Having watched the pressers, read some post-game reports, and reflected on my impressions of the game, I'm at a loss for where to start…
Take away the extracurricular lack of class and sportsmanship displayed during and after the Women's Championship game yesterday, and there was lots to like about basketball game that produced close to two hundred points and many sensational plays. The problem is that you can’t separate the sport from the sportsman or sportswoman.
Caitlin Clark may have set the stage with what has been her signature all year — gesturing to the crowd to applaud her, her confident or arrogant (perception depends on whether she is your player or your opponent) stride on the court, noticeably playing off of an opponent she is guarding. This played well in Iowa, but not in Dallas. She became a target for LSU in their game preparation and spilled out on the court after the game was over.
Given their pregame statements directed at Clark, Angel Reese and company came in spoiling for a fight. Very early in the game there was a very aggressive struggle for the ball involving Iowa's Czinano, who extended the skirmish beyond the play. It was called a jump ball, but it seemed to set the stage for the refs to inject themselves into the ballgame to ensure that it didn’t get out of hand. Thus the trips to the monitor during the game to make sure that flagrant fouls hadn’t been committed and a record number of fouls called during the game.
Angel (not to be mistaken for the biblical version) Reese admits that her temperament and play is "ghetto" and it probably gave rise to her disagreements with her former coach Brenda Frese. Reese and Ashley Owusu left Maryland to join other teams. Owusu's attitude at Virginia Tech got her sidelined and it was no coincidence that after VT's loss in the tournament (with Owusu on the bench) that Reese twittered, "Free my Dawg!" — look to see Owusu joining LSU via the portal this spring. It's all part of the low-class behavior of immature kids vaulted onto news services because they can play basketball.
Still, contrasting Clark with Reese, cannot be done without calling into play the double standard that these kids find themselves embroiled. It’s part of a class struggle, one that is beyond the comprehension of the people involved.
That’s why these kids have coaches. Lisa Bluder is about as professional as a coach can be. In my limited observations of her, I have great respect for her as a person and as a coach. I have no idea if she made any attempt to quell Clark's arrogance. On the other hand, Kim Mulkey is the epitome of arrogance. She plays on her kids to be victims in order to get them to project their grievances onto others, and on to society. She inserts herself into her players lives as their savior and fellow underdog. And, somehow she gets away with murder. She storms the court continually and she even takes residence on the court to direct her team and the referees to do her bidding. I have no idea how she gets away with this or her constant harangues.
Of course, the refereeing had its problems. Ignoring Mulkey's swat at a referee and not calling a "T" on her, was one of many omissions. Calling push-off fouls on Clark that she got away with all year infuriated others (personally, I was glad they finally caught up with her on that infraction). But the seemingly "tech" on Clark for delay of game seemed like a terrible call (although the team had been given a warning for a similar infraction, and that always warrants a technical foul). It just added up in people’s mind that the game was called poorly.
So, while there might be much to discuss about a high-scoring, athletic event, we are derailed into post-game analysis of bad behavior and bad sportsmanship.
It’s a shame.
Take away the extracurricular lack of class and sportsmanship displayed during and after the Women's Championship game yesterday, and there was lots to like about basketball game that produced close to two hundred points and many sensational plays. The problem is that you can’t separate the sport from the sportsman or sportswoman.
Caitlin Clark may have set the stage with what has been her signature all year — gesturing to the crowd to applaud her, her confident or arrogant (perception depends on whether she is your player or your opponent) stride on the court, noticeably playing off of an opponent she is guarding. This played well in Iowa, but not in Dallas. She became a target for LSU in their game preparation and spilled out on the court after the game was over.
Given their pregame statements directed at Clark, Angel Reese and company came in spoiling for a fight. Very early in the game there was a very aggressive struggle for the ball involving Iowa's Czinano, who extended the skirmish beyond the play. It was called a jump ball, but it seemed to set the stage for the refs to inject themselves into the ballgame to ensure that it didn’t get out of hand. Thus the trips to the monitor during the game to make sure that flagrant fouls hadn’t been committed and a record number of fouls called during the game.
Angel (not to be mistaken for the biblical version) Reese admits that her temperament and play is "ghetto" and it probably gave rise to her disagreements with her former coach Brenda Frese. Reese and Ashley Owusu left Maryland to join other teams. Owusu's attitude at Virginia Tech got her sidelined and it was no coincidence that after VT's loss in the tournament (with Owusu on the bench) that Reese twittered, "Free my Dawg!" — look to see Owusu joining LSU via the portal this spring. It's all part of the low-class behavior of immature kids vaulted onto news services because they can play basketball.
Still, contrasting Clark with Reese, cannot be done without calling into play the double standard that these kids find themselves embroiled. It’s part of a class struggle, one that is beyond the comprehension of the people involved.
That’s why these kids have coaches. Lisa Bluder is about as professional as a coach can be. In my limited observations of her, I have great respect for her as a person and as a coach. I have no idea if she made any attempt to quell Clark's arrogance. On the other hand, Kim Mulkey is the epitome of arrogance. She plays on her kids to be victims in order to get them to project their grievances onto others, and on to society. She inserts herself into her players lives as their savior and fellow underdog. And, somehow she gets away with murder. She storms the court continually and she even takes residence on the court to direct her team and the referees to do her bidding. I have no idea how she gets away with this or her constant harangues.
Of course, the refereeing had its problems. Ignoring Mulkey's swat at a referee and not calling a "T" on her, was one of many omissions. Calling push-off fouls on Clark that she got away with all year infuriated others (personally, I was glad they finally caught up with her on that infraction). But the seemingly "tech" on Clark for delay of game seemed like a terrible call (although the team had been given a warning for a similar infraction, and that always warrants a technical foul). It just added up in people’s mind that the game was called poorly.
So, while there might be much to discuss about a high-scoring, athletic event, we are derailed into post-game analysis of bad behavior and bad sportsmanship.
It’s a shame.