I watched the Twister Sisters go down to BU ...

[surly]

Can someone explain why there is such disparity in WBB both in-conference and nationally? Is it just that there are not enough talent girls in high school, that has to be it? I mean even Texas is fading. K-State's working at it, but gosh. Ku hasn't been good for decades.

ISU played their collective butts off, but for me, it seemed the game outcome was never in question. BU has two trees in the middle that the Cyclones just couldn't get around.

 

[Walden4Prez]

If more 3 pointers go in, we likely win that game. Their size wore us out in the end.

 

[madguy30]

If more 3 pointers go in, we likely win that game. Their size wore us out in the end.

That's the thing though...ISU didn't have any sort of answer to Baylor simply going inside.

There's definitely more disparity but it seems like the gaps are closing a bit from what little I've seen of women's bball over the years.

 

[Walden4Prez]

That's the thing though...ISU didn't have any sort of answer to Baylor simply going inside.

There's definitely more disparity but it seems like the gaps are closing a bit from what little I've seen of women's bball over the years.

Nobody in the country has an answer to Baylor going inside, but I would say we did one hell of a job. Brown and Cox both struggled for most of the game. The sisters definitely got under their skin.

Both teams had excellent game plans and executed them well, but our 3s didn't fall.

 

[HFCS]

That's the thing though...ISU didn't have any sort of answer to Baylor simply going inside.

There's definitely more disparity but it seems like the gaps are closing a bit from what little I've seen of women's bball over the years.

To me basketball is NBA. I watch men's college basketball only because of tradition and connection to ISU as an an alumni. Also the 68 team spectacle is fun, but really the beautiful game to watch is the NBA and especially the NBA playoffs, a big part of that is the shooting is great.

I listened to Blum on the radio yesterday and when he states something like "Baylor does not really take 3 point shots"...as someone who doesn't follow women's hoops that much it's crazy to me the #1 ranked team doesn't attempt 3s. I know ISU's best women's teams have in the past and they do now. I know the teams that have the best players on planet Earth (NBA) shoot a lot of 3s. It speaks to a rather crazy imbalance the women's college game has.

 

[Remo Gaggi]

The best equalizer for beating a team like that is hitting some threes. And those weren't dropping last night. That, plus a ton of turnovers from trying to drive into the lane and getting stopped by some of the biggest women I've ever seen.

On a somewhat unrelated topic, how smoking hot is Stacey Dales?

 

[cyhiphopp]

I think the complete lack of parity in Womens basketball is due to the lack of depth in talent. The best players go to a handful of programs and there's not a lot for the second tier teams like ISU to choose from.
Baylor and UCONN have been on the top for a long time and they get their pick of the best players. They've earned it with the quality of their programs though.

There are only so many 6'7 players in the country, so they can dominate everyone they play.

ISU has been a consistently solid program since Bill got it going here. They've had a few dominant players, but mostly he recruits to his style of play that is well established.

It doesn't help any that teams like Baylor and UCONN are assumed to be better and likely get more calls than they deserve due to dominant talent. Like last night when Brown was upset that she wasn't getting every call that she's used to getting and got away with multiple travels.

 

[JM4CY]

The best equalizer for beating a team like that is hitting some threes. And those weren't dropping last night. That, plus a ton of turnovers from trying to drive into the lane and getting stopped by some of the biggest women I've ever seen.

On a somewhat unrelated topic, how smoking hot is Stacey Dales?

She does have a really nice smile.

 

[surly]

I've also wondered if not having early departures is part of it. Girls go to BU and play there four years until mature women. I wonder if the men's game would be less wide open if not for talented youngsters leaving early or never stepping foot in college gym? The women's game is a four-year deal.

 

[mdk2isu]

I've also wondered if not having early departures is part of it. Girls go to BU and play there four years until mature women. I wonder if the men's game would be less wide open if not for talented youngsters leaving early or never stepping foot in college gym? The women's game is a four-year deal.

Actually, I think the opposite would happen. More parity would be the result. You wouldn't have 4 and 5 top 20 guys going to the same 2 or 3 programs every year if all the players stayed 4 years because they wouldn't have 4 or 5 openings every year. You would see more top recruits spread out to more teams.

 

[80sClone]

I always thought the half court game was fun to watch back in the day.

 

[alarson]

I've also wondered if not having early departures is part of it. Girls go to BU and play there four years until mature women. I wonder if the men's game would be less wide open if not for talented youngsters leaving early or never stepping foot in college gym? The women's game is a four-year deal.

The biggest factor is probably that the higher scholarship limit condenses the talent into fewer programs.

Academics is likely a larger concern for most recruits as well. Even fewer than in the men's game will go pro, so that both gives some schools an enduring advantage (Stanford for example) as well as probably reduces the number that transfer as well.

 

[knowlesjam]

Good comments all. You also have a good percentage of talented, athletic bigs playing volleyball

 

[tim_redd]

Surprised to see the volleyball aspect not mentioned yet. Seems like tall girls choose between basketball and volleyball, decreasing the talent pool.

 

[tim_redd]

Good comments all. You also have a good percentage of talented, athletic bigs playing volleyball

Beat me by seconds....

 

[Buster28]

I listened to Blum on the radio yesterday and when he states something like "Baylor does not really take 3 point shots"...as someone who doesn't follow women's hoops that much it's crazy to me the #1 ranked team doesn't attempt 3s. I know ISU's best women's teams have in the past and they do now. I know the teams that have the best players on planet Earth (NBA) shoot a lot of 3s. It speaks to a rather crazy imbalance the women's college game has.

When you have 6'4" and 6'7" in the 4 and 5 spots, you don't really need to shoot a lot of 3s. Baylor never really has relied upon it as a large part of their offense since Mulkey has been there. If you could have your way in the paint with high percentage shots a majority of the time vs. anything from long-range, you'd probably do that too. Although, personally, I'd still want the three point shooters on my team, regardless. It's what made the Welle/Frese/Taylor years so special - pick your poison.

 

[SolarGarlic]

The best equalizer for beating a team like that is hitting some threes. And those weren't dropping last night. That, plus a ton of turnovers from trying to drive into the lane and getting stopped by some of the biggest women I've ever seen.

On a somewhat unrelated topic, how smoking hot is Stacey Dales?

She doesn't like your type

 

[mred]

Even fewer than in the men's game will go pro

And for almost all WBB players, going pro will not earn you the kind of money that pro MBB can, so money is not a big driving force in WBB. I think that makes more players willing to be a bench player for a great team rather than a starter for a good one.

 

[SCyclone]

Will be interesting if the hok women get a crack at Baylor. Wonder if Gustafson can drop 40 over Brown.

 

[ArgentCy]

It was just clearly a size mismatch last night. Kind of like watching a HS game where one team found a couple bigs. Plus the women don't really have the athleticism to cover up size like the men do. Just think of THT guarding a ton of guys who are quite a bit taller but he has long arms, bulk, and jumping ability to make up for a lot of that size.