New names, new teams set sights on Philly
By Mechelle Voepel
Special to ESPN.com
For national events, media folks are always looking for something called the "local connection" to write a story or do a TV spot about.
|  | | Georgia and Coco Miller should be another contender in 2001. |
Sometimes, you'll go to ridiculous lengths to get these things. The old joke goes that if somebody stopped at a gas station in your town to fill up 10 years ago, you could claim that as a "local connection."
That's practically what we were reduced to when the Women's Final Four came to Kansas City two years ago. That was the year before Betty Lennox, who went to high school in the KC area, played for Louisiana Tech. So we had nothing, basically.
Philadelphia media? Jeez, they've got a million of those stories for this Final Four: Rutgers, Penn State, C. Vivian, Geno, Ace, Rene etc. From Philly's standpoint, it's turned out to be a pretty spiffy Final Four.
And for everybody else? Well, you knew UConn and Tennessee were in this year -- you just knew it. And no matter how tired everybody besides their fans might get of hearing about them, there's no denying that they can play some high-quality basketball.
But let's not automatically pencil them into the title game.
Rutgers and Penn State knocking off the top seeds in their regions -- Georgia in the West and Louisiana Tech in the Midwest -- means two new teams to the NCAA Final Four rather than two familiar names. And both the No. 2s are going to go into the Final Four quite confident.
Neither of the two "upsets" on Monday really were that surprising. Rutgers' 59-51 victory over Georgia in the West was the type of game one might have theorized it could be. Certainly, if someone had told you beforehand that the score would be in the 50s, you would have guessed Rutgers won.
Meanwhile, Penn State and Louisiana Tech could easily have been flipped as No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the Midwest. And the way the teams played on Monday, with Penn State pretty much dominating throughout most of the 86-65 victory, it looked as if that was probably the way it should have been.
There's no telling how much better Tech might have been if Shaka Massey had remained healthy this season. She was the only really experienced post player Tech had. The youngsters -- Ayana Walker, Takeisha Lewis, Catrina Frierson and Cheryl Ford -- did pretty well up until the final game, when they really struggled against Penn State's defense.
So did senior guards Betty Lennox and Tamicha Jackson, and some people will certainly criticize them for their shooting numbers. But you know what? Tech got this far behind those two, and it isn't like you could suddenly ask them to change. They're both phenomenal athletes who will get a chance in the WNBA.
As for Georgia, the other No. 1 that lost, consider how bad Rutgers makes a lot of offenses look. To a degree, Tech and Georgia are similar in that when they're hot, they will kill you, and when they aren't, they can kill themselves.
They're still fun teams to watch, though, and both have plenty to look forward to next year. Georgia brings back virtually all its key components except Angie Ball. This ought to be a great team once again.
Tech, obviously, seems much more the question mark for next season, losing Lennox, Jackson, the underrated Christie Sides (one of those players who just gets a lot of things done) and, of course, coach Leon Barmore.
Incidentally, ESPN's Michelle Tafoya should get kudos as she -- politely but persistently -- kept asking Barmore about his future, even though he kept trying to not answer the question. And he did finally say that he sees himself coaching again. Maybe Lennox and Jackson could find themselves playing for him again, this time in the WNBA.
At last year's Final Four, Barmore was asked if he regretted not going to the WNBA when it began, as the Houston Comets wanted him. He admitted he did have some second thoughts about turning down the new pro league. Could Barmore thrive as a pro head coach?
Absolutely -- he's flexible and understanding of different players' talents. And while he has lived practically his whole life in Ruston, La., let's not forget that Van Chancellor was quite worried about adjusting to Houston after all those years in Oxford, Miss. And Chancellor's done pretty well, you might say. Besides, Barmore could still live in Ruston much of the year should he end up in a WNBA job.
But back to Tech, fans are really worried about how this program will do without Barmore's leadership.
I won't even try to guess what the politics are like in Tech's athletic department, but it's hard to imagine Kim Mulkey-Robertson wouldn't get the head coaching job. And considering how much she has had to do with Tech's success all these years, first as a player and then as an assistant coach, you'd think the program would be in good hands.
Tech has survived against the odds vs. bigger-money schools all these years; you just can't see that program losing its stature.
As for the other teams that lost Monday, Texas Tech will reload. It always does. Truth was, a lot of people never would have picked Texas Tech as an Elite Eight team this year. Marsha Sharp could have a team of four 5-foot guards and a practice dummy and still find a way to win some games.
And then there's LSU. The Final Four has been a sweet reward now for such long-timers as Kay Yow, Gary Blair and Rene Portland. You can bet a lot of people are hoping that one day Sue Gunter gets that same reward.
Mechelle Voepel of the Kansas City Star is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. She can be reached via e-mail at mvoepel@kcstar.com. |
