View From The ND Newspaper | The Boneyard

View From The ND Newspaper

Loved Genos quote as it is so true. It reminds you that when 1 person is given or takes all the accolades for a championship which seemed to happen from last year it will hurt the TEAM.
 
I basically live within shouting distance of ND and the mood around here today is not very good. But they are more blaming it on what ND didn't do as opposed to what UConn let them do. Different mind set I guess. This was the 1st game out of the last 3 that I missed going to. So mad at myself for not going.
 
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BigBird said:
A good read. This is a well-written and spot-on account.
Noie - South Bend Tribune
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An interesting read. It's always nice to read a story written from a perspective on the "other side" of the court.
I said in a previous comment that ND already knew what kind of team they had. Sunday, UConn would find out EXACTLY what kind of team they had. The #1 team in the country will expose any and all deficiencies you may have.

If you're a top 10 program, cream puffs, Twinkees and low level mid major teams will not challenge you, nor do they provide an accurate barometer with which to judge or measure the strengths and weaknesses of a team in the critical areas that determine a team's success. You've got to play top 25 teams for that. Teams get better playing teams ranked above them, not below them.

This week, UConn exposed some weaknesses in DePaul and ND's game. DePaul's 3 losses came from the two top 2 ranked teams, and #14 Syracuse. They didn't learn anything from the 5 unranked teams they beat. ND vanquished two of the 3 ranked teams they've played, # 15 DePaul by 24 and # 14 Iowa by 31. Only #9 Oregon State was able to keep it close losing by 10.

ND found out they aren't as quite as good as they thought they were, and UConn found out they're better than they thought they were, and a whole lot better than some UConn fans (including many here in the yard that predicted a UConn loss) thought they were. :eek:
 
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I love Turner's futile protest of innocence. They all must have the same acting coach. I tried to import the pix for another thread, but it was too big.
 
We hear that McGraw is surprised and disappointed about the lack of mental control and lack of execution but we don't see anything about her being the cause of it by allowing it. She could have easily stopped it. You simply tell your players that if anybody opens their mouth to a referee or opposing coach, or throws a cheap shot or undercuts somebody, they'll sit next to you for the rest of the game. Or you tell them if you don't start getting the ball into the post, I'll get somebody else to and you'll sit next to me until you understand what I want. Not that hard. But her players know she'll allow it so they do it. That's her tough luck.
 
BobbyJ said:
We hear that McGraw is surprised and disappointed about the lack of mental control and lack of execution
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Uhh. How many times have we heard Geno say "we didn't run a single play we called in the 1st half?"
 
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vowelguy said:
Uhh. How many times have we heard Geno say "we didn't run a single play we called in the 1st half?"
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Many. Same thing applies. If the coach doesn't like it, change it. Usually only have to do it once and they get the message.
 
BobbyJ said:
Many. Same thing applies. If the coach doesn't like it, change it. Usually only have to do it once and they get the message.
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Yeah, I'm sure it's that easy. That's why it happens to 2 of the best coaches in the country.
 
Somehow I remember Geno doing precisely that. Stewie and Tuck sitting out a game on the bench. Sent a message they got for sure. As a retired coach I know the hardest decision to make is one for the good of the team that will likely cause a loss. I've had to do it. Not easy. I've made players go to opposing coaches or Refs and apologize for poor actions. Both the kids and the team earn respect for that. Of course my teams were not fighting for a national championship...
 
BobbyJ said:
We hear that McGraw is surprised and disappointed about the lack of mental control and lack of execution but we don't see anything about her being the cause of it by allowing it. She could have easily stopped it. You simply tell your players that if anybody opens their mouth to a referee or opposing coach, or throws a cheap shot or undercuts somebody, they'll sit next to you for the rest of the game. Or you tell them if you don't start getting the ball into the post, I'll get somebody else to and you'll sit next to me until you understand what I want. Not that hard. But her players know she'll allow it so they do it. That's her tough luck.
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I remember that when UCONN played ND when Marina Mabrey was a freshman, she got frustrated with Mo Jeff guarding her and pushed off and got called for a foul. In that game Muffet sat her for the rest fo the game. Maybe she needs to extend that to upperclassmen and not just freshman to get the point across.
 
Rocket009 said:
I remember that when UCONN played ND when Marina Mabrey was a freshman, she got frustrated with Mo Jeff guarding her and pushed off and got called for a foul. In that game Muffet sat her for the rest fo the game. Maybe she needs to extend that to upperclassmen and not just freshman to get the point across.
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Good point to bring up because Marina had gone off for 20+ something in the first half before Geno put MoJeff on her. If Marina thought she was getting special benefit of the doubt for that, guess again.
 
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Zinethar said:
Somehow I remember Geno doing precisely that. Stewie and Tuck sitting out a game on the bench. Sent a message they got for sure. As a retired coach I know the hardest decision to make is one for the good of the team that will likely cause a loss. I've had to do it. Not easy. I've made players go to opposing coaches or Refs and apologize for poor actions. Both the kids and the team earn respect for that. Of course my teams were not fighting for a national championship...
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That was a AAC game right before they played South Carolina, they both got the message and they beat SC by more than 20 points. SC was ranked #1 and UConn was #2.
 
vowelguy said:
Yeah, I'm sure it's that easy. That's why it happens to 2 of the best coaches in the country.
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One reason is because they’re alike in one regard. Neither will sacrifice a game to make the point. Not a big game and certainly not to a weak opponent.
 
Scoop said:
ND found out they aren't as good as they thought they were, and UConn found out they're better than they thought they were, and a whole lot better than some fans (including many here in the yard than predicted a UConn loss). :eek:
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I actually think that Muffet found out her team is exactly as bad as she's been trying to convince them they are.
The players, meanwhile, finally learned that you can't just give the other team a lead and expect that you can come back to win in the second half. You actually have to play well all 40 minutes.
 
Notre Dame has historically been a very mentally tough team. In last year's NCAA run, they were 1-4-1 in the first halves of games. They were tough and determined. Their self-destruction yesterday was out of character and surprising. Arike, in particular, looked like a freshman. Maybe the off-season publicity was a bad thing.
 
Orangutan said:
I actually think that Muffet found out her team is exactly as bad as she's been trying to convince them they are.
The players, meanwhile, finally learned that you can't just give the other team a lead and expect that you can come back to win in the second half. You actually have to play well all 40 minutes.
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They usually have been a 40-minute team. One of the best.

It's harder to repeat than folks think.
 
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Rocket009 said:
I remember that when UCONN played ND when Marina Mabrey was a freshman, she got frustrated with Mo Jeff guarding her and pushed off and got called for a foul. In that game Muffet sat her for the rest fo the game. Maybe she needs to extend that to upperclassmen and not just freshman to get the point across.
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Oops! One problem. Arike is everything to ND. Probably not happening.
 
MilfordHusky said:
They usually have been a 40-minute team. One of the best.

It's harder to repeat than folks think.
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As we've been saying since they won. Winning is easy, repeating is the hardest thing in sports.
Orangutan said:
I actually think that Muffet found out her team is exactly as bad as she's been trying to convince them they are.
The players, meanwhile, finally learned that you can't just give the other team a lead and expect that you can come back to win in the second half. You actually have to play well all 40 minutes.
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I just don't think they're as bad as she may be trying to convince them. I don't think ND is bad at all. I just believe it's what I've said all along. Repeating isn't about recreating that moment, that season, that feeling, those wins. As Geno has said, every team every year in WCBB is different. When you have a team as talented as ND is it's all about mental toughness, mental discipline and discarding any feelings of expectancy. The battle becomes not with any opponent, it becomes a battle within yourself, each individual on the team. The worse thing a team that has won a championship can have is doubt which leads to a loss of trust in each other. It happens to almost every team that has won a championship. This is what makes repeating the most difficult thing to do in sports.
 
JordyG said:
I just don't think they're as bad as she may be trying to convince them. I don't think ND is bad at all. I just believe it's what I've said all along. Repeating isn't about recreating that moment, that season, that feeling, those wins. As Geno has said, every team every year in WCBB is different. When you have a team as talented as ND is it's all about mental toughness, mental discipline and discarding any feelings of expectancy. The battle becomes not with any opponent, it becomes a battle within yourself, each individual on the team. The worse thing a team that has won a championship can have is doubt which leads to a loss of trust in each other. It happens to almost every team that has won a championship. This is what makes repeating the most difficult thing to do in sports.
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Well, Muffet has been complaining about defense all year and they finally ran across a team they couldn't simply outscore. That's what I'm talking about. They got away with letting DePaul jump out to a lead. The got away with letting Oregon State get out to a lead. They didn't get away with letting UConn jump out to a lead and spent the whole game unsuccessfully chasing.

So I feel like Muffet will point to this game and say "See, we actually have to play team defense and team offense for 40 minutes in order to win".
 
BobbyJ said:
We hear that McGraw is surprised and disappointed about the lack of mental control and lack of execution but we don't see anything about her being the cause of it by allowing it. She could have easily stopped it. You simply tell your players that if anybody opens their mouth to a referee or opposing coach, or throws a cheap shot or undercuts somebody, they'll sit next to you for the rest of the game. Or you tell them if you don't start getting the ball into the post, I'll get somebody else to and you'll sit next to me until you understand what I want. Not that hard. But her players know she'll allow it so they do it. That's her tough luck.
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Best post I’ve read today!!! Thanks BobbyJ.
 
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JordyG said:
As we've been saying since they won. Winning is easy, repeating is the hardest thing in sports.

I just don't think they're as bad as she may be trying to convince them. I don't think ND is bad at all. I just believe it's what I've said all along. Repeating isn't about recreating that moment, that season, that feeling, those wins. As Geno has said, every team every year in WCBB is different. When you have a team as talented as ND is it's all about mental toughness, mental discipline and discarding any feelings of expectancy. The battle becomes not with any opponent, it becomes a battle within yourself, each individual on the team. The worse thing a team that has won a championship can have is doubt which leads to a loss of trust in each other. It happens to almost every team that has won a championship. This is what makes repeating the most difficult thing to do in sports.
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The question is often asked, what is harder to do, win a national championship, or win two in a row? :rolleyes:
 
Rocket009 said:
I remember that when UCONN played ND when Marina Mabrey was a freshman, she got frustrated with Mo Jeff guarding her and pushed off and got called for a foul. In that game Muffet sat her for the rest fo the game. Maybe she needs to extend that to upperclassmen and not just freshman to get the point across.
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My recollection is that she pulled Mabrey from the game after she got that foul and had her sit for a while to cool off, but not for the entire remainder of the game. When she came back, she was better behaved.

She might have done the same thing on Sunday if she had anyone on the bench who was capable of playing in that game, but she didn't.
 
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