I wonder if DT or Maya or Stewie or Rebecca feel slighted. [merged thread]

[TC22]

Wasn't A'ja oh for against UConn? Just sayin'.

yes but she was undefeated against Mississippi State. . Just sayin.

 

[cohenzone]

UConn highlights team not players. It honors players by hoisting jerseys. It doesn’t make them gods. The fans do sometimes, but it ain’t Geno’’s way.

 

[triaddukefan]

yes but she was undefeated against Mississippi State. . Just sayin.

uh oh

 

[browns]

UConn highlights team not players. It honors players by hoisting jerseys. It doesn’t make them gods. The fans do sometimes, but it ain’t Geno’’s way.

EXACTLY!!!

 

[AmeriConn]

Not in favor of any player being recognized with a statue. A coach maybe 🤔

 

[DefenseBB]

Why did you create another thread for this? This deserves to be within the body of that thread.

 

[JellyBean]

Dang. Are we really that bored on a Saturday to be worried about another program and a statue?

 

[shiverz45]

Reading the article the national title was only one of the factors that contributed to the statue. George Rogers never won a title but he was the first and only Heisman trophy winner. She accomplished a lot of first for SC as a basketball program. Not to mention what she did for the university off the court.

 

[huskeynut]

Mechelle Voepel ESPN.com

"South Carolina has installed a statue of former Gamecocks All-American A'ja Wilson in front of Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina.

Wilson, the 2018 consensus national player of the year and No. 1 WNBA draft pick, will take part in a dedication ceremony Monday."

Did I miss something? Are there statues of Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore and Brianna Stewart in front of Gampel Pavilion? If not why not? Wilson helps South Carolina win ONE national championship, and she gets a statue. Stewart has 4 national championships, Dee has 3, and Maya has two. When is the unveiling of their statues?

South Carolina installs statue of Gamecocks great A'ja Wilson

South Carolina has installed a statue of former Gamecocks All-American A'ja Wilson in front of Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina, with a dedication ceremony set for Monday.

www.espn.com

If there is to be a statue in front of Gampel, it should be Dee Rowe. After that it should be Jim Calhoun and Geno.

 

[shiverz45]

I doubt the women mentioned in the title of this thread have given it a second thought.

Stewie was one of the first to congratulate A'ja on her statue.

 

[Carnac]

Thanks Mods for the merge. I didn't see HuskieinSC's post. I don't knowingly duplicate threads, or step on toes. It has been deleted.

 

[eebmg]

Having listened to Aja Wilson on interviews and other venues, she is one of the nicest and most humble people I have seen. I remember when she was "Dueling on ESPN{ with Sue Bird during a smackdown as alumnae for a SC / UConn game that poor Aja could not say a mean thing.

For what she has done to put SC on the map, a statue is the least she deserves.

 

[Carnac]

Dang. Are we really that bored on a Saturday to be worried about another program and a statue?

Yes, but not worried, amused. Since our game with Villanova was canceled, we're looking for other pursuits today. No new news and no new commitments to comment on. We were all looking forward to that game. An idle mind is the .........

 

[HuskylnSC]

Mechelle Voepel ESPN.com

"South Carolina has installed a statue of former Gamecocks All-American A'ja Wilson in front of Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina.

Wilson, the 2018 consensus national player of the year and No. 1 WNBA draft pick, will take part in a dedication ceremony Monday."

Did I miss something? Are there statues of Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore and Brianna Stewart in front of Gampel Pavilion? If not why not? Wilson helps South Carolina win ONE national championship, and she gets a statue. Stewart has 4 national championships, Dee has 3, and Maya has two. When is the unveiling of their statues?

South Carolina installs statue of Gamecocks great A'ja Wilson

South Carolina has installed a statue of former Gamecocks All-American A'ja Wilson in front of Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina, with a dedication ceremony set for Monday.

www.espn.com

I guess they are just generational players and Aja is immortal (in SC eyes).

Having listened to Aja Wilson on interviews and other venues, she is one of the nicest and most humble people I have seen. I remember when she was "Dueling on ESPN{ with Sue Bird during a smackdown as alumnae for a SC / UConn game that poor Aja could not say a mean thing.

For what she has done to put SC on the map, a statue is the least she deserves.

I don't believe she has done more for women's basketball than Rebecca Lobo did during her playing career at UConn. Like I said earlier. I wonder if SC would be making a big deal out of a #1 ranking and 1 national championship if Clemson wasn't casting such a big shadow.

Yes she did put SC on the Women's basketball map. Just like Skylar did for Notre Dame. You see how that ended up.

 

[Carnac]

I guess they are just generational players and Aja is immortal (in SC eyes).

I don't believe she has done more for women's basketball than Rebecca Lobo did during her playing career at UConn. Like I said earlier. I wonder if SC would be making a big deal out of a #1 ranking and 1 national championship if Clemson wasn't casting such a big shadow.

Yes she did put SC on the Women's basketball map. Just like Skylar did for Notre Dame. You see how that ended up.

Throwing no shade here, but it appears that SC's criteria for honoring someone with a statue is different than that of some other schools. Not to worry, as cohenzone commented, "it ain’t Geno’’s way." I think if UConn were going to honor an athlete(s) with a statue, they would have done it by now.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Congrats to A'ja Wilson. When she committed to South Carolina, that was the inflection point for their program. Kind of like when Rebecca Lobo came to Storrs to play for Geno and CD.

 

[shiverz45]

It appears that SC's criteria for honoring someone with a statue is different than that of other schools. Not to worry, as cohenzone commented, "it ain’t Geno’’s way." I think if UConn were going to honor an athlete(s) with a statue, they would have done it by now.

SC criteria for honoring someone with a statue is different from UConn. Other schools have statues of their athletes. Baker Mayfield has a statue at Oklahoma for winning the Heisman. I would put A'ja accolades over his accomplishments on and off the field/courts any day.

 

[shiverz45]

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/TdRl0QwGP_raKeYS23Exg004ltQ=/0x0:3000x1932/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:3000x1932):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/9829407/842730304.jpg.jpg

Oklahoma has plenty of statues.

 

[triaddukefan]

I guess they are just generational players and Aja is immortal (in SC eyes).

I don't believe she has done more for women's basketball than Rebecca Lobo did during her playing career at UConn. Like I said earlier. I wonder if SC would be making a big deal out of a #1 ranking and 1 national championship if Clemson wasn't casting such a big shadow.

Yes she did put SC on the Women's basketball map. Just like Skylar did for Notre Dame. You see how that ended up.

please expound

 

[bballnut90]

As much as fanbases are comparative and always want their player/coach/program to be considered the best...one amazing and underrated thing about the WNBA (and women's basketball) in general is that players are extremely supportive of each other and band together in hopes of elevating the sport. We rarely hear about petty arguments or ego issues among great players. I am sure all of the players mentioned are incredibly happy for A'ja and think it's great for the sport regardless if they get a statue or not.

 

[JonathanXIV]

I guess they are just generational players and Aja is immortal (in SC eyes).

I don't believe she has done more for women's basketball than Rebecca Lobo did during her playing career at UConn. Like I said earlier. I wonder if SC would be making a big deal out of a #1 ranking and 1 national championship if Clemson wasn't casting such a big shadow.

Yes she did put SC on the Women's basketball map. Just like Skylar did for Notre Dame. You see how that ended up.

Rebecca is in the Hall of Fame. I think she's good.

 

[HuskylnSC]

please expound

It will take too much of my time to expound. But you will find your answer here:

 

[HuskylnSC]

Throwing no shade here, but it appears that SC's criteria for honoring someone with a statue is different than that of some other schools. Not to worry, as cohenzone commented, "it ain’t Geno’’s way." I think if UConn were going to honor an athlete(s) with a statue, they would have done it by now.

I may be a leeeetle bit sensitive because of my local.

 

[triaddukefan]

It will take too much of my time to expound. But you will find your answer here:

I understand what she did for UCONN basketball..... but what about for women's basketball as a player?

 

[HuskylnSC]

I understand what she did for UCONN basketball..... but what about for women's basketball as a player?

I will just quote one line from her Naismith Hall of Fame plaque: "Her tireless devotion to the game she learned so close to home has taken her around the world to promote, support, and foster the development of women’s basketball."

 

[j66kicker]

I understand what she did for UCONN basketball..... but what about for women's basketball as a player?

She was the poster girl for WBB, which is why the committee shoved her down Tara’s throat for the ‘96 Olympic team. The plan was for the POY/UConn NC buzz to continue long enough that they could successfully start up the WNBA, and it worked.

 

[triaddukefan]

All kidding and digging aside, I think what Dawn Staley and the fans have built in Columbia SC is just fantastic. It wasn't that long ago when SC was a lame program. They went from bad to "on the rise" to competing for national championships (and, yes, hanging banners ) in a jiffy.

Yes... now instead of being known as The Lesser Carolina.... they have upgraded to just The Other Carolina.

 

[Cuango]

I understand what she did for UCONN basketball..... but what about for women's basketball as a player?

Lobo was a huge ambassador for women’s basketball both in college (especially 1995) and in the WNBA! She raised the profile of women’s basketball tremendously, far beyond what her actual basketball skills could because she was likable and articulate and smart and perhaps most importantly, in the right place at the right time. I believe that she had to face quite a lot of jealousy and backbiting because her popularity was not based on being the most dominant athlete but rather on other, more subjective things and the fact that she was seen by many fans as being the best player when of course, she was not. This, understandably led to some murmured resentment on the part of players who were clearly better basketball players who felt (rightly or wrongly) that she was receiving too much credit. I personally believe this was (at least partially) the seed of the Tara VanDerveer controversy. I believe Tara was annoyed that Lobo, a player who was not one of the best players on that team, nevertheless sucked a disproportionate amount of oxygen from the room and Tara felt it was unfair. Having said that, I don’t think Tara handled that well and although I am obviously not privy to any inside information about that, I like to think Tara regrets her handling of that whole situation. Lobo was basically the cornerstone for the greatest dynasty in the history of women’s basketball and much of her status as a historic figure in the game stems from that. I think there is an argument to be made about where she stands strictly as a player but in terms of raising the profile and popularity of the game and her status as a classy ambassador for women’s basketball, I would put her among the very best ever! There have been many players and coaches, whose impact on the game went far beyond their ability. Rebecca Lobo (in my opinion) is definitely one of those! Finally, I must emphasize that I am in no way trying to minimize her deserved status as a great player, only that her impact on the game went far beyond that.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Lobo was a huge ambassador for women’s basketball both in college (especially 1995) and in the WNBA! She raised the profile of women’s basketball tremendously, far beyond what her actual basketball skills could because she was likable and articulate and smart and perhaps most importantly, in the right place at the right time. I believe that she had to face quite a lot of jealousy and backbiting because her popularity was not based on being the most dominant athlete but rather on other, more subjective things and the fact that she was seen by many fans as being the best player when of course, she was not. This, understandably led to some murmured resentment on the part of players who were clearly better basketball players who felt (rightly or wrongly) that she was receiving too much credit. I personally believe this was (at least partially) the seed of the Tara VanDerveer controversy. I believe Tara was annoyed that Lobo, a player who was not one of the best players on that team, nevertheless sucked a disproportionate amount of oxygen from the room and Tara felt it was unfair. Having said that, I don’t think Tara handled that well and although I am obviously not privy to any inside information about that, I like to think Tara regrets her handling of that whole situation. Lobo was basically the cornerstone for the greatest dynasty in the history of women’s basketball and much of her status as a historic figure in the game stems from that. I think there is an argument to be made about where she stands strictly as a player but in terms of raising the profile and popularity of the game and her status as a classy ambassador for women’s basketball, I would put her among the very best ever! There have been many players and coaches, whose impact on the game went far beyond their ability. Rebecca Lobo (in my opinion) is definitely one of those! Finally, I must emphasize that I am in no way trying to minimize her deserved status as a great player, only that her impact on the game went far beyond that.

Agree with all of your points here. Keep in mind Tara had won the NCs in 1990 & 1992 to gain momentum to become the National Team Head Coach position, and she thought she was on the verge of her third as Virginia had almost knocked UCONN out of the tournament in the Regional Final. However, UCONN spanked her team 87 - 60 in the Final Four and she predicted on national television that UCONN had no chance against UT and Pat Summitt in the finals. For the first half, it kind of looked that way with foul trouble and all, and then they all [UCONN women] dug deep [Jamelle particularly dug deep the entire game], and launched this beautiful basketball program that we all know and love...
I, for one, am glad Tara was wrong about the 1995 finals, otherwise Pat Summit would have been the first to win four titles in a row, Geno & CD would not be perfect in 11 for 11 National Championship Finals, Geno & CD would not have been perfect six times (twice as many as the rest of women's college basketball teams (Texas, Tennessee, & Baylor) - each once since the NCAA tournament for womens basketball has "been a thing!"), etc....

 

[jumpstart]

Wow...South Carolina can't even put up a statue without critics crashing in. I guess you've arrived when every little thing you do 'in house' becomes chat room material for others. Aja doesn't have to deserve a statue to anyone else in the world....just the world of the South Carolina athletic base matters...or should matter. I can't imagine South Carolina fans becoming critics of a, Stevie, Lobo...or any other UCONN greats statues being placed on the UCONN campus.....geez....