Coaching Techniques: Motivating Stars for Big Games

[Kibitzer]

I toss this topic on the table in the hope it will stimulate thoughtful discussion. Before getting into my discussable topic, I must preface it by stating that I think Kim Mulkey is a terrific coach and that Odyssey Sims is a superlative player.

Having said that, there seemed to be some in-game uncertainty on Sims's part as to whether she should focus on shooting/scoring vs. passing to and assisting teammates.

Let's turn the clock back about a dozen years or so, when UConn faced Oklahoma in the NC game. IIRC, Geno challenged Diana (before the game) to "get ten rebounds." So that was her mission and her mindset. And we recall the outcome.

I have no idea if Kim assigned any particular goals (shots, points, etc.) to Sims before the game with UConn. But I have to wonder what the outcome might have been, had she told Odyssey something like this:

"Whatever else you do, I want you to get at least ten assists!"​

 

[meyers7]

I toss this topic on the table in the hope it will stimulate thoughtful discussion.

On here? That made me LOL.

Having said that, there seemed to be some in-game uncertainty on Sims's part as to whether she should focus on shooting/scoring vs. passing to and assisting teammates.

Let's turn the clock back about a dozen years or so, when UConn faced Oklahoma in the NC game. IIRC, Geno challenged Diana (before the game) to "get ten rebounds." So that was her mission and her mindset. And we recall the outcome.

I have no idea if Kim assigned any particular goals (shots, points, etc.) to Sims before the game with UConn. But I have to wonder what the outcome might have been, had she told Odyssey something like this:

"Get at least ten assists!"​

Would have been interesting. I think for this year, at least at this time with the young team Sims has to play with, the idea is for Sims to score and carry the team. But during the UCONN game it became obvious UCONN was not going to let her do that. Hence why in the second half there seemed to be a more concerted effort for Sims to dish.

 

[Striper69]

On here? That made me LOL.


Would have been interesting. I think for this year, at least at this time with the young team Sims has to play with, the idea is for Sims to score and carry the team. But during the UCONN game it became obvious UCONN was not going to let her do that. Hence why in the second half there seemed to be a more concerted effort for Sims to dish.

Yep. Pretty much.

 

[phil sampieri]

On here? That made me LOL.


Would have been interesting. I think for this year, at least at this time with the young team Sims has to play with, the idea is for Sims to score and carry the team. But during the UCONN game it became obvious UCONN was not going to let her do that. Hence why in the second half there seemed to be a more concerted effort for Sims to dish.

I too think that Sims is a very skilled player and has to carry an extra load for her team but if she would copy what DT did her last 2 years
which was to lead her team in qassists when as Geno put it could have 35 every night.What I didn't like about Sims was, after rewatching the game a couple of times was her pushing off maybe 8 or 9 times while dribbling or rebounding.

 

[UcMiami]

I think Kim is a very fiery coach who gets a lot of good out of her players. I haven't decided yet whether she is a great coach and I think that will have to wait until next year. This is because I really didn't follow or watch Baylor pre Griner and so I have only seen her run a Griner centric team and now this year a Sims centric team. Next year she may run a Davis centric team, but chances are for success it will have to be a more balanced team than either this year or the last four. I give her credit for creating a system for Griner to flourish and changing to one for Sims to flourish, but either is a flawed 'team' in that it is so one dimensional that a Louisville is able to devise a plan to stop it (and specific to that game she didn't have a plan B on either end of the court.)
Specific to the OP ... I think that gets to the crux of my question about Kim - is she really developing her players and her team or is she giving the ball to a dominant player and saying win me some ball games?
The above all sounds pretty negative and I really don't mean it to be that. I think Kim is a really really good coach, I just am not sure she is quite in Muffet/Tara/Geno realm of teacher and tactician.

 

[Kibitzer]

I think Kim is a very fiery coach who gets a lot of good out of her players. I haven't decided yet whether she is a great coach and I think that will have to wait until next year. I think Kim is a really really good coach, I just am not sure she is quite in Muffet/Tara/Geno realm of teacher and tactician.

I think Geno is alone at the top of wcbb coaches. He's on a tier of his own.

Second tier? I would include Kim with Tara and Muffet. (Don't forget, Kim won an NC before she had Griner.) I am less certain about placing Jeff Walz here. I have deliberatedly excluded Brenda and McCallie.

Rising stars? Especially Katie Maier and Dawn Staley. Possibly Coquese Washington and Sherri Coale. Also Kim Arico-Barnes and the Nebraska coah (name escapes me). Should they solidify their resumes over the next few years, it is conceivable that one or two might even earn a place on the list of those given consideration to replace Geno. Before you shriek at the thought, give it a moment's thought.

Falling stars? Too many to list, but CViv, Andy and Gail are sure to qualify.

 

[phil sampieri]

I think Geno is alone at the top of wcbb coaches. He's on a tier of his own.

Second tier? I would include Kim with Tara and Muffet. (Don't forget, Kim won an NC before she had Griner.) I am less certain about placing Jeff Walz here. I have deliberatedly excluded Brenda and McCallie.

Rising stars? Especially Katie Maier and Dawn Staley. Possibly Coquese Washington and Sherri Coale. Also Kim Arico-Barnes and the Nebraska coah (name escapes me). Should they solidify their resumes over the next few years, it is conceivable that one or two might even earn a place on the list of those given consideration to replace Geno. Before you shriek at the thought, give it a moment's thought.

Falling stars? Too many to list, but CViv, Andy and Gail are sure to qualify.

I'm not sure about Kime as she only won once with a very dominant Griner. I lost my respect that I had for her if she encouraged her kids to flop like they did . Just watch only Sims alone on both offense and defense and you'll be amazed how bad of an actress she was throwing her head back without ever bing touched.How in God's name did the refs not recognize this ?

 

[Buzzyboy]

I think Geno is alone at the top of wcbb coaches. He's on a tier of his own.

Second tier? I would include Kim with Tara and Muffet. (Don't forget, Kim won an NC before she had Griner.) I am less certain about placing Jeff Walz here. I have deliberatedly excluded Brenda and McCallie.

Rising stars? Especially Katie Maier and Dawn Staley. Possibly Coquese Washington and Sherri Coale. Also Kim Arico-Barnes and the Nebraska coah (name escapes me). Should they solidify their resumes over the next few years, it is conceivable that one or two might even earn a place on the list of those given consideration to replace Geno. Before you shriek at the thought, give it a moment's thought.

Falling stars? Too many to list, but CViv, Andy and Gail are sure to qualify.

Rising stars, Sherri Coale? Sherri is definitely a good coach but she's been coaching long enough where I think she's where she's going to be, neither rising nor falling. Insofar as Kim is concerned, she may be in the same category as Tara or a sliver below but Muffett is definitely ahead of either one of them, in my opinion. She's really the only coach I've seen who is really competitive with Geno consistently and though Skylar Duggins was at the core of her greatest success against the Huskies, I think she's proving, even now, that she's a superb coach and tactician.

 

[DobbsRover2]

I give her credit for creating a system for Griner to flourish and changing to one for Sims to flourish, but either is a flawed 'team' in that it is so one dimensional that a Louisville is able to devise a plan to stop it (and specific to that game she didn't have a plan B on either end of the court.)

Baylor definitely did have a plan B last year that they used in a number of regular season games and in the last 10 minutes of the 2013 Sweet 16 game along with all of this season. It was called "give the ball to Odyssey and have her score." That plan allowed them to take the lead against Louisville, which they lost on the last play.

The question is, how well does a coach have the team switch up on strategies when one isn't working so well. Last year it seemed Kim was a little slow on the trigger in the big game. I'm not sure that Kim could have drawn up a plan to do much better against UConn on Monday, though if Sims had been able to get few more assists, results could have been better for the Bears. But Sims took only four shots in the last quarter of the game when Baylor scored only 6 points, so having her teammates do the shooting may not have been the answer either. It was a very tough situation for Baylor, and they did pretty well.