So, obviously this is not the season we had hoped for. However, the season is not over yet. I have to admit the biggest hurt this season for me is the 14 point loss to Vandy. I would rather go to the dentist and have root canals for three weeks than lose to Vandy women. I can't begin to explain how hurt, disappointed and scared I am for this team and for Pat Summitt. She is sick and I don't know what type of medication the doctors have her taking but she was on the sidelines during this game and appeared to be absent mentally and emotionally. Does that mean she should be fired or she should walk away? No. She will be our coach until she can't do it any more. One of my friends on the Scout Summitt message board wrote about this team and I wanted to share Madtownvols thoughts because they mirror my own and it was written from the heart.
"First off, let's talk about these "players."
This much maligned senior class and underclass(wo)men had, in fact, improved every season up to this point. That is not an opinion but an objective fact based on games won, national rankings, and how deep they went into the NCAA tourney. Last season, they had the what has become the usual problems of injuries, endlessly shifting line-ups, and PG by committee. Despite all that, the team won 30+ games against 3 losses, swept the SEC, and made it to the NCAA regional final.
This season, the presumed missing piece--the true PG--was added, Vicki Baugh is back and healthier than she has been anytime since her freshman season, Glory is playing like an all-american, other talented freshman have brought a very positive infusion of skill and energy. At the start of the season, everything pointed to a continued upward trend and a team ready to make some noise in the final four.
So far, that trend seems to have been seriously disrupted, You can say that the players are at fault -- using hob nail boots-- but the major difference is the coaching situation.
Up until this last loss, I had been as frustrated with the coaches as most of the perturbed fan base has been with the players. I realize now that blaming the coaches is equally unfair.
There is no to blame unless with anthropomorphize Alzheimer's disease.
It is clear that every one was overly optimistic that this re-allocation of coaching duties would be a seamless transition. There is a big difference between being an assistant and having head coach responsibilities (and trying to allocate those responsibilities across 3 assistants and ailing head coach is even more complex).
So far, the results have been very sub-optimal but this is all new ground. Some posters like Voluptuous have made the point that CPS's illness may also be adding some additional pressure to the team. I had been doubtful of this thesis but I am starting to think that is one more obstacle to success that this team is again having to face.
Of course, the likely retort is that "oh, you are making excuses."
Okay, so what? What exactly are the posters accomplishing by typing INEXCUSABLE and demanding public floggings of the players. The team still has the same damn record whether posters to this board make "excuses" or call for blood.
But, I also counter that the excuse of CPS situation is not only a more humane take on the problems at hand but that it better acknowledges this dilemmas posed by the greatest coach of all time suddenly taking a back seat and changing her entire approach. CPS has to adopt this new orientation for her long term health, the coaches have to do the best they can in unfamiliar (I suspect uncomfortable roles), and the players (along with the coaches) have to figure how to right this ship, very soon.
It is an unfortunate situation but it is no one's fault and no one is to blame except for that damned disease. "
This much maligned senior class and underclass(wo)men had, in fact, improved every season up to this point. That is not an opinion but an objective fact based on games won, national rankings, and how deep they went into the NCAA tourney. Last season, they had the what has become the usual problems of injuries, endlessly shifting line-ups, and PG by committee. Despite all that, the team won 30+ games against 3 losses, swept the SEC, and made it to the NCAA regional final.
This season, the presumed missing piece--the true PG--was added, Vicki Baugh is back and healthier than she has been anytime since her freshman season, Glory is playing like an all-american, other talented freshman have brought a very positive infusion of skill and energy. At the start of the season, everything pointed to a continued upward trend and a team ready to make some noise in the final four.
So far, that trend seems to have been seriously disrupted, You can say that the players are at fault -- using hob nail boots-- but the major difference is the coaching situation.
Up until this last loss, I had been as frustrated with the coaches as most of the perturbed fan base has been with the players. I realize now that blaming the coaches is equally unfair.
There is no to blame unless with anthropomorphize Alzheimer's disease.
It is clear that every one was overly optimistic that this re-allocation of coaching duties would be a seamless transition. There is a big difference between being an assistant and having head coach responsibilities (and trying to allocate those responsibilities across 3 assistants and ailing head coach is even more complex).
So far, the results have been very sub-optimal but this is all new ground. Some posters like Voluptuous have made the point that CPS's illness may also be adding some additional pressure to the team. I had been doubtful of this thesis but I am starting to think that is one more obstacle to success that this team is again having to face.
Of course, the likely retort is that "oh, you are making excuses."
Okay, so what? What exactly are the posters accomplishing by typing INEXCUSABLE and demanding public floggings of the players. The team still has the same damn record whether posters to this board make "excuses" or call for blood.
But, I also counter that the excuse of CPS situation is not only a more humane take on the problems at hand but that it better acknowledges this dilemmas posed by the greatest coach of all time suddenly taking a back seat and changing her entire approach. CPS has to adopt this new orientation for her long term health, the coaches have to do the best they can in unfamiliar (I suspect uncomfortable roles), and the players (along with the coaches) have to figure how to right this ship, very soon.
It is an unfortunate situation but it is no one's fault and no one is to blame except for that damned disease. "
Thank you Madtownvol.... my feelings exactly.
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