‘Twas 25 years ago

[Dokey]

UConn won the first of its 11 NCs that year but tonight and Sunday as Colorado plays Cal and Stanford CU will play host to its 94-95 team which blew a ten point lead in Elite 8 to finish 30-3 and 14-0 in Big Eight. CU’s first team All American Shelly Sheets, now an assistant coach at Tulane, says there is a VHS tape of the game in a storage locker in Colorado which she has never watched. She still thinks they could have won NC had they not blown the Georgia game. Why? Because they would then have played UConn and they were confident that it was a very winnable game. Never happened and I’m sure Husky fans will sputter. Eventually, Geno and Ceal Barry, the CU coach, both made the Hall of Fame.

 

[diggerfoot]

They beat the Stanford team that thought they were in good shape to play UConn as well, what with their "six Nykesha Sales." Instead of blowing a ten point lead against Stanford like CU they destroyed them by 27 points in the Final Four. VanDerveer then went on to predict that Tennessee would beat the team that just walloped them, which was very head scratching. Usually a coach would do just the opposite, she in essence dissed her own team with that comment. At the time she became my #1 coach to dislike, but I've reformed. Watching coaches like McGraw in action makes me more forgiving of other coaches.

 

[Dokey]

I mainly mentioned this to show the attitude of other top teams toward UConn during that first NC season. It is interesting to note where UConn and Colorado went from then on. Both were emerging national powers in the era of Tennessee. Under Ceal, Colorado was making it to tournament almost every year, including several Elite 8s and Sweet 16s. Then Ceal retired from coaching at 49 (she’s a year younger than Geno) in 2005 and became assistant athletic director at Colorado (still is, though title and responsibilities beefed up). So a Colorado program that once was on a level with UConn faded with the loss of a coach who many would argue was superior to Geno because she wasn’t one note (by that I mean you should read Kate Fagan’s article on how Barry handled her when she threatened to quit basketball).

 

[diggerfoot]

I mainly mentioned this to show the attitude of other top teams toward UConn during that first NC season. It is interesting to note where UConn and Colorado went from then on. Both were emerging national powers in the era of Tennessee. Under Ceal, Colorado was making it to tournament almost every year, including several Elite 8s and Sweet 16s. Then Ceal retired from coaching at 49 (she’s a year younger than Geno) in 2005 and became assistant athletic director at Colorado (still is, though title and responsibilities beefed up). So a Colorado program that once was on a level with UConn faded with the loss of a coach who many would argue was superior to Geno because she wasn’t one note (by that I mean you should read Kate Fagan’s article on how Barry handled her when she threatened to quit basketball).

I was mainly using this as an opportunity to once again point out VanDerveer's folly. Not keenly interested in the history of WCBB but, since you brought it up, please share some of the "many" sources who would argue Ceal was superior to a coach who raised up a program with only one previous winning season, in a little known conference at the time.

 

[bob neal]

Who is CU ? Colorado University

 

[Dokey]

I was mainly using this as an opportunity to once again point out VanDerveer's folly. Not keenly interested in the history of WCBB but, since you brought it up, please share some of the "many" sources who would argue Ceal was superior to a coach who raised up a program with only one previous winning season, in a little known conference at the time.

Several Elite 8s, sweet sixteens, elected to Hall of Fame even though she retired at 49. we will never know what her record would be had she stayed in coaching after just 20 seasons, going undefeated twice in a tough conference. Her talent as a coach was an ability to conform her methods to suit her players. Geno’s style works for many players but not everyone. As I said, google Kate Fagan’s article on Barry’s election to Hall.

 

[Dokey]

Who is CU ? Colorado University

We say University of Colorado.

 

[Dokey]

Several Elite 8s, sweet sixteens, elected to Hall of Fame even though she retired at 49. we will never know what her record would be had she stayed in coaching after just 20 seasons, going undefeated twice in a tough conference. Her talent as a coach was an ability to conform her methods to suit her players. Geno’s style works for many players but not everyone. It isn’t tough practices, it’s a single minded bark at them approach. As I said, google Kate Fagan’s article on Barry’s election to Hall. Geno’s a great coach. The record shows that. If I were a Star high school woman player, I probably would choose Barry over him. Different strokes.

 

[diggerfoot]

? Of course Auriemma is not the best coach for everybody; neither is Ceal; neither is Summit; no one is. What prompted my question was not a defense of Auriemma, but at the implausibility that anybody should be comparing the two. Certainly the Connecticut media would not be comparing the two. I doubt many of the Connecticut media were aware of her or, if they were, they would bother making comparisons with someone who had not won a championship. What would be the point?

It would have had to be Colorado or national media or sports pundits. Even so, why on earth would they be comparing the two before Auriemma won his first championship? I doubt anyone in Colorado media would be much aware of Auriemma until that happened; actually it would be pretty flattering to Auriemma if they were, even if they thought Ceal was better. So anyone claiming one coach to be superior to the other probably did so after 1995. However, by the time Auriemma had coached twenty seasons he would have been fifty-one, two years older than when Ceal retired, but by that time had been to eight Final Fours and won five Championships. The only comparable coach for that, then or now, would be Summitt.

Mainly I don't get why it would be a conversation at all to compare the two, yet you refer to "many" sources claiming Ceal to be the superior coach. So I'd like to know at least some of the sources, whether they were Colorado or national pundits (I'll be stunned if it was Connecticut pundits), and how much after 1995 such comparisons were made (I'd be stunned if it was before at least one of them won a championship).

 

[Dokey]

? Of course Auriemma is not the best coach for everybody; neither is Ceal; neither is Summit; no one is. What prompted my question was not a defense of Auriemma, but at the implausibility that anybody should be comparing the two. Certainly the Connecticut media would not be comparing the two. I doubt many of the Connecticut media were aware of her or, if they were, they would bother making comparisons with someone who had not won a championship. What would be the point?

It would have had to be Colorado or national media or sports pundits. Even so, why on earth would they be comparing the two before Auriemma won his first championship? I doubt anyone in Colorado media would be much aware of Auriemma until that happened; actually it would be pretty flattering to Auriemma if they were, even if they thought Ceal was better. So anyone claiming one coach to be superior to the other probably did so after 1995. However, by the time Auriemma had coached twenty seasons he would have been fifty-one, two years older than when Ceal retired, but by that time had been to eight Final Fours and won five Championships. The only comparable coach for that, then or now, would be Summitt.

Mainly I don't get why it would be a conversation at all to compare the two, yet you refer to "many" sources claiming Ceal to be the superior coach. So I'd like to know at least some of the sources, whether they were Colorado or national pundits (I'll be stunned if it was Connecticut pundits), and how much after 1995 such comparisons were made (I'd be stunned if it was before at least one of them won a championship).

Well, all I can say is I never saw her coach a game as badly as Geno coached against USF. I spent much of the first half cursing him out. I nearly quit watching I was so upset. You can find out why in post game results.

 

[Dokey]

Oh, and best source is the one of us who has watched hundreds of BOTH UConn and Colorado games over the past 35 years. And this comes from a guy who has repeatedly defended Geno’s coaching until I saw at a loss as to handling a team without a legitimate first team AA in possibly decades.

 

[phil sampieri]

Name me which team not Uconn won without a great player or two even please
take your time as I know you will try to find maybe one.