Geno Auriemma UConn CoachÂ
As I was listening to the “Mike and Mike” show on ESPN radio a few years back. I was glad to hear that an interview with Geno Auriemma (the greatest Women’s College Basketball Coach of all time) was about to air. Geno pretty much just states how he feels about things, doesn’t use a lot of big words, won’t talk crap about other coaches, and is a very interesting speaker. When you listen to him speak, his expertise regarding basketball is unmatched, brilliant, and spot on.
Playing year round not the best approach?
During this interview he made the statement that “players these days play year round basketball and when high school is over, they move to AAU, Travel Ball, go to show cases, etc.” He continued stating that although playing in actual games is great, he feels that there are far too many players not spending enough time in the off season working on the fundamentals. He also mentioned that he felt high school coaches aren’t focusing enough on fundamentals as much as they should. I am guessing there would be a very heated “debate” between coaches on what players should focus on in the off season. In my opinion it does appear that the “few” players that do focus on the fundamentals seem to be “complete” all around players and end up having a better chance at playing college basketball (and the top players from these “few” end up going to UConn to play lol). Players rather participate in a game or scrimmage than practice fundamentals, but the fundamentals are what allows players to “excel” in these games or scrimmages. Geno Auriemma UConn Coach makes a great point.
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