McCallie mind boggling comment

[EricSD]

It was the first time this season that Duke went scoreless from beyond the arc."Always time for a first, I guess," said Duke coach Joanne McCalle. "Horrible. Terrible. They need to smarten up, get the ball inside."

Really Joanne? Maybe it's time to look in the mirror. I did not see Duke do a single thing on defense EXCEPT play zone. The loss to BC was pathetic. But those comments are reprehensible. The team needs to smarten up? What a moronic statement. Did she even watch the game? Maybe her sneakers were too tight and somehow stopped the blood flow to her brain.

17 shots by Williams. 13 shots for Stevens (but 2 from beyond the arc). 6 shots for Cooper. 4 shots for Mathias. 5 shots for Henson. That means that sans the 2 Stevens shot from beyond the arc, her "post" players (forwards and centers) took a total of 43 shots compared to 17 for the guards.

I watched most of the game. I don't have the shot chart in front of me, but it was pretty clear Duke was cold from beyond the arc. Both Williams and Stevens had double doubles. Those 2 did the best they could. Duke had 20 O-boards. Maybe she should spend a little less time with her head in the sand blaming players and come up with a game plan that involves more than playing zone, and actually teach some offense. Her comments really rubbed me the wrong way.

Unless, of course, I'm taking those comments out of context. If so, then I apologize...

 

[UcMiami]

I think her biggest problem is no real guards on this team. Hard to play man against good guards when you can't match up against them. Jewel against any Duke player man to man would be slaughter.
But agree her post game comments after losses make no sense.

 

[j66kicker]

Coach P post-game presser: http://www.goduke.com/mediaPortal/player.dbml?id=856891&db_oem_id=4200 (Click the top video in the list on the right)

"It was a good game. I think we learned some things in this game. I didn't think we played particularly well, but I think it was a good experience. And obviously the difference was 32 [Loyd].....She made some big shots. Without her big shots the game could have gone the other way....She could probably play in the league right now.....She was the difference in the game.....I just don't think we were consistent....We did win the offensive rebound battle. If you give us some free throws and some conversions [on offensive rebounds], then it's a different game."

 

[Wbbfan1]

Duke is doing what they've done over the last few years, they can't score against the good teams. Can't win when you score 50 points against Notre Dame & South Carolina, 52 Against UConn, 58 Against Florida State and 59 against Texas A&M. Duke is Ranked 45th in the NCAA in points per game and after last night have a good chance to drop into the 50's.

 

[jcoton56]

Her bosses set the bar so low! With all the recruits over the years, I can't think of anyone who has accompished less with more. When she recruits she must really weave quite a spell.

 

[msf22b]

Notre Dame clogged the inside with up to four defenders every time they looked to pass inside
Duke didn't box out with any consistency and ND got put-back after put-back

What the heck is she talking about? They tried like heck to get the ball inside.

I thought Notre Dame looked pretty ordinary as well; not very athletic. Duke was just so much worse.

Joanne is a disgrace.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Duke is scoring challenged. The loss of Alexis Jones really hurts them.

I'm getting tired of JPM saying a loss was a learning experience. I also didn't like her saying, "THEY need to ...." Coach needs some ownership here. Either she recruited the wrong kids or she didn't teach or motivate them.

 

[Bigpetunia]

Her bosses set the bar so low! With all the recruits over the years, I can't think of anyone who has accompished less with more. When she recruits she must really weave quite a spell.

She really needs to be dumped. Look, I know that on this board we tend to pile on Coach P, but not without very good reason. I think the "spell" to which you refer is really the help she gets in attracting kids to Duke because it's a great academic institution and a beautiful campus. But, in terms of player development, she's a total loss!

 

[DobbsRover2]

Duke is scoring challenged. The loss of Alexis Jones really hurts them.

I'm getting tired of JPM saying a loss was a learning experience. I also didn't like her saying, "THEY need to ...." Coach needs some ownership here. Either she recruited the wrong kids or she didn't teach or motivate them.

Actually, she seems to have said that losing to ND was a "great experience," and that's really nice because isn't that what all the kids go to college for -- a great experience?

For a team that seems to need to get the ball in to Williams and Stevens inside, the statistics for the 3-pt shooting that is needed to open up the paint is just shocking for Duke. The opponents are putting up 25 three-pointers a game against Duke at a low 27.6%, while Duke's percentage is an okay 33.6% but they shoot only 14 a game, so the opponents have taken 667 to their 363 total. Rebecca Greenwell is their top long-range shooter and has also taken more shots overall than Williams or Stevens, but she only shoots 39.7% overall and 35.8% from the arc while splitting her attempts evenly from within and outside the arc. Despite what McCallie says, maybe Greenwell should keep the ball outside when she shoots.

 

[Orangutan]

I don't fault Duke for only playing zone on defense, they are way too slow to handle Allen and Loyd man-to-man and zone is a good way to use their length. Their defense was generally good - even with all the threes they gave up.

Offensively, I was surprised they had absolutely no counter to the box-and-1. With Loyd stifling Greenwell, they had absolutely no perimeter offense and if they couldn't get it to Williams in the post, they just threw up terrible midrange jumpers. Their best offense was rebounding their misses for putbacks. McCallie's a little handicapped in that she doesn't have the depth and versatility in her roster that other coaches do. I just thought a team that beat Louisville and UNC recently would have an answer for such a foreseeable tactic.

 

[watanabe]

She's not a coach. She's a recruiter. She motivates via blame. Duke should be better than McCallie. Time to get a real coach.

 

[BlueDevils]

I just thought a team that beat Louisville and UNC recently would have an answer for such a foreseeable tactic.

This is when I question Coach P coaching ability. Sometimes as a coach you have to coach against your team to understand your weaknesses and predicting what other coaches may do to exploit those weaknesses. I have no idea why Joanne didnt have a counter for the box and 1. I'm almost 95% sure she didn't even have Notre Dame box and 1 as an option. If she did the offense would of looked more functional and the spacing would of been there.

 

[mhshuskies]

As bad as the coaching was, the score wasn't that great. What that indicates is that neither of these teams will be a serious threat to #10.

 

[j66kicker]

As bad as the coaching was, the score wasn't that great. What that indicates is that neither of these teams will be a serious threat to #10.

I think ND is the most serious threat. They are much better than when we played them without Turner. They should be the overall 2 seed, or else the NC game will be anticlimactic.

 

[mhshuskies]

Maybe a bit too sensitive, but during the game one of the announcers was mentioning nd record/season from last year and that nd won the ACC and was undefeated until they lost to UCONN "without Achomwa". Enough excuses and asterisks to the NC last year. UCONN would have beat them with her, no problem!

 

[UcMiami]

Really no idea why they gave her an extension - partly a reflection on different standards for women's team coaches - don't make waves and don't embarrass us and you have a job for life regardless of what your record is.

 

[j66kicker]

Maybe a bit too sensitive, but during the game one of the announcers was mentioning nd record/season from last year and that nd won the ACC and was undefeated until they lost to UCONN "without Achomwa". Enough excuses and asterisks to the NC last year. UCONN would have beat them with her, no problem!

Yeah they brought that up several times. Kinda bugged me, but I think it's a legit thing to bring up. Once the announcer (Beth Mowins?) even indicated that Achonwa's presence wouldn't have necessarily given ND a chance to beat UCONN. If it helps hype the games/sport, then fine. But when they talked about Ruth Riley's NC they didn't mention UCONN's injured stars....

 

[mhshuskies]

Yeah they brought that up several times. Kinda bugged me, but I think it's a legit thing to bring up. Once the announcer (Beth Mowins?) even indicated that Achonwa's presence wouldn't have necessarily given ND a chance to beat UCONN. If it helps hype the games/sport, then fine. But when they talked about Ruth Riley's NC they didn't mention UCONN's injured stars....

Or that Morgan Tuck (who is a better player than Achomwa) wasn't available. I also go back to the semi the year before, when the UCONN bigs had no problem with her and limited her effectiveness. So why would it have been so different a year later with a much more improved Stewie!

 

[EricSD]

Maybe a bit too sensitive, but during the game one of the announcers was mentioning nd record/season from last year and that nd won the ACC and was undefeated until they lost to UCONN "without Achomwa". Enough excuses and asterisks to the NC last year. UCONN would have beat them with her, no problem!

It's something the talking heads love to bring up. UCONN only basically played 6 players (Stokes came off the bench) and even with Achonwa, I'm not sure she makes a difference of more than 6-8 points (If she scored more that would have meant less shots for McBride and Loyd).

Even more so with Turner and ND when UCONN Played them. Jefferson had about her worst game ever, and Chong and WIlliams barely got in (well Chong did get 9 minutes)... But both of them are light years better and Jefferson is playing much much better. I'd love to see ND in a rematch. I bet the 20 point win gets repeated...

 

[mhshuskies]

It's something the talking heads love to bring up. UCONN only basically played 6 players (Stokes came off the bench) and even with Achonwa, I'm not sure she makes a difference of more than 6-8 points (If she scored more that would have meant less shots for McBride and Loyd).

Even more so with Turner and ND when UCONN Played them. Jefferson had about her worst game ever, and Chong and WIlliams barely got in (well Chong did get 9 minutes)... But both of them are light years better and Jefferson is playing much much better. I'd love to see ND in a rematch. I bet the 20 point win gets repeated...

easily 20+

 

[Bigpetunia]

Do any of you routinely watch the McDonald's High School AA game? I'd like to, but usually forget to tune in. A few years ago, however, by fortuitous happenstance, I caught it while channel surfing. It was Elizabeth Williams' senior year. I vividly remember, given that she was clearly the best player on the entire court, thinking, "Damn....wish she was coming to UConn," and anticipating the future pileup of NPOY awards for her. Wow....it's not as though she's had a terrible career...she's clearly a highly credible player, but can you imagine what the difference for her might have been under Geno's tutelage, or Muffett's, for that matter? I just don't think McCallie has the gift, and I don't think, after all this time, she's in any "danger" of acquiring it!

 

[Husky1964]

Not worried about this yr but next when Stewies #4 will be played in Indy a short hop from SB. Remember the last time we played them in the FF in Indy.

 

[Striper69]

I don't fault Duke for only playing zone on defense, they are way too slow to handle Allen and Loyd man-to-man and zone is a good way to use their length. Their defense was generally good - even with all the threes they gave up.

Offensively, I was surprised they had absolutely no counter to the box-and-1. With Loyd stifling Greenwell, they had absolutely no perimeter offense and if they couldn't get it to Williams in the post, they just threw up terrible midrange jumpers. Their best offense was rebounding their misses for putbacks. McCallie's a little handicapped in that she doesn't have the depth and versatility in her roster that other coaches do. I just thought a team that beat Louisville and UNC recently would have an answer for such a foreseeable tactic.

Maybe they should've tried a box and one on Loyd.

What happened to Chidom?

 

[ctfjr]

She is a class act - the same class she has always been

 

[triaddukefan]

Maybe they should've tried a box and one on Loyd.

What happened to Chidom?

Shoulder.... out for the season. We miss her

 

[triaddukefan]

She really needs to be dumped. Look, I know that on this board we tend to pile on Coach P, but not without very good reason. I think the "spell" to which you refer is really the help she gets in attracting kids to Duke because it's a great academic institution and a beautiful campus. But, in terms of player development, she's a total loss!

I will have to start calling this place The Devils Den North

 

[CocoHusky]

I don't fault Duke for only playing zone on defense, they are way too slow to handle Allen and Loyd man-to-man and zone is a good way to use their length.

Despite all the McDonalds AA recruits this-lack of foot speed- has been the one thing holding back Duke for these last few years. This shows up especially on the defense end of the court. That is why Duke is almost exclusively zone. That Coach P is not creative enough to put in an offensive to overcome this=double whammy.

 

[jsloanjr]

Coach P is lost and she always blames her players not her coaching..............Sad Sad

 

[Geno-ista]

Do any of you routinely watch the McDonald's High School AA game? I'd like to, but usually forget to tune in. A few years ago, however, by fortuitous happenstance, I caught it while channel surfing. It was Elizabeth Williams' senior year. I vividly remember, given that she was clearly the best player on the entire court, thinking, "Damn....wish she was coming to UConn," and anticipating the future pileup of NPOY awards for her. Wow....it's not as though she's had a terrible career...she's clearly a highly credible player, but can you imagine what the difference for her might have been under Geno's tutelage, or Muffett's, for that matter? I just don't think McCallie has the gift, and I don't think, after all this time, she's in any "danger" of acquiring it!

Bingo Big Petunia- I havnt missed a McDonalds AA game in a long time. And there are usually a number of non UC recruits that dominate and impress. And more often than not, our girls are not the highlight reel. Then what happens in college is amazing.

 

[Geno-ista]

Not worried about this yr but next when Stewies #4 will be played in Indy a short hop from SB. Remember the last time we played them in the FF in Indy.

N Dame was deeper, more experienced and better than us that year. If you don't believe me, Geno has said that the reason he has one every NC game is because he had the best team. And only one time he won w out the best team. I always took that to mean Baylor losing to Louisville.