Geno has officially become...

[UConnNick]

...the Godfather of Women's College Basketball.

Pat Summitt may have been the queen, but Geno has won more titles, and he did it in fewer seasons than she did.

The comparison to Wooden is perfectly valid. Geno's record and name deserve to be right next to his. Wooden coached during a totally different era of college BB. Most of his teams only had to win four games to win the title. It was a remarkable accomplishment, and there was and is far more parity in men's BB than women's, but anyone who thinks Geno wouldn't be successful coaching men's college BB is nuts. He wouldn't pile up as many titles, but he'd be just as effective as a recruiter and teacher of the game, and his teams would win.

Hopefully, we will never have to find out.

 

[UcMiami]

...the Godfather of Women's College Basketball.

Pat Summitt may have been the queen, but Geno has won more titles, and he did it in fewer seasons than she did.

The comparison to Wooden is perfectly valid. Geno's record and name deserve to be right next to his. Wooden coached during a totally different era of college BB. Most of his teams only had to win four games to win the title. It was a remarkable accomplishment, and there was and is far more parity in men's BB than women's, but anyone who thinks Geno wouldn't be successful coaching men's college BB is nuts. He wouldn't pile up as many titles, but he'd be just as effective as a recruiter and teacher of the game, and his teams would win.

Hopefully, we will never have to find out.

If you look at the players on those UCLA teams it is pretty hard to think 'parity' in the men's game was all that significant - a few years his freshman team (who couldn't play on the 'senior team' per NCAA rules at the time) was the only team that could beat his senior team. Heck - 6 years in a row with Kareem followed by Walton as his center and just packed with future NBA all stars. (and all bought and paid for by his boosters!!!)

 

[asuwish]

If you look at the players on those UCLA teams it is pretty hard to think 'parity' in the men's game was all that significant - a few years his freshman team (who couldn't play on the 'senior team' per NCAA rules at the time) was the only team that could beat his senior team. Heck - 6 years in a row with Kareem followed by Walton as his center and just packed with future NBA all stars. (and all bought and paid for by his boosters!!!)

In Wooden's era there were 32 teams and no at large bids. Take a look at this years Men's or Women's brackets and remove the at large teams. That means only 1 team from each conference and see how weak the tourney would be. Unlike today when coaches can watch every play, back then they had very limited ability to scout and break down film and few game where on TV.

 

[Oldbones]

In Wooden's era there were 32 teams and no at large bids. Take a look at this years Men's or Women's brackets and remove the at large teams. That means only 1 team from each conference and see how weak the tourney would be. Unlike today when coaches can watch every play, back then they had very limited ability to scout and break down film and few game where on TV.

And, the games were purely geographical matchups. Western teams represented one of the final four, then Midwest, Mideast , East. So, Oregon (for example ) couldn't see North Carolina (for example)before the final. Kareem's (Alcindor) teams only had to win four games a couple of times, getting a bye into the round of 16.

Not that Lew and company wouldn't have been able to win a few more....
.

 

[UcMiami]

And regionals were truly regional - so Wooden only played west coast teams in the first two games of the tournament and there really were few good teams in the west.

 

[Bonpland]

In that era the NIT rivaled the NCAA tourney for excitement. Great teams that didn't win their conference title would wind up in NY and we got to see ACC, Sec, and Big Ten giants play each other and have to go up against teams like Bobby Knight's Army team and Walt Frazier's Salukis.

The larger point though is that Geno has helped to transform the game by improving training, game strategy, and team philosophy as he has built a brand and inspired others to compete on the highest levels.

Notre Dame, Louisville, South Carolina, Baylor, and Tennessee will all enter next year's season with the kind of athlete's that can challenged UCONN for the championship, and that is at least partially due to the attention and aclaim that has been heaped on the UCONN program, Geno's program.

Thirty years ago a great female ahtlete would have been drawn to track and field or tennis as the only sure way to gain national fame through their participation in a "sport". Now Sue Bird gets a national TV commercial alongside male superstars, and the Taurasi's and Parker's have athletic gear named for them.

Success, both personally and economically, follows excellence, and Geno has been in the excellence business here at Storrs for the last thirty years.

 

[CL82]

...the Godfather of Women's College Basketball.

Pat Summitt may have been the queen, but Geno has won more titles, and he did it in fewer seasons than she did.

The comparison to Wooden is perfectly valid. Geno's record and name deserve to be right next to his. Wooden coached during a totally different era of college BB. Most of his teams only had to win four games to win the title. It was a remarkable accomplishment, and there was and is far more parity in men's BB than women's, but anyone who thinks Geno wouldn't be successful coaching men's college BB is nuts. He wouldn't pile up as many titles, but he'd be just as effective as a recruiter and teacher of the game, and his teams would win.

Hopefully, we will never have to find out.

I'm not certain of that but he's a tough guy to bet against. I've mentioned this in the past but when Jim Calhoun was asked whether Geno could coach in the men's game, Calhoun said that he'd like to see it. After some laughter by the crowd, he clarified that Geno knows the game and has a track record of success. It sounded like Calhoun would be interested in seeing what a Geno men's team would look like. I would as well. Given the differences in athleticism, it would look different than the woman's team. How it would is anyone's guess.

 

[MilfordHusky]

A Tampa sportswriter put Geno in with John Woolen and Phil Jackson, while noting that Geno is far from done.