Saniya was a Sophomore at the time of the Stanford game and had rightly earned her starting spot. But her inconsistent play and loss of confidence did not start after the Stanford game as you are implying. It actually started early in her Freshmen year. For example, Saniya came off the bench as a Freshmen and was brilliant sparking the team against Stanford 3rd game of the season when it seem like no one else could find the basket. By the end of the season she was not a part of the regular rotation but had several good moments during the season.
If you feel bad for Saniya you should also feel bad for Senior Kiah Stokes because she was also removed from the starting lineup after the Stanford game. All-American Bria Hartley was removed from the starting line also-For the benefit of the team. UCONN WCBB is a very competitive (perhaps the most competitive). Geno pushes buttons constantly but don't believe for one second that there is a player sitting on the bench that could help the team win and Geno and the staff have not found a way to utilize that player.
I
DID NOT imply in my post that Saniya only lost confidence and consistency after the Stanford game her sophomore year!! As we
ALL know, when freshmen arrive at Storrs, to play WCBB for UConn, it becomes an almost overwhelming task trying to learn the offensive and defensive schemes and combine that with the extreme physical nature of practice. To perform consistently well, like a senior/junior (and very occasionally a sophomore) would, is next to impossible........and Saniya was no different during her freshman year than the vast majority of other freshmen who came before her...she was inconsistent with a wavering confidence level.
What I
WAS implying in my post, was that Saniya used the summer, early fall and weeks of practice before the first game of her sophomore season, to become a player the coaches (including Geno) and her teammates had very high praise for and earned her a starting position on the best women's college basketball team in the nation. Saniya was in a good place, mentally and physically.......and when Geno yanked her from the starting lineup after the Stanford game, I think it shook her to her core, and she hasn't been the same since.
I did feel bad for Kiah Stokes......especially her first 3 years. In Kiah's senior year, Geno finally realized he wasn't going to turn her into an offensive juggernaut and used her for the situations that would bring out the best in Kiah, and that would help our team win.......... and occasionally, Kiah even scored a bunch too.
While we are at it, I'd like to mention Charde..........I thought Geno put the shackles on her offensively. He refused to let Charde out past the 3 pt arc and every time she did so, he wasn't happy. Charde was strong and very athletic and I'm sure Geno thought she could be dominant down low, especially when being defended by a guard. (just like he's doing with Gabby, although in Gabby's case, I think it's a good thing to do.........for a while)
Well Charde liked to shoot the three ball too! Check out her high school numbers. But I wouldn't be surprised if Charde shot 10% from long distance (long 2 or 3) in her career at UConn with all the looking over her shoulder at the bench.........Experiencing more freedom in the WNBA, Charde became a WNBA ALL-STAR.
Geno's a great coach....one of the very, very best there is..........wouldn't be an Olympic coach if he wasn't. But he has made some mistakes IMHO....both situationally and personnel wise. I guess that's only being human.