Why can't the men be more like the women?

[ASweet3781]

A question that annoyed many people in the 1990's.

A question relevant now more than ever today after the results this weekend in football and men's soccer (not to mention Calhoun leaving the men's bball being on academic probation and a humiliating postseason ban). Football can't get bowl eligible for the 2nd straight year. Men's soccer blows another College Cup playing at home, their 3rd home loss in the Elite 8 since 2007, all as a #1 seed to lower seeded teams. You remember how women's hoop gets criticized for playing home games in the postseason? Well our men's soccer program is proof playing at home in the NCAA's doesn't mean anything if you don't have what it takes to win.

As UConn keeps getting passed over in conference expansion and history looks back, the women, yes the much criticized women and their "old lady" fans were the ones leading year in and year out EXCELLENCE on and OFF the court at UConn. If the football program was even a tenth of ours we'd be in a big boy conference right now. But were not. And with that I ask myself as we sit stuck in the Big East, Why can't the MEN be more like the WOMEN?

 

[Jonathan Husky]

A question that annoyed many people in the 1990's.

A question relevant now more than ever today after the results this weekend in football and men's soccer (not to mention Calhoun leaving the men's bball being on academic probation and a humiliating postseason ban). Football can't get bowl eligible for the 2nd straight year. Men's soccer blows another College Cup playing at home, their 3rd home loss in the Elite 8 since 2007, all as a #1 seed to lower seeded teams. You remember how women's hoop gets criticized for playing home games in the postseason? Well our men's soccer program is proof playing at home in the NCAA's doesn't mean anything if you don't have what it takes to win.

As UConn keeps getting passed over in conference expansion and history looks back, the women, yes the much criticized women and their "old lady" fans were the ones leading year in and year out EXCELLENCE on and OFF the court at UConn. If the football program was even a tenth of ours we'd be in a big boy conference right now. But were not. And with that I ask myself as we sit stuck in the Big East, Why can't the MEN be more like the WOMEN?

Because they are MEN!!! Plus the men's coaches are not the same caliber as the woman's. The men"s basket ball team won two national titles but has a dismal graduation rate for the entire Calhoun years. The women have been at the top at both basketball (7 NC's) and acadenics (100% graduation rate) under Geno.

 

[HuskyNan]

Because they are MEN!!! Plus the men's coaches are not the same caliber as the woman's. The men"s basket ball team won two national titles but has a dismal graduation rate for the entire Calhoun years. The women have been at the top at both basketball (7 NC's) and acadenics (100% graduation rate) under Geno.

The men have won 3 national championships and JC is a fine coach, one of an elite few to win as many as 3 NCs. It's just harder to win a championship in men's college basketball due to parity. In wcbb, there are probably 5 teams that have a realistic chance at winning it all.

 

[blackbird]

I don't think it's harder to win in the men's than in the woman's, until you get to be at the level of Geno. But there's only one Geno.

So it's easier for Geno to win in the women's game, because of a lack of talent disparity. But it's not easier for women's coaches in general.

 

[iri10]

To get an idea of how much talent there is in men's basketball...

Right now the UConn women's team has maybe three or so games before the postseason where the opponent has a decent or good chance to win - games where wcbb fans wouldn't consider it a complete shocker if they lost, that is.

Imagine if the women's UConn team, as the no. 2 nationally ranked team, played in a single season:

4 teams as good as Baylor
6 teams as good as Stanford
all the rest with talent between Duke's level and Louisville's level

If you imagine an NCAA tournament filled with Baylors, Stanfords, Dukes and Louisvilles at worst, you can see why it's nearly impossible for a men's coach to win as many tournaments as Geno/Summitt won. I feel quite confident that there won't be another Wooden in our era.

 

[tomcat]

Oh, you mean your question was just about winning? There are a lot of other reasons, including character and behavior, that I would have thought would more easily prompt this question.

 

[johnhuskies95]

Football and basketball(any gender) is impossible to compare.

Get two really good players in basketball in one recruiting class and you're in really good shape. Get two really good players in one recruiting class for football and it barely moves the needle.

 

[wire chief]

A half century after Rex Harrison asked, "Why can't a woman be more like a man?", we've finally turned it on its head.

 

[mets1090]

Because they are MEN!!! Plus the men's coaches are not the same caliber as the woman's. The men"s basket ball team won two national titles but has a dismal graduation rate for the entire Calhoun years. The women have been at the top at both basketball (7 NC's) and acadenics (100% graduation rate) under Geno.

The men's graduation rate is 'dismal' because of so many people leaving for the NBA. If the WNBA had salaries worth leaving early for, Geno's teams would have a graduation rate of about 10% because players like Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart would be gone after 1 year and pretty much everyone else that doesn't tear their ACL 3 times would be gone after 2 or 3 years.

 

[Jonathan Husky]

The men's graduation rate is 'dismal' because of so many people leaving for the NBA. If the WNBA had salaries worth leaving early for, Geno's teams would have a graduation rate of about 10% because players like Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart would be gone after 1 year and pretty much everyone else that doesn't tear their ACL 3 times would be gone after 2 or 3 years.

I am of the opinion that the men's basketball academic performance while in school is substantially poorer than the womans. Am I incorrect?

 

[HuskyNan]

I am of the opinion that the men's basketball academic performance while in school is substantially poorer than the womans. Am I incorrect?

UConn has at least two stars, Emeka Okafor and Kemba Walker, that graduated in 3 years. On what are you basing your assumptions?

As for football, the past April, 15 UConn student-athletes at Were honored for outstanding acdemics. No women's bball players were recognized but Harris Agbor of the football team was.

http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/uconnclub/spec-rel/041312aac.html

 

[Ts5034]

The men's graduation rate is 'dismal' because of so many people leaving for the NBA. If the WNBA had salaries worth leaving early for, Geno's teams would have a graduation rate of about 10% because players like Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart would be gone after 1 year and pretty much everyone else that doesn't tear their ACL 3 times would be gone after 2 or 3 years.

This is one of the best points ive ever seen anybody make on this board.

 

[mets1090]

I am of the opinion that the men's basketball academic performance while in school is substantially poorer than the womans. Am I incorrect?

You shouldn't point to grad rates to indicate performance while in school for athletes. Additionally, GPAs would be an unfair comparison because it is much easier for a guy like Rudy Gay to coast through school when he knows he will be in the NBA in 2 or 3 years than for someone on the women's side who knows she will be there for 4 years and needs to graduate because there is a decent chance she will need a full time career after her playing days. Try comparing the GPAs of WBB players to the GPAs of water polo players and track athletes. I bet those in minor sports are higher because they know they can't generally count on their athleticism to provide any income after their 4 years of school.

 

[huskiemaniac]

It's totally unfair to compare men's and women's basketball...Uconn men and coach Calhoun have been extremely successful...and 3 ships puts them and him in an elite class!

 

[huskyblooz]

While my favorite team in all the world is the UCONN football team followed by the NY Giants, I cant help but respect everything that that the UCONN womens basketball team is about.

Listen to a Q & A with a member of the womens team and ALL of them, since '91 are comfortable answering the Horde's questions.
I heard Boatright yesterday and he was embarassing. How about put away your headphones, wear your baseball cap correctly and stop saying "ya know what I'm saying". The women look in the camera and are polite and appreciative of the opportunity to answer questions and speak coherently.

Maybe its time we demand more from the men's basketball staff to do more than coach basketball.

 

[stamfordhusky]

I am of the opinion that the men's basketball academic performance while in school is substantially poorer than the womans. Am I incorrect?

You are correct.

 

[stamfordhusky]

You shouldn't point to grad rates to indicate performance while in school for athletes. Additionally, GPAs would be an unfair comparison because it is much easier for a guy like Rudy Gay to coast through school when he knows he will be in the NBA in 2 or 3 years than for someone on the women's side who knows she will be there for 4 years and needs to graduate because there is a decent chance she will need a full time career after her playing days.

Unfortunately most of the UConn male players who have "coasted" through school or worse did not end up with NBA careers. Some also ended up with no future.

 

[stamfordhusky]

The men's graduation rate is 'dismal' because of so many people leaving for the NBA.

Just to clarify, if a player leaves for the NBA while in good academic standing, he does not count against the graduation rate. The men's rate is "dismal" because of so many players having failing grades and/or ceasing to go to class once the season ends and/or being thrown out of school while in bad academic standing.

Virtually no other major program has had the "dismal" graduation rate of the UConn men, despite also having players frequently leaving for the NBA.

 

[mets1090]

Stamfordhusky, both points are very fair and I get them. I am just saying that comparing a men's bball program to a women's is apples to oranges. The men had 2 years that were very bad that were outliers in comparison with the rest of Calhoun's tenure at UConn. Those 2 years are responsible for all the sanctions because of the rolling average. I would place more blame on that group of kids than I do on the coach.

 

[huskyblooz]

The women's team have 19 year olds also! Thats my point!!!

And yes, Calhoun made the school into an international household name. But, how players act is on the coaches.
There has to be more accountability. Can we have public speaking classes for the athletes? I think Chris Dailey makes sure of it!

 

[superjohn]

[Try again without the name-calling or take it elsewhere, superjohn. What's acceptable differs from board to board. JS]

 

[uconnfan68]

A question that annoyed many people in the 1990's.

A question relevant now more than ever today after the results this weekend in football and men's soccer (not to mention Calhoun leaving the men's bball being on academic probation and a humiliating postseason ban). Football can't get bowl eligible for the 2nd straight year. Men's soccer blows another College Cup playing at home, their 3rd home loss in the Elite 8 since 2007, all as a #1 seed to lower seeded teams. You remember how women's hoop gets criticized for playing home games in the postseason? Well our men's soccer program is proof playing at home in the NCAA's doesn't mean anything if you don't have what it takes to win.

As UConn keeps getting passed over in conference expansion and history looks back, the women, yes the much criticized women and their "old lady" fans were the ones leading year in and year out EXCELLENCE on and OFF the court at UConn. If the football program was even a tenth of ours we'd be in a big boy conference right now. But were not. And with that I ask myself as we sit stuck in the Big East, Why can't the MEN be more like the WOMEN?

They took your name down. You're on the "list".

 

[Rumrunner]

At the risk of being excoriated as a misogynist neanderthal, ncaa women's basketball is a title ix creation. It interests few and generates no revenue nationwide. Follow the fans and the money and you have the relative $ worth of a sport to the university's dual mission of promoting the university through its student athletes and allowing the student athletes to promote (academically or professionally) themselves.

A random UConn football game on ESPN will come close to, and many times exceed, the ratings of the women's nat'l championship which usually averages a 2.2-2.5 share. Imagine what the #'s are for penn state or tOSU. Since fan interest is that much higher, so too are the $'s. And everyone knows what happens when money is involved. Money changes everybody and everything.

The current administration is intent on making sure that uconn men's bb is not a program that happens to have a university attached to it, but rather a part of the university, so you have seen and will continue to see betterment occur.

Finally, women's bb unique following in connecticut is paying dividends vis-a-vis uconn's consideration by the big 10. Fans of the sport in ct have shown a willingness to pay to watch the product, and that guides forced carry issues, carriage fees and sub fees. So that is a wonderful thing.

And in the grand scheme, everybody likes something with that something crossing every habit and avocation. Let's be grateful that the one thing that binds us all is the love for our University. We are all fans of UConn, whether because we are a fan of a particular professor, a particular player, a daughter that attends, a spouse that is employed, a hall of fame coach or an eager coach that #bleedsblue, or a diploma that provides for our wants.

So to answer your question, there is no correct answer because the question's premise is better suited to a political discussion about society and economic forces. If we have learned anything by now, it is that there are no right or wrong answers in that realm, only opinions which serve to divide. Do we really need that right now?

 

[huskyblooz]

mod edit

How else would I judge people? He's got superior talent, but hasn't been coached in public speaking. Thats my judgement.
If thats how you want our university to be represented that is your opinion. I'd like to see more Kemba. More Emeka. More Ray.
Listen to a Kendall Reyes interview.

Life is a job interview. Would you hire Boatright over Reyes?

 

[HuskyNan]

At the risk of being excoriated as a misogynist neanderthal, ncaa women's basketball is a title ix creation. ?

I stopped reading your post after this tidbit.

Title IX was not enacted to create equity in sports; it was enacted to create equity in education. Sports was a byproduct because any institution that received federal funding foe education has to provide equal opportunities to both genders. So while Title IX means womens sports need to be funded, it also means your son can't be excluded from, say, cooking class or school-sponsored clubs and you daughter that doesn't play sports can't be denied the metal shop class she wants.

Tired of hearing crap about ho Title IX hurts mens sports or creates sports no one wants to see. I call bullsh!t.