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Message: [QUOTE="oldude, post: 2312682, member: 7511"] UConn is 11-7 in national semifinal games, something any other WBB coach would be ecstatic to achieve. As everyone on the BY knows, once the Huskies make it to a national championship game they are an impossible 11-0 against the very best competition in WBB. Surely, there should have been at least one championship game where the Huskies fell to a team with superior talent or perhaps just didn’t play their best game when it was absolutely needed, but that never happened. Why not? Talent is certainly a factor, but all the FF teams are incredibly talented and you can make a very good case that UConn won championships when they arguably were not the most talented team in the country. 2013 stands out as one such championship. You might also argue that UConn’s game preparation is a significant factor, but the truth is that every one of the FF teams has a week prior to the FF in which they thoroughly break down and game plan not only for the team they are scheduled to play in the semis, but also both potential teams they could play in the finals. If they win their semi, the coaches basically pull an “all-nighter” to refine their game plan for their championship opponent so they can roll it out to their team the next day in meetings and practice. This type of preparation is SOP for the FF. The question again is that in 11 previous games why hasn’t UConn ever lost a national championship game? I respectfully suggest that there are three key factors which explain UConn’s dominance: [B][U]Conditioning[/U][/B] – To play and win a national semifinal against a very good team, your starters will need to play a lot of minutes and exert maximum effort. The games are played at night and the players probably don’t get to sleep until sometime after midnight. That basically leaves them about a day and a half to get ready to play another great team in the finals. That is a fast turnaround to prepare a team for another monumental effort. All teams run wind sprints and lift weights, but [B]UConn is the best conditioned team in the nation, both mentally and physically because they are constantly challenged in everything they do.[/B] One of the comments that college coaches make after watching a UConn practice is how hard UConn goes in every drill during practice. Whether it’s Marine Corps physical training or the mentally and physically taxing drills that Geno and his staff devise, come March & April, the Huskies are in peak condition so that lack of sleep and a short turnaround between games becomes an advantage to be exploited. [B][U]Intelligence[/U][/B] – Geno has frequently commented that one of the key factors that successful UConn WBB players have is “a high basketball IQ.” He says this while snapping his fingers rapidly to indicate that players have to pick up things quickly. There is no time when this is more important than the 1.5 days between the national semifinal and final. [B]While the coaches might have been up all night putting together a brilliant game plan for the final, the ability of the players to fully grasp, embrace and execute that game plan is not a given.[/B] A great example of UConn’s quick turnaround game planning success was the 2016 championship vs Syracuse. The Cuse had given teams fits with their relentless press, 2-3 zone and 3-pt firing offense, something UConn had not faced all season. In the final, other than a short time in the 3rd period, the Syracuse press was a non-factor. UConn picked apart the 2-3 zone and they held the Cuse to an abysmal 2-19 from the arc. [B][U]Confidence[/U][/B] – Teams don’t get to the FF without possessing a relatively high level of confidence. My premise is that somewhere in the dark recesses of a player’s psyche there’s an element of doubt that often manifests itself when bad things invariably start to happen on the court, and things can go from bad to worse. Frankly, this has often been the case with extremely talented teams like Baylor, and even SC until this past season. Here again UConn players are challenged constantly in practice where they frequently FAIL. We have all heard the comment that [B]UConn doesn’t practice until they get it right. They practice until they can’t get it wrong.[/B] Add in a brutal non-conference schedule every year where UConn typically prevails against top-10 teams, and by the time the Huskies get to March they truly believe they can overcome any obstacle placed in front of them. This past year when UCLA charged out of the gate to take an early lead against UConn in the Sweet 16 match-up, the Huskies calmly came back to overtake the Bruins and win comfortably. Even in the semi vs MS St, when the Bulldogs punched the Huskies in the face in the 1st qtr and held an 8-pt lead at the half, the Huskies fought their way back into the game, and while they eventually lost in OT, I suspect that every Husky expected to win that game right up to the time that Morgan William’s shot fell. My final thought. [B]Some day in the far distant future, perhaps UConn may lose a national championship game. But it ain’t gonna happen until the little Italian and his staff have moved on.[/B] [/QUOTE]

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