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Post by richp1942 on Feb 26, 2024 3:58:29 GMT
For the second time, this season, I went to Food City Thompson Bolling Arena intent on rooting for the Lady Volunteers. It was Tennessee v. Kim Mulkey and LSU. Hardly a close choice. A few observations. No one can consistently stop Morrow except Kim Mulkey. She was completely frozen out of the offense. Hailey Van Lith was the true star. Reese had a lot of rebounds, but was also outside of the offensive flow.
It was sad watching Tennessee. There is a distnct lack of talent on the roster. They have one star (Rickea Johnson) who will be drafted in the top 5, but she was a portal rental. The recruiting pool is shallow. Tennessee has two sets of players. A bunch of quick undersized guards who cannot shoot and a gaggle of big slow players who can shoot but cannot defend anyone. The team were easy to defend.
Tennessee played well in the first and third periods. But they were no real match. They are unranked. And the incoming class does not appear to be dripping in talent.
What made me sad was whether I was witnessing the future of UConn when Geno leaves. Tennessee can no longer attract the top talent. The juniors and seniors in high school were one or two when Tennessee was last relevant. Paige has bought UConn a few years even without a title, but is the day coming when Geno is a decade retired and a little town 45 minutes from Hartford may no longer be a destination for the best players
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Marco
Husky4ever
Posts: 2,583
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Post by Marco on Feb 26, 2024 17:05:56 GMT
For the second time, this season, I went to Food City Thompson Bolling Arena intent on rooting for the Lady Volunteers. It was Tennessee v. Kim Mulkey and LSU. Hardly a close choice. A few observations. No one can consistently stop Morrow except Kim Mulkey. She was completely frozen out of the offense. Hailey Van Lith was the true star. Reese had a lot of rebounds, but was also outside of the offensive flow. It was sad watching Tennessee. There is a distnct lack of talent on the roster. They have one star (Rickea Johnson) who will be drafted in the top 5, but she was a portal rental. The recruiting pool is shallow. Tennessee has two sets of players. A bunch of quick undersized guards who cannot shoot and a gaggle of big slow players who can shoot but cannot defend anyone. The team were easy to defend. Tennessee played well in the first and third periods. But they were no real match. They are unranked. And the incoming class does not appear to be dripping in talent. What made me sad was whether I was witnessing the future of UConn when Geno leaves. Tennessee can no longer attract the top talent. The juniors and seniors in high school were one or two when Tennessee was last relevant. Paige has bought UConn a few years even without a title, but is the day coming when Geno is a decade retired and a little town 45 minutes from Hartford may no longer be a destination for the best players Say it ain’t so Joe! |
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Post by storygordon on Feb 26, 2024 17:17:21 GMT
When John Wooden won his last NCAA cchampionshipin 1975 it was 20 years before they won the next and only since.
UConn is the result of the Geno/CD duo. Who predicted what has happened during their time at UConn. Their contribution to WCBB's current elevated status may be their most enduring achievement... plus those who have benefitted from focusing on excellence.
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Post by richp1942 on Feb 26, 2024 23:51:46 GMT
When John Wooden won his last NCAA cchampionshipin 1975 it was 20 years before they won the next and only since.
UConn is the result of the Geno/CD duo. Who predicted what has happened during their time at UConn. Their contribution to WCBB's current elevated status may be their most enduring achievement... plus those who have benefitted from focusing on excellence.
Gordon: I agree 100 percent. Arguably (and I think it is so clear it needs no argument): the two most impressive program builds are the UConn men and the UConn women. Imagine getting the cream of the crop from (women) California, New York City, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Texas, Tennessee and Georgia and convincing them to go to Storrs, Connecticut. 16 National Championships later... |
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Post by storygordon on Feb 27, 2024 0:26:58 GMT
When John Wooden won his last NCAA cchampionshipin 1975 it was 20 years before they won the next and only since.
UConn is the result of the Geno/CD duo. Who predicted what has happened during their time at UConn. Their contribution to WCBB's current elevated status may be their most enduring achievement... plus those who have benefitted from focusing on excellence.
Gordon: I agree 100 percent.Parity has improved so much today that a repeat of either's success may be beyond possible. Arguably (and I think it is so clear it needs no argument): the two most impressive program builds are the UConn men and the UConn women. Imagine getting the cream of the crop from (women) California, New York City, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Texas, Tennessee and Georgia and convincing them to go to Storrs, Connecticut. 16 National Championships later... Since I did not follow the game, men's or women's, in the 70's Wooden may have had the advantage of developing a system beyond the norm, as did Geno. Today's parity in both may have put repeats of either out of reach, but the benefit is that more teams are playing at a high level. |
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Post by momandapplepie on Feb 27, 2024 16:30:31 GMT
When great coaches retire, their programs might still be good but they will never be at the same level. That applies even more to college where a coach's personality and reputation can overcome a relatively crappy geographic location to entice players to come. I don't expect Alabama to be the Alabama of the Sabin era now that he is gone. I'm not expecting UConn to be competing for National Championships on an annual basis when Geno retires either. Sadly, I think Geno will retire within the next three years too. I base that on his comment after winning #1200 when he said he would only be adding double-digits to that win total before hanging it up. If true, I'm thinking it is next year or bust for winning #12. For once, I think Geno and Chris need to actively recruit one or more bigs from the transfer portal. Hopefully, there will be some quality there that can help us. Our backcourt will already be deep and talented. But without help, the post could be a big weakness for us next year. Aubrey will be a solid all around contributor and Ice has shown flashes of competence in a few conference games but Patterson and El Alfy are completely untested and coming off season-long injuries. I pray to the Basketball Gods that Edwards opts to return for her last year of eligibility. She has said she wants to hang a banner of her own in Gampel. Next year will be her best, and last, shot at doing just that. www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/39471658/uconn-forward-aaliyah-edwards-inspired-huskies-legends |
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