Money is certainly not an issue for him, didn't he offer to forego his salary last year to help the University budget?

You read that analogy wrong. The analogy was in the results - not in how they got there.

 

Anyone that thinks having great success in the women's game is anywhere NEAR the same as it is in the men's game doesn't IMO understand the talent pool differences.

 

I was asked to say why Geno would NOT be as successful. Unlike many in this discussion I have no reason to believe ANYTHING. Some of you guys are assuming the game is apples-to-apples. Not true. Not close. So I'm not saying he would NOT. I'm saying those who say he would are GUESSING.

 

I agree with the Wooden to Geno comparison in terms of the era defining their success but both are/were great coaches and because of that, there is no reason to think that they would not be successful in any era or with either gender. Obviously, neither would have the same level of success in a different era or with the other gender but both would have relative success.

There's just not enough elite talent in the women's game. Geno is able to get most of that talent. Couple that with his coaching talent and you get the dominance that he has had. I think he is a very good coach but Popovich is wrong; there is a difference. You can see that in high school with the boys and girls teams.

Geno is clearly a great coach. I'm sure he would have had success coaching the men's games, but there is no way he'd have had undefeated seasons, and double digit national championships. The women's game is so different from the men's game both in talent and style, and those differences are one of the reasons why he's had such an unprecedented run, although Pat Summit was pretty close. No doubt though that he deserves credit for getting the best talent year after year, and leading them to championships. But it's really hard to say if he'd even have one national championship had he coached the men's game.

Disagree. There is so little "elite" talent that when you get the best of the best of a small pool you can dominate. He may be a great coach but to assume he'd be really successful in the men's game just because of his domination in the women's is a huge leap of faith.

 

Not only does he get the”best of the best” every year, he gets to coach them for 4 years. He stockpiles top 10 McDonald’s AA.

 

Wouldn’t it have been nice if Karl A. Towns, Anthony Davis, Fox, etc, could have been at Kentucky for 4 years.

 

That’s how John Wooden won so many consecutive titles. He basically had future NBA All Stars stockpiled.

No doubt, Geno's gets his fair share of talent. I'm sure his recruiting classes are top 1 - 10, but it's not like he has the #1 recruiting class every year.

 

His current players were ranked:

2018 - #1, #5

2017 - #1, #13, #16, #29

2016 - #3, #100+, #100+

2015 - #1, #6, #23

No doubt, Geno's gets his fair share of talent. I'm sure his recruiting classes are top 1 - 10, but it's not like he has the #1 recruiting class every year.

 

His current players were ranked:

2018 - #1, #5

2017 - #1, #13, #16, #29

2016 - #3, #100+, #100+

2015 - #1, #6, #23

 

You don't need a #1 recruiting class every year when you have 3 of the last 4 #1 ranked players on one team. That would never happen now in the men's game.

You don't need a #1 recruiting class every year when you have 3 of the last 4 #1 ranked players on one team. That would never happen now in the men's game.

 

My bad. The 2018 listed is next year's class. He has two #1's on this team. So it should be:

 

2017 - #1, #13, #16, #29

2016 - #3, #100+, #100+

2015 - #1, #6, #23

2014 - #14, #17, #31, #33

Edited March 26, 20188 yr by coldweatherfan

He has said repeatedly that he has no interest. Just like Pat Summit who could have had the UT men's job, but never considered it because she was dedicated to growing the women's game...Geno has basically said the same thing.

 

I think his AD has asked him about the UConn men's team in the past and he wasn't interested.

 

We may never know how many times he's been approached by AD's. They won't say because he turned them down and he won't say because he doesn't want recruits or players thinking that he could consider it.

 

Thanks.

 

I didn't know he had said he wasn't interested.

My bad. The 2018 listed is next year's class he has two #1's on this team. So it should be:

 

2017 - #1, #13, #16, #29

2016 - #3, #100+, #100+

2015 - #1, #6, #23

2014 - #14, #17, #31, #33

 

So let's say this is basically equivalent to:

 

2010 #9 Terrence Jones, #25 Enis Kanter

2011 #1 Anthony Davis, # MKG, #19 Kyle Wiltjer

2012 #1 Nerlans Noel

2013 #3 Julius Randel, #9 Andrew Harrison, #25 Marcus Lee

 

Any men's coach with that roster should be fired for not winning it all.

So let's say this is basically equivalent to:

 

2010 #9 Terrence Jones, #25 Enis Kanter

2011 #1 Anthony Davis, # MKG, #19 Kyle Wiltjer

2012 #1 Nerlans Noel

2013 #3 Julius Randel, #9 Andrew Harrison, #25 Marcus Lee

 

Any men's coach with that roster should be fired for not winning it all.

 

Duke, NC, Kansas would all have their stars too.

 

You're not comparing apples to apples. Every women's team gets to keep their players. Many have what would be considered better recruiting classes than he has had, yet he still beats them all.

 

I'm not saying he could or would be a great men's coach. But to act like all he does is bring in the best talent is wrong.

Too many different dynamics in the women's game to compare the two. Also, the talent gap between the elite players and the good players is too huge. Geno has a style that gets the most out of the top players. He's a good coach, I just don't think he could get the men to stay in his customized box.

Do the elite coaches in the women's game have bigger egos than those in the men's, to wit, Geno, Jeff Walz, Muffet McGraw, Kim Mulkey, Gwen Staley, et al.?

I imagine he’d be a top coach. But I don’t see any way he’d duplicate his UConn women’s success.

I imagine he’d be a top coach. But I don’t see any way he’d duplicate his UConn women’s success.

 

I don't think anyone thinks he'd duplicate what he's done in the women's game, that would be nearly impossible. I agree he'd be a top coach.