I wish it wasn't a Lady Vol that said this....

[machusky67]

that's the difference..nobody really cares what a Boneyarder says (maybe Miley would) except us losers spending time on message boards..this is a young player with confidence in her team and the upcoming season..I love to see that... versus a bunch of chatter from front-running fans...

If you don' like what we say than there's an easy solution.....don't visit our board?.....

 

[wallman]

Triad, you arrogant $, how dare you say such a thing, jk!

If Geno was switched to coaching some of those other top teams mentioned, I think they would have won some NCs also

 

[Wonkster]

.the arrogance of the UCONN faithful..does it ever end? Everybody knows how good UCONN is but do you really have to challenge every statement made by anybody at anytime and say..but we are better and won the championship..na na na... the young player should think they are the best if she is a competitor..UCONN might be a little easier to root for if they didn't follow their mantra of "if you don't toot your own horn someone else will use it as a spittoon" .. I tell you one thing UCONN isn't the best at..that is humility and it starts from the short guy from Philly and expands endlessly among the brethren

Hey, Dipstick - this is a UConn message board. The "arrogance" of Tennessee includes such Southern hospitality as shutting out everybody but Tennessee fans from even viewing the Summitt.

You seem singularly unaware of the luxury you enjoy by being allowed to participate in the best women's board on the 'Net.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

except that Philly has a reason to be miserable and have crappy sportsmanship because they never win anything! It just seems to me that the UCONN fans/program doesn't need to speak much about how good they are..all they have to do is smile and point to the record books...but when someone else is trying to do something or starts having a little success what is the point in trying to squash everything (I know this is just a message board) before it even gets a chance..the best thing for UCONN and the womans game would be not to have a perennial dynasty but to have a highly competitive and fun to watch NCAA woman's basketball product..right now it isn't and the powers that be are trying to correct it..not saying that UCONN should lay down so that others can catch up but a true fan of the game would welcome more competition and establishing a good product..it has to be more than UCONN - Tenn or UCONN- ND, or UCONN-whoever...anybody getting bored watching Alabama win by 50 every week?

Dynasties are better for a sport (and most products for that matter) than the blandness that would result from hyper-competitiveness. Nothing would do more to ruin WBB than season after season of triple-overtime "thrillers" where every team ends up with a .500 record. Geno is one of those few individuals who transcends his sport. The dynasty he's built is his value. It is what will grow the sport because it presents a bar against which others can measure themselves. .500 isn't a bar. It isn't even a goal except for a brief moment when a program is rising from the cellar. When fans gather to discuss men's college basketball, they still talk about John Wooden...and they always will. Excellence sells, mediocrity, not so much.

 

[AndyCT]

A fanbase is not a team. It roots for its team with unabashed love. A fanbase is not responsible for the humility of the team (and UCONN is always humble as a team you don't see them making comments like Burdick's) and celebrates even the team's humility with passion, zealousness and exhuberence. If not, don't bother to be a fan.

Asked what different players brought to the Detroit Shock, who finished last in the WNBA in 2002 and as champs in 2003, Swin Cash said, "I'm from Connecticut where they taught us humility."

 

[Tonyc]

Geno is a great coach..his record speaks for himself..recruiting has definitely been in his favor over the years..but I think there are several, if not most of them, coaches that push and strive for greatness..or at least try to get the most on and off the court from his players..it's insulting to insinuate that other college coaches don't..but let's not make any mistake..there are no great coaches without great players...lets swap him with the Houston coach..which team do you think would win more games or NCs?

Great coaches attract great players. Geno has done that. If Geno were to go to Houston I would bet he could turn that program around and make it successful given the administration supported him, like they do at UConn. Why do you think he has had offers from other mens and womens teams and he didn't leave? Why start over again. Geno gets the players he does because of what he's done.

 

[Bestiarius]

ciarlante - I don't recall anyone here telling you to go away or attacking you as a person. The opposition you are experiencing is focused on what you are saying.

The hands down statement by Burdick probably wasn't appreciated by the Tennessee staff. First, they didn't back up what Burdick said. Second, they understand that kind of statement by a player just motivates the opposition. You can be sure it will be posted on opponents locker room bulletin boards.

Geno and his players have no control over what is said here. Feel free to root for whomever you wish, but I doubt if UConn is going to go easy on any opponent. Going easy on an opponent is an insult, as it implies the opponent is deserving of pity. It appears that many opponents are raising their level of play and may at some point challenge UConn's supremancy. I believe UConn welcomes that competition.

By the way, I enjoy watching Alabama football. It's something UConn can aspire to.

 

[huskeynut]

Burdick shows some youthful bravado! Well good for her. You want a confident player on the court.

But as we all know, athletics is littered with the big "P" = potential. Time will tell. Does Tennessee have potential - yes. But now they have to prove it on the court - the only place that matters.

ciarlante - there are many very, very good coaches but few great coaches. Geno is one of the great coaches. He does get his players to play at a level above the rest. If you observe, there is a relationship that Geno has with his players that few can match. I do think Jeff Walz is another who has the type of relationship with his players that get them to play above the rest.

And one more point. We are Fans. Derived from the word fanatic! Enough said.

 

[ciarlante]

Dynasties are better for a sport (and most products for that matter) than the blandness that would result from hyper-competitiveness. Nothing would do more to ruin WBB than season after season of triple-overtime "thrillers" where every team ends up with a .500 record. Geno is one of those few individuals who transcends his sport. The dynasty he's built is his value. It is what will grow the sport because it presents a bar against which others can measure themselves. .500 isn't a bar. It isn't even a goal except for a brief moment when a program is rising from the cellar. When fans gather to discuss men's college basketball, they still talk about John Wooden...and they always will. Excellence sells, mediocrity, not so much.

I think the attraction is when David knocks off Goliath..that's why I also like the Villanova Wildcats! both the men and women's history..and when ND beat mighty UCLA on the mens side..nobody is shooting for a .500 record, that wouldn't be trying to reach the bar UCONN set..I like the triple overtime thrillers..especially in the tournaments..and getting to the point where the top 20 or even the top 10 mean something versus the top 2-3 with a major drop off thereafter would not be bad for the game..my intent wasn't to insult anyone or insinuate UCONN should not want to keep kicking the crap out of everyone.. it's up to the other teams to catch up..I just don't see the point in pee peeing on other teams/players/coaches, etc. when you are the top and all they are trying to do is rise to the bar UCONN established..

 

[Phil]

If you don' like what we say than there's an easy solution.....don't visit our board?.....

I'm going to differ with you a bit, although I understand the sentiment.

I want fans of other teams to read this place. I want them to contribute. I'm fine if they want to disagree with what is said. It is easy for people in a bubble chamber to persuade themselves that they are right...it is useful to get outside opinion to keep from going off the deep end. In fact, I am convinced that the residents of a site I won't name have gone of the deep end, largely because they drove away anyone who dared to disagree, and so now they say stupid things and everyone else nods in agreement. I don't want this place ever to become like that.

However, there's disagreement, when backed up by calm logic, and then there's ...other stuff. We have some visitors form other schools who contribute, and occasionally challenge us. That's healthy. We also have some visitors who try to stir things up, making claims with little to back it up, and those visitors don't usually last.

 

[huskie joe]

Geno is a great coach..his record speaks for himself..recruiting has definitely been in his favor over the years..but I think there are several, if not most of them, coaches that push and strive for greatness..or at least try to get the most on and off the court from his players..it's insulting to insinuate that other college coaches don't..but let's not make any mistake..there are no great coaches without great players...lets swap him with the Houston coach..which team do you think would win more games or NCs?

It takes more than just great players to win a NC, just look at the Duke men. Every year their team is loaded with high school all american's and they have a great coach and they have just won (2) NC's since 1992. So your statement is incorrect.
2001 and 2010

 

[Icebear]

That clam logic always gets me, Philster.

 

[Icebear]

It takes more than just great players to win a NC, just look at the Duke men. Every year their team is loaded with high school all american's and they have a great coach and they have just won (2) NC's since 1992. So your statement is incorrect.
2001 and 2010

Duke has never won a NC unless you think this was the men's board.

 

[ciarlante]

It takes more than just great players to win a NC, just look at the Duke men. Every year their team is loaded with high school all american's and they have a great coach and they have just won (2) NC's since 1992. So your statement is incorrect.
2001 and 2010

That's because their is a broader/deeper depth of talent in the mens game and there is more competition/parity..Selection of All American's is very political, both in the men and womens game, but it is a lot easier to win with a stacked AA team on the womens side..just look at mid majors like Richmond, Butler, and Mason getting to the final four on the mens side..not going to happen on the womens side yet.. so I assume you are saying Coach K isn't a great coach?...hummmm..no need to bring up my previous points..

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I'm going to differ with you a bit, although I understand the sentiment.

I want fans of other teams to read this place. I want them to contribute. I'm fine if they want to disagree with what is said. It is easy for people in a bubble chamber to persuade themselves that they are right...it is useful to get outside opinion to keep from going off the deep end. In fact, I am convinced that the residents of a site I won;t name have gone of the deep end, largely because they drove away anyone who dared to disagree, and so now they say stupid things and everyone else nods in agreement. I don't want this place ever to become like that.

However, there's disagreement, when backed up by clam logic, and then there's ...other stuff. We have some visitors form other schools who contribute, and occasionally challenge us. That's healthy. We also have some visitors who try to stir things up, making claims with little to back it up, and those visitors don't usually last.

Subtle. Nuanced. And look who liked it! making it priceless.

 

[Alydar]

That's because their is a broader/deeper depth of talent in the mens game and there is more competition/parity..Selection of All American's is very political, both in the men and womens game, but it is a lot easier to win with a stacked AA team on the womens side..just look at mid majors like Richmond, Butler, and Mason getting to the final four on the mens side..not going to happen on the womens side yet.. so I assume you are saying Coach K isn't a great coach?...hummmm..no need to bring up my previous points..

Hey, there are 2 mid majors this year in wcbb who were in the FF last year and there is a shot at 2 making it again this year so your comment is technically incorrect.

I do agree with you that it would be better to just not comment on what I think was an ill-advised public comment on Burdick's part. Better to save it as a text file and hopefully post it again in mid-April with a smiley face.

But I also can understand the reaction here. Arrogance? A small but vocal cadre of LV fans has ridiculed and insulted the UConn program, it's coaches, it's players and it's fans for almost 2 decades. The level of bitterness has been reduced on the UConn side due, IMO, to the succcesses of the program over the last 5 years coupled with the lack thereof on the other side. The level of venom on the other side has also reduced, but only because some of the worst "haters" there folded their tents after the BtB undefeated seasons. At least here the reactions are to statements from the actual program. On the other side they react with indignation if ESPN says anything positive about UConn.

I am a daily reader of the Summitt and trust me, classlessness is alive and well there. It's just that they are in a locked ward now.

And I love it all. I don't have to moderate it so I just sit back and enjoy. But then I am a Yankee fan in CT and grew up in the Eastern part of the state with a bunch of Red Sox fans who, in my youth, thought the Sox were the superior team even after landing in the American league cellar year after year.

 

[huskie joe]

Yes icebear I know this is Uconn womens site. I was just trying to compare the talent that coach K recruits every year and has (2) chamionships since 1992, probably not a good comparison. So how about this comparison. Do you think that Geno would have won a NC with the talent that the Duke women have had recently? It's not just talent as a true basketball fan knows. It's coaching, chemistry, mental toughness and of course unfortunate injuries. Ciarlante who ever said coach K was not a good coach? He has (4) championships!

 

[Icebear]

Yes icebear I know this is Uconn womens site. I was just trying to compare the talent that coach K recruits every year and has (2) chamionships since 1992, probably not a good comparison. So how about this comparison. Do you think that Geno would have won a NC with the talent that the Duke women have had recently? It's not just talent as a true basketball fan knows. It's coaching, chemistry, mental toughness and of course unfortunate injuries. Ciarlante who ever said coach K was not a good coach? He has (4) championships!

It just wasn't clear the you were speaking about the Duke men and your name is relatively unfamiliar. We have had people misplace posts before. It is relatively easy to do.

 

[huskie joe]

Icebear, I do post but not on on a regular basis because my job keeps me pretty busy. Honestly I enjoy reading all of the posts and before I go to Jim Fuller or Rich Elliot columns/sites I come to the boneyard, all of you are amazing with your insite and knowledge of the game. I have been a huge fan since the 1995 championship team. I can't wait for the season to begin. I just pray we stay healthy!!!

 

[AndyCT]

Dynasties are better for a sport (and most products for that matter) than the blandness that would result from hyper-competitiveness. Nothing would do more to ruin WBB than season after season of triple-overtime "thrillers" where every team ends up with a .500 record. Geno is one of those few individuals who transcends his sport. The dynasty he's built is his value. It is what will grow the sport because it presents a bar against which others can measure themselves. .500 isn't a bar. It isn't even a goal except for a brief moment when a program is rising from the cellar. When fans gather to discuss men's college basketball, they still talk about John Wooden...and they always will. Excellence sells, mediocrity, not so much.

Dynasties are good for sports. Certainly it is better when teams have some chance of beating a perennial power (and I think the sport has achieved that), but what would WCBB be like if winning and losing were reduced to a random event between two essentially identical teams? Too much parity leads to mediocrity – not necessarily in the players or teams but in the sport itself. Dynasties are a result of excellence and they push the sport to higher levels in defending or ending them.

Certainly for a team that is defending its dynasty, the thrill is in taking the best shot of every challenger and still coming out on top, something we’ve all experienced as UConn fans with the two longest unbeaten streaks in the sport, and more undefeated nation championships than all other program combined. And yet on the other side is the thrill of knocking off our program – Notre Dame’s three wins over Connecticut last year meant that they were “even better than UConn.” On the Duke board they still talk occasionally about Jessica Foley’s shot in 2004. And Stanford has risen to the occasion in ending the winning streaks of the last two undefeated national champions. Likewise, even if Tennessee weren’t the defending champion at the time, UConn’s two victories over Tennessee in 1995 validated their championship by beating the program by which all others were measured at the time not once, but twice. The chance to break a dynasty pushes teams to their highest levels.

We may actually have an almost ideal parity in WCBB right now. UConn has been the one singularly dominant program over the last twenty years, but others have been able to rise up and challenge (and beat) them, often for stretches at a time – Notre Dame and Baylor, Oklahoma and Duke and Tennessee and Stanford among others. We have a sport where a very few programs dominate from year to year – but many (and far more than was the case twenty, or even ten years ago) programs have developed to the point where year to year they can challenge those top programs and even have a legitimate shot at an upset – and not a major upset at that. That’s really what we should want.

 

[Icebear]

Very well said, Andy.

 

[jsloanjr]

Good luck Vols............Lets see how they do by the end of December............The Vols have a poor schedule outside at UNC, at Stanford and home with Texas before Jan 1st....The rest are pay day games........

 

[Tonyc]

The LVs should have a great record this season. The SEC isn't what it used to be. UNC is young, Stanford should be competitive, Texas could be competitive. Where are the top teams like ND Duke MD? IMO they're not on the schedule so Tenn can get a 1 or 2 seed and all that is because the FF is in Nashville Tenn. JMO folks but if the coaches had confidence in this LV team and really believed the front line was tops they would have scheduled more top teams. This OOC schedule looks like a mid major if that. Yeah lets schedule a couple of top teams with big names to help our SOS and lets schedule those teams we know we can most likely beat. JMO

 

[meyers7]

I have no problem with contrarians

Obviously, I'm still here.

not only the "'yarders" (this is an insult from the sewer pit known as the ESPN board)

I kinda like that moniker. I think we should embrace it.

 

[doggydaddy]

The LVs should have a great record this season. The SEC isn't what it used to be. UNC is young, Stanford should be competitive, Texas could be competitive. Where are the top teams like ND Duke MD? IMO they're not on the schedule so Tenn can get a 1 or 2 seed and all that is because the FF is in Nashville Tenn. JMO folks but if the coaches had confidence in this LV team and really believed the front line was tops they would have scheduled more top teams. This OOC schedule looks like a mid major if that. Yeah lets schedule a couple of top teams with big names to help our SOS and lets schedule those teams we know we can most likely beat. JMO

Tennessee plays ND. Should be a great game.