Geno Rips Critics, Defends UConn's Dominance
- Thread starter KhalidShockedTheWorld
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I'm glad Geno reacted the way he did. Did it ruin the game when UCLA won seven titles in a row and had an 88 game winning streak?
Nope.
On the other hand if the reporter had said "ruining the game for me," I would be okay with that. I'd politely tell him not to watch.
Nope.
On the other hand if the reporter had said "ruining the game for me," I would be okay with that. I'd politely tell him not to watch.
Interesting take from SB Nation:
"Stop lying and pretending that greatness bores you. We know you're captivated by greatness in men's sports. The reason you're uninterested in what UConn is doing is not because they're too good, it's because they're women. Saying UConn is hurting their sport by being too good is misogyny passed off as a legitimate sports opinion, and it's disappointing to see mainstream media publications accept it as a legitimate narrative. This isn't about what sports storylines UConn's detractors enjoy, it's about which gender they respect. They don't care about these women because they don't have balls, and, ironically, they themselves don't have the balls to admit it publicly. "
" Be honest. Say the real reason you don't care about UConn out loud, preferably in a place where your mom or wife or girlfriend or daughter can see it. Say you don't care about UConn because they're women, and say it out loud, so the rest of us can know to think less of you. "
SB Nation: Saying UConn hurts women's basketball is misogyny disguised as legitimate sports opinion
"Stop lying and pretending that greatness bores you. We know you're captivated by greatness in men's sports. The reason you're uninterested in what UConn is doing is not because they're too good, it's because they're women. Saying UConn is hurting their sport by being too good is misogyny passed off as a legitimate sports opinion, and it's disappointing to see mainstream media publications accept it as a legitimate narrative. This isn't about what sports storylines UConn's detractors enjoy, it's about which gender they respect. They don't care about these women because they don't have balls, and, ironically, they themselves don't have the balls to admit it publicly. "
" Be honest. Say the real reason you don't care about UConn out loud, preferably in a place where your mom or wife or girlfriend or daughter can see it. Say you don't care about UConn because they're women, and say it out loud, so the rest of us can know to think less of you. "
SB Nation: Saying UConn hurts women's basketball is misogyny disguised as legitimate sports opinion
SB Nation Hot take.
Not liking women's basketball and misogyny aren't mutually exclusive. Not liking UCONN WBB because they're so good is just plain dumb.
I've tried to watch WBB but I can't do it for more than a few possessions. Not enough above the rim plays and too many missed layups. I watched a little bit of a tournament game and saw a player shoot an air ball on a floater from five feet.
Not liking women's basketball and misogyny aren't mutually exclusive. Not liking UCONN WBB because they're so good is just plain dumb.
I've tried to watch WBB but I can't do it for more than a few possessions. Not enough above the rim plays and too many missed layups. I watched a little bit of a tournament game and saw a player shoot an air ball on a floater from five feet.
This....athleticism.....I went to my first women's game ( earlier this year ) since an old girlfriend went to school there about 12 years ago..... I won some tix and sat right behind the Uconn bench, I was amazed watching that close... at the lack of lateral movement and speed....but for the purest who like the way the game was played in the 50's or something .....to each his own
But I wonder if this SB article was in responses of how Shaughnessy goes to great lengths to say how much he enjoys women's sports in his Boston Globe response to the drama ???.... for some media types it may be misogyny....despite what they try to cover up when called out:
Globe: UConn women are too dominant for their own good
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He is wrong because the premise of his article is that people turn the TVs off because of UConn but the UConn girls stoke ESPN's TV ratings. ESPN even said so the other night. So it isn't misogyny, it's plain old stupidity and ignorance by Shaunessy and he just repeated his ignorance with that article.
I personally enjoy watching the UConn women even when they win by 60 because they play the game the right way, with good fundamentals and they always play hard. Geno has a lot of talent on the roster now, but he also won championships with teams that were not so talented like the 2003 and 2004 squads which were called Diana and The 7 Dwarves. The 2004 team I remember losing a game to Duke after Duke pressed them and UConn blew a 15 point lead and then some Australian girl on Duke hit a 3 at the buzzer to win the game for Duke.
I personally enjoy watching the UConn women even when they win by 60 because they play the game the right way, with good fundamentals and they always play hard. Geno has a lot of talent on the roster now, but he also won championships with teams that were not so talented like the 2003 and 2004 squads which were called Diana and The 7 Dwarves. The 2004 team I remember losing a game to Duke after Duke pressed them and UConn blew a 15 point lead and then some Australian girl on Duke hit a 3 at the buzzer to win the game for Duke.
Former UConn center Jessica Moore gets into this controversy on her twitter:
https://twitter.com/JessMoore31?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author
https://twitter.com/JessMoore31?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author
I agree KSTW, ....To me anyway, unlike Shaughnessy, seeing the blowouts ( at least vs. good teams) and the way they keep grinding like a well oiled machine, is what actually makes it worth watching .....it sure ain't the athleticism. Sure Geno gets his share of great players....but kinda like what they say about Belichick in the NFL... that he can just plug in the next guy without missing a beat in his system and continue to win, makes you wonder why the rest of these WBB coaches can't do the same thing.....because it's not like he gets only McD AA's... and the majority of them aren't going to Uconn.
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Geno recruits coachable girls who also have talent. They do a lot of research on who they recruit. There are lots of All Americans they don't recruit because Geno does not indulge prima donnas who cannot be toughened up through Geno's very special brand of tough love and challenging those girls. I read that the assistant coaches delve very deeply into the kid's background and even if the parents are prima donnas Geno doesn't recruit them. I read a few years back that they nixed some top 10 girl because they met the parents and did not like what they saw and heard. Geno wants girls who are from solid families and have a good support network.
Geno did make some recruiting mistakes, a very big one was this girl Liz Sherwood from Colorado. Sherwood was a big stiff girl, slow as hell, no athletic ability and even her skill wasn't all that great plus she was enormously overweight. She was a huge girl but other than being massive had nothing going for her. Similarly they recruited a big girl from DC by name of Kaili McLaren who actually was a very skilled player and one of the best post passers UConn ever had. But they called her "Big Mama" and it was because she was huge and overweight and never could get in shape and she actually looked out of shape in games where they would take her out because she had no wind. Geno does seem to fall in love with scrappy players and even Breanna Stewart, who is obviously immensely talented, has a certain scrappiness and hustle to her game. Ditto with Moriah Jefferson. That girl has a huge heart beating in her chest, she plays hard 40 minutes every game. In the last 10 years they have recruited well getting highly ranked girls who are team players. All the girls on the current team fit that mold.
Geno did make some recruiting mistakes, a very big one was this girl Liz Sherwood from Colorado. Sherwood was a big stiff girl, slow as hell, no athletic ability and even her skill wasn't all that great plus she was enormously overweight. She was a huge girl but other than being massive had nothing going for her. Similarly they recruited a big girl from DC by name of Kaili McLaren who actually was a very skilled player and one of the best post passers UConn ever had. But they called her "Big Mama" and it was because she was huge and overweight and never could get in shape and she actually looked out of shape in games where they would take her out because she had no wind. Geno does seem to fall in love with scrappy players and even Breanna Stewart, who is obviously immensely talented, has a certain scrappiness and hustle to her game. Ditto with Moriah Jefferson. That girl has a huge heart beating in her chest, she plays hard 40 minutes every game. In the last 10 years they have recruited well getting highly ranked girls who are team players. All the girls on the current team fit that mold.
Full read NHR- UConn's Auriemma on backlash: "I don't know what the right answer is "
"The easiest answer is it is women's sports so the people who write, for the most part, are men; the people who follow sports a lot who have opinions that are quick to voice their opinions are men," Auriemma said. "So the easy answer, I wouldn't say it is the right answer, but the easy answer is that it is a male bias and that is easy. Because we are in the news when we do something, when we have been in the news and we are thrown out there against a lot of people's wishes so it is as if it is our fault or that the women's game is not a sport, it is a joke."
And then there is this from Auriemma
"The right answer, I don't know what the right answer is, I have no idea," Auriemma said. "We do what we do, the people who appreciate it, appreciate it. It is a constant battle, it is a constant fight to prove we are legitimate, to prove we are worthy of some of the attention that we get but what is the absolute right answer? I don't know but I don't have the right answer. Maybe because it is basketball and it is easy to compare. What other sport are you going to compare it to. If there was a women's professional football league, maybe they would compare it to the (New England) Patriots, if there was a ( baseball) league, they would compare it to the Yankees.........I don't know. I just know that what we do is really hard to do, what these three seniors (Moriah Jefferson, Breanna Stewart and Morgan Tuck) in particular and what this team has done is really hard to do. If there are people who don't appreciate it, that is fine I am not asking you to but don't demean those who do appreciate it, that is all. "
"The easiest answer is it is women's sports so the people who write, for the most part, are men; the people who follow sports a lot who have opinions that are quick to voice their opinions are men," Auriemma said. "So the easy answer, I wouldn't say it is the right answer, but the easy answer is that it is a male bias and that is easy. Because we are in the news when we do something, when we have been in the news and we are thrown out there against a lot of people's wishes so it is as if it is our fault or that the women's game is not a sport, it is a joke."
And then there is this from Auriemma
"The right answer, I don't know what the right answer is, I have no idea," Auriemma said. "We do what we do, the people who appreciate it, appreciate it. It is a constant battle, it is a constant fight to prove we are legitimate, to prove we are worthy of some of the attention that we get but what is the absolute right answer? I don't know but I don't have the right answer. Maybe because it is basketball and it is easy to compare. What other sport are you going to compare it to. If there was a women's professional football league, maybe they would compare it to the (New England) Patriots, if there was a ( baseball) league, they would compare it to the Yankees.........I don't know. I just know that what we do is really hard to do, what these three seniors (Moriah Jefferson, Breanna Stewart and Morgan Tuck) in particular and what this team has done is really hard to do. If there are people who don't appreciate it, that is fine I am not asking you to but don't demean those who do appreciate it, that is all. "
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