Uconn usually always has one of the best non conference schedule so no surprise there

@jeromedanielson4422

16 күн бұрын

Exactly., Geno is not a coach that dodges a challenge!

@user-gn3wq1mt7g

15 күн бұрын

True. LSU, on the other hand, prefers to line up the cupcakes.

UConn versus SC, ND, and USC will all be awesome games to watch. Looking forward to it

Coach Bluder built an amazing culture and program at Iowa.. getting to the Natty twice in a row is an amazing accomplishment, even with a talent like Caitlyn Clark. You still need a functioning team to play good enough defense and sacrifice to give your star a chance.. and Iowa did that as good as any the past two years. The women in that program got an amazing experience, something they likely never would have gotten without Coach Bluder and her staff. As far as UCONN.. no surprises... every year the standard is they play to win national championships.. can't do that without playing against teams that you will face in March. Find out where you are at.. what you can adjust.. and then push for their 12th chip in March 2025. Will be an exciting year to watch UCONN basketball.

@rollandhawkins8311

16 күн бұрын

Bluder did it right waiting until after the first of May to announce her retirement. That way players couldn't jump ship into the portal leaving the next coach with a decimated roster. I know Stanford was a different story with the dissolution of the Pac 12 but if their coach had waited until after the portal closed to let anyone know her retirement plans maybe the exodus wouldn't have been so bad. UConn always plays a tough non-conference schedule that way they have fewer surprises in March.

@buzzard6410

16 күн бұрын

@@rollandhawkins8311 I believe that when the coach leaves, players have 28 days to transfer. Portal doesn't matter.

@rollandhawkins8311

15 күн бұрын

@@buzzard6410 the rules are not exactly as you stated but close enough. I stand corrected. Did you know that the new coach can kick existing players off of the team. The school must honor their scholarship but they have no right to be on the team and they don't count as part of the roster limit.

@buzzard6410

15 күн бұрын

@@rollandhawkins8311 Didn't know that about the new coach. Kinda weird rules. But at least the scholarship is still honored.

Lisa saw the writing on the wall. This was the highest she would go 800+ wins not too shabby.

Keep hearing that old ACDC song playing in my head. " Who made Who " 😂

I kinda saw Lisa Bluder as a very average head coach. My biggest complaint against her was that once Caitlan Clark started showing signs of greatness she as the head coach still seem limited in her recruiting to in around Iowa. I just thought that could have done better recruiting wise. Anyway did you realize that player s have 30 days to change school following a head coach retirement. Not surprised by USC adding UCONN to their schedule for the upcoming yr bc that’s the kind head coach Lindsay Gottlieb is always taking on challenges and frequently beating them. Btw I think that UCONN will also face TX and NC State at home as part of their non conference schedule this yr too.

@jeangrey5952

17 күн бұрын

No top player wanted to go to Iowa because of Clark. They asked the McDonald’s All American girls who would they like to play with, all of them said Juju or Paige, none of them picked Clark.

@waldolydecker8118

17 күн бұрын

Average coach indeed..no excuse for not signing better recruits - especially after the unprecedented multi-million dollar marketing, advertising, and promotion campaign that publicized her program nationally and internationally the past 2-3 years....EVERY game televised...constant exposure, yet never signed any significant players.

@devinbrines

15 күн бұрын

You're right, she didn't give them a chance to win. It's the NIL era

@back2sports988

15 күн бұрын

Did they finish 2 game series with UConn. I remember they played UConn in 22-24, and at tx in 23-24. Way harsh calling Bluder average. Cori , would understand but feel like Bluder maxed out the talent they had.

@waldolydecker8118

15 күн бұрын

@@devinbrines - "NIL era" has nothing to do with it. The world of business changes everyday and has been doing so since Day 1. "NIL" ain't nothing but a natural sequence along that path. Competent managers in business adapt and can perform as the world changes; incompetent ones can't, or they lean on excuses like "its the era's fault" they can't perform. Bluder was at Iowa for 24 years - way before "NIL." The ball don't lie. She was a lame recruiter before NIL and the same lame one after NIL. If lucky local player Caitlin Clark didn't stay home and fall in her lap, Bluder's 15 mins of fame the past 2 years would have never occurred. Now, she will forever be remembered as "Caitlin Clark's coach."

U Conn has one open Scholarship ??? Iowa will be solid with Olsen . Coach Bluder had a great run ... Lets go U Conn , stay healthy and get Fudd and Caroline off the bench !! U Conn needs the depth . Geno is the Goat lets get number 12 in 2025.

Although Bluder's retirement came as a shock to me, the timing of it makes perfect sense. Iowa will have a good team next year, but it's hard to imagine that they will be as successful as the Caitlin Clark lead teams of the last few years. That being the case, a return to the final four for Iowa in the near future is highly unlikely, So Bluder is going out on top(or as close to it as you can get without winning the championship).

@waldolydecker8118

17 күн бұрын

Flip side is, the past 2 seasons with Clark is the ONLY time in 25 years Bluder had any spotlight on her performance as a coach. For 23 years she basically cruised under the radar with no expectations of high performance from fans or Iowa Administration, which is exactly what she delivered. Its only after local product Clark fortuitously dropped in her lap (as opposed to Bluder having to compete with top schools and attract Clark from the other side of the country) that Bruder for the first time had performance expectations for her program. With expectations and fan following at Iowa now at an all time high, but lucky local player Clark gone, Bluder FOR THE FIRST TIME was going to have the spotlight and performance pressure that coaches at UCONN, SC, or Notre Dame, for example, have EVERY YEAR. For the first time Bluder's mediocre local recruiting radius and other coaching shortcomings that were covered up by Clark the past two years would be exposed and be forced to improve under the new spotlight. Instead of confronting this first time challenge, Bluder's response was to quit...get out while the getting good....take the money (from the unprecedented multi-million dollar marketing and publicity campaign that followed her team all year...sponsorships, endorsements, national exposure) and run. Expect Bluder to parlay her newfound notoriety as "Caitlin Clark's coach" into a position somewhere on the business end of sports or in broadcasting, where she can make the same (or more) money without the pressure of having to recruit top players and consistently win games.

@user-gn3wq1mt7g

17 күн бұрын

@@waldolydecker8118 Well, a couple of thoughts about your comments. There's a lot of truth to what you say, but in the end, if what you say is all true, then Bluder is a genius for heading for the exits now. She's just going to maximize her future earnings potential by leaving now. Also, she is 63. How many people want to work until they're 70? Almost nobody, if they can avoid it. After losing three of her best players, it could take at least a few more years to get back to the final four. Best case scenario, she'd be like 67 years old. Why hang around if she can make more money on the business end of sports or in broadcasting, like you said?

@waldolydecker8118

16 күн бұрын

@@user-gn3wq1mt7g - can't argue with you (or would I be arguing with myself?). Agree, its the right move...didn't know she was 63. Even if she stayed, no way would she surpass the past 2 years...don't think she could even if she stayed another 10, frankly. Good point.

@user-gn3wq1mt7g

15 күн бұрын

@@waldolydecker8118 I'm guessing you took your moniker, waldo lydecker, from that character in the movie, "Laura." Great movie, with Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews. Waldo Lydecker, in the movie at least, was not a good guy. Why choose his name for your moniker?

Two more years, they would have been like the Buffalo Bills. I’m just saying. Hope she enjoys her retirement! FYI……..it’s Jasmine Carson. Like I said before, IOWA had no more of a chance of beating LSU, than they did South Carolina.

@albertjohnson2043

15 күн бұрын

I think you are right. It was monumental what Iowa accomplished in the semifinals two years in a row. Iowa women were overmatched and still competitive. That's all you can ask.

South Carolina/UConn, national championship preview!

Regardless of what conferenc uconn is in, Geno has always and will keep scheduling hard non-conference games... He's been doing this since the beginning of time... I think it's great he's not afraid...

Nice take as usual brudda.

Btw Back2sports UCONN always had a tough non-conference schedule even when they were in the Big East with ND, and Syracuse

@back2sports988

16 күн бұрын

Yep - was trying to say & maybe badly that tough non conference even more important now due to weakness of big east. But take Ur point

I think this is genos last year tbh, he wants to make it memorable

No coach has ever done so much with so little tallent. It is ironic that coaches who could not be bothered to extend a scholarship offer to CC are held in such high asteem and often under preformed. South Carolina played well and had a tallented and deep team which only Iowa layed a golve on in the last two years. Any coach who takes an average team to consecutive championship games deserves respect. Bluder had a team which was better than the sum of its parts.

@rollandhawkins8311

15 күн бұрын

" only Iowa laid a glove on in the last two years"? Except for a miraculous last second three point shot by Camilla Cardoso Tennessee beats South Carolina and their unbeaten season never happens. Iowa barely beat a depleted UConn team who had to start two freshmen.

The Indiana Fever will hire Bluder to coach Caitlin Clark. Mark my words.

As for UConn. They have to schedule games like this. Especially next season. The big east will be awful. It had steadily been getting worse. They will probably have to play Xavier twice next year.

It would be funny if Christie Sides is fired if Indiana missed the playoffs, then they bring in Lisa Bluder to coach Caitlin Clark again lol.

@waldolydecker8118

17 күн бұрын

Sure would be funny...Bluder wouldn't win anymore than Sides will. Doesn't matter who coaches Indiana...they will not beat the better teams. BTW, Clark is the one who is suppose to "guarantee" the championship with her arrival, not the coach. If Clark doesn't produce as heavily advertised and paid, blaming the coach is a cop out excuse....Clark and only Clark is responsible for her performance.

@pattibond2342

17 күн бұрын

​@@waldolydecker8118something that You & So Many other's seem to be missing, is that basketball is a TEAM Sport. It takes a TEAM to show up & Win a Championship. One player is Not gonna do it, no matter how good they are!

@buzzard6410

16 күн бұрын

@@waldolydecker8118 Not entirely a cop out, blaming the coach. Remember Paul Westhead with the Lakers in 1981 having them play slow down ball when they had greyhounds led by Magic. You have to fit the system to the skills of the players. Not the other way around.

@waldolydecker8118

16 күн бұрын

@@buzzard6410 - True...only one problem: where's the proof Coach Sides is running Westhead's program? Haven't heard the quote from her saying that was her offensive game plan. Clark fanatics have made that claim, but watching the game, I see no evidence Sides is telling her players to play against their skills. Clark fanatics are largely emotional, irrational, and ill-informed...would never take their word for it without hearing it from the coach or seeing it in action. What I see is her players being fully allowed and expected to run. Problem is, if the other team is good defensively and shuts down the run, then you have no choice but to execute in the half court. Top defensive teams aren't going to let Indiana run up and down the court freely. Good teams can walk and chew gum at the same time, so they know how to run AND score in the half court when necessary.

@buzzard6410

16 күн бұрын

@@waldolydecker8118 Not saying she is, but... people tend to not be very adaptable. If she is a system coach, and most are, they tend to not be adaptable at all. That was the Westhead problem. When you have a unicorn, you need to adapt.

i wonder if Caitlin Clark went to UConn or SC if she would have been allowed to play the way she did for Iowa and if we would have been having this moment in the WBB. Would MJ be MJ if he played for coach K. The what if would be interesting to see in another universe.

@waldolydecker8118

17 күн бұрын

No way....Clark played with no coaching discipline at Iowa...she had free reign to do whatever she liked or "saw" on the floor. Her game would have been more subjugated to the team at team-focused programs like UCONN or SC, which are led by experienced championship coaches. Lisa Bluder isn't on that level of coaching. Probably one of the reasons Clark went to Iowa - Clark knew she would be given complete freedom by Bluder to shoot and would have no equivalent teammate demanding equal touches.

@buzzard6410

16 күн бұрын

@@waldolydecker8118 The one glaring hole in CC's offensive game is a mid range shot. After four years of college, Bluder should have helped CC develop one. While Indiana's coach made a stupid remark recently about a "long two," the development of a mid range threat (10-15 feet) is what elevated the likes of Kobe, MJ, Kawhi Leonard, etc. When you can score efficiently at all three levels, you become very difficult to defend.

@waldolydecker8118

16 күн бұрын

@@buzzard6410 - very true

She coached at Iowa 24 years. You might forget her but Iowa will not. Iowa people count , you do not...just a critic is all you are.

@back2sports988

15 күн бұрын

Is this comment for me? If so taking it from Bluder lovers & haters - but ok

Calling Caitlan Clark a "once-in-a-generation player" is over the top. I didn't see her as even the best college player in 2024. Time will tell, but it's highly doubtful her record will compare to someone like Sue Bird.

@back2sports988

15 күн бұрын

Not the best college player in 24? Wow ok - career stats at Iowa 7 reb, 8 assist , 28 PTS and efg% = 56% . Took team to championship game twice the last 2 years. Yea she is not going to be great as shooting is not important in WNBA. Have fun on that island. Good luck.

Okay, I like you. I like your content - a lot. But you are killing me with mispronunciations. I commented a while back; don’t remember the specifics. But it wasn’t Jan Carson. It was Jasmine Carson. These kids may only have that moment of fame. Please take care to say their names correctly. Much love. T

@back2sports988

15 күн бұрын

did i say Jan? wow. sorry

Addie Deal. Will she reopen her recruitment? Is she really leaving California to play at Iowa for a coach that has never been a head coach? That’s what I want to know. Iowa fans really wanted Brynn McGaughy. And I think it just became way harder to get her. Iowa seems like an unlikely landing spot now.

Iowa will return to a nobody like Wisconsin in wbb.

She screwed all her players because the transfer protocol is closed. If a player is not happy with the new staff, they are stuck. The ncaa needs to allow players in this situation to transfer out..... hall of fame all about them coach with zero chips.

@kiantaebyers5869

16 күн бұрын

The NCAAW allows for a 30-day window once a coach decides to leave for players to transfer out.

Iowa said if Lisa can't win with cc she's out!

Lisa bluder had no chips to her name. If she’s remembered outside of Iowa it will be for choking not once, but twice in the ncaa championship. Her name will forever be synonymous with Caitlin Clarke. She has no legacy of her own.

@johnsteward132

17 күн бұрын

Must be your stupid day.

@albertjohnson2043

16 күн бұрын

Totally disagree re Lisa Bluder. For Iowa women to play in two consecutive championship games where they were essentially overmatched is quite an accomplishment. Bluder deserves to be in HOF.

@Poledancebeginner

16 күн бұрын

@@albertjohnson2043 if she makes the HOF make sure to get the refs in there too. Especially this past season.

@back2sports988

15 күн бұрын

Choking they were the under dogs in both games.

@kentuckylucky5762

13 күн бұрын

While they didnt win the Ch either year...but iowa beat those teams..sc last year final 4 and lsu this year elite 8....they played above their talent except for CC