Mulkey good but when Griner is gone

tycat947 said:
Almost forgot Muffet's comments after Hypocrite U being hit with probation a couple of years ago. I'm sure this victory by her team was extra sweet tonight!

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/story/19799833/2012/10/11/notre-dame-lady-irish-muffet-mcgraw

Lady Irish want to return to national championship game


Posted: Oct 11, 2012 7:07 PM CDT
Updated: Jul 18, 2013 7:11 PM CDT


SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- The only place where Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw is lowering expectations after back-to-back appearances in the national championship game is in how she believes the Fighting Irish will begin the season.

"I think we're going to take some lumps early," she said. "When you have freshmen who are going to be playing a lot of time, which we will have, there are going to be ups and downs."

The Irish lost seniors Devereaux Peters, Natalie Novosel and Brittany Mallory from a team that lost 80-61 to Baylor in the title game a year after letting a late lead slip away in a six-point loss to Texas A&M in the championship game. Not many outside of South Bend are expecting the Irish to make a third straight championship game appearance.

But McGraw, entering her 26th season as Notre Dame coach, believes she has the talent to make another deep run in the NCAA tournament.

"We don't want to lower our expectations. We just want to rise to the challenge," McGraw said.

The Irish are led by first-team All-America guard Skylar Diggins, whom McGraw said could be tested at times as she adjust playing with younger players.

"Because she's going to be the veteran leader among a lot of really young leaders that haven't really needed to do it before. So that's going to be another challenge for her, to manage her frustration this year," she said.

Diggins won't have to do it all on her, though. The Irish also return starting guard Kayla McBride and forward Natalie Achonwa, who was the sixth player last season. The key is finding the right mix of players to fill in around them, McGraw said.

"I think we have a lot of possibilities. There are a lot of people who are going to emerge. And we're waiting for them to separate themselves," she said.

The Irish will do it under some difficult circumstances, opening the season against Ohio State and playing defending national champion Baylor at home on Dec. 5. McGraw was asked Tuesday whether her team has gotten over the loss to Baylor in the championship game.

"No, we have not, and I think for a lot of reasons -- not the least of which is what happened after and what came out after. It really made it harder to swallow," she said.

The NCAA put Baylor on three years of probation Wednesday after an investigation turned up hundreds of impermissible telephone calls and text messages sent to prep recruits by coaches and assistants on the men's and women's basketball teams.

But the Irish are looking ahead now and like McGraw, Diggins isn't lowering her expectations.

"It's the same expectation every year. It hasn't changed. I expect us to perform at a high level," she said. "I expect us to compete with the best of the best. And in the end, I expect us to be in the position that we were last year, with hopefully a different outcome."
Click to expand...
Are you telling me that Muffet doesn't like losing to a team that cheated to get there?

Can you tell me who doesn't mind losing to a team like that?
 
OK Notre Dame, can you PLEASE get over your love affair of the east coast and join the Big 12 in all sports already?

We get to beat you annually in football and you get to beat Baylor annually (now that the player that led Baylor to four-straight postseason victories over ND is gone). Win-win.
 
badger said:
OK Notre Dame, can you PLEASE get over your love affair of the east coast and join the Big 12 in all sports already?
Click to expand...

Didn't Notre Dame join the ACC in all sports except for football? But they did agreed to play at least 5 ACC football teams each season. For some reason I have that in my mind, but I don't know what year the begin play there.
 
Better solution. Let's get away from Texas and join the ACC before Texas turns the Big Twelve into the SWC.
 
tycat947 said:
The question is, how many coaches could win more than 2 (most possible) NCs with Griner. I'm thinking there are quite a few.
Click to expand...

They would have won last year if the refs didn't hose them against Louisville.
 
OKUman said:
They would have won last year if the refs didn't hose them against Louisville.
Click to expand...

I don't remember the hosing but I do remember the jacket ripping. What had been seen cannot be unseen :eek:
 
Griner probably wasn't enough. But, Griner and Sims together should have been invincible. By herself, Sims gave ND all they wanted for 33 minutes.
 
sybarite said:
Griner probably wasn't enough. But, Griner and Sims together should have been invincible. By herself, Sims gave ND all they wanted for 33 minutes.
Click to expand...

Exactly! And according to the recruiting rankings the rest of the team wasn't chopped liver.
 
tycat947 said:
Here is Skeletor and Hypocrite U's post game conference after losing to ND. Seems to me she's taking subtle jabs at Griner by talking about how great this group of girls are and she's got national championships and she doesn't need anymore.

http://www.ncaa.com/video/basketball-women/2014-03-31/wbk-baylor-elite-eight-postgame-conference

Note: Sound quality is not good but gets better when Skeletor is by herself.
Click to expand...

thx for posting. will have to check that out, but bet it isn't as good as last year's where she was dying to be fined for ref complaints. :)

Obligatory shamelessness: Relive the Baylor loss to Notre Dame through many hilarious photos and posts from BF.com by clicking here. Unless SF.com drags me back kicking and screaming, that will be the final meltdown post of this basketball season

Edit: video highlites from postgame bailure

Question from media: Odyssey you've played Connecticut, you've now played Notre Dame, who wins if they play each other in the finals?
(Kim says something inaudible to Odyssey)
Odyssey: (quietly) No comment.

(awkward silence)

Much later... Kim points at something on a paper with her middle finger...
Mulkey: I don't know who does the stat sheet but it's not right. Odyssey didn't play 40 minutes

Much later...
Reporter: Do you think the officiating wasn't to your favor tonight and had it been on a neutral court would it have been different?
Mulkey: (small giggle) Next question.
 
Last edited:
badger said:
thx for posting. will have to check that out, but bet it isn't as good as last year's where she was dying to be fined for ref complaints. :)

Obligatory shamelessness: Relive the Baylor loss to Notre Dame through many hilarious photos and posts from BF.com by clicking here. Unless SF.com drags me back kicking and screaming, that will be the final meltdown post of this basketball season

Edit: video highlites from postgame bailure

Question from media: Odyssey you've played Connecticut, you've now played Notre Dame, who wins if they play each other in the finals?
(Kim says something inaudible to Odyssey)
Odyssey: (quietly) No comment.

(awkward silence)

Much later... Kim points at something on a paper with her middle finger...
Mulkey: I don't know who does the stat sheet but it's not right. Odyssey didn't play 40 minutes

Much later...
Reporter: Do you think the officiating wasn't to your favor tonight and had it been on a neutral court would it have been different?
Mulkey: (small giggle) Next question.
Click to expand...

Skeletor ALWAYS takes such great pictures!!! :ez-roll::ez-roll::ez-roll:
 
tycat947 said:
Skeletor ALWAYS takes such great pictures!!! :ez-roll::ez-roll::ez-roll:
Click to expand...


Only if you like horror scenes!

I feel sort of guilty about hating anyone, but Skeletor has more than earned it.

And, I pretty much don't care less if BU may have gotten shafted last year in OKC against Louisville. They get all of the calls in the Big 12, and their coach and players' behavior in the aftermath was downright despicable.
 
NMSooner'80 said:
I pretty much don't care less if BU may have gotten shafted last year in OKC against Louisville
Click to expand...

Yeah, I don't think there will even be a coaching tantrum in womens basketball like there was with Skeletor and her jacket that night. And where did it all go down?

O-K-C! O-K-C! :D

(I am from Tulsa but can appreciate epic moments that happen elsewhere in Oklahoma... like when McAlester slashed the Westboro tires, heh)
 
OKUman said:
They would have won last year if the refs didn't hose them against Louisville.
Click to expand...

Agree. Don't like some of the sideline antics, but she can recruit and she can coach. They got hosed by the refs in that game last year.
 
tycat947 said:
Skeletor ALWAYS takes such great pictures!!! :ez-roll::ez-roll::ez-roll:
Click to expand...


Destroys camera lenses is more like it. It boggles the mind to think that even some alleged OU fans think she's attractive. :facepalm
 
NMSooner'80 said:
Destroys camera lenses is more like it. It boggles the mind to think that even some alleged OU fans think she's attractive. :facepalm
Click to expand...
There isn't enough vodka in the world to even make her look halfway decent
 
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