Brittany Mitch

[miramar]

I've been a Coach P fan from the start. I wish her well and support the WBB program always.

My post about "what's going on" was prompted by my dilemma as to what we DBR fanatics can possibly do to add encouragement and added support to the women's program, players, coaches, etc.

Obviously I can't attend most games. I've sent positive, supportive emails to Coach P on a regular basis. Is there anything else we can do?

You might be interested in a long article on women's basketball that appeared in the Chronicle Towerview a couple of months back:

http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/m...-3343683.shtml

I think the article is pretty objective and well written. I am sure that everyone would agree that Coach P's first year did not go as well as planned, so the question is where the program goes from here.

I am sure that Duke will give her every chance to show what she can do, one way or another, so I guess we will have to stay tuned.

[GADevilFan]

That is a very interersting article. I would say that last season was really rough; the women were not fun to watch. Of course, the new coach needs to be given time to get her system going and to recruit her type of players.

However, GG really built the program. The powers that be need to make sure that this program retains it's elite status.

Losing another player is not a good sign.

[ohioguy2]

That is a very interersting article. I would say that last season was really rough; the women were not fun to watch. Of course, the new coach needs to be given time to get her system going and to recruit her type of players.

However, GG really built the program. The powers that be need to make sure that this program retains it's elite status.

Losing another player is not a good sign.

I agree--not fun to watch and it looked as if they were not having fun. Losing another player is not a good sign, but neither is it a bad sign. Players come and go from elite programs and from not so elite programs. Recruiting is not an exact science and most if not all highly recruited players feel they can be starters if not stars anywhere.

[Bluedawg]

I agree P should be given time for her system to develop. There's been a lot of criticism over quality of play, players quitting on P and the team, recruiting supposedly falling off. Yes, some of these things can be random (like injuries). But for a lot of people, their gut is telling them that if it was just random, why aren't we seeing some randomly good news coming out of the program?

By no means should we bail on P or the team. By the same token, though, I wouldn't extend her until we're sure it the trend is just random luck or a temporary transitional period to a different system.

by " players quitting on P and the team" do you mean leaving the team or just mailing it in?

[cspan37421]

I meant leaving the team, such as before the end of the year, or before one's full commitment is up. I didn't mean quitting in a game. I'm sure they had frustrations in-game many a time, but I doubt very strongly any of them has ever quit trying during a game. There'd have to be some remarkable evidence. Sorry for being unclear.

As I said, I'd feel a lot more confident if some random good news came out of the WBB program. Like a good player eager to transfer in, or a good recruit landed, or stories of enthusiasm for the team and coach, etc.

[DST Fan]

Rather than insisting this announcement constitutes "handwriting on the wall" and using it as an excuse to get out the torches and pitchforks - chill out and look at the facts associated with this announcement.

- Brittany will complete her undergraduate degree at the end of fall semester;
- Brittany, largely due to serious injuries, has been buried on the depth chart, with little prospect for meaningful playing time in the coming seasons;
- Brittany has two years of eligible playing time remaining;
- Brittany has expressed interest in post-graduate studies.

By leaving the team at this time, Brittany can complete her undergrad degree and has the opportunity to begin (and likely complete) a graduate program while on scholarship at a school where she has the potential to play a significant role on the basketball team. Undergrad and grad degrees without debt, while playing major college basketball - makes sense to me.

Go for it, Brittany - congrats & best of luck!

I agree with GopherBlue's comments. Personally, I would hope we would take some pride in a D-1 athlete who graduates one semester early and moves on to grad school. Best of luck to her.

[DevilDan]

The upcoming season is very important for Duke women's hoops. The article paints a very sobering picture of the '07-'08 year. The new coach was brought in after GG left the program (apparently for a number of reasons), to take the women to the next level. Looking back, there just weren't many bright moments.

I echo the point that the team just didn't look at all comfortable on the floor, nor appear to be having a good time. It looked much more like a GRIND than a game. It was as though they were THINKING their way thru the game, (with hesitation, and fears of screwing up) more than PLAYING the game. Example: Abby Waner, who can be a standout in the WNBA.

'08-'09 is a new year. Some can say that Coach P can't be judged until she has "her own players" (recruits) on the floor -- I'm sitting on the fence on this one. What do you guys think?

[grahamdevil]

If she can put in a up tempo offense and recruit we should be fine.

[Raleighfan]

The upcoming season is very important for Duke women's hoops. The article paints a very sobering picture of the '07-'08 year. The new coach was brought in after GG left the program (apparently for a number of reasons), to take the women to the next level. Looking back, there just weren't many bright moments.

I echo the point that the team just didn't look at all comfortable on the floor, nor appear to be having a good time. It looked much more like a GRIND than a game. It was as though they were THINKING their way thru the game, (with hesitation, and fears of screwing up) more than PLAYING the game. Example: Abby Waner, who can be a standout in the WNBA.

'08-'09 is a new year. Some can say that Coach P can't be judged until she has "her own players" (recruits) on the floor -- I'm sitting on the fence on this one. What do you guys think?

I'm in total agreement with you. The biggest thing that bothered me about McCallie was that she did not deliver on her boasts in her introductory presser---it was a lot of hot air. PR seems to be one of her talents. I can understand Brittany leaving the team and her subsequent plans to transfer; IMO, Emily Waner was another story. If that didn't raise a red flag for you/anyone, then you haven't been following Duke WBB very closely and probably don't care much about the program anyway.

[miramar]

If she can put in a up tempo offense and recruit we should be fine.

I agree, but there was something in the article that really struck me:

“McCallie's coaching philosophy stated that teams who relied heavily on a fast pace throughout the year set themselves up for failure in March, when referees swallowed their whistles and possessions became more valued as the weight of a season hung on every one. Anyone could get up and down the court in the regular season, but teams that could control the ball and establish an inside game had a better chance of advancing in the Tournament-the only time that having a better chance actually mattered, at least by Duke's expectations.”

The article also indicates that (as we know) Duke had trouble “playing against teams that wanted to run up and down the floor and were more adept at enforcing their style-e.g., Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee and Connecticut.”

So the theory is that you don’t want to be a running team because that sets you up for failure in the post-season, but we can see from the teams mentioned above that this notion is highly suspect. In addition, the article states that WBB lost $3 million in GG’s last year, but I am not sure how Duke is going to fill up seats with a Big 10, grind-it-out approach.

Having said that, I wish the team every success and I hope that the 2007-08 season was just a bump in the road.

[bludev03]

The upcoming season is very important for Duke women's hoops. The article paints a very sobering picture of the '07-'08 year. The new coach was brought in after GG left the program (apparently for a number of reasons), to take the women to the next level. Looking back, there just weren't many bright moments.

I echo the point that the team just didn't look at all comfortable on the floor, nor appear to be having a good time. It looked much more like a GRIND than a game. It was as though they were THINKING their way thru the game, (with hesitation, and fears of screwing up) more than PLAYING the game. Example: Abby Waner, who can be a standout in the WNBA.

'08-'09 is a new year. Some can say that Coach P can't be judged until she has "her own players" (recruits) on the floor -- I'm sitting on the fence on this one. What do you guys think?

P can't be judged until she has "her own players" on the floor? She had 8 McDonald's AAs and a WBCA AA on the roster!! She came from MSU, where she had ZERO McD's AAs and WBCA AAs, to Duke that had a combined total of 9. Talk about a SERIOUS upgrade in TALENT! And this was the best she could do??

Women's basketball isn't stocked w/ prime talent like men's basketball. Nowdays, in women's basketball, there's a big gap in talent in the #3 player in the county and the #30. In the men's game, you can rack up players who rank in the 30-60 range and still have a competitive team; however, that won't fly in the women's game. There are only a few true studs out there, and if you want to stay competitive, then you need to get them. Right now, UConn, Tenn, and Rutgers have all the studs! They are soooo stocked up in talent, it's not even funny. LSU, Stanford, Baylor, and UNC have all racked up enough to stay afloat and be competitive. Duke didn't bring any in this year, and don't have any on the radar.

Most importantly, do you think a top recruit wants to play in a boring half-court pound-it-to-the-post grind-it-out style of basketball?! Noooooope! Especially when they can play for other schools, whose coaches have systems that allows their players to take advantage of their skillset and have free offensive reign...

[bludev03]

I'm in total agreement with you. The biggest thing that bothered me about McCallie was that she did not deliver on her boasts in her introductory presser---it was a lot of hot air. PR seems to be one of her talents. I can understand Brittany leaving the team and her subsequent plans to transfer; IMO, Emily Waner was another story. If that didn't raise a red flag for you/anyone, then you haven't been following Duke WBB very closely and probably don't care much about the program anyway.

In Judge Judy's book, "Beauty Fades - Dumb Is Forever", she has a chapter titled: "Denial Is A River In Egypt". Have you ever had a friend who was in an abusive relationship or had a cheating spouse/partner? EVERYBODY in the world sees it and knows it - except him or her. "He only hit me because he was under stress.." , "It was my fault, I made him mad..." "He acts this way because he's protective and loves me..."
Or maybe they know it, but wants to give him or her the benefit of doubt or hopes the can change him or her. "Well, I'll just lose some weight..." , "Maybe if I'd dyed my hair a different color...", "But he's at the office at 2am because he has to work on a project.."

Well, that's what P supports sound like! "Just give her some time..." "Let her get her own recruits..." "We weren't bad, we won 25 games..." "It's not her fault Abby missed wide open shots..."
Denial is a river in Egypt!!!!

[DevilDan]

WOW ... lots of good in-depth points from BluDev3. The quotes from Judge Judy (one of my alltime favorites) are great in the mix, too. I refereed the college game for 10 years, and found at the time that a major percentage of Mens players play for themselves, while Womens players play for Coach. Another general point of view is that women are "more coachable" ... along with that comes the term "more impressionable".

So this season is a big one for the DUKE women. Do the players make the adjustments to the new style more freely? A bigger question may be, does "Coach P" make some adjustments for the good of the program? Both questions need to answered YES, if this program moves forward. It appears that the talent level is there. The moves of E. Waner and B. Mitch (for whatever reasons) are perceived negatives ... Somebody needs to do some damage control, and create some positive PR for this program, and SOON.

[Raleighfan]

DevilDan wrote: "Somebody needs to do some damage control, and create some positive PR for this program, and SOON."

PR you say? No, we've had our fill of PR...it's time, way past time, for some evidence of positive action on the part of the coaching staff toward getting the WBB program back on track.

[DevilDan]

Right Raleighfan, I'm with you ... I'm not looking for anything more on or about "Coach P"; I need some news on the new recruiting class, what the players are doing now to get ready, something that has a positive spin ... until they tip it off in November, there's not much else we can hang our hat on.

[fadero]

It would be nice to get an early committment. It would also be nice to see some evidence that she is actually recruiting.