Decent overview on this season and all major competitors from the NY Times

[TeamFirst!]

The increased parity around the nation in women's college basketball makes this potentially one of the most compelling seasons to watch in history. South Carolina's Boston appears to be extremely motivated to take it all the way this year. Stanford has an incredibly strong team. Uconn has needed depth and talent at every position as well as a great "team" approach and maybe the best coach in women's basketball history. More Teams Are Contenders This Women’s College Basketball Season

 

[DefenseBB]

For clarity, this article is behind a paywall...

 

[D J B]

For clarity, this article is behind a paywall...

Yeah, it's the New York Times. Not only that, but because of it, (what sportswriter uses periods to refer to the N.C.A.A.?) it isn't worth the effort to go around the firewall and read it. That's my opinion, (and yes, I did spend the time and effort to get around the paywall) but if you want to work to read it, have at it.

 

[Cornell Lt]

The old lady is dying a slow death

 

[D J B]

The old lady is dying a slow death

If you're talking about the grey lady (NYT), yes, but she's strangling herself with her own hands. It's a sad thing to see happen.

 

[TeamFirst!]

It's the best newspaper in the country and she's very healthy by the way.

 

[Dokey]

If you're talking about the grey lady (NYT), yes, but she's strangling herself with her own hands. It's a sad thing to see happen.

The New York Times is doing quite well and had a better season than UConn.

 

[Boreifs]

Yeah, it's the New York Times. Not only that, but because of it, (what sportswriter uses periods to refer to the N.C.A.A.?) it isn't worth the effort to go around the firewall and read it. That's my opinion, (and yes, I did spend the time and effort to get around the paywall) but if you want to work to read it, have at it.

Interesting. Criticizing proper punctuation because it’s Sports? Reminds me of the baseball player who accused me of teaching American Music like an English class. I had to remind him that in college every course is an English class. At The NY Times, even the Sportswriters are Journalists; that’s why I pay 20 dollars a month for an online subscription, which is way cheaper than buying it at the newsstand.

 

[Skeets]

The New York Times is doing quite well and had a better season than UConn.

They won an NC???

 

[diggerfoot]

I keep hearing the phrase “increasing parity.” There are three contenders above the rest of the field this year. There were 3 when UConn last won a title. There were 3-4 during the Moore years, the Taurasi years. The only time there may have been less than 3-4 contenders to be seen above the rest was probably the Holdsclaw years, but even then I’m not sure.

While it is true that those 3-4 contenders above the rest change over the years (well, except for UConn), and that upsets occur (like Purdue in 1999 or TAMU more recently), it is also true that the pool of talent out of high school actually has been shrinking since 2003. It only appears to be increasing because of increasing social media exposure.

In other words, “increasing parity” is one of those catch phrases of conventional wisdom with no supporting evidence. Once we commonly see 5-6 contenders above the rest, or better, is when I will start believing that increased parity has begun.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

It's the best newspaper in the country and she's very healthy by the way.

The Washington Post far surpasses The Times in terms of quality, breadth of reporting, and relevance.

 

[Stymie]

I keep hearing the phrase “increasing parity.” There are three contenders above the rest of the field this year. There were 3 when UConn last won a title. There were 3-4 during the Moore years, the Taurasi years. The only time there may have been less than 3-4 contenders to be seen above the rest was probably the Holdsclaw years, but even then I’m not sure.

While it is true that those 3-4 contenders above the rest change over the years (well, except for UConn), and that upsets occur (like Purdue in 1999 or TAMU more recently), it is also true that the pool of talent out of high school actually has been shrinking since 2003. It only appears to be increasing because of increasing social media exposure.

In other words, “increasing parity” is one of those catch phrases of conventional wisdom with no supporting evidence. Once we commonly see 5-6 contenders above the rest, or better, is when I will start believing that increased parity has begun.

I would be interested in your sourcing that allows you to conclude that the talent pool for woman’s college basketball is shrinking.
Facts and statistics please.
TY.

 

[ShmiCO]

I have an account, and used to be a subscriber. I can still read a couple articles a month for free without the subscription if I'm logged in. Usually sports, as in happens.

 

[CocoHusky]

I would be interested in your sourcing that allows you to conclude that the talent pool for woman’s college basketball is shrinking.
Facts and statistics please.
TY.

From a @diggerfoot post October 2021.

I know this has become a mantra but I question its veracity. Participation in high school girl’s basketball peaked in 2003-2004 at around 457,000 and has been in decline since. Since participation has declined I question that the talent pool has expanded.
What has expanded instead is social media and the visibility of the better talent, thus creating the impression that the talent pool has expanded.

Additional data point:

Most popular high school sports for girls in the U.S. | Statista

Track and field has been the most popular high school sport for girls in the United States for several years.

www.statista.com

 

[rbny1]

I live in NYC and love reading the Times every morning. The Times is actually doing quite well as it transitions to the reality of an online world.

Here are a few quotes from an article in the Times (behind a pay wall, of course ) a week ago:

"The New York Times Company said on Wednesday that it added 455,000 new digital subscriptions in the third quarter, a gain that keeps the publisher on pace to reach its stated goal of 10 million subscriptions by 2025."

"Of The Times’s nearly 8.4 million total subscriptions, 7.6 million are now digital. The number of print subscriptions fell to 795,000 in the July-through-September quarter, from 831,000 in the same three-month period last year, a decline in keeping with trends affecting the news industry as a whole."

"The company reported adjusted operating profit of $65.1 million, a 15 percent increase over the same quarter a year ago.... Subscription revenues rose 13.8 percent, to $342.6 million, from last year."

 

[diggerfoot]

I would be interested in your sourcing that allows you to conclude that the talent pool for woman’s college basketball is shrinking.
Facts and statistics please.
TY.

I’m no longer sure where the source data lies now, but here is an article that references it … plus see @CocoHusky above.

Why Is Girls Basketball Participation Declining?

While searching for outrage over a girls basketball game that ended with a 161-2 score -- and the winning coach suspended by his school two games for bad sportsmanship, presumably for running a full-court press defense with his starters in the first half to build a 104-1 lead -- I [...]

www.forbes.com

 

[hoopsfan22]

They won an NC???

They certainly turned a bigger profit than the women's basketball team.

 

[Gus Mahler]

It's the best newspaper in the country and she's very healthy by the way.

Yes. Set a subscription record a year or two ago.

 

[Boreifs]

I would be interested in your sourcing that allows you to conclude that the talent pool for woman’s college basketball is shrinking.
Facts and statistics please.
TY.

In woman’s basketball, there is always parity because only one person is playing.

 

[Sifaka]

For clarity, this article is behind a paywall...

Perhaps it is for you. I clicked the link and read the entire article,
at the mere cost of a few electrons. I am not a subscriber.

Maybe it's a function of the OS. I use a year old iPad, OS is v14.8.1.

As to the article itself, most Boneyarders will find it generally accurate, though superficial. No bombshell revelations here.

The Times is a relatively good journal, unless one likes to see the world through a more narrow ideological filter. I enjoy it, together with The Washington Post, The Economist, and occasionally the L.A. Times (sorry for the periods!) for usually factual reporting, a broad spectrum of opinion columns, and some intriguing recipes.

As with any “news” purveyor, a touch of cynicism comes in handy. I'll never forget coming back from living in Spain during the Francisco Franco dictatorship and reading in The Times that
what I had experienced was 'neo-fascist'. Life on the ground somehow omitted the neo part.

 

[Stymie]

I’m no longer sure where the source data lies now, but here is an article that references it … plus see @CocoHusky above.

Why Is Girls Basketball Participation Declining?

While searching for outrage over a girls basketball game that ended with a 161-2 score -- and the winning coach suspended by his school two games for bad sportsmanship, presumably for running a full-court press defense with his starters in the first half to build a 104-1 lead -- I [...]

www.forbes.com

Am I mistaken, or does this article totally ignore the proliferation and popularity of woman’s basketball internationally?
One only needs to review the rosters of top teams in the NCAA (and quality of play) to discount this theory.
IMHO

 

[TeamFirst!]

Did you folks see that Arizona shut down #6 Louisville's offense and won recently. They are onto something defensively. I happened to watch the Arizona/Uconn game again last night and their defensive game plan was even more impressive than Ari Macdonald. We missed something like 15 layups in that game but a lot of it was from defensive pressure. Arizona's "bigs" got something like 14 fouls for that game. They played our bigs very physically. There was one play near the end of the game where one of their bigs was blocking out our Edwards to the point where she went flying close to 15 feet away from the basket ( watch the game if you don't believe me ). How that wasn't a foul is beyond me. Williams fouled out just as she was starting to emerge as a savior in the end and she didn't even touch the player. They called her for a foul even after reviewing the play. One has to wonder if there wasn't some sort of perfect storm on that game involving a referee even but overall they out rebounded us from just very aggressive play. They denied our playmaking through the post, which is huge for this team and Geno didn't have an answer. They shut down the open look 3 balls and except for Williams, we couldn't score off the dribble. Another key was they shut down our fast break. We had almost no fast break scoring. Arizona's coach also had her team emotionally prepared for that game. They appeared to feel no pressure. Arizona 'earned respect' with upset of Louisville

 

[diggerfoot]

Am I mistaken, or does this article totally ignore the proliferation and popularity of woman’s basketball internationally?
One only needs to review the rosters of top teams in the NCAA (and quality of play) to discount this theory.
IMHO

Um, the poster that just requested the facts behind an assertion, certainly justified, now presents an assertion without facts?

Not that it matters that much to me whether you actually have the facts behind your assertion or not. Regardless of what names are on a roster, perennially there have been only 3-4 teams that separate themselves from the rest talent wise. To discount this actual evidence (not theory) that increased parity has not arrived, requires not an assertion that international popularity overcompensates for national decline, an assertion so far made without any quantification of the differences involved, nor requires the names found on a roster. It requires counter evidence (not theories nor assertions) of growing numbers of teams separating themselves at the top.

 

[Mlb0814]

For clarity, this article is behind a paywall...

You can create a log in for free and read it. I think you get three free articles per month.