Saw his press conference yesterday touting how Bueker (sp?) was the best player in the country. She's better than the young lady leading the country in scoring and assists. Geno is just jealous that UConn isn't getting all the press for a change.
Geno Auerema
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He said analytics prove it, which made me wonder how a D1 coach couldn't know what analytics means.
Don't worry. It's probably some super secret analytic formula that only a genius like Geno would be using.
No problem with him promoting his VERY good player.... But come on now Geno.
I hate the argument that any UCONN player is better than CC. They usually point to “championships.” That’s like saying Trent Dilfer is better than Dan Marino.
That’s an overstated example, but the point stands.
That’s an overstated example, but the point stands.
He's just pissed she made him look like a fool for not offering a scholarship to the best player in the nation.
Quit finding things to be offended by constantly. He's possibly the greatest coach of all time in womens basketball. He's clearly been passed by a few programs now but he's championing for his player. No big deal. Page was a great player coming out of high school but has had some serious injuries. Clark is clearly a better player and everyone knows it.
A very good player who plays on a team full of 5 star players. The big shot to close the door on Syracuse yesterday was a 5 star freshman guard. Sad he gets his pick of most of the top players but begrudges another team when they have a star who has become the #1 pick in the draft. It rings hollow Geno.
I would be fine if he'd said that PB was still ONE of the best players in the country, as that would be true. I can also see him stumping for his player, as she is returning next season, (Although she has another few weeks to change her mind if she led UConn to a finale or something). But his statement that she is "clearly the best player in the country, and anyone who saw the game knows thats true" just makes him look ignorant. Still here's some analytics for you Geno. Paige's monster game stats were literally what CC averages EVERY game this entire season. 32 points, 9 assists, and 8 boards. So NO.....
90% of the "disrespect" nowadays is just manufactured drama so as to draw clicks. Who cares if some coach thinks their player is the best?
I also think that some are jabbing Clark via the media with the hopes that they get under her skin in case they match up in the future. Play the games, let it slide.
I also think that some are jabbing Clark via the media with the hopes that they get under her skin in case they match up in the future. Play the games, let it slide.
nothing wrong with a coach stating he/she had the best player(s)
although we all know he's wrong 😎
although we all know he's wrong 😎
AKA Geno is mad nobody has talked about him in a few years
Bueckers and CC were the top 2 pt. guards coming out of high school. Bueckers won National Player of the Year her freshman year. Probably the better all-around player because she could dunk and also play defense. Clark had the elite long-range shooting ability over PB. PB didn't have the elite long range, but could shoot the 3, but has a better mid-range game than CC. Both great passers. Paige missed 1/2 her soph year with broken tibia but came back to help them win title. Tore her knee up and sat out her junior year. Kudos to her for working her way Boston won P of the Year, their sophomore year. CC was Player of the Year their junior year and should be again this year. PB probably runner-up or 3rd. Four good finalists this year. Paige sitting out so much the previous two years has allowed CC to improve her game much more and get separation between the two. CC has so much flair to her offensive game that she wins the eyeball test, too. Beuckers will get better next season, after another year removed from her knee injury. Should get P of Y next year unless JuJu moves up.
CC and PB are still pretty close as far as complete players. Bueckers is a much better defender than CC and that is something the average fan doesn't notice. Giving Clark a C grade on defense might be generous. Some of it is to stay out of foul trouble, but she has a lot of bad habits and doesn't work hard at that end.
CC still the best at this point in their careers. They don't pay Seth Curry to play defense and it will be the same with CC.
CC and PB are still pretty close as far as complete players. Bueckers is a much better defender than CC and that is something the average fan doesn't notice. Giving Clark a C grade on defense might be generous. Some of it is to stay out of foul trouble, but she has a lot of bad habits and doesn't work hard at that end.
CC still the best at this point in their careers. They don't pay Seth Curry to play defense and it will be the same with CC.
Exactly. Just like the soundbite from the WV coach about sending CC packing. What's he supposed to say, let's win the first one and then get our ass kicked by CC?
"Disrespect" is one of the most tired cliches in pop culture. Particularly when you consider some of the people who claim they're getting "disrespected".
What do you expect Auriemma to say? He thinks his player is the best. He should.
Paige Bueckers is far better than a "very good" player. What she doesn't have is Clark's charisma and fan appeal which is what will seal CC as the number 1 pick. Not to downplay CC at all, but take away the marketing appeal, there would be many talent evaluators that rank PB at least equal to her in pure basketball talent. It would not surprise me one bit if she was chosen over Clark for the Olympics. But since that is a huge financial opportunity, then again it would.
And for those criticising Geno for supporting his player, would you want it any other way from your coach? I think not.
Geno kills me with being touted as a great coach with a roster full of 5-stars. No doubt is a good coach, but a lot of coaches would be great with his roster(s).
It would probably have sounded better not to call out Clark by name. Their second round opponent was probably going to be Iowa, not CC.
You could say that about Gable, Cael, Summitt, Wooden, Urban, Saban etc. Great coaches have great players!! They really only have to match wits with another coach a couple times a year.
I pegged this as a "finding something to be mad about" thing until I saw Geno's comment that "she (Paige) doesn't just indiscriminately come down here and chuck stuff up to get points."
Clearly that was an unfair dig at Clark and now I think he can go suck my ass.
Clearly that was an unfair dig at Clark and now I think he can go suck my ass.
Hmm, sounds like Mulkey.
Buekers hasn’t won a national title.
My point is theres a difference between saying she's a great player, and saying that she's the BEST player in the country and then doubling down on that and saying "its clear", and " the analytics show it" The last two statements are false, and he knows it. Its NOT clear, and the analytics don't show that at all. Clarks AVERAGE game this year through 35 games is pretty much exactly the monster game that Paige just had. AND she's doing it without the supporting cast that Paige has.
I would comment on the "doesn't work hard on that end". First as you said part of that is to stay out of foul trouble. The biggest thing is that Clark isn't as good an athlete or as quick as many of the players she's guarding. Now on offense she gets away with it in spades, because of her IQ, understanding of angles, footwork, and handles. When she has the ball she can control defenders. You see her use her footwork and ball handling skill moving the defender until she gets their feet in such away where she can get that quick first step and then she dips a shoulder, and she's past them. That or her footwork and that step back give her the room she needs to get her shot. Its on defense where she's at risk against quicker guards. Unlike when she has the ball and can dictate movement, she doesn't know where they are going and quicker guards can get past her, so she plays off more. I'd also say she has worked on be a better situational defender, and she will effort to lock down on a big posession. She does a good job jumping passing lanes, and will block a few shots. She's not the detriment on that end that she was a couple of years ago.
He's relying on shooting percentage and turnovers for his analytics, and ignoring the stuff that doesn't work in Paige's favor, like scoring, assists and rebounding. It's a dumb take, IMO, given the roster full of top 5 recruiting classes yearly vs. Iowa's roster. Despite CC and this Hawkeye team turning the ball over more than a team like UConn, we have the highest offensive rating in the NCAA. That is what matters, and it is largely due to CC. Geno can suck it.
She also makes up with some poor defense with good rebounding. But I am in the opinion she could be a very good defender if they needed her to be. The last few minutes against WV I thought she could've been more intense on d. But she uses up so much energy on offense it's hard to fault her for slacking off some. Not sure of the numbers, but I'd bet the ball is in her hands almost 70% of the time on offense.
As unfortunate as it was, had Beuckers not gotten injured, Caitlin Clark never would've emerged as the star she is now.
The media/ESPN was absolutely siding with Beuckers/UConn through her freshman year and was all-in on the hype with Caitlin being a nice underdog side story at 2nd tier Iowa.
They were more or less forced to latch onto Clark after Beuckers went down. They were also very slow about it as the argument from her sophomore year and last year was that Aaliyah Boston was the Queen of women's CBB with Clark being just behind, until her play, especially in the tournament, demanded people pay attention.
The media/ESPN was absolutely siding with Beuckers/UConn through her freshman year and was all-in on the hype with Caitlin being a nice underdog side story at 2nd tier Iowa.
They were more or less forced to latch onto Clark after Beuckers went down. They were also very slow about it as the argument from her sophomore year and last year was that Aaliyah Boston was the Queen of women's CBB with Clark being just behind, until her play, especially in the tournament, demanded people pay attention.
I've had that thought as well, BUT I do believe that her incredible run in the tourney may have changed that narrative. What she did in those 6 games has NEVER been done. Also the sellouts at not only Iowa but other areanas would have forced their hands to take notice.
Geno upset that UCONN won all those titles and no one gave a shit. No one watched or cared. CC is drawing record attention to women's BB. Something Geno and all his great players never did.
I think that's actually a factor with some of the haters.
Simple coaching bias and hyperbole. Same with the media. It's nothing to get all worked up over.
I do think that makes some of their fans angry about how much attention Clark gets. I mean, look how much media attention, hype, praise, etc. etc. Clark gets compared to the countless championships and NPOYs Geno has had.
Geno is the goat WBB coach and won a lot when 99% of the country (and probably 100%) of the country didn't care about WBB. But to his credit, he was able to identify the top recruits and had an early jump on them, pulling in 5 stars every year. His first 20 years doesn't impress me much because of that. There was absolutely no parity in the sport. Now, I will say his latest stretch of championships does impress me but again, parity has been absolute shit up until after COVID.
He still gets McDonald's AAs and top 20 recruits every year though. Hard to be a bad team by having a roster like that and playing in the Big East.
Paige will be player of the year next year. Geno had some great UConn teams but it's become clear that he had a great team at a time when there just weren't very many good teams. He took advantage of a situation but now there is more top tier talent than he can lock up on one team so he can't dominate like he could. There's more top tier talent than can be locked up on two teams now. And hopefully, Caitlin Clark's ability to show what a top tier talent can do at a program that doesn't traditionally get top tier talent will spread it out even more. Paige and Caitlin have a lot of similarities and if Paige doesn't spend two years injured it is very likely that the two fan bases would be in a fight to see who the best player actually is. But it always comes back to "look at the supporting cast". While I often feel that Clark's supporting players are hugely underrated, there is no doubt they are far better than they would be because of Clark's presence on the team. And then look at the money she is bringing in. If JuJu does something similar at USC, and she's on pace to, players are going to realize that just going to UConn or South Carolina may not be what's best for them personally.
Geno can't stand having the only decent team in the country, and he can go straight to hell, as far as I'm concerned, anyway.
I saw their game, well the ending of it, they were not that great.
Yeah for the longest time, the Aaliyah Bostons and JuJu Watkins and Hannah Hidalgos, Lauren Betts, Cameron Brinks etc etc of the world went to UConn, were very thinly scattered elsewhere across college basketball, and it sucked the life out of the sport.
I said it for years.
And lo and behold, look what happens when the talent starts to spread from coast to coast...................a-f***ing-mazing isn't it. 🤔
Outrageous!! Outrageous I say!!! Coach pushing their own player's abilities over an opponent's. Oh when will this madness cease!!!
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