Congratulations to LSU

[Kaizen]

I haven’t read anything that would indicate either Caitlin Clark or Coach B had any problem with what Reese did. Quite the opposite, they seemed to shrug the whole thing off. Congrats to LSU, a hell of an offensive show!

Well, this is the difference why most people like Clark. She is a lady and the other is ... speechless.

 

[SCGamecock]

Congratulations to LSU! One of the most improbable tournament winners ever but no less impressive in the title game.

I didn’t think Mulkey would turn LSU around this quickly, but the transfer portal and immediate eligibility has really changed the game. I’m not sure we’ll see traditionally dominant powerhouses in the women’s game.. not with the way talent is circulating now. But I think LSU is definitely a part of the “hunted” now… all eyes will be on Baton Rouge for the next few years.

Enjoy the stress from every single one of your games being your opponents Super Bowl next season. LOL.

 

[HuskyNan]

Leaving shooters completely wide open means that you don't respect their ability to shoot. Hence, "disrespectful".

This is Morris' quote:

"I don't think you can just leave me open on the perimeter or leave us open on the perimeter. Me personally, I find it very disrespectful, so I'm going to take that personally going into that game. You're going to have to guard us."

To me, her meaning is clear. You can't disrespect our shooting ability and intentionally leave our players open because we can actually shoot.

When UConn played Iowa, Azzi Fudd shot 40% from the perimeter and Caroline Ducharme shot 50% because Iowa’s defense is not great. If the Huskies play Iowa next year, I hope they get disrespected again

 

[Jorislove]

Now the whole thing has been a grab from the media to politicize and create their own stories off it.

Clearly milking this situation.

Even "The View" put in their show, and without much research either lol

 

[npignatjr]

Controversy creates cash. All the discussion about Angel Reese and her gestures to Clark are great for the game. It gets people talking.

Bad talking, instead of highlighting the game puts a black mark on it. Casual first time fans turned off, not to check it out again. SI even highlighted the poor sportsmanship and bad officiating, no one is going to want to watch hours of that.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Congratulations to LSU! One of the most improbable tournament winners ever but no less impressive in the title game.

I didn’t think Mulkey would turn LSU around this quickly, but the transfer portal and immediate eligibility has really changed the game. I’m not sure we’ll see traditionally dominant powerhouses in the women’s game.. not with the way talent is circulating now. But I think LSU is definitely a part of the “hunted” now… all eyes will be on Baton Rouge for the next few years.

Enjoy the stress from every single one of your games being your opponents Super Bowl next season. LOL.

Maybe Mulkey will win every year now that she's not handcuffed by Baylor.

I do not really see the dominance by the few programs dynamic going away.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Bad talking, instead of highlighting the game puts a black mark on it. Casual first time fans turned off, not to check it out again. SI even highlighted the poor sportsmanship and bad officiating, no one is going to want to watch hours of that.

That's like saying people didn't want to watch Rocky 2. They did.

Now it might be more like the Great White Hype than those particular films but they'll come for the rematch. People actually love this stuff even if they say they don't.

 

[Orangutan]

When UConn played Iowa, Azzi Fudd shot 40% from the perimeter and Caroline Ducharme shot 50% because Iowa’s defense is not great. If the Huskies play Iowa next year, I hope they get disrespected again

Haha, well intentionally leaving shooters open is the disrespectful part, but yeah Iowa leaves plenty of shooters open unintentionally.

 

[npignatjr]

Yeah, with Caitlin Clark sitting on the bench with 3:26 in the first half. And I don’t think Reese impacts the pace of the game like Clark does. I watched ND down 13 at the half beat Mississippi State at the half in the 2018 final, but none of the stars on either teams were sitting on the bench.

We’ll never know though, because the referees took over the game. Pitiful that this happened in a Championship game, but I’m of the Al McGuire school that refs shouldn’t effect the game by neutering star players , and that goes for Clark and Reese. It was a pitiful display of refereeing.

The officials in that game took over and gave the game to ND. A weekend of bad officiating. And the final. Sad.

 

[skilz]

Yes I’m absolutely going off what I saw. How would I do it otherwise? Reese did it two times. She hunted Clark down and followed her around the backcourt doing it. The first time I thought was obnoxious but hey whatever, the second time was excessive and should have been a technical but the game was already decided. Until I see anyone else saw they saw what you saw I just don’t believe it. You are the only person who is claiming this.

I’m sure Clark did mouth off during the game, I saw Reese do the same, again that stuff is in the flow of the game don’t really think it matters. To go out of your way to taunt a player when the game is already decided is horrible sportsmanship no matter who does it.

You obviously haven’t played competitive sports.

 

[bballnut90]

The officials in that game took over and gave the game to ND. A weekend of bad officiating. And the final. Sad.

The last sequence when Mabrey ran over Morgan William and there was no foul called was ridiculous. Props to Arike for hitting the shot but Mississippi State should’ve been on the FT line.

 

[JellyBean]

After watching the Nike Hoops Summit, LSU, if the chemistry is right, might be back in the Final Four next year.

 

[Happydad745]

Sorry, not a Mulkey fan...LSU got real lucky going all the way.

 

[Heytherego]

You obviously haven’t played competitive sports.

I’m a woman who played college basketball and soccer thank you

 

[GeauxTime]

Sorry, not a Mulkey fan...LSU got real lucky going all the way.

Isn't that the case though for any team during March Madness? Part of the allure of post-season play is that anyone can win it on any given day. Parity in WBB has helped to grow it out more. No one saw Iowa and LSU being in the Championship game and that is what made it more compelling to watch. No one likes to watch a dynasty run through its competition. Where is the fun in that for others outside of the fanbase of that university? It's not like this LSU squad wasn't a talented team. They were more than deserving to win it all.

Criticism of Coach KM is fair, but it is always disappointing to see posts like, "They just got lucky," because it's just another way of saying they didn't deserve to win it when that isn't the case at all.

 

[Happydad745]

Isn't that the case though for any team during March Madness? Part of the allure of post-season play is that anyone can win it on any given day. Parity in WBB has helped to grow it out more. No one saw Iowa and LSU being in the Championship game and that is what made it more compelling to watch. No one likes to watch a dynasty run through its competition. Where is the fun in that for others outside of the fanbase of that university? It's not like this LSU squad wasn't a talented team. They were more than deserving to win it all.

Criticism of Coach KM is fair, but it is always disappointing to see posts like, "They just got lucky," because it's just another way of saying they didn't deserve to win it when that isn't the case at all.

Use your own quote, I will not apologize for the way I feel.

 

[Coler]

 

[tigers4ever]

Use your own quote, I will not apologize for the way I feel.

Given LSU's final four history between 2004-2008, I will take lucky over good anytime.

 

[GeauxTime]

I don't get how one can get spicy over a response at someone questioning why the sour grapes in what is meant to be a congratulatory thread for LSU winning the national title. That really ain't a good look, but moving on....

Oh, and congrats to the Hawkeyes on a great season. Peaking at the right time is what matters at the end of the day, and they peaked when they had to. Clark or "Ponytail Pete" as some have called her (homage to basketball great, Pete Maravich) is no doubt a generational talent.

 

[bballnut90]

Isn't that the case though for any team during March Madness? Part of the allure of post-season play is that anyone can win it on any given day. Parity in WBB has helped to grow it out more. No one saw Iowa and LSU being in the Championship game and that is what made it more compelling to watch. No one likes to watch a dynasty run through its competition. Where is the fun in that for others outside of the fanbase of that university? It's not like this LSU squad wasn't a talented team. They were more than deserving to win it all.

Criticism of Coach KM is fair, but it is always disappointing to see posts like, "They just got lucky," because it's just another way of saying they didn't deserve to win it when that isn't the case at all.

What's funny too is LSU had doubters all year (including myself) since no one really knew how good they were considering their schedule, and they handily beat everyone in the tournament to remove all doubt. They slaughtered 18th ranked Michigan at home, beat Pac-12 champ and 2 seed Utah, beat #1 seed Virginia Tech in the Final Four and handily beat Iowa who was the #2 ranked team entering the tournament. They didn't have a cupcake schedule in the tournament, their only "lucky" matchup was vs Miami, and they didn't have home court advantage outside of the first 2 rounds, plus they had to beat a slew of excellent teams to get the championship. Similar to the UCONN men, they weren't the best team from start to finish but they got hot at the right time and played great basketball to win the title.

 

[Britt87]

Angel is really the only highly ranked player on this team, so this was not a team full of top 10 talent which makes what Kim did all that more impressive. Just like Clark getting Iowa to the championship without any other top recruits.

Kim has beaten some pretty impressive teams en route to her championships. She beat that LSU team with Augustus, Fowles, and Johnson in the 05 final four. Her best player was 6'2 Sophia Young. Don't even know the names of anyone else on that team.

Beat a ND team that had the best backcourt in the nation in Diggins and Lloyd in 2012. Granted, she did have Griner.

2019, she beat an Oregon team with Sabrina, Sabally, and Herbard. And a ND team that started 4 seniors, and 3 first round draft picks. Two of which were lottery picks.

This year was no doubt her easiest route to the ship, but it's also her least talented championship team outside of the 05 team.

Kim definitely deserves respect as one of the greatest coaches in the history of WBB.

 

[LSUAlum96]

Angel is really the only highly ranked player on this team, so this was not a team full of top 10 talent which makes what Kim did all that more impressive. Just like Clark getting Iowa to the championship without any other top recruits.

Kim has beaten some pretty impressive teams en route to her championships. She beat that LSU team with Augustus, Fowles, and Johnson in the 05 final four. Her best player was 6'2 Sophia Young. Don't even know the names of anyone else on that team.

Beat a ND team that had the best backcourt in the nation in Diggins and Lloyd in 2012. Granted, she did have Griner.

2019, she beat an Oregon team with Sabrina, Sabally, and Herbard. And a ND team that started 4 seniors, and 3 first round draft picks. Two of which were lottery picks.

This year was no doubt her easiest route to the ship, but it's also her least talented championship team outside of the 05 team.

Kim definitely deserves respect as one of the greatest coaches in the history of WBB.

Yea, this isn't really true. Alexis Morris was an ESPN Five star in HS and has been ALL SEC two seasons in a row. Flau'je Johnson was a McDonald's all american in HS and is the SEC Freshman of the year. Kateri Poole was also an ESPN five star player out of HS. So, I'd say she's done a pretty good job putting together "top ten" talent in only her second year. I don't think they're road to the championship was especially easy either. As someone pointed out earlier, they beat the Pac 12 champion Utah, #1 seed VaTech, and AP #2 Iowa to win the championship. Everyone expected them to lose all three of those games, so they were essentially pulling upsets for at least half the tournament. Now, of course we know now that they were better than all of those teams. But that was not the general consensus with the tournament started.

I do agree that Mulkey is now up there as one of the greatest coaches in college WBB history, however.

 

[Britt87]

Yea, this isn't really true. Alexis Morris was an ESPN Five star in HS and has been ALL SEC two seasons in a row. Flau'je Johnson was a McDonald's all american in HS and is the SEC Freshman of the year. Kateri Poole was also an ESPN five star player out of HS. So, I'd say she's done a pretty good job putting together "top ten" talent in only her second year. I don't think they're road to the championship was especially easy either. As someone pointed out earlier, they beat the Pac 12 champion Utah, #1 seed VaTech, and AP #2 Iowa to win the championship. Everyone expected them to lose all three of those games, so they were essentially pulling upsets for at least half the tournament. Now, of course we know now that they were better than all of those teams. But that was not the general consensus with the tournament started.

I do agree that Mulkey is now up there as one of the greatest coaches in college WBB history, however.

I didn't say 5 star, I said top ten talent. As in ranked in the top 10 coming out of high-school. I know Alexis and Flaujae were burger girls but they were ranked like 20th in their classes by ESPN. Kateri was ranked in the 20's as well. It's not like she had Uconn or South Carolina level recruits.

 

[Bjbod]

Kim (and her staff I believe) went through the line. None of her players did. I can’t imagine any of them wanted to high 5 Reese seconds after she taunted them in the final seconds.

I get that LSU's players were caught up in the moment, but I think Coach Mulkey should have rounded them up to go through the line.

Contrast that with this video: 11 seconds after winning the biggest game of her life, Caitlin Clark gestures to her teammates and leads them over to congratulate South Carolina before continuing their celebration.

THE MOMENT CAITLIN CLARK & THE IOWA HAWKEYES DEFEATED NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA

THE MOMENT CAITLIN CLARK & THE IOWA HAWKEYES DEFEATED NO. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA TO ADVANCE TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME | #shorts ✔️Subscribe to ESPN+ htt...

youtube.com

 

[JstVisiting]

Sorry, not a Mulkey fan...LSU got real lucky going all the way.

Of the two finalists, LSU was not the lucky one.