Muffet speech at Sport and Society in America conference

[UConnCat]

Muffet delivered the keynote address earlier this week. Here's the link to the video and her speech starts at the 13:00 mark: http://new.livestream.com/SBEN/SportandSociety

I enjoyed the speech and especially the Q&A after the speech in which Muffet touches on several interesting topics. Her remarks were thoughtful, interesting and funny. She gives insights in to her approach to coaching, what she looks for in recruits, etc. She and Geno have a lot in common. Yes, UConn did come up a few times both explicitly and implicitly. No headlines made, but she certainly implied that WCBB broadcasters favor UConn and UConn players. When asked about recruiting, she said ND was targeting 6 juniors, signed 2 (Mabrey and Patberg) "we've got a couple left" (Collier and KLS now gone) and "we're probably going to take 2 or 3." The couple left are likely Durr and Ogunbowale. She takes a swipe or two at ND's male hierarchy.

 

[pap49cba]

Thanks for the link Cat. I do think Muffet has consciously molded her program after Geno's.... Something more coaches should be doing.

But having said that, while I respect the woman (and coach), I still don't like her, if that makes any sense. I will never forgive her for her and the team's behavior at the FF this year. The shoulder 'chip' seems to be getting bigger and bigger. Now it's the media....

 

[UConnCat]

Thanks for the link Cat. I do think Muffet has consciously molded her program after Geno's.... Something more coaches should be doing.

But having said that, while I respect the woman (and coach), I still don't like her, if that makes any sense. I will never forgive her for her and the team's behavior at the FF this year. The shoulder 'chip' seems to be getting bigger and bigger. Now it's the media....

Her gripe with the media is more than a little ironic coming from someone who coaches at a school whose football team has its own network deal. At least UConn backs it up by winning championships.

 

[pap49cba]

The other comment I chuckled over was "If you want to be good, go somewhere else. If you want to be great come to Notre Dame".

Okay, let's add up all of the "great" players at ND.

Diggins
McBride
Riley??
Loyd (is/or will be)
Achonwa (stretch but maybe)
Poulen?

And? Any others?

 

[UCONNfan1]

The other comment I chuckled over was "If you want to be good, go somewhere else. If you want to be great come to Notre Dame".

Okay, let's add up all of the "great" players at ND.

Diggins
McBride
Riley??
Loyd (is/or will be)
Achonwa (stretch but maybe)
Poulen?

And? Any others?

Totally fair assessment. But I do think ND is distancing itself from other WCBB teams not named UCONN. I think Stanford's time even at the top of the Pac 10 is done (never mind at the top of WCBB). L'ville had a nice run but... Baylor had 2 NC's, but Mulkey's recruiting seems to have fallen off a ledge. Duke continues to recruit well, but can't get out of its' own way in big games. Maryland? Have they landed any top 10 kids the past few years? UNC? Losing DD sets them back to square 1 (as far as being an uber-elite team). Tennessee? Get past the elite someday and then we'll talk.

 

[MilfordHusky]

In my view, ND, particularly football, gets treated better by the media than UConn or anyone else. Based on glory from a couple of generations ago.

 

[Wbbfan1]

As a UConn fan, I found it humorous that she wouldn't say UConn during the Q&A.

 

[Jim]

The other comment I chuckled over was "If you want to be good, go somewhere else. If you want to be great come to Notre Dame".

I see nothing wrong with that comment. Over the years Muffet has accumulated a fine collection of wanna be greats. A few actually turned out to be pretty good. Not as many as those that wanted to be great, but who's counting...

 

[pap49cba]

I see nothing wrong with that comment. Over the years Muffet has accumulated a fine collection of wanna be greats. A few actually turned out to be pretty good. Not as many as those that wanted to be great, but who's counting...

I hear you but there's a difference between wanna be greats and greats.

 

[intlzncster]

Her gripe with the media is more than a little ironic coming from someone who coaches at a school whose football team has its own network deal. At least UConn backs it up by winning championships.

And you could take that so much further if you wanted to.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

In my view, ND, particularly football, gets treated better by the media than UConn or anyone else. Based on glory from a couple of generations ago.

I don't think ND football - in relatively recent history - is well treated at all. Many of the folks I listen to in the media consider them over-hyped and of "historical" interest. In spite of the success a couple of years ago, most don't think ND football is truly relevant.

What they have is a specific media in their pocket - and too much respect from other football programs who bend over backwards to get a piece of the ND pie.

 

[intlzncster]

What they have is a specific media in their pocket - and too much respect from other football programs who bend over backwards to get a piece of the ND pie.

Those programs don't give a hoot about ND itself. What they care about are those sweet revenue dollars that playing ND affords.

 

[winlots]

Her gripe with the media is more than a little ironic coming from someone who coaches at a school whose football team has its own network deal. At least UConn backs it up by winning championships.

UCCAT: yup, their own network deal. And, having been to the Golden Dome for some football, I'd say they have an ancient history of having their own refs as well......powerful stuff, especially in close games! ( I say that as a not-Catholic who used to love to listen to and ROOT FOR the Irish on radio vs USC et al back in the days of WWII; and I still follow their football to this day, with my parenthetical point being that I don't bring an anti-ND bias to the discussion.)

 

[Orangutan]

The other comment I chuckled over was "If you want to be good, go somewhere else. If you want to be great come to Notre Dame".

Okay, let's add up all of the "great" players at ND.

Diggins
McBride
Riley??
Loyd (is/or will be)
Achonwa (stretch but maybe)
Poulen?

And? Any others?

Dev Peters. ND *is* only the second school to produce WNBA lottery (top-4) picks in three consecutive seasons. (Peters, Diggins, McBride). I bet you can guess the first.

Interesting to hear the comments about recruiting. Patberg and Mabrey already put ND at 13 scholarships for '15. Sounds like she's only going up to 14 for someone special.

 

[Bigpetunia]

Like a lot of others here, I hate Notre Dame. My hatred stems not really from their women's basketball program, which I admire, though it still falls under the broad umbrella of disdain I have for the institution. It is rooted in their football tradition, and in the eagerness of the media to anoint them instant champions or, at the very least, Top Twenty-five contenders, irrespective of their usually undeserving record against mediocre competition. Having said that, it's hard for me not to admire Muffett, and the program she has built there. I wish more coaches in WCBB could do as well, which would be very good for a game now threatened (in terms of national fan interest) by our undisputed dominance. I have to scratch my head over a lot of the negative comments aimed at her..."I can never forgive her for....." etc. She's clearly a great recruiter and great coach, probably second only to Geno in those respects, and, while I understand the rivalry thing, we're all looking for excuses to throw barbs at her despite her undeniable skills.

 

[tower1]

Muffet delivered the keynote address earlier this week. Here's the link to the video and her speech starts at the 13:00 mark: http://new.livestream.com/SBEN/SportandSociety

I enjoyed the speech and especially the Q&A after the speech in which Muffet touches on several interesting topics. Her remarks were thoughtful, interesting and funny. She gives insights in to her approach to coaching, what she looks for in recruits, etc. She and Geno have a lot in common. Yes, UConn did come up a few times both explicitly and implicitly. No headlines made, but she certainly implied that WCBB broadcasters favor UConn and UConn players. When asked about recruiting, she said ND was targeting 6 juniors, signed 2 (Mabrey and Patberg) "we've got a couple left" (Collier and KLS now gone) and "we're probably going to take 2 or 3." The couple left are likely Durr and Ogunbowale. She takes a swipe or two at ND's male hierarchy.

OMG. You can tell how much she HATES Uconn and Geno.

 

[xHunt3r]

The other comment I chuckled over was "If you want to be good, go somewhere else. If you want to be great come to Notre Dame".

Okay, let's add up all of the "great" players at ND.

Diggins
McBride
Riley??
Loyd (is/or will be)
Achonwa (stretch but maybe)
Poulen?

And? Any others?

Depends on what the criteria for being a "great" player is... to me to be considered great you gotta be the best of the best. I think the criteria should be somewhere alone the lines of being regarded as the best player in the country and leading your team to a national championship. Rebecca, Jen, Sue, Diana, Tina, Maya, Breanna... national player of year and lead the team to a championship. The only player that fits for ND is Ruth Riley. Skylar scored a lot points, got a LOT of press, won a lot of games, beat UConn a bunch of times... but never closed the deal and won a championship. Ya got close the deal to be considered great... to me.

 

[Bestiarius]

OMG. You can tell how much she HATES Uconn and Geno.

But she'd be the first to accept Geno's invitation to go out to the airport with him to criticize landings.

 

[meyers7]

Dev Peters. ND *is* only the second school to produce WNBA lottery (top-4) picks in three consecutive seasons. (Peters, Diggins, McBride). I bet you can guess the first.

Interesting to hear the comments about recruiting. Patberg and Mabrey already put ND at 13 scholarships for '15. Sounds like she's only going up to 14 for someone special.

I only have 12??? Who am I missing?
Loyd, Mi Mabrey, Huffman
Reimer, Allen, Nelson, Thompson
Turner, Westbeld, Johnson
Ma Mabry, Patberg

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

Sports should always have ill "natured" rivalries...isn't that part of the inherent charm? For me, it beats the heck out of mealy mouthed solipsistic driven fraudulent pettifogging lip service.

Meanwhile, MODSQUADERS, when is lurker day...I need to know this, badly it seems.

 

[meyers7]

Meanwhile, MODSQUADERS, when is lurker day...I need to know this, badly it seems.

Yea, when is Lurker Day???

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

 

[Sonny44]

The other comment I chuckled over was "If you want to be good, go somewhere else. If you want to be great come to Notre Dame".

Okay, let's add up all of the "great" players at ND.

Diggins
McBride
Riley??
Loyd (is/or will be)
Achonwa (stretch but maybe)
Poulen?

And? Any others?

Depends on how you measure "great". Are you including flops? Then you'd have to add Novosel and others and future great Mabrey.

 

[phil sampieri]

Like a lot of others here, I hate Notre Dame. My hatred stems not really from their women's basketball program, which I admire, though it still falls under the broad umbrella of disdain I have for the institution. It is rooted in their football tradition, and in the eagerness of the media to anoint them instant champions or, at the very least, Top Twenty-five contenders, irrespective of their usually undeserving record against mediocre competition. Having said that, it's hard for me not to admire Muffett, and the program she has built there. I wish more coaches in WCBB could do as well, which would be very good for a game now threatened (in terms of national fan interest) by our undisputed dominance. I have to scratch my head over a lot of the negative comments aimed at her..."I can never forgive her for....." etc. She's clearly a great recruiter and great coach, probably second only to Geno in those respects, and, while I understand the rivalry thing, we're all looking for excuses to throw barbs at her despite her undeniable skills.

I disagree with you regarding why the barbs. I don't see anyone questioning her coaching ability. I resent her
actions prior to the final game i.e. the game lost the only classy coach, Tenn. fans will rout for us
( how did that work out for you )?Fibbing re UC not wanting to play them etBabysheepil this year I actually admired how she conducted herself, no more. Great coach, yes good person, no !!

 

[Orangutan]

I only have 12??? Who am I missing?
Loyd, Mi Mabrey, Huffman
Reimer, Allen, Nelson, Thompson
Turner, Westbeld, Johnson
Ma Mabry, Patberg

Cable has an extra year of eligibility. Missed her freshman season with stress fractures in her feet.