Great Article on Diana

[UConnCat]

Jack McCallum, a terrific SI (and HOF) sportswriter and who has covered the NBA for years, wrote a short but excellent piece on Diana:

http://www.nbcolympics.com/news-blogs/basketball/taurasi-is-heart-soul-of-worlds-best-team.html

“I don’t know how many ways you can say heart and soul,” said Team USA coach Gene Auriemma, who was with Taurasi for three national championship runs at the University of Connecticut. “But however many there are, that is Diana Taurasi.”

Taurasi is six-feet, 165 pounds of raw energy, her face an ever-changing Rorschach, her game a combination of Showtime and Slowtime, for she can play either way, though she vastly prefers the former. Her game against France was typical Taurasi: 9 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, three gorgeous pick-and-roll passes to Parker, skin-tight defense on France’s star, point guard Celine Dumerc, who was held to eight points and, most tellingly, one assist.

Hell, yes, I’m going to be in Rio,” said Taurasi, her arms draped around veteran teammates Sue Bird and Tamika Catchings.

That’s good news not just for Team USA, but also for a women’s game that needs her energetic example.

Some may remember that McCallum wrote a wonderful article on UConn in Dec 2010 during the 90-game streak. One of his better and most quoted phrases from that article described UConn as "a regal team that plays with blue-collar grit."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1179708/3/index.htm

 

[UcMiami]

Thanks for posting.
My aunt was one of the first female sports writers for Sports Illustrated (back in the Joe Lewis era) and she used to complain that 'college was taking all the personality out of professional sports'. Too many athletes were becoming too 'polished' in their interactions with the media and fans.
One of the reasons I love Dee is that while she can be thoughtful, she is also brash, opinionated, and unafraid to show her passion (good and bad.) It is also why she and Geno get along so well, as he too lets it all hang out.

 

[baggerbob]

What makes Dee the best in the world is her answer, on whether she felt a little sorry for Australia with 4 medals and no Golds. "I don't feel sorry for anyone".

 

[Kibitzer]

I liked the comment in the article: "We will not see her likes again."

Sounds familiar.

 

[flatcoatmom]

Geno was interviewed after the game by the local CT NBC sports guy who's been in London throughout - he said Dee spent the last couple of minutes of the gold medal game working to get the ball to Ashja and Swin so everyone on the team would have points in the game. He was talking about what a generous teammate she is.

 

[msf22b]

Very much the game and role of Lebron on that other team.

 

[PacoSwede]

Geno was interviewed after the game by the local CT NBC sports guy who's been in London throughout - he said Dee spent the last couple of minutes of the gold medal game working to get the ball to Ashja and Swin so everyone on the team would have points in the game. He was talking about what a generous teammate she is.

That was Swin and Catchings --- What??? A TN grad!!!!?? I thought it was a Huskies club. AJ had points earlier. .

 

[Waquoit]

Good read. I would like a bit on this sentence - "Only in Russia is her true basketball genius recognized." How is recognized? Does she get big endorsements there?

 

[flatcoatmom]

That was Swin and Catchings --- What??? A TN grad!!!!?? I thought it was a Huskies club. AJ had points earlier. .

That's right - sorry - I discovered the error in my original post later and wasn't at a computer to change it. Even better - imagine a UConn person helping one of them! (Guess they are friends - what a shock.)

 

[alexrgct]

I actually think D is one of the few WBB players that people who don't like WBB respect. Talk to people who know the game but don't like WBB because of the lack of above-the-rim play, and you'll hear a variant of, "I can't really get into WBB, but I like Taurasi."

 

[ThisJustIn]

"Above the rim play" question... I did a VERY unscientific analysis which posited (based on some dunk stats) about the amount of time in a game that the boys spend "above the rim." I came up with 40 seconds. (http://womenshoopsblog.wordpress.com/2012/07/23/ive-been-thinking/)

So, you have to wonder what the fans of the "above the rim" game are doing the other 47 minutes and 20 seconds.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

Very much the game and role of Lebron on that other team.

Sorry, but I respectfully disagree.

Let me preface this by saying I am a big fan, as are many male sports viewers. Many male NBA fans know very little about the women's game, but they almost always know who Diana Taurasi is. That says something about how special she is.

Now, as to the comparison, LeBron's great is in part because he is an unreal physical specimen. No one at his height and with his physique has the ballhandling skills, defensive prowess, and versatility has played in the NBA. He is a hybrid of Magic Johnson and Karl Malone, a true rarity in the game of basketball.

Taurasi's game has some similarities to LeBron's, but hardly enough to warrant such a comparison. And she is nothing like him physically (in terms of being the female physical equivalent). To be honest, a better comparison would be combination of Chris Mullin and Reggie Miller, with a touch of Magic Johnson thrown in.

 

[Phil]

Good read. I would like a bit on this sentence - "Only in Russia is her true basketball genius recognized." How is recognized? Does she get big endorsements there?

Not just endorsements, her playing package in Russia was probably more in one year that the total amount she's received in all WNBA years combined.

 

[Kibitzer]

This is fun, comparing Diana's game to NBA players.

As an old Celtic fan, how about comparing her to some combination of Bob Cousy (and his magical passes), Larry Bird (slow afoot and with no ability to jump, yet functioned quite well), and Bill Russell (incomparable ability to inspire teammates and collect hardware).

Add that the player-coach relationship between Diana and Geno has been as unique and productive as the legendary one between Red Auerbach and Russ.

Not a bad combo.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Not just endorsements, her playing package in Russia was probably more in one year that the total amount she's received in all WNBA years combined.

Remembering, of course, that Russian basketball is not a business but a personal folly of the oligarchs.

 

[Phil]

Remembering, of course, that Russian basketball is not a business but a personal folly of the oligarchs.

I agree. I'm a big fan of the notion that people are generally paid what they are worth, and this is no exception, but it is more a case that someone with bucketloads of money took a fancy to her than that the entire Russian nation reached a consensus. She wasn't being paid out of gate receipts. More power to her, but I bet she agrees she had a good bit of fortune.

 

[OneTrickPony]

Thanks for posting.
My aunt was one of the first female sports writers for Sports Illustrated (back in the Joe Lewis era) and she used to complain that 'college was taking all the personality out of professional sports'. Too many athletes were becoming too 'polished' in their interactions with the media and fans.
One of the reasons I love Dee is that while she can be thoughtful, she is also brash, opinionated, and unafraid to show her passion (good and bad.) It is also why she and Geno get along so well, as he too lets it all hang out.

Seeing the brash Dee overcome with emotion on the medal stand was worth the price of admission...

 

[alexrgct]

"Above the rim play" question... I did a VERY unscientific analysis which posited (based on some dunk stats) about the amount of time in a game that the boys spend "above the rim." I came up with 40 seconds. (http://womenshoopsblog.wordpress.com/2012/07/23/ive-been-thinking/)

So, you have to wonder what the fans of the "above the rim" game are doing the other 47 minutes and 20 seconds.

A) buzzing about the monstrous dunk

B) enjoying a lack of way-below-the-rim rebounding. Which, even as a fan of WBB, I can find maddening at time.

C) enjoying the occasional above the rim shot block.

D) getting drunk.

 

[OneTrickPony]

A) buzzing about the monstrous dunk

B) enjoying a lack of way-below-the-rim rebounding. Which, even as a fan of WBB, I can find maddening at time.

C) enjoying the occasional above the rim shot block.

D) getting drunk.

Don't forget watching commercials about folks just like you getting drunk...

 

[alexrgct]

Don't forget watching commercials about folks just like you getting drunk...

Folks like me who are irresistible to incredibly attractive women based on my choice of alcohol.

What, a bevy of babes doesn't appear at your doorstep any time you crack open a Coors Light? More's the pity.

 

[OneTrickPony]

Folks like me who are irresistible to incredibly attractive women based on my choice of alcohol.

What, a bevy of babes doesn't appear at your doorstep any time you crack open a Coors Light? More's the pity.

My rule of thumb is if she's attractive, she gets the alcohol...if not, then it's mine...

 

[VAMike23]

Not just endorsements, her playing package in Russia was probably definitely more in one year that the total amount she's received in all WNBA years combined.

Same for Parker, probably Bird, too. Likely true for LJ and a handful of others

 

[UcMiami]

Same for Parker, probably Bird, too. Likely true for LJ and a handful of others

Same for almost all the WNBA players playing overseas. It isn't hard considering the salary cap in the WNBA.
And yes a lot of it is driven by very rich people running 'vanity' teams, but there is also a much stronger following of the pro game in Europe - partly because there really isn't a college game there - so take the Louisville/TN/Stanford/Uconn/ND/Baylor fan base and shift them to the pros. You also get cross town rivalries or city rivalries that may build upon rivalries in more established sports.
I loved the support that poured out of Turkey for Diana during the drug debacle - though I suspect when she changed teams to the arch rivals there might have been some serious hatred as well!