Pre-Thanksgiving Shootaround: 11/25/09 – Lady Vols Starting Five & a visit with Jim Jabir, Dayton Flyers and Kevin McGuff, Xavier

The podcast is up and this is some of what you’ll hear:

Starting Five: Beth throws Five Questions at Debbie:

1)      What will be your favorite dish on the Thanksgiving table?

2)      What’s your Tennessee All-time Starting five by position?

Point guard: Candace Parker? (Or Kellie Jolly. Or Holly Warlick. Or Kara Lawson. Or Lea Henry.)

Chamique Holdsclaw, Tamika Catchings, Daedra Charles, Bridgette Gordon.(Or Jill Rankin. Or Sheila Frost.)

3) “You told me so:” Mississippi State thrashes Maryland. (And a possible Shootaround Shooter of the year list no longer a darkhorse.)

4) With losses to Harvard and Vermont, what is up at Boston College? Or better: What is up at Vermont? (Yowza Courtnay Pilypaitis!)

5) Speaking of Vermont — name you non-BCS top-10

Xavier
San Diego State
Dayton
Middle Tennessee State
Vermont
TCU
Hartford
Illinois State
Gonzaga
South Dakota State (Beth throws in Marist)

Discussion: Where you find parity, diamonds-in-the-rough and poll voters who do their homework.

Poll question (trivia) : Name the only two-time Wade Trophy winners.

Matt the Stat-guy: Congrats to Gabriela Marginean, who broke Drexel’s career scoring record. Is Villanova’s Shelly Pennefather Philadelphia college scoring record next?

The Men of the A-10 (Calendar?) – Jim Jabir, Dayton Flyers and Kevin McGuff, Xavier

1)  Talk about the Art vs. Science of Scheduling

JJ – We’ve scheduled “up” because of the growth of our young players last year.

KM – We want early challenges to build the program, draw recruits and bring attention to the quality of our Conference.

2)      Xavier’s got one of the best front lines in company (Amber Harris, Ta’Shia Phillips,  April Phillips). Talk about Amber Harris’s health.

3) Ta’Shia Phillips. Perhaps overshadowed last year. Now?

KM: Impact of USA Basketball experience

4) Dayton has all five starters back. Give us a snapshot of your team.

JJ – Defense and balance. Brittany Wilson and Kari Daugherty – impact freshmen.

5) Tracking the Growth of A-10: First season that 7 teams had 20 wins. 5 in WNIT. 3 in NCAA. RPI of 7.  Jim – what are you going to tell the NCAA Selection Committee when you participate in the Mock Selection process?

KM – To get to the NCAA we have to be good on Day 1.

6) What’s it like to play with a target on your back?

Full Court Pressure aka Women’s Basketball Trivia: Who was the last non-BCS #1 NCAA seed?

#1 Seed vs. Conference Ranking Discussion: If PAC 10 is the #6 rated conference and A-10 is #7, should Xavier be in the #1 seed discussions the way Stanford is?

Previewing the Paradise Jam: San Diego State, South Carolina, Notre Dame and Oklahoma on one side, Texas, Mississippi State, Rutgers and Southern Cal on the other.

How good are these teams?
Are pollsters right?
A team might come out 0-3, but with “good” losses.
Beth and Debbie argue who’s the biggest gym rat

Notes from the Cocktail Napkin

• Kudos to Andrea Riley 2000pts Alison Hightower 1000pts
• Virgina vs Tennessee – 11,000 attendees and hotdogs
• Doug Bruno and Doug Bruno Court
• WBCA’s So You Want to be a Coach successes. In the 8^th season: 71% of former student – athletes still in coaching
• Close to $2 million raised for Kay Yow Cancer Fund
• Condolences to Chris Spielman on the loss of his wife, Stefanie

Full Court Pressure Trivia Question Hint: The year was 2000.

Comments? Questions: Shootaround@wbca.org

Don’t forget: The podcast is up.

November 18th – Week One in the Books! A visit with Kim Mulkey, Baylor

The podcast is up and here’s some of what you’ll hear:

Starting Five: Beth Throws Five Questions at Debbie

1. Baylor/Tennessee game: Did you learn more about Tennessee or Baylor? And what in the name of Muffet McGraw and Jim Boeheim was that zone defense?!?
2. What impressed you more, Texas A&M’s scoring or Duke’s lack of defense?
3. How significant is Stanford winning the Chiney Ogwumike sweepstakes? What about other recruiting “gets”?
4. What was the highlight of your trip to the Country Music Awards?
5. What do you think was the biggest news out of week one? Tennessee Zone? LSU’s defense? A&M over Duke? Michigan State getting upset by Dayton?

* Check out the A-10 preview to hear more about Dayton and coach Jim Jabir
* A Shootaround Shoutout to Harvard for upsetting Boston College
* Another Shootaround Shoutout to Vermont for upsetting NC State

Baylor Coach Kim Mulkey Drops in for a Visit

B/D: What did you take away from the TN/Baylor game?

• Composure and youth

B/D: How do you manage your on court youth and the outside expectations of the program?

• Talent v. “Good team”

B/D: Growth and potential of point guard Kelli Griffin?

• Leader v. Scorer

B/D: What’s with the Louisiana Tech connection to the Big 12 South? Impact of Leon Barmore on your sidelines?

• Testament to Sonya Hogg,  F.J. Taylor president, Leon Barmore’s early commitment to the women’s game and the Big 12’s willingness to commit resources.

B/D: What’s with the “Millionaire Coaches” in the Big 12?

• It isn’t just the money, it’s the support of the fans.

B/D: Talk a little big about the management of Griner’s transition to the college game?

• No change in my coaching. Biggest challenge is the media demands on her. She’s living her college life

B/D: Your first book was “Won’t Back Down.” What’ the title of your second book?

• “If People Only Knew…”

Notes from the Cocktail Napkin:

• Coaching Milestones: Coach Debbie Ryan gets 700, Kim Arico Barnes gets 200, Michael Cooper gets #1
• Golf: Michelle Wie gets tournament win #1
• Volleyball: Keep your eyes on Penn State volleyball – 92 wins in a row….and counting
• Player game notes: UConn Kalana Green 1000pts, UConn Tina Charles 1000 rbs. Xavier players: 3 double-doubles in win. Old Miss’s Kayla Hollway earns 3rd triple double in school history. 30pt performances: Rachele Fitz at Marist and Monica Wright at Virginia. Nnemkadi Ogwumike at Stanford – almost 50 in first two games.
• New NCAA Study – fewer college athletes are betting on sports because Beth and the “Don’t Bet on It” PSA? Debbie has a suggestion for a NCAA PSA… oh, dear.
• Debbie is Reading TWO Books: One, Final Four Leadership by David Salter, features the voices of eight women coaches with Final Four experiences including Sherri Coale, Tara VanDerveer, Muffet McGraw, Gail Goestenkors, Sylvia Hatchell, Jody Conradt and Brenda Frese.
• Debbie offers her “Notre-damus Picks:” Michigan St. v Notre Dame, Oklahoma v. TCU, Tennessee v. Virginia
• Pregame Warm ups: What’s with the cones and rubber bands?

Check out the podcast.

Comments? Questions? Send them in! shootaround@wbca.org