RebKell's Junkie Boards

[ClayK]

What a fun game to watch ... if there were more like it, women's basketball would be more popular.

Some notes along that line:

1) Unlike many women's games, which resemble the men's game but are simply slower and less athletic, this one was much different than the typical men's game. The court was spread, there were athletes everywhere, and of course there were shooters too.

This kind of a game would be a reason to watch women's basketball, because you can't see anything like this anywhere else. It wasn't an imitation, it was a free-flowing, up-and-down game with action and skill.

2) A star like Kelsey Mitchell is important. Just like EDD, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart and the other elite players, starpower shines through. Mitchell kept doing things that made you watch ... and of course she can shoot, which too many athletes of her caliber can't. They get to college and all they've done is overwhelm lesser athletes and gone to the rim.

3) The coaches were willing to give up control. Too many college coaches want to orchestrate everything, and you get this grind-it-out style that is just like too many men's games. Credit to McGuff and Frese for trusting their players.

If this kind of game became the norm in women's basketball, ratings and interest would go up. That won't happen easily, if at all, but watching SEC teams throw athletes at each other who can't shoot isn't going to change things, no matter how good the athletes.

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Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Svāhā

[bacabuck]

I watched it twice last night and laughed all the way through both times. I enjoyed it so much not only because my team won, but because so many fun, ridiculously athletic things, are done by both teams and always at an unforgiving fast pace. Many good to brilliant things and bad (silly) things, (by BOTH teams), but always with enthusiasm and great intentions.......I loved it!

Frankly, I came to the board late last night just to see if there was anyone else who had seen it and if they had any thoughts about it......so thank you for comments. I have often wondered why I enjoy watching some of our women's games more than the men..........I thought it was just the determination displayed by the women. After reading your reasoned comments, however, I see that when played as it was last night,.........it is a different game!

[myrtle]

agree. lots of fun to watch. Perhaps the best all year. Watching the Banham 60 point performance is another fun one. And I love Steph White as a commentator!

_________________
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it.
If only we’re brave enough to be it.
- Amanda Gorman

[cthskzfn]

While I prefer "free-flow" to the drudgery of a typical SEC clankfest, I also appreciate defense.

To make an NFL example, while I don't want to see "3 yards and a cloud of dust", neither do I appreciate a "50 passes per team per game and a final of 48-45, last team w/ ball wins" scenario.

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Silly, stupid white people might be waking up.

[bacabuck]

If I read your comment correctly, you didn't see much defense to like in this 96, 84 contest. While I see what you mean, and I don't totally disagree, as a buckeye, however, I do take another angle on it.

The girls that play the most minutes for us are small and quick, excepting one girl at 6'3" who is also quick but weighs little more than a can of soda and tends to get boxed out............As you might imagine, we don't rebound well. In this game the "not well" was 47 to 32.

Thus, if we are going to compete, we must overcome 15 possessions in other ways. The way our coach chooses to do that is to press, full court, for the entire game and see if we can maximize the total of turnovers, blocks, and steals. In this game the positive stat for that was 19...............So I submit that pretty good defense was being played,.......just not in the traditional way.

[Phil]

I wish I has seen the game. I saw the postgame write-up and it sounded entertaining. I've watched too many unwatchable games recently, sorry I missed this one.