califan;842517104 said:
Yes Really I do. And my buddies are not on the Duke board as they think it's stupid. Did you watch the game today? Anigwe was at the top of the zone just like Wilson was and her movement was much better than Wilsons, she trapped and got tips. Oh but there are no stats for that so she must suck right. Cox was at the back so yes she picked up a lot of rebounds, so are you saying that Anigwe must suck at rebounding also when she was on the top of the zone? Oh and are you saying that a player who gets to start or gets to go in early is not in a better position confidence wise than a player who was barely played during blow outs at the beginning should feel confident about herself. Clay interesting that Anigwe got extra time today, and Charmin was at the game but I must be just delusional right. I actually support KA and do think she has performed better leading up to this point on an even playing field. And yes, I do not think this is an even playing field!
Let me try this one more time, because you clearly have failed to grasp my points.
I don't know if you were unable to follow my logic (and maybe a bit too much sarcasm) or are just unwilling to consider any information or perspective that doesn't agree with your own preconceived view.
I think Kristine is great -- her game is already impressive, and I hope she keeps getting even better and has huge success at Cal (and beyond). I am pretty sure that (even as fervent as you seem to be) you don't support Kristine any more than I do. As I stated in my first post, I --like many of us on here-- wish KA had gotten more playing time.
But as a FAN of Kristine, of Cal and of WBB generally (and while I realize the term 'fan' originally comes from 'fanatic' and maybe your username should have warned us), I also think it's important to always keep some sense of perspective and rationality. When you make personal attacks on coaches' integrity and complain well beyond the point of realism and beyond what is actually best for the "cause" you claim to support, you cross the line between being a devoted fan who cheers, cares, supports, even vents a bit -- and being
one of those fans, who do more harm than good.
I do not actually care that much about the stats, I was just tossing out one example (among many) of information that Staley or any coach might legitimately use to influence her playing time decisions. You said you like to gather information from everywhere, but you have conveniently overlooked information that doesn't fit your conspiracy theory.
As just the most recent example: you noted that Anigwe got extra playing time in yesterday's game vs Canada and attributed that to Charmin being at the game.... Yet you somehow forgot to mention the MOST obvious possible explanation -- that Shakayla Thomas, the big who had been averaging more minutes than any other (yes even the favored child Wilson), couldn't play.
You also said you don't make assumptions, but it's clear you rely on them when it serves your purpose. Any time you claim to know someone's exact intent, you have to make some assumptions - because, obviously, you are not privy to all of Staley's thoughts and considerations. In my limited experience even players themselves, who are the ones actually involved in the practices and all the interactions with the coaches, are often not aware of all the variables that a coach has used to make playing time decisions.
But even further, you yourself stated "reading all the stuff that is being said certainly gives me a feeling that there is a pattern to what Staley is doing." Information you get at best second hand giving you a feeling = major assumptions. Your claim that Wilson had a bad attitude and talked back to Staley and therefore could do whatever she wanted? Forgetting the hearsay problem, your claim assumes you know everything there is to know about their years-long relationship from a minor interaction that your buddies think they saw. (not to mention it also assumes that Wilson only
wants to play the 20 minutes a game she's gotten -- but we'll
assume that was just hyperbole on your part)
And you say that you would never throw people under the bus. Really? What else do you call your blaming of Coach Staley? I would also call it a broadside attack on her personal integrity and ethics, made with flimsy evidence and absurd reasoning -- but you have certainly thrown her under the bus, claiming her selfish agenda is the one and only possible reason for KA not getting as much playing time as you desired.
Here's the thing though: what good are you possibly encouraging? KA did not get as much playing time as she may have deserved, and I'm sure wanted.... Do you think she should focus only on her individual concerns and react the way you are, making accusations and dramatic complaints based on limited information? Even if she did deserve more time in some games than she got, the playing field is not always even, and I would hope she'd be able to find more constructive ways to address the situation.
You mentioned that you didn't think Coach G would "pull this," and I agree that she wouldn't; but do you think Coach G, or any coach, would support your approach? As I said before (and you ignored), if Coach G has to sit Anigwe more than KA agrees with --for foul trouble, pressing, or whatever-- I wouldn't want the first knee-jerk response by Kristine or her supporters to be to focus solely on herself rather than the team and complain that the coaching staff must have some personal agenda. That kind of mentality you're promoting is not good for the program (you are a CALfanatic, right - not just a KAlfanatic?), and in the long run it's not good for the player or WBB in general.
If you want to try to get involved to help improve the process for selecting and coaching U.S. teams to avoid any potential conflicts of interest - fine. If you want to express opinions (yes, to which we are all entitled) critical of specific coaching moves, even vent a little - that's fine too. If you have to resort to twisting those opinions into personal attacks or can't express them respectfully and at least somewhat rationally, then you become one of
those fans, a true fanatic --yes, the delusional kind-- that have been known to give message boards a bad name.
