The Huskies will enter the NCAA tournament as a top seed after a splendid 28-2 season. Just ask Providence College women's basketball coach Jim Jabir. The thing that impressed me most about last year's UConn team was that while they were completely dominant position to position, their mental focus was amazing. They were up by four or five points in a game against us last year and when they got up by 30 in the second half they were just as relentless and focused as they were when the game was close. It's a credit to Geno and his staff that they are able to do that game in and game out and not lose their focus.
Players are human after all, and there are nights when that killer-instinct stare wanders a bit.
That means drills where either the offensive and defensive side has an inordinate number of players, making such a simple process as passing the ball to a nearby teammate or guarding a shooter challenging. There are so many things a team has to prepare for. When these things happen during a real game, they aren't new to the players. The author of Permission to Win has worked on the mental approach to basketball with a number of top Division I teams, including several women's programs. Most coaches at the Division I level realize very well the importance of having their teams physically ready.