Geno Hammers Quality of NCAA Men's Basketball

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

There is one thing that Geno is right about: fundamentals are at an all time low in the men's game. There are only a few teams that actually play really good fundamental basketball. This is one of the things I enjoy about the UConn women. They play basketball the way it is meant to be played. If you could resurrect James Naismith from the dead and have him watch a few UConn women's basketball games, I can guarantee you he'd be very happy with what he sees those girls doing.

This post was edited on 4/1 3:54 PM by KhalidShockedTheWorld

http://www.espn.go.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/12599734/geno-auriemma-uconn-huskies-says-quality-men-college-basketball-joke

 

[the Blades]

That's what you got out of the article ? Uconn Women ? Fundamentals ? I didn't see a word of that mentioned.... he was talking about rules and giving the offense a chance:

"They've moved in the fences in baseball, they lowered the mound, they made the strike zone so that you need a
straw to put through it. In the NFL, you touch a guy and it's a penalty. You hit the quarterback, you're out."

I think he's talking about some kind of rule changes to evolve the game ...maybe the hand checking, banging, flopping
on charges, bumping that doesn't give the offense a shot because the defense has evolved.

" Every other major sport in the world has taken steps to help people be better on the offensive end of the floor. "

 

[jimmygoiu]

hey Geno, your girls could not beat a boy's jv team....

the ball is smaller, the hoop is the same as the men's-are his girls shooting 75%.
Can any of his players touch the rim.
vertical jump higher than 10 inches.
shoot from the hip still?

wtf, does he watch his own team play? Not sure what he is watching, but girls don't play very well, even at the UConn level. And If not for the rainbow crowd, no one would watch the wnba.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

I interpreted the article as saying that men are not taught good fundamentals and we have heard the same from NBA types who have stated AAU has ruined the college game. Individualistic play is promoted and fundamentals are not emphasized.

On the other hand even though the game is not played above the rim the UConn women play the game with great fundamentals. Yes its a smaller ball but so what? Women are smaller people and have smaller hands, we all know this. What we are talking about is the sport as sport and the purity of it. I have seen many men's games this year that were an utter bastardization of the sport including a few by the UConn men, horrible offense, no spacing, terrible shooting, low assist totals etc. I remember watching Larry Bird and Magic Johnson when they played in college and that was the best basketball I ever saw in my life. They knew how to play the game correctly and they willed their teams to do the same.

 

[the Blades]

He mentions 10 men's team out of the top 25 who play the game right...alot of teams can struggle scoring because of alot factors it's not one simple answer, but a bunch of stuff that's evolved... AAU and no D creates bad habits...one and dones/transfers can cause bad team chemistry..Geno's and women's hoops are no comparison to the athleticism and talent pool that has been created in the last 30 years in the men's game..it's why there is so much parity....and upsets non stop.....And with all this parity Defense wins championships is the old saying...so that's what every college team can & will get better at....... then with all the switches and bumping they can turn into rugby scrums.

The D in the women's game and their lack of athleticism and physicality make it easier to run your stuff and look good, espcially when you grab 2-3 of top players every year out of a limited talent pool...... he's playing in the John Wooden era in terms of the talent pool in his sport.

And regarding the NBA.....even their D has evolved over the years it used to be showtime run and gun......the D schemes and hedges are light years ahead of back then.... but Bird and Magic did evolve the game into a "making your team mates better style" from the 70's when it was more a star/gunners league. And as stated above the women's game uses a smaller ball into the same diameter hoop= higher shooting %......Geno wants more offense out of the men.....have them play on a rim that's 6" wider in diameter and use a shot clock that has them chuck it up at the pace of Paul Westhead's Loyola Marymount teams of the late 80's.
This post was edited on 4/1 7:29 PM by the Blades

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

Blades,

Geno basically refuted all of what you have said in that article......he said that these excuses for the poor state of offense in the men's game is "nonsense." I think it mostly has to do with the AAU level and what happens to kids before they get to college. The coaching and development of fundamentals is not proper. Back when Bird and Magic played in 1979, that final 4 was some of the best basketball I have ever seen played. Bird carried an Indiana State team that really had, outside of Bird, one solid player to a 33-0 record before losing to Magic and Michigan State in the finals. Indiana State has been nowhere near the Final 4 since then. Bird actually fell into their lap because he had gone to Indiana but left after a month because he felt homesick. Magic in college, there was never a player like him before or since who could handle and pass the ball like he could, and in the NBA he developed a serviceable jumpshot. At the NBA level Magic could competently play all 5 positions on the floor. As a rookie he started for the Lakers at center in game 6 and dropped 42 on Philly. There has never been a player like that before or since.

Bird and Magic were almost singlehandedly responsible for the NBA's surge of popularity in the 1980s. The two of them came through college at the same time, met in the NCAA final and numerous NBA finals, and they completely lifted the franchises and teams they played for both in college and NBA. After the pinnacle of their glory playing together on the 1992 Dream Team, basketball has been in a state of decline. The men need to have two players like this come along to once again lift up the sport.


This post was edited on 4/1 8:40 PM by KhalidShockedTheWorld

 

[the Blades]

KSTW....I'm not getting your revisionist history of Magic and Bird I could write out word for word....I know all that.....I played
for my High school team around their era and watching them opened my eyes away from the my street ball / gunner game I
played back in then. ( did I ever tell you about the day I scored 60 pts)....They were trend setters and I copied their style, a
little to late for my HS coach after I left the team after 2 years...I agree they were once in a lifetime type of players.....Bird
and Magic had eyes in the back of their heads and how many true 6-9 PG's or Point forwards like them come around ....
but anyway WTF's that have to do with the muggings going on in college hoops right now.....

Geno didn't refute all of what I said....it's just he talks out of both sides of his mouth. But it's the bumping and physical
D that's got worse with it's rugby scrums.... you don't see it in the women's game because they're inferior athletically and
physically. (He talks about how the NBA has made changes with this ..while the college game hasn't)
.
Jacobs expands on this in his follow-up and talks about other rule changes ( what I was alluding to) :

Geno " do I want to pay 25, 30 bucks to see a college scrum where everybody misses six out of every 10 shots
they take " ...." In the NBA, you touch somebody in the perimeter, you whack guys like they used to do when
scores were 90-75, they change the rules. "

Joke Of The Day: Geno

" No, there isn't anything entirely new in Auriemma's words. Concern and ensuing discussion about the pace and style of men's college basketball has gone on for many months. It's just the way he said it. Joke. "

Oh and I already agreed about the AAU ball....no D...wide open run and gun...so the kids don't learn to play right....then they get to college vs lockdown D and muggings and alot them become lost and TO machines like some of the guys we've seen at Uconn.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

Cuban Latest To Hammer College Basketball

Cuban says "horrible" college basketball hurting the NBA:

http://www.espn.go.com/dallas/nba/story/_/id/12650607/dallas-mavericks-owner-mark-cuban-says-horrible-state-college-basketball-hurting-nba

 

[the Blades]

Re: Cuban Latest To Hammer College Basketball

ESPN First Take - Geno Auriemma is Totally Right to Call Men's College Basketball 'A Joke'
Stephen A. and Skip... tackle Geno's comments... Skip goes on about the rule changes needed because of
the Rugby scums and the Tom Izzo 'football type"banging that is allowed and going on.... also heard Geno again last
night and said the media takes a few of his words and then he gets in trouble....talked about rule changes again that are needed....

This post was edited on 4/8 11:15 PM by the Blades

 

[the Blades]

With the new rule changes to improve the scoring in the men's game Calipari chimes in yesterday with this CBS article:

"Calipari said the decision to reduce the shot clock from 35 to 30 seconds won't help or hurt the product. Earlier this month, the NCAA men's basketball rules committee approved a package of officiating directives. They're intended to focus on physical play on the perimeter and in the post, moving screens, block/charge plays and allow greater freedom of movement for players without the ball."

CBS Sports-Calipari challenges refs to call fouls
“Here's what the question will be: How long will they keep calling the fouls?” Calipari said. “Two years ago, we started this and then no one had the stomach for it. The teams that advanced in the NCAA Tournament that year fouled on every possession. So then we all — me included — went back to football practice. ‘That's it. Put helmets on. Let's go. That stuff was a bunch of BS.' And by the end of the year, that's how we played and basically made it to the Final Four playing football.”......“I'm telling you, you could go to 12 (on the shot clock)” and the game won't improve, Calipari said. “If you let them keep fouling, we're not going to score. It doesn't matter. You're going to foul more.”