Geno's psychology with Kiah Stokes......?

[Kibitzer]

I HOPE that Kiah develops a bad-ass attitude every time she goes on the court, practice or games. I think that is her missing ingredient.

Players like Diana and Kelly and Kaleena are gracious young ladies off the court. Once the opening tip occurs, rhey become mean-spirited. Sue and Maya were angelic off the court, but In Your Face competitors once the game began. C'mon, Kiah, get nasty. Be a bad-ass!

(On the bb court, only, of course)

 

[Icebear]

Kib, Sue isn't always an angel off the court. Remember that Diana says she cheats at cards and board games. :-D

 

[meyers7]

Kib, Sue isn't always an angel off the court. Remember that Diana says she cheats at cards and board games. :-D

So does DT I imagine.

 

[meyers7]

I believe Geno does not want players to sell themselves short. Charde was good. Geno could have played her and she would have helped UCONN (I mean she did quite a bit anyway). But she had the ability to be great. That's what he wanted for her.

He wants them to use what they have to their fullest. Don't cheat themselves.

 

[Shenandoah]

For what it's worth, and I don't go to practices or games (I live out of state) , but if you are having leg/foot problems, that aren't enough to keep you out of practice, it can appear that you aren't hustling, because it hurts to move certain ways. You also have to regain confidence in that leg/foot, so that when you DO push it, you won't be afraid of injuring yourself again. Whatever, I hope that she gets straightened out, because I see a tremendous upside with Kiah Stokes.

 

[sTu]

"Some have said that Breanna's upside is greater than Kiah's -- I don't agree."

And what percentage of people do you think "some" amounts to I am wondering?

 

[VAMike23]

Her practices must be VERY unsatisfactory.

That's certainly possible - but Geno doesn't always use the same methods all the time even with the same player. And certainly not from player to player. If he knows you've got very good talent and excellent athleticism, which Kiah does, he is just going to set the bar higher for you. It might be that this week he really challenged her hard, and she didn't respond the right way.

My own guess is that her practices have been kind of "middling" lately, rather than really bad, but of course I have no idea......With her gifts, Geno might have gotten fed up this week when he saw her production on the practice court.

As I said, it's just my own guess, not saying you're wrong at all. I will be very interested to see if the horde focuses in on Kiah the next time they are allowed in to practice. A lot of people are interested.

 

[Icebear]

So does DT I imagine.

Diana has rarely been associated with angels. But one has to love the demon in her.

 

[pinotbear]

that's what happens when you spend all that time near Tempe..

 

[EEich]

I apologize for my speculation... I didn't realize that voicing a legitimate opinion would be against the rules. I meant no harm by it.

 

[Sonny44]

Didn't work with Charde, did it?

Nothing would have worked with her.

 

[Sonny44]

"Some have said that Breanna's upside is greater than Kiah's -- I don't agree."

And what percentage of people do you think "some" amounts to I am wondering?

I do agree. Breanna can score big time as well as her great defense. Might score 10x points over Kiah when all is said and done. I sure hope Kiah can turn things around for the good of the team. As someone pointed out, we have only one recruit for next year and only one (so far) for 2014.

 

[JimGunther]

Never been a big X and O guy (I don't really understand them). I just love Kiah's demeanor on the court. She seems so cool. Maybe some read that "passion" is lacking but, I see her as, perhaps, a mature and calming influence (in the game or on the bench).
PS: I think she's showed pretty good game in the minutes she's played.

 

[magical2]

I just hope Kiah's happy. We, as fans, have all kinds of hopes and expectations for players based on views of their skill level and potential. But maybe she's satisfied being a Heather Buck type of player and getting in at the end of games. Or maybe she's satisfied just being part of the team and not getting any PT at all. As we saw in Heather Buck interviews, she LOVED her time at UCONN, was a great teammate, and ended up with a fantastic nursing degree that will support her the rest of her life.

I'd certainly like to see one of the horde interview Kiah to see what she's feeling and thinking, but in the absence of that all we can do is speculate and hope for the best. She has a great basketball body and has shown flashes of brilliance, but it seems pretty clear that Geno is not happy with what he's seeing from her. Only Kiah can decide if she wants to rise to the challenge, or stick with the status quo and make her future decisions based on that.

Really nice post Eric
The only comment is KIAH is not a victim
IRA

 

[UcMiami]

I just think this has been a tough year for Kiah physically and some of that may have gotten into her mind as well. I think she is going to be fine. I really like most of her defense and think she plays quite aggressively at that end. I wish she would be more aggressive on the offensive end. I do think there is a bit of a log jam at the forward/center at the moment - Stef deserves all the minutes she can handle physically and from a foul perspective, and getting Stewart and Tuck integrated is very important too. Add in Kelly/KML and the small line-up getting minutes, it can squeeze the minutes for Kiah.
Was surprised that Tuck got shut out in the second half recently until the report surfaced that her knee was a little sore at halftime, so sometimes we do not get the full story during the game or afterwards either. Kiah/Morgan have had these nagging injuries added to CDs ongoing problems. Winter ills also cropped up that don't always make the game reports. Can't remember which game but Meghan really got on my nerves talking constantly about a player being in Geno's doghouse when the reason she wasn't playing was physical and had nothing to do with performance.

 

[easttexastrash]

I just hope Kiah's happy. We, as fans, have all kinds of hopes and expectations for players based on views of their skill level and potential. But maybe she's satisfied being a Heather Buck type of player and getting in at the end of games. Or maybe she's satisfied just being part of the team and not getting any PT at all. As we saw in Heather Buck interviews, she LOVED her time at UCONN, was a great teammate, and ended up with a fantastic nursing degree that will support her the rest of her life.

I'd certainly like to see one of the horde interview Kiah to see what she's feeling and thinking, but in the absence of that all we can do is speculate and hope for the best. She has a great basketball body and has shown flashes of brilliance, but it seems pretty clear that Geno is not happy with what he's seeing from her. Only Kiah can decide if she wants to rise to the challenge, or stick with the status quo and make her future decisions based on that.

GREAT POST! I would "Like" multiple times if I could.

Eric, you hit the nail on the head. Is she happy and can she be if Geno's style of motivating doesn't work for her. That is the key question she must ask herself.

 

[EricLA]

GREAT POST! I would "Like" multiple times if I could.

Eric, you hit the nail on the head. Is she happy and can she be if Geno's style of motivating doesn't work for her. That is the key question she must ask herself.

Thanks. I have my moments, rare as they may be!...

 

[Icebear]

It should be noted that Geno doesn't have a singular approach to players. He is more complex than that, as precious.