College Women’s Basketball Exploding- Celebrate It

This was a post by Terry Pettit, former Nebraska women’s volleyball coach. Coach Pettit is the John Wooden of college volleyball. In addition to his personal facebook page, he has a page devoted to coaching topics. When one reads his posts, it is very easy to see why he is a coaching legend- his wisdom is off the charts.

Right now women’s college basketball has exploded in popularity. TV numbers are surpassing the TV numbers of men’s basketball. Arenas are selling out in Stanford, Iowa, and UConn. ESPN during the week actually does analysis of women’s basketball. And men’s basketball experts are spending part of their shows talking about women’s basketball and women’s players.

In my opinion, a significant difference between women’s basketball of today and of 20 years ago is that the focus is on players not on coaches. Twenty years ago (and before that), the focus was on Geno A, Pat Summit, Kay Yow, Tara V, and Muffet M. Coaches were the stars. Today the women’s game is focused on Caitlin Clark-Iowa, Cameron Brink-Stanford, Paige Bueckers- UConn, JuJu Watkins-USC, Rori Harmon-Texas, Kamala Cardoso-SC, Aneesah Morrow-LSU, Hannah Hidalgo-ND, Angel Reese-LSU, Lauren Betts-UCLA, Tina Paopao-SC—- the list can go on and on. My list is not intended to be the 11 best, they are just ones who came to mind as I was writing. I am confident most female high school players would know these players. There are many players who young players and even the “casual fan” can recognize.

The casual women’s basketball fan could name not just Clark on the Iowa team but would be able to talk about Gabby Marshall, Kate Martin, and Hannah Stuelke. The players in the college game in the last two years have successfully elevated the game. Caitlin Clark has had a similar impact that Pete Maravich had when I was growing up. He was not on TV, but my friends and I would listen to LSU games on the radio if we could find them, and the nest day be a buzz about what happened. But it is not just Clark drawing attention today, there are a handful of great players who are drawing peoples attention to the game. 

As I mentioned earlier, traditionally in both men’s and women’s college basketball attention is centered on the coaches. The present coaches are to be complimented for taking a step back and letting the players be the stars. The only exception would seem to be Kim Mulkey. Letting the players be the stars is the model that the NBA has successfully used in marketing. The NBA is a players league. 

For years (and still today), many National League baseball fans complained that adding the DH would eliminate so much of the game that people love- things like the “double switch.” I have never been to a game or watched a game when a manager pulled a double switch where the fans started screaming with excitement. In a basketball game, when a coach changes their defensive scheme in the middle of game to defend ball screens differently, the fans don’t jump out of their seats. Fans are there to watch the players. 

Who is the all-time greatest player in basketball- Michael Jordan or Lebron James? My answer, it is a stupid question and I don’t care. There are things I love about each player and things I don’t like about each player. Personally I really admired Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and before that I thought Dennis Radabaugh was great. Dennis went to Savanna HS and led the state in scoring. I don’t have to pick- I can admire a bunch of players and I can love to watch each of them play and each of them compete. Do they need to be perfect? No. Do I like it when Steph Curry does some of his antics after he hits a three? Absolutely not, but man do I love to watch him play. 

There a multiple college women who have helped elevate the women’s game. I get that Clark has gotten so much attention and now is in so many commercials, that it is easy to get tired of that. But I say, more power to her. Instead of resenting it when another ad comes up, celebrate that a female athlete is getting that much money and that much attention. When her team plays, you don’t have to root for Iowa. (Personally I am a Wisconsin fan who has trouble rooting for any other Big Ten team in anything- if they add a national championship in hopscotch- I probably won’t root for other Big Ten teams.) 

Many of these players who have elevated the women’s game are flawed. Clark whines about too many calls. With Angel Reese, I don’t know where to begin. So yes, these great players do not always model the behaviors that I wish my high school players would model. But I really like to watch them play. 

So you like Michael Jordan, that doesn’t mean you have to hate Lebron. So you like South Carolina, that doesn’t mean you have to hate Iowa or LSU. So you like Angel Reese, you don’t have to hate Caitlyn Clark. Maybe that is America today, we pick sides and then feel we must hate the other side. Women’s basketball has something really good going on right now. Hating on certain teams and hating on certain players does not help the game grow. 

We don’t have to root for each team and each player, but let’s celebrate these great players and these great teams! Let’s see where our excitement can take the women’s game! And selfishly, my hope is that the excitement grows interest in high school basketball. I am hoping there may be a 4th or 5th grade girl in Galesburg, Il who is watching Paige Buekers or JuJu Watkins, and says, “I want to be the next JuJu.”