Uconn is in trouble..

#251
#251
armchair said:
They used to say that Tennessee was not for everyone, because PS was tough and demanding. Fact is, any player who is ambitious and wants to realize her full potential would want to play for a demanding coach who knows how to win. So I've never bought the "it's not for everyone" meme. If you're talented, and you want to work and be your best, it's for you--and while most players are not talented enough for a major program, most players do want to fulfill their potential--and win.
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That is what they will all say, but the question is, are they willing to pay the price.
'Great party tonight at some frat, but I need to put two hours in the weight room, and a friend has agreed to rebound for me after that so I need to get up 500 shots, before I get to bed so i am sharp for that 6 AM 5K run.' kind of price.
There was a story of Moriah during her Christmas break her sophomore season when she was struggling with her shot meeting with a training partner every day for three sessions in the HS gym at home morning, early afternoon, and evening. She came back from break and lit it up for the rest of the season. Might not have had as much fun during the holidays, but she got the delayed gratification of an NC.

There are a lot of HS kids in every sport and both genders who are naturally talented and don't have to work that hard to be head and shoulders above anyone else in their area and love the attention, but just aren't ready or able to put in the effort required when they get to college, just as there are the ones who star in college but cannot break through in the pros and watch the kids with less talent but a lot more determination succeed ahead of them. Its true in sports and it is true in pretty much any profession as well. Some of it is always luck, but a lot of it is putting in the work to be able to take advantage of the luck when it appears.
 
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#252
#252
On Geno and having coaches sit in on practices - quite a few do from all levels of the game - and Geno does the same - He spent a week in San Antonio this year watching the Spurs and Popovich practice and picking their brains and seeing what he might be able to bring back to CT.
Jeff Walz the first year at Louisville asked if his whole team and staff could sit in on a practice that Uconn had schedule the morning after a game at Louisville, because he wanted everyone to see the kind of culture he was trying to bring to Louisville, and Geno said yes.

The most common observation after watching a Uconn practice is the pace - everything is run at game pace, and there are no breaks between drills. One ends and the next begins immediately. And there is no time limit set - they run things until they get them right before they move to something else.
 
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#253
#253
Damn just when we thought they had no chance. So disappointed in ND, what happened to them, their starters have become ball hogs, no princeton andI thought only Allen and Turner played with any urgency. I thought Turner got the better of Collier but not Williams, she and KLS are ballers, they were getting the focus of the D especially KLS as they tried to beat the **** out of her and both kept battling and hustling. Williams is a freak athlete. Both her and KLS are the heart with great passing and court sense, Collier finishes really well but is the recipient of some nice easy buckets because of her teammates.

I heard the UCLA coach has watched a ton on their practices, wtf do they do.
 
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#254
#254
Notre Dame looked to be in a panic when the game started and were down 11 in the first quarter. They settled down and played a great second quarter to bring the game to a tie at halftime. They then again collapse UConn making 19 of 20 fouls shots while they make 4 of 8. That was the game not Notre Dame's best performance but it looks like UConn to the final four again and though I see a couple teams with more talent the coaching can't keep up.
SC is starting 4 players that were top twenty players and three that were in the top seven in their class. I am beginning to think that Dawn is a lot like Holly can't win games regardless of talent. Losing to Duke by 11 is inexcusable with that team.
 
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#255
#255
bballnut90 said:
I hate to say it, but UCONN isn't losing another game this year. I just don't see who beats them, unless if Notre Dame or Baylor put together a monster miracle effort in the tournament.

Watching UCONN's games from Florida State to Baylor to Texas to Notre Dame, they are improving leaps and bounds every single night. Their great forwards (Williams/Collier/KLS) give them a dimension no other team has. All of them are strong and can battle inside despite being 5-11, 6-1 and 6-3. All of them pass well and look for their teammates. All of them have good touch inside and have the ability to shoot out to the 3 point line. Each of them have their own strengths, but no team has the horses to match up with them. Perhaps most importantly, each of them go 110% all of the time. They hustle for everything and maintain focus every single play. They badly outwork their opponent every time.

Other teams may matchup well on paper, but when it comes to getting loose balls, setting hard screens, cutting hard, and playing physical defense, no one matches up with Connecticut.

For a team like Notre Dame or Baylor to compete, they'll need dominant performances from their guards. Jones will need to have a huge night, and Ogunbowale needs to go off to have a chance. They also need better rebounding and hustle from their bigs. I could see both of these teams going undefeated the rest of the way and meeting in the Final Four with just 1 loss to UCONN.
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I can see the possibility of a close game with Kansas State and Maryland but expect them to win both games.
After winning those two their conference is easy and they will easily have another undefeated season. On to the tourney and by then they will be a lot better and should win another title.
 
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#257
#257
I kept thinking, "now this is good basketball" last night while watching UConn and ND. For three quarters both team were moving good and passing the ball. ND got a little shook in the fourth quarter and moved away from there offense. UConn just keeps reloading, similar to a Lady Vols program of yesteryear!
 
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#258
#258
PineyBluff Vol said:
I kept thinking, "now this is good basketball" last night while watching UConn and ND. For three quarters both team were moving good and passing the ball. ND got a little shook in the fourth quarter and moved away from there offense. UConn just keeps reloading, similar to a Lady Vols program of yesteryear!
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Yes, reloading with a great coach. There lies the seperation between UCONN and other top programs.
 
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#262
#262
jwhite9 said:
UCONN is well coached and you can tell by the little things they do on the court. Coaching is number 1 especially on the college level. Let's be honest Tenn has more talent then UCONN. I bet Geno would take the current Lady Vols roster and have them playing outstanding basketball. Diamond and Mercedes would be the top 2 players in the nation if they had Geno. Diamond had no problems until she got to Tennessee.
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That's not true about DD IMO. Her stats have been the same since HS and the attempted coup by her and her group at NC

Holly hasn't developed her that's for sure. Holly hasn't developed anyone. DD is the same player with the same pi$$ poor attitude. That's on coaching for at least not changing that.

This coaching staff is incapable of developing anyone, creating any current offensive sets/game plans.

This coaching staff sucks. What a crappy thing to do to what was once an elite program.

Fortunately, ESPN, grasping for someone to praise other than UConn (and that's a tough thing to achieve) just posted an article about a team whose name I don't remembver..... "they got a tough schedule coming up Baylor, ND and Tennessee"

C'mon ESPN.... Tennessee is a tough out? How 'bout that UVA game. Oh yeah... they stood tall for that under that coaching waste. Tennessee is not a tough out

That team is going to pound this version of the Lady Vols into the ground
 
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#263
#263
"And is he a recruiter? .... it all starts with the persona of the young women he recruits. It's people first . . . "

During the game last night I was going on about Auriemma's skills as a game coach (I had expected UConn to lose a squeaker) when my wife said almost verbatim what you posted. Her opinion is that getting the right players that will buy into what it takes to win, is as important as getting players with great skills.
 
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#264
#264
Amb3096 said:
Tanya Cardoza at Temple and Jamelle Elliott (forgot where). Jen Rizotti is HC at Hartford, but I don't know if she was ever an assistant for Geno.
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Cardoza at Temple, Elliot at Cincinnati, and Rizotti is now coaching George Washington.
 
#265
#265
Volfan2012 said:
I can see the possibility of a close game with Kansas State and Maryland but expect them to win both games.
After winning those two their conference is easy and they will easily have another undefeated season. On to the tourney and by then they will be a lot better and should win another title.
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Don't sleep on Temple in their conference, Cardoza (his former assistant for 10 plus years) knows Geno very well and has her team playing well.
 
#266
#266
mlindsay said:
Don't sleep on Temple in their conference, Cardoza (his former assistant for 10 plus years) knows Geno very well and has her team playing well.
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I think they just barely missed out on making the tourney last year. Cardoza is a very good coach.
 
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#268
#268
brassie said:
"And is he a recruiter? .... it all starts with the persona of the young women he recruits. It's people first . . . "

During the game last night I was going on about Auriemma's skills as a game coach (I had expected UConn to lose a squeaker) when my wife said almost verbatim what you posted. Her opinion is that getting the right players that will buy into what it takes to win, is as important as getting players with great skills.
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This is a really important aspect of building a good team - Uconn very seldom has more than 4 or 5 players in a class that they are seriously recruiting, and sometimes it is down to 2 or 3. The coaches would rather have a really short bench than deal with players and families they don't like and want to coach.

They all have talent, but the coaches are more interested in what kind of teammate they are in HS and AAU, what their demeanor is when on the bench, and how they interact with their coaches. And they need to be willing and able passers. There was a top 3 rated player who was reported a really strong lean who came for a visit and she and her parents asked one too many questions about minutes and starting, and they left without an offer. Simple answer - you get the minutes you earn in practice, if you want a guarantee go somewhere else. She went somewhere else and had an OK college career, but hasn't been able to crack the pros.

He'd rather take a Stef Dolson ranked in the 30s that would run through a wall for her teammates than a top 10 center that feels entitled to special deference.
 
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#271
#271
mlindsay said:
Don't sleep on Temple in their conference, Cardoza (his former assistant for 10 plus years) knows Geno very well and has her team playing well.
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I 'm not say it couldn't happen but I would be willing to risk 100 dollars a game vs 50 in return in all their conference games. Up to this point they have never lost a game in that conference and this year if they lose any or one will be a huge surprise.
 
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