Locked on WBB: Interview with Debbie Antonelli

[BigBird]

Let's try that one again. The best team in the MVC would get nuked by teams in the middle third of the AAC.

Old age. Sheesh.

 

[Bliss]

Why Las Vegas? Am I missing some huge women's basketball contingent in Sin City? Are we sure Debbie just doesn't want a weekend at the black jack tables? Having the Sweet 16 in Las Vegas every year seems as ill advised as having the Final Four in Indianapolis and New Orleans every other year.

I suggest that the final four be held in St. Louis. We have a decent 20-year-old dome that's not in use now that the Rams have deserted us.

 

[bags27]

OTOH, she really blasted Coach P. at Duke who in turn went into a nutsy spin over AZ transferring. Who knows how these things really work? Antonelli did a great interview with AZ last year before AZ announced, and I always wondered whether there wasn't a little criticism of P.'s use of AZ in that interview already. Hey, maybe it put the idea in AZ's head or maybe confirmed something for her, or whatever. But just to say that someone favors a conference or predicts a UConn loss doesn't make anyone good or bad, pro or con. She gets paid to spin things and to create enough buzz to be listened to. WCBB needs a lot of articulate and visible people to make the games get on at least ESPN3 occasionally...

 

[CocoHusky]

I'm not a hater of her-- I don't dislike her but IMO I can see sometimes the frustration. But all in all not a big deal. Mostly because we've been winning so much I suppose.

1-- But for example she is pro-ACC. It's where she came form. So even though she says nice things about UCONN- we want our conference built up. When you have an openly ACC-slant broadcaster - it's not the best thing for non-ACC fans. Our conference is looking for respect. She's not going to give it. Which leads to point 2--

2-- Last year's UCONN team was arguably the best wcbb team ever. Instead of giving UCONN's team their "due" which Debbie was always positive in regards to UCONN - she did say / predict that USF would beat them once. What????????????????????
2a-- Okay -- throw that aside she made a simple prediction and could have looked like a hero if she was right and nobody remembers it if she is wrong.
2b--This year she says after games in December and the one game vs USC- there is nobody else that will challenge them. -- So last year according to her UCONN - one of the best ever- was going to LOSE according to her to USF -- and this year's team - nobody has a shot to beat them at all in the conference? Not at all vs LAST YEAR's team?

It sort of tells you in way that a.) She didn't think last year's UCONN team was that great if she expected a team like USF to beat UCONN (mind you she didn't say "USF would be close in one game. She said "BEAT.") And b.) She has little respect for the AAC. Now that we'd like to see as many teams have a chance to get into the NCA's from our conference, she is openly saying "even though UCONN isn't the super-great team of the past, nobody in that conference has a prayer to beat them." c.) -- Soooo--- how often do you hear a broadcaster openly predict one of the super-great teams ever will lose to a 20-24 ranked team in their conference while the next year predict no one in that conference has a shot -- all-the-while you aren't even predicting that UCONN will go to the final four? d.) Add to the fact with her ACC-slant she is picking two ACC teams for the ff?

****I don't hate her nor dislike her. Overall above isn't that big of deal-- but this is only what I remember. Others may have other stories -- and then when you add up her entire "tone" - it's not necessarily favorable. I'm being "very nice" here. But if you add things up and keep in mind our conference is trying to make headway - she is not a friend. And for her to predict that UCONN would lose last year to USF, it's not that "anyone can be wrong", it's just that it was such an openly dumb prediction, you have to wonder what is she thinking? IS she incompetent or is there some other motive? It defies logic especially when you consider this year she doesn't have us as a ff team yet no one in our conference she thinks has a shot. That's okay but last year someone did?

3. She was a strong and vocal about changing the rules and nominating process for the All-American team when Diamond Deshields did no make the AA team as a Freshmen. She was entirely silent when Sophomore Morgan Tuck was left off the team in 2015 voting.

 

[iamcbs]

Ok, help me understand the vitriol towards Debbie Antonelli? What did I miss?

Being an ACC honk, similar to Paul Finabaum in CFB with his love for the SEC, there are some people in your part of the world doesn't think she pays the proper amount of deference and respect to Connecticut WBB. She talks about the greatness of the program, just not in the reverent and glowing terms that fans have become accustomed to. She knows and understands that women play basketball outside of Storrs and that some of them are pretty good and deserving of some attention.

 

[CocoHusky]

Being an ACC honk, similar to Paul Finabaum in CFB with his love for the SEC, there are some people in your part of the world doesn't think she pays the proper amount of deference and respect to Connecticut WBB. She talks about the greatness of the program, just not in the reverent and glowing terms that fans have become accustomed to. She knows and understands that women play basketball outside of Storrs and that some of them are pretty good and deserving of some attention.

Doesn't seem like there is much quality WCBB being played outside of Storrs lately. Debbie needs to also understand that a certain amount of reverence and homage to UCONN has been well earned.
UCONN's win streak against the ACC is almost a decade long now.

 

[tomcat]

I enjoyed this interview. Regardless of her history and her opinions of UConn, she is perceptive and had a lot of good points to make.