ND complaints thread (further merged)

[Buzzyboy]

I think the fans here have nailed it pretty well. Muffet wants this to be about her...but it isn't, this is about the players, the game of basketball and athletes leaving it all on the floor as they engage in the battle between the lines. "Little Miss Muffet" has lost sight of that. It was Mallory, Ivey, Ruth Riley, Diggins, Novesel, Peters, McBride, Jewell and soon to come Turner who deserve the credit for Notre Dame's Achievements thus far. When comparing the two programs in totality with regards to women's basketball Muffet is seriously over-reaching. Muffet should remember when Geno had the chance to brag on Stewie for her activity and participation during Olympic / National team practice he CHOSE to spend that time praising McBride expressing what a surprise she was to all who attended.

Here is Geno's quote: "Going into the camp, Kayla McBride was perhaps just another college player invited," Auriemma said. "I don't think a lot of people paid as much attention to her last year because most of it was naturally all on Skylar Diggins.

"But once she got to camp and people began to see what she can do, well, it didn't surprise me, but I think it surprised a lot of others. I would venture to say other than Stewie and Elena Delle Donne, she might have been the most impressive player there."

McBride, certain be a first-round WNBA draft pick next week, was thrilled to know Auriemma thought so highly of her.

"It's certainly a good feeling to have," McBride said. "He pushes his players. I like that. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to be coached by him. And it's humbling to know what he thinks of me."

Muffet...really needs to check her "tude" for the benefit of the game. She should take a few pointers from her players. Does anybody here think that McBride orchestrated the silent routine when Stewie's POY award was announced...NOPE! That was all Muffet and for that she should be ashamed of herself...putting herself, her ambition, her personal desires ahead of the game and its players when she should be setting an example as a leader in the sport.

We have what could shape up to be a great championship game coming up. The first time in NCAA history in either the men or the women's side of things...two undefeated teams who are on a quest for perfection. Both teams have dominated the competition all year long. This is about them, their accomplishment, their place in history. Both Geno and Muffet have a role to play as head coaches but it is the players who ultimately play the game...it is their time. In short, Mufffet needs to just SDSU. Notre Dame is playing this game for themselves their families, their coaches, Natalie Achonowa and for a second national championship. UConn is playing the game for themselves, their families, their coaches, for Morgan Tuck and for a ninth national championship. Let's let them play! Go Huskies!!!

It's quite possible that there is some hostility amongst the Irish team towards UConn now but it's even more likely that it was generated by their coach, Muffett McGraw and that's sad. You can use a lot of tactics to prepare your team for a powerful opponent but I'm inclined to think her choice as coach was to use the "no respect" and "arrogant" and "pompous" cards to define how UConn perceives the Irish, which had never been the case. Since this silliness started, she's drawn lines in the sand and made what should be mutual respect into total animosity. Shame on her!!!!!!

 

[HoopsFan21]

It's quite possible that there is some hostility amongst the Irish team towards UConn now but it's even more likely that it was generated by their coach, Muffett McGraw and that's sad. You can use a lot of tactics to prepare your team for a powerful opponent but I'm inclined to think her choice as coach was to use the "no respect" and "arrogant" and "pompous" cards to define how UConn perceives the Irish, which had never been the case. Since this silliness started, she's drawn lines in the sand and made what should be mutual respect into total animosity. Shame on her!!!!!!

It's kind of funny what some teams use to pump themselves up. Like in the Cardinal pre-game huddle the kids swearing about how UConn is not perfect, and now Muffet manufacturing this bitter rivalry. Good to know Huskies don't need such nonsense to get up for a big game.

 

[Willie E.Gold]

The big distinction is that UCLA was great primarily because they had a booster who bought great player after great player so that basically Wooden had an all-star team throughout most of the golden years of his tenure. Geno actually had to make his legacy, brick by brick by brick. Initially he had a horrible facility to try and entice players. Eventually Gampel Pavilion was built but still, UConn had only one winning season prior to his arrival and was considered, at best, a regional team. It took the success of the 1991 team to really change the image of UConn's women's basketball. Geno continues to gush about the brilliance of Wooden but I'm inclined to think that Wooden played with a stacked deck. I don't think he would have had nearly the success that he had were it not for that booster "buying" him the best players in the land. I don't think he was a part of it but how naïve would he have had to be to not be aware that this booster had bought cars and given money and leased apartments to his kids??? There are so many places where other programs had better facilities and better environments to recruit in than did Geno. What it took was a massive amount of work and diligence on his and Chris's part to make this program into what it is today. Tough if some people resent it but it isn't like it came easily. Why not enjoy the ride? Who cares about their envy and jealousy. Sports fans, who are ignorant and who hate or criticize without knowing what a long and difficult trip it was can say what they want. I think Geno made it clear that all that cr*p means nothing to him. He's proud of his success and is doing everything he can to continue it into the future. No two people deserve that success more than he and Chris Daley.

 

[Willie E.Gold]

John Wooden up-date:First,Coach Geno ,respect and admire Coach Wooden.(He carries a copy of "they call me coach"-by Coach Wooden ,at all times).Coach Wooden had been coaching at UCLA approximately 16 years before he won his First Championship.His 1964 team played Michigan with the great Cazzie Russell.UCLA did not have superior talent.He also won another Championship with Steve Patterson at center.Lew Alcindor and Lucius Allen attended UCLA on Academic Scholarships ,therefore they were not governed by NCAA rules.The man was an Excellent Coach.North Carolina talent probably surpasses UCLA ,however Coach Dean Smith only won TWO Championships in 42 years. Auerbach,built his program from from bottom-up.Once he drafted Russell he won a ton of Championships.However,Coach Jackson inherited Super Stars(Jordan,Pippen,Rodman-Shaq,Kobe,etc.and is considered the Greatest of all-time(not impressed).Coach Wooden stands alone on the men side and Coach Geno stands alone on the Women side.

 

[2Infinity]

Muffet is taking a page from Geno's play book...bringing attention onto herself to take pressure off her players. Geno did it all the time. Muffet problem is that Geno is the master of the Philadelphia Shuffle...Muffet is awkward at it.

I wish that's all that it was. There have been a lot of good theories posted here, many with credibility. My personal view is that this has been festering for some time and now the comments are streaming out as if the dam broke wide open. As mentioned before, McGraw indicated how it was nice to not be in the same conference as UConn anymore. Was this because while they were, she felt like she had to be polite to Geno and wasn't able to really speak her mind? Had she been trying to put on a good front and not let her true feelings come out? Think back to all the things that have happened over the last few years...1) Skylar's classless remark after ND beat us here.... 2) the unnamed player's negative shout into our locker room about not wanting to be us after an ND victory over us here .... 3) the flops that the ND players learned from "someone" and then used against us in games... 4) this season's pre-tourney remark insinuating that McGraw wanted to play us this season, but that Geno didn't want to....5) to the totally classless lack of applause for a 19 (?) year old player who just won national POY. And this is while with her players being right there?? Wow! Were the players remarks made in part because they knew how their coach really felt toward UConn and Geno and being kids, they just blurted the true feelings out? As I recall, there was no public apology offered for the ND players doing so either. So to me, these are all indicative of an inferiority complex on the part of McGraw. This is years of frustration all boiling over.

Finally, as was mentioned above, when you add in that ND has had it's chances to win national titles over the years, but has failed, it seems that McGraw has clearly decided to focus ALL of the attention on her and Geno instead. It's apparent that at this point, both she, and her players, are feeling a lot of pressure.... pressure which will be even greater tonight without Achonwa in the lineup. So if you're a coach who has "dominated" another program, as the media has been saying ND has us recently with it's 7 wins in the last 9 games, what else is a desperate coach to do?? It's a huge gamble on her part though, as she is risking her reputation, in an attempt to gain a crown. She's gone "Summit" on Geno...and we all know how that has turned out for Tennessee!

 

[Blueballer]

You guys need to get in the ACC just so you can play ND twice a year.

They don't want us. They don't think our football is good enough.

 

[ed4ourgirls]

They don't want us. They don't think our football is good enough.

And unfortunately, our football hasn't been good enough lately. Hopefully the new regime will
result in significant improvement.

 

[Huskybass]

Geno is going to make sure that Little Miss Muffett gets what she has coming. I expect UConn to win by at least 20.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

They don't want us. They don't think our football is good enough.

Have you ever watched ACC football?

 

[CTyankee]

Have you ever watched ACC football?

Don't crow...

(We know the difference between football from the ACC and the SEC.)

 

[Mulligan]

I hope we put a good old ass whipping on ND . So tired of the muppet and her no respect whine for ND.
Would love to see Stewie throw one down also to rub it in....

 

[doggydaddy]

I hope we put a good old ass whipping on ND . So tired of the muppet and her no respect whine for ND.
Would love to see Stewie throw one down also to rub it in....

Geeze, Mulligan.....I thought you would give Muffet a second chance.

 

[Mulligan]

Geeze, Mulligan.....I thought you would give Muffet a second chance.

No second chance here , just beat ND and let her stew about the loss till the Jimmy V tournament in SB.

 

[UConnChapette]

I hope we put a good old ass whipping on ND . So tired of the muppet and her no respect whine for ND.
Would love to see Stewie throw one down also to rub it in....

Nah, that is not Stewie's style. She just takes care of business. Now if we have a big lead, Geno may not call off the dogs, even if Muffett doesn't have any time outs left to get Kayla out of the game for her final ovation. I have a feeling this one will go down to the wire so that is not likely to come into play.

 

[pinotbear]

"She wants it, she needs it. Must have the precious. She wants to steal it from us; Sneaky little Irishes. Wicked, tricksy, false!
"No, not Muffet!"
"Yes, Muffet, false! They will cheat you, hurt you, lie!"
"Muffet is our friend!"
" You don't have any friends. Nobody likes you!"
"I'm not listening, I'm not listening!"
"She's a liar, and a thief!"
"No!"

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

Don't crow...

(We know the difference between football from the ACC and the SEC.)

It was just a dig at the ACC, and if they were concerned about football, they wouldn't have been so anxious to add Syracuse and Pitt.

 

[CTyankee]

It was just a dig at the ACC, and if they were concerned about football, they wouldn't have been so anxious to add Syracuse and Pitt.

hahaha We'll take anything we can get!!! Are you offerin' anything? (Hope)

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

hahaha We'll take anything we can get!!! Are you offerin' anything? (Hope)

Heck, if you guys join the SEC, I get an excuse for a trip to New England every other year! Wouldn't that get people talking?

BTW, you guys put on a clinic tonight. Congrats.

 

[j66kicker]

Heck, if you guys join the SEC, I get an excuse for a trip to New England every other year! Wouldn't that get people talking?

BTW, you guys put on a clinic tonight. Congrats.

Thanks

 

[Dove]

I thought it was Quick Draw.

Ha ha ha...I got it...Muffet "Big Flaw" McGraw!

 

[hoophuskee]

It's quite possible that there is some hostility amongst the Irish team towards UConn now but it's even more likely that it was generated by their coach, Muffett McGraw and that's sad. You can use a lot of tactics to prepare your team for a powerful opponent but I'm inclined to think her choice as coach was to use the "no respect" and "arrogant" and "pompous" cards to define how UConn perceives the Irish, which had never been the case. Since this silliness started, she's drawn lines in the sand and made what should be mutual respect into total animosity. Shame on her!!!!!!

What's so comical in all of this is that Notre Dame is among the most arrogant schools throughout the nation and they use their football as a bully. Not only that, there presence by going into ACC which in no way they should be - but especially are just a partial member- it limits our chances of getting in.

 

[Deadrody]

I thought about that. He said that at a breakfast, though Muffet was aware of the comments. What coach doesn't say things like that, particularly when dealing with a fragile team like he had last year. He was trying to build up confidence in his team (and fans). He's always praised the ND, just like he's doing now. BTW, Muffet rarely praises opponents.

Well, it happened to be true. All three losses to ND last year were close games and UConn played pretty poorly in all of them. Frankly, it left a feeling with me where I had a much greater sense of ND than their play on the court deserved. After watching UConn beat them in the title game by 20, I'm not sure why I thought they were that good in the first place.

 

[Giovanni]

"I think that got lost," McGraw said. "When we were in the same conference, there was a modicum of it. But I think after beating them and still not feeling any respect for that, we definitely lost something."

Asked whether a more civil relationship could be salvaged, McGraw said, "That would be difficult."

"It's a little like how you would feel about a bully," McGraw said of Connecticut. "I think you have to go in there and attack and not listen to everything that's said."

McGraw said she doesn't think she ever had a close relationship with the outspoken, sometimes bombastic Auriemma, who were both raised in the Philadelphia area.

"There was also some mutual respect when we first started," McGraw said.

McGraw said she thinks Auriemma is looking for a competitive edge. "I think he likes to get under the skin, but we just didn't want to go there," McGraw said.

LINK

Geno rules, Muffet drools! She'll get ovet it.

 

[Deadrody]

Thankfully UConn won decisively so this but, but, but nonsense has been pretty low key.

And, granted, I certainly feel bad for HER not being able to play, but I certainly do not feel bad for ND or their fans.

Why ?

Svetlana Abrosimova missing the last third of her senior season
Shea Ralph X2

If not for ACL injuries, I think its quite possible UConn has 2 more championships in 1997 and 2001. Remember, that 2001 team was missing both Shea and Svet when they lost to ND in the Final Four.

And how about Morgan Tuck ? Sure, ND would be better with Achonwa, but if we're going to talk fantasy hypotheticals, UConn would be nearly as improved with Morgan Tuck.

So I don't want to hear it, really.

 

[DaddyChoc]

She looked stunning on the sideline... as did Ivey!