Has Coach P given up trying to beat UConn?

[HuskyNan]

Sorry Duke friends but apparently your Coach P is lining up her excuses already. It sounds like she believes Duke can't beat UConn, period.

The Blue Devils (27-6) played the nation's toughest schedule and had the third-highest RPI, but wound up seeded in the same region as perennial women's basketball powerhouse Connecticut for the second time in four years.

That doesn't seem fair to McCallie.

"To me that is kind of fascinating," she said. "What are we trying to do, keep Duke out of the Final Four?"

Duke coach unhappy team in same region with UConn, AP article from the Sanford Herald


.

 

[rbny1]

"McCallie called the seeding 'unforgivable,' and that she could see the dejection on her players' faces when the seeds were announced putting them in same bracket as UConn."

I love it.

 

[pinotbear]

 

[Tonyc]

I guess the problem is between her ears. Her goal is to get to the FF not win a NC because either way she will have to face UConn.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Wouldn't you if you were Duke?

 

[triaddukefan]

"McCallie called the seeding 'unforgivable,' and that she could see the dejection on her players' faces when the seeds were announced putting them in same bracket as UConn."

I love it.

The players weren't the only ones with dejection on their faces Monday night .....

 

[Sonny44]

Hopefully they will take as on of their "learning experiences".

 

[jdubct]

The question remains, if Duke were in a different region, which #1 seed would they be favored to beat? Not Stanford, which is playing at home. Possibly TN or South Carolina?

 

[Blakeon18]

Duke playing the victim is not a pleasant sight.

 

[sarals24]

What kind of message is that to your team? To be the best, you have to beat the best. I guess they want to be the best by circumventing the number one team in the country? Seems like you'd have to face them eventually. Mulkey made the same kind of noise when TAMU was in their region in 2011, and look what happened. (And no, I didn't think it was fair to put those two in the same region, but she shouldn't have said anything about it publicly until after the game...I think it let doubt creep in for her team)

 

[meyers7]

"McCallie called the seeding 'unforgivable,' and that she could see the dejection on her players' faces when the seeds were announced putting them in same bracket as UConn."

I love it.

Well really that would probably be the same for every team, save ND.

 

[hussybulldog]

She thinks they are better than ranking No. 8!, Unfortunately, they are ranked No. 9 & 10 in AP and Coach poll...She should whine about those polls too....UNFORGIVABLE! losing to NC twice is unforgivable, thrice to ND is unforgivable. LOL

 

[PacoSwede]

Well, from a fan's viewpoint, I'm with McCallie. The only No.2 vs. UConn that might provide a bit of interest is West Virginia: not a rematch and then there's the Holmes angle.

Of course, there's an excellent chance Duke won't have to deal with UConn anyway. Perhaps DePaul will get to enjoy that challenge. And maybe Winthrop will rescue Duke from its nightmare.

 

[Vowelguy]

Sorry Duke friends but apparently your Coach P is lining up her excuses already. It sounds like she believes Duke can't beat UConn, period.

The Blue Devils (27-6) played the nation's toughest schedule and had the third-highest RPI, but wound up seeded in the same region as perennial women's basketball powerhouse Connecticut for the second time in four years.

That doesn't seem fair to McCallie."To me that is kind of fascinating," she said. "What are we trying to do, keep Duke out of the Final Four?"

Duke coach unhappy team in same region with UConn, AP article from the Sanford Herald

I generally think that the criticism of mccallie on this board is way out of proportion.

But these statements even strike me as very odd.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I wonder if she did some 1 on 1 lobbying before the committee decision was due and felt misled? We have Duke members who can speak better to this, but I had the impression that the injuries had taken the heat off of McCallie. However, the essential points here are that it ain't all about this year and calling the committee stupid never seems like a terrific idea (unless you are Geno reacting to a hypothetical placement in Louisville in a funny way) and telling the world of YOUR FEAR of UConn and that YOUR TEAM SHARES IT is a really boneheaded move.

 

[AllHusky529]

Lol. That's hilarious! It's one thing to beat an opponent on the court, it's quite another to strip them of their competitive spirit all together! Go Huskies!

 

[Artifact]

It seems that the bracket is not the problem. but all those all those high school Gatorade players she recruited, not playing together as a team ! Is that not her responsibility. Yes, team has injuries. How about all the previous years of play. Duke never has won a woman's basketball "National Championship".

 

[ctfjr]

If this was a poker game there wouldn't be enough chips load on top of some of these shoulders.

 

[Lurker]

What Coach P is really doing is pretty strategic and clever, along with self-protective.

She has heard the rumors about her job performance and is at least a little worried about the implications of not reaching a F4 (probably something linked to a written or unwritten understanding within Duke of what she will achieve as the coach - links to factors such as job security, bonuses, etc.). So, she is simply taking proactive measures to build a rationale for this years performance and strengthening her case (excuse) for if (Yeah, I know, it's really WHEN) the team fails by blaming the selection committee to take the spotlight off of herself.

Happens all the time in the executive suites...

 

[ochoopsfan]

What Coach P is really doing is pretty strategic and clever, along with self-protective.

She has heard the rumors about her job performance and is at least a little worried about the implications of not reaching a F4 (probably something linked to a written or unwritten understanding within Duke of what she will achieve as the coach - links to factors such as job security, bonuses, etc.). So, she is simply taking proactive measures to build a rationale for this years performance and strengthening her case if the team fails by blaming the selection committee to take the spotlight off of herself.

Happens all the time in the executive suites...

What Coach P should have done is take a lesson from the USC coach Cynthia Cooper. USC hadnt beat Stanford in a Gazillion years(or something close to that). But it was beat Stanford in the Pac12 Tournament semi final game or go home(or to the WNIT). USC found a way to do it and won the game and then made sure they won the championship game vs Oregon State to remove them from the bubble. USC also has many of those AA players that werent gelling together under previous coaches. Coach P takes the twitter or social media way to explain the teams results or possible results while USC Coach Cooper takes the in your face way of doing it.

 

[easttexastrash]

With a coach like JMP, anything is possible.

 

[easttexastrash]

I generally think that the criticism of mccallie on this board is way out of proportion.

But these statements even strike me as very odd.

I agree. Why would she make such comments? If I played for her it would irritate me that she is stating publically that there is no chance of beating UCONN. I have never heard of a coach going into the tournament basically conceding before the first game is played.

 

[DobbsRover2]

What Coach P is really doing is pretty strategic and clever, along with self-protective.

She has heard the rumors about her job performance and is at least a little worried about the implications of not reaching a F4 (probably something linked to a written or unwritten understanding within Duke of what she will achieve as the coach - links to factors such as job security, bonuses, etc.). So, she is simply taking proactive measures to build a rationale for this years performance and strengthening her case (excuse) for if (Yeah, I know, it's really WHEN) the team fails by blaming the selection committee to take the spotlight off of herself.

Happens all the time in the executive suites...

But for it to work as a proactive move, the Devils still have to win through to the E8, at which point she could then use the crutch of "the team could have been in the FF if not for the bracketing." But Duke has to get by a couple of teams to meet up with UConn again, and players who have been marked by their coach as roadkill for UConn are not necessarily going to be as fired up to play after this.

But yes, coaches and fans do tend to squawk when they are lined up with the top team, just as the Vols did last year. I don't remember Walz and the Cards griping about it then though.

 

[Suebird10fan]

I guess the problem is between her ears. Her goal is to get to the FF not win a NC because either way she will have to face UConn.

+1,000

 

[reno tony]

I generally think that the criticism of mccallie on this board is way out of proportion.

But these statements even strike me as very odd.

I don't like to criticize a coach, except Geno, because there is so much we don't know about her team. But those comments show a defeatist attitude that spreads to the players. The game is half over before they take the floor.

6 TO GO​