Womens basketball -- Fairfield Stags Message Board

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Edit | View ]

[> [> Re: Womens basketball -- 79er, 19:58:11 01/07/03 Tue

When the men get an at-large bid, we can talk. Dianne's program over the years has been a credit to the university.

[ Edit | View ]

[> [> [> Re: Womens basketball -- fu88, 22:48:04 01/07/03 Tue

where does ms. maac stand in the ncaa division 1 list of total wins by a women's coach. js, got that stat.

[ Edit | View ]

[> [> [> [> Re: Womens basketball -- me, 08:57:09 01/08/03 Wed

this argument is comparing apples and oranges........
dianne got an at large bid based on dominating a weak league and folding (as has been her MO historically) in the tournament. the men pulled a similar feat in '96 going 20-10 and losing in the final, and cormier and his bunch weren't glued to the TV selection sunday. she is at best an average game coach (she should thank her lucky stars that she has decent/loyal assistants).
for better or worse, the men's and women's game are still very very different - certainly in the MAAC and at fairfield.
if she is such a good coach and got an offer from SJU, why didn't she go? fear of being exposed as the coach that she is on a national level?

[ Edit | View ]

[> [> [> [> [> Re: Womens basketball -- Sobro, 09:04:57 01/08/03 Wed

The at large bid came as the result of road wins over then #25 Boston College, and Miami and home wins over Cal and Wisconsin, Green Bay. Strength of schedule, RPI, and 25 wins get you to the NCAA's. As the #12 seed, FF also got screwed having to play the # 5 seed Utah on their home court instead of on a neutral court as Iowa, the # 4 seed didn't have access to their facility due to wrestling championships.

[ Edit | View ]

[> [> [> [> [> [> Re: Womens basketball -- me, 09:32:20 01/08/03 Wed

whoa!!! what a minute......looks at the results, BC was 14-15 that year, and i don't care if they were ranked #1 "at the time", when the committee is deciding at the end of the year, they're looking at a win over a below .500 team. also, miami was 13-15 that year. if you want to hang your hat on a wisc.-green bay game that's great. let's not over-estimate the quality of play in the big eat on the women's side. at the time, (and to a lesser extent, now) it's a 3-4 team league, everyone else (providence, viginia tech, pitt, etc.) would be better served playing for the maac title and their automatic bid. they are like the kansas city royals...out of it before the season starts.
my point still remains, dianne is not a great coach. she and her staff can recruit good athletes, and that's enough to make you successful at that level. free_beer makes a good point, if you want to compare her and her program to the men's, let's do it across the board.....where's the attendance at her games? why have players transferred/left the program? have you ever watched her coach a game in a tight spot? what's her tournament record?

[ Edit | View ]

[> [> [> [> [> [> [> Re: Womens basketball -- Menzies, 11:30:47 01/08/03 Wed

IMO, she isn't a great coach, else she wouldn't be here. More successful than TOT, on balance, yes. IMO, there isn't the pressure to win or get out at the MAAC level on the women's side.

The at-large bid year was a special year, for a MAAC team. BC and Miami were good, not great teams. IMO, the success of that team was as much about Strumpf and Tapley as Nolan.

No, I don't think she is a genius in tight spots. Most programs have players leave.

[ Edit | View ]

[> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Re: Womens basketball -- Stagman, 12:05:48 01/08/03 Wed

So a coach who doesn't move on can't be very good? How about John Kresse at College of Charleston? He was there for 28 years. Must not be very good. Pete Carril at Princeton? How didn't move up. Musta been a bum. Dick Tarrant at Richmond. Sure he pulled off those upsets in the NCAA's, but so what. He stayed at one school. Bum.

Anyone ever think that maybe the fact that Ms. Nolan has 3-4 young kids had anything to do with her decision? Ever think that maybe putting her family ahead of her job weighed into her decision to move up?

If she had bolted, you guys would have been calling her a traitor. She stays, so you intimate that she must not have the goods to step up. She can't win either way.

We would be in 7th heaven if the guys team had the success the women's team has had over the last 20 years. Not saying we have to like her. Not saying the current team is strong. But let's not downplay what this woman and her teams have accomplished over her tenure.

[ Edit | View ]

[> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Re: Womens basketball -- Bob, 12:10:44 01/08/03 Wed

What players have left? Ayana Brown? Schiano? (Injury!)Molly Light? (Not a D-1 player,only here to play with sister).The men have lost Price, Robertson and Galvanoni in the past few years? Who else has left the women's team?

[ Edit | View ]

[> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Tight spots - memorable moments -- JoeStag, 12:45:56 01/08/03 Wed

Menzies, I have to disagree when you say that Nolan's not a genius in tight spots...... implying that she is not good at tight situations.

I have seen the Women in many close, tight and critical games, and they have comne thru many times..... and most of them in memorable fashion. Even as recent as last year their Quarter-Final OT win over Canisius in the MAAC Tourney was intense and a tremendous comeback. The game ended after midnight and all Fairfield Fans just congrigated on the court..... needing to discuss what they just saw and experienced. No one wanted top leave.

Who remembers Chantell Williams shot to win the game in the MAAC Tourney after being down 8 with less than a minute to play.

And my favorite Women's moment was when Nolan took Jessica Grossarth out of a MAAC Tourney semi-final after a bad play. Grossarth was so angry at herself, at Nolan, and at the score that she came to the bench kicked over 3-4 chairs as they went flying, and did the same to the Gatorade cooler..... it was classic. Grossarth then sat in a chair, towel over her head, and probably crying. With the Stags losing, and one of their best players emotionally out of control..... Nolan somehow made it work. She sat Grossarth for about 8 minutes, got the situation under control, and the Stags eventually won a nail biter with Grossarth playing a big part.

Normally, you don't want players acting like Grossarth did, but her emotions were natural... almost John Tice-like. Love to see players with that type of spirit. Nolan knows how to handle the girls, and knows how to get the most out of them.

I can go on and on. But Nolan has had a great W-L record, but also she has directed her teams to hundreds of memorable moments.

[ Edit | View ]

[> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Re: Tight spots - memorable moments -- Bob, 12:58:21 01/08/03 Wed

JoeStag,
Monday was another example. Down 8 with less than 3 minutes left, Chartier injured and on the bench, Hammerer injured and in street clothes sitting next to Schrene, and the Stags came back to force OT and then win the game against a good Loyola team. I am a 10 year season ticket holder and can remember many times taht we won late in games. Don't understand the comment. Maybe we were confised with TOT.

[ Edit | View ]

[> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Nolan -- Scott, 19:36:15 01/09/03 Thu

As a Loyola women's hoops fan, I feel that Dianne is a very good coach. One tremendous coaching skill of her's is the ability to work the officials. She gets a lot more than her share of close calls. Her job is to win games and by working the officials she gets some calls that utlimately win her games.

Fairfield and St Peter's are consistently at the top of the conference. The reason for this year in and year out success is the quality of their coaches. You all should be grateful that she has hung around all of these years. If there is one thing that will cause a MAAC level program to take a step back it is losing a successful coach.