I found this conference bizarre, strange, almost irrational.
He was asked, but oh so gently, to explain the discrepancy for what he had proclaimed in November with what he was saying now.
Earlier in the season, he raved about how this team listened, how well they took coaching, how attentive they were to detail.
Fast forward and now its the opposite...they're selfish, not following his coaching, doing their own thing...
Think of it...he didn't really have one good thing to say about anyone...except when prodded about Nina's record.
These are the same kids
How did they get from there to here...who is responsible?
Remember that he had to take a furlough and seemingly was not himself when he returned...and that CD had slightly different ideas about how the team best functioned; which seemed to work at the time.
Yes, Geno spoke about the coaches failures...that they were not good enough...but it was pro forma...
For the first time in my memory, he through the entire team under the bus...
Danny Kaye: "It's not my fault mommy, it was Alvin's fault." (one of my favorite, oft repeated lines).
I'm not sure that anyone has the wherewithal to correct what has obviously gone wrong this season.
What we saw today was a very shaken man, who has no idea how to retrieve the magic with which this group started (that he accomplished) and his analysis is incomplete of what has transpired of late..And that was extraordinarily sad.
The video of this conference will be required viewing in coaching seminars and clinics for a very long time.
Have I a theory of what happened...why this happened?
His absence and his return at less than full strength...and not picking up on CD's approach and modifications...
And now...he's looking good, strong...he's ready...but the team has been doing it on their own wits for weeks and it's going to be hard, perhaps impossible to coral them back.
Could not have said it any better. For "This Season" when Chris Dailey was coaching the team during Geno's absence, she seemed to have a better understanding of exactly how to motivate and get the most of this season's team.
Yes, there were moments in those games, where players didn't perform on the floor as they should have, but Chris, Jamelle, and Morgan were able to coral the players together and quickly made the game adjustments that provided the success that they had during those games.
It appears to me (and this is only my personal opinion), when Geno came back from his absence, he kind of lost control of this team. The style of coaching that made Geno one of the Greatest Division 1 Women's Basketball Coaches of All Time, just wasn't working with this group of players (which is different than the Style that Chris Dailey showed during her time coaching the team this season).
Geno's "In Game" frustrations with the players, while on the court, appeared to be de-motivating. You could see production from a number of players go down, the body language on the court didn't look right, especially when they looked over to the bench and saw Geno with his head bent over backwards, or Geno leaning over, placing his head into his hands in frustration, or Geno screaming at the player(s).
Chris Dailey's approach, as it seemed to me, was different, to which the players responded better to. This is not to say that the players on this team lost respect for Geno. That is not the case at all. But their drive, motivation and mojo was lost on the court.
I feel that this is a HUGE part as to why this team was just beating teams by a margin much much less than they were beating teams earlier in the season, and especially during the stretch when Chris Dailey had the team.
I feel that each and every player on this team wants to perform well and win for the University of Connecticut Women's Basketball Team and Program, "With All Of Their Heart and Might".
But with a de-motivated player(s) it is very hard to pull out the "Inner Drive" during game time, when they see the Body Language and Screaming that just seems to zap all of the energy out of the players.
It may very well be that Geno's style of coaching, that was SOOOOO SUCCESSFUL for DECADES, and made him the Legend that he is, has possibly passed him by. And sorry, but this team is not only physically tired but mentally tired as well.
This is not an excuse, but in my opinion, a fact. I know that my comments will upset many people here in the Boneyard, but I just had to express my feelings on this subject.
