NCAA WBB Championships Won by Coaches

[UcMiami]

When coaching youth soccer teams, there were a few players that were more focused on not losing any games, rather than being present in the game at hand. This brings to mind this year's SC team, and the balance of three things - a potential natty repeat, a potential undefeated season + natty, and the natty itself.

If a team in in the midst of an undefeated season, do they feel that pressure daily, and does that take away the focus of the ultimate goal of a national championship? There were a lot of headlines written about being undefeated, and yet every player would rather have a natty than be undefeated going into the tourney and then losing.

I think it does become the subject of discussion and a distraction from focusing on the basketball itself and the process of preparing for each game. There is as you say the focus on 'not losing'. In a way it becomes the reason so many near upsets become defeats in the last minutes - the underdog suddenly is thinking about how great a win will be and how they must not do anything to lose from such a strong position, and stop playing to win.

At Uconn, it has often become a multi-year distraction - that 2003 teams was amassing the longest women's streak in history that reach 70 games in the semi finals, in 2017 the streak was the longest NCAA streak ever at 111 when MissSt came calling. And Maya and co. laid a complete egg at Stanford mid season to end a streak of 90. (A feat they repeated to end a 47 game streak in 2014 which probably helped in the creation of most of that 111 game streak.

 

[bovwa10]

I think seeing 'parity' in the women's game, is a little premature. What I see is dominant teams failing to dominate. The thing Pat and Geno were able to do consistently was win championships with championship quality teams. They were also able to win a few with limited teams, and consistently challenge when they weren't dominant.

This year clearly the best team was SC and yet they bowed out for the second time in three years. Same thing happened in the Griner years at Baylor.

There have always been a few really good teams and a solid second level of teams around women's basketball, and if a Giant stumbles there is someone to pick up the pieces. Uconn wasn't the best team in WCBB in 2013, but hey, if you want to smooth the way for Geno he is ready to take the prize. They certainly weren't the best team from 2017-2022, but were able to get to the FF every year and the championship game in 2022.

And going undefeated is really hard to do. Geno said losing in the BE tournament in 2003 was a key to winning that championship - it was a pressure release from the undefeated streak. SC was looking a little tight, was being challenged in games, was having slow starts, and it caught up to them as it has to teams throughout basketball history. Pat did it once with TN, Kim did it once at Baylor, Conradt once at TX, Tara has never done it, Muffet never, Dawn never, and Geno has done it 6 times.

This year reminds me of past years where surprise finals occurred. What was Syracuse doing in a final, or Louisville, or TAM and ND, or Rutgers, or ...

I actually think UConn was the best team in both 2017 and 2018 but both times succumbed to the pressure of being undefeated in the Final Four. I agree that unless you have an overwhelmingly dominant team, such as Stewie's teams, it's probably better to not go undefeated before the tournament since it takes the pressure off a bit.

 

[BBallF]

Mulkey now has 4 but you wonder why she never got to coach the National Team? I think last night's histrionics provided the answer and thankfully someone somewhere made the right decision about that.

 

[bovwa10]

Mulkey now has 4 but you wonder why she never got to coach the National Team? I think last night's histrionics provided the answer and thankfully someone somewhere made the right decision about that.

I don’t think a college coach should ever coach the National Team again. I’m happy that Cheryl Reeve is coaching them in Paris.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[01Neaggrad02]

To be fair, they should have done Geno, Pat, and then Kim. By order of how many they have. Mulkey has 1/2 the amount of Pat... will she coach long enough to tie or win more?

 

[maple]

I still believe deep down that Oregon would have won the title in 2020... but then again I was pretty sure Iowa was going to win the other day so what do I know?

Agreed. To this day I believe Oregon would have won. They were great that season and just seemed poised for their moment in the sun.

 

[DefenseBB]

Like her or not, Kim Mulkey has to be in the conversation of greatest WBB coach of all time. Winning her 4th NC and at a different school, which no other WBB coach has done, has to set her apart from Tara. Geno and Pat are still the Platinum standard because of how many NCs they won, but Kim is on the next level by herself.

Wait, what? First you say she has to be in the conversation of Greatest coach of all time, then you say she is not the next level after Geno, Pat and Tara. Which is it?

To be clear she is NOT in the conversation of Greatest Coach of all time. She is, AT BEST #4. She does not have the number of years coaching that Pat, Geno or Tara have so there is time to accumulate more titles and wins but still, her overall body of work is not near them plus her reluctance to schedule the top teams in the country is a huge hole in that resume. To be #4 is still pretty impressive but you seem to have gotten a bit carried away, like when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor....over exuberance.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I still believe deep down that Oregon would have won the title in 2020... but then again I was pretty sure Iowa was going to win the other day so what do I know?

I think Oregon, S. C., and Baylor were about even. I probably would have gone with Sabrina.

 

[choochoo]

Exactly. The same school and coach entered this year's tournament with the same laurels and expectations. But this afternoon, they are back in Columbia and not playing in Dallas.
But they do have a banner for 2020.

yeah given to them by themselves! like that makes them an NCAA Champion! I think not. Its why we play the games. Just ask Dawn today.

 

[JonathanXIV]

Another version. Geno, Pat and me 19 championships. All other coaches 22.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Now that Coach Mulkey has four titles does she replace Tara as the number three coach?

When measured against NC's, Kim is 3rd; Total Number of wins @ 692, she is >44th; Winning percentage for those above 600 wins, Kim is also 3rd @ 86.1% [behind Geno (#1 @ 88.3%), and Mark Campbell (2nd @ 86.4%, Union College, TN).

Overall, she is pretty good by most numbers....