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Post by ExcelHSports on Mar 28, 2010 12:28:52 GMT -5
I have been watching a little of the U Conn and Iowa State game and then turned it. U Conn was leading by 40 something and still had all their main players in the game which led me to think wonder how many other people turned away from that. If they make the final game, which they should will anyone outside Connecticut watch it? So my question is U Connecticut bad for Women's basketball over-all?
Steven Stremming Excel High School Sports
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Post by eaglesdad on Mar 28, 2010 13:00:08 GMT -5
Was it bad for men's basketball when UCLA had their 80+ winning streak? If you can't compete get BETTER. There are some of us out here with a vested interest with Kelly Faris playing for them. Just because a team is dominant dosen't mean it's bad for the sport. Everyone expects them to win the championship but anything can happen with injuries or illness. Just ask Kansas on the men's side as they were expected to make the final four easily and they got beat. Just MHO
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Post by ExcelHSports on Mar 28, 2010 13:31:15 GMT -5
I'm not talking about Kelly. Heck everyone, including myself likes Kelly she is a good kid. And Kansas hasn't won 75 straight times so this situation is different. I am just saying as a whole is U Conn bad for the over-all women's game? If everyone expects them to win then what keeps the general fan interested to watch, that is my question.
Steven Stremming Excel High School Sports
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Post by Ice on Mar 28, 2010 13:54:09 GMT -5
It proves a women's team can have a dominant team with a long winning streak just like the ucla men's team had. It brings more notoriety to the sport. People who don't pay attention to women's game are now interested in checking out possibly the great women's team ever.
I wouldn't have watched the game today all the way through, without turning it, if not for the streak and the history behind it. Without the streak, it's just another women's college basketball game... to the general fan.
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Post by bruinbball on Mar 28, 2010 15:02:45 GMT -5
A team of great athletes that are successful on the court and off.They move the ball well, play mind boggling team and individual defense, score the basketball, play in the half court and run in the open floor while scoring very effectively....how could that be bad? They get great post play and excellent play from the wings and guards while also shooting the 3 very well. I think if you asked any coach or fan they would want their team to have those assets they would agree that is what they want. Geno has the whole package right now. This team has an amazing chemistry and if you get a chance to watch "The Climb" on ESPNU regarding the teams pursuit of perfection you get a little more insight into how well they get along on and off of the court. Like Ben Davis here the last 2 years, it is up to other teams to put the best product on the floor and try to match UConn. They shouldn't have to digress to to get to the level of the other teams.
I have watched every game of theirs this year with additional interest in seeing how well Kelly would blend and function within this team. She has made a very good impact as the first player off of the bench and has really found the shooting touch after struggling offensively most of the year. She has found her confidence on offense and it is really showing. My guess is that she will win 2 Big East Defensive POY before she is done and possibly a national defensive player of the year (although this may be difficult with Griner's play).
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Post by ExcelHSports on Mar 28, 2010 15:29:49 GMT -5
I enjoy your comments but I think you missed my point........because U Conn is so much better than everyone else and has been for awhile now are they so good that the general public who provides TV ratings will not watch a game where they are involved? I am talking about the general population of the US? Maybe that rephrases the question better. And my reference point is all the awesome games being played in the mens game right now (NCAA) not that thing called the NBA.
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Post by observer06 on Mar 28, 2010 16:29:21 GMT -5
The answer is EASILY no. Who drives up ratings for baseball? The Yankees and Red Sox. When do fans tune in to watch golf? When Tiger is in contention. Do you think television ratings nationally are going to be as strong if it's Baylor and Butler in the title game as it would be if North Carolina and Kentucky were playing? It's the dominant (name) teams that get casual fans to tune in. UConn and Tennessee are the ones that drive the interest in women's basketball right now and until other programs raise their level, the casual fan is going to tune in for those two and other teams are only going to be followed by fans of those respective teams. And, incidentally, no UConn starter played more than 27 minutes and the bench played 40% of the minutes in today's game. Stanford had equally as big a rout yesterday over Georgia with three starters playing 31 or more minutes and the bench playing 30% of the game and I heard no rallying cries against them in the media.
It can be done in other places than UConn and Tennessee. It could have been at Purdue but clearly the administration didn't give the salary or budget support of other programs, or else you wouldn't have seen the kind of turnover among head coaches that is unheard of at other elite schools.
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Post by bballfanatic on Mar 28, 2010 22:32:49 GMT -5
I can definitely see why this question was raised. I'm on the Dayton athletic website a lot and it occurred to me earlier in the week that there wasn't a permanent bypass around the ad for the tickets for that regional. I wondered if they were having trouble selling them. I have no idea if that's true or how this year's attendance compares to three years ago when Tennessee and, I think, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Marist were playing. I went to the first day's games that year with my daughter who is a student at Dayton and I'm pretty sure it was sold out. I think Tennessee went on the win the national championship that year but the games all promised to be competitive and fun to watch. They didn't disappoint. There was the possibility that Tennessee could lose (like there always is with the Yankees, the Red Sox, and Tiger). I doubt that, with a 75 game winning streak, many people believe that possibility exists for UConn this year. I quit watching them on TV after the first 10 minutes or so because, frankly, I get sick of all the adulation for Geno. No one can argue that he's not a great coach and this team is certainly a great team, but you can only talk about it so much before it gets boring as you watch another lopsided game. I wonder how many people would really want to pay to see it live. I wouldn't go so far to say that UConn is bad for women's basketball, though. On the contrary, they've probably raised awareness of women's college basketball, but I think there's a danger that they may be bad for viewership and attendance. I think a Butler/Baylor final game would actually draw more interest than Duke/ Kansas or Kentucky/North Carolina. Everyone loves an underdog and I wonder if maybe, after a while, the reverse may be true.
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Post by nnn on Mar 29, 2010 8:37:26 GMT -5
UConn has a great, great team this season. That is not bad for women's basketball. The most negative thing to happen for women's basketball is Pat Summitt's decision to no longer play UConn.
Incidentally, Stanford is looming.
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Post by bballfanatic on Mar 29, 2010 12:28:49 GMT -5
UConn has a great, great team this season. That is not bad for women's basketball. The most negative thing to happen for women's basketball is Pat Summitt's decision to no longer play UConn. Incidentally, Stanford is looming. Actually, the most negative thing might be whatever Geno did while recruiting Maya Moore that caused Pat Summit to take them off their schedule. I'm not sure we've heard the whole story there, but I'm sure it will eventually come out.
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Post by nnn on Mar 29, 2010 15:03:07 GMT -5
That came out long ago. Whether Pat's actions were justified or not has been more than thoroughly discussed. IMO, the result was not good for women's basketball.
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Post by browe on Mar 29, 2010 18:36:09 GMT -5
They'll eventually lose, just as all great teams do. It's going to take a few people to jump off the band wagon, and be good enough and willing to start a new tradition. A few have no problem taking on "Goliath" in any arena. Unlike the original Crispus Attucks, they are going to take a few with them before they go down. Maybe, what is started, someone will have the courage to finish?
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Post by ExcelHSports on Mar 29, 2010 19:09:11 GMT -5
I noticed tonight during the Baylor-Duke game the commentators brought up this topic. Of course, the commentators on ESPN have some form of U Conn connection and they will agree that they are good for women's basketball just a fact. I'd like to see ESPN put up a poll online to let everyone across the country vote if they think U Conn success is good or bad for the women's game. The guys tourney is awesome because of the over-all chance of anyone winning it and I think the women's game doesn't have that same option. I guess, as I heard today on the radio, the majority of the best female players in high school across America are going to have to go somewhere else to level the playing field. JMO
Steven Stremming Excel High School Sports
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Post by bruinbball on Mar 29, 2010 19:20:43 GMT -5
Geno Auriemma was just asked today at a press conference how long before there is parity Womens Tourney will reflect that of the mens tourney. He said something to the effect of "Never." He went on to explain that unless women start leaving their teams early for some reason that 1-5 will always be dominant but 6-35 will have more parity. He said that guys teams that get the best talent are always trying to replace them because they leave after little time at the school so the school is always rebuilding their teams. He asked if Kentucky were to have their main players stick around for the next four years, would there be any doubt as to them making the Final 4 every year?
I think it was well said.
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Post by ExcelHSports on Mar 29, 2010 20:05:08 GMT -5
Of course another option would be for college coaches to start telling recruits if you go to U Conn you might win but no one will be there to really watch it on tv because people around the country will stop watching when U Conn are playing. So come play with us and we can get in the tourney and fans will at least watch us. I just want to start seeing more parity, just my opinion.
Steven Stremming Excel High School Sports
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Post by observer06 on Mar 29, 2010 20:28:52 GMT -5
That's not really going to work because the only two teams that generate any true television interest are UConn and Tennessee. It's like that great story with Taurasi's recruitment, a California kid who had it narrowed to UConn and UCLA. Her mom wanted her to stay at home, of course. And Geno said it best (to paraphrase): you can go to either place and be the best player in the country. If you go across the country, you'll play in front of sellout crowds and every game will be televised. If you stay at home, it'll only be 200 people at the UCLA games that will see your brilliance. That's not too tough a sell.
It's three things right now. First, as has been touched on, the WNBA doesn't let players turn pro until four years out of high school. If Taurasi, Maya Moore, Chamique Holdsclaw, Candace Parker or Tamika Catchings had left school after their freshmen or sophomore years, those two schools wouldn't have separated from the pack so easily. Second, with 15 scholarships compared to the men's 13, teams can still stockpile talent a little easier and kids are more willing to come off the bench for a shot at a title rather than start knowing they'll probably never sniff the Final Four elsewhere. Finally, as I touched on, what little media focus that is turned our sport's way still tends to shine on a small handful of teams, and players gravitate to where the attention and adulation is. So Geno as right...as long as factors like that are still in place, it's tough to see the top of that pecking order change too much, although things are starting to balance out a little in that next tier.
I will say, I couldn't figure out the UConn connection for the commentators of the Baylor/Duke game that just got done. Eric Collins is a St. Lawrence grad who has mostly done NFL Europe and Fox Sports Chicago before joining the women's coverage. Doris Burke I guess has a semi-connection, having been a player for Providence and I think both of those schools were Big East members in the mid-80's when she would have been playing. Of course, hypothetically ESPN was supposed to start as a regional cable channel covering UConn sports, but it never actually was that once they discovered it was much more cost efficient to be on the air around the clock and had much more programming hours to fill than would have been possible with the Huskies. Check out Michael Freeman's uncensored history of the network, it's a very interesting story (including that ESPN is the brainchild of a DePauw University alum).
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Post by bruinbball on Mar 29, 2010 20:38:53 GMT -5
Steve, that's the silliest thing I have ever heard. People watch because it is UConn. Also, how many other teams have a program available that makes sure ALL of their games are either shown on TV or you can watch them online?
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Post by eaglesdad on Mar 29, 2010 21:17:35 GMT -5
Steve, I don't know what your beef is with UConn but your statement is absurd. Would you really rather play on a losing team on TV most of the time or on a winning team that plays on TV some of the time. No brainer most will take the winning team. If not then you need to rethink why you play the game at all. UConn has brought alot of attention to womens basketball from people who usually don't care and don't watch womens basketball.
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Post by ExcelHSports on Mar 29, 2010 21:56:39 GMT -5
I am just thinking out loud here I just want to see parity and awesome games all the way through the tourney for the women's games like we do the guys.
Steven Stremming Excel High School Sports
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Post by ExcelHSports on Mar 29, 2010 23:16:38 GMT -5
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