Why Can't Kim Mulkey get past Elite 8

[Vowelguy]

. Pat Summitt would yell on the sidelines, but in a huddle she was composed and tactical.

Ask Pat"s clipboard that was sliced in half how composed she was during some huddles.

 

[Woof 101]

Why can't Kim Mulkey's Baylor Bears get past the Elite Eight?

The state of Big 12 men's basketball gets precedence over Kim Mulkey in this article.
The title raises a question but the answer is not there.

Coaches like players and any other professions....Cream rises to the top...Kim is and has been at her plateau. JMHO

Actually that's a pretty interesting comparison. CPS always is noted for "the glare" but she always seemed to get her team to rise at the needed moment. I think Mulkey self-inflicts with her behavior based on the pressure she puts on herself and the team. Just review all the tight games she had this year, was there 1 that they actually won? She needs to re-evaluate in order to clear that hurdle. She has the most talent south of NY...

No attack DefenseBB.... Your point is well taken but I would have went with most talent south of Maryland.... Another loaded team of talent that went home early with a head coach that really looked bad. This after publicly whining about their seed and a need for more tickets.

 

[DefenseBB]

Coaches like players and any other professions....Cream rises to the top...Kim is and has been at her plateau. JMHO


No attack DefenseBB.... Your point is well taken but I would have went with most talent south of Maryland.... Another loaded team of talent that went home early with a head coach that really looked bad. This after publicly whining about their seed and a need for more tickets.

Umm let's to disagree as I think as do most, Baylor has more talent than MD by any assessment-McDonalds, HoopGurlz, Prospect, and I would say Baylor beats MD by 10 or more. Let's go to Massey...

 

[southie]

I would say that each year they failed to advance past the Elite 8 round it was due to different reasons -- matchups, defense, turnovers, adjustments, etc.

Overall, I think her team has played tight when it matters the most. Maybe the team sense how uptight and tense Kim is on sidelines.

 

[nd2tty]

I watched her demeanor on the sidelines and she yells at her players a lot. I understand Geno and most coaches will get mad, but she seems to take it another level. Any mistake will get you a tongue lasting. Pat Summitt would yell on the sidelines, but in a huddle she was composed and tactical.

Not only that, but her substitution patterns are deflating. If a player messes up (or just doesn't perform optimally), they are taken out, with no chance to work it out on the court. Often a player that entered 3o seconds before, will come out after one miscue. Don't know how you build confidence with that system.

 

[nd2tty]

It's not a coincidence that whenever Mulkey's teams reach a certain juncture it's guards, aggressive, penetrating guards, that are her downfall. Just this season against UConn it was Crystal Dangerfield. Of course previously also Schimmel and now Williams. It's because Mulkey doesn't scheme effective defensive backup plans. She stated this year during the tourney that when her team had to play a 2/3 it would be difficult for the team because "We haven't practiced a 2/3". Which also means they hadn't practiced any of its variants: Box and 1, 3/2, diamond etc. A box and 1 is a nice way to slow down a guard that's shooting well. You have to mix you defenses to slow down a guard having a good day. But Mulkey doesn't practice those things. So what exactly do their defensive practices consist of? Stay in front of your man and switch here not here? As opposed to UConn players who are prepared for every eventuality. To me this is bad coaching. Mulkey recruits loads of fine players and it seems she feels it's enough to just overwhelm others teams with talent and depth. It isn't.

The difference between a good coach and a great one isn't a fine line, it's a very broad step. Like players you have to improve, which means facing up to your weaknesses as a coach. Look at Schaefer last year. When his team got crushed by UConn remember his statement referring to UConn, "We're chasing THAT team". Soon after he had a sit down with Geno who told him that in order to win a championship you need a championship level offense. Schaefer took those words and Geno's offensive suggestions to heart. But the converse is also true. In order to win a championship you need a championship level defense. Schaefer was open minded enough to realize his shortcomings. So far Mulkey has not been.

Very true, and it's interesting to consider Mulkey and Baylor alongside Muffet and ND, who play every junk defense in the book, sometimes to good effect. It seems that the middle ground between Mulkey and Muffet would be the perfect recruiter-coach. Get the talent, motivate/psychologize, and execute the Xs and Os.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Simple. She is one of the most reluctant coaches I have ever seen when it comes in game adjustments. When tourney time hits you have to have moves and counter moves. Morgan William was LIGHTING THEM UP... never adjusted. Also, she tends to make her teams overly reliant on 1 player. She did it with Griner, Sims, & N. Johnson. This years team was far more balanced by the end of the year than in the beginning of the year but I almost wonder if that was primarily because Jones had to be out for so long. Had she not would this team once again have been overly reliant? She got out coached but that happened last year, and the year before, and the year before, and the year before. She has to be willing to change the plan if something isn't working otherwise why do you have all those assistants and 97 centers?

Nuyoika- - -I agree! But doesn't Kim's lack of reacting to changes during a game point out how great Geno is during game and 1/2 time adjustments! He is the master of setting up a plan to limit the opposing teams best player then adjusting his strategy at 1/2 time with his players or vs the opposing players!
The only time Geno blew it was in 2001 vs ND up by 18 when Ratay hit a 3 at the 1/2 buzzer and he went nuts in the locker room and the team lost the lead and ND lucked into their only title! Without Shea & Svet.
Other-wise he is amazing how he controls a game!

 

[mntncougar]

I would say that each year they failed to advance past the Elite 8 round it was due to different reasons -- matchups, defense, turnovers, adjustments, etc.

Overall, I think her team has played tight when it matters the most. Maybe the team sense how uptight and tense Kim is on sidelines.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm, wonder how the players sense that.

 

[Frenchy]

The bottom line, Mulkey is not a top notch coach.
1) when Bria Hartly was a fresh. Baylor with Griner & Sim should have beat Uconn at the XL
2) Mulkey endured the worst defeat in the history of the NCAA Tourn. to Louisville 2013 with Griner a Sr and Sims a Jr because she wouldn't change strategy with Griner.
3) this year at Gampel, she should have easily defeat Uconn with the loaded roster at her disposition, but wouldn't make corrections as the game went along.
Basically, she gets out- coach too many times.

 

[Bayareahusky]

A good question..... Here are my thoughts....

I think is a good coach..... she has brought Baylor to the top twice, and that should be commended..... Yes I think it is true what has been mentioned here... she substitutes too quickly perhaps and she is slow to change in game situations...... and the drama, nmy of my the drama.... when games get tight.... that game in Okla City in Griner's senior year in NCAAs was classic Mulkey.... a wild woman against the officials.... when some of those late calls benefitted her.... I laugh about the phantom foul call which sent O Sims to the line with a few seconds left.... a gift to Baylor.... and two "Absolute" fouls which weren't called.... first they were not fouls and second you do not dress down the officials and blame them for your loss in the post game presser..... my take on Mulkey is that she is a good ... but not great coach....

A special shout out to Pat.... I thought that she was not a gifted x's and o's coach particularly.... she was very good on defense, and superb on relating to her players and getting the best out of them.... she did benefit from winning the big one when women's basketball hadn't been the big force it is today, but take nothing away from that... if it was easy, the other teams would have won their fair share also..... but Pat was the queen.... and overall she did wonders for elevating the game to the next level.... 8 National Championships is laudable no matter what you compare it to..... everyone in the sport owes a big thank you to her for all she did for the game.... I hate hate hate what she tried to do 10 years ago in taking us down, but it remains that she is on the Mt Rushmore of WCBB coaches.....

To the original question of why Kim hasn't won more or gone deeper in the tournament, the graveyard of basketball coaches is littered with those who have done little at the absolute pinnacle of achievement..... Brenda, Hatchell, Blair, etc... all have won the whole thing once only.... for all the years they have coached..... Look at Muffet same thing... Tara has won 2 ... but the last one 25 years ago.... and as LV fans are quick to point out, it took a Tennessee gal to help Tara win..... !!!! Look at the men's side, and you have tons of examples to load onto the question posed here..... Calipari, giant of coaches .... 1 title.... Bill Self has been mentioned.... Jim Boeheim, 40 years as a head coach.... and only one title... argument can be made that he has done less with more compared to any other coach in the game.... Look at the old Big East and the giants it had as coaches.... John Thompson, Lou Carnesecca, the aforementioned Boeheim, Massimino, all just one NCAA title each.... I laugh, sometimes even stew, at that 30 for 30 show on ESPN, Requiem for the Big East.... Calhoun is hardly given any air play.... but it is HE who won the Big East 3 national titles!!!! I realize the show focused on the drama of the conference and public relations, and how it got so big, juxtaposed with the other hoops conferences, but give Calhoun his due!

And out of that Big East, to directly compare to Mulkey (having Griner), look at John Thompson with Ewing.... one title only in 4 years.... he did make it to title game 3 times with Patrick there, but only one title.... They are hard to achieve!!!!!

Back to Mulkey..... overall on this question..... I think it has much more to do with Geno's (and his assts) EXCELLENCE..... rather than Kim's failure that she hasn't gotten past the Elite 8 more than she has lately..... Geno incubated and has refined his system.... and it has been purring for the last few years..... get the right sort of players who are unselfish and motivated.... practice until you cannot get it wrong, not till you get it right only..... Stefanie is not in shape, send her to the gym and get her to commit to the cause.... Moriah is out of control and erratic shooter, work on it, devote yourself to being the queen.... all frosh year and over the summer.... Gabby and others on this team.... instill pride, that makes them go out and work on their games.... so that they overachieve even HIS expectations.... not to mention theirs.....

Yes, Kim is good I believe, but this question actually points out how Geno Chris Shea and Marisa have set themselves apart and live in another universe..... and I am grateful for that.

 

[JellyBean]

Well dang. I would like to be a "terrible" coach and be ranked in the Top 10 each year plus make the NCAA tournaments.

Kim is an excellent coach. She has made Baylor into a power house. Why can't she make it out of the Elite 8? Who knows. But the bottom line is, a lot of teams would be happy just making the tournament. They would sing praises if they reached the Sweet Sixteen. Kim has done a great job at Baylor and she is an excellent coach

 

[WestCoastPup]

"Back to Mulkey..... overall on this question..... I think it has much more to do with Geno's (and his assts) EXCELLENCE..... rather than Kim's failure that she hasn't gotten past the Elite 8 more than she has lately....."

Not so sure this applies, as UConn didn't send Baylor home the last couple of years.
I do agree with you comments on UConn's work ethic, focus / attention to detail, and overall prowess on the court. But as for Mulkey, I would attribute this last loss to her coaching. The verbal outlasts to the students and pulling players after a mistake seemed to deflate and distract the team. I think she did more harm with than good this time around.

 

[Geew1992]

Geno says time and time again the elite 8 is the hardest game to win. Mulkey had 2 championships. Shes had a top 10 team for how many years. I may not like her antics on the sideline but she should be categorized in the great coach column

 

[Plebe]

If I may:

Kim can get past the E8. She has won 2 national titles, same number as Tara, who went 11 straight years without making the F4 although I don't recall her teams enough to know if any of those were as talent at this Baylor squad.

As far as composure, Geno is far more sedate now, which may be part of the aging process, but he hasn't needed to be animated. Since the start of the 08-09 season, only ND with Diggins, Baylor with Griner, and Stanford has beaten his team that I can recall. I know Geno and his team work their tails off so when people say they make it look easy I just shake my head. No practice, game preparation or win hasn't come with a lot of effort and energy.

I don't really care for Mulkeys attitude sometimes, but she isn't a bad coach.

This was my first thought. The question as worded is silly. It's not like she never made it past the Elite 8. Her first NC team in 2005 overachieved by winning it all. When UConn lost in three consecutive national semifinals in 2010-2012, I don't remember anyone asking why Geno can't get past the semifinal game.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

When discussing success and failure in the elite 8, 3 stories come to mind............
1. Fred Astare was asked how does he make all his dance routines look so easy, and he replied, "I work damn hard to make it look easy!"
2. In 1995 Don Mattingly and Derek Jeter were working on the Spring Training field early one morning, after about an hour they started in, Jeter walking, Mattingly started running, stopped and told Jeter "never walk on a ball field you never know who's watching!"
3. Joe DiMaggio was asked why does he always plays as hard as he does, he answered, "Someone is at the game for the first and maybe only time and I don't want that person to leave with the wrong impression of Joe DiMaggio!"

Each of these stories can be applied to UCONN WBB!
1. They work damn hard to make the games look easy!
2. They hustle and always act the "right way" because they never know who's watching."
3. Geno, CD, and all the staff know that their players are selling the UCONN product every time they're on the court, and the players play 100%+ from first whistle to final buzzer because they've been taught that is the right way to play the game!

I've been asked repeatedly by some of my friends how can I watch 40+ point blow-outs by UCONN. My answer is always I don't watch the score, I watch how hard they all play for the full 40 minutes! No-one else, not ND, Baylor, Stanford, Duke, SoCar, MD, Fl St, TX, UCLA, Washington, Oregon, Oregon St, the OSU, Okla, SoFl, and all the rest of Division I WCBB do, not even close!

 

[ritarivas89]

Actually Baylor misses a pg like Niya Johnson.

Also, Baylor's team from 2 yrs ago was not very talented. The bigs were not well regarded. Nina Davis is a small/undersized PF. The team was anemic offensely but they got to the Elite 8.

This year's squad was very good, but they had a less than 100% Alexis Jones coming off a knee injury and ran into a buzz saw Miss St!

I think Baylor misses a pg like Sims. Thats what I think was missing from this team.

 

[triaddukefan]

Honestly.... in retrospect.... for UCONN......it would probably have been better if Baylor had gotten by the Elite 8

 

[Plebe]

Honestly.... in retrospect.... for UCONN.it would probably have been better if Baylor had gotten by the Elite 8

Is that because you think Baylor would've been a better matchup for UConn (less likely to lose)?

 

[triaddukefan]

Is that because you think Baylor would've been a better matchup for UConn (less likely to lose)?

Yep........ but we will never know.