Staley We Made it Like US vs the World.

[Wbbfan1]

"We Made It like Us vs. the World"

Just like that, it was over. No tourney for us, no national championship.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[diggerfoot]

I understand this strategy. It could work, but it could also backfire the way she delivered it. Creating a chip on the shoulder, added to the experience of losing, generates motivation, both to play harder and smarter. However, SC did not lose. Indeed, she even claimed they won. Did that claim, combined with never actually having lost an NC, softened rather than honed an edge? I don't know. I still think it was an error on her part. Her team consisted of players who had won one and freshman who did not know better one way or the other. Now Graves, I could understand him making such a claim for the sake of his seniors, even at the risk of losing an edge, but of course he chose a different route.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Sounds like Staley liked the Sabrina Ionescu show as much as some UConn fans around her did:

The problem I have is that, even when women’s sports do get covered, it’s on the most limited terms. It’s like the media will pick one storyline they like in the preseason, and then for the rest of the season they’re tapped out — that’s the only lens through which they’ll view our sport. And, man….. I just have a news flash for those people: Knowing that one or two great players exist? That doesn’t mean you’re covering our sport right.

Her point is of course totally fair. On the other hand, sports media is a very saturated environment with relatively little demand for women's sports - it's hard enough to get a Sabrina Ionescu, Arike Ogunbowale, or Breanna Stewart to break through when 95% of sports fans aren't interested in WCBB.

My view, however, is that complaining about unfair coverage doesn't win new fans over. No casual fan is suddenly going to get more interested because Dawn Staley has shamed them into watching.

WHat does get fans is Ionescu's relentless drive, charisma, and on-court theatrics. There are lots of (quite reasonable) reasons to dislike Ogunbowale, but she had the swagger and crowd presence that draws people in, even if it's to root against them. Those clutch back to back buzzer beaters were undeniably great basketball.

That, I think, is what the sport needs more of. Not complaining about unfair coverage, or making up Mythical National Championships.

 

[UConnCat]

Sounds like Staley liked the Sabrina Ionescu show as much as some UConn fans around her did:



Her point is of course totally fair. On the other hand, sports media is a very saturated environment with relatively little demand for women's sports - it's hard enough to get a Sabrina Ionescu, Arike Ogunbowale, or Breanna Stewart to break through when 95% of sports fans aren't interested in WCBB.

My view, however, is that complaining about unfair coverage doesn't win new fans over. No casual fan is suddenly going to get more interested because Dawn Staley has shamed them into watching.

WHat does get fans is Ionescu's relentless drive, charisma, and on-court theatrics. There are lots of (quite reasonable) reasons to dislike Ogunbowale, but she had the swagger and crowd presence that draws people in, even if it's to root against them. Those clutch back to back buzzer beaters were undeniably great basketball.

That, I think, is what the sport needs more of. Not complaining about unfair coverage, or making up Mythical National Championships.

She's not a fan of the UConn show either.

The problem I have is that, even when women’s sports do get covered, it’s on the most limited terms. It’s like the media will pick one storyline they like in the preseason, and then for the rest of the season they’re tapped out — that’s the only lens through which they’ll view our sport. And, man….. I just have a news flash for those people: Knowing that one or two great players exist? That doesn’t mean you’re covering our sport right. Knowing that UConn exists?? That doesn’t mean you’re covering our sport right. And starting to pay attention at the Final Four?? That most definitely doesn’t mean you’re covering our sport right.

 

[stwainfan]

A interesting tweet from SEC network. I don't think it would be close.

 

[stwainfan]

LeBron James made a tweet also.

 

[TheFarmFan]

LeBron James made a tweet also.

His conclusion sounds right, but "Lady Huskies" sounds wrong wrong wrong.

If the women have 11 titles and the men have 4, then if anything the men should be the Gentlemen Huskies. Ain't nothing gentle about how the women's team has dominated.

 

[domerduck]

His conclusion sounds right, but "Lady Huskies" sounds wrong wrong wrong.

If the women have 11 titles and the men have 4, then if anything the men should be the Gentlemen Huskies. Ain't nothing gentle about how the women's team has dominated.

For some reason Tennessee calls them the Lady Vols with their 8 titles even though the "Gentleman" Vols I don't think have ever won 1, and I'm not checking. I don't think Lebron was being disrespectful, but maybe some UConn fans or players might think that. In my mind he was adding respect to the greatest CWBB franchise and their greatest players. Nice shoutout for WBB and I'm sure it got more attention than Staley's self-serving Yahoo/Player's Tribune.

LeBron's classic: UConn stars vs. Summitt's Vols

LeBron James thinks that an all-time Tennessee team would beat an all-time South Carolina team, but that a team from UConn could be the best.

www.espn.com

 

[TC22]

If you hear the real message that Dawn is trying to give it's that for WBB the media chooses ONE team or storyline every year and they beat it to death...and they do. Had this been men's college basketball the media would have been all over the new kids, because they are looking for new material to deliver. They don't do that with the women - which is a problem if you care about the sport in general. It's also lazy journalism. Dawn is going to speak up if she sees something that doesn't sit right with her - even when it doesn't benefit her. She called out the coaches for not voting Rhynn Howard an All-American. She called out the NCAA for making Maori Davenport ineligible because of the USA basketball check mess-up. She called out MCDonald's All-American for not including a player that EVERYBODY thought should have made it. She doesn't just use her voice for her own team's good. But she does use her voice.

 

[SCGamecock]

If you hear the real message that Dawn is trying to give it's that for WBB the media chooses ONE team or storyline every year and they beat it to death...and they do. Had this been men's college basketball the media would have been all over the new kids, because they are looking for new material to deliver. They don't do that with the women - which is a problem if you care about the sport in general. It's also lazy journalism. Dawn is going to speak up if she sees something that doesn't sit right with her - even when it doesn't benefit her. She called out the coaches for not voting Rhynn Howard an All-American. She called out the NCAA for making Maori Davenport ineligible because of the USA basketball check mess-up. She called out MCDonald's All-American for not including a player that EVERYBODY thought should have made it. She doesn't just use her voice for her own team's good. But she does use her voice.

I’m glad you said this last part. Dawn is very vocal. Some times a lot more vocal than I would prefer but she’s consistent. She speaks out for fairness in WCBB in general.. if it benefits her team or others, she’s about fairness.

What’s unfortunate is that whenever Dawn is speaking out about players that aren’t hers being left off awards list (Rhyne Howard) or players being left off the McDAA team unfairly (Diamond Johnson) or the countless ever times she’s used her voice as an advocate it almost NEVER gets recognition... but if she’s doing something seen as “self-serving” it’s on tBY the next day and the Dawn haters are out in full force. The irony is that this is the exact kind of one sided narrative she speaks out against in the media.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Dawn is speaking out about players that aren’t hers being left off awards list such as players being left off the McDAA team unfairly (Diamond Johnson) .

"She, Dawn Staley,called out MCDonald's All-American for not including a player that EVERYBODY thought should have made it. She doesn't just use her voice for her own team's good. But she does use her voice. "
Who are everybody? So apparently Everybody is Cviv and Rutgers, since Johnson joined them. No big time program interest? Hey! Dawn put your money where your mouth is and give the kid an offer to play with the Gamecocks!
Maxpreps has Johnson at 236 at the national level and 8th in PA. Yikes! Talk about an outlier. Clay Kallam has her on his 3rd team AAs. Prospects Nation has her at nation #44 and at PG #10. Finally found a Blue Star ranking of 27. ASGR has her at #20. ESPN has her at #6 nationally and #3 as PG. Looks like ESPN is doing the social conscious ranking thing with a #6 ranking and not a capabilities and potential evaluation. Which is the opposite of their ranking of Caroline Ducharme at 41. Consistent! Are they not?

 

[sivad40]

"She, Dawn Staley,called out MCDonald's All-American for not including a player that EVERYBODY thought should have made it. She doesn't just use her voice for her own team's good. But she does use her voice. "
Who are everybody? So apparently Everybody is Cviv and Rutgers, since Johnson joined them. No big time program interest? Hey! Dawn put your money where your mouth is and give the kid an offer to play with the Gamecocks!
Maxpreps has Johnson at 236 at the national level and 8th in PA. Yikes! Talk about an outlier. Clay Kallam has her on his 3rd team AAs. Prospects Nation has her at nation #44 and at PG #10. Finally found a Blue Star ranking of 27. ASGR has her at #20. ESPN has her at #6 nationally and #3 as PG. Looks like ESPN is doing the social conscious ranking thing with a #6 ranking and not a capabilities and potential evaluation. Which is the opposite of their ranking of Caroline Ducharme at 41. Consistent! Are they not?

No. 6 prospect Diamond Johnson selects Rutgers

Diamond Johnson, the No. 6 prospect in the espnW HoopGurlz Class of 2020, announced that she will sign with Rutgers.

www.espn.com

Johnson, who had been considering South Carolina and NC State, is a 5-foot-5 point guard from Philadelphia.

 

[TheFarmFan]

I’m glad you said this last part. Dawn is very vocal. Some times a lot more vocal than I would prefer but she’s consistent. She speaks out for fairness in WCBB in general.. if it benefits her team or others, she’s about fairness.

What’s unfortunate is that whenever Dawn is speaking out about players that aren’t hers being left off awards list (Rhyne Howard) or players being left off the McDAA team unfairly (Diamond Johnson) or the countless ever times she’s used her voice as an advocate it almost NEVER gets recognition... but if she’s doing something seen as “self-serving” it’s on tBY the next day and the Dawn haters are out in full force. The irony is that this is the exact kind of one sided narrative she speaks out against in the media.

One theory is that there is benefit to keeping one's powder dry. There are tons of outrageous things in the world, but when you call every single one of them out, after a while it's easy for your voice to get lost in a sea of frequent complaints. The self-advocacy complaints on behalf of South Carolina probably stand out more for this reason.

(And I say this as someone who has been a longtime fan of Dawn. That doesn't make her perfect in every respect, just as I have endless respect for Geno, but sometimes thinks he crosses the line in picking fights with other coaches.)

 

[TC22]

"She, Dawn Staley,called out MCDonald's All-American for not including a player that EVERYBODY thought should have made it. She doesn't just use her voice for her own team's good. But she does use her voice. "
Who are everybody? So apparently Everybody is Cviv and Rutgers, since Johnson joined them. No big time program interest? Hey! Dawn put your money where your mouth is and give the kid an offer to play with the Gamecocks!
Maxpreps has Johnson at 236 at the national level and 8th in PA. Yikes! Talk about an outlier. Clay Kallam has her on his 3rd team AAs. Prospects Nation has her at nation #44 and at PG #10. Finally found a Blue Star ranking of 27. ASGR has her at #20. ESPN has her at #6 nationally and #3 as PG. Looks like ESPN is doing the social conscious ranking thing with a #6 ranking and not a capabilities and potential evaluation. Which is the opposite of their ranking of Caroline Ducharme at 41. Consistent! Are they not?

She had an offer from the Gamecocks.

 

[TC22]

I didn't say she is perfect, but it's HER. As with anybody, you get the whole person. Evidently it works for her and her program. I love the whole package. She is as giving and appreciative person as there is and her community involvement is second to none. Not sure what there is to hate in a person who does as much good as she does.

 

[domerduck]

I didn't say she is perfect, but it's HER. As with anybody, you get the whole person. Evidently it works for her and her program. I love the whole package. She is as giving and appreciative person as there is and her community involvement is second to none. Not sure what there is to hate in a person who does as much good as she does.

Dawn Staley is an incredible competitor and has done wonders for her South Carolina and competitiveness of women's basketball. To get the amount of fans to come to her games is phenomenal. She is an incredible advocate of her team and reminds me a lot of how people feel about Kim Mulkey. They both have transformed their current colleges and were FANTASTIC college bball players. They paid their dues coaching elsewhere before leading their Power 5 school to the promised land.

That said I think they both speak their mind, but in my opinion they are not always objective. They support their team first which is appropriate, but the US against the world mentality can get old, particularly when you are already a winner. Of course if either were my coach, I'd sure be glad to have her because I know she will defend my team and make sure they compete.

I'm not a hater but I do question her approach (or Kim's for that matter). Pat, Geno, Muffet, and Tara have (had) some similar qualities, especially competitiveness so maybe I just have got more used to their approach over time. For me we will see if Dawn's grows on me. I still haven't got used to Kim's approach, but she never tried to coach USA bball which is the role Dawn had chosen to take on so I need to figure out hot to get used to Dawn's to support my country's team.

 

[Kaizen]

Here comes the Dawn again. I am so tired of it ....

 

[TC22]

Here comes the Dawn again. I am so tired of it ....

Well,this IS a thread about Dawn. Just don’t read. Lol

 

[baggerbob]

Sounds like Staley liked the Sabrina Ionescu show as much as some UConn fans around her did:



Her point is of course totally fair. On the other hand, sports media is a very saturated environment with relatively little demand for women's sports - it's hard enough to get a Sabrina Ionescu, Arike Ogunbowale, or Breanna Stewart to break through when 95% of sports fans aren't interested in WCBB.

My view, however, is that complaining about unfair coverage doesn't win new fans over. No casual fan is suddenly going to get more interested because Dawn Staley has shamed them into watching.

WHat does get fans is Ionescu's relentless drive, charisma, and on-court theatrics. There are lots of (quite reasonable) reasons to dislike Ogunbowale, but she had the swagger and crowd presence that draws people in, even if it's to root against them. Those clutch back to back buzzer beaters were undeniably great basketball.

That, I think, is what the sport needs more of. Not complaining about unfair coverage, or making up Mythical National Championships.

Thats why no Olympics this year hurts the WNBA. An Olympics with Stewie and EDD at the top of their game would have created a big buzz for the women's game. Kobe saw that coming, that's part of the reason he was becoming so involved. He saw the potential.

 

[domerduck]

Thats why no Olympics this year hurts the WNBA. An Olympics with Stewie and EDD at the top of their game would have created a big buzz for the women's game. Kobe saw that coming, that's part of the reason he was becoming so involved. He saw the potential.

On the other side, a 2021 Olympics may now feature Sabrina Ionescu along with Stewie, EDD, Aja, and Nneka amongst others who could bring more visibility to the games. Sabrina might even be going for 2 golds adding the 3x3 tourney since right now she is the most accomplished 3x3 player from the US. I can't see Staley keeping Sabrina off the big team if she had a good WNBA debut.

I also think both the NBA and WNBA are sports than can come back quicker, with more made for TV approach. They are better suited than football, soccer, and baseball to play without fans. This could help the women's game get a stronger footing.

 

[baggerbob]

Dawn Staley is an incredible competitor and has done wonders for her South Carolina and competitiveness of women's basketball. To get the amount of fans to come to her games is phenomenal. She is an incredible advocate of her team and reminds me a lot of how people feel about Kim Mulkey. They both have transformed their current colleges and were FANTASTIC college bball players. They paid their dues coaching elsewhere before leading their Power 5 school to the promised land.

That said I think they both speak their mind, but in my opinion they are not always objective. They support their team first which is appropriate, but the US against the world mentality can get old, particularly when you are already a winner. Of course if either were my coach, I'd sure be glad to have her because I know she will defend my team and make sure they compete.

I'm not a hater but I do question her approach (or Kim's for that matter). Pat, Geno, Muffet, and Tara have (had) some similar qualities, especially competitiveness so maybe I just have got more used to their approach over time. For me we will see if Dawn's grows on me. I still haven't got used to Kim's approach, but she never tried to coach USA bball which is the role Dawn had chosen to take on so I need to figure out hot to get used to Dawn's to support my country's team.

On the other side, a 2021 Olympics may now feature Sabrina Ionescu along with Stewie, EDD, Aja, and Nneka amongst others who could bring more visibility to the games. Sabrina might even be going for 2 golds adding the 3x3 tourney since right now she is the most accomplished 3x3 player from the US. I can't see Staley keeping Sabrina off the big team if she had a good WNBA debut.

I also think both the NBA and WNBA are sports than can come back quicker, with more made for TV approach. They are better suited than football, soccer, and baseball to play without fans. This could help the women's game get a stronger footing.

I believe Sabrina would have been on this years team. They almost always have newcomers with great potential. Stewie and EDD were on the 2016 team at the end of the bench.

 

[willtalk]

Well,this IS a thread about Dawn. Just don’t read. Lol

I suspect that Kaizen was just being ironically humorous. You know here comes the Dawn (consistent like the sunrise ). Very clever actually. Then add the complaint about too much face time for the coach that complained about too much face time about someone else.

Most people are a combination of strengths and weaknesses. If they do good things we acknowledge them. So why shouldn't they be called to task about doing stupid things? What some posters do is either point out either the negatives or conversely the posititive based on how the personally feel about any individual. Even if we are total fans, their is nothing wrong with pointing out something we do not agree with. It should be a given that we should never judge a person based on just one negative or conversely a single positive. Nothing wrong with making a values judgement on any single action.

 

[Kaizen]

I suspect that Kaizen was just being ironically humorous. You know here comes the Dawn (consistent like the sunrise ). Very clever actually. Then add the complaint about too much face time for the coach that complained about too much face time about someone else.

Most people are a combination of strengths and weaknesses. If they do good things we acknowledge them. So why shouldn't they be called to task about doing stupid things? What some posters do is either point out either the negatives or conversely the posititive based on how the personally feel about any individual. Even if we are total fans, their is nothing wrong with pointing out something we do not agree with. It should be a given that we should never judge a person based on just one negative or conversely a single positive. Nothing wrong with making a values judgement on any single action.

Thank you ...willtalk

 

[willtalk]

"She, Dawn Staley,called out MCDonald's All-American for not including a player that EVERYBODY thought should have made it. She doesn't just use her voice for her own team's good. But she does use her voice. "-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
.

Everyone that knows and follows high school ratings knows they are not going to be consistent. The number of individuals rating high school girls has been cut back drastically. Most rating services rely on each other for their rankings, but some will still not rank a player unless they have seen them personally. I have known many players who should have made the Mc AA team but did not. It's not something to get that excited about unless you are promoting an agenda. As the coach of the USA team, she should be more cautious about what she opens her mouth about.

I recently listened to a discussion she had with Chelsea Gray about playing point guard. Although it was only part of the discussion, she seemed to be someone who appears enamored with listening to her own voice. She uses a lot of verbiage and time to say very little. The more I am exposed to her, the more she becomes more disliked. I suspect she is the 1# candidate to replace Muffit Mcgraw as the most disliked coach in WCBB.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

"She, Dawn Staley,called out MCDonald's All-American for not including a player that EVERYBODY thought should have made it. She doesn't just use her voice for her own team's good. But she does use her voice. "
Who are everybody? So apparently Everybody is Cviv and Rutgers, since Johnson joined them. No big time program interest? Hey! Dawn put your money where your mouth is and give the kid an offer to play with the Gamecocks!
Maxpreps has Johnson at 236 at the national level and 8th in PA. Yikes! Talk about an outlier. Clay Kallam has her on his 3rd team AAs. Prospects Nation has her at nation #44 and at PG #10. Finally found a Blue Star ranking of 27. ASGR has her at #20. ESPN has her at #6 nationally and #3 as PG. Looks like ESPN is doing the social conscious ranking thing with a #6 ranking and not a capabilities and potential evaluation. Which is the opposite of their ranking of Caroline Ducharme at 41. Consistent! Are they not?

1 - as others said, she was recruited by SC and probably had an offer
2 - more importantly - I'm sure Dawn was speaking up because she was "Philadelphia"

Dawn (and CViv and many others) are going to speak up about the issues they are passionate about, which often is issues that affect them directly, as well. Both Dawn and CViv have that whole "us against them" mentality, which is fine; Viv always positioned Rutgers as the "underdog" even when they weren't. A bit harder for Dawn to frame things that way, I would think. The only downside is sometimes they get lost in the weeds.