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05-02-2012, 02:31 PM
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#51 | ||
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Go Reds
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Bloodbuzz Ohio
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It's like Bobby Knight leaving IU
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05-02-2012, 02:54 PM
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#52 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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COACH MULDOWNEY'S NEW DIGS
So USC has lost in the Elite 8 four out of the last five years. They had the #9 recruiting class in the NCAA last year (Nebraska State was #3) and the two programs inked a home/home deal, that will have the Trojans come to Kearney on December 19th, where it's expected the fans will greet Coach Muldowney to a hero's welcome.
The roster is completely insane at USC. They've got just two seniors, one is Chloe Brooks who was rated #2 in her class. Four of the starters are former 5 recruits, one is a Top 50 and yeah...the situation is stacked and it'll be intriguing to see what Muldowney is able to do with them. She brought along a connection to the old Nebraska State regime, hiring former player and Pronghorn assistant Andee Hooper after she spent a year at Pitt as an assistant and years after head coaching at Northern Illinois and St. Louis before being fired at SLU two years ago. So my plan, of course, is to just sim through the regular season and then we'll recap these seasons with the kind of modest detail from earlier. It'll be interesting to see how it goes and how Nebraska State does in the wake of her departure too. |
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05-02-2012, 03:45 PM
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#53 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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2035-36 REGULAR SEASON
So let's compare regular seasons, shall we?
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So as head into the NCAAs, in the West Region USC is the 1) seed. The 8) seed? Nebraska State. This game is hilarious. |
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05-02-2012, 04:17 PM
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#54 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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NCAA TOURNAMENT 2035
Nebraska State lost in the 1st round to UNLV 63-57. USC ---- 1st round: 16) UL-Lafayette, W 67-49 2nd round: 9) UNLV, W 91-55 Sweet 16: 13) Cal State-Fullerton, W 73-48 The matchup against Duke in the Elite 8 pits her against Chaya Bergin, who was an assistant under her at Nebraska State many moons ago. Elite 8: 2) Duke W, 81-78 With the win, the Trojans make their first Final Four in 23 years. What a difference a coach makes, it seems. Final Four: 4) UCLA [b]The City of Los Angeles is on fire right now. Neither program has ever won a title and the winner advances to attempt to claim one. Meanwhile in the other semi-final, it's 1) Texas v. 4) UNC. The Longhorns last title came in 1962, while the Tar Heels last claimed the second of back-to-back titles 24 years ago. |
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05-02-2012, 04:17 PM
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#55 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Code:
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05-02-2012, 04:19 PM
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#56 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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2035 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Code:
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05-02-2012, 05:10 PM
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#57 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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So what's going to happen is, we'll sim through the 2nd year of Coach Muldowney's contract at USC. In theory, it's going to be her last season coaching.
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05-02-2012, 05:34 PM
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#58 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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2036-37 REGULAR SEASON
USC is the #2 seed in the East region, Nebraska State is the #6 seed in the Midwest region.
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Last edited by Young Drachma : 05-02-2012 at 05:42 PM. |
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05-02-2012, 06:01 PM
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#59 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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2036 NCAA TOURNAMENT
1ST ROUND
East: 2) USC 109, 15) UMass 89 Midwest: 6) Nebraska State 84, Arizona 73 2ND ROUND East: 7) Houston 74, USC 58 Midwest: 3) UNC 92, Nebraska State 83 Final Four: 1) California 1) Arkansas 5) Texas 1) Penn State Cal last won a title 14 years ago, but have not missed the tournament in 32 years. Arkansas had its best finish, a lost in the national title game 18 years ago. Penn State is coming off back to back Sweet 16s and is four years removed from their 2nd of back-to-back national titles. Texas, of course, was defeated in last year's national title game by USC. |
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05-02-2012, 06:01 PM
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#60 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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USC says thanks but no thanks to a 3rd year from Coach Sue Muldowney. After helping the team to their first title in school history, it seems the program is also ready to find its "coach of the future" and has decided to quietly part ways with the future Hall of Fame coach who has 1184 wins, more than any coach in women's basketball history.
Private reports have indicated that Coach Muldowney was considering "coming back for at least another year," feeling more energized heading into her 60th birthday and 39th year of coaching. Some also say that she was hoping to get a 10th championship ring, but was also content to "find a place where she could just settle down and retire," after initially believing she'd want to call it quits after just shy of her 60th birthday. It's worth noting that USC will have the #1 recruiting class incoming. So you might want to suggest they used her...Nebraska State's class is 4th. Last edited by Young Drachma : 05-02-2012 at 06:06 PM. |
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05-02-2012, 06:27 PM
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#61 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Initial reports false, Muldowney will coach 39th and final season
After unconfirmed reports that Sue Muldowney would retire after her 38th season and 2nd at USC, the program announced today that she would sign a 1-year extension to coach her 39th and final season.
"We're extremely grateful for everything Coach M has done for us. We're honored that she's graced us and Los Angeles with her Hall of Fame presence at the end of her career. It's been a real joy to work with her and we're excited for her final season as a head coach," said Athletic Director Joy Griggs. The Trojans are bringing in the #1 recruiting class in the nation and two years off a national title, hopes are high that the team can reach the promised land once again. |
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05-02-2012, 07:02 PM
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#62 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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2037-38 SEASON RECAP
Nebraska State finished 20-10 in the regular season. They earned the #9 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA tourney.
USC finished 26-5 in the regular season and was the 4 seed in the Midwest region, setting up a potential but unlikely Sweet 16 matchup between both teams. NCAAs 1st Round 8) Illinois 67, Nebraska State 66 (It's hard to follow a legend, kids. This is your lesson of the day.) 4) USC 97, Xavier 62 2nd Round 4) USC 77, 12) Bowling Green 66 Sweet 16 1) Texas 85, 4) USC 83 So her final season at USC ends with a record of 28-6 and a career record of 1212-199. FINAL FOUR: 10) Kent State (Who beat 13th seeded Cal State-Fullerton to advance) 1) Texas 2) Penn State 7) Portland So we've got two true Cinderellas in the Final Four for the first time in ages. (I'm talking Cinderellas not induced by anything I might have done behind the scenes...) And I was sitting here just saying to myself "Well, it's good to see them there. But there's no way I'm doing anything to help them win it. It'll be Penn State v. Texas in the final, of course." Well...boy, was I wrong: FINAL FOUR Kent State 110, Penn State 105
Spoiler
Portland 87, Texas 80
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NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP Portland 73, Kent State 57
Spoiler
I've been doing this since 1941 in-game and this is easily the most insane final I've ever seen. Had to save the box scores for posterity. For context, Kent State's starting lineup did have two seniors, but only featured one (***) recruit. The rest were two stars and their best player was actually a one-star senior out of California who MAC All-Conference her senior year. Their starting center was a Yale transfer (**) and their PF was a freshman (**) Portland plays in the deceptively tough WCC and boasted a conventional-esque roster but did so off the radar. Their best player Eva Miller was a 20 PPG scorer her senior year and averaged 17.1 PPG for her career. A former 4-star player who was Miss Oregon Basketball, I'm wondering how she ended up here. Her running partner was another Oregon senior, a former 5-star player who was All-State and was putting up 16.1 PPG average this season. So when you look more closely, it makes sense that a team with two star players and a decently deep bench -- but nothing as good as what the other teams were throwing at them -- managed to pull one out. But I can assure you if I simmed ten times, this would be the only time this kind of outcome would've happened. So that's so fun. Also the first team with double-digit losses to win a national title in 34 years. (SMU in 2003) Teams with double-digit losses to win a national title Code:
Last edited by Young Drachma : 05-02-2012 at 07:56 PM. |
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05-02-2012, 09:26 PM
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#63 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Muldowney protegee and head coach of Purdue, Aiyana Taylor has been named the new Head Coach at USC. The 33-year old head coach has been shooting through the coaching ranks. She spent the past three years at Purdue after taking UW-Milwaukee to the Sweet 16.
So with that, Coach Muldowney retires with a career record of 1212-199. Or does she? |
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05-02-2012, 09:42 PM
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#64 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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I NEVER THOUGHT I'D SEE THE DAY WHEN I'D WEAR THIS SHADE OF RED...
 After the unexpected retirement of 65-year old Nebraska head coach Victoria Blackwell, the Huskers needed to find a head coach in September and didn't really know where to start. Most of their choices were assistants since it was too late for most head coaches to consider making the jump and with two young assistants, the program didn't feel comfortable elevating either to the Head Coach job even in an interim capacity. When AD Chris Chriswell made the call to Sue Muldowney to see if she were interested in possibly coaching the Huskers for one season, he didn't expect her to take his call, much less accept the offer. But he felt like it was the right call to make. "She's the best coach the state has ever seen. A living legend. I thought it might be the swan song she needed to really end her career on her terms, but selfishly, I thought it'd be a way for us to get a title too. If she could win here, man...she could probably be elected Governor. I mean, what are the odds?" Well, he got his woman. In a move that shocked most of college basketball when it was announced, Sue Muldowney will take over as head coach of the Nebraska Huskers women's basketball team. The term for both is for one year, but no one felt comfortable suggesting that the winningest coach in the history of the game was labeled "interim." "She can stay here as long as she wants, to be honest. We'll wheel her out. She just told us...ok, one more year. One more year, I can do that." For her part, Muldowney believed the team had the right components for a title run. "I can honestly say I never thought I'd see the day when I'd wear this shade of red. Never did I imagine this would ever be possible. But when they called, I was out in the backyard working in my garden. My husband had just been teasing me a day earlier about how "you probably left a year too early, huh?" But I was satisfied with my life. I just thought this might be fun. And after 40 years, if I can say that doing it will be fun then you know I can handle another year." When asked whether she thought it'd be awkward to face her former mates down the road in Kearney, she said no. "I love Kearney and my heart will always be with the Pronghorns. No one would fault me for that, given all we accomplished there. But at the end of the day, I'm a coach. And we're talking about just one year." One year to pursue the unthinkable -- a tenth championship -- and for the Huskers, a chance to seal their legacy in the state, after being lapped by their little sisters on I-80 who have 8 national championship banners. "No promises or anything. But it'll be fun to give it one last try." |
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05-02-2012, 09:59 PM
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#65 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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2038-39 Nebraska Huskers Women's Basketball
Here's the roster:
Code:
Sanders is a projected lottery pick and was a 2nd Team All-American last year. Shepard and Cave are blue chippers who started last year, but were mostly role production players who more will be expected from this season if the Huskers are going to make a deep run. I made sure not to schedule a game with Nebraska State, the schedule was done and the AI didn't have a game already setup and a new one wasn't put together either. Just figured it would make things less awkward for everyone. Code:
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05-03-2012, 12:24 AM
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#66 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS SEASON RECAP
2038-39 SEASON RECAP
Code:
Here's how the regular season went down for the Huskers. Code:
Nebraska is the #1 seed in the Midwest Region. Nebraska State (29-5) nabbed the #3 seed in the Midwest Region setting up a potential Elite 8 matchup between the two. NCAA TOURNAMENT 1st Round: 3) Nebraska State 85, Alcorn State 53 1) Nebraska 78, North Florida 48 2nd Round: 3) Nebraska State 80, 6) San Francisco 61 1) Nebraska 75, 8) Virginia Tech 59 Defending national champs Portland made it back, as a #3 seed in the West region, but fell in the 2nd round. So did USC, who lost to UConn. Sweet 16: 2) Iowa State 93, Nebraska State 84 1) Nebraska 81, 4) West Virginia 74 Elite 8: 1) Nebraska 100 2) Iowa State 97 For the 15th time, Sue Muldowney is going to the Final Four. And this time with her 3rd program. I have no idea if any other coach in-game has done that. |
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05-03-2012, 01:08 AM
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#67 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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2038 FINAL FOUR
Sue Muldowney's last Final Four
1) Purdue 4) Duke 1) Nebraska 7) Arkansas Purdue is four years removed from a title, Duke last won one six years ago and Arkansas is just two years from their first title in school history. That leaves the Huskers who are still on the schneid having never won a title despite being perpetually good for about 40 years now. Just can't get over the hump for whatever reason. Is this the year it all changes? Will Sue Muldowney win her 10th title or will her career end with another loss in the Final Four, while still having restored her legacy as the greatest coach Nebraska basketball period has ever and will ever know? This is her 40th and final season. FINAL FOUR Code:
In the final, Coach Muldowney takes on Chaya Bergin, who was an assistant under her at Nebraska State. They two have never met in a Final, but Bergin so far remains the only Muldowney former assistant to ever win a national title. Can she steal #10 away from her mentor on her road to her second career national title? Bergin just a year younger than Muldowney, so one wonders how many more she has in her too. Code:
The 10th title is complete and Nebraska is completely bleeding red today. Sue Muldowney has just done what no one prior to her had been able to do. She got the Huskers a national championship. And with that...caps a crowning achievement on a career without parallel. |
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05-03-2012, 05:10 PM
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#68 |
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n00b
Join Date: Nov 2011
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So thats it?
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05-03-2012, 11:05 PM
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#69 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Call her Coach, Call her Lt. Governor
Sue Muldowney ran for Lt. Governor on the heels of that successful season leading Nebraska to the national championship. After four years in that role, she retired for good.
At age 69, life is good for her. She's alive and well and doing great. You can see on the first page, the results of things since she's retired which include titles for Towson (finally, after rising a few decades ago) and Hofstra out of the CAA also laid claim to their first title, as did Illinois after years of being pretty bad in the Big Ten. Alyssa Duty coached her alma mater for 9 years. After the 2043-44 season, she took over at Penn State saying that she "needed to stake out a claim on her own legacy." She took the Nittany Lions to the Final of the NCAAs the following year and remains there as head coach. Former South Carolina assistant Natalie Stebbins, a longtime head coach took over for one season before retiring. She was replaced by UConn head coach and Nebraska State alumna Juliette Chaplin who just finished her 2nd season. The program has missed the tournament three straight years in a row. The best alumna is still Aiyana Taylor who remains at USC and has been to 3 Final Fours with that program including a loss in the national title game. Last edited by Young Drachma : 05-03-2012 at 11:11 PM. |
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05-04-2012, 01:46 PM
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#70 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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05-04-2012, 04:45 PM
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#71 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Coach, we were wondering if you were interested...in coaching at our university
 Sue Muldowney enjoyed a career beyond parallel of any coach in college sports. At age 69, she certainly had no designs on returning to the game. But a feature in the Los Angeles Times brought her back into the public consciousness as a coach and then the calls began coming in again. Most were from well wishers hoping her career was going well. But one specific call was from a university official wondering a specific question: "Have you ever been to Miami?"  Florida International has made the NCAAs just three times in their history (1991, 2012 & 2044) the fewest of any team in the Sun Belt Conference. The program began talks to bring Sue Muldowney out of retirement. They thought they had the wherewithal to do it too. At the last minute, the program's offer was pulled due to lack of support from alumni to pull the deal off. But at that point, Sue Muldowney had resolved herself that she would get back on the bench someplace. She knew she wanted to go somewhere that would not be heralded. Someplace that she could go and be a coach first, mold young minds and not have to worry about trying to delude fans into believing they'd ever reach the pinnacles that she'd reach as a ten-time national championship winning coach. She set her sights on...Texas. But away from hustle and bustle of the biggest programs in the state. No, instead she decided to accept an offer from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to be their women's head coach.  Code:
To be clear, this program has made a total of 8 post-season appearances in school history and of those, just three were in the NCAA tournament. The last of those came 42 years ago (2003) which by then Nebraska State had already won a national championship. The last time they logged double-digit wins was 12 years ago. But two things happened that brought the best coach in the history of the game to South Texas. For one, her son moved here to take over the men's program. The second thing? A Nebraska State alumnus and former student manager during the Sue Charles/Muldowney era took over as athletic director three years ago and is trying to turn the entire program around. But were it not for her two grandchildren, it's doubtful that she'd be considering prowling the sidelines at a new school after not coaching for seven years and having a very active post-coaching career. "I always told my girls that you're never done until you want to be done. And it turns out, that I wasn't done. I'm excited to see what we can do." TAMU-CC has a budget of $177,500 which is smaller than what we've paid assistants at Nebraska State or anywhere else she's been. So that's going to be prove it impossible to hire any former Nebraska State assistants since we won't be able to afford them. The initial goal? Just get through the season and schedule the easiest non-conference in history to just survive a year. The last winning season the program had was in 2008. In case you haven't noticed, that was nearly 40 years ago. So how will this end? Will a legendary coach find she can't reach today's players? Will this be ruining her legacy? We're about to find out. Last edited by Young Drachma : 05-04-2012 at 04:45 PM. |
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05-04-2012, 05:20 PM
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#72 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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2046-47 SEASON PREVIEW
TAMU-CC plays in the Southland Conference with a bunch of schools you've barely heard of. Though I did move UTEP to this conference apparently, not that they've done anything notable in-game either.
Here's the incoming roster, which includes no gift transfers. Code:
Salvador is the best player, she's a former 3-star recruit and put up 10.1 PPG last year as a season average. Not sure what's going to be like to recruit at a program like this, because we have no money and our staff isn't really good enough to bring anyone of note in. I hope the coach's skill in these areas will outweigh, but I've never been especially clear on how much it factors in. Due to the lack of funds, this will be nothing like the days of yore where we jetsetted for international players no one else wanted. It'll be sticking close to the region and finding those diamonds in the rough and I'm going to heavily rely on HS statistics as I feel like they make it easier to identify what a player might be able to do in college. We're not exactly sure how long Coach Muldowney expects to prowl the sidelines at TAMU-CC or how long before she'll get frustrated with what are to be inevitable amounts of losses. She never had a losing season in her career through now and her worst year was in 2019 when the Pronghorns went 17-14 and missed the post-season completely. |
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05-04-2012, 10:06 PM
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#73 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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2046-47 TAMU-CC Schedule
So here's the schedule upcoming this year. The idea was to make it as painless as possible, but I imagine it'll be a year full of lumps. No alterations were done to the club and there's no shenanigans or easter eggs anywhere including in recruiting. Really just curious to see what a great coach can do with no recruiting budget, subpar assistants, no prestige in a bad conference. Code:
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05-04-2012, 10:54 PM
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#74 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Again, nothing has been altered. But a crazy situation is occurring in Corpus Christi, as the lady with grandkids and her team of scrappy players are turning heads in the Southland Conference. They went 8-1 in January, sport a 14-5 record heading into February, making one believe that the ladies of TAMU-CC are headed towards the program's first winning season since 2008.
Which is completely insane, when you consider how bad they've been prior to the arrival of Coach Muldowney. Playing in a one-bid league, there will be no way to get into the NCAAs without winning the conference, but a regular season title would be enough to get into the WNIT, which after decades of no post-season appearances would be HUGE. If nothing else, you can tell that a good coach can change the program a lot for a school at this level, probably because they never get coaches down here who stay, which I hadn't really considered. A lot of basketball ahead of us though, so let's not get carried away. |
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05-04-2012, 11:15 PM
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#75 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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2046-47 SEASON RECAP
By the standards of Sue Muldowney, this season is probably nothing to herald. But given how had this team was, given she had not had any hand in recruiting anyone on the current roster and the financial challenges associated with the job no one would've faulted the old champion coach for diminished expectations with this program she'd taken over almost sight unseen thanks to a few friends who told her things were changing at the branch campus by the sea.
One of the things I forgot, is that during her hiatus, I turned off conference tournaments in all but the top leagues. The idea behind that the best teams of each conference would generally be represented and putting more emphasis on the regular season since I'm not playing with fake dollars. Unfortunately, that means TAMU-CC won't get a chance to perform the surgical upset in the post-season and instead, will have to pray for a WNIT bid. Code:
Still, recognize that 19 wins is just 4 wins away from the school record set back in 2003, the last time the team made the NCAAs. While that won't be repeated this year, losing three seniors and none of whom were star players (though one is a key producer) and replacing them with a solid recruiting class ought to help a lot. Code:
The recruits include two 3-star players who again seem to be helped by the influence of a strong head coach. Both can score and ought to be able to step in and help Lilah Salvador impact things from Day One. With the brackets now released, we have indeed made the WNIT, the school's first postseason appearance since 2007. A huge coup for the program and while we were apparently one of the last teams into that tournament, it's even more remarkable that it happened. The Southland had 4 teams in the WNIT field, so we entered as a 10th seed. 2046 WNIT 1st round: Xavier (18-11) L, 58-72 With that loss, the season ends at 19-11 for the Islanders. But it'd be hard to qualify this season as anything other than a huge, huge success for the coach and her squad. |
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05-05-2012, 05:12 PM
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#76 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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2047-48 SEASON RECAP
The Islanders missed the post-season this year, after going 9-11 in the Southland and 16-13 overall on the year. I eliminated the 3rd and 4th tournaments for the time being or else, we'd be in one of those. I might bring them back eventually.
Code:
Code:
With a stronger than average (for this program) recruiting class incoming, including three (***) prospects and two (**) which we hope to augment with a transfer, coupled with Lilah Salvador coming back for her senior year, next season will be the school's best chance to match their best season ever. Our recruiting class was 166th in the nation and 2nd in the Southland Conference. We'll see how it goes. Last edited by Young Drachma : 05-05-2012 at 05:20 PM. |
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05-05-2012, 07:14 PM
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#77 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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2048-49 SEASON RECAP
Sue Muldowney said she felt "as good as she ever has" but after a third season at TAMU-CC, the losses piled up more than she was accustomed. We tried to schedule competitive in the non-conference, to give these ladies a chance to really appreciate what it's like to play on a high level.
They went 1-5 through November and things didn't improve until the conference schedule. Luckily for the Islanders, the conference tournaments were brought back, allowing most teams that finished in the Top 8 of most leagues (in some, it was Top 6 and a few like the Ivy and UAA still don't have them) to participate in a conference tournament. Ultimately, they ended the regular season 13-18, worse than anyone anticipated probably due to how other teams had also improved and outside of the Southland Conference Top 8, meaning no postseason play for the 2nd straight year. When asked whether or not this would be her last season, Coach Muldowney was resolute. "I'll stop when I'm finished and I'm not yet finished. I think 75 sounds like a good number. But ask me then, not now." That would give her four more years to try and keep the ship turned around here in Corpus Christi. From the looks of things, they're going to need it.. Code:
Last edited by Young Drachma : 05-05-2012 at 07:15 PM. |
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05-05-2012, 07:55 PM
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#78 | |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Texas A&M-CC joins Sunrise Conference
 A new mid-major league formed of teams from various conferences. The new Sunrise Conference will start play next season with the following teams: Quote:
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05-05-2012, 09:23 PM
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#79 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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2049-50 SEASON RECAP
Another year, another disappointing season for the Islanders.
Code:
After the Sunrise Conference Semi-Final game versus ECU, Sue Muldowney announced that next season would be her last year at TAMU-CC. The team will promote Lilah Salvador ('49), who is the school 3rd all-time leading scorer and graduate assistant to the staff as a full-time coach next year. |
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05-05-2012, 10:10 PM
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#80 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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"We're gonna give it one last climb up the mountain."
 UCLA hires 73-year old Sue Muldowney as head women's coach "It all happened so fast," said Muldowney at her new digs at Pauly Pavillion. "But it's very good to be back in LA," said the one-time USC coach who is now in her second act as a college coach after eight years off spread between politics and other pursuits. UCLA decided after the retirement of long-time head coach Chloe Rogers that they wanted to opt for experience. In the end, they made the call to the one coach with more experience than anyone else. "We're glad she's here and we're looking forward to her help in finally raising a banner here at UCLA," said athletic director Marilyn Sheppard, a graduate of Nebraska when Muldowney came there and led that school to their only national championship. "It was in the back of my mind. But I wasn't certain she wanted to leave where she was," said Sheppard. "I talked it over with my son. He said that he wanted to see me do it. That he thought we made a lot of progress even though the record didn't reflect that [at Texas A&M-CC] but that he hoped to see me reach the mountaintop. I wasn't so sure. But in the end, we're gonna give it one last climb up the mountain and see what happens." She takes over a UCLA club that lost in last year's Elite Eight and is three years removed from back to back Final Four appearances. She joins a former player and assistant coach in Aiyana Taylor, who took over for her at USC and remains there. "I have to say that it's going to be fun beating UCLA, but not as fun beating Coach. I've never had to play her before and I'm not especially excited about doing it. But she wouldn't want me to say that. And now that she's coaching in my conference, I can't call and ask for advice anymore," said Taylor, laughing when asked about her mentor and friend. Taylor has not been able to win a national title herself, but still has one of the best win percentages of any coach in the country still active. Meanwhile, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi made an unorthodox move hiring 23-year old Lilah Salvador. She spent last season as a graduate assistant, but spent four years with the program and is 3rd all-time in points. The move was pretty much called for by all of the current players and heavily endorsed by Muldowney herself. "She's ready. It's going to be a new thing for her and she'll have to get her feet wet. But she watched me for years and I feel like of all of my former players, it's possible that she's the best one to ever decide to coach. I'm excited to see what they do," said Muldowney. So with that, UCLA gets a new coach. Whether this marriage will work or not, is anyone's guess. But with the clock ticking on a career, one has to think this is the final stop in a Hall of Fame career without parallel. |
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05-06-2012, 02:11 AM
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#81 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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I can imagine the stories coming out after her lackluster T&M-CC years about the game having passed her by and fans furious about the hire at UCLA.
__________________
2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Last edited by Izulde : 05-06-2012 at 02:12 AM. |
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05-06-2012, 02:26 PM
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#82 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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"She's still got it."
Any doubts -- and there were lots -- that Sue Muldowney had lost her touch when UCLA hired her as a coach at the age of 73 dissipated after her Bruins squad destroyed the Pac-12, going 17-1 in conference play and claiming the conference tournament title.
Code:
The Bruins are the #1 seed in the West region. In other news, Texas A&M-CC had their best regular season ever. Going 22-12 and earning a 7-seed in the WNIT South region. Another cool story, is that Denver - on the heels of back to back WNIT appearances -- have earned their first NCAA tourney bid since 1955. Meanwhile, Sue Muldowney has her eyes on the prize. She was brought here to win a title and anything less than that will be a huge letdown for the fans at UCLA who expected that this team would be good enough to do what it did in conference play. Most of the UCLA faithful feel that even with a title, the program should thank Muldowney for her services and send her on her way to find a coach who can build a program long-term. Some want the school to woo USC's coach Aiyana Taylor to Westwood, but given the intense rivalry between the two that seems less than likely to happen. The fact that the next coach stays on the radar with the program in the midst of a tournament run, stresses the split amongst the fan base at the decision to hire a legendary coach. But amongst her players, it's clear that it's business as usual. "We're just lucky that we can spend time with her," said senior guard Mia McNeese (Fillmore, CA) who added, "I don't think there's a coach in the country who would've been better for this team right now. We're just so together as a unit, we're not even a veteran team and so..she's perfect for our type of team. I'm just happy to know I can tell my future kids that I played for her. She's a legend." Well, we'll see if the legend can grow as she takes her UCLA squad towards the postseason for their first title and her 11th? NCAA TOURNAMENT 1st round: UCLA 94, 16) Richmond 78 2nd round: UCLA, 70, 8) Loyola Marymount 68 Sweet 16: 5) San Diego 88 UCLA 73 Code:
Texas A&M-CC won their 1st round game in the WNIT, before losing in the 2nd round to Tulane 88-82. It matches the school record for wins with 23. Denver upset 6-seed Texas Tech before losing in the 2nd round, en route to their first tourney win in school history. After the defeat at the hands of WCC power (heh) San Diego (the WCC has emerged into a power league, btw..SD will play Gonzaga in the Elite 8 of that bracket) the fans were immediately on board with finding a new coach. The audience is split between those who want to find one of the top coaches out there that might be a better fit for the role, but it's clear to everyone that Muldowney wants to coach at least one more -- if not two -- years to coach through age 75, as she's said a few times. Her contract was a one-year deal with two one-year options, aimed at giving her and the school some options. With the disappointment hovering around the program after the dominance of the past year, it's not clear what will happen. Will Muldowney bow out gracefully? Will this be the last we see of a Hall of Famer? The answers are forthcoming. 2050 FINAL FOUR Only one top-seed made it to the Final Four this year. 5) San Diego 3) Miami 1) Purdue 9) Nebraska This is San Diego's first-ever Final Four appearance. They went 7-9 in the WCC and 25-11 overall. Miami is two seasons removed from a national championship and lost in the 2nd round last year. Purdue also lost in the 2nd round last year, this is the 15th Final Four in program history. This is Nebraska's 11th Final Four, the last came in 2040. They lost in the 2nd round last year, too. |
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05-06-2012, 02:41 PM
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#83 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Miami won their 2nd title in 3 years, beating Nebraska in the NCAA Final.
Immediately after, reports were surfacing that 48-year old Nebraska head coach Evelyn Levitt would be named UCLA head coach. Said one source, "She's a hot name in the game right now and the fear was that if we waited say another year, she'd go off to some larger school back east or something worse. We couldn't take that risk. She's a California native and everyone seems to think she's a perfect successor to lead the program for the next twenty years. We appreciate what Sue did and think she was probably the right person in a one-year stead since we lost a veteran coach who retired but...we can't let the program languish when the right candidate shows up." Here's the resume of Levitt: Code:
Last edited by Young Drachma : 05-06-2012 at 03:08 PM. |
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05-06-2012, 03:03 PM
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#84 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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If the reports are true -- and all indications are that they are -- should Muldowney call it quits now? It seems unlikely that any major program would want to deal with this again and that her only options.
Sources out of Nebraska indicate that there is "zero chance" of a reunion with the Huskers and Muldowney, despite her leading them to a national title prior to her first retirement. The oldest current coach in-game is Purdue's 74-year old head coach Alissa Hudson, who has 752 career wins but no national titles. She spent nearly two decades at Pepperdine before making the move the Big Ten and leading the Boilermakers to the Final Four in her first year. "She's evidence that it can be done at a high level and is probably what will convince a major program to take a flier on Muldowney. But it'll take a program with a lot of seniors, who want to win now and also that has a vacancy. Those jobs just don't open up often," said one basketball analyst with Sports Illustrated. 60-year old Andee Hooper, who played for Muldowney at Nebraska State and who has been an assistant with her at Nebraska State, USC and this past year at UCLA has taken the job at Oregon, replacing another Muldowney disciple Marie Hunley who retired. There's some whispers that Muldowney might join her staff in Eugene. But at 74, some think that the veteran coach still has the fire in her belly for another go at it anywhere. "It's sort of crazy to be a coach with that many titles and still having schools question whether you still have it or not. I think she has something to prove and so, you have to think that even with more wins and titles than anyone else, she wants to go out on her own terms." We're going to see what that leads to. |
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05-06-2012, 06:11 PM
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#85 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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"I can't resist this last opportunity."
After the major conference offers dried up, Sue Muldowney had two options. The first was to retire. "I don't understand why her legacy needs anymore," said her own son, in imploring her to call it quits.
But she said she wasn't done yet and the UCLA gig left a bad taste in her mouth. "I'd like to have had another year or two to really see what we could've done. But they had to make the best move for them."  Enter DePauw University. A former Division 3 school transitioning to Division 1, the program was seeking a veteran coach to help them lead the program in basketball crazy Indiana, which hasn't seen a national champion from its midst ever. The idea was to have Coach Muldowney take over as head coach and to bring an assistant along as head coach in waiting. Whether it'd be a year or two at the helm before stepping aside, DePauw was excited to get a coach with so much experience. But before that move could happen...something else happened. The previous oldest coach in college basketball Purdue's Alyssa Hudson decided to retire. At 74, no one could blame her though a number of folks thought she'd hang around a bit longer after having taken the Boilermakers to the doorstep of the Final Four once again. But instead, she said she'd had enough of the travel after the hiring period ended. Portland's 51-year old head coach Kairi Harder took the job, after 12 years at Portland where she took the team to 4 Elite Eights and a national championship final. Portland had little time to close ranks. With the #1 recruiting class in the nation coming in, they had to fill the holes fast. It just so happens that when you have a hall of fame coach on the bench looking to get in, that the match might work. So the two made the deal work and with that , Sue Muldowney landed on her feet as the head coach at the University of Portland.  She brought with her former UCLA standout Mia McNeese as one of her assistants and who most believe is her unofficial "head coach in waiting" provided things go well. "I simply couldn't resist this last opportunity. In a lot of ways, I feel like I've had two careers. There was the Nebraska State part and then there was the post-Nebraska State life. I just took a bit longer than most to explore these other possibilities. But I have no regrets and look forward to helping the Pilots in a big way." She confirmed that after how things went down at UCLA, that she was clear that she would retire for good at the end of this contract. "Two years and that's it. From there, I feel like there are hundreds of great coaches and I need to get out of their way," she said laughing. Muldowney says "I'm a young 74." She's about to be tested once again, as the 2nd act of a Hall of Fame career finds her on another bench, aiming to do the unthinkable. |
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05-07-2012, 12:31 AM
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#86 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Sue Muldowney takes over a very talented Portland Pilots women's basketball team that is not deep. Why? Because she cut the walk-ons. So they're rolling this year with ten players, which will be a problem as the grind of the season wears on.
Still, it's a talented squad containing several former 5 (*) recruits, two McDonald's All-Americans and a bench that would start for most mid-major programs. Will it be enough to get them where they want to be? We'll find out. Code:
Code:
Last edited by Young Drachma : 05-07-2012 at 12:31 AM. |
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05-07-2012, 02:07 AM
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#87 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Code:
Portland is the #2 seed in the West region. Nebraska State and Texas A&M-CC both made the NIT. UCLA is in the NCAAs again as a 7-seed in the West region after going 20-11 this year. If we win our respective first round matchups, we'll face each other in the 2nd round. NCAA TOURNAMENT The AD only expects us to make the Sweet 16. What a difference a conference makes. 1st round: vs. 15-seed Ball State (W, 98-51) 2nd round: vs. 7-seed UCLA (W, 61-43) Obviously this is as about as horrible a matchup as you could want, in the sense that we know them very well, but realize that they were woefully underseeded no matter what anyone says. This game will end up as a referendum on whether or not the program should've let Sue Muldowney go. Portland fans won't see it that way win or lose, but UCLA fans will care and so, Muldowney has a lot at stake in this game personally. Sweet 16: vs. 3-seed West Virginia (W, 65-63) Once again, Sue Muldowney stands in the way of her former player Aiyana Taylor's path to a Final Four. "I can't lie. Part of me hates when I have to play her. She deserves everything and whenever we have to face each other in these situations, I feel like I'd rather be rooting for her than coaching against her," said Muldowney. For her part, Taylor said that she "feels no kind of stress at all. Coach prepared me for these moments years and years ago. And it's not even about us, it's about those girls on the court." For the 2nd straight year, another WCC team is also in the Elite 8 in the form of 10th seed Gonzaga in the East region. Elite 8: vs. 1-seed USC Code:
For the first time in 11 years, a Sue Muldowney led team will be headed to the Final Four. Joining them will be 10th seeded Gonzaga out of the East Region. The head coach of that team? Former Nebraska State head coach and Muldowney disciple Juliette Chaplin. She is in her first year at Gonzaga. It's their first Final Four in school history. 3rd seed Duke will take on Portland and 2nd seed Indiana State, who are also in their first Final Four will take on the Zags in the other semi-final. |
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05-07-2012, 12:00 PM
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#88 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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2051 FINAL FOUR
All four #1 seeds dropped in the Elite 8 (USC, Purdue, Tennessee, Cal) leaving this Final Four with two teams that have never won national titles. Portland won their only title in 2038, the year before Kairi Harder took over for the retiring Amelia Sartin and Duke has won six, the last coming 29 years ago.
Code:
In the other semi-final, Indiana State rolled to their first title game upending Gonzaga to prevent the all-WCC final. Code:
2051 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME Code:
It's Indiana State's first national title. Nebraska won the NIT over Central Florida. |
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05-07-2012, 03:28 PM
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#89 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Lots of you read this thing on drive-bys. So is this the last season of her career? Or is she going to come back for age 75 swan song? #1 recruiting class coming next year and only one senior starter being lost.
Do you let her get the long goodbye or does she retire on her own? Based on the feedback, I'll craft a story around it. But I'm too close to make a real decision. Last edited by Young Drachma : 05-07-2012 at 03:29 PM. |
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05-07-2012, 04:25 PM
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#90 |
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College Prospect
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Flower Mound, TX
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One more year!
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05-07-2012, 04:30 PM
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#91 | |
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College Prospect
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: NJ
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Quote:
+1 |
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05-07-2012, 05:38 PM
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#92 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
+2
__________________
2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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05-07-2012, 07:37 PM
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#93 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Behind Enemy Lines in Athens, GA
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+3 .... although after that immediate reaction I'd be tempted to change my mind.
The odds seem against her winning b2b titles there IMO - it's just too iffy - and going out with a title AND eliminating UCLA seems as though it may have proven her point. Blame it on deciding to spend more time with her son ... err grandchildren ... err great-grandchildren.
__________________
"I lit another cigarette. Unless I specifically inform you to the contrary, I am always lighting another cigarette." - from a novel by Martin Amis Last edited by JonInMiddleGA : 05-07-2012 at 07:39 PM. |
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05-07-2012, 09:52 PM
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#94 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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The Last Hurrah
Sue Muldowney was preparing to hang 'em up after her 46th year behind the bench. After 1364 career wins, she had figured she'd had enough. Despite a #1 recruiting class returning to Portland after losing out to Indiana State's super frosh duo in the national title game, there was confidence that she could come back and bring them to the mountaintop once more. After losing two more assistants to head coaching jobs in the form of Amy Lewis, who took the job at Texas A&M-CC replacing former Muldowney player Lilah Hernandez -- who actually resigned to take a job on the staff here at Portland -- and Rachel Cole, who took the job at Nebraska State, Muldowney figured there wasn't really anything left for her to accomplish.
Maybe the crazy number of 1400 career wins? Seems unlikely, since it would take 36 wins to do that and she hasn't had a team win that many games in in 25 years. Mostly, she'd decided after having two of her former players in the Elite 8 last year and depriving one of them of another national title, she thought it wasn't fair for her to keep hanging out in a young woman's game. Of course, she enjoyed working with the girls at these programs and giving them insights and helping them learn meant a lot to her. She spent literally that entire summer trying to decide the best course of action. At 75, she's no longer a spring chicken, she thought to herself. The deciding factor was her grandson. He was now nearing college himself. He told his grandmother that he was sorry he couldn't play for her, because he'd always wanted to, but not to worry because he'd have a daughter and she could play for her. She laughed. But it did occur to her that the fitting way to go out would be to have family around, like when it started. Her son said his fondest memories were being on the road with his mother. But she’d made this last year this way on purpose. Her staff full of young 20-somethings with two of her former TAMU-CC players and a UCLA girl on the same staff, she felt like she was passing the baton. At first, she considered stepping aside. “It’s be nice for these girls to be able to win a title without me always hovering in the shadows.” But in another way, she thought, if her legacy was to push her girls to excellence in the same way she’d pushed them as players; that by coaching she was still coaching them...then she felt like it was her duty to come back and finish what they’d started here. UCLA brought her in to win a title and then pulled the rug out before she got a chance. Portland gave her a chance, they knocked on the door and failed to get it done but not without a fight. To leave now without a chance to finish the job they were hired to do would be pulling the rug not only out from her girls, but from the coaches she’d hired to learn from her. There would be one more chance at redemption. |
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05-07-2012, 10:02 PM
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#95 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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2052-53 SEASON PREVIEW
Code:
2052-53 SEASON PREVIEW Since it’s Sue’s last year, we’ve managed to get games on the road at everywhere she’s coached. Interesting note, when she started at TAMU-CC, their prestige was barely 10. Now? It’s in the 40s. What a difference a few years makes! We even setup a Bracketbusters game in January at UW-Green Bay, where Sue takes on her alma mater. So while the schedule will be tough, when you include the rematch of the national title game we scheduled with Indiana State, it should give a good assessment of who we are by the time we reach conference play. The team should be better this year, there’s a lot more depth than we had last year running with a skeleton crew, but with no seniors, this team is in prime condition to run together and learn together; not to mention will be very easy to sell to a new coach who won’t have to make many tweaks to the program. Code:
The debate in Portland is whether to hire one of the young assistants in a "head coach in waiting" scenario, which Sue Muldowney favors or hiring someone from the legions of coaches who'd want to take over a Top 5 program. It'll be a debate the athletic department will mull most of the year, because it'll be hard to know until the post-season ends whether or not, who might be available and what kind of program they're taking over. A lot easier to inherit the national champs over a team that everyone expects to win. |
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05-07-2012, 10:30 PM
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#96 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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This Indiana State v. Portland regular season rematch was completely bananas, so much so that I'm posting the box score.
Code:
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05-07-2012, 10:49 PM
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#97 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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Any thoughts that Portland was going to roll through the regular season en route to a fairy tale ending was simply not the case. Through January 30th, here's what we're looking at:
Code:
The message around Portland is not a particularly happy one right now. Lots of fans are calling for Sue Muldowney to step down immediately to salvage this season. People think that she's simply not able to reach her players and that the team and the season -- coupled with her inexperienced staff -- are starting to show. The athletic director has ignored the calls, saying that things will be fine and that this kind of experience is to be expected when you're a young team playing in a tough conference with a high RPI. But it remains to be seen if the team even makes the NCAAs at this point. It's probably too soon to panic, but suffice to say that things are not going according to plan right now. Last edited by Young Drachma : 05-07-2012 at 10:53 PM. |
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05-08-2012, 01:16 AM
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#98 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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So Portland heads into the conference tournament at 20-12 with a date against Seattle (21-11) in the 1st round. A loss would probably bump us just out of the tournament. As it stands right now, Bubble Watch has us in. With a SOS of 14 (higher than anyone in the WCC) we're probably safe, but...a win for sure would seal it and naturally we'd just like to see them win the whole damn thing and leave nothing to chance.
We blow out Seattle 100-52, but the following night lose to #1 seed Pacific 88-74. Bubble Watch says that we're now a 3-bid league with all three of us as locks for the tournament. With our RPI (16) and SOS, we ought to be fine. We might be in decent position seeding wise to pull an upset or two, because of how stuff works. But we'll find out how Selection Sunday goes. |
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05-08-2012, 01:35 AM
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#99 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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NCAA TOURNAMENT
We end up with an 8-seed in the Midwest region. Our first round date is against Missouri (20-11). The winner gets a date with the winner of UCLA (27-4)/UNC Wilmington. I give this game credit, it's clearly interested in drama. The truth is, we might be a bit young this year to pull this all off. I like our chances in theory, but in practice...the ballclub might just be a bit too wishy washy to really go deep into this thing. Part of me wants to just wait until tomorrow because if I sim it all now, it's literally going to be the end. So let's call it a night now. |
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05-08-2012, 03:56 PM
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#100 |
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Dark Cloud
Join Date: Apr 2001
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NCAA TOURNAMENT 2052
1st round: Portland 91, 9) Missouri 80
2nd round: Portland 94 1) UCLA 86 Sweet 16: Portland 83 4) TCU 72 Elite 8: vs. Portland 99 2) Indiana State 62 Final Four: 1) South Carolina 10) Tennessee 1) West Virginia 8) Portland |
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