Great Diana column from Jeff Jacobs

[HuskyNan]

She talks Britney Griner, UConn and Breanna Stewart. Gotta love Diana.

The link in today's UConn in the News thread tacked to the top of the board, but for those who object to pointing and clicking two extra times -

Jeff Jacobs: Taurasi, Griner Fitting Together Nicely For Phoenix Mercury, Courant

 

[pinotbear]

Nan -

Thanks for posting this seperately - I often don't go through "the dailies" in the off-season, so I would have missed this. Some of the quotes are great!

 

[VAUConnFan]

Not only are Taurais and Griner clicking, but the Mercury have won seven of their last eight games. Dare I ask, could it be coaching? Is it possible that Corey Gaines knows what he is doing? And that the run and gun style that many deride here as "streetball" may be better suited to the Phoenix personnel.

Whatever issues were affecting the Mercury in the first few games, seems to have been addressed. I, personally, questioned the leadership; Wondering whether the decision to allow Diana to sit out the season last year affected team chemistry. While I still believe it may have had a negative impact in the locker room, it certainy is not impacting their play on the court. They are who they are. And Diana is leading the league in scoring.

 

[HuskyNan]

Not only are Taurais and Griner clicking, but the Mercury have won seven of their last eight games. Dare I ask, could it be coaching? Is it possible that Corey Gaines knows what he is doing? And that the run and gun style that many deride here as "streetball" may be better suited to the Phoenix personnel.

Whatever issues were affecting the Mercury in the first few games, seems to have been addressed. I, personally, questioned the leadership; Wondering whether the decision to allow Diana to sit out the season last year affected team chemistry. While I still believe it may have had a negative impact in the locker room, it certainy is not impacting their play on the court. They are who they are. And Diana is leading the league in scoring.

There've been a few articles on this. In the first few games, the coach slowed the team down in order to play more half-court to accommodate BG. However, this isn't the Mercury's game. Coach Gaines is quoted as saying that NBA friends of his called and asked him what the heck he was doing, so he went back to the run and gun style. It was a good decision.

 

[alexrgct]

Terrific quotes from D. My inclination is that she has a personality that would lend itself to being a great coach if that is indeed what she wants. I'm not going to say, "Wouldn't it be awesome if she became the next coach at Uconn?" because we have no way of knowing whether that would be a good thing at this point. But in any event, I can only wish her the best going forward.

 

[VAUConnFan]

There've been a few articles on this. In the first few games, the coach slowed the team down in order to play more half-court to accommodate BG. However, this isn't the Sun's game. Coach Gaines is quoted as saying that NBA friends of his called and asked him what the heck he was doing, so he went back to the run and gun style. It was a good decision.

Here's an article that backs up your post:
http://hosted.stats.com/wnba/recap.asp?lg=WNBA&g=20130629012

 

[UConnCat]

Not only are Taurais and Griner clicking, but the Mercury have won seven of their last eight games. Dare I ask, could it be coaching? Is it possible that Corey Gaines knows what he is doing? And that the run and gun style that many deride here as "streetball" may be better suited to the Phoenix personnel.

Many? I recall one poster -- a Baylor fan -- deriding Gaines' preferred style of play as "street ball" but I don't recall others on this board agreeing with him. Am I missing something?

 

[EricLA]

What a terrific article. Not only is DT the best player in the world, but shes such an incredible person to boot. It's clear that she and Brit already have a terrific relationship.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Dee: "I played like crap [in the 2001 FF]." She puts it succinctly.

 

[VAMike23]

Terrific quotes from D. My inclination is that she has a personality that would lend itself to being a great coach if that is indeed what she wants. I'm not going to say, "Wouldn't it be awesome if she became the next coach at Uconn?" because we have no way of knowing whether that would be a good thing at this point. But in any event, I can only wish her the best going forward.

She'll need some assistants who are good game coaches, in case she gets T'ed up and tossed .....:-D lol

 

[pinotbear]

She'll need some assistants who are good game coaches, in case she gets T'ed up and tossed .....:-D lol

She'll need some assistants who are bigger and stronger than she is, to hold her back..and, that's not gonna be easy to find!

I once again refer to Geno's quote in a situation when he wanted to go after an official. "I knew I could get past CD: she's skiny. I knew I could get past Tonya: she's small. But, I knew I couldn't get past Jamelle!" If D ever becomes a head coach, she'll need her version of CD, to provide ying to her yang, and she's gonna need her version of Jamelle, who won't be intimidated by DT.

 

[RadyLady]

Dee: "I played like crap [in the 2001 FF]." She puts it succinctly.

indeed. Always one of my most favorite players, she tells it "like it is".

 

[Husky1964]

2001------ nightmare!!! Up by 15 at the half, lose by 15!!!!! To ND.

 

[MilfordHusky]

2001------ nightmare!!! Up by 15 at the half, lose by 15!!!!! To ND.

I paid a fair amount of money to sit in that torture chamber. But Diana made up for it in 2002. And 2003. And 2004.

Stewie is 1 up on her.

 

[meyers7]

There've been a few articles on this. In the first few games, the coach slowed the team down in order to play more half-court to accommodate BG. However, this isn't the Sun's game. Coach Gaines is quoted as saying that NBA friends of his called and asked him what the heck he was doing, so he went back to the run and gun style. It was a good decision.

Watching a little too much NBA??

 

[HuskyNan]

Watching a little too much NBA??