For those of you who have met Tara and seen her personality, you know that she is actually a fairly shy person and quite humble. Shockingly so in this era. She has always been willing to admit to mistakes, but I think she also balances the mea culpa confessional desire with the equally important desire to project confidence to potential recruits. If you are thinking about going to play for Stanford, you don't want to see a coach that wrings her hands and publically discusses her failings. That doesn't mean she is unaware of her mistakes, it means that she puts the good of the team over her own publicity. Someone like Kelly Graves is nearly her opposite--he turns many pressers into confessionals. In any case, Tara shares very little information with the press and with fans, preferring to make opponents and media guess about everything--even about things that seem obvious. After having watched her for so many years, I can accurately write out what she is going to say at a post-game presser just by looking at the stat sheet. She could turn it over to Chat GPT and it would be equally revealing in most cases.
For many, this means she is NOT an ideal coach for fans, being not very communicative, charismatic, or willing to reveal her own thought processes that led to failed decisions. However, keeping us fans pleased is not really her job. Winning basketball games is. And you know what? I prefer it this way. She is the most anti-hype coach ever, I think, and the most focused on basketball. Her love for the game is a constant.
We here at the Cardboard have to manufacture our own controversies and our own hype because it won't come from her. What I can emphatically say is that Tara is acutely aware of every limitation and every failure, and if problems don't get fixed it is not because she has not tried. She is never coasting along unawares, or arrogantly ignoring problems, or even being out of touch with "a younger generation of basketball." All that is nonsense. While there may be problems, those are not among them.
When we point out problems and failings with Tara's teams--and there have been many--don't assume that Tara is unaware or unmotivated or unable to fix them. Assume, rather, that Tara may be doing an excellent job within the parameters she has been dealt.
Now, let's see about the parameters with taking a less experienced, smaller team against Indiana tomorrow. I would love to see a bit of Tara's genius on display. I would have to give odds that we will lose, but a win would go a long ways to restoring a little magic and belief around here.
For many, this means she is NOT an ideal coach for fans, being not very communicative, charismatic, or willing to reveal her own thought processes that led to failed decisions. However, keeping us fans pleased is not really her job. Winning basketball games is. And you know what? I prefer it this way. She is the most anti-hype coach ever, I think, and the most focused on basketball. Her love for the game is a constant.
We here at the Cardboard have to manufacture our own controversies and our own hype because it won't come from her. What I can emphatically say is that Tara is acutely aware of every limitation and every failure, and if problems don't get fixed it is not because she has not tried. She is never coasting along unawares, or arrogantly ignoring problems, or even being out of touch with "a younger generation of basketball." All that is nonsense. While there may be problems, those are not among them.
When we point out problems and failings with Tara's teams--and there have been many--don't assume that Tara is unaware or unmotivated or unable to fix them. Assume, rather, that Tara may be doing an excellent job within the parameters she has been dealt.
Now, let's see about the parameters with taking a less experienced, smaller team against Indiana tomorrow. I would love to see a bit of Tara's genius on display. I would have to give odds that we will lose, but a win would go a long ways to restoring a little magic and belief around here.