Dishin & Swishin with Brenda Frese & Matthew Mitchell

[DishNSwish]

New podcast up, featuring two coaches you can never underestimate or overlook their teams, Maryland's Brenda Frese and Kentucky's Matthew Mitchell.

Frese has perhaps her strongest team since the NCAA championship days, with, similar to that team, a bunch of young and talented players that believe in themselves and that they can win every game. So far they haven't been proven wrong.

Mitchell's Wildcats were dropped lower in the polls this pre-season due to Victoria Dunlap's graduation. The return of Amber Smith plus some exciting freshmen and developing youngsters has turned loose A'dia Mathies, and the team is excelling. They have a win over Duke already, and a tough loss to Notre Dame their only loss.

Have a great holiday, and hopefully you can squeeze this in, maybe between some carols and fruit cake!

http://www.hoopfeed.com/content/201...erestimate-brenda-frese-and-matthew-mitchell/

 

[VAUConnFan]

Mid major scheduling; Always an interesting topic. Big time programs, like UConn, should always be looking to give rising mid majors a shot. It has been discussed here before to varying degrees, but why has Connecticut not scheduled the likes of Marist, Green Bay, Toledo, Gonzaga, and the like?

Ms Frese is not a Boneyard favorite for reasons I cannot elaborate upon without full knowledge and understanding, but it almost certainly has to do with the recruitment of Crystal Langhorne who was a UConn commit who ended up at Maryland. Was there some underhandedness involved? I was never curious enough to do my own research. Were Ms Frese's alleged offenses illegal, unethical, egegious, unseemly? Or was it just being downright competitive?

Mr. Mitchell, on the other hand, is a Boneyard favorite despite landing a prize UConn recruit becasue he has been building a nice program in the SEC that has become very competitive with Tennessee. And, like North Carolina, Duke, and others, Kentucky is synonomous with college basketball, and is, in large part, responsible for the present growth of the game; Growth achieved not by a great win, but by a memorable loss. I expect Mr. Mitchell's team do have an outstanding season. They play the kind of basketball that can rattle an unprepared team. I also believe Kentucky is a tough matchup for today's UConn team.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Mid major scheduling; Always an interesting topic. Big time programs, like UConn, should always be looking to give rising mid majors a shot. It has been discussed here before to varying degrees, but why has Connecticut not scheduled the likes of Marist, Green Bay, Toledo, Gonzaga, and the like?

Ms Frese is not a Boneyard favorite for reasons I cannot elaborate upon without full knowledge and understanding, but it almost certainly has to do with the recruitment of Crystal Langhorne who was a UConn commit who ended up at Maryland. Was there some underhandedness involved? I was never curious enough to do my own research. Were Ms Frese's alleged offenses illegal, unethical, egegious, unseemly? Or was it just being downright competitive?

Harper was the UConn commit who changed her mind. Langhorne was her close buddy from the Philly area.

 

[VAUConnFan]

Harper was the UConn commit who changed her mind. Langhorne was her close buddy from the Philly area.

It is good, then, that lack of knowledge was acknowledged.

 

[DishNSwish]

Mid major scheduling; Always an interesting topic. Big time programs, like UConn, should always be looking to give rising mid majors a shot. It has been discussed here before to varying degrees, but why has Connecticut not scheduled the likes of Marist, Green Bay, Toledo, Gonzaga, and the like?

As Tricia Cullop said in the interview a few weeks ago, until the big schools have to play 50% of their games on the road, they won't schedule most of the mid-majors of quality. They simply don't want to go play there. Last year Curt Miller of Bowling Green told me Geno regularly calls and asks to schedule a game, but it's always at Gampel, and it's hard (ie $$$) for BG to come out here if they can play local.

Regarding the "other stuff," I know of the Frese stories/rumors/allegations, but I've always found her to be a fun conversation, and there is no denying the way that she has taken her son's health condition and run with it for the greater good. She has my respect for that alone.

 

[Icebear]

Forcing schools to play 50% on the road is nonsense. 45% maybe. Many schools are better off negotiating a compensation package for playing at Gampel than wanting a home and home. Financially they could potentially make more than from a home game. Not true of all schools but attendance some places is so bad that it is true for many.

 

[DishNSwish]

Well, it was Doug Bruno who suggested 50% according to Cullop, so I'll take his word and while it's difficult, I do think it might be doable.

You are right about making the deal for some. Taking a BG, for example, though, or Toledo for that matter, they draw a "reasonable" crowd of a few thousand, so it's not like Buffalo who draws 400 people to home games.

There was an article I just read somewhere about Mississippi Valley State men's team playing their entire non-conference schedule on the road, getting their butts kicked, but making enough to help fund other programs.

 

[Icebear]

I understand BG is one of those for whom it may not work out. Doug Bruno may have suggested it but who is going to police it and what will the penalty be. Setting an arbitrary goal of 50% may lead to more really lousy games as a school has to find anyone with an open spot to make the % work. I do think it is reasonable to ask teams to shoot for a 45% goal but I think setting ahard and fast rule that 50% of your games must be on the road is contrived and may have many, many unintended consequences. It may result in more mid-majors locked out of games with top tier teams since why play to an full house in a 4000 seat gym or a 2500 seat gym when you can find an easier game if that is your goal or a current cupcake program like Boston College with the potential for a bigger crowd. Such a proposal might, also, increase regionalism as schools minimize travel expenses knowing there will be little in gate receipts. Better to play at Boston College, Holy Cross, Hartford, Fairfield, Sacred Heart, UVM, etc. If you aren't generating the revenues of a home game.

 

[ThisJustIn]

It's interesting, since "those up top" say over and over how hard it is for UConn to get people to play them.

There a variety of factors involved -- The Scheduling Puzzle: Juggling Square Pegs, Round Holes and Dollars Sign -- but, IIRC, many schools are given a significant guarantee for playing at places like Gamp/Vet. Everyone remember the ... Arkansas men's team that played six zillion away games before Xmas and earned the Athletic Depts. budget for the year with the cupcake fees?