Top 10 Players of the Women's NCAA Tournament

It was another great spring and, even with my Pitt Panthers suffering a down season, this was as compelling a tournament as I've seen. We saw the end of an era in Connecticut and perhaps the dawning of new ones in South Bend and College Station. There were surprise upsets, awesome performances from stars and unexpected players stepping up in the biggest moments. On with the annual top 10 favorite performers of the tournament, 2011 edition:

1. Skylar Diggins, Sophomore, Notre Dame. Diggins is a complete player, with speed, vision and daring. Diggins is also charismatic, which is to say, there is charisma to her game, she has that elusive but electrifying star quality on the court. She runs point, but she's a shooting guard. She can hit from outside, but she go to the post. Heck, she's so good, even Lil Wayne is on the Diggins bandwagon. [82,168 Twitter followers as of this posting.] Diggins is perfect marriage of style and substance, and, playing at Notre Dame, she's on the perfect stage to perform.

2. Danielle Adams, Senior, Texas A&M. Adams was nothing short of spectacular in the title game, leading A&M to it's first basketball title, which also, by the way, was the first national championship in any sport for A&M since the 1939 football team. Adams got some miserable defensive assignments through the tournament -- to shut down Griner in the Elite 8, to shut down Ogwumike in the semi-final -- and she paid a physical price in doing so. Tuesday night, though, she stole the offensive spotlight, abandoned her outside shot (which is really pretty good), and took the ball to the hoop, over and over and over again. If the Sydneys (Colson and Carter) weren't feeding her the ball directly, she viewed any outside shot taken by her teammates as a pass, muscled up in the paint, pulled in the rebound and put in the put back. Adams' post performance was one for the ages. Also, it was cool to see four generations of women there, with Adam's mom, grandmother and great-grandmother in the stands.

3. Maya Moore, Senior, UConn. What can I say about Moore that I haven't already said? What can you write about one of the greatest players in college basketball history? Moore always struck me as mentally indomitable, that you might shut her down for a stretch, or a half, but she would find a way to gut out a win. When I think about watching Moore, this is the quality that comes to the fore, every time -- a completely driven player. No question, she has been the most dominant figure in the game for the last several years, the number one reason that the Huskies have been actually scary good at times. Whether it's a steal when her team needs a defensive stop or that beautiful little pull-up jumper, I am going to miss watching her play.

4. Nnemkadi Ogwumike, Junior, Stanford. When the Cardinal is at their best, they run their offense through Ogwumike. She is all kinds of strong, but it's sneaky and catches you unawares. At first you don't even notice it, but then you see teams just wear down under her strength and perseverance as she leans on them, contests everything in the paint, and the opposition buckles. Even against A&M's stifling defense in the Final Four, Ogwumike nearly won the game for Stanford, driving inside, banging, hanging up and putting in a nifty under-handed lay-up. (Video here.)

5. Courtney Vandersloot, Senior, Gonzaga. Is it just me, or should Vandersloot, the only college basketball player ever to score over 2,000 points and have 1,000 assists (men or women, she's the only one to ever have done that), be getting more national love? Yeah, yeah, I know she plays for the little Catholic school that could way out there in the pacific northwest, but, even given the locale and, even given the conference, Vandersloot is a marvel of vision and quickness. Always an assists machine, she learned to shoot more this year, and not just from the outside. (It didn't hurt that she was being mentored by none other than John Stockton.) In the 'Zags Sweet 16 game against Louisville, Vandersloot had seven assists which brought her total for the season to 358 -- an NCAA record, breaking the mark set by Penn State's Suzie McConnell (now Suzie McConnell-Serio) in 1986-87 of 355. Vandersloot notched nine more assists in the 'Zags Elite 8 loss to Stanford, setting the single season record at 367, a record that may last as long as McConnell's did.

6. Tyra White, Junior, Texas A&M. After the Aggies victory in the Championship game, Kara Lawson called her 'The Closer.' How perfect. In the semi-final game against Stanford, it was White who lifted her team down the stretch, scoring nine points in the last 4:30 of the game, leading the way in their comeback. Then, in the waning moments, she went to the basket twice, the last time for the last second lay-up winner. In the final game, even given the magnificence that was Adams, there was no single shot bigger than White's three-pointer with about one minute left in the game and the shot-clock hitting zero. Ice in her veins, man. (That shot comes around 4:10 on this ESPN video.)

7. Natalie Novosel, Junior, ND. Diggins gets all the spotlight, Peters is a post-presence and a defensive cleaner, but Novosel's quite a player too. She's got a sweet shot and came up huge for the Irish, game in and game out. She played perhaps her best game of the tournament against UConn, when the Irish really did need all hands on deck, often running the point to free up Diggins. She plays shut down defense and can do so a little too enthusiastically sometimes, but I love the energy she brings the Irish on the floor. I am really looking forward to seeing the backcourt of Novosel and Diggins together for one more year.

8. Brittney Griner, Sophomore, Baylor. Demeanor-wise, she's more Angel McCoughtry than Danielle Adams or Tina Charles, which is to say, you don't get a warm fuzzy watching Griner play. But I'm going to take a second to defend Griner here. She has been attacked, sometimes viciously so, and not just by anonymous internet commenters (i.e. cowards), or bloggers, but even by some members of the mainstream media. You can see where a person might get pissed off after years of that kind of talk. At the very least, you can understand why Griner might be reticent to open up in interviews and why she might be emotionally guarded, even on the basketball court. As to her game, she has so many gifts and I think she's still growing into basketball self. She's got great length, is a shot-blocking tour-de-force, plays in the paint with the ball high and goes right to the basket. The kid put up 40 points in the Sweet 16. Forty! In Kim Mulkey, I think she's found the perfect coach to guide her through some rough waters.

9. Sugar Rodgers, Sophomore, Georgetown. Another Big East guard who is lightning fast, pushes tempo, and will dribble-drive. The Hoyas stormed passed Maryland and into the Sweet Sixteen behind Rodgers' 34 points and 9 boards. For those who don't follow the Big East, this was Rodgers' coming out party.

And now, time for my shameless beg to the programmers at ESPN: As ND and G'Town are Big East teams, and as that means they will play each other at least once next year, please, please, please broadcast the ND-G'Town game next year. For the love of all that's right and holy, I want to see Diggins v. Rogers.

10. Kayla Tetschlag, Senior, Wisconsin-Green Bay. I really went back and forth on this last spot. A&M's Sydney Colson? ND's Becca Bruszewski for gutting out the tournament on a gamey leg? Tennessee's Shekinna Stricklen? Griner's teammate Melissa Jones? But I think that if any mid-major is going to really break through, I wonder if it might not be the Phoenix? Up until their Sweet 16 loss to Baylor, W-GB was riding a 25 game win streak, largely thanks to Tetschlag. Even in that loss to Baylor, Tetschlag played all 40 minutes and put up a double-double (27 pts and 10 reb.) It makes me wish I had seen her more throughout her career.

For Vandersloot, Adams, Moore and Tetschlag, so long, thanks for all the memories. For the returning players -- Diggins and White, Ogwumike and Rogers, Griner and Novosel -- I'm expecting great things from you next year.

Of Leviathans and Cinderellas, the Women's Final Tips Tonight

For the last several years, I've heard it said that the problem with women's basketball is the hegemony of UConn (and Tennessee and Stanford, to a lesser degree.) Suddenly, yesterday, after Texas A&M knocked off Stanford and Notre Dame took down mighty UConn (you know what they say -- fourth time's a charm), I heard it said that nobody will watch tonight's final because, wait for it -- UConn and Stanford aren't playing.

Huh? Too much UConn? Too little UConn? I'm confused. So now David felling Goliath is a bad thing? Are dynasties good? Or bad? Are we supposed to want a visit from Cinderella or not, for crying out loud?!

We need UConn (and Tennessee and Stanford) because Cinderella is just another obscure, unknown housewench without the evil step-mother. And make no mistake, the Huskies and the Vols and the Cardinal are the evil stepmothers in this tale. We need them because underdogs don't exist in a vacuum. They require opposition, are reliant on tyranny (or at least overwhelming odds.)

David disappears into the vapor without Goliath.

But it's also no fun if Goliath always wins. Who wants to tune in if David never ever notches a victory? We watch because of the possibility of Cinderella dancing with Prince Charming. So we need UConn (and Tennessee and Stanford). And we also need them to get knocked down every now and again because what compels us, what grabs our attention is the push-pull, the tug of war between big and little, the battle of expected against unexpected, the dynastic and the scrappy.

Without the diametrical opposition of the underdog versus leviathan paradigm laying over it, the 1985 Villanova men's team is just another champion. Which is my high-falutin' way of saying, had 'Nova beaten any team other than Georgetown, nobody remembers that game. But given what Georgetown was, Villanova's victory is considered one of the greatest upsets in men's tournament history. Everybody remembers it, everybody refers to it; heck, 25 years have passed and that game is as relevant, as present, as though it happened yesterday.

So what does this women's final mean, given that the titans have already been toppled, knocked from their exalted perches on high?

It means that this is a Final Four we'll be talking about for a long time to come because it's a harbinger of the development of the game.

It means that depth of field is developing over time. These things don't happen overnight. What we are watching, and I find it fascinating to have a front row seat for this, is a sport mid-stride in a massive growth spurt. For now, the underdogs are teams from power conferences (the Big East and Big 12 are the two best in the women's game, by far), but we're on the road to seeing a team from a lesser conference or a mid-major break through.

It means that there is no substitute for good basketball, which is what all four teams gave us Sunday night. That the outcomes of both Final Four match-ups turned out differently than most anticipated is of little consequence. Those were great games and both Notre Dame and Texas A&M made their way to this stage the hard way.

And isn't that a good thing for any sport?

Notre Dame v. Texas A&M, a Cursory Introduction

Both these teams are physical, tough and used to beating their opposition by large margins -- Notre Dame and Texas A&M rank six and seven in that stat nationally, respectively. Both are predicated on playing shut-down defense first, so even if their shots aren't dropping, they can keep the game tonight close. Both knocked off two No. 1 seeds to get here (ND took down Tennessee, then UConn; A&M took out Baylor, then Stanford.) Both have shown remarkable resilience.

While it is hard to portray Notre Dame as an underdog, ever, in any sport, I do believe that Jesus, Mary, Joseph and all the saints above are still shaking their heads in disbelief at their victory over UConn Sunday night.

Guard Skylar Diggins, in her second year, arrived in South Bend under a ridiculous amount of hype, which generally predisposes me to raise eyebrow, at the very least, but what she did Sunday night leading her team to victory from a 6-point halftime deficit and under the burden of three previous losses to UConn on their backs, convinced me that she is as good as promised, all that and a shot of Patron.

In the tourney this year, she's played more than 37 minutes per game, averaging 18.6 points, 6 rebounds, and 6.4 assists, plus throw in some steals and blocked shots here and there. In the biggest games of her career (so far), she scored 24 points (v. Tennessee in the Elite Eight) and 28 points (v. UConn.) If you're looking for a superstar, a player who will hold your attention a'la Maya Moore, look no further than Diggins.

And thus endeth the Maya Moore era in women's college hoops. Are we ushering in the Skylar Diggins era? As Shakespeare once said, the king is dead, long live the king!

ND is more than just one player, though. Deveraux Peters is one of my favorite players to watch, because she plays defense like a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and guard Natalie Novosel had a hot hand against the Huskies on Sunday night, dropping 22 points. Inside, Becca Bruszewski has battled through injuries throughout the tournament and her gutsy play was a big part of the reason the Irish advanced to the final.

On the other side of the court, I have a soft spot for the Texas A&M Aggies. I fell in love -- hard -- with the Aggies last year. It's hard not to like a coach like Gary Blair, who has one of those great, warm, uniquely southern senses of humor and a drawl that makes me want to just pour myself a big ole glass of iced tea and listen to him talk. I feel like he stepped right off the pages of a Harper Lee or Carson McCullers novel.

First team All-American, senior forward/center Danielle Adams has been the face of this team for a couple of years now and I'm expecting a great heavy-weight slobber-knocker bout between Adams and Bruszewski in the paint all night long, but as gutsy as Adams' play was on Sunday, some of her teammates emerged from her shadow in this tourney as stars in their own rights.

Both Sydneys came up big down the stretch, as did Tyra White as A&M came back from a 10-point deficit in the last six minutes. Sydney Carter hit three of her four 3-point shots in the second half, draining one of the biggest buckets of the night with about 90 seconds left to pull A&M within one-point.

Then, after Nnemkadi Ogwumike put Stanford up with nine seconds on the clock, Sydney Colson drove the length of the floor, with no time outs, and passed the ball to White with authority under the rim. If you didn't see the winning bucket, watch the ESPN video of Colson's drive and pass. White had an awesome game, too, providing much of the offense as A&M clawed their way back.

Can Colson equal Diggins as a field general?

Can Bruszewski withstand the physical assault of Adams?

Tip off in about five hours. Long ice baths needed for both squads three hours after that.

Last Chance, Last Dance -- Ten Players to Watch in the Women's NCAA Basketball Tourney

One of the most satisfying things about watching women's college hoops is that you get a chance to know the players over a long period of time. Nobody leaves early for the WNBA. [To paraphrase a radio jock I once heard, if a WNBA game broke out in my back yard, I'd pull the blinds and go to bed.] And despite the fact that a new young player or two grabs my attention every year (hello Aaryn Ellenberg and Stefanie Dolson), there are those players who I feel like I've gotten to know over their careers. I know their strengths and weaknesses, I've seen them develop different parts of their games. In fact, it feels strange to sit down and watch the tourney without Jayne Appel and Tina Charles this year. In short, this is my last chance to see the players who I have enjoyed watching for several years, players who are dancing for the last time in their wonderful college careers. In no particular order,

TEN SENIORS TO WATCH IN THE WOMEN'S NCAA TOURNEY:

1. Deveraux Peters, Forward - Notre Dame. I've written about it many times before, but basketball in the Big East is like a prize fight. Last team standing wins. To win defensive player of the year in this conference, you have to play like a pissed off Dick Butkus. No doubt Peters' 60 steals and 58 blocks helped her win this award, you have to see her to see how disruptive she is on the defensive end of the floor. Plus, she's got the best shooting percentage (.583) on the team.

2. Courtney Vandersloot, Guard -- Gonzaga. I don't get to see as many of the 'Zags games as I would like, but when I do, it is a real treat to watch Vandersloot. She has extraordinary vision. It seems like she has eyes in the back of her head. She moves, ball fakes, dribble-drives and then, as they say in football, she throws her teammates open. I've never seen a better passer in the women's game. She is an assists machine.

3. Jantel Lavendar, Center -- Ohio State. Last year, the Buckeyes were bounced in the second round by Mississippi State, continuing a disturbing trend wherein OSU has lost to a team with a worse seed in the first or second round in four of the last five seasons. I know coach Jim Foster is fed up and I expect Lavendar is, too. She plays nearly every minute of every game and averages a double-double (22.7 points and 10.8 rebounds.) This is her last shot to make a deep run in the tourney.

4. Maya Moore, Forward -- UConn. What can I say about Maya Moore that hasn't been said before? She is a force of nature and while every player at this level is competitive, Moore's competitive drive 'goes to eleven.' Georgetown held her to 6 points in the Big East tourney, so the next day, she took it out on Rutgers. She couldn't be stopped. She has a great chance at going out on top, and the Huskies have been pretty near unbeatable as long as Moore has been in residence in Storrs.

5. Danielle Adams, Forward/Center -- Texas A & M. The thing about Adams is that she is quicker than she looks. Combine that with her tremendously soft hands and she rarely misses chances in the paint. She's really blossomed and grown into her game under Gary Blair. I love watching a player who appears to be having fun, which is another reason I like watching Adams so much.

6. Danielle Robinson, Guard -- Oklahoma. The team that used to belong to the Paris sisters is now totally and completely D-Rob's. She leads her team in scoring, in steals, in assists. Plus, she's silky smooth. Much as I enjoy watching her, she'll need help from Whitney Hand and freshman phenom Aaryn Ellenberg if the Sooners are going to make a run to another Final Four appearance.

7. Angie Bjorklund, Guard/Forward -- Tennessee. Bjorklund lived through the 2009 first round loss and lived to tell. Since then, the Summitt has rebuilt her Vols program back to her usual standards. Bjorklund played the SEC title game with big-time intensity, like she really wanted that number one seed in the Big Dance. Big Time. The big question on Rockytop is, can she and junior Shekinna Stricklen get Tennessee back to the Final Four?

8. Jeanette Pohlen, Guard -- Stanford. Is shooting nearly 42% from three-point range and leads her team in assists. Last year, it was Pohlen's last second heroics that propelled the Cardinal into the Final Four. This year, in handing UConn their first loss since Stanford beat them in the Final Four in 2008, Pohlen was en fuego, draining five three-point shots to lead her team. She played the game of her life. The way the brackets are set up, Pohlen and Stanford could meet UConn again in the final (thank you committee) and if that happens, can she do it again, can she play the best game of her career?

9. Ta’Shia Phillips, Center -- Xavier. The player who's heart was broken because of Pohlen's last minute heroics last year, Phillips is the all-time leading rebounder in the history of the Atlantic 10 conference (and second in the nation with rebounds per game this season.) She's also third in shooting percentage (60.8%). Watch a Musketeers game and you'll lose count of how many put-backs Phillips gets.

10. Victoria Dunlap, Forward -- Kentucky. She's such a smart player and has a beautiful burst of speed. Though they list her at only 6' 1" (only in women's basketball do I ever write things like, 'only 6' 1"'), she can really sky. Can Dunlap and the 'Cats bounce back from the whupping the Vols laid on them? Dunlap has to stay out of foul trouble, has to be on the floor, if they even want to get past the second round this year.

BONUS UNDERCLASSMEN TO WATCH FOR:

The Juniors -- Keisha Hampton, Forward -- DePaul; Nnemkadi Ogwumike, Forward -- Stanford; Shekinna Stricklen, Guard/Forward -- Tennessee; Jasmine Dixon, Forward -- UCLA.

The Sophomores -- Brittney Griner, Center -- Baylor; Morgan Stroman, Forward -- Miami (Fl.); Sugar Rodgers, Guard -- Georgetown; Skylar Diggins, Guard -- Notre Dame.

The Freshmen -- Aaryn Ellenburg, Guard -- Oklahoma; Stefanie Dolson, Center -- UConn; Odyssey Sims, Guard -- Baylor.

Blogging the Women's NCAA Tournament, Day One

So, last week, I posted ten players in the women's tourney I was keeping my eye on at my True/Slant site. Let's take a look at how those players did in Day 1 of the Women's action in the order in which they played:

Nadirah McKenith, St. John's. McKenith's Red Storm team beat up on Princeton. McKenith had four assists, a couple rebounds, two steals and 10 points. That's a pretty good day for McKenith, not her best, but good. Perhaps she's saving her best for the later rounds.

Kelley Cain, Tennessee. Double-Double. Nuff said. Oh, what the hell. Cain had 18 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and shot 82% from the floor, and even got a smile out of The Grand Summitt. I'd say she served notice on the rest of the teams in Tennessee's region.

Jacinta Monroe, Florida State. 16 points and seven boards. And she drew a key blocking foul that was the turning point in the game.

Danielle Adams, Texas A & M. Danielle Adams is not a starter. She is a bench player. A bench player who routinely takes over games in the second half. Yesterday, she contributed 23 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals. When she is on, she is on.

Jayne Appel, Stanford. The Tree rolled U.C. Riverside, but Appel rolled her already gimpy ankle and played only 15 minutes. She had a serious hitch in her giddy-up. I'd hate to see her end a magnificent college career limping up and down the court ineffectually. Stanford can get to the Sweet Sixteen (probably the Elite 8) on the shoulders of Pederson and Ogwumike, but they'll need a healthy Appel to go any further. Get well soon, Jayne. And by soon, I mean, tomorrow.

Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga. She looked every bit the player I thought she was. She's an assist machine: Bounce passes, cross court passes, behind the back passes, no look passes. On the other end of the court, she seems to always break up passes or at least re-direct them. She's like watching a great hockey player and, in all honesty, she reminds me of Sidney Crosby in terms of her style. She gets Texas A & M and Danielle Adams next round.

Kalana Greene, Liz Repella, Monica Wright and Amanda Thompson go on Sunday. More then.