South Carolina is who we thought they were

#1
D

Darth_Vol

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#1
And unfortunately, so is UConn. Staley has a nice team, but they aren't ready for the big stage yet.....
 
#2
#2
Uconn is a well oiled talent laden team. The other top teams pale. The man is a jerk, but he sure can coach.
 
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#3
#3
We can beat South Carolina IF we play well. If we stumble around and go six minutes without a basket, then we will lose. They've got some athletes but wasn't hugely impressed by the gamecocks tonight, but then nobody looks very good playing the huskies.
 
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#4
#4
armchair said:
We can beat South Carolina IF we play well. If we stumble around and go six minutes without a basket, then we will lose. They've got some athletes but wasn't hugely impressed by the gamecocks tonight, but then nobody looks very good playing the huskies.
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Agreed. I still think it's unlikely Tennessee beats them at their place, but they can be had on a neutral court in the SEC tourney....
 
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#5
#5
The competitive gap between Uconn and everyone else is depressing (unless you are a Uconn fan).

If Uconn loses the NC this year, it will be because they beat themselves.
 
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#6
#6
Geno will rule the sport until he decides to retire. Just the way it is.

Pat Summitt built women's basketball, but Geno Auriemma brought art to it. He's just flat out better at teaching the game than everyone else.
 
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#10
#10
linkster said:
The men have 3 or maybe 4 national titles. If you want to diss UConn, pick on their football team. It has sucked lately. BB rules at UConn.
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4 (99,04,11,14)... The UConn brand is strong enough to survive playing in a mid-major conference for basketball but it means nothing for football and that's why I will be surprised if they are ever invited to join either the ACC or Big Ten.
 
#11
#11
BowlBrother85 said:
4 (99,04,11,14)... The UConn brand is strong enough to survive playing in a mid-major conference for basketball but it means nothing for football and that's why I will be surprised if they are ever invited to join either the ACC or Big Ten.
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UConn once sucked at BB too. We did beat both Baylor and Notre Dame a few years ago but lost our coach. We'll put a decent team on the field in a couple of years. But it isn't the quality of their football that will get them an invite, it's the attractiveness of their TV market. The NY to Boston corridor is a very desirable market. And college football is a business first.

UConn already announced that they will be paying those stipends to their scholarship athletes. That should help a little.
 
#12
#12
SGMVols said:
Geno will rule the sport until he decides to retire. Just the way it is.

Pat Summitt built women's basketball, but Geno Auriemma brought art to it. He's just flat out better at teaching the game than everyone else.
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And its a wide gap to the next coach
 
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#14
#14
UConn was plus 12 at the free throw line and plus nine from the three point line. That is always a win. They play virtually six players and none of them get in foul trouble. They all have high basketball IQ's and don't dribble out the time clock before passing the ball. They have better shooters than any team in WCCB basketball they get an open shot they drill it. The only way they don't win the National Championship is if they have a fluke shooting night like they did at Stanford.
 
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#16
#16
Crazy Ivan said:
The fundamentals are the same, and Geno's teams are sounder fundamentally than any other team in WBB. I suspect Geno would do quite well coaching men.
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Most modern day men's team are not "fundamentally sound" like they were 60 years ago. Not to the point of relying on that nearly entirely. The men's sport is ruled by athleticism and which team has the better athletes. This may be the case for UCONNs women's team. But he goes out and finds the best lay up shooters and free throw shooters in the country.

He just simply isn't out scheming or out coaching anyone, man, come on...

Two entirley different sports and you know it.

He doesn't coach men's bball for a reason. He probably also beats his wife, if he even has one.....
 
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#17
#17
Yankee_Vol said:
And its a wide gap to the next coach
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and then the huskies beat notre dame in the title game, as I (vaguely) recall. Correct me if wrong. ND has beaten UConn a few times in recent years, so they are genuine competition for the huskies. And Muffet McGraw is Geno's equal as a coach--she is excellent. They are the two best coaches in the game. Their offensive system's are so much better than ours--better passing, quicker ball movement, stronger fundamentals. We play ND and you can count on us giving up 15 backdoor layups. It is really all about how much you demand from your players in practice every day--and I'm not just talking about "effort and heart," which Warlick is always blathering about. It's emphasizing the fundamentals and execution and demanding more. I saw one play last night that showed me a difference.

UConn's Mosqueda-Lewis is a three-point shooter (and an amazingly good one), but she got the ball in the paint last night, and made a textbook move to score. She caught the ball with back to the basket, took a quick jab step left, to pull her defender to the left, then turned to the right on her right pivot foot and shot the ball--all in a second or two at most. No dribbling! Textbook move by a 5'11" player who has been taught that you can't dither in the paint. You get the ball, you make a move and you shoot or pass--boom.

Meanwhile, our 6'2" junior power forward, Graves, still does not know how to play in the paint. She has made some progress with her jumper from 12+ feet, but she still does not know how to play in the paint. I have never seen her make that basic move that M-L made. In fact, for a long time she would get an offensive rebound and then pull the ball down and hunch over before going back up for a shot--a no, no; and she still wants to dribble close to the basket and generally holds the ball too long in the paint, which gives defenders time to collapse on you, which is why we saw Graves last year struggle to score inside. EASY, fundamental offensive moves that enable one to score in the paint--especially for someone like Graves--and she still hasn't learned them. Graves is a warrior, plays hard and has developed some offensively--but she plays the 4 spot and is not as effective as she could--or SHOULD--be because she has not learned how to use her body and play decisively and be a scorer in the paint--and we're now nearing the end of her 3rd year in the program. I don't know what Lockwood teaches the players, but this isn't rocket science. It's just an example of the little things that separate good coaching from average coaching.
 
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#18
#18
Crazy Ivan said:
The fundamentals are the same, and Geno's teams are sounder fundamentally than any other team in WBB. I suspect Geno would do quite well coaching men.
Click to expand...

We'll never know since he has found his niche and that is not a challenge that he will ever undertake but I personally think Geno seems too sensitive and petty to work well with those who might challenge his authority, question his credentials or express more confidence in their own prowess than in his knowledge and experience (as most coaches of male teams confront; but few coaches of female teams confront). At least initially, females tend to be more respectful of new coaching and generally more receptive to trying new techniques. So while the fundamental skill set of basketball would not change, the methods of how to coach them would.

...but it's a moot point since Geno has as much balls as the players he currently coaches and will not step out of his comfort zone and take on such a challenge. It's much easier just to hold a grudge with a woman with Alzheimer's and pretend your important because you dominate a sport the average college sports fan cares nothing about.
 
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#19
#19
madbamahater said:
Most modern day men's team are not "fundamentally sound" like they were 60 years ago. Not to the point of relying on that nearly entirely. The men's sport is ruled by athleticism and which team has the better athletes. This may be the case for UCONNs women's team. But he goes out and finds the best lay up shooters and free throw shooters in the country.

He just simply isn't out scheming or out coaching anyone, man, come on...

Two entirley different sports and you know it.

He doesn't coach men's bball for a reason. He probably also beats his wife, if he even has one.....
Click to expand...

You obviously don't win NCs without having the best athletes. That's why teams like Butler, short on talent but fundamentally sound, could get to the Final Four but not win it all. But it was because Butler was fundamentally sound that Butler was able to reach the Final Four by beating teams with far more talent.

What makes Geno's teams so good is that not only does he get great athletes, but he still focuses on the fundamentals. Have you ever seen that documentary on UConn's basketball practices? That guy's attention to detail is extraordinary. I've no doubt he could take that to the men's game. Do I think he would dominate in the men's game like he does the women's game? Probably not. But if he could recruit good athletes I've no doubt he could be successful.
 
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#21
#21
Yankee_Vol said:
And its a wide gap to the next coach
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What we saw last night was surgery. We can fool ourselves and say it is just the talent, but if that was true, anyone could take eight 5 stars and win championships. Great talent helps but it is what you do with it when you got it.
 
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#22
#22
teacherdean said:
What we saw last night was surgery. We can fool ourselves and say it is just the talent, but if that was true, anyone could take eight 5 stars and win championships. Great talent helps but it is what you do with it when you got it.
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The Vols have just as much talent as UConn, Notre Dame, and South Carolina. What is missing is quality coaching and a team-first mentality. There is too much one-on-one basketball, not enough offensive sets, and little help defense. Those three teams have the best coaches and Jeff Walz isn't far behind.
 
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#23
#23
armchair said:
and then the huskies beat notre dame in the title game, as I (vaguely) recall. Correct me if wrong. ND has beaten UConn a few times in recent years, so they are genuine competition for the huskies. And Muffet McGraw is Geno's equal as a coach--she is excellent. They are the two best coaches in the game. Their offensive system's are so much better than ours--better passing, quicker ball movement, stronger fundamentals. We play ND and you can count on us giving up 15 backdoor layups. It is really all about how much you demand from your players in practice every day--and I'm not just talking about "effort and heart," which Warlick is always blathering about. It's emphasizing the fundamentals and execution and demanding more. I saw one play last night that showed me a difference.

UConn's Mosqueda-Lewis is a three-point shooter (and an amazingly good one), but she got the ball in the paint last night, and made a textbook move to score. She caught the ball with back to the basket, took a quick jab step left, to pull her defender to the left, then turned to the right on her right pivot foot and shot the ball--all in a second or two at most. No dribbling! Textbook move by a 5'11" player who has been taught that you can't dither in the paint. You get the ball, you make a move and you shoot or pass--boom.

Meanwhile, our 6'2" junior power forward, Graves, still does not know how to play in the paint. She has made some progress with her jumper from 12+ feet, but she still does not know how to play in the paint. I have never seen her make that basic move that M-L made. In fact, for a long time she would get an offensive rebound and then pull the ball down and hunch over before going back up for a shot--a no, no; and she still wants to dribble close to the basket and generally holds the ball too long in the paint, which gives defenders time to collapse on you, which is why we saw Graves last year struggle to score inside. EASY, fundamental offensive moves that enable one to score in the paint--especially for someone like Graves--and she still hasn't learned them. Graves is a warrior, plays hard and has developed some offensively--but she plays the 4 spot and is not as effective as she could--or SHOULD--be because she has not learned how to use her body and play decisively and be a scorer in the paint--and we're now nearing the end of her 3rd year in the program. I don't know what Lockwood teaches the players, but this isn't rocket science. It's just an example of the little things that separate good coaching from average coaching.
Click to expand...

ND lost to UCONN in the only game that mattered, the NC game.
 
#25
#25
Geno has a couple things going for him. He knows the recipe to win. Down to the dot. So he recruits only players that fit that mold. He is only playing 6 players and dominating with those 6. How?
1. Recruit only select players that fit his his roles only. (true point guard, true center, one star player, one designated shooter) Once the players are on the team, they know their role. No question.
2. Execute precised offense with the right personal on the floor.
3. Tough coach. I think the players fear Geno as it was with Pat. The players were fearful, but also loved and adorn him. He has no problem getting in their ear on or off the court. Pat was the same.
3. Psychology. Majority of his players get better and better each year. That means the players are buying into the system. Another reason, competition for playing is high, players who are really going to compete against other teams are first going to have to compete against one another... prove themselves. This in return fields out the weak. The ones who don't want to put in the time/buy into the system, leave/transfer. He is only left with players that are going to compete with one another.

Their is more to it, but this is what I see. We do/did have similar attributes to our program. It's just a matter of time getting there. I KNOW we are working towards it for sure with the player personnel that are on the bench/coming in next year. Each year I do feel we are getting closer and closer.
 
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