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Post by linkster on Jun 18, 2024 12:57:06 GMT -5
27 minute interview. This is fairly early in the video.
(Not verbatum) "I've been playing a 3 guard lineup since 1985. Last year we played 4 guards. When we had Gabby we played 5."
"But I've always felt you should put your best five players on the court, regardless of position."
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Post by bulkey on Jun 18, 2024 13:21:05 GMT -5
Rocky, thanks for posting this!--moving yours to linksters, since he makes editorial comments as well.
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Post by bulkey on Jun 18, 2024 13:23:05 GMT -5
27 minute interview. This is fairly early in the video. (Not verbatum) "I've been playing a 3 guard lineup since 1985. Last year we played 4 guards. When we had Gabby we played 5."
"But I've always felt you should put your best five players on the court, regardless of position."
The question of the 3 guard line-up is at 2:50. But 3 guards is a point, a shooting guard and a 3 guard (aka Paige Bueckers). Offer still stands: 2-1 odds that either KK or Kaitlyn starts the first game and plays what is generally considered the point. :-) More importantly: Azzi, Jana, and Morgan are not playing full court "doing somethings but not everything." Predicts that Dan Hurley WILL take a pro coaching position "down the road." "He said he wants to do it, so he will do it." Nice things about Jana near the end. |
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Post by linkster on Jun 18, 2024 14:07:12 GMT -5
27 minute interview. This is fairly early in the video. (Not verbatum) "I've been playing a 3 guard lineup since 1985. Last year we played 4 guards. When we had Gabby we played 5."
"But I've always felt you should put your best five players on the court, regardless of position."
The question of the 3 guard line-up is at 2:50. But 3 guards is a point, a shooting guard and a 3 guard (aka Paige Bueckers). Offer still stands: 2-1 odds that either KK or Kaitlyn starts the first game and plays what is generally considered the point. :-) More importantly: Azzi, Jana, and Morgan are not playing full court "doing somethings but not everything." Predicts that Dan Hurley WILL take a pro coaching position "down the road." "He said he wants to do it, so he will do it." Nice things about Jana near the end. Three guards is three guards, period, unless you have Geno on record saying what you said. I have been giving my opinion of who should play where. Not Geno's. I don't want to bet on his decision. I do enough wagering elsewhere. Here I like to discuss stuff. |
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Post by bulkey on Jun 18, 2024 14:14:14 GMT -5
The question of the 3 guard line-up is at 2:50. But 3 guards is a point, a shooting guard and a 3 guard (aka Paige Bueckers). Offer still stands: 2-1 odds that either KK or Kaitlyn starts the first game and plays what is generally considered the point. :-) More importantly: Azzi, Jana, and Morgan are not playing full court "doing somethings but not everything." Predicts that Dan Hurley WILL take a pro coaching position "down the road." "He said he wants to do it, so he will do it." Nice things about Jana near the end. Three guards is three guards, period, unless you have Geno on record saying what you said. I have been giving my opinion of who should play where. Not Geno's. I don't want to bet on his decision. I do enough wagering elsewhere. Here I like to discuss stuff. I'm cool about it, too. I guess I didn't understand fully that you weren't making a prediction. My bad about that. But to return to what Geno actually did say. I just don't understand why 3 guards means anything beyond standard practice. If we think of (say) 2-1-2 as an offense, then, sure, there's "only" 2 guards. But if we think instead about motion/Chin, then the emphasis is on flexibility and quickness. So, "3 guards" really just means that the 3rd player in that set is an effective ball handler as well. Anyway, end of discussion. |
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Post by linkster on Jun 18, 2024 14:38:27 GMT -5
Geno states that the five best players, REGARDLESS OF POSITION should play. So, who are the 5 best?
My opinion?
It's impossible to objectively compare the relative values of different skills and who can say what "best" means. I'm looking for exceptional and versatile players, regardless of position.
Bueckers, X, X, X, X,
X= El Alfy, Strong, Ziebell, Cheli, Fudd, Chen, Griffin ... et al
I have strong feelings that at least one of the 1st year players will end up starting, by merit, not by necessity. Strong is giving me a starter vibe already. Too good at too many things and very versatile. If healthy, Fudd falls into the same category, too good at too many things.
So I got Bueckers, Fudd & Strong. I could pull 2 names out of a hat and field a dynamite five because there are nothing but stars to pick from. Right now I can't see 2 players who are that much better than the rest. Griffin is the best defender. El Alfy might be the best rebounder and shot blocker. Ziebell might be the best scorer and 3pt shooter. But all of them have unknowns.
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Post by linkster on Jun 18, 2024 15:01:50 GMT -5
Three guards is three guards, period, unless you have Geno on record saying what you said. I have been giving my opinion of who should play where. Not Geno's. I don't want to bet on his decision. I do enough wagering elsewhere. Here I like to discuss stuff. I'm cool about it, too. I guess I didn't understand fully that you weren't making a prediction. My bad about that. But to return to what Geno actually did say. I just don't understand why 3 guards means anything beyond standard practice. If we think of (say) 2-1-2 as an offense, then, sure, there's "only" 2 guards. But if we think instead about motion/Chin, then the emphasis is on flexibility and quickness. So, "3 guards" really just means that the 3rd player in that set is an effective ball handler as well. Anyway, end of discussion. After his talk about 3,4 and 5 guard lineups he goes on to say that the five best players, regardless of position should start and play together the most. So that kind of qualifies your 3 guard+ argument. His best 5 players over his career included more guards than other positions and that's why they played, not simply that he wanted 3 guards. Geno mentions in the interview that the competition is going to be intense. The players are aware of it and we need to remember that they came to UConn knowing that. I think he mentions how Muhl was overwhelmed at first by how everyone was better than her but that she responded with hard work. I think he laughingly asks the hoard if Arnold will pout if she isn't a starter. |
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Post by bulkey on Jun 18, 2024 19:53:26 GMT -5
Best players in any sport is relative.
If your (say) 8 best players on your baseball team are all infielders, do you start 3 of them in the outfield?
If your best football players are all on offense, do you start them on defense as well?
Your best players are ultimately the best players who make up a team which has the best chance of winning.
I'll use--as I always do--the example of Tony Yates (one of my all-time favorite players). He wasn't a particularly good player. But he started for the great Cincinnati team that won two NCs and just fell short of a 3rd, because he simply made the team better. Everyone knew that he was the essential ingredient. So, he was certainly one of the 5 best.
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Post by huskyharper on Jun 19, 2024 13:17:03 GMT -5
Best players in any sport is relative. If your (say) 8 best players on your baseball team are all infielders, do you start 3 of them in the outfield? If your best football players are all on offense, do you start them on defense as well? Your best players are ultimately the best players who make up a team which has the best chance of winning. I'll use--as I always do--the example of Tony Yates (one of my all-time favorite players). He wasn't a particularly good player. But he started for the great Cincinnati team that won two NCs and just fell short of a 3rd, because he simply made the team better. Everyone knew that he was the essential ingredient. So, he was certainly one of the 5 best. Nika may not have been one of the best players last year, but we all saw how the team fell apart when she wasn't on the floor. I will argue about that first phrase, but the second was obvious. |
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Post by linkster on Jun 19, 2024 13:25:25 GMT -5
Best players in any sport is relative. If your (say) 8 best players on your baseball team are all infielders, do you start 3 of them in the outfield? If your best football players are all on offense, do you start them on defense as well? Your best players are ultimately the best players who make up a team which has the best chance of winning. I'll use--as I always do--the example of Tony Yates (one of my all-time favorite players). He wasn't a particularly good player. But he started for the great Cincinnati team that won two NCs and just fell short of a 3rd, because he simply made the team better. Everyone knew that he was the essential ingredient. So, he was certainly one of the 5 best. Great points but Geno says different. He plays his best players regardless of position. So the infielders would play the outfield. Maybe your best outfielders are poor hitters. And unless we are talking only of pro players your infielders are the best outfielders too. One of my childhood heroes was Frank Gifford who played both offense and defense for the Giants and made all-pro both ways. |
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Post by linkster on Jun 19, 2024 13:34:55 GMT -5
Best players in any sport is relative. If your (say) 8 best players on your baseball team are all infielders, do you start 3 of them in the outfield? If your best football players are all on offense, do you start them on defense as well? Your best players are ultimately the best players who make up a team which has the best chance of winning. I'll use--as I always do--the example of Tony Yates (one of my all-time favorite players). He wasn't a particularly good player. But he started for the great Cincinnati team that won two NCs and just fell short of a 3rd, because he simply made the team better. Everyone knew that he was the essential ingredient. So, he was certainly one of the 5 best. Nika may not have been one of the best players last year, but we all saw how the team fell apart when she wasn't on the floor. I will argue about that first phrase, but the second was obvious. In 2023 Nika and Bettencourt were the only guards on the active roster and Bettencourt was too raw to play much. Muhl was vital that year. Last year the only subs were a wing and a post so Muhl again was vital. Extremely short benches make almost everyone vital. When you have 14 outstanding players "the best five" has more relevance. |
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Post by bulkey on Jun 19, 2024 15:39:21 GMT -5
Best players in any sport is relative. If your (say) 8 best players on your baseball team are all infielders, do you start 3 of them in the outfield? If your best football players are all on offense, do you start them on defense as well? Your best players are ultimately the best players who make up a team which has the best chance of winning. I'll use--as I always do--the example of Tony Yates (one of my all-time favorite players). He wasn't a particularly good player. But he started for the great Cincinnati team that won two NCs and just fell short of a 3rd, because he simply made the team better. Everyone knew that he was the essential ingredient. So, he was certainly one of the 5 best. Great points but Geno says different. He plays his best players regardless of position. So the infielders would play the outfield. Maybe your best outfielders are poor hitters. And unless we are talking only of pro players your infielders are the best outfielders too. One of my childhood heroes was Frank Gifford who played both offense and defense for the Giants and made all-pro both ways. Ditto Chuck Bednarick. We can count them on one hand. :-) |
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Post by meyers7 on Jun 20, 2024 7:09:50 GMT -5
Geno has played a 3 guard offense for quite some time. And yeah sometimes even a 4 guard offense, but probably more out of necessity. However his best starting lineup ever had 2 guards and 3 forwards....no center. So yeah, positions (G, PG, F, C, PF, SF, etc.) don't matter all that much to Geno. However, players will fill the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, roles....one way or another.
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Post by swash on Jun 20, 2024 8:28:40 GMT -5
Geno has played a 3 guard offense for quite some time. And yeah sometimes even a 4 guard offense, but probably more out of necessity. However his best starting lineup ever had 2 guards and 3 forwards....no center. So yeah, positions (G, PG, F, C, PF, SF, etc.) don't matter all that much to Geno. However, players will fill the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, roles....one way or another. Well said. Even when players are playing amorphous positions, usually, there is clarity at one end or the other. KK , Ash, and Nika were roughly the one, two, and three respectively. KK and Nika traded back and forth on Offense all the time, often from play to play ... but on Defense, Nika moved to PG, SG, or Wing ... depending on who she had to try to stop/slow down. If the target was the PG, KK would defend the Wing and Ash would stay on the SG. But, if the Two was the bigger threat, KK would play against their One and Ash would get the Wing. Against a strong Wing, KK and Ash defended the One and Two as was "normal". Meanwhile, either Aaliyah or Paige might post up their defender, whichever matchup seemed favorable and the other might be throwing the high/low pass... But Bueckers would also float out to the top of the key, forcing the defense to scramble a guard out there and moving their Four to someone else. It was a forced switch that didn't require a pick. That is part of the reason that Paige was so often "given" an easy driving lane to the hoop. After such a switch, Paige would also race inside and post up the guard ... quick before the defense could switch back. |
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