I caught all of Minnesota @ Connecticut, but it was a hard game to pay attention to, even as a match between the (theoretically) best and worst teams in the WNBA. Minnesota won 91-77, but as I said on Twitter, it was a lot less close than the score indicates.
Minnesota shot 57.1 percent for that game and for most of it they were shooting over 60 percent. Janel McCarville was having a great game, and when your squad can't hinder an undersized center that's not a good sign. Add to that the fact that Connecticut was down to eight players, and the game degenerated into futile attempts by Connecticut to stop the Lynx from doing whatever they wanted to. (And if you look at the shooting percentage, those attempts were not successful.)
The only real excitement occurred in the fourth quarter with 8:18 to go. Connecticut managed to get back within 10 points, 72-62. The Lynx called a time out, snapped out of it, and proceeded to put the hurting again back on the Sun. Minnesota led by at least 8-10 points since the middle of the first quarter.
More valuable than anything taking place on the court was an interview with Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma that seemed to take up the entire second quarter. I think part of the reason that Auriemma doesn't do himself a favor in interviews is that his no-nonsense philosophy has no padding to it. He spoke about having to only recruit one player this off-season and that his upperclassmen must have hoped that he had recruited more, so they wouldn't have to get yelled out. "What about the seniors?" someone asked and Auriemma's answer was that he didn't yell at seniors - if he yelled at seniors, then he "kept them too long".
He spoke at length about Kelly Faris and the adjustment that rookies make adjusting to the WNBA. He stated that in the pros you have to give 100 percent. In college, sometimes the quality of opposition isn't good and you can get away with turning in less than 100 percent. However, everyone in the WNBA was an all-everything in college, and you'll be shown up if you don't give 100 percent. Since Faris can't give 100 percent due to injury and the fact that she's learning a new system, it's almost a given that she'll struggle.
They asked him what he would tell a losing team, keeping in mind that it has been a long time since Auriemma has coached one. He stated that he would remind them that they're professionals, and that winning games is actually in their job descriptions. If they'd decided that they're not going to make the effort to win games, that would be the same thing as your average worker deciding to take a day off because he/she just didn't want to work that day. They're pros, they're paid to win, and they need to act like it.
He also talked at length about Renee Montgomery and stated that Montgomery needed to see herself/the Sun needed to see her as a source of leadership. Kara Lawson's family issues means that she can't be vocal in the locker room, and as Auriemma claimed, leadership has to come from perimeter players. The reason is that perimeter players control the ball more. Tina Charles can be a vocal leader, but in the end, she really can't do very much for the Sun unless she gets the ball - she can only lead by example when the opportunity presents itself.
According to Auriemma, the more likely a player is to handle the ball, the more leadership is expected. In which case, I suppose that point guards are generals because they handle the ball more than other players. (So what rank does this make Charles? Colonel? Lieutenant? Sergeant? Front-line infantry?)
It's always interesting to listen to a basketball genius - which Auriemma is, by the way - share his philosophy. I think that Geno would be just as effective as a pro coach as he would be in college. Hey, if Connecticut's program goes the way of Louisiana Tech's, then I'm sure there's a spot in the W for Auriemma whenever he wants it.
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