I'm not a really big fan of basketball - football and baseball are my games of choice...but I keep an eye on the Tennesse Lady Vols because of their great history. Their coach, Pat Summitt, has won more NCAA games than any coach, male or female, in history. (Although there's much debate as to whether she deserves to have the "or men" phrase in that announcement. Basically because the men's program has been a lot stronger than the woman's program over the last 20 years - hardly surprising...)
I watched a few games last year, and frankly I thought the Vols style of play was boring...they'd walk the ball up the court, throw it to Candace Parker or someone, and everyone would stand around until the seconds ticked down...then someone would make a move...the shot'd go up, miss, be rebounded hopefully by a Vol and put back in.
Whereas the style of...I think it was LSU...memory's going on me..anyway it was a run and gun offense and a lot more fun to watch.
So, this year the Vols have a couple of new guards (last year their point guard, Sade Wiley-Gatewood, decided halfway through the season to transfer to Maryland, where she'll sit until next semester...), leaving them without a true point guard. Anyway, haven't seen them on TV yet but from what I've read on the Summitt message boards the team is very fast and has a very different offense. So that's nice to hear.
Anyway, in one of my visits to Youtube I did a search on Candace Parker and found a couple of videos of her dunking, and one with her and Michelle Snow dunking. (Frankly, I didn't see as many videos as I thought I would.)
Anyway, I decided to start a Lady Vols appreciation website and put those videos on it, and then announce it on the Summitt, and hits to that page have been going through the roof.
Not translating into clicks on my Adsense ads...but I guess we can't have everything.
Anyway, the Vols, who are ranked 4th in the nation by ESPN, play a tough schedule - 13 games against ranked teams. Meanwhile #1 Maryland and #2 North Carolina play a grand total of 5 ranked teams each. That's just ridiculous. They should probably go undefeated considering their cream-puff schedules, but I won't be too impressed with the feat. Meanwhile, if the Vols manage to do it, it will really be an achievement.
I hope they do, because that will generate a great deal of interest in the game. It's always an undefeated season that grabs the interest of the 'casual' fan as opposed to the dedicated fan. (Indeed, that's how I got into it a few years ago.)
And I hope my website, which will be full of info for the first-time fan, will draw 'em like flies...
The Lady Vols - WCBB Standard Bearers
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