Kim Mulkey

[Plebe]

A good coach but how can you only win 1 Naty with Griner and O. Sims

My lord this is the dead horse that people never tire of beating.

Sims was a freshman in 2011.
Louisville got hot from 3 and got away with mugging Griner all game long.

It's a one and done tournament. Stuff happens. It's March Madness for a reason. Mulkey proved her worth before the Griner era and she's proved it since.

The insistence on cherry-picking one data point to diminish her achievements is way more unbecoming than any her infamous outfits

 

[GoUconn7961]

To me, her theatrics take away from the game, not add to it. It should be about her team, not her.
I can't believe she hasn't been called for more technical fouls because of it.
I was never a fan, but she lost me after she couldn't show one iota of support for Griner.
After a loss it's constant whining about how her teams are treated unfairly.

 

[bbsamjj]

My lord this is the dead horse that people never tire of beating.

Sims was a freshman in 2011.
Louisville got hot from 3 and got away with mugging Griner all game long.

It's a one and done tournament. Stuff happens. It's March Madness for a reason. Mulkey proved her worth before the Griner era and she's proved it since.

The insistence on cherry-picking one data point to diminish her achievements is way more unbecoming than any her infamous outfits

Was also unlucky (and weird if I remember correctly) that Baylor got a conference opponent as their #2 seed in 2011. Sure they'd beaten them in regular season, but your conference opponents know you better than anyone else and were used to going against Griner. Not an excuse, but one and done tournaments are all about matchups.

Also, when you've been in the game as long as Mulkey has, and been as successful as she has, you're going to get your fair share of upsets, but you're likely going to get upset too. It's the way it should work if the women's game has parity and is growing.

 

[Millenial23]

Her antics aside. What coach has won a Natty that soon again after changing colleges? That has to elevate her status. Granted winning always requires a bit of luck, but still.

not college, but Becky Hammon in the pros.

 

[Cuango]

It’s beyond amazing the lengths people will go these days to paint themselves as being victimized. The LSU players felt personally insulted and disrespected by a strategy (a successful one) that a future opponent used against another team! You just can’t make this stuff up! You’d think they would be hoping beyond hope that Iowa would use that same strategy against them!
Kim is a truly great coach (top three, for sure) and will likely win at least one more before she retires. Dawn now has some company at the top of the SEC. Looking forward to some fireworks between those two.
Finally, I just have to comment on the classless actions of Angel Reese in the final moments of that game and the lengths some are going to to justify them. “I was in my moment”(Reese), “Clark would have done the same thing” (Stephen Smith). Well, her “moment” certainly showed who she is, and as for Smith’s take, though I’m certainly not surprised, he has no idea what Clark would have done (I certainly haven’t ever seen Clark taunting individual players on opposing teams in the waning minutes of a crushing defeat!) I guess I’m just out of touch!

 

[Bigpetunia]

The responses by some of my fellow posters to my original post, folks for whom the outcome of the championship game was obviously not the one for which they were hoping, have given me quite a chuckle. Sure, I know that Kim is controversial, but, as you might imagine, I am ENTIRELY indifferent as to whether or not you like or respect her. To my way of thinking, winning a NC is hard, and getting harder all the time, and I respect any coach or any team that pulls the feat off...Kim M certainly included.

My favorite comments were made with respect to "the outfit." Upon reflection, I see, and concede, the point. What penalty should be assessed for this obvious infraction? A technical? OK, on the generous assumption that Iowa nails 'em both, they now "hold" LSU to 100(!) in a national championship game. What else?

 

[Plebe]

Was also unlucky (and weird if I remember correctly) that Baylor got a conference opponent as their #2 seed in 2011. Sure they'd beaten them in regular season, but your conference opponents know you better than anyone else and were used to going against Griner. Not an excuse, but one and done tournaments are all about matchups.

Also, when you've been in the game as long as Mulkey has, and been as successful as she has, you're going to get your fair share of upsets, but you're likely going to get upset too. It's the way it should work if the women's game has parity and is growing.

Texas A&M peaked at just the right time in 2011 and was a very deserving champion. That happens! Sometimes the other team is too good. UConn fans would do well to remember that the Aggies won the title game over a team that had just stunned us in the semifinal.

Also, it wasn't like Baylor ever looked invincible that season. They lost a nail-biter at UConn early on and dropped a stinker to Texas Tech in conference. Again, Sims was a freshman, and all others (beside Griner) were very much "role players".

 

[Cuango]

Careful where you throw those stones. Some might say Geno who has landed the #1 recruit in the country 5 of the last 7 years and has zero titles to show for it might qualify for doing less with more.

What a ludicrous take! You mean the Geno with 11 titles, 28? , 14 coscutive , 6 undefeated seasons, 29 years without consecutive losses, more injuries (to top players) over the past two years than I’ve ever seen! That Geno?

 

[MSSportsGuy]

My lord this is the dead horse that people never tire of beating.

Sims was a freshman in 2011.
Louisville got hot from 3 and got away with mugging Griner all game long.

It's a one and done tournament. Stuff happens. It's March Madness for a reason. Mulkey proved her worth before the Griner era and she's proved it since.

The insistence on cherry-picking one data point to diminish her achievements is way more unbecoming than any her infamous outfits

Thank you. I can see why on the surface people would think Griner would win multiple titles, I always wonder what year they think she would have won. 2011 was a big of an upset filled tournament as this one and the 2013 team lost to a white hot shooting Louisville squad. Also, do people think Baylor would have beaten UConn in the NC? I don't because Stewie came alive during the E8 and FF and UConn was rolling.

Upsets happen.

 

[Kaizen]

Thank you. I can see why on the surface people would think Griner would win multiple titles, I always wonder what year they think she would have won. 2011 was a big of an upset filled tournament as this one and the 2013 team lost to a white hot shooting Louisville squad. Also, do people think Baylor would have beaten UConn in the NC? I don't because Stewie came alive during the E8 and FF and UConn was rolling.

Upsets happen.

See, Kim Mulkey - Wikipedia

 

[bovwa10]

Careful where you throw those stones. Some might say Geno who has landed the #1 recruit in the country 5 of the last 7 years and has zero titles to show for it might qualify for doing less with more.

I see what you’re saying but I feel like the recruiting ranking sites have also gotten progressively worse over the years as the talent pool has become much deeper. They used to almost always get the #1 player from each high school class correct but it seems like these days they don’t more often than they do.

 

[Pharos]

Old Fuddy-Duddy here again... I'm a fan of "aw shucks" modesty. I have an image from this season lodged in memory that will last a long time: Lou had just made an important 3, she was running back to play defense, and the smile on her face (and she didn't indulge in them often) seemed to say, "Wow, I'm so lucky to be here and get to contribute like that."

 

[Fairfield Fan]

She is one of the all-time great coaches. And one of the greatest recruiters. Four national championships, and counting, say it all.

She is one of the greats along with Coach Geno (the greatest), Pat Summitt, and Dawn Staley.

 

[bbsamjj]

Mulkey is obviously an excellent recruiter, but minus Griner she hasn't had the game changing talent I'd argue other coaches have had (Moore, Stewart at UConn, Parker at Tenn, Aja Wilson at SC, even Augustus/Fowles at LSU). She gets a lot of very good players and molds them well.

 

[DefenseBB]

To me, the top 2 are well cemented-Geno and Pat, then Tara is #3 considering all the wins (1,186), Big Ten titles (4), PAC 12 titles (25), tournament appearances (37), Final Fours (14 appearances) and while here 3 titles now trail Kim's 4, Tara has always tried to grow the game and made it more than about herself. She took a year off of coaching to prep the 1996 Olympic team, she's never shied away from playing big OOC games against UConn, Tennessee or SC whereas Kim, well you know....

Kim (4 Titles, 5 Final Fours) is still the only women to win a NCAAT as a player, assistant coach, head coach at 2 schools and an Olympic gold medal but she still lags behind Tara and has interesting company in the next 2 with Dawn (2 Titles, 5 Final Fours) and Muffet (2 Titles, 8 Final Fours) for slots 4, 5, 6.

Like I said, I respect the heck out of what Kim has accomplished but the resume still comes up short when compared to the top 3 Coaches of all time. Considering she's 7 years younger, there's time to earn her way up.

 

[Longtime fan]

You're right--LSU's most favorable draw was that they didn't have to face SC in the tourney... they clearly were an inferior team to SC. Luckily for them, Iowa had the firepower that LSU didn't to beat SC and Iowa could not defend the paint or low post area nor the perimeter and LSU had the game of a lifetime shooting 3s..

It is reminiscent of the day Texas A&M beat Baylor ( with Stephanie Griner ) and left the path open for UCONN to win it all.

 

[bovwa10]

Mulkey is obviously an excellent recruiter, but minus Griner she hasn't had the game changing talent I'd argue other coaches have had (Moore, Stewart at UConn, Parker at Tenn, Aja Wilson at SC, even Augustus/Fowles at LSU). She gets a lot of very good players and molds them well.

If Angel Reese replicates this past season next year, she deserves to be up there with all those players imo.

 

[DefenseBB]

not college, but Becky Hammon in the pros.

Becky inherited a talented team and only had to compete against 11 others. Color me cynical on this.

 

[triaddukefan]

Mulkey is obviously an excellent recruiter, but minus Griner she hasn't had the game changing talent I'd argue other coaches have had (Moore, Stewart at UConn, Parker at Tenn, Aja Wilson at SC, even Augustus/Fowles at LSU). She gets a lot of very good players and molds them well.

I was thinking about this the other day, other than Griner, Young and I guess Sims... she never had a player do much of anything in the WNBA. Kalani Brown, Nina Davis, Lauren Cox, and Nlyssa Smith are probably the best other players she has coached. Smith could be a good one in the WNBA. The others didn't amount to much.

 

[schmendrick]

Mulkey is a great coach; that is undeniable. Say what you want about her provocative style and her histrionics, but she backs it up. And her players buy in which is all, in the end, that matters.

 

[bovwa10]

I was thinking about this the other day, other than Griner, Young and I guess Sims... she never had a player do much of anything in the WNBA. Kalani Brown, Nina Davis, Lauren Cox, and Nlyssa Smith are probably the best other players she has coached. Smith could be a good one in the WNBA. The others didn't amount to much.

Smith had a very good first year as a pro and should be part of a formidable frontcourt partnership with Boston for the foreseeable future. I'm surprised Lauren Cox hasn't done better in the league, I figured she'd become a Dolson-type player.

 

[LCConnFan]

Careful where you throw those stones. Some might say Geno who has landed the #1 recruit in the country 5 of the last 7 years and has zero titles to show for it might qualify for doing less with more.

I didn't know 1 person made up a team?

 

[hoopsfan22]

I didn't know 1 person made up a team?

UConn for the last 10-15 years has usually had at least two #1 recruits, and at times 3 of the country's 4 #1 recruits. If any other team not named UConn had that kind of embarrassment of riches/concentration of talent and hadn't won a title in the better part of a decade, we'd be questioning the coach. Tara doesn't get that level of talent, and yet here we are criticizing her for only winning 3 titles.

 

[bovwa10]

UConn for the last 10-15 years has usually had at least two #1 recruits, and at times 3 of the country's 4 #1 recruits. If any other team not named UConn had that kind of embarrassment of riches/concentration of talent and hadn't won a title in the better part of a decade, we'd be questioning the coach. Tara doesn't get that level of talent, and yet here we are criticizing her for only winning 3 titles.

Agreed but I also think the recruiting services aren’t ranking the players coming out of high school as accurately as they used to. Players like Rhyne Howard, Liz Kitley, Maddy Siegrist, just to name a few, were all ranked absurdly low coming out high school and on the flip side others were probably ranked too high.