what I'm reading here this morning. Tons of threads with titles like, "UConn's Achilles Heel," "Why didn't UConn have a bench tonight?", "We've got some work to do", "So far... this looks a lot like last year (trouble)", etc. Not that each of those topics doesn't merit some discussion - this is not an attack on the OPs. But the reaction to last night's game just seems to be generally negative.

What I saw last night was a great college sports environment with a huge home court advantage for Texas, two great teams with great players who made great plays, a game that went down to the wire with the visiting #1 team making the plays necessary to win the game. Fantastic effort by Texas, but it wasn't quite enough. UConn prevailed, we are still undefeated and will undoubtedly still be ranked #1. I guess I would have enjoyed a blowout win, but that's not why I came. Put it this way - I ain't flying back to Texas for the SMU game. This was a great game and a great win - just don't know what all the worry and complaining is about. ??

 

[dogged1]

We used to have a mechanism for dealing with all the negative nellies.

OK, I'll bite. What was the mechanism? A medieval wrack?