Bear Down Wildcats

Sounds like ASU got a good fit for their culture with their new women's basketball coach. This is from P.J. Brown's preview story of today's game in the Star:

Last week the Sun Devils forfeited two games because they didn’t have seven bodies to play. Yet on Sunday — the day they were scheduled to play Colorado — they were at an escape room in the Phoenix area. ASU even posted a photo of the team on its Facebook page of that team-bonding activity. During this week’s news conference, ASU coach Natasha Adair spent a lot of time saying that the team used that time to build culture and chemistry. Facebook commenters were mixed on whether the post and the activity were appropriate.

So are these Facebook commenters saying you can’t do non-athletic team-building activities if you have too many injured players? It’s not like they were bowling or ice skating. Escape rooms are pretty low contact.

CardiacCats97 wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2023 10:05 am So are these Facebook commenters saying you can’t do non-athletic team-building activities if you have too many injured players? It’s not like they were bowling or ice skating. Escape rooms are pretty low contact.

I believe the idea is that if you claim you've got so many sick and injured players that you have to duck a difficult road trip, it calls the veracity of that into question, and is also considered poor form, if you essentially choose to have a big party with photos of people yukking it up while one of those games is supposed to be played. ASU was already 0-5 in conference play prior to that, so the forfeits didn't mean much to them. And it gave them lots of time to rest up, regroup, put in new stuff, scout, and prepare for the one game on their schedule that means anything to them. And they also have a built-in excuse if they lose that they're still sub-par physically, so that's great psychologically for their team. It's a great situation for any coach.

TheCatInTheHat wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2023 11:24 am

CardiacCats97 wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2023 10:05 am So are these Facebook commenters saying you can’t do non-athletic team-building activities if you have too many injured players? It’s not like they were bowling or ice skating. Escape rooms are pretty low contact.

I believe the idea is that if you claim you've got so many sick and injured players that you have to duck a difficult road trip, it calls the veracity of that into question, and is also considered poor form, if you essentially choose to have a big party with photos of people yukking it up while one of those games is supposed to be played. ASU was already 0-5 in conference play prior to that, so the forfeits didn't mean much to them. And it gave them lots of time to rest up, regroup, put in new stuff, scout, and prepare for the one game on their schedule that means anything to them. And they also have a built-in excuse if they lose that they're still sub-par physically, so that's great psychologically for their team. It's a great situation for any coach.

That’s a pretty far-fetched scheme to just win one game. Even if the beat us it doesn’t give them bragging rights or a chance for a tourney bid. It’s just a mid-season game against your rivals.

EastCoastCat wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2023 11:43 am

TheCatInTheHat wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2023 11:24 am

CardiacCats97 wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2023 10:05 am So are these Facebook commenters saying you can’t do non-athletic team-building activities if you have too many injured players? It’s not like they were bowling or ice skating. Escape rooms are pretty low contact.

I believe the idea is that if you claim you've got so many sick and injured players that you have to duck a difficult road trip, it calls the veracity of that into question, and is also considered poor form, if you essentially choose to have a big party with photos of people yukking it up while one of those games is supposed to be played. ASU was already 0-5 in conference play prior to that, so the forfeits didn't mean much to them. And it gave them lots of time to rest up, regroup, put in new stuff, scout, and prepare for the one game on their schedule that means anything to them. And they also have a built-in excuse if they lose that they're still sub-par physically, so that's great psychologically for their team. It's a great situation for any coach.

That’s a pretty far-fetched scheme to just win one game. Even if the beat us it doesn’t give them bragging rights or a chance for a tourney bid. It’s just a mid-season game against your rivals.

I’m of the same mind.

I also think if Adia decided to have a team-building event at a moment when our Cats were decimated by injuries, we’d be applauding her and telling anyone who had a problem with it to pound sand.

Anyone who wants to give them kudos for it is welcome to do so. And it doesn't take any particular scheming, just random opportunity. Let's say thin roster, couple of cases of flu, couple of sore ankles, and facing a tough roadie. So it's "under our circumstances, do we really want to drag ourselves through this, or can we take advantage of a conference rule put in for Covid?" The other stuff's just ancillary benefits that might not even have been part of the thinking, but it's still a resulting effect. As far as the judgment that went into essentially partying and putting it on Facebook during a scheduled game you've bailed on for whatever reason, that's also an individual thing, and people are free to associate themselves with whichever side they feel comfortable with. To me, it's not black SUVs and helicopters; it's just ASU being ASU.

Maybe ASU should do less team building activities and more gameday preparation.
Hope we can make this rivalry as lopsided as it is with the men year in and year out.

Whatever the circumstance, team building activities are fine. Maybe just don’t put them all out on social media.

Way to go Cats! Too bad my friends chose a bar in Tucson to watch football yesterday that didn’t have Pac-12 network. I sometimes miss living near Rusty’s.

I think we have a really good communication group handling both men and women's basketball.

Another nice win for the women tonight.

Madi has been so good. Hope she gets more time.

Cats made a great comeback after falling behind big in the third, but the game sadly got away from them in the 4th.

Martinez needed to keep her cool. Pushing that player in the 4th quarter when it was a two-point game was not smart. The Cats never got any closer.

Pellington exits the game holding her back. Too many empty possessions in the third quarter. Let's see if the Cats can overcome in the fourth.

Heading to OT. Cats battled back to tie with 42.3 left. It has been back and forth all night. Pellington returned to start the fourth but is playing through pain. She's missing everything around the rim and turning it over left and right.

Comeback Cats WIN in OT 71-66. Came back twice from 12 and 11 down. No quit in this team. Had to get the win for Adia's birthday. BTFD!!!!

What a comeback!

Hell of a win on Adia's birthday! Way to Bear Down ladies!

What a great display of resilience and persistence!!!

Happy birthday, coach!!!!

BTFD!!!!

21-5 run to close it out. Great win!

Cori Close is Steve Alford/Lavin.

For those who did not get to see the game.

1. The comeback
2. The missed layups
3. Madi's free throw shooting

Generally, I'm not big on male/female comparisons in sports; gals sometimes like to kid themselves on that topic. But to date, I really think Madi may be the best overall free throw shooter in Arizona basketball history. Yeah, it's a slightly smaller ball going through a regulation hoop, but I doubt that would matter much to her. If my memory isn't failing me, I believe her competition would be something like Joe Nehls, Steve Kerr, and Salim Stoudamire...and that ain't bad company.

Heading to OT at USC.

btw when they showed the standings, I saw ASU is 0-11 in conference play.

Does anyone know why Pueyo isn’t playing?

Meanwhile, UDub just beat Stanford!!

pc in NM wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 3:06 pm Meanwhile, UDub just beat Stanford!!

Damn, the conference title is actually up for grabs!

Double OT! This is an amazing game!

First one to 100.

Cats sweep LA for the first time since 2002!

Heck of a weekend for Wildcat basketball.

AZCatGirl wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 3:28 pm Cats sweep LA for the first time since 2002!

What a game. Cate brought attitude today. Stanford is going to be a fun game.

That was a battle!!! And, a few Cats will be wearing scars to show for it - Loville’s face looks like a hollywood make-up job (and no foul was called when she got slashed!) Reese played like it was being contested in an MMA cage! And Nnaji is rising to the level of her expectations!

And now an angry Stanford comes to McKale!!!

BTFD!!!!

pc in NM wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 3:36 pm That was a battle!!! And, a few Cats will be wearing scars to show for it - Loville’s face looks like a hollywood make-up job (and no foul was called when she got slashed!)

Yeah, at least one ref looked to be in the tank. Down the stretch, Cate went at and got blocked by 6-4 Rayah Marshall (who has 60 on the year), but the follow-through got her arm as part of the shooting motion; no call. Loville hit a big pull-up on a dribble-drive with Marshall coming out on her. The ball cleared Marshall's reach, but she got Loville on the hand as part of the shooting follow-through; no call. Then Destiny Littleton went at Lauren Fields 22 feet out angle right. They brushed each other as gently as if they were dancing a waltz together. But Littleton snapped her head back (a la Remy Martin's bullshit), and the same ref gave her two absolute critical (and completely undeserved) free throws. Meanwhile, we didn't get any calls down the stretch, other than the obvious intentional fouls by USC at the very end.

In any event, awesome to sweep the LA schools in LA, particularly when it was against some stacked odds. Don't know if we've got the size to beat Stanford Thursday or not. They don't all play, but Stanford lists 6-7, 6-5, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, and 6-2 on their roster. Nobody ever talks about that. And even the insufferably smug Haley Jones is 6-1.

But that's to worry about later. For now, our gals have every right to party and celebrate a great weekend!

I was extremely critical of the women and the coaches after the lackluster performances of last week, but I’ll eat crow and give them credit where it is due. These games were he epitome of fight, Wildcats fight! Now, go get Furd!

It's also a Red out

Hockey is going to bump the start.

Does Rebecca Lobo know the UofA fans stand until an opponent scores for the last 30 years???

EastCoastCat wrote: Thu Feb 09, 2023 7:52 pm Does Rebecca Lobo know the UofA fans stand until an opponent scores for the last 30 years???

She probably doesn’t watch much mens’ game

Arizona had several good looks, but didn’t make the open shots…

I’m surprised how much Pennington is riding the bench so far!!