Dawn Staley's Unhappiness With The Media

[oldude]

I am sure during the championships UConn have won they, also had some luck involved if you go back and dissect them. SC probably man for man was the most talented team last year. UConn beat them by 11 0r 12 on their home court. Kaela Davis had her worse shooting night of the year. Who is to say if you would have got by MS. State you'll would have won.

I absolutely agree, but that wasn’t my original point. My point was that SC’s road to a 2nd championship is a lot tougher through Albany, particularly when SC has never beaten the Huskies.

In an earlier post on this thread, I also point out that UConn caught a break in 2013 when they didn’t have to face a Baylor team that had beaten them earlier in the season.

 

[CocoHusky]

I never suggested that it was. What I suggest is luck is the fact that SC had an easier route to the championship based on their draw, key injuries to Turner/ND, Samuelson/Stanford and even Coates/SC, along with the fact that SC did not have to face UConn along the way.
I’m not being critical of SC. They won the championship fair and square. But they got an extraordinary number of breaks along the way.

So where does this luck end and how far are you willing to stretch these so called "breaks"? I'm asking because some University of Maryland fans that I work with were swearing up and down that UCONN were the lucky ones because they did not have to face Maryland in their region. The missed UCONN foul shots were good luck for SC? Saniya impatience on the final possession? Where does luck end and excuses begin?

 

[CocoHusky]

I am sure during the championships UConn have won they, also had some luck involved if you go back and dissect them. SC probably man for man was the most talented team last year. UConn beat them by 11 0r 12 on their home court. Kaela Davis had her worse shooting night of the year. Who is to say if you would have got by MS. State you'll would have won.

Kaela Davis had a lot of shooting nights like that- that was certainly not her worse.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I never suggested that it was. What I suggest is luck is the fact that SC had an easier route to the championship based on their draw, key injuries to Turner/ND, Samuelson/Stanford and even Coates/SC, along with the fact that SC did not have to face UConn along the way.

I’m not being critical of SC. They won the championship fair and square. But they got an extraordinary number of breaks along the way.

South Carolina played who earned the right to face them. Pretty rare that a team faces the stiffest challenge possible. Pretty rare that you'd consider losing an all conference starter to be a blessing, but I guess it wasn't a blessing for anyone else that suffered it. For the record, I don't think Notre Dame was all that good last year with or without Brianna Turner.

UConn is no stranger to good luck, even last year:

UConn played a 10 seed in the Regional Final and then luckily drew a two seed in the Final Four it inexplicably could not beat.
The previous year they played a four seed in the title game.
The year before that the lowest seed line they faced in the regional was a 5.
the year before that they faced a 9 a 12, a 3, and a 2.

UConn rarely gets challenged so I don't know that it mattered that much though.

 

[shiverz45]

Kaela Davis had a lot of shooting nights like that- that was certainly not her worse.

She shot 10% (1-10). That is her worse at SC

 

[oldude]

So where does this luck end and how far are you willing to stretch these so called "breaks"? I'm asking because some University of Maryland fans that I work with were swearing up and down that UCONN were the lucky ones because they did not have to face Maryland in their region. The missed UCONN foul shots were good luck for SC? Saniya impatience on the final possession? Where does luck end and excuses begin?

Call it luck, breaks, whatever you will. The point of my original post is that Dawn is PO’d that SC is heading to Albany where she’ll likely have to go through a team she can’t beat to get back to the FF. Last year, everything opened up for Dawn like the parting of the Red Sea.

Last year the tournament was good to the Gamecocks. This year, not so much.

 

[CocoHusky]

She shot 10% (1-10). That is her worse at SC

Yea but she was chucking for two years at Georgia Tech before she got to SC.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Call it luck, breaks, whatever you will. The point of my original post is that Dawn is PO’d that SC is heading to Albany where she’ll likely have to go through a team she can’t beat to get back to the FF. Last year, everything opened up for Dawn like the parting of the Red Sea.

Last year the tournament was good to the Gamecocks. This year, not so much.

Let's just wait to see who wins the title before we decide how lucky they got.

 

[CocoHusky]

Call it luck, breaks, whatever you will. The point of my original post is that Dawn is PO’d that SC is heading to Albany where she’ll likely have to go through a team she can’t beat to get back to the FF. Last year, everything opened up for Dawn like the parting of the Red Sea.
Last year the tournament was good to the Gamecocks. This year, not so much.

And what region did South Carolina play in last year? and the year before that? Too bad this parting of red sea did not include an opportunity for the most voluminous fans in the NCAA to actually travel and support their team.

 

[shiverz45]

Call it luck, breaks, whatever you will. The point of my original post is that Dawn is PO’d that SC is heading to Albany where she’ll likely have to go through a team she can’t beat to get back to the FF. Last year, everything opened up for Dawn like the parting of the Red Sea.

Last year the tournament was good to the Gamecocks. This year, not so much.

It has nothing to do with who it is where. She complained about getting sent to Stockton and South Dakota. It is more about our fans than playing UConn.

 

[oldude]

It has nothing to do with who it is where. She complained about getting sent to Stockton and South Dakota. It is more about our fans than playing UConn.

If that’s the case, then Dawn’s really not going to be happy once she learns how very few tickets are available in Albany.

While I know that this was a tough year for SC with all of the injuries the Gamecocks had to deal with, if SC really believes they should have been in the Lexington Regional, they just didn’t do enough to earn it. The early season loss to ND, 4 conference losses, and a rather bad loss at home vs UConn left them as the 8th seed, despite playing really well in the conference tournament.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

If that’s the case, then Dawn’s really not going to be happy once she learns how very few tickets are available in Albany.

While I know that this was a tough year for SC with all of the injuries the Gamecocks had to deal with, if SC really believes they should have been in the Lexington Regional, they just didn’t do enough to earn it. The early season loss to ND, 4 conference losses, and a rather bad loss at home vs UConn left them as the 8th seed, despite playing really well in the conference tournament.

What makes you think there is anything we could have done to "earn it?" These slots aren't "earned" they are selected.

 

[oldude]

What makes you think there is anything we could have done to "earn it?" These slots aren't "earned" they are selected.

Certainly, if SC had a better season, they would have earned a better seeding than being the 8th overall seed and #2 in the Albany region.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Certainly, if SC had a better season, they would have earned a better seeding than being the 8th overall seed and #2 in the Albany region.

Sure, we could have been a #1 seed and we've seen that always works out well for us. It's silly. you're acting like the NCAA has hard and fast rules about where it places teams. That couldn't be further from the truth. It does what it likes to achieve several different objectives only some of which are related to how good it thinks teams are.

 

[Bonpland]

Of course it is possible that we would have beaten Baylor in '13 but at the time I considered our having to face Louisville and not Griner to have been a "lucky break". Also I agree with those who point out that our Championship Games have lately (Louisville twice and Syracuse in '16) not always been against Notre Dame or (in the distant past) Rocky Top.

When we win by beating teams that are not considered to have been our toughest potential opponent we say "We played who they put in front of us." That's what SC did last year and frankly after Miss. St. beat us I thought they would roll to the National Crown. I give SC credit for putting together the run that led to the title, especially after having to reinvent their offense without Coates.

For the next few weeks I will hold my breath every time we play (as do the fans of every other team) no matter who the opponent is. And.....despite the prevelent attitude that has been expressed here on the Boneyard I think SC with a motivated NPOY could be a very tough opponent. South Carolina didn't win the Championship last year because they were "lucky". They were crowned because they won their last six games.

 

[Bigboote]

When South Carolina beat Mississippi State in the 2017 Championship game it was for the third time that season. That is not luck!

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I'm a firm believer that you make your own luck. I consider myself a very lucky person, but I've also done things that have led to that luck. I've known a few very unlucky people, and they've to some extent brought the bad luck upon themselves. I'm not strictly talking about life's breaks, but even things like getting good or bad hands playing cards.

Did South Carolina benefit from Mississippi State beating UConn? Sure, but they put themselves into the position to benefit from it. They didn't luck out into the championship, they earned it.

 

[Bronxjeff]

That championship really offends UConn fans for some reason.

I am not offended. I say good on you! I’ve always been an A’ja fan and I think Dawn has done a good job.
(I think people over play the loss we had in the ff last year. For crying out loud, everyone projected multiple losses for us, and a possible elite eight exit. Instead we had one loss by a bucket in OT. I think Geno said at the chamber breakfast yesterday, something to the effect of even his Mom thinks we should lose sometimes!)

 

[oldude]

Sure, we could have been a #1 seed and we've seen that always works out well for us. It's silly. you're acting like the NCAA has hard and fast rules about where it places teams. That couldn't be further from the truth. It does what it likes to achieve several different objectives only some of which are related to how good it thinks teams are.

Look I’m sorry that SC’s fan base, which is clearly among the best in WBB, doesn’t have a nearby regional tournament that they can drive to to watch their beloved Gamecocks. But it still comes down to earning it by winning.

When Geno and CD started out at UConn 32 years ago, the Huskies were nobodies. They fought just to get into the Big Dance and went wherever they were told to go. Let me explain how UConn’s consistent excellence (winning) has them playing in the East regional year after year in front of a packed house in either Albany, NY or Bridgeport, CT.

First of all, arenas/cities bid on hosting regionals. The goal is to make money. You make money by getting a lot of fans to buy tickets to the games, stay at local hotels and eat in local restaurants. With UConn's incredible success, Husky fans start purchasing tickets to regional venues very early on. I purchased my Albany tickets back in October, before UConn played it's first game. So did thousands of other Husky fans.

There's a certain amount of faith involved in that process. UConn has to earn a #1 seed and they have to win their two opening round games. But UConn has made 10 FF's in a row, so it's not like UConn fans need to pray for divine intervention, and cities like Bridgeport and Albany don't have to go out on a limb hoping that fans will show up for the tournament.

So here's my point about winning. If Dawn and SC can reach the level close to UConn, to the point where surrounding cities like Greensboro, Charleston, Greenville, etc. can count on the Gamecocks being the #1 seed in the Region year after year, and showing up with 10-15,000 fans, SC fans would not have to fly to Stockton, CA or Albany, NY for the regional tournament.

I know that's a heavy lift, but that's what it takes to control your team's destiny.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

Dawn often uses the "us against the world" motivational technique and it's worked out well for her.

 

[cbraarj]

This narrative is so bore some. Every team wins a championship with a lot of skill and a "LITTLE" luck. If luck is Miss. ST beating UConn so they didn't have to play them then I will take that. For those of you that only watch SC when something negative occurs for them, Last year Dawn experimented throughout the year with the 4 guard 1 big lineup. She utilized it when Aja went out in the middle of the year with an ankle injury. During that stretch Coates went three straight games of scoring 20pts or more, and the team beat those opponents by double digits. She also utilized during games when she had the availability of both, to change things up. This was not pot luck of Coates injury. As for their region, any slight against FSU and other teams in their region, was offset by playing in Siberia away from any fan base possible. The "Turner" less ND is a tired excuse as they did not use "Coates" as their excuse for a late season loss. Yes a little "luck" is always involved, but to make the entire thing about luck is ludicrous.

Wrong! She never experimented with that lineup until injuries! Coates injury helped the offense open up the middle. I saw Ajas freshmen year that playing them together wasnt good for SCs offense! Dawn couldnt see it until the injury!

 

[cbraarj]

I am sure during the championships UConn have won they, also had some luck involved if you go back and dissect them. SC probably man for man was the most talented team last year. UConn beat them by 11 0r 12 on their home court. Kaela Davis had her worse shooting night of the year. Who is to say if you would have got by MS. State you'll would have won.

Kia Nurse hardly played, Collier foul trouble and Lou a bad shooting night! Gabby just dominated the paint all night! Did I mention they lost Morgan, Moriah and Stewie to the WNBA.

 

[cbraarj]

In 2013 Stewie played 7 minutes against Baylor. Uconn lost by about 9. The way Stewie was playing in the NCAA.Uconn would have won the rematch.

 

[cbraarj]

If it was just about SCs fans having to travel. Then why even say it is not about Uconn!

 

[sharris952]

Wrong! She never experimented with that lineup until injuries! Coates injury helped the offense open up the middle. I saw Ajas freshmen year that playing them together wasnt good for SCs offense! Dawn couldnt see it until the injury!

Wrong, I am a season ticket holder and did not miss a game home and away that year. She most definitely utilized that line up throughout the year. It was never highlighted until Coates was out for good but she used it normally in her first substitutions in the middle to latter part of the regular season prepping for a return match with UConn if they were successful enough. She even spoke about it on call in shows. Now as for her freshman year, I don't know what you saw coach, Welch played the 4 most of that year with Alaina being Alternated with Elem Ebiam. They played together coming off the bench and usually stretched the league.

 

[sharris952]

Wrong, I am a season ticket holder and did not miss a game home and away that year. She most definitely utilized that line up throughout the year. It was never highlighted until Coates was out for good but she used it normally in her first substitutions in the middle to latter part of the regular season prepping for a return match with UConn if they were successful enough. She even spoke about it on call in shows. Now as for her freshman year, I don't know what you saw coach, Welch played the 4 most of that year with Alaina being Alternated with Elem Ebiam. They played together coming off the bench and usually stretched the league.

Stretched the lead from the starters. (sorry for the typo).