04-09-2014, 11:23 AM
One other thing on ESPUconN:
I HATE their typical sports media narrative style of hyping one particular player, and sticking with that story line through thick and thin. Especially the concomitant derogation of the impact of the "supporting cast," which in and of itself is a loaded phrase.
Breanna Stewart is a great player, but she didn't win the national championship for UConn. Heck, she wasn't the best Husky player on the court against Stanford - I'd go with Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis for that honor, or maybe even Moriah Jefferson for her utter tenacity (and ability to not get whistled for quick grabs fighting through screens). But every highlight, every replay was of her plays. The difference in the semi wasn't Stewart getting the better of Ogwumike - it was KML, Jefferson, Dolson, and Hartley being COLLECTIVELY better than Orrange, Thompson, Ruef et al.
They've done it in the past as well, with Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi, Brittany Griner, Candace Parker, Chamique Holdsclaw, et al. Each of those players was a GREAT player. I would say each one of them was about as dominant as Elena Delle Donne. The difference is always not that they have one great player, but that great players had other great players or nearly as good players around her. In the first game against the Huskies this year, I said the difference wasn't the best players - Amber and Chiney were two of the best four players on the court. The difference was that UConn had players five, six and seven out of the top ten starters. Which comes from not just superstar lead recruits, but DEEP classes.
Let me put it another way. The classic aphorism about a great coach is "He can beat you with his players, and then take your players and beat his team." I don't think Geno Auriemma, despite being a great game and motivational coach, could have beaten many of his UConn teams with the personnel they were facing. And yes, recruiting is a big part of the job. But then we could also delve into some of the unsavory anecdotes about Geno's recruiting tactics when UConn was in a "down cycle."
VG
I HATE their typical sports media narrative style of hyping one particular player, and sticking with that story line through thick and thin. Especially the concomitant derogation of the impact of the "supporting cast," which in and of itself is a loaded phrase.
Breanna Stewart is a great player, but she didn't win the national championship for UConn. Heck, she wasn't the best Husky player on the court against Stanford - I'd go with Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis for that honor, or maybe even Moriah Jefferson for her utter tenacity (and ability to not get whistled for quick grabs fighting through screens). But every highlight, every replay was of her plays. The difference in the semi wasn't Stewart getting the better of Ogwumike - it was KML, Jefferson, Dolson, and Hartley being COLLECTIVELY better than Orrange, Thompson, Ruef et al.
They've done it in the past as well, with Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi, Brittany Griner, Candace Parker, Chamique Holdsclaw, et al. Each of those players was a GREAT player. I would say each one of them was about as dominant as Elena Delle Donne. The difference is always not that they have one great player, but that great players had other great players or nearly as good players around her. In the first game against the Huskies this year, I said the difference wasn't the best players - Amber and Chiney were two of the best four players on the court. The difference was that UConn had players five, six and seven out of the top ten starters. Which comes from not just superstar lead recruits, but DEEP classes.
Let me put it another way. The classic aphorism about a great coach is "He can beat you with his players, and then take your players and beat his team." I don't think Geno Auriemma, despite being a great game and motivational coach, could have beaten many of his UConn teams with the personnel they were facing. And yes, recruiting is a big part of the job. But then we could also delve into some of the unsavory anecdotes about Geno's recruiting tactics when UConn was in a "down cycle."
VG