As we are getting closer and closer to the Finals of the NCAA Men's and Women's tournaments, there have been discussions in recent weeks about the UConn women's team, their dominance, and whether or not it is good for the sport. The Huskies have won 73 straight games (all by double digits), and are two wins away from winning their fourth straight national championship. They currently stand at 36-0 on the season, and they have won by scores of 79-31, 86-40, 107-45, 104-49, and a whole lot of other seemingly almost unfair final scores.
In the NCAA Tournament, the best teams are supposed to be on display. Maybe not in the first few rounds, but once the field is cut down to 16, in both the men's and women's game, we expect tight games. When UConn faced Mississippi State in the Sweet 16 this past week, we saw a record performance. UConn led 32-4 after the first quarter, and at halftime, the score was 61-12. 61-12 in the Sweet 16. Not only was the game already over, but in the eyes of many it wasn't even worth watching. Whether you felt like watching or not is not for me to say, but one thing I can say is that outcomes like that are certainly not bad for the women's game.
The easy thing to say is that dominance is good because it brings attention to the sport. I don't agree with that. What the Huskies are doing is more than simply bringing attention to women's basketball. They are winning games at an unprecedented pace and no matter your gender or theirs, this team deserves national attention for just how good they are. Geno Auriemma is one of the most accomplished coaches in all of sports. The senior class on this team is two wins away from their fourth national championship. Breanna Stewart is making a case for the greatest woman to ever play for the University of Connecticut.
Detractors say that UConn's dominance shows a lack of talent in the women's game. They say that there is not enough talent to go around, and each year there are only a limited number of teams with a legitimate chance to win a national title. While the women's game certainly does not feature as much talent in comparison to the men's game as far as the first ranked team to the 64th ranked team, to disqualify UConn's success because of that is a mistake.
This isn't like professional sports with no salary caps. The biggest teams are not simply in the biggest markets. Building a perennially successful college program does not happen overnight, and what Auriemma has done is the prime example of that. I would guess that just about 99.99% of Americans would not be able to locate Storrs, Connecticut on a map. So why is it then, that Storrs is the number one location for women's college basketball? The answer is simply Geno Auriemma. His players swear by him, and what they do on the court exemplifies just how great of a coach he is.
Years ago, I heard Auriemma answer a question about what he thought the dominance of his program meant for women's basketball, and he gave what I thought was a perfect answer. He said that he had no obligation to the game to try to make the playing field more even. Just because his program was great did not mean all of the other programs were at a disadvantage. In order for the playing field to even out, his program did not need to get worse. The other programs needed to get better.
It is the same as any other line of work. Whether it be real estate, technology, fashion, or anything else, the leaders are in that position for a reason. They innovate. They set the bar higher and higher. They lead while everyone else tries to catch up. The others do not catch up because the leader gets lazy and stops trying to innovate. The followers need to find ways to get better. Whether that means inventing a new kind of telephone or computer, starting a new fashion trend, or formulating a new way to build houses, the leaders have no responsibility to try to make everyone else better.
Watch the UConn team play this weekend. They aren't cheating. They aren't bending the rules. All they are doing is outplaying their opponents, and doing it in overwhelming fashion. The way they pass the ball, the way they shoot the ball, the way they play defense. It isn't some new kind of revolutionary basketball. It is the same basketball that every other team plays. The only difference is that they do it better than everyone else.
Breanna Stewart is standing in the middle of the lane blocking a shot at one end, and then she is knocking down a three pointer at the other end. Moriah Jefferson is leading a fast break and then playing lockdown defense. It is true that UConn almost always has more talented players on the court, but their players are not getting by on just raw ability. They are beating their opponents in every way possible, and it all starts with Auriemma.
His former and current players say that the number one reason his teams have so much success is because of his mentality. And his mentality is that his team deserves to be the best, and they have no reason to apologize for being just that. He works them hard in practice, and is just as tough on them during games. No matter how talented any of his players might be, none of them are immune to his criticism. And what makes his players so good is the fact that they know that. There are countless examples of talented players in any sport who cannot handle criticism. They think they are above the laws of the game, and they take any kind of criticism as an insult to their ability. What has made Auriemma's teams so good is that his rosters never contain players like that. No matter how good Breanna Stewart might be, she swears by Auriemma's coaching abilities, and says she is always willing to listen and get better. It is this sort of relationship between a coach and his players that truly makes a team elite. And Auriemma has done nothing but field elite teams since he has been at UConn.
Just watch a UConn game and you see what makes Auriemma great. His team might be winning by 20 points, but he is still pointing out each and every mistake they are making. And his team is still listening. What even further displays how great Auriemma is happens once the game is out of hand. Despite such lopsided final scores, UConn could never be accused of running up the score. Often times the starters sit out the entire fourth quarter. However, the team still dominates.
There is a common theme in sports that the attitude of the superstars trickles down and represents the attitude of each and every player on their team, and that is exactly what happens with the Huskies. Since the stars of the team are so receptive to criticism, the attitude infiltrates the entire team. Freshman see senior leaders always striving to get better, and that is the example they follow. That is why Auriemma's program has been so good for so long. Freshman classes come in and watch how the leaders of the team conduct themselves, and they have no choice but to do the same thing. They understand that their time will come, but it will only come if they buy into the concepts that Auriemma has used to build such a successful program. And that is why the Huskies do not run up the score despite the fact that they win so many games by such wide margins. Their players are all just coached so well from the top of the roster to the bottom that no matter who is on the floor, Auriemma's team has the advantage.
What Auriemma has done (and former men's coach Jim Calhoun) is really remarkable. They took a small and almost completely unknown school in a town in the middle of nowhere and they have built it into a national power. Sure, if you are one of the best women's basketball players in the country you could go to UCLA or Miami and play in the bright lights and the big cities. But thanks to Auriemma, if you really want to get better at basketball, you will go to school in tiny Storrs, Connecticut. Auriemma started with a program that was little more than a name and an arena and innovated his way to the top of the college basketball world.
Auriemma owes no one any apologies, and if you think that he does, then you don't know what you are talking about. There is only one way for the playing field to be leveled, and that is for the competition to catch up. Until that happens, the UConn women will keep winning titles, and the lights around Storrs will just grow brighter and brighter. And if their streak right now stands at 73 consecutive wins, imagine what could happen when those bulbs get bigger and bigger. Until someone out there steps up and beats the Huskies, Auriemma will not apologize as his team continues to dominate. And if you are one of those people that believes he should apologize, then I have to tell you that you are simply wrong, and I do not apologize for telling you that.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Really tough news last night as A.J. Pollock broke his elbow only days before the regular season gets underway. At first I thought he might miss a month or two, but the way it sounds now, I think the team has to count on being without him for the majority of the season. Injuries happen to everyone though, and I never like to use them as an excuse. However, losing Pollock is a big blow. Opening Day is now less than 48 hours away.
Daily Rangers Update: The Rangers were finished off by the lowly Buffalo Sabres just under an hour ago, and the team now has fallen to fifth in the Eastern Conference with four games to play. The NHL playoffs are almost like a brand new season once they get underway, but the Rangers really have no momentum at all at this point, and I cannot say that I am confident they can make much noise once the postseason begins.
Daily NBA Update: The Warriors suffered their first home loss of the season last night, and at 68-8, they need to finish the season 5-1 to break the single season record with 73 wins. Most of the other title contenders are resting their stars in preparation for the playoffs, and watching the Warriors recently, I have to say that they are looking a bit fatigued, and I am not sure that they will be as fresh as the competition going into the postseason, and this could come back to haunt them down the road. However, I have believed from the beginning of the season that if you have the chance to have what could possibly be the greatest season in the history of the sport, you owe it to yourself to go all out. Golden State is 68-8. If they finish 73-9 and win the title, there is no argument that they will have put together the greatest season ever. Until that is impossible, the Warriors should be playing every game like it is their last.
Daily Giants Update: Not much new here, as we are pretty much just counting down to the draft now that the majority of free agency signings have been completed. The Giants addressed their defensive line with major upgrades, but still need to add more pieces on defense. I would love for the team to be able to draft Myles Jack out of UCLA, but I doubt he will be available at number ten. New mock drafts I have seen have begun to mention as Laquon Treadwell as a possibility for the Giants. I think they just need to go the best player available route as opposed to trying to fill a certain position and maybe reaching for someone unworthy of the tenth overall pick. No matter who they draft, the Giants will need him ready to contribute Week 1.
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