Some Random Thoughts On International Basketball [Archive]

Durbansandshark

15-04-2009, 08:02 AM

I'll delay the Team GB women for now. But some not-so-surprising and (faintly) related news has emerged today in the world of women's international basketball. USA Basketball will officially announce that Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma will lead the US women's national basketball team through the 2012 London Olympics, becoming the first active college coach in that position since Stanford's Tara VanDeveer in the pre-WNBA days of Atlanta 1996. After Ann Donovan, who else in the world of North American women's basketball coaching has a more marketable name that hasn't head coached in the Olympics yet than Geno? Mike Thibault, C. Vivian Stringer, and Gail Goestnekors, just to name a few, all would make great coaches for the Olympics, but they lack the high Q rating Auriemma has, though newly-inducted Hall of Famer Stringer comes reasonably close (has yet to win in the NCAA title despite her 800+ wins). Thanks to a new rule instituted last month by USA Basketball's executive committee, the new head coach must hold at least five years of experience, either as an assistant or head coach, at any level at the time of application/selection instead of restricting that to just WNBA head coaches, for it was the hightest level in the USA (Auriemma was an assistant in Sydney). Something tells me this was done to accomodate Geno (and possibly Stringer) for the aforementioned reason I just brought out. You know, Geno relishes this opportunity to defend the US Olympic gold for a fifth go-round. Will he take a sabbatical from his current UCONN job like VanDeveer and then-Indiana Fever coach Nell Fortner both did in their posts as USA head coach and possibly let former player Shay Ralph (if not Hartford Hawks' Jen Rizzotti) run the Storrs store while he's away?

It's almost a foregone conclusion that outside of that Emissary of Evil Parker becoming the taliswoman on the team in London, it'll be almost like classic UCONN times with mainstays and good BFFs Bird and Taurasi as first-stringers. Maya Moore could be on the team then. What if DelleDonne decides to return to basketball, and how interesting that will be with Auriemma coaching and maybe selecting (if not playing) her? One good thing about London is no more of that wretched and conceited My Stupid Evil Pony. Last week with the Final Four going on here, I talked to a few women's college basketball fans who detested Geno for they think he's arrogant in his demeanor. I reminded them that if you rack up all of those titles, including those from a few undefeated seasons, you can afford at least a little arrogance. He does admit that he's highly opinionated and fierce, but it works for him. His first task is to get them to win the 2010 FIBA Women's World Basketball Championship in the Czech Republic, thus qualifying automatically in London. No mean feat.

Opals and Carrie Graf, I really, really want you ladies to finally win it all--you should've won during the MSEP years of oppression. But from the looks of this, you got some serious work between now and London to get over the hump at last. Put yourself through some serious physical training and matchup to counter what they have, study immensely on the US game and styles via video and Internet (like his), don't be afraid of innovation (unlike Stirling), develop some emerging depth particularly at the frontcourt (hopefully Tolo among them to ease Loz's burden), have some slashing players, and replenish your shooting guards supply, just to name a few things for now.

FIBA's announcement on the host of the 2014 FIBA World Basketball Chanmpionship will be during the weekend of May 23-24 between China, Italy, and Spain in Geneva, Switzerland.