440 replies to this topic

[BSLMikeLowe]

Angel Reese talking trash = Villain!

 

Caitlin Clark talking trash = Not good, but does bring style to a game lacking in substance.

 

Alrighty then.

[BSLChrisStoner]

The Ringer: The Winners and Losers of the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight

[mweb08]

Well anyway, great game by Caitlin Clark and Iowa. I look forward to their next game(s). Also Angel Reese is great defensively and on the boards, but she really needs to work on her offensive skill set. Speaking of which, I can't believe that Van Lith started over Clark on the USA U19 team. For a guard, her skills seem way too limited.

[mweb08]

Also, check out Angel and Flau'jae's post-game remarks regarding the villain narrative

[mdrunning]

Well anyway, great game by Caitlin Clark and Iowa. I look forward to their next game(s). Also Angel Reese is great defensively and on the boards, but she really needs to work on her offensive skill set. Speaking of which, I can't believe that Van Lith started over Clark on the USA U19 team. For a guard, her skills seem way too limited.

I agree that Reese is very limited offensively right now. She rarely ventures more than a layup away from the basket and even then her shooting percentage is not what it should be from that distance. Her shots look more like throws. She needs to develop some offensive moves around the basket and it wouldn't hurt to have a mid-range game, either. 

 

I thought the decision to put Hailey Van Lith on Clark was questionable, not only because she simply doesn't have the length to guard a player with that kind of range, but I also heard that she's been sick recently (I'm assuming the flu) and needed an IV before the game. It's a tough enough task to cover the best player in the women's college game, but it's virtually impossible for someone who is likely been weakened by illness.

[Biggsy]

Angel Reese talking trash = Villain!

Caitlin Clark talking trash = Not good, but does bring style to a game lacking in substance.

Alrighty then.

Not that I feel either way about either of them. But there is a difference between talking within the course of a game that adds substance, and just being a complete asshole when the game is over.

I think Reese gets unfairly criticized because of the pointing to the finger celebration. And Clark gets put in a pedestal for sure.

Personally, I'm sick and tired of people pretending like Clark could actually play at a high level in the NBA. She's 6', the average height in the NBA is 6'6". And she wouldn't touch the athleticism of the average NBA PG.

[glenn__davis]

Well anyway, great game by Caitlin Clark and Iowa. I look forward to their next game(s). Also Angel Reese is great defensively and on the boards, but she really needs to work on her offensive skill set. Speaking of which, I can't believe that Van Lith started over Clark on the USA U19 team. For a guard, her skills seem way too limited.

 

Well that was what, 3-4 years ago at this point?  A lot of development occurs or does not occur in that timeframe.  I remember all the hype was around Bueckers when she arrived, don't remember hearing anything about Clark.

 

Also, check out Angel and Flau'jae's post-game remarks regarding the villain narrative

 

Speaking only for myself, I am very good at differentiating between the role players play in the narrative of sports, and the actual person that that player is.  I do not like the way Angel Reese carried herself on the court for much of the past year, but if for some odd reason I came across her out of that environment, I'd just consider her another person and treat her with the same friendliness and kindness that I try to treat everyone with.

 

The LSU team were gracious losers last night.  Good to see.  I'd like to see our society do a better job of emphasizing being a gracious winner.  But that's not cool these days.

 

And finally, no athlete, and especially no college athlete, should undergo online abuse.  I took my son's phone away for a week (which as a teenager is apparently akin to murder) because of a comment he made online to a MD basketball player.  (The player very appropriately responded to him with "SMD".).  Parenting is already difficult and the online stuff makes it 10X harder.

[mdrunning]

Well that was what, 3-4 years ago at this point?  A lot of development occurs or does not occur in that timeframe.  I remember all the hype was around Bueckers when she arrived, don't remember hearing anything about Clark.

 

 

Speaking only for myself, I am very good at differentiating between the role players play in the narrative of sports, and the actual person that that player is.  I do not like the way Angel Reese carried herself on the court for much of the past year, but if for some odd reason I came across her out of that environment, I'd just consider her another person and treat her with the same friendliness and kindness that I try to treat everyone with.

 

The LSU team were gracious losers last night.  Good to see.  I'd like to see our society do a better job of emphasizing being a gracious winner.  But that's not cool these days.

 

And finally, no athlete, and especially no college athlete, should undergo online abuse.  I took my son's phone away for a week (which as a teenager is apparently akin to murder) because of a comment he made online to a MD basketball player.  (The player very appropriately responded to him with "SMD".).  Parenting is already difficult and the online stuff makes it 10X harder.

As John Wooden once famously said, "You meet a lot of people on the way up, and you'll meet a lot of those same people on the way back down."

[russsnyder]

As John Wooden once famously said, "You meet a lot of people on the way up, and you'll meet a lot of those same people on the way back down."

The other thing that Angel Reese did with her constant trash talk and shenanigans (Leaving a crown on Iowa's bench?) was to give as already hyped up opponent reasons to play harder.Perhaps she learned something.

[mdrunning]

The other thing that Angel Reese did with her constant trash talk and shenanigans (Leaving a crown on Iowa's bench?) was to give as already hyped up opponent reasons to play harder.Perhaps she learned something.

All of the extra curriculars don't add up to a hill of beans to me. It makes for good theater, but that's about it. And if you need outside reasons to get yourself ready for the biggest game of the season, well, you're not doing it right. This was Caitlin Clark and Iowa's last chance to reach a Final Four and win a national championship. That's more than enough incentive.

 

I just don't think Reese is all that good, at least not on the offensive end. Monday night was the first time I really saw her play, and as I said in an above post, she strikes me as being very limited offensively. One way to take advantage of her height and length would be to bring her up high and roll her to the basket, but LSU doesn't appear to run that type of offense.

[russsnyder]

All of the extra curriculars don't add up to a hill of beans to me. It makes for good theater, but that's about it. And if you need outside reasons to get yourself ready for the biggest game of the season, well, you're not doing it right. This was Caitlin Clark and Iowa's last chance to reach a Final Four and win a national championship. That's more than enough incentive.

I just don't think Reese is all that good, at least not on the offensive end. Monday night was the first time I really saw her play, and as I said in an above post, she strikes me as being very limited offensively. One way to take advantage of her height and length would be to bring her up high and roll her to the basket, but LSU doesn't appear to run that type of offense.

The other part of that equation is the pressure that behavior brings onto the person that's talking shit. IMO, some of the emotion that Reese displayed during the press conference after the loss was fueled by all of the the BS leading up to the game. It's like Cherokee Parks from Duke said when they beat UNLV over 30 years ago, " They talked trash before the game, We get to talk trash after the game." I respectfully disagree that the garbage talk coupled with last year's loss didn't give Iowa that much more incentive to win.

[mdrunning]

The other part of that equation is the pressure that behavior brings onto the person that's talking shit. IMO, some of the emotion that Reese displayed during the press conference after the loss was fueled by all of the the BS leading up to the game. It's like Cherokee Parks from Duke said when they beat UNLV over 30 years ago, " They talked trash before the game, We get to talk trash after the game." I respectfully disagree that the garbage talk coupled with last year's loss didn't give Iowa that much more incentive to win.

You could see some of the swagger leaving LSU as the game progressed in the second half and the threes were raining down on them. It's not unheard-of for someone to drop that many points in a game, but when they're coming from that distance, there's a cumulative effect of trying to recover from what just happened. It turns the verbal gouging into golden silence.

 

I've got to admit that I'm rather intrigued by the UConn-Iowa matchup in the semis. UConn has been hit hard by injuries this year, so if they get into foul trouble, their options are very limited. Be interesting to see how they defend Clark since UConn doesn't run the ball screen type of offense that Iowa does; they're more of a traditional pass-and-cut offense.

[BSLChrisStoner]

CBS Sports: Final Four Picks

https://www.cbssport...ional-champion/

[BSLChrisStoner]

Purdue up 7, with 7:28 left.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Out to 12, with 5 to go.

[BSLChrisStoner]

This one is over.

Big Ten team advances to the National Championship.

[TwentyThirtyFive]

See if B10 can finally get over the Championship hump. Will have to be better Mon if they want to beat UConn. Assuming UConn is there

[BSLZackKiesel]

Fantastic game so far. Every time it feels like UConn might pull away, Alabama has an answer.

[BSLZackKiesel]

Alabama put up a good fight, but UConn is just too good. The Edey-Clingan matchup should be really fun to watch on Monday.

[CantonJester]

Curious to see if Edey can play all 40 minutes like he did v NC State.

 

What sucks is that Shead got hurt early in the first half v Duke. That team would've pushed Purdue.