It’s very easy to hate the teams that find themselves in the NCAA Tournament every time a new March rolls around. Take, for example, the Connecticuts, the Georgias and the Louisiana Techs of the women’s basketball world – at the end of every season, they’re packing their bags for Nike’s Bracketville. Somehow, they’ve all come across this golden ticket of sorts (Hint: Start buying those Wonka Bars).
It’s even easier, however, to hate the teams who shouldn’t even be there. Note: Hampton lost to Connecticut, 116-45 in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tourney. Yup, that’s a 71-point shellacking (it kind of makes you wonder why the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference even gets an automatic bid, but that’s beside the point).
For many mediocre programs, it’s frustrating to see the name of a team who lost more than 50 percent of its games penciled in the first-round brackets on Selection Sunday. But that’s how the system works. The seedings never represent the best 64 teams in the country. And as long as conferences such as the Eastern Sun-Valley Over the Rainbow Belt Conference exist, the best 64 will never be truly represented.
This year, the Massachusetts women’s basketball team’s ticket to the tourney lies in Philadelphia at the Atlantic-10 Championships. It’s too late to hope for an at-large bid. Topping just one powerhouse (Georgia, Rutgers or Stanford) would have helped that cause. And tough losses to San Francisco and James Madison just didn’t. The Maroon and White has to win the Atlantic-10 if it wants to see a post-season. And that’s not going to be so easy, as it found out on Jan. 20 in its 28-point loss to conference foe George Washington. When that championship date rolls around in early March, UMass must be better…and don’t get me wrong. The potential is there.
After the Minutewomen’s eight point loss to No. 5 Georgia in the early-goings of this 2000-01 campaign, I posed the following question to the skipper of the Lady Bulldogs, 2000 National Coach of the Year Andy Landers: ‘Is UMass a ‘tournament team’?’
‘I think they have the potential to go far,’ Landers said. ‘They’ve got a nice basketball team. But I don’t know (if they’re a tournament team); it’s too early to tell.’
We just didn’t know what to expect from the young Minutewomen. And quite honestly, we still don’t. It’s been a learning process for the one-senior squad. Head Coach Joanie O’Brien set the tough 2000-01 schedule with the assumption that junior forward Nekole Smith would be starting for her in the frontcourt – but Smith went down in practice before the season even started. And this forced a great deal of pressure down upon the 6-foot-3 sophomore frame of forward Jen Butler.
For the first 10 or so games, Butler was quite hesitant in her play. Her aggressiveness was there, but so was an inevitable lack of focus. Frustration can kill young post players and force them to make bad decisions on the blocks. It’s something that comes with the territory and it’s also the fine line between the good post players and the great ones. The competition has been good for her though; she is learning to compete at a high level.
The Minutewomen are now seven games into their A-10 schedule and Butler is beginning to emerge as the team’s go-to offensive player. But again, that doesn’t come without youthful struggles.
‘Jen doesn’t feel like she’s getting the calls or the respect she deserves, and it’s frustrating her,’ O’Brien said. ‘I think a lot of it is her getting double-teamed and still trying to make those same moves. No one is coming to her rescue.
‘She has to prove that she can score before they’re going to give her those calls. Susan Moran (Saint Joseph’s leading scorer and Irish National Team standout) gets more three-point plays than anybody and it’s because she has proven for years that she can score.’
In her last eight games (as of Jan 20), six of which were on the road, Butler averaged a double-double (15.6 ppg, 10.1 rpg) as the Minutewomen went 3-3 in the A-10. With her finally understanding what she needs to do, you have to start looking to other areas of the Minutewomen attack. And the one player who is definitely filling her new role nicely is sophomore Ebony Pegues. Pegues, a starter earlier in the season, was been relegated to the role of UMass’ sixth player.
‘Of course I think I should be starting,’ Pegues said. ‘But one thing that’s good about coming off the bench is that I don’t have to think as much. I can just come in and play my game.’
On Jan. 14, Pegues didn’t do too much thinking against A-10 foe Dayton. Because she was unconscious. Pegues went seven-for-13 from the floor on her way to a career-high 17 points. In the game, Butler and senior Kathy Coyner struggled early and Pegues’ burst off the bench was the main factor in the Minutewomen’s 69-57 victory in Ohio.
‘Ebony has been just huge off the bench for us,’ O’Brien said. ‘She is such a good scorer that she gives an immediate spark to the offense. She comes in and the game changes immediately. It’s a role she’s really grasped with both hands.’
As of now, this is what the starting five looks like: Coyner, Butler, Siiri Liivandi, Amber Sneed and Paige Harris. Coyner and Butler are both good for 15 points a night and you can always count on them for their respective assist and rebounding contributions. Sneed, a sophomore, struggled early in the season, but she beginning to find a consistent groove on the offensive side of the ball. Transfer Liivandi has struggled a little but she has fought hard on the boards all season. And every so often, she finds some confidence on offense.
‘Siiri is really just a rookie,’ O’Brien said. ‘She’s been up and down a bit, but that’s just part of being young and having to learn a new system. She’s starting to find a level of consistency, before too long she’ll be a real contributor for us.’
Harris, the O’Brien-dubbed ‘best shooter UMass could possibly ever have,’ rounds out the starting five. She’s had her games, but the freshman is still having a hard time finding the basket every time she suits up.
‘I just need to get more mentally tough,’ Harris said. ‘Basketball is 90 percent mental; you just have to believe that you can make those shots.’
We know Harris can shoot the basketball. Her form is probably the best this town has ever seen. Her big problem, however, is that she’s having a hard time finding shots. And when they’re presented to her, she’s hesitating to fire. But O’Brien seems intent on keeping her in the starting position, because it’s not that Harris isn’t giving 100 percent. She’s still learning. And we all know, you have to play to get the true Division I education.
‘Paige is starting to get in good rhythm.’ O’Brien said. ‘If I yank her now, I think it would throw us off a little bit. She’s starting to give us a little more on the court; the kid’s diving on the floor constantly. She’s so new at the college game that shot selection is something she’s still picking up.’
There’s less than 10 games left on the schedule. And they’re all conference battles. If UMass has any chance at post-season glory, it’s going to have to gain some respect in the remaining A-10 match-ups. Let’s wipe the slate clean right now. Who knows what a good seed in the A-10 tourney could lead to? The Minutewomen have been hinting all year of what they can accomplish. And I know I’ve seen it. It’s time to put it all together.
I have my fingers crossed.
