Doris Burke is starting to bother me a lot,

[Frodo]

which is unfortunate, because I think she used to do a really good job. She seems to have morphed from a commentator who used to do an excellent job of describing the game that was being played in front of her to a commentator who is calling the game that she wants it to be. Maybe that's just pressure from ESPN to try to maintain interest in women's basketball, but it seems like more than that. She did it a lot going into the Louisville-UConn championship game last year...telling us over and over again that this Louisville team is a different team than the one UConn had thrashed earlier in the year, without every noting that UConn was a different team as well. I brushed it off as just trying to hype the game a bit, but she did it again last night...a lot.

Case in point: Several times during the game, especially the latter part of the game after the outcome was decided, Doris said, and I'm paraphrasing here, 'Duke has too much talent to be getting beat this badly by UConn'. I nearly jumped off the couch and yelled 'NO' at the TV. UConn is working with the same core group they've had for the last 2-3 years. Duke has had essentially the same core of players, Williams, Wells, Gray, Liston, Peters, and Jackson for the last 3 years and add Jones for the last 2. In the 3 games that Duke has played against UConn in that timeframe they have essentially been smashed every game. That tells me that they decidedly DO NOT have enough talent and that, in all probability, their team is overrated. The only logical conclusion that seems reasonable here is that Duke's talent level is considerably below UConn's. If that's the case...and I think it is, and I suspect Doris thinks so too...she should be honest about it and say so. Maybe she or her boss at ESPN just think it would be bad for women's basketball if she said, 'If these two teams played 20 times UConn would win 19 of them and 15 would be blowouts.' And maybe they're right, but for pete's sake don't keep telling me they have the talent to beat UConn, but just aren't playing up to their ability...game after game after game after game.

 

[phil sampieri]

which is unfortunate, because I think she used to do a really good job. She seems to have morphed from a commentator who used to do an excellent job of describing the game that was being played in front of her to a commentator who is calling the game that she wants it to be. Maybe that's just pressure from ESPN to try to maintain interest in women's basketball, but it seems like more than that. She did it a lot going into the Louisville-UConn championship game last year...telling us over and over again that this Louisville team is a different team than the one UConn had thrashed earlier in the year, without every noting that UConn was a different team as well. I brushed it off as just trying to hype the game a bit, but she did it again last night...a lot.

Case in point: Several times during the game, especially the latter part of the game after the outcome was decided, Doris said, and I'm paraphrasing here, 'Duke has too much talent to be getting beat this badly by UConn'. I nearly jumped off the couch and yelled 'NO' at the TV. UConn is working with the same core group they've had for the last 2-3 years. Duke has had essentially the same core of players, Williams, Wells, Gray, Liston, Peters, and Jackson for the last 3 years and add Jones for the last 2. In the 3 games that Duke has played against UConn in that timeframe they have essentially been smashed every game. That tells me that they decidedly DO NOT have enough talent and that, in all probability, their team is overrated. The only logical conclusion that seems reasonable here is that Duke's talent level is considerably below UConn's. If that's the case...and I think it is, and I suspect Doris thinks so too...she should be honest about it and say so. Maybe she or her boss at ESPN just think it would be bad for women's basketball if she said, 'If these two teams played 20 times UConn would win 19 of them and 15 would be blowouts.' And maybe they're right, but for pete's sake don't keep telling me they have the talent to beat UConn, but just aren't playing up to their ability...game after game after game after game.

I couldn't disagree more. Maybe she is saying they have the talent such as did Baylor with Griner but the coaches were not able to use that talent properly.This is where Geno and his staff sometimes are underestimated. Having talent alone does not a great team make. Key word TEAM.
I think Doris is honest , forthright and knowledgeable

 

[diggerfoot]

I disagree on several points, but I'll stick to the most pertinent. Duke on paper is the only team in the country with more McDonald's All-Americans than UConn. Before Burke said they had too much talent to be getting beat badly Lawson said exactly the same thing, so she's mainly guilty of copying someone else. The point that Burke, Lawson and particularly Lobo danced around last night was not inferior talent by Duke, but far superior coaching by UConn.

 

[meyers7]

'Duke has too much talent to be getting beat this badly by UConn'.

And maybe they're right, but for pete's sake don't keep telling me they have the talent to beat UConn,

Well as you can see those two statements are different.

And to a degree I would agree with her. I think Duke has a lot of talent. And should not be getting beat that badly based on talent alone. They have 8 McD AAs, 2 college AAs, 2 Naismith/Wade preseason watchlist players. Granted not as much as UCONN, but more talent than a 20-30 point beating they get when they play UCONN.

However, coaching, effort (practices Geno runs), conditioning, self confidence play into it also. And that's where the big gap comes from mostly, I think. You'll notice ND has similar talent to Duke, but they have much closer games (they beat us), because, they work harder, have better coaching, and have a belief. (We'll have to see if it carries over this year though.)

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

While I find Burke annoying at times, this comment wasn't one of them. I actually thought it was one of her more insightful jobs, recently.

I'm sure there is more than a little deja vu all over again in the Duke mindset.

 

[pap49cba]

McCallie is a great recruiter but a vastly over-rated X's & O's coach.

 

[UConnCat]

McCallie is a great recruiter but a vastly over-rated X's & O's coach.

I think her recruiting success is mostly about the Duke brand.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

McCallie is a great recruiter but a vastly over-rated X's & O's coach.

Duke recruits itself.

 

[easttexastrash]

I disagree on several points, but I'll stick to the most pertinent. Duke on paper is the only team in the country with more McDonald's All-Americans than UConn. Before Burke said they had too much talent to be getting beat badly Lawson said exactly the same thing, so she's mainly guilty of copying someone else. The point that Burke, Lawson and particularly Lobo danced around last night was not inferior talent by Duke, but far superior coaching by UConn.

Exactly. One of them said that the Duke players "were not being put in the position" to do better. That leaves one person at fault in that statement.

 

[huskies29]

I think her recruiting success is mostly about the Duke brand.

Absolutely agree

 

[EricLA]

I disagree on several points, but I'll stick to the most pertinent. Duke on paper is the only team in the country with more McDonald's All-Americans than UConn. Before Burke said they had too much talent to be getting beat badly Lawson said exactly the same thing, so she's mainly guilty of copying someone else. The point that Burke, Lawson and particularly Lobo danced around last night was not inferior talent by Duke, but far superior coaching by UConn.

And by extension, the inferior coaching (or preparation) of McCallie. Side note - why does she insist on being called Coach P? Joanne P McCallie? Geno Luigi Auriemma? Coach L? That bugs me more than Doris, who I actually like.

Doris isn't afraid to criticize play by either team that is not good. She has a good eye for the game and instantly sees a mistake or flaw that I miss, and she does it on the spot with no instant replay. She may have a few phrases that people make fun of, but overall, she's honest and forthright, and calls it like she sees it, rarely sugar coating things.

I also noticed early on when the score was close that Joanne was coaching the players ALL THE TIME. She was incredibly intense calling out every minutia of play to the team. Once UCONN went on their first run and got the score up to 20-11, she pretty much squatted down and wasn't nearly as vocal (from what I could see). Seemed to me like she gave up even before her team did.

 

[svetbird]

Exactly. One of them said that the Duke players "were not being put in the position" to do better. That leaves one person at fault in that statement.

I really think she is incredibly overrated. Look she is not Jennifer Rizzotti, she can't pull the little moral victory plan. There is far to much talent on Duke to take the "hey its just one game, we will just try not to get blown out" stance. She did this last night. This is why I love to hate notre dame. Muffet will never accept anything less than a "we can beat these guys attitude." Duke seems beat before the game starts.

 

[Tonyc]

You know I gotta wonder how much better Duke could be with Jennifer Rizzotti coaching them.? Theres a thought. On Coach P. I agree with a lot of the posts. She lacks imo a winning attitude when playing UConn. She doesn't believe she can beat UConn and her players can see that especially if I can. Geno has UConn at a different level then other programs. He built this thing we call UConn Womens BB. No other coach has built anything. Theyre all looking for that one dominate player who can carry them. There is parity in WCBB because there are so many more good players then years ago. However when a mid major beats a big school its all about the coaching ala Marist and the SD Jackrabbits. Both well coached teams with lesser talent. Just something to think about.

 

[Frodo]

Well as you can see those two statements are different.

And to a degree I would agree with her. I think Duke has a lot of talent. And should not be getting beat that badly based on talent alone. They have 8 McD AAs, 2 college AAs, 2 Naismith/Wade preseason watchlist players. Granted not as much as UCONN, but more talent than a 20-30 point beating they get when they play UCONN.

However, coaching, effort (practices Geno runs), conditioning, self confidence play into it also. And that's where the big gap comes from mostly, I think. You'll notice ND has similar talent to Duke, but they have much closer games (they beat us), because, they work harder, have better coaching, and have a belief. (We'll have to see if it carries over this year though.)

Clearly, I don't expect that everyone agrees with me, but just to clear up one point. I think you may have understood the line 'And maybe they're right, but for pete's sake don't keep telling me they have the talent to beat UConn' to be a reference to the statement that 'Duke has too much talent to be getting beat this badly by UConn'. Actually, it was meant to refer to the notion that being a bit more honest about the disparity between the teams might not be in the best interest of women's basketball and ESPN's involvement in broadcasting it. In the lead up to the game if ESPN promoted it by saying 'UConn-Duke, #1 and #2 and it won't be close', ratings wouldn't be too hot.

I'm sticking to my point that Duke doesn't have the team to give UConn a game and haven't had for the last few years and that rather than making excuses for Duke about how they didn't play up to their potential, a more honest analysis from Doris would be that they aren't on the same level at all...and I believe that's her real view but she just can't say it on the air.

 

[Aluminny69]

IMHO, the rest of Duke's schedule looks much more competitive than UConn's. Duke plays at Kentucky, ND twice, and Maryland. Then the ACC Tourney. I'm not complaining about UConn's schedule, it is what it is, but it is in Duke's benefit that they play more competitive games. Let's see what they do with it. The same could be said for Notre Dame. UConn may be really hurt by playing in a weak conference.

Just a random thought.

 

[pvdoggy]

I have watched a few Duke post game pressers after loss and it seems to me that Coach McCallie tends to
throw her team under the bus (they chucked up horrible shots, they don't pass, they don't take the ball to the
basket, they don't play the right defense, they don't have the right frame of mind, etc...) and never takes
responsibility for her coaching, that I do not like. Seems to me like all those things are due to coaching.

I don't know if she is or is not a good coach, but she is not a good coach in lost game presser.

 

[meyers7]

IMHO, the rest of Duke's schedule looks much more competitive than UConn's. Duke plays at Kentucky, ND twice, and Maryland. Then the ACC Tourney. I'm not complaining about UConn's schedule, it is what it is, but it is in Duke's benefit that they play more competitive games. Let's see what they do with it. The same could be said for Notre Dame. UConn may be really hurt by playing in a weak conference.

Just a random thought.

They ain't gonna be hurt by it this year.

 

[pap49cba]

So if players aren't playing up to your expectations HOW ABOUT BENCHING THEM until they get the message?

Who can forget the game (Notre Dame?) at the XL when Geno pulled the entire 1st unit with about 5 minutes to go because he was disgusted with the way they were playing.

 

[meyers7]

Clearly, I don't expect that everyone agrees with me, but just to clear up one point. I think you may have understood the line 'And maybe they're right, but for pete's sake don't keep telling me they have the talent to beat UConn' to be a reference to the statement that 'Duke has too much talent to be getting beat this badly by UConn'. Actually, it was meant to refer to the notion that being a bit more honest about the disparity between the teams might not be in the best interest of women's basketball and ESPN's involvement in broadcasting it. In the lead up to the game if ESPN promoted it by saying 'UConn-Duke, #1 and #2 and it won't be close', ratings wouldn't be too hot.

That makes absolutely no sense with what you wrote earlier.

I'm sticking to my point that Duke doesn't have the team to give UConn a game and haven't had for the last few years and that rather than making excuses for Duke about how they didn't play up to their potential, a more honest analysis from Doris would be that they aren't on the same level at all...and I believe that's her real view but she just can't say it on the air.

Ok, except of course talent wise they should. But I guess we'll just skip over that part.

 

[bschwartz]

DB can be a bit over the top sometimes especially when it comes to KML, Stewie and Jewell LLoyd (sp?). Overall, I thought more good than bad. Although she alluded to it rather than say it, she made a number of good points about Duke's issue being more about attitude than talent. It didn't look to me either that Duke thought it could win. That is a coaching issue as some have stated here. Would be real interesting if someday UConn gets into the ACC then having to face Duke, MD, ND, Louisville etc. on a regular basis. Perhaps familiarity and opportunity would lead to more confidence. That would be some conference tourney. At any rate, Duke isn't going to get over the hump unless they get that killer instinct. The fact that they kept saying it is just a game is one sign that they do not have it yet.

 

[HiDribble]

You know I gotta wonder how much better Duke could be with Jennifer Rizzotti coaching them.?

IMHO There is no evidence Jennifer is a better coach.

 

[Icebear]

IMHO There is no evidence Jennifer is a better coach.

That is hard to judge in college unless she has equivalent talent. Jen has been successful with USA basketball when she has the talent.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

What was Doris Burke supposed to say?

Instead of saying, "Duke has too much talent to be getting beat this badly by UConn" (which is a true statement), should she have said, "Why does Duke continue to get blown out by UConn despite all of these great recruiting classes? At some point, you have to question the head coach because for all of these highly ranked players and truly elite recruits, her top-five teams are getting blown out by 25 points per game, every game, to UConn."

Doris Burke was much more politically correct and savvy in how she worded her comments.

 

[JoePgh]

Thought experiment: Suppose last night (and for this season) Geno and his assistants had coached the Duke roster and Coach P had coached the UConn roster. My bet is that the Duke roster would have beat the UConn roster last night.

 

[Artifact]

I felt the remark by Burke that Steward looks ' Goofy' was a very condescending statement. I will refrain from making a remark in regard's to Burke's appearance!