The Women's Game
The Imus media frenzy remains focused on the racist comments he directed at the Rutgers women's basketball team. There hasn't been much attention paid to the fact that he was also expressing his disdain for women's athletics as a whole. He was making a comparison between the "thugs" of Rutgers and the "pretty" southern belles of Tennessee. He didn't think much of the game or have any respect for it. So he decided to focus on the exterior qualities of the players.
My father, Snuffy Smith officially retired from coaching basketball last weekend. He most recently coached at Bryn Mawr High School in Baltimore, a prestigious girl's school known more for their lacrosse and field hockey teams. He's coached there for the past nine years and many of his players have gone on to play college basketball. This ends a 25-year coaching career that included stints at Wheeling College where he coached John Beilein, Johns Hopkins University, UMBC and Virginia Commonwealth where he met Tubby Smith. Tubby and my dad remain friends today.
One thing I've observed about the Mawrtians he's coached over the years is that they came to play. They executed his college system perfectly and defended with intensity. They ran their offensive schemes and presses. At times, they knew his inbounds plays better than he did. They discussed what word they would cheer before breaking the huddle. Was it DEFENSE or REBOUNDING? They reached a democratic resolution based on what the situation called for. His teams hustled and made the most of their talent. They shot the ball with arc and backspin. For moments during his nine-year tenure like the 100- year anniversary of Bryn Mawr and St. Timothy's, he turned the school's attention to basketball. He packed the house every year for the annual scuffle against Roland Park. He made the game matter to these young women and to the Bryn Mawr community.
As a result, I've started watching women's college basketball. One thing that is glaringly obvious to me about the women's game is that they are actually playing basketball the way it is meant to be played. They pass and move without the ball. They box out and rebound. They set perfect picks and shoot the three. They don't dunk with regularity or stand around. They don't leave after one year for the pros. They make their foul shots. It's a refreshing change.
I regret never playing for my father directly but he taught me the game. Growing up, I road the bus with the college teams he coached any chance I could. I poured over greasy stat sheets left in the pizza box on the way home. He taught me to shoot the basketball like he did--with backspin and follow-through--and I made my high school team.
If anything good can come from the Imus situation, I'd like it to be a heightened awareness of women's athletics. Post reporter Sally Jenkins suggested that Imus become an ambassador for woman's college basketball--an excellent idea. They play the game the way my father taught me to play it--with intensity.
My father, Snuffy Smith officially retired from coaching basketball last weekend. He most recently coached at Bryn Mawr High School in Baltimore, a prestigious girl's school known more for their lacrosse and field hockey teams. He's coached there for the past nine years and many of his players have gone on to play college basketball. This ends a 25-year coaching career that included stints at Wheeling College where he coached John Beilein, Johns Hopkins University, UMBC and Virginia Commonwealth where he met Tubby Smith. Tubby and my dad remain friends today.
One thing I've observed about the Mawrtians he's coached over the years is that they came to play. They executed his college system perfectly and defended with intensity. They ran their offensive schemes and presses. At times, they knew his inbounds plays better than he did. They discussed what word they would cheer before breaking the huddle. Was it DEFENSE or REBOUNDING? They reached a democratic resolution based on what the situation called for. His teams hustled and made the most of their talent. They shot the ball with arc and backspin. For moments during his nine-year tenure like the 100- year anniversary of Bryn Mawr and St. Timothy's, he turned the school's attention to basketball. He packed the house every year for the annual scuffle against Roland Park. He made the game matter to these young women and to the Bryn Mawr community.
As a result, I've started watching women's college basketball. One thing that is glaringly obvious to me about the women's game is that they are actually playing basketball the way it is meant to be played. They pass and move without the ball. They box out and rebound. They set perfect picks and shoot the three. They don't dunk with regularity or stand around. They don't leave after one year for the pros. They make their foul shots. It's a refreshing change.
I regret never playing for my father directly but he taught me the game. Growing up, I road the bus with the college teams he coached any chance I could. I poured over greasy stat sheets left in the pizza box on the way home. He taught me to shoot the basketball like he did--with backspin and follow-through--and I made my high school team.
If anything good can come from the Imus situation, I'd like it to be a heightened awareness of women's athletics. Post reporter Sally Jenkins suggested that Imus become an ambassador for woman's college basketball--an excellent idea. They play the game the way my father taught me to play it--with intensity.
posted by DeanboyHoo at 7:08 PM
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