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On Women's Basketball

Virginia review

Posted by: Tony Bleill

Friday, December 5, 2008 3:33 AM

If you watched Thursday's debacle on the Big Ten Network, you probably don't want or need me to rehash the ugliness. So I'll try to avoid as much of that as possible. Here's what is rambling through my brain a few hours after Virginia walloped the Illini 63-39:

--If you're a bit distraught at what you witnessed Thursday, I'm here to help. Let's look on the bright side.

The Big Ten doesn't have a team like Virginia. Only Purdue and Ohio State are on the Cavaliers' level, and I'd give UVa the edge against OSU on a neutral court. Maybe against Purdue, too. But it's more than that. There's not a single team in the Big Ten that possesses Virginia's combination of speed, quickness and height. No team plays at such a fast pace, looking to run at every turn. And no team applies as much pressure or plays the passing lanes as well as Virginia. It's a completely different style of play than what anyone in the Big Ten offers.

Unfortunately for Illinois, that style gets ramped up big-time when Illinois faces North Carolina later this month. Fortunately for Illinois, it's the last time they'll see anything like it.

--Illinois had four first-year players on the floor for much of the first half, and with disastrous results. Lacey Simpson drew two fouls in the first four minutes and went to the bench. Per Jolette Law's policy -- her words -- Simpson stayed on the bench for the rest of the half.

Law certainly isn't alone in this tactic. Many women's coaches and men's coaches do the same thing. You get two fouls, you're done for the half -- no matter what the circumstances. I'm not a big fan of that strategy, and Thursday's game was a perfect example why that's the case.

By the time Simpson was permitted to re-enter the game at the start of the second half, Illinois trailed 40-14. The game was over. Of course, no coach will admit that publicly. But no sane human would have given Illinois any chance to come back. The Illini's only chance in that game would have required Simpson being on the floor for most of the first half. Even with two fouls. What good is it to have Simpson on the court when you're down by 26? In my opinion, too many times a coach saves his or her best player for the second half, which puts the team in a bad spot.

You know how baseball players like to talk about those "crucial" games in August and September? Well, they're entirely meaningless if you're 25 games behind in July.

--How good is Monica Wright? The Virginia guard, in my opinion, is putting herself in position to be a first or second team All-American. If the ACC named its Player of the Year tomorrow, the award would go to Wright. She looks like a top-5 WNBA draft pick in 2010. She was a woman among girls on Thursday.

--Have to feel for the folks who are showing up at the Assembly Hall these days. In their last home game, the Illini were crushed by Temple. Then, Virginia came in. And the Illini's next home game is Dec. 22 against Big Ten favorite Purdue, which is capable of applying a similar smackdown. Not a good way to build your attendance.

--I understand Law's objective when she put Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina on the schedule. There's something to be said for challenging your team and facing the best competition. I'm normally solidly in that camp. However ... if there's ever a time when a soft schedule is warranted, it's for a team like Illinois.

Facing Bradley or Eastern Illinois or Wisconsin-Milwaukee is a much more attractive proposition for the Illini these days, and I'm not just referring to a greater chance of winning. The fact is, the freshmen will get as much -- or more -- from taking on Bradley or EIU. Shoot, Bradley and EIU are a stiff challenge for Illinois as it is. But what the freshmen need is a way to build confidence while learning the ropes of big-time college basketball, and they can accomplish that best against non-Top 25 caliber squads. Getting you head beaten in by a top 10 team doesn't accomplish much for a young team. A veteran team needs to be tested in the manner that Illinois is being tested against these ACC teams.

The Illini are deficient in many areas. Against lesser competition, the freshmen might understand which moves and plays and strategies won't work at this level. You can figure that out just as much against Bradley as you can against UNC, without running the risk of a blowout loss.

Once you've established a foundation that's solid, and you have a team that is anchored by talented veterans, be fearless and take on all comers. Find out how good you can be. Until then, it's little more than folly.

--News-Gazette columnist Loren Tate wrote an interesting column in Thursday's editions. Tate outlined the mediocre history of the UI's women's sports programs, including the basketball team, while noting that better things could be ahead. "Illinois needs to do better," Tate writes. And he's right about all of that. But two words were conspicuously absent from the piece -- Ron Guenther.

If Guenther is going to be credited for the success of his men's programs -- as many folks are quick to do -- then it's only fair and consistent that he be saddled with blame for the failures of his women's programs. I've made this point before, and I'll repeat it: The success of women's sports -- both high-profile ones like basketball and low-profile outfits like golf -- are reliant upon an administration that places a degree of importance on them. If your AD is eager to hire the best coaches available, you're likely to have a successful program. (Do you allow an unsuccessful coach to hang on too long without firing him/her? When there's a coaching opening, do you shell out big bucks to go after the best head coach available, or do you take the cheap way out?) If your AD is willing to invest resources in the women's programs, you're likely to be successful. If your AD believes that the experience of any female athlete at the university should be valued equally with any male athlete, then you're likely to have a successful program.

Consistent winning women's programs like Stanford and Texas have a common thread: administrators who believe -- and back up those beliefs with their actions -- that female athletes deserve the same resources and opportunities as their male counterparts.