Doris Burke was great

[Suebird10fan]

The BY gives Doris grief from time to time. And some of it is well deserved.

But I thought she was terrific last night. She played it very even handed for most of the game, but as the dominance became evident, she called it like she saw it. So often announcers are guilty of coming in with a script and imposing that script on the game. Doris let the flow of the game shape her commentary.

Among the many comments I liked were:
--saying that even with Achonwa ND would have been very unlikely to beat UConn
--her "nothing BUT class" comment
--on the question of ND playing UConn to UConn's Tennessee, "Not yet." (with an implicit, and they've got a ways to go.)

 

[HoopsFan21]

I thought there was some very good commentary in the last 5 minutes or so when the game had been decided. They talked about everything from the class issue to recruiting, specifically Stewie in contrast with other top recruits.

 

[EricLA]

Totally agree, and at times it sounded almost like a UCONN commercial. Add to it her comment that went something like this (not an exact quote)...

"To all the other coaches out there who aspire to become like UCONN - pay attention and go to their practices. Watch how hard they work every single day and it will be evident why they give 100% at all times and never take a play off".

It was really fantastic. I'm sure the orange fans threw up in their collective mouths, but too bad, so sad!

 

[Sonny44]

No surprise to me; I have always liked her.

 

[bballnut90]

Totally agree, and at times it sounded almost like a UCONN commercial. Add to it her comment that went something like this (not an exact quote)...

"To all the other coaches out there who aspire to become like UCONN - pay attention and go to their practices. Watch how hard they work every single day and it will be evident why they give 100% at all times and never take a play off".

It was really fantastic. I'm sure the orange fans threw up in their collective mouths, but too bad, so sad!

Agree...much of the game sounded like a UCONN commercial. Doris struggles to provide neutral commentary during Connecticut games and last night was no exception.

 

[sparky]

I usually try to mute Doris, but last night she was on point and objective.

 

[ochoopsfan]

"To all the other coaches out there who aspire to become like UCONN - pay attention and go to their practices. Watch how hard they work every single day and it will be evident why they give 100% at all times and never take a play off".

So sad that so many egotistical coaches wouldn't take UConn/Geno up on the offer to watch the practices to learn what can be done and what should be expected to be done.
The game would grow leaps and bounds if only a handful would take the first step and call or text Geno/UConn.

Oh well

 

[msf22b]

As I said on another thread, down in Guatemala the game was streamed senza commentary (of any kind)
Just the crowd for punctuation as well as the occasional expletive from the players.
I specifically recall an F-bomb from Stef after she missed a bunny (one of the few).

It was exceedingly refreshing.

 

[Suebird10fan]

Agree...much of the game sounded like a UCONN commercial. Doris struggles to provide neutral commentary during Connecticut games and last night was no exception.

Yes, much of it sounded like a UConn commercial, but I thought the praise was proportionate to what the Huskies were doing on the court.

 

[DICKG]

Occasionally Doris has something good to say, but I think she is a female Dick Vitale and just talks too much.

 

[Suebird10fan]

Yes, much of it sounded like a UConn commercial, but I thought the praise was proportionate to what the Huskies were doing on the court.

As a point of reference, I'm a huge UNC fan on the men's side, and I never liked it when Dick Vitale would go on and on about Dean Smith right from the opening tip. Gushing about a program is fine if it's in response to what the team is doing on the court that particular night.

 

[UConnCat]

So sad that so many egotistical coaches wouldn't take UConn/Geno up on the offer to watch the practices to learn what can be done and what should be expected to be done.
The game would grow leaps and bounds if only a handful would take the first step and call or text Geno/UConn.

Oh well

We know that UCLA coach Cori Close has attended UConn practices. It'll be interesting to see what she does with the tremendous talent she has coming in.

 

[Jonathan Husky]

Occasionally Doris has something good to say, but I think she is a female Vitale and just talks too much.

I agree with you. Doris was a much better analyst before she decided she had to be a personality. Way too much time is spent on extraneous items while the game is being played. Analysts should call the game being played not discuss Kevin Ollie and other subjects while the game is being played. Kara and Rebecca do a great job of analyzing the game in the studio and Kara is a great game analyst. Rebecca, unfortunately, tries to emulate Doris when she does a game. I had to turn off Dave and Doris a various points in the game when they stopped calling the game.

 

[rocky rococo]

Are we praising Doris for her comportment?

 

[rtm5]

Can't stand her. She overstates everything.

 

[UcMiami]

I usually find her hard to take and a distraction form the general game, but I was happy for a few of those comments and thought they were appropriate. But there is a bit to much 'This statement came down from the mountain top carved on tablets of stone' about everything she says for my taste, and a lot of distraction from what we are seeing on the court.

 

[hoophuskee]

What happens if you disagree with her points of view? You keep getting it rammed down your throat over-and-over. In this case, her harping on MoJeff's shot selection. When Mo Jeff missed "it was a poor decision to shoot." When she made a shot, "that's the way she should play." The little floater in the lane she missed - it was ridiculous she was criticized for that.

 

[Suebird10fan]

Well I'll admit I was grading her on a curve. Even last night she wasn't close to Kara. But still I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[RadyLady]

Doris used to be really, really good, and then she drank the ESPN koolaid and turned into the hyperactive over hyping type they seem to prefer. Heck, even Rebecca started to sound like that.

However, she was partnered with what's his name last night, and I notice that she she is not with the usual suspects, she tones it way down and calls a better game. She was a little UConn-centric last night, but given the way UConn was playing, I don't see how she could have avoided it.

At least the gushing "Maya-Magnificent-esque" comments were absent, and that is a huge improvement, IMO.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Actually, now watching her game, I thought her critique of MoJets shots were on point...

 

[Nostical]

Doris Burke is great. She is interesting, informed, and passionate.

 

[AndyCT]

Actually, now watching her game, I thought her critique of MoJets shots were on point...

In as far as it went, I agree - one of Doris's points was that these (relatively) poor shots were also leading directly to Notre Dame fast break points. In part I think Moriah was overcorrecting for Geno's criticism from the Stanford game in which she had been hesitant to shoot wide open threes when the Cardinal backed off her.

Remember, there are two precepts in UConn's offense - don't take contested shots, and only take shots that you can make. The second shot that Doris spoke of was a Moriah drive; Moriah slashes by defenses to make layups all the time, but in this case she ended up driving at the defenders and trying to shoot over them, which would generally miss on both criteria. It was not the best decision.

 

[hoophuskee]

Doris used to be really, really good, and then she drank the ESPN koolaid and turned into the hyperactive over hyping type they seem to prefer. Heck, even Rebecca started to sound like that.

However, she was partnered with what's his name last night, and I notice that she she is not with the usual suspects, she tones it way down and calls a better game. She was a little UConn-centric last night, but given the way UConn was playing, I don't see how she could have avoided it.

At least the gushing "Maya-Magnificent-esque" comments were absent, and that is a huge improvement, IMO.

I just don't think she knows what she is talking about much anymore because she jumps from the NBA to college and back. Just like the MOJeff comments I thought she was way off-base. I can remember her comments about Kobe Bryant. Insightful comments to parprphrase such as "You can just tell Kobe is so great just by the look in his eyes." And sometimes I believe she eludes to that with certain college kids.

And her ridiculous comments about the stars. I think back to her ridiculous comment in the UCONN Baylor game whne Sims shoved MoJeff out in the open - a blatant full-force one-handed shove for all to see right in front of the ref and Doris became so frustrated about the call. That's "THE NBA talking." SO now she repeats this sentiment. Sorry Doris imo you were flat our wrong about MoJeff and you're way wrong about obvious calls should be overlooked because they are stars.

 

[AndyCT]

So sad that so many egotistical coaches wouldn't take UConn/Geno up on the offer to watch the practices to learn what can be done and what should be expected to be done.
The game would grow leaps and bounds if only a handful would take the first step and call or text Geno/UConn.

Oh well

Egotistical?

How about practical...in the real world one of the issues for coaches getting to a UConn practice is that once the season actually starts and there is a practice to see, most coaches are pretty busy between their own practices, scouting, and recruiting, so a side trip to Storrs isn’t that easy to work in.

I know at least one other coach has had his/her team sit in on a Connecticut practice – I think it may have been Jeff Walz? If I remember correctly Connecticut was on the road and the day after a game was practicing at that school’s gym before continuing on to another school, and the coach asked if they could watch how UConn practices; Geno agreed, and I think they watched something like half the practice session.

 

[RadyLady]

I just don't think she knows what she is talking about much anymore because she jumps from the NBA to college and back. Just like the MOJeff comments I thought she was way off-base. I can remember her comments about Kobe Bryant. Insightful comments to parprphrase such as "You can just tell Kobe is so great just by the look in his eyes." And sometimes I believe she eludes to that with certain college kids.

And her ridiculous comments about the stars. I think back to her ridiculous comment in the UCONN Baylor game whne Sims shoved MoJeff out in the open - a blatant full-force one-handed shove for all to see right in front of the ref and Doris became so frustrated about the call. That's "THE NBA talking." SO now she repeats this sentiment. Sorry Doris imo you were flat our wrong about MoJeff and you're way wrong about obvious calls should be overlooked because they are stars.

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