"Catch" per Geno

#1
P

PointGuard

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#1
Asked to name the toughest players he ever coached against, Geno didn't hesitate one second

"Tamika Catchings" - never takes a play off, high BB IQ, great on defense, great team player

Others stated, were Angel McC, Britanny Griner, and the duo of Lindsay Whalen & Janel McCarville.

A friend told me about this interview which was on SNY.tv
 
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#6
#6
sisaq said:
How stupid! didn't mention Candace! de only player who dunked on Geno..
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I think he got quite a few more opportunities to coach against Catchings. Not to mention if you paid attention he basically recited the same attributes he looks for in his players as the ones he thought were hardest to coach against. While Parker is a world class talent she NEVER had the motor of Catchings and likely never will. That's not a slight against her just a different style of play. Catchings is the type of person you would want in fox hole with you. Great effort ALL THE TIME even up til this last year. Rarity.
 
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#7
#7
Nuyoika said:
I think he got quite a few more opportunities to coach against Catchings. Not to mention if you paid attention he basically recited the same attributes he looks for in his players as the ones he thought were hardest to coach against. While Parker is a world class talent she NEVER had the motor of Catchings and likely never will. That's not a slight against her just a different style of play. Catchings is the type of person you would want in fox hole with you. Great effort ALL THE TIME even up til this last year. Rarity.
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So are you saying you don't want Candace in the foxhole with you? We know you're a Geno lover but we all do remember when he was asked what's the difference in the game " they have Candace and we don't " a saying he first said with Taurasi... but he knows she is one of the greatest ! He doesn't have to say it we all know he knows it... Holdsclaw was another one who was a thorn in his side! He didn't have an answer for her and probably hurt even more she was right across the border in NY and she went to what he called the evil empire of the south 😂
 
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#8
#8
CP is a great player, and she is tough (remembering NCAA championship run on one arm - OW!), but she hasn't built a motor like Tamika Catchings'. He's right, that Meek is a tougher player every single play than anybody else. However, when he had the opportunity to coach her, he simply kept her on the bench a lot, so, F Geno.
 
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#9
#9
You mean he didn't note any players from Holy Cross or any of the other cupcakes that normally comprised his schedules before he (just recently) ventured off the porch?
 
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#11
#11
I respect his coaching resume, but I do not respect Geno. His opinion doesn't matter to me. Pat's opinion was the one I cared about.
 
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#14
#14
VA_VOLFAN said:
So are you saying you don't want Candace in the foxhole with you? We know you're a Geno lover but we all do remember when he was asked what's the difference in the game " they have Candace and we don't " a saying he first said with Taurasi... but he knows she is one of the greatest ! He doesn't have to say it we all know he knows it... Holdsclaw was another one who was a thorn in his side! He didn't have an answer for her and probably hurt even more she was right across the border in NY and she went to what he called the evil empire of the south 😂
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If I had to choose I would take Catchings all day. That's just me though. I like gritty players. They remind me of the Old Big East where kids played like they were offended when you scored on them, running wasn't an option, and you knew you would be black and blue the next day. Catchings was a blue collar player with a no quit attitude. Parker is one of the greats but they are in no way cut from the same cloth. Even trying to compare them is pointless. I often wonder if Catchings doesn't get as much love because her time @ Tennessee was so much longer ago and when Parker was here was the time that fans really felt like they were "Elite".

Really it's just a preference. The more a player is willing to do the harder they are to coach against. I have rarely seen a player sweatier than Catchings... she just goes hard. Doesn't have to be asked to or told why. I did find it funny that Geno was asked his opinion, gave it and then the one guy on this board who makes some of the best posts I have even seen (sisaq) was incensed by it LOL. It's just his opinion and let's be real it didn't matter what he said because it is a thread with Geno's name in it it was going to get about as much hate as a thread about Warlick. It is what it is.
 
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#15
#15
Nuyoika said:
If I had to choose I would take Catchings all day. That's just me though. I like gritty players. They remind me of the Old Big East where kids played like they were offended when you scored on them, running wasn't an option, and you knew you would be black and blue the next day. Catchings was a blue collar player with a no quit attitude. Parker is one of the greats but they are in no way cut from the same cloth. Really it's just a preference. The more a player is willing to do the harder they are to coach against. I have rarely seen a player sweatier than Catchings... she just goes hard. Doesn't have to be asked to or told why.
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Holdsclaw is the best player Tennessee has ever had. Imo, the best ever... although, a good argument can also be made for Taurasi.
 
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#16
#16
Too bad no one recognizes this for what it is. Catch is a great player recognized by a great coach as being the greatest player he ever coached against. It's not about any one fan
 
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#18
#18
PointGuard said:
Too bad no one recognizes this for what it is. Catch is a great player recognized by a great coach as being the greatest player he ever coached against. It's not about any one fan
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All true and perfectly reasonable and yet Holdsclaw was still better than either Parker or Catchings.
 
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#19
#19
PointGuard said:
Too bad no one recognizes this for what it is. Catch is a great player recognized by a great coach as being the greatest player he ever coached against. It's not about any one fan
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I might feel better about your post, or give it more credit, if you would choose a school badge to display with your screen name. I think most recognized it for what it is, for what it's worth.
 
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#20
#20
Slydell said:
I might feel better about your post, or give it more credit, if you would choose a school badge to display with your screen name. I think most recognized it for what it is, for what it's worth.
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I'm a Lady Vol fan and a very reverent fan of Pat Summitt. I don't need to apply a logo to validate myself to you.

I'm also a fan of great wcbb basketball and will never let my allegiance to this program cause me to stoop to a level of not respecting excellence in other schools and other coaches. Regrettably, and as poor representation of the Lady Vols, some Lady Vol fans do otherwise.

Catch is my all time favorite Lady Vol. Clearly she is not everyone's. That is fine. To see her greatness acknowledged, with zero hesitation, by a great coach is a tribute to Catch and the then Lady Vol program. I'm happy to see that and I would think other fans would too

But to see her greatness diminished by jealous, small minded fans is disappointing and a slap in the face, IMO, to Catch. That's not fine.
 
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#22
#22
Catch is basically the staple of what his teams are and what he has recruited and demanded for the past 7-8 years. It really got going when Bre Stewart and crew stepped on campus. They took it to another level.

Catchings is a Lady Vols great and is that prototype that Geno wants and has in his system. Look at this current 108 game streak including what they did to Syracuse last night. It's just non-stop movement and pressure. Their ball movement and ability to take advantage of that movement and hit open shots is impressive. They are very sound offensively and defensively. And it sucks to see Dangerfield on that squad and not this one.

Geno has said it time and time again, that they don't do anything special or elaborate there, they just do it better than anybody else. I watched their motion offense last night and it's constant movement with picks and players cutting or running to open spots. They do this at full speed all game long.

Their starters except Chong played the entire first half. Nurse was on fire playing at about 80% with that bad ankle which was noticeable.

I love the Lady Vols and have for a long time but it's time for a change. Only coach that I know of that has been a long time assistant for a long time and took over for the HC that has had any success both men's and women's is Bill Gutheridge at UNC taking over for Dean Smith.

Gutheridge coached UNC to an 80-28 record over three seasons reaching the final four twice. He retired after the third season. I think that Chris Dailey at UConn would suffer the same fate as CHW if she took over after Geno. Unless their "tradition" is too infused into their program that it's the norm now.

CHW has had a pretty good overall record of 128-46. But the farthest she has gotten the Lady Vols is three Elite Eights, one sweet sixteen and the second round bounce last night. Despite having on paper, at top ten talented roster at least the past two-three seasons.

I respect Geno for what he is doing in Storrs. I think it's incredible but I don't understand why the tradition that Pat built for years has not been carried on here? And again, another top recruiting class coming in next year but if this current staff can't coach what they have now, new top recruits will probably not fair any better.

As Kenneth "Red" Parker said in the movie "Hancock". "Time to shut her down Hancock! It's been a nice run! Oh we are all sincerely gonna miss you. But it's time to move on. Maybe to a happier place."
 
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#23
#23
PointGuard said:
I'm a Lady Vol fan and a very reverent fan of Pat Summitt. I don't need to apply a logo to validate myself to you.

I'm also a fan of great wcbb basketball and will never let my allegiance to this program cause me to stoop to a level of not respecting excellence in other schools and other coaches. Regrettably, and as poor representation of the Lady Vols, some Lady Vol fans do otherwise.

Catch is my all time favorite Lady Vol. Clearly she is not everyone's. That is fine. To see her greatness acknowledged, with zero hesitation, by a great coach is a tribute to Catch and the then Lady Vol program. I'm happy to see that and I would think other fans would too

But to see her greatness diminished by jealous, small minded fans is disappointing and a slap in the face, IMO, to Catch. That's not fine.
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As a true LV fan, you know there is no love of Geno here. But, you can appreciate him all you want to. Just don't expect any long time die hard fans to have the same appreciation for the small man. He may win another 10 NCAA's and still not hold a candle to Pat's accomplishments.
 
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