10 Women to Watch in the 2013 NCAA Tourney

Delle Donne:  www.caawomenshoops.wordpress.net

10.  Gennifer Brandon, Cal. The Cal Bears don't have one great player; there is no single, singular talent that jumps elevates an entire team, but they do have a collection of really good players. My favorite of the bunch is junior forward Gennifer Brandon, who is a rebounding machine and was a significant force in all of the team's signature wins this year -- once over Stanford and twice against both UCLA and Colorado. Make no mistake, the Bears won't make it far without Layshia Clarendon, either, but when Cal is at their best, they are a tremendously physical team. That physicality starts on the boards with Brandon.

Skylar Diggins Will Save the World

Just one tweet, that's all it took. If Shakespeare were alive, he himself might tweet in response, "Oh brave new world that has such social media in it."

The tweet that sent Skylar Diggins from a great basketball player with a twitter account to a social media supernova came the day before the women's NCAA championship game when Li'l Wayne tweeted to Diggins,


"Kongrats to @skydigg4,my wife. Now bring it home baby."

Her twitter account blew up. As of this posting, she now has 68,640 followers and is nothing short of a cultural phenomenon, likely to break into Justin Bieber or Jersey Shore territory for recognizability. Only, unlike Bieber and Snookie, Skylar Diggins might actually have something to say worth paying attention to.

Based on her performance throughout the NCAA tournament, including Notre Dame's losing effort in the final game last night (76-70 to Texas A&M), she is ready to assume the mantle of the best player in the game.

Through six games in the tournament, she averaged nearly 20 points per game and she's on the floor constantly, rarely sitting down for more than a minute. When her team needs her to score, she drops 28, as she did against UConn. When they need her to distribute the ball, she has 12 assists, as she did against Tennessee. And while her stats are impressive, she's more than that. She's explosive, compelling, a charismatic person, but also a charismatic player.

Though a point guard, she's not content to just sit outside the stripe and try to hit three-pointers. She is both fast and quick, will put the ball on the floor, dribble-drive to the bucket, and lay in a beauty of an underhanded shot. Or she'll pull up and hit three. Or, she'll make a great pass to somebody in the paint. She can do it all, and because she can do it all, you don't know what Diggins is going to do next.

She also has model good looks -- accept it, Diggins is a stunner. But unlike other female athletes who were long on looks and short on game, Diggins can flat out play.

And you know what? If people tune in to see Notre Dame women's basketball because Li'l Wayne tweets to Diggins and calls her wifey, or if they tune in because they think she's hot, they have just tuned into a women's basketball game wherein they will see a great basketball player.

And what's wrong with that?

Skylar Diggins will save the world.

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.

Top 10 Players of the 2010 Women's NCAA Tourney

From True/Slant on April 10, 2010:

Here are my Top 10 Favorite Performers of the 2010 NCAA Women’s Tournament.

10. Skylar Diggins, Notre Dame. First of all, this is a freshman who came into Notre Dame under a world of hype, but has proven to be up to the billing: The Skylar Diggins show comes to South Bend. She cruised as her team cruised past Cleveland State in the first round, then in the second round, versus Vermont, the Skylar Diggins show came to March Madness: 31 points, seven steals and six assists. Oklahoma’s defense took away much of what she wanted to do at the offensive end, but she helped keep the game close with steals and rebounds. Then she hit a three-pointer to send it to overtime. It was a spectacular debut at the big dance.

9. Jene Morris, San Diego State University. Prior to the tournament, I had seen a little under one-half of San Diego State Aztec basketball, so I really didn’t understand the full magnificence that is Jene Morris. Her performance in the tourney was enlightening, to say the least. She’s a wonderful defender – it’s required that all the Aztec players commit to defense — but it’s on the offensive end where she really shines. Some players have a knack for making the big play at the big moment. Certain players have a gift for doing something that stems the flow of momentum for the opposition. Morris is one of these players. Besides that, she’s got a killer three point shot, almost as beautiful as the sublime perfection of Maya Moore’s outside shot.

8. Alexis Rack, Mississippi State. This kid? Has hops. She flew up and down the court, hitting three-pointers and mid-range baskets. She distributed the ball and caused turnovers all over the floor. But in addition to speed and a sweet shot, she’s got stones. She’s tiny. They list her at 5′ 7″ – which is pretty short by D-I basketball standards these days — but I don’t know that she’s even that tall. Yet she continually drove to the hoop, wending her way through and around much bigger bodies to create lay-up opportunities. At their game versus Ohio State, the guys sitting next to me and behind me just kept muttering, “fearless.”

7. Amber Harris, Xavier. No team went through a crazier, wilder ride than the Xavier Muskateers, and perhaps no player had a bigger single impact that Harris. She showed both power and nuance, patience and urgency. In the final seconds of their game versus Vanderbuilt, she drove the lane for the winning lay-up. Then she lead Xavier past the Zags, before taking mighty Stanford to their absolute limits. When she came down with an offensive rebound with the score tied and just 18 seconds remaining, it should have been the nail in Stanford’s coffin. Should have, could have, but wasn’t. Still Amber Harris put on a show.

6. Brittney Griner, Baylor. I have to admit, there was a part of me that wanted to dismiss Griner, to think of her as merely a freak show — all height and luck and genetics. Then came the punch and I started to strongly dislike the kid. Granted, she is a very incomplete player. She doesn’t move much or all that well. She doesn’t have a great shot yet or even a killer instinct on the offensive end. And she could be a much better rebounder. All of those flaws showed up when she played against Tina Charles, but then, Charles has made everybody look bad this year. And yet, despite those flaws, Griner was more than just a freakshow of bones and sinew. Her shot blocking ability is something to behold and it’s impact cannot be overstated. She didn’t merely block shots, she swatted them down as though she were human anti-aircraft artillery, as player after player tried to get around her, by her or through her. Inevitably, the Griner swat came, sending the ball ignominiously to the court. Or onto the scorer’s table. Or into the seats. Every time she did that, her team fed off of her energy. The kid’s legit. I wouldn’t say she’s won me over. She’s got a long way to go still before she reaches that rarified air, so to speak, but she’s on her way.

5. Amanda Thompson, Oklahoma. I think what I like most about Thompson is the effort, which is not to say that she’s not a very talented player; she is that, of course. But I like that you can see her working on the court, digging down, reaching inside of herself to find that elusive something that will catapult her team to victory. Despite being surrounded by some really talented teammates – and that Oklahoma team is deep – it felt like Thompson did something when the Sooners were backed into a dangerous alley. She made steals and came down with rebounds. She hit inside shots and dished back outside. Last year, all anybody could talk about was how could coach Sherri Coale replace Courtney Paris. I wonder how she’s going to replace Thompson?

4. Nnemkadi Ogwumike, Stanford. I’m not even sure what to say about Ogwumike. In the Final Four game versus Oklahoma she staked her team to a large lead to watch it slip away. With just 16 seconds left, after a Danielle Robinson lay-up, Stanford’s lead frittered down to just three, so she took things into her own hands. Some how, she found her way to a clear space and, with a great pass from Kayla Pederson, she hit the lay up to put away the Sooners for good. She can do everything, evidenced by the fact that she put up a double-double in every game of the tourney except one (versus Iowa: 23 pts.; nine rebounds.) She can play inside. She can play outside. She can sky to come down with a rebound. She can speed up the pace for her team or she can settle it down. When she and Appel were able to work together on the court, Stanford was like a fast-repeat machine gun.

3. Jayne Appel, Stanford. I’ve written plenty about Appel over the years. About her drive and leadership; about her hands and her vision. But one of the things I really like about watching Appel is that she is one of those rare players possessed of both equanimity and guts. It’s hard to strike that balance. Having played an entire season on a gimped up ankle, Appel limped through the NCAA tournament and still she managed to elevate her team. Then, fighting for the ball in the paint in the championship game versus UConn, she rolled that ankle again. She could barely walk off the court. But still, the trainers taped her back up so she could play her guts out. The ankle, though, was a problem. It prevented her from getting any lift to shoot. Apparently, it’s not just me: Everybody loves Jayne. Even my buddy the DieHard UConn fan texted to say that she felt for Appel, on the bench, unable to play in the waning moments. There’s a reason everybody loves Jayne: she always fights to the end and never loses her dignity. So, despite the disappointment of coming so close and having to watch it slip away, I’d remind Ms. Appel that she really did have a wonderful career. But I probably don’t have to remind her. You know, equanimity and all.

2. Tina Charles, UConn. It’s hard to say anything about Charles that hasn’t already been said. She eclipsed all other post players in the tourney, which is some heady praise, considering that we also the swan song of Appel, the opening act of Griner, and the breakthrough of Amber Harris. She is a beast in the paint and I mean that in the best way possible. I don’t think anybody is stronger than Charles. At least I haven’t seen anybody who is. Even more than Griner, Charles changes the shot selection for the opposition. She did it all second half in the championship and that, as much as anything else, was the reason UConn pulled out the win.

1. Maya Moore, UConn. She possesses the best, most reliable jump shot in women’s basketball, maybe in all college basketball, and her shot is certainly one of the most aesthetically pleasing I’ve seen at any level. Period. It’s no surprise that Moore tops this list. She is great. I knew that. I also knew that she could stake her team to a huge lead. What I didn’t know, I mean really know deep in my bones, was if Moore could lead her team from behind, if she could bounce back from the worst half of basketball I’ve ever seen her play. Her shots clanked off the back of the rim, off the front of the rim, banged harmlessly off the backboard and sometimes missed the target altogether. She turned the ball over and dribbled off her own foot. It was ugly. And it was a gut check. In the first five minutes of the second half, Moore put up a jumper, kissed it off the glass and then it touched nothing but net. She not only got on a roll, she forced herself ont that roll and scored 15 of her 23 points in the second half. Gut. Checked.

Just missed the cut: Vivian Frieson, Gonzaga; Jasmine Thomas, Duke; Joy Cheek, Duke; Jeanette Pohlen, Stanford; Kalana Greene, UConn; Chanel Mokango, Mississippi State; Alysha Clark, Middle Tennessee; Nyeshia Stevenson, Oklahoma; Alysha Harvin, Florida State; Victoria Dunlap, Kentucky; Kelly Faris, UConn; Kayla Pederson, Stanford; and Ta’Shia Phillips, Xavier.

Grading ESPN's Coverage of the Women's NCAA Tourney, 2010

From True/Slant on April 9, 2010:

Women’s NCAA Final Four Production Grades


Watch Maya Moore spin out of her regular clothes and into her UConn Huskies uniform! See with amazement Nnemkadi Ogwumike turn from a heel shod, skirt wearing femme fatale into the PAC-10 player of the year!

That was how ESPN chose to introduce us to the starting five players on each of the Final Four teams.

During these intros, each player would say something about herself, something unrelated to basketball, of course. Then she’d spin and bam, she’s a hoopster too!

Whah!?

“I’m Tina Charles and I’m a daddy’s girl.” Spin and voila, she is the dominant post player for undefeated UConn.

Brittney Griner introduced all 6′ 8″ of herself to America by declaring that she likes bacon. (Maybe it was babies that she likes. I couldn’t hear clearly, so I like to think it was bacon. Everybody likes bacon, right?) Spin, spin and she is the shot-blocking freshman phenom for Baylor.

Somebody else liked to shop.

Another one had 300 shades of nail polish.

One player told us she was a Christian (not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I don’t care what church you go to, how frequently you get a mani-pedi, or if you dislike pork products.)

I was watching with several other women, some of whom were football players. We all joked and hooted derisively; we hollered “bacon!” and “christian!” at appropriate moments throughout the games. But really, we were appalled. At least they allowed Jayne Appel to introduce herself by saying that she was the heart of her Stanford team. True dat, Jayne.

Not to mention that the spinning-clothes-changing special effect was laughable. Were they seriously trying to reference the 1970’s TV version of Wonder Woman with Lynda Carter?

If they were, they should have just gone whole hog and used that same snappy theme music.

But I wonder, why is it so hard to package women’s sports? And why does ESPN (or any other venue for that matter) feel like they have to package it differently?

My buddy Sully, starting tight end for the Pittsburgh Passion, pointed out that they can never just let women be athletes. It’s important that women are athletes AND …

Women always have to be something, something off the court, off the ice or away from the field, preferably something in stark contrast to the stereotypes for athletes. It’s never enough just to be a good athlete.

Unless a male athlete actually, you know, DOES something extraordinary off the court, it’s like his life outside of athletics doesn’t exist. Mostly, we just hear about who ran the fastest 40, or who can bench press the most; who has an unbelievable vertical leap and whose team won the state championship in high school.

But that other life, the “real” life, if you will, is necessary for women.

“Oh my god, she’s a hockey player, but really, she’s a classical violinist!”

“She runs track, but she excels at accounting!”

“She’s a point guard, but really, she’s going to take over her parents horse farm when she graduates. How wonderful!”

She’s Diana Prince, government secretary, but she’s also Wonder Woman. Hard to believe we’re still here. I wonder what Lynda Carter thinks …

2010 Women's NCAA Tourney Final Four

From True/Slant on March 30, 2010:

Stanford and Baylor Advance to Final Four


Stanford Survives.

Jeanette Pohlen bolted for the basket a little over 90 feet from her, racing the length of the court, past and around pressing Xavier defenders. The ball left her hand, a mere blink left on the clock, kissed off the glass and dropped through the net. Her teammates swarmed. Jayne Appel leapt and, I believe she even wept.

Stanford could have lost. Some might say they should have lost. But I always think that what should have happened did. And what did happen was a gut check nobody saw coming. Given that Stanford had rolled every opponent except UConn, no one expected this kind of heavy-weight battle. Some idiot even wrote that Stanford was destined for the Final Four, on an inexorable collision course to meet mighty UConn again. So thanks to Pohlen, I look less like an idiot, Stanford survives to fight another day, and Jayne Appel gets the equivalent of an 11th hour governor’s reprieve.

But to understand Pohlen’s miracle shot in Sacramento, you’ve got to consider the entirety of the game.

Xavier played brilliantly. They did everything necessary to win, except actually win. Every time Stanford made a run, Xavier countered. (Apparently, somebody failed to pass on to the Musketeers the memo declaring Stanford’s appearance in the Final Four as a fait accompli.) Down the stretch, down by seven, Special Jennings hit a layup, plus one. Then Dee Dee Jernigan made a rebound and a bucket. Then Amber Harris made a jumper to tie it up. And April Phillips hit a layup to put Xavier ahead. Filling in for Appel, Jocelyn Tinkle hit a jumper to tie it for Stanford, but Tyeasha Moss answered to put the Musketeers back in front. Kayla Pederson, as she alway seems to do, tied it up.

So, it came to this moment — all tied up at 53, so little time remaining that the shot clock was off, and Xavier ball. The game, the braggin’ rights and a trip to the Final Four, was all right there for the taking. Appel had fouled out and was on the bench — on the verge of ending her career that way. Nnemkadi Ogwumike was on the floor for Stanford, but clearly spent.

Ball movement all around. Pederson peeled off, taking a step or two toward the three-foot stripe. Jernigan ducked behind her into the paint for a clean look. But the ball bounced too high off the glass, off the rim and down. Harris, a force all night, grabbed the ball and gave the Musketeers another chance to put it away. Same exact play. Same exact result. Except this time, Pederson came down with the ball and called a time out.

Other than her three-pointer so early on in the night it felt like the day before, nothing was dropping for Pohlen. It seemed like she wouldn’t have hit water had she fallen out of a boat. But on that stage, with time draining away, the Final Four slipping away, Pohlen came up big. Can two points count for more than just two points? One point would do it. Two was what it was. Must have felt like 20.

ESPN loves to show the coach promos – with Geno and Sherri Coale, Tara and Pat, as Her High Holiness The Summitt says, “It’s hard to win on this stage.” The Musketeers can tell you all about it if you don’t believe Summitt.

Brittney Griner Is.

Earlier in the night, it looked like the Dookies would hold off the Baylor Bears and despite a poor shooting performance (just 23% from the floor – ouch) and despite Brittney Griner teetering on the edge of another triple-double, they led most of the night.

Griner was kinda quiet for the first part of the second half. She almost disappeared, insomuch as a 6′ 8″ phenom can disappear, that is. But then she took over again. Just as she had down the stretch against Tennessee. I’m seeing a pattern develop.

Duke is not a great shooting team to begin with, but Griner forces opponents to change their shot selection, hurry their shots, alter the trajectory of their shots. Yeah, like I said, a pattern. The shots? They are not so good when Griner is on the floor defending. Just a fact. For a team that’s not an offensive juggernaut to begin with, Griner roaming out there, long and lanky, ready to swat passes and shots down, is a fact that is the kiss of death.

At the end, Coach Mulkey teared up. Again. But she had reason to. Her young kids, freshmen Jordan Madden and Kimetria Hayden, as well as Griner of course, played huge roles down the stretch. They are just growing up in front of us, with every game. This could make for an epic Final Four.

Checking in on the 2010 Women's NCAA Tourney Elite Eight

From True/Slant on March 29, 2010:

Women’s NCAA Tourney Elite 8 Upon Us

In a statistic that seems patently impossible, UConn’s Maya Moore is hitting 71% of her shots from 3-point range in the tournament. Outrageous. With Moore on another planet and the magnificence that is Tina Charles, playing UConn right now must be a little like standing in the eye of a hurricane for 40 minutes. While I do not believe that any team is utterly invulnerable, let’s just say the Huskies have parked their team bus right next to unbeatable and walked over.

Meanwhile, the only other team to roll through the first three rounds with ease is Stanford, which makes it seem more and more likely that the two behemoths are on a collision course. I don’t mean to diminish the other teams by stating that. Xavier junior center Ta’Shia Phillips put on an eye-opening performance with a big-time double-double in their win over Gonzaga; Florida State gutted out a tough win against a very good Mississippi State team; I could write tomes about Oklahoma’s depth and Kentucky’s speed; and even more about Baylor and Duke (below). But I really have to wonder if any of those teams can keep the big girls on the block from their appointment with destiny?

Over in “The Bracket of Death” ™ (the Memphis region — any region with Tennessee, Baylor, Duke, WVU, and LSU must be considered a veritable charnel house), Baylor took down the mighty Vols of Tennessee. Brittney Griner was, quite simply, a force of nature. She played every minute of that game and dropped 27 points on Tennessee, but her real impact was her 10 blocked shots. Every time Tennessee got a look they wanted, Griner swatted the ball into the third row. It must be really frustrating to work so hard to create offensive opportunities, simply to have them literally smacked down.

So Baylor moves on in the Bracket of Death to face Duke tonight, a match-up I am really looking forward to as much for the players as for the coaches.

Baylor coach, Kim Mulkey, dresses like Tanya Tucker and struts and fist pumps and jumps around like Jerry Lee Lewis, so I can see where Mulkey might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but I must admit, I love it. I just get a kick out of a coach who is as much of a cheerleader as the teams most rabid fan — hell, I think she’d wear face paint if Baylor’s AD would let her. Mulkey’s emotions are right on the edge, barely under the surface; she got misty while the Tennessee game was in live action and a bit more misty during her post-game presser. If she doesn’t genuinely care about her players, then she deserves an Oscar.

Mulkey already has a national championship under her belt, one that Baylor won by beating Michigan State in the final in 2005. The coach at Michigan State that year? Another coach I love to watch — Joanne P. McCallie, now coach of the Duke Blue Devils. McCallie is just lovable. Maybe she because she looks like somebody I could be related to or have been pals with in college, but I have a soft spot for McCallie. (A friend who works in television production was working the women’s tourney in 2005. He did the final between Baylor and Mich. State, so he spent a lot of time around both teams. He raved about McCallie, confirming that while I am often full of it, in this particular case, my instincts were dead-on accurate.)

While I’m on the subject of coaches, after their Sweet Sixteen victory, Huskies coach Geno Auriemma had no criticisms of his team (many in the Storrs area collapsed from shock), but cousin Geno being cousin Geno, he had to stir the pot a bit, so he commented on the Tennessee loss to Baylor the day before by saying that he was glad that a UConn-Tennessee meeting in the Final Four was off the table, not because he doesn’t want to play Tennessee, but because it would inevitably become the “Pat & Geno” show. He felt that would be unfair to the other teams, the players themselves and that the Final Four is, or should be, larger than just two coaches.

I want to go on record as saying that I’ll miss seeing Her High Holiness The Summitt, not because I want to see “Pat & Geno ™” necessarily, but because she’s a coach I really enjoy watching. I love the Summitt Death Stare and if you’ve ever watched even a single LadyVols game, you know what I mean. So, I’ll miss Summitt. (For that matter, I’m bummed that Rutgers went out in the first round because I love watching C. Vivian Stringer, too. I guess you can’t have everything, right?)

While I agree with Auriemma in that the tournament should be about more than just two coaches, everybody wants to see UConn-Tennessee (even Jere Longman at the NYT.) Oklahoma’s Sherri Coale, Stanford’s Tara Vanderveer, and the above mentioned Mulkey and McCallie are not exactly pikers, but at the end of the day, Summitt and Auriemma remain the faces of women’s college basketball as much as Maya Moore and Jane Appel are. The game needs Summitt and Auriemma.

It needs their larger than life personalities. It needs the sustained excellence of both programs, the instantly recognizable Tennessee orange and the passion of the UConn fans.

It needs their genuine antipathy for each other.

Heck, I’m going to watch the games anyway, regardless of the presence or absence of Summitt and Auriemma, Coales and Vanderveer. But we’re not talking about me. Even to the biggest women’s sports neophyte, the names Pat Summitt and Geno Auriemma are known quantities, brands as people are fond of saying these days. So if the sport is to continue to grow, it needs Maya Moore and Britney Griner, but it also needs the Pat & Geno show.

I know that cousin Geno and Her High Holiness The Summitt see eye to eye about as often as Lindsey Graham and Charles Schumer do, but I think they both care about the game. So it really is time to have a come to Jesus meeting and re-ignite the regular season Tennessee-UConn rivalry.

Checking in on the 2010 Women's NCAA Tourney Sweet Sixteen

From True/Slant on March 27, 2010:


Women’s Sweet 16 Tips Today. Who Invited All These Mid-Majors?

The women’s Sweet 16 is set to start today with an unexpectedly diverse field — even with all four No. 1 seeds advancing, there are lots of gate crashers. Only the Kansas City Region has gone according to form and certainly nobody expected to see two mid-majors advance this far, as well as seeing mighty Ohio State and Jantel Lavender go down in the second round.

Down go the Buckeyes.

On Tuesday night at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, I parked myself courtside, expecting to see live and in person the Jantel Lavender show. Instead, I witnessed the emergence of rising star Alexis Rack and a Mississippi State Bulldog team that plays some of the best defense outside of Storrs, Connecticut.

Some background. Lavender is likely an All-American. She is huge. She’s 6′ 4″ (which, I would point out to give it perspective, is as tall as Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger.) And she’s solid. No wonder that she led her team in scoring, in shots attempted, in fouls drawn, in rebounds, and in shot blocks. In short, despite considerable contributions from point guard Samantha Prahalis and sharp-shooting forward Sarah Schultze, every thing the Buckeyes do goes through Lavender.

Most of the game, it was Chanel Mokango’s job to neutralize Lavender. During warm ups, I thought there was no way Mokango could handle it, because while she has the height (she’s listed at 6′ 5″), she is ultra-lean. She looks like a model (back when models didn’t look like they were about two weeks away of dying from starvation.) But Mokango handled Lavender by being in the right spot just about every time the Buckeyes fed the ball to her. Coach Sharon Fanning-Otis and her staff clearly did a great job scouting the Ohio State team; Mokango and her teammates followed the road map to stifle and frustrate the inside game that the Buckeyes desperately wanted to establish.

Not to mention that Mokango has a sweet little mid-range jumper, which is totally unexpected from a player who didn’t pick up a basketball until she was 15 years old.

It was quite a performance. To start the game, Bulldogs found themselves quickly down. They never let the Buckeyes build an insurmountable lead and every time it looked like OSU was going to go on a run, the Bulldogs made a key bucket or a big rebound. Halfway through the first half, things started to turn. OSU’s shooters, who had hit everything in the opening minutes, went stone cold, there was a Bulldog player everywhere they looked, everywhere they tried to dribble, in every passing lane pass, challenging every shot. Every move was contested. The Bulldogs caused a dozen turnovers in the first half. And then a dozen more in the second. Truly, even though Alexis Rack put up 30 points, and Mississippi State had four players in double figures, the turnovers were the story of the game. Ohio State’s frustration was palpable.

Playing with four fouls late in the game, Prahalis was pinned along the baseline with the ball by one of the State guards (I think it was Diamber Johnson). She was so frustrated that she started chirping at the official just behind her, then just winged the ball right off Johnson’s knee. She was T’ed up and out of the game. I don’t mean to call out Prahalis, who plays with a lot of emotion, but it pretty much sums up the second half for the Buckeyes nicely.

The Mighty Zags.

The Gonzaga men’s team has become a staple of March Madness. When the boys of Spokane first started making noise, everybody was enamored of them, the little Jesuit college who could. But after a while, we got used to it. The men’s program is now considered to be like a mid-major plus-plus. It’s not a surprise to see them in the Sweet 16 anymore.

But the women? Last year, the Zags made the dance and lost in a close second round game to Pitt. This year, they were determined to make it past the second round and secure their first ever Sweet 16 bid.

I thought going into this game that the biggest challenge to A & M would be Courtney Vandersloot operating on the outside; and the biggest problem for the Zags would be Danielle Adams operating inside. I was kinda sorta right. Kinda.

If you had told me that at the end of the first half, Vandersloot would have six turnovers and be just one for five shooting from the field, I would have told you that the Aggies had a large lead. Although those stats were true, the story of the game was senior forward, Vivian Frieson.

Frieson dominated the game both inside and out. She carried her team. She rebounded at both ends of the floor, she blocked shots, she hit buckets when her team needed them most. Most of the first half, it was the Inside Vivian Frieson show. In the second half, with Vandersloot still discombobulated, Frieson moved outside and distributed the ball to her teammates, while Vandersloot ran the baseline, working for open looks.

Frieson did everything. She was a big physical presence, with the vision of a true point guard, and the shooting touch of a two guard. It was a tremendous singular performance and Frieson is the reason the Zags take on Xavier in the Sweet 16. Welcome to the dance ladies. Good to have you here.

San Diego State? Really?

The Mountaineers never got into any kind of offensive rhythm against the San Diego State Aztecs. The SDSU D was perhaps the most impressive defensive showing in a round chock full of jaw-dropping, lock-down performances.

Here’s an indication of just how dominant the SDSU defense was: On the night, West Virginia had just three assists in the entire game. Three! The only reason that the Mountaineers weren’t completely and totally routed was the individual efforts of both Sarah Miles and Liz Repella, even though Repella’s shooting touch just wasn’t there from the outside. That was just two talented, tough players gutting out points because there was no real offense to speak of.

Meanwhile, SDSU’s Jene Morris was locked and loaded. Every time Repella or Miles made something happen at the offensive end for WVU, Morris would answer for SDSU. In the last five minutes of the game, Morris had 12 points. Some people say there’s no such thing as “clutch,” that stats just bear out over time. Horse-patootey. Morris’ 12 points in these key moments secured the win just as much as the SDSU defense.

What does it all mean?

What do all these teams have in common? They all play stifling defense. They all use their defense to essentially lift them up on the offensive end. They believe that if they create turnovers, foment confusion, frustrate the other team, it will lead to good things.

I can think of another team that does that so well it carries them to national championships. It’s about time other teams started using UConn’s blueprint.

Preview of the 2010 Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament

From True/Slant on March 16, 2010:

Women’s NCAA Tournament Cheat Sheet


The NCAA women’s tournament brackets have been announced, which means we’re only a few weeks from the coronation of the UConn Huskies. Again.

Still, there are some great players to watch, so here are ten players I have my eye on this March. These are not necessarily the best players. I’ve left some notables — Tina Charles, Nnemkadi Ogwumike and Danielle Robinson, to name a few — off this list. Rather, this is a list of players whose style I enjoy, or who will be central to the drama if they advance. In no particular order:

1. Courtney Vandersloot, Guard, Gonzaga. Vandersloot put on a show in the early rounds of last year’s tourney and this year, all she did was lead the nation in assists. (She also had 108 steals, good for sixth nationally.) Vandersloot has an uncanny ability to anticipate passes a split second before they are airborn, get a hand in a lane and take off the other way with the ball. The Zags will likely get Texas A & M in the second round, which is too bad because they’ll have to face:

2. Danielle Adams, Forward/Center, Texas A & M. Adams has size and strength but her soft hand are what make her really special. She owned the the boards in the Big 12 tourney. She got better as the season wore on, taking possession after possession away from opponents and showed a remarkably light touch shooting from the outside. Gary Blair’s Aggies are a very well rounded team, but if they are going to make noise, they will need Adams to be the lead noisemaker.

3. Jacinta Monroe, Forward, Florida State. Monroe has hops. She is long and lean and really elevates up to clear air space before she lets it rip. She led her team in scoring, rebounds and blocks. She’s got a great pull up jumper, moves and quickness. She is a complete player, who can slash, fake, shoot and play defense. Florida State will probably get St. John’s in the second round, which means, the Seminoles will have to take on:

4. Nadirah McKenith, Guard, St. John’s. Though only a freshman, Nadirah McKenith is not afraid of any situation. Maybe she benefits from her youth. She seemed unafraid to travel on the road to play Rutgers and UConn this year, the bullies of the Big East. I’ve been to the RAC. I was scared. It’s crowded and steamy and loud. That is one intimidating venue. To say nothing of the crowds at Storrs. And yet, McKenith was showed guts and equanimity in those road games, leap-frogging for rebounds, stealing passes, and leading the Red Storm in scoring. She put up a double-doubles in both of those games. St. John’s gets Princeton in the first round and Princeton doesn’t let anybody score, so they will need McKenith to be her fearless self.

5. Monica Wright, Guard, Virginia. The ACC player of the year dropped 700 points on opponents this season and can score from anywhere on the floor. She also plays complete shut down defense. Wright takes away the opposition’s best threat and dares coaches to game plan around her. No small wonder, then, that she was also named the ACC defensive player of the year. The popular cliche is that guard play determines the outcome at tourney time and if any guard can power her team to a serious run, Wright is the one. Still, the Cavs got a tough match up right off the bat, drawing Wisconsin-Green Bay, no gimme game. If Wright and Virginia make it through there, UConn looms as a potential Sweet 16 opponent.

6. Liz Repella, Guard, West Virginia. Like Wright, Liz Repella is another guard who is the focal point of WVU’s scheme. She leads her team in shooting, but her most important asset is that she’s one of the best two way players around. WVU’s scoring defense ranked fourth nationally and held opponents under 52 points per game. Repella is a big reason why. She never quits on a play and I’ve seen her close on a defender on a fastbreak to disrupt the shot. Still, given that WVU’s half of the Memphis region gives them potential games against Texas and then LSU or Duke, they’ll need Repella to defend and also have a hot shooting hand.

7. Kelley Cain, Center, Tennessee. The 6′ 6″ sophomore center has come on strong as the season has gone on. She’s a shot blocking machine and has half – half! – of her teams total blocks. She’s shooting 60% from the field. Tennessee is in a monster region (until I die, I will never understand the selection committee) and the Vols will likely have to face Baylor in the Sweet 16. The Grand Dame Summitt will really need Cain in that game. She’ll have to manage a balance between physicality and control to handle Baylor’s freshman phenom, Britney Griner. I think Cain has it in her to neutralize Griner, but that’s going to be a monster match-up.

8. Kalana Greene, Guard, Connecticut. Greene’s teammate, Tina Charles, is the player of the year for my money, but Huskies fans know how important Kalana Greene is. The players themselves know that when Greene is humming along, they will win. Um, not that they ever don’t win, actually … but still, five minutes into the second half of the Big East championship game, those pesky Mountaineers were only five points down. UConn has won every game this year by an average of about 35 points, so seeing WVU within striking distance with 14 minutes left was shocking. Something had to give and it was Kalana Greene. As the UConn defense kicked into high gear, Greene scored six points and had four rebounds in a six minute span staking her team to a 17 point lead. At that point, the beast of the east just cruised to another conference championship. Kalana Greene just happens sometimes.

9. Amanda Thompson, Forward, Oklahoma. I think the Sooners have a good shot to return to the Final Four, which says something about their depth considering they lost the Paris girls to graduation last year, and then lost Whitney Hand to an injury. Amanda Thompson is a big reason why they have a legit shot. On the downside, she can be a streaky shooter. On the upside, she seems to hit one of those streaks when her team needs a lift. Beyond which, she is a demon on the boards. She pulled down 18 rebounds against Oklahoma State in the Big 12 tourney. 18!

10. Jayne Appel, Center, Stanford. It’s been an off year by Jayne Appel standards, mostly due to injury. Even hobbled, she is the best passing center in the game. More importantly, she’s quick up and down the floor when she’s 100% physically. Appel is the only post player who I think can match up against the magnificent Tina Charles. If Stanford makes it to the final, that is. Charles often outsmarts opponents, but Appel is a wiley senior, too, as quick mentally as Charles is. She also has the strength and toughness to withstand Charles’ physical game. Still, I don’t think Tina Charles will be denied this year, but if anybody can battle her, it’s a healthy Jayne Appel.

Just missed the cut, but still looking for, Jantel Lavender, Center, Ohio State; Markel Walker, Guard, UCLA; Britney Hodges, Guard, St. Francis of Pa. (I had to give a nod to one of the small schools); Ta’Shauna “Sugar” Rodgers, Guard, Georgetown; Amber Harris, Forward, Xavier; Kelsey Griffin, Forward, Nebraska; and Andrea Riley, Guard, Oklahoma State (who actually made my list, but I had to cut as she is serving a one game suspension and will miss the opening round game. Too bad, because she can drop a dime from the outside, but can also slice through the lane when she sees a crack.)

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.