UCONN

[shields]

They won today 87-24. What a terrible conference.

 

[Ewecon]

Amen to that. It's pathetic. UConn led 54-12 at the half and the bench played almost the entire 2nd half. Morgan Tuck only played 10 minutes. Even the supposed "good" teams in the conference aren't that good. Tulane and South Florida are decent, but what does being decent in a terrible conference mean? Nothing. I don't know how Geno keeps the team focused in games like this, but they always are.

 

[RUCONN]

no idea how he keeps recruiting these kinds of players, they literally only play 2 big teams a year if i was a top player i wouldnt want to spend my four years playing tulane, houston, east carolina, and usf

 

[MC1974]

Originally posted by RUCONN:
no idea how he keeps recruiting these kinds of players, they literally only play 2 big teams a year if i was a top player i wouldnt want to spend my four years playing tulane, houston, east carolina, and usf

In addition, their respective playing times are reduced because of the blowouts. But, they say Geno will make you a better player.

 

[RU old timer]

Schedule is not relevant when you can a national title every year. And play the best team basketball in America.

 

[Ewecon]

Well, they schedule some good OOC games, so I don't agree about them only playing 2 big games a year, but I certainly get your point. That said, recruits go to UConn because there's always a good chance they play their six "big" games at the end of the season, and regardless of the caliber or competition, Geno makes them better. There's no question that the AAC is extremely weak (and I'm being kind....although the rest of the conference pretty well matched), but honestly, was it much different when UConn was in the Big East?.....with several years being exceptions, of course. I wish I could put myself in the mind of a recruit. Must be a very difficult decision....do I go to a school where I'll play good teams and be a star on my team, or do I go to a school where I'll be like everyone else, get less playing time, but have a chance to win a NC? The lure of winning it all is very strong for young kids.

I have my fingers crossed that we get out of this horrible situation in a few years. In the meantime, I still hold a smidgeon of hope that the AAC somehow improves. There was a time when the Big East wasn't very good either, so I hang my hopes on that fact.

Good luck today. That NW game should have your team looking for blood.

 

[RUCONN]

Originally posted by Ewecon:
Well, they schedule some good OOC games, so I don't agree about them only playing 2 big games a year, but I certainly get your point. That said, recruits go to UConn because there's always a good chance they play their six "big" games at the end of the season, and regardless of the caliber or competition, Geno makes them better. There's no question that the AAC is extremely weak (and I'm being kind....although the rest of the conference pretty well matched), but honestly, was it much different when UConn was in the Big East?.....with several years being exceptions, of course. I wish I could put myself in the mind of a recruit. Must be a very difficult decision....do I go to a school where I'll play good teams and be a star on my team, or do I go to a school where I'll be like everyone else, get less playing time, but have a chance to win a NC? The lure of winning it all is very strong for young kids.

I have my fingers crossed that we get out of this horrible situation in a few years. In the meantime, I still hold a smidgeon of hope that the AAC somehow improves. There was a time when the Big East wasn't very good either, so I hang my hopes on that fact.

Good luck today. That NW game should have your team looking for blood.

their only big games are in march...it doesnt matter who they schedule nonconference because they are going to run thru the AAC because it's so midmajor and even worse than midmajor in wbb.....it is ridiculous it's like Royce Gracie fighting white belts

This post was edited on 3/1 12:39 PM by RUCONN

 

[RUJMM78]

The fact that UConn continues to dominate womens basketball just shows the effect of a tier system where less than five teams in a given season have a realistic chance of winning a national championship.

UConn will continue to dominate womens basketball because top recruits want to play for Geno regardless of league competition.Its winning national championships that matters to these recruits and the fact that they will be media darlings and top selections for the WNBA.

 

[shields]

how old is Geno now?

 

[BoroKnight]

Here's the thing about UConn: They run the risk of -- eventually -- becoming an Old Dominion or a Louisiana Tech. Those teams were powerhouses in the days before bigger time schools started taking women's basketball seriously. Now, they are not necessarily even any good in their own weak conferences: Tech is sixth in C-USA, and ODU is fourth. Who would have thought that in the mid-80s?

UConn has to hope the American improves before Geno retires; otherwise, when he goes, they go. And fast. Because even a "big name" ex-UConn player as his successor will not have the same magic if they're in a conference as bad as it is now. At least Holly Warlick has the SEC to go along with 20-plus years as the assistant AND played there. Without the SEC, I'm not sure the other two would matter so much, but they have better players coming in than they have leaving. (At least as far as recruit rankings go, you never know, of course.)

But for the time being, the chance to play for the guy who is one of the top two coaches the sport has seen, the chance to play at a place that gets big crowds, the chance to play intriguing December games and even more intriguing March games and, of course, the chance to play for a national championship is going to draw top recruits.

And, for the record, Geno turns 61 later this month. Barring a health problem, he can stick around a while longer.

 

[RU old timer]

The best 2 coaches I have seen are John Wooden and Geno. It is difficult to compare them. However, the team concept of ball has not been coached consistently in the modern era (past 40 years) like Geno has coached. I'm not sure we will ever see anything like it again, truthfully. And yes...I'm a Rutgers old timer...not a UCONN fan.

 

[OntheBanks]

I have no idea how UConn is doing this year in W BB. Quite frankly I haven't seen much of them on TV. That is the one thing
that is going to hurt their recruiting. Lack of TV exposure. Kids want to get the TV exposure.
I've watched a number of B1G games on BTN and I've seen ACC and SEC games on quite a few times.
AAC, Big East & UConn no.

 

[Turtle31]

Why do we see the same sour grape posts again and again? Yes, I said sour grapes, because that's what they read like to me. Uconn is not at fault for the inferior conference competition, but it's totally due to Geno that year in and year out they are national title contenders. He brings the best out of his players. As Rutgers fans, we would give just about anything to have this level of sustained success and the type of recruits that he brings in.
I agree with a previous post, that I don't see Uconn's superiority falling off while Geno is still the coach. Everyone else is playing for place and show.

 

[BeKnighted_rivals]

My wish for UConn is to find a better conference (but not the B1G, thank you).

There's been some debate on RebKell about what happens if the Huskies stay in the AAC, and views are mixed. Generally, the thought is that they'll be fine so long as Geno is there, but watch out when he leaves. A few people (and I'm among them) wonder if they could end up losing steam even with Geno there because of the challenge of the conference and scheduling enough good OOC games. While I have no doubt that Geno is about as good as anyone could be at keeping his team sharp, there are limits even to his skill.

 

[Ewecon]

OntheBanks, Lack of TV exposure is going to hurt their recruiting? EVERY UConn women's game is televised...every season. This season, 10 games have been on ESPN/ESPN2, 2 games on CBS SN and all the rest on SNY, who currently owns the contract to televise UConn games. Not only are they not lacking in TV exposure, but there's not a WCBB program in the country that gets more TV exposure. In fact, some would say it's over-exposure.

 

[shields]

SNY, all those games are blowouts.

 

[knightfan2000]

No one is tuning into UConn basketball games (except UConn fans), especially on SNY, because the games are totally boring and usually over within the first 5 minutes. The only time the general public tunes in is when they play someone who might give them a game and is rooting for the upset.

 

[Ewecon]

I'm not saying the games aren't blowouts, and my point wasn't about who was watching. I was only pointing out that every game is televised in response to their perceived lack of TV exposure. Heck, I usually don't even watch the 2nd half