Big 12's Grade?

[DblT81]

The Big 12's Grade: Incomplete.


From the coaches teleconference today:

Question: With the success that the conference has had in non-conference play this year, is there still the big need to get to the final four for this league or has the Big 12 proved itself?

Marsha Sharp: I think we’ve taken some huge steps to prove ourselves and I really feel great about the comparisons so far. I think right now what that translates into for all of us is a chance. I think we’re going to get a lot of teams in and I think we’ll get a lot of teams to host because of what we’ve done in non-conference. Those comparisons are really positive and they’re certainly things we can use in recruiting to talk about playing in the best conference in the country.

If you talk to coaches and people who have been in the sport for a long time, they’ll tell you that a program is defined by what it does in March.

Not very many people will remember conference championships and how many games you won, but they’ll remember trips to the final four and national championships and I think that’s probably true as a conference too. I couldn’t tell you the last 10 years Tennesse or Georgia or Vanderbilt’s records, but I can probably tell you the years that they won national championships and the years that they had a couple teams in the final four.

When it comes right down to it, that’s what will give you that national respect more than anything else.

I just hope those teams with the best chance worry more about the NCAA tournament and less about the Big 12 tournament. San Antonio holds the prize, not Kansas City. Aim high, don't settle.

[dem]

There's no doubt in anyone's mind that the NCAA tournament is the more important target, but . . . I honestly don't see how any team is in a position to put forth less than their very best effort in Kansas City. For one thing, it is likely to have a significant impact on seeding for the NCAA's, and of course seeding will have a big impact on where you end up there. Beyond that, how might a coaching staff ease up for the Big 12 Tournament (assuming they wanted to)? Does that mean they would take more risks by subbing bench players in earlier than they otherwise might? Try a more "high risk/high reward" offensive or defensive style that could lead either to an easy win or a blowout loss? I don't have a sense of how one might play the balancing act.

Bottom line is, it's hard to turn an athlete on and off. When the gun goes off, they need to be going all out. If they don't, it will be that much harder to get it going the next time. So it seems to me, anyway.

[This message has been edited by dem (edited 02-19-2002).]

[swok34]

and then you have the Oklahoma State's who are determined to work their way INTO the tournament......I've heard Sherri Coale asked the question about moving the tip off of the Big XII conference up after XMas rather than a week later........and she said that the coaches have talked about, it's gone around the camps and no one wants to do that. That would be the only way to bump the tourney up a week...
The SEC tourney starts a week from Thursday, so they are off almost 2 weeks compared to a 6 day rest for some of the BIG XII teams.
Moving the conference schedule up would also have to bump the men up because of the tourney's being held in the same place...they surely wouldn't want to split the fans, though I wouldn't mind....
at least getting a room and dinner at those places you hear about wouldn't be out of the question. Though I think a lot of fans from other schools attend both tourney's, not sure that is the case of OU fans.....most women bb fans I know of haven't been able to obtain tickets for the men's Big XII tourney.