ND Article - Interesting Read

[Wbbfan1]

Surprising Irish loss forces introspection ahead of visit to Boston College // The Observer

 

[bags27]

She just doesn't quit....

We’ve been so smart, I’ve been so spoiled,” McGraw said. “It started with Skylar in 2011: We have just been the smartest team out there every single game. We would find a way to win because we just would do the right thing. We knew when to take a shot and when not to, what we had to do down the stretch. We didn’t need to take timeouts, we didn’t need to walk through it three or four times, we could just write it down in the huddle and they’d go out and they’d execute.

She just can't get away from the absolute statements, which by definition exclude all other teams.

Can someone please prove to move how, since 2011, ND has been playing smarter than UConn?

 

[Kmoney]

I really like her use of the word "I". She didn't solely blame the kids for the lack of passion
or on court smarts. When a coach does that publicly, it's a chance for the players to step up and support the coach by playing better.

 

[oldude]

I really like her use of the word "I". She didn't solely blame the kids for the lack of passion
or on court smarts. When a coach does that publicly, it's a chance for the players to step up and support the coach by playing better.

Clearly MM has blocked out any memories having to do with Geno & the Huskies. I only wish she had made the statement about being the "smartest team out there" before they played UConn so the Huskies would have beaten them by 30.

 

[oldude]

The not-so-smart Irish are struggling with unranked BC, up by 8 at the half.

 

[UcMiami]

The not-so-smart Irish are struggling with unranked BC, up by 8 at the half.

Yeah I noticed - this is a team they should demolish.
It is an interesting article that states what most people on here have been saying - I think she minimizes the amount of work that needs to be put in, because it is a pretty young team and I don't the ones that have been around for years (with the exception of Allen) ever fully bought in to the 'ND way'. And the others are just doing what got them by in HS.

 

[UcMiami]

Maybe some harsh words at the half - ND is now demolishing them!
However, TN as I suspected is laying an egg at Auburn - beat Stanford lose to Miss State, beat ND lose to Auburn - down 19 in the fourth Q.

 

[TWG236]

My only comment is, the proof is in the pudding, the smartest players EVERY SINGLE GAME hasn't won a National Championship since 2001. And it took two of our All-Americans to get injured or they most likely wouldn't have anything to show for their smart players. The woman is living in her own world, which I guess doesn't include UCONN.

 

[01Neaggrad02]

My only comment is, the proof is in the pudding, the smartest players EVERY SINGLE GAME hasn't won a National Championship since 2001. And it took two of our All-Americans to get injured or they most likely wouldn't have anything to show for their smart players. The woman is living in her own world, which I guess doesn't include UCONN.

Amen... I was going to point that out too... Guess they are not smart enough to figure out how to get that last task accomplished.... winning a national title. Since ND won their title on 01 UCONN has won 9 national titles...

Seriously... think about that... UCONN has 9 since ND received their 1....

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I gotta admit she does baffled almost as good as Holly.

 

[Shorty Dee]

Muffet McGraw was lucky in 2001, she had Ruth Riley and Shae was injured for us. Geno and UCONN were determined that Skylar Diggins wasn't going to win a National Championship. The beginning of the year Muffet McGraw was bragging about Lindsay Allen and Brianna Turner. I have said it for years, and until Muffet McGraw prove to me, I will continue to say she can't spell team. Once she learn how to spell team, she might become a better Coach.

 

[mhshuskies]

MM being delusional again: “I know I’m trying to see the big picture, and I’m trying to be positive because we can still win a national championship..."

 

[msf22b]

The big mea culpa is:

“And that’s been my problem this year, I didn’t grasp how much more they needed.”

She under-coached, the team under-achieved and now she's in fantasy land that the team is a legitimate threat for a National Title.

It will be a strong testament to her oft stated competence if she can make this team a legitimate threat.

As of tonight, they're still in flux.

 

[JordyG]

Meanwhile Muffet just played 5 games in 10 days, 4 on the road. Who the hell made this schedule? Oops. More to blame on Muffet.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

The Muffet is over rated! She is only as good as the stars on her team!
She coaches WBB and Geno coaches BB!
She is no-where as demanding a HC as Geno is. Her players would be shocked if they did a UCONN practice run by Geno!
Azura Stevens made the comment of the difference between a DUKE practice and a UCONN practice!

 

[bballnut90]

She just doesn't quit....

We’ve been so smart, I’ve been so spoiled,” McGraw said. “It started with Skylar in 2011: We have just been the smartest team out there every single game. We would find a way to win because we just would do the right thing. We knew when to take a shot and when not to, what we had to do down the stretch. We didn’t need to take timeouts, we didn’t need to walk through it three or four times, we could just write it down in the huddle and they’d go out and they’d execute.

She just can't get away from the absolute statements, which by definition exclude all other teams.

Can someone please prove to move how, since 2011, ND has been playing smarter than UConn?

What do you expect her to say? She answered a question with a statement that is pretty darn accurate excluding some games against Connecticut and few other losses in 5+ years. Her squad won something like 25 row where the game was separated by single digits. In every close game from 2011 until this season, Notre Dame executed better down the stretch and was the smarter team. Yes, her answer lacks modesty, but pales in comparison to many statements made by Geno over the years.

And when she answers a question to beef up her team without publicly acknowledge that her program has been second rate to UCONN, this isn't a jab at UCONN. It's her answering the question with confidence in her team. If she were to answer "we've been the smartest team since 2011 besides games against UCONN the last 4 years" it sends a horrible message to her team and completely deflects the intent of the answer. Not sure why people are getting worked up over this.

 

[wire chief]

Yeah, the same folk who used to acknowledge that Muffet was the 2nd best coach are now kicking her when she's down. Real classy.

 

[chrissaran]

The smartest team; yet, those teams didn't beat UConn in the championship game.

 

[UcMiami]

What do you expect her to say? She answered a question with a statement that is pretty darn accurate excluding some games against Connecticut and few other losses in 5+ years. Her squad won something like 25 row where the game was separated by single digits. In every close game from 2011 until this season, Notre Dame executed better down the stretch and was the smarter team. Yes, her answer lacks modesty, but pales in comparison to many statements made by Geno over the years.

And when she answers a question to beef up her team without publicly acknowledge that her program has been second rate to UCONN, this isn't a jab at UCONN. It's her answering the question with confidence in her team. If she were to answer "we've been the smartest team since 2011 besides games against UCONN the last 4 years" it sends a horrible message to her team and completely deflects the intent of the answer. Not sure why people are getting worked up over this.

It is unfortunately what we do here - parse other coaches and or announcers comments looking for insults. I find it a little tiring, but it is what it is. When she specifically touts one of her players over a UConn player that bugs me, but these comments are pretty benign.

 

[watanabe]

The smartest team; yet, those teams didn't beat UConn in the championship game.

There's a whole Lotta teams UCONN has never beaten for the NC. Teams in Div 2 & 3, ones that don't make it to the dance, etc... Maybe they are the smartest teams? They never mention UCONN in their post game pressors, but will be the first to admit their awe of our team.
If ND fell in line with this, we'd have no competition or rivalries. MM is our foe because she can't even fathom that we are the better team. Be grateful, perhaps?

 

[oldude]

There are two elements to MM's statement that I am not comfortable with. The absolute nature of the statement undermines every other team and coaching staff, and it also undermines her current players while not assuming enough responsibility herself for the team's performance. As we've seen in the past, MM is a great coach, but she can be a bit tone deaf with her remarks.

 

[DefenseBB]

I would add to Olddudes comments that the first and last accountability needs to start with Muffet. To say she didn't know her team was lacking in BB IQ when she has Allen-Sr (AA candidates), Turner-Jr (AA candidate), Westbeld-Jr, Mabry-So and Arike-So as Starters so who's to blame for their lack of IQ? The only other measured response I would add is yes, her teams usually play smart Basketball is I why they have been UConn's closest competitor these past 6 years. All games have been close and while UConn found a way to win the NC's don't undermine that ND has been very, very good with a changing roster. Most schools peak with a specific class or two, then hit a lull, she had been able to sustain and 16-3 is still pretty good. Not elite like the past 6 years but still top notch. Just be measured in assessments understanding what we have is unbelievably special.

 

[bags27]

These days, almost everyone with high visibility at major universities is offered the opportunity of getting coaching in public communications. If someone were to do Muffet that favor, they would advise her to be ever so slightly circumspect. While it's admirable to say, "for years, I've thought that Notre Dame teams played as smart as anyone," instead saying that your team plays smartest (= smarter than anyone) is just bulletin board material for other schools.

The larger issue is that Muffet is a bit lacking in mental nuance and subtlety (how she blasted Geno before the 2014 NC was mind-boggling dumb). She's just not clever in the way that, for example, Kim Mulkey, who is certainly not subtle, is very, very clever.

The largest issue is this. Teaching is about conveying information. But anyone or any computer can do that. Effective teaching is about energizing the conveying of information so that it sticks and so that students find it compelling and useful to them in new ways. Geno reinvents himself every season, with new drills for the players and new narratives for the team. I've never seen a better teacher in the classroom or on the court. He can do that because (as an 8 year old impoverished immigrant who had to be the translator of Americana for his parents) for him life was all about constant change. He changes his script and each time makes it more compelling, more urgent for his team.

Muffet has shown that she can adjust to her talent, and that's why she's one of the very best coaches around. But she also has a stubborn streak as she goes for absolutes (best, smartest, etc), and when I see that in a student, I am concerned that they have a certain rigidity (I know because I have to work on that myself). To me, Muffet is getting stuck in defending her position as coach and her formula for winning. It especially happens when people hit their 60s. They begin to rely on the past as prologue.

Muffet has many good years of coaching ahead of her. She may even win a NC in a quirky year. But increasingly, there will be questions raised about her and her team, because she is becoming more set in her own ways, and, while she is getting more set, her team is ever-changing.

 

[oldude]

To me, Muffet is getting stuck in defending her position as coach and her formula for winning. It especially happens when people hit their 60s. They begin to rely on the past as prologue.

GP. Your point relative to becoming more rigid once you hit your 60's is interesting because it can go both ways. For some, like MM, the inflexibility is apparent. For others, getting older can be almost a liberating process as they jettison the dogmas that they carried around during their youth. The best thing about Geno is that he is getting better as a coach because he is open to new ideas and he is still learning.

 

[Phil]

I didn't have a major problem with the article. Yes, we can all smile at her absolutist "smartest team" but that's typical coach hyperbole. I thought it was a good sign that she was willing to take ownership of shortcomings.