Geno show and Memphis

[UcMiami]

Though last nights Geno Show was another home run. Best part was the talk about coaching with all three assistants/associate adding comments.
Geno says they don't do anything special, no secret drills that no one else runs, but they have three advantages: they get good players, they have 30 years of tradition that is passed down, and they do not allow anything to slide with any player for the full two hours every practice.
Also said they have never turned down any request to visit a practice by a coach at any level.
He would love to take a year off and just visit other practices - top of his list is NBA, then a few WNBA, and a few college. With the pros he wants to see how they install offense so quickly, with so little practice time, how they deal with defense when you have to guard all five players, how the players take the coaching.
Also says he seldom attends a HS game with a good coach when he is out recruiting where he doesn't see something (coaching wise) that doesn't make him go 'ah ha'.

Just a comment on Memphis - Really like their coach and her comments about setting goals - fighting for every rebound (check), limiting fouls and Uconn foul shots (check), and limiting turnover (oops.) I thought they were much improved in this game regardless of final score. And I think this is the advantage of Uconn being in the league for these teams - first time around, shock and awe, second time, lets work on some things and improve.

 

[DobbsRover2]

I'll take the "we don't do anything different in practice" comment with a big pile of salt, and even Geno qualified the remark a bit and also said that they do the drills more intensely, so it is a matter of semantics and also of whom he is comparing UConn to. Does Memphis do drills down by 5 with 30 seconds to go and 5 on 8 drills against guys? I'm guessing not, and I'm also thinking that though a certain drill may start from a general form similar to ones other teams do, by the time the UConn staff gets through putting in wrinkles and amping the pressure that the Huskies' version is way different than what UNC does with it. And also, though you may be able to find a team here or there who does a particular drill, I doubt very much that any other team has anything resembling UConn's complete package for practice.

 

[UConnCat]

When talking about Geno's practices I always go back to Brenda Vanlengen's comments after the '13 championship game. She did a radio podcast with Mechelle Voepel in April '13 and mentioned that she has been part of ESPN's production crew for 8 consecutive Final Fours and in that role had the opportunity to attend all of the teams' practices. VanLengen said no team practices like UConn. She said Geno's practices are "different than everybody else...there's a demand and focus and attention to detail that others don't reach...very impressive."

 

[UcMiami]

Dobbs - I think what he was saying is there is no super secret drill or something revolutionary. That doesn't mean the nature of the 2 hrs is the same in terms of intensity, focus, detail, or the eyes watching (coaches.) It isn't that they run this drill or that, but that when they run the drill the focus is laser, AND then they run another drill and another. For 120 minutes of practice they practice for 119 of those minutes and they watch everyone with equal attention to detail. They do not stop and they do not let anything slide.

Shea's comment was that EVERY player that comes to Uconn leaves a better player from the star to the walk-on and that is good for their basketball future but also for their life after basketball.

Another Geno-ism - Talking about his history of being a HS coach and figuring out how to teach really bad players how to be better players - Kerith asked if the players ended up liking him for it and his response - 'No, they hate me - but what do I care, I don't need any 19 year old friends!'