You've Got to be Kidding me

[Tonyc]

Well UConn fans here we go again. Over the past few years fans have doubted Geno and his recruiting and thats because Geno set the bar so high it eventually had to be lowered and lowered where other teams could reach it. Now with this team, this class coming in and the class coming in the following year well UConn is back and this time its with Monster mystique. Yeah this roster is strong and deep. This maybe the best passing team Geno has ever had and the most athletic. This is a complete team of stars who can do alot.

Let me start with Anna and Nika. Both bring that tuff European attitude. A Winning Attitude, a Never Quit Attitude. Hey there are two types of people in this world...those who think they can and those who think they cant and your know what?????theyre both right. Both are terrific passers and players and die hard basketball players. They will, with their attitudes keep everybody on their toes with a fight that is second to none.

Last season this team took a huge jump in their development as underclassmen were thrown into the fire and had to perform. We watched as they got better each and every game. Now look at Geno's comments at where they are now. Look at Ono Christyn Aubrey and Anna improvement. Pretty impressive. Ive read many articles and posts about CW and how she struggled, yeah and look at her stats from last season. All she went through was a learning experience that appears to have turned her around.

Evina is able to play. Maybe not 100% yet from what Ive read but she is really really good and with the players surrounding her she should be able to shine as UConn will have to be played one on one and no slacking off anybody to double team anybody. You cant leave UConn open. I dont see anybody not getting significant minutes because everybody is that good. Articles say Piath needs work and needs to be developed more. Well they said that about ONO too and look what she has become.

Hey guys this may be a shortened season but its the start of something special for the next few years to come. This is a powerful team full of great players and as they improve and develop we are going to see more NC's over the next few seasons and more AA's. The one thing that amazes me is how Geno can continue to break his own records and continue to build teams and build players that can continue to dominate WCBB. How many teams are chasing UConn? All of them. Hey there are shooting stars out there...meaning teams that pick up a top player and have a season or two that is great but over the past 25 years Uconn is there every single season.

There has been alot of excitement on this board over the past year and rightfully so. We have matured as a team without any seniors and we have two incoming classes full of talent and potential. We are Back and better then before. We have so much talent, promise that hey youve got to be kidding me...Un Be Liv Able

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Tonyc Geno is reaping the harvest that has resulted from many years of hard work and coaching success. This generation of players has spent their entire lives in the UConn ERA. For Ms Paige Buckets she makes no bones about it; she's at UConn because of Geno. For Anna we probably should credit DT for the initial attraction (you know the Team USA member Anna said if she met she'd faint!). Many come for Geno. Many come attracted by the generation of excellence in a storied program and that special player they wish to emulate. Some get really candid and say I want to win championships and play in the WNBA and the Olympic team. So the current wave of recruiting success is natural and understandable. Geno's mellowing (dare I say Grandpa Geno) has given him even more appeal to the recruits of this era. He is enjoying it and well he should. We are in for a heck of a ride.

 

[thatguyed]

All I hope for is to play some semblance of a real season this year. Anything else is gravy.

 

[Geew1992]

I’m not sure what you mean by back?? They may not have won a title but I’m pretty sure their record and finals fours say they didn’t go anywhere

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I’m not sure what you mean by back?? They may not have won a title but I’m pretty sure their record and finals fours say they didn’t go anywhere

As Geno has said many times, the coaching staff are victims of their own success. We fans expect championships. A 4 year drought seems monumental.

 

[Geew1992]

As Geno has said many times, the coaching staff are victims of their own success. We fans expect championships. A 4 year drought seems monumental.

Yes. I know. Those are the “spoiled” fans as he puts it. I’m def not one of them.

 

[veryolddog]

I love these Tony posts.

It seems on paper that this can be one of those way above average UConn teams and that excellence will have no boundaries and lots of surprises. But as George S. Patton said: Results matter.

 

[JonathanXIV]

As Geno has said many times, the coaching staff are victims of their own success. We fans expect championships. A 4 year drought seems monumental.

3 year drought. Last year was a mulligan.

 

[Performance]

I for one will never question what Geno does and who he recruits, always look forward to watching them play he has shown that he and the great staff he surrounds himself with know what they are doing!!!

 

[DefenseBB]

What I happen to like best about the composition of this year's team is the shear volume of "ball movers", those that can pass, pass well and can shoot. Ball movement has always been the trade mark of great UConn teams and frankly, the past few years we have slightly deviated from our "stellar" calling card even if it is significantly better than most other teams.
With Evina, Christyn, Anna, Paige and Nika we have 4 pass first players and 5th who is also adept at passing. This ball movement should create great opportunities for Liv, Aubrey, Aaliyah, Mir and others. As those players develop their ball movement, that should create more open shots, more offensive sets, more scoring. Add in the fact that Paige, Nika, Aubrey and Evina have stellar stealing capabilities, this will result in higher scoring games which always benefits UConn. Let's face it, our scoring against like strength teams these past two years has not been great. That should change.

 

[pspr11]

I just wish last year didn’t happen with COVID. I really think we where playing well! I was disappointed we didn’t play cause I really think we would have done a lot of damage to a lot of teams. We where playing so well. Damn!

 

[chrissaran]

Well UConn fans here we go again. Over the past few years fans have doubted Geno and his recruiting and thats because Geno set the bar so high it eventually had to be lowered and lowered where other teams could reach it. Now with this team, this class coming in and the class coming in the following year well UConn is back and this time its with Monster mystique. Yeah this roster is strong and deep. This maybe the best passing team Geno has ever had and the most athletic. This is a complete team of stars who can do alot.

Let me start with Anna and Nika. Both bring that tuff European attitude. A Winning Attitude, a Never Quit Attitude. Hey there are two types of people in this world...those who think they can and those who think they cant and your know what?????theyre both right. Both are terrific passers and players and die hard basketball players. They will, with their attitudes keep everybody on their toes with a fight that is second to none.

Last season this team took a huge jump in their development as underclassmen were thrown into the fire and had to perform. We watched as they got better each and every game. Now look at Geno's comments at where they are now. Look at Ono Christyn Aubrey and Anna improvement. Pretty impressive. Ive read many articles and posts about CW and how she struggled, yeah and look at her stats from last season. All she went through was a learning experience that appears to have turned her around.

Evina is able to play. Maybe not 100% yet from what Ive read but she is really really good and with the players surrounding her she should be able to shine as UConn will have to be played one on one and no slacking off anybody to double team anybody. You cant leave UConn open. I dont see anybody not getting significant minutes because everybody is that good. Articles say Piath needs work and needs to be developed more. Well they said that about ONO too and look what she has become.

Hey guys this may be a shortened season but its the start of something special for the next few years to come. This is a powerful team full of great players and as they improve and develop we are going to see more NC's over the next few seasons and more AA's. The one thing that amazes me is how Geno can continue to break his own records and continue to build teams and build players that can continue to dominate WCBB. How many teams are chasing UConn? All of them. Hey there are shooting stars out there...meaning teams that pick up a top player and have a season or two that is great but over the past 25 years Uconn is there every single season.

There has been alot of excitement on this board over the past year and rightfully so. We have matured as a team without any seniors and we have two incoming classes full of talent and potential. We are Back and better then before. We have so much talent, promise that hey youve got to be kidding me...Un Be Liv Able

Just a few years ago everyone of the starters had 100 assists or more.

 

[soxfan23]

I just wish last year didn’t happen with COVID. I really think we where playing well! I was disappointed we didn’t play cause I really think we would have done a lot of damage to a lot of teams. We where playing so well. Damn!

I think Coach Elliott deserves a lot of the credit for that, they were simply a different team after she came on board. They played with a chip on their shoulder and really got after teams on the defensive end, I agree, they were definitely getting hot at the right time and were as good as anybody in the country when the tournament was cancelled. I am really excited to see the further development of the bigs under Coach Elliott, ONO looked like a totally different player after working with her for a short time last year.

 

[bluedevil]

What is a "tuff European attitude" exactly? No dis respect to any player? Is it different from say DT's tough American attitude? Are European players tougher than other players and if so..how?

 

[DefenseBB]

What is a "tuff European attitude" exactly? No dis respect to any player? Is it different from say DT's tough American attitude? Are European players tougher than other players and if so..how?

Wow down there Bluedevil! I took it to mean that the more talented younger players in Europe are exposed to professional leagues where if they want to survive and thrive, have to "think" and develop all around skills to handle the older, stronger and more physical players. Many of these leagues have pros and amateurs and drastically different talent levels that force the players to know how to adapt. That simply doesn't happen over her for our younger players who are almost exclusively playing against players their age and size and rely more on athleticism and offensive prowess.

DT, while talented, developed her attitude while at UConn, thriving under the sheer amount of talent on her Freshmand and Sophomore teams who had oodles of talent.

 

[cbraarj]

Wow down there Bluedevil! I took it to mean that the more talented younger players in Europe are exposed to professional leagues where if they want to survive and thrive, have to "think" and develop all around skills to handle the older, stronger and more physical players. Many of these leagues have pros and amateurs and drastically different talent levels that force the players to know how to adapt. That simply doesn't happen over her for our younger players who are almost exclusively playing against players their age and size and rely more on athleticism and offensive prowess.

DT, while talented, developed her attitude while at UConn, thriving under the sheer amount of talent on her Freshmand and Sophomore teams who had oodles of talent.

Taurasi had that attitude way before she arrived at UConn.

 

[Jingo]

I think Coach Elliott deserves a lot of the credit for that, they were simply a different team after she came on board. They played with a chip on their shoulder and really got after teams on the defensive end, I agree, they were definitely getting hot at the right time and were as good as anybody in the country when the tournament was cancelled. I am really excited to see the further development of the bigs under Coach Elliott, ONO looked like a totally different player after working with her for a short time last year.

When you talk like that about Coach Elliott, you're subtracting from Geno and Chris Dailey so I can't agree with you, eh?

 

[soxfan23]

When you talk like that about Coach Elliott, you're subtracting from Geno and Chris Dailey so I can't agree with you, eh?

Is this a joke?

 

[Jingo]

Is this a joke?

No joke .. you're disparaging Geno and ChrisD and i m not on board with that narrative, eh?

 

[JellyBean]

I just want to see them play a few games together against Big East competition or against a South Carolina team. Heck even Oregon.

 

[soxfan23]

No joke .. you're disparaging Geno and ChrisD and i m not on board with that narrative, eh?

Do you realize how utterly absurd and ridiculous you sound? Sometimes certain coaches have a way of reaching kids that other coaches can't, for a myriad of different reasons. It in NO way takes away from any of the other coaches on the staff!

 

[veryolddog]

Geeeeez. This thread that Tony introduced is way off base. And it is getting personal.

 

[Jingo]

Do you realize how utterly absurd and ridiculous you sound? Sometimes certain coaches have a way of reaching kids that other coaches can't, for a myriad of different reasons. It in NO way takes away from any of the other coaches on the staff!

You seem to be suggesting that Coach Elliott has coaching expertise that our two hall-of-fame coaches don't possess so you're not making sense, eh?

 

[Littlemin]

Different strokes for different folks, coaching is not and never has been one size fits all. Using that logic, praise of Dailey must mean she has coaching expertise that Auriemma doesn’t. And frankly, Elliott‘s contribution last year seemed to be mostly between the ears which is a very impressive people skill.

 

[JonathanXIV]

You seem to be suggesting that Coach Elliott has coaching expertise that our two hall-of-fame coaches don't possess so you're not making sense, eh?

You do realize that the original post was not dissing Geno and CD, eh?

 

[meyers7]

You do realize that the original post was not dissing Geno and CD, eh?

No, I don't think he realizes that (sees it that way). I think most people wouldn't see it that way, but our Canadian friend Jingo has different ways of seeing things sometimes.

 

[HopJim]

Do you realize how utterly absurd and ridiculous you sound? Sometimes certain coaches have a way of reaching kids that other coaches can't, for a myriad of different reasons. It in NO way takes away from any of the other coaches on the staff!

While I would not use the word "disparage," I agree with the point that giving Jamelle all the credit for ONO and others improvement at the end of the year is a bit over the top. UConn has always gotten stronger later in the year. ONO looked better but was against mediocre players. Let's not get ahead of ourselves. The benchmark would have been how she did against top talent in playoffs.

 

[JonathanXIV]

No, I don't think he realizes that (sees it that way). I think most people wouldn't see it that way, but our Canadian friend Jingo has different ways of seeing things sometimes.

Or not seeing...

 

[Steelerone]

I love these Tony posts.

It seems on paper that this can be one of those way above average UConn teams and that excellence will have no boundaries and lots of surprises. But as George S. Patton said: Results matter.

Knowing the General he might have used a heavily censored adjective just before Results.

 

[Steelerone]

Wow down there Bluedevil! I took it to mean that the more talented younger players in Europe are exposed to professional leagues where if they want to survive and thrive, have to "think" and develop all around skills to handle the older, stronger and more physical players. Many of these leagues have pros and amateurs and drastically different talent levels that force the players to know how to adapt. That simply doesn't happen over her for our younger players who are almost exclusively playing against players their age and size and rely more on athleticism and offensive prowess.

DT, while talented, developed her attitude while at UConn, thriving under the sheer amount of talent on her Freshmand and Sophomore teams who had oodles of talent.

Hmmm. Got to say Defense, I would bet my last chip that Diana had that attitude growing up in California. She was so head and shoulders above everyone else that there was no contest. I believe her father was from Italy (could be wrong on that and if so I'm sure someone will let me know). Also, not sure just how popular women's basketball is overseas. I think that the really good players gravitate to the game but I am not aware of just how high the popularity quotient is among your typical high schooler. Perhaps someone in the Boneyard has some info regarding that.