WBB: GSAC

[GottaHaveHeart]

I hope Coach is able to bring in some size to help on the boards. He is looking at a post player from Cleveland High. She use to play AAU for me. Parents said they are considering coming. Not much of a scorer but a bruiser inside and good rebounder. Also a kid from Hiwassee College, supposely their second leading scorer this year, is rumored to be transfering in according to a source from Hiwassee College. I think he is also looking at some kid from Sequoyah.

Colleen will help in the point guard position where we are very young. Finding a scorer to replace Summer will be an issue. A lock down defender would be nice to have. Team has got to get better defensively. Got to be able to get stops late in a game. Rebounding on both ends got to improve.

Natalie, Mel and Katie all returning is the key for next year. Coach will also have a year under his belt as the head man. Maybe some new stradegy will come.

Probably will come down to us and Piedmont again next year.

[GSAC Killer]

The only player that is sure to come back is Katie Saxe.. "GHH" trust me on that.. It was a disappointing season for Mel and Munday... I think Coach Pardue is a real nice guy and did a pretty good job, but since I say it how I see it.. They underachieved!!!!

NO WAY!!! They stopped one of the longest streaks in the Nation of going to the NCAA Tournament.. That team was a Sweet 16 caliber team.. Even with the departure of Colleen, Jones,Grant, Andy and the graduating seniors...

[GottaHaveHeart]

This is how I see it:

First, Dee Bell is at Reinhardt and everyone, including myself, might as well accept that fact and move on. Blame the Maryville powers for that loss. 

Second, I don't see Mel and Natalie as quitters. Just because things didn't go as they should have or as they expected is no reason to quit. Welcome to the real world! Everybody is disappointed. If you a real competitor, then you come back next year and make it right. If you a fair weather competitor who glows in the sun but quits when a storm comes, blames it on everybody else besides yourself.....bye bye.....

Third, Coach Pardue definitely has room for improvement on his end, being his first year at the head, he made his mistakes, but the bottom line is the players got to play and perform too. Pardue didn't have 20 turnovers in that championship game. You can have the best (or worst) game plans in the world, but if the players don't execute them, so what!

I still say if Katie, Mel and Natalie comes back healthy with the right attitude, we get a little help, we can do something good next year.  I would hope they would talk to the Coach and he needs to talk to them before anyone does anything they might regret.

[MCScotsFan]

What a super post, GHH!!!

I totally agree with your thoughts here.

Where is Coach Bell?? He left...we have a new coach and darned good one. I realize they are night and day different and each have positives and negatives. Maryville is very lucky to have Coach Pardue and those girls are even more lucky. Loved Dee Bell, but I gotta say this Coach Pardue is quite impressive. GHH is right, if these girls are thinking of leaving or quitting, they need to sit down and talk to this man. I think he has wisdom to share with them about basketball, college and LIFE.

Bell left at a bad time for these ladies. I wondered if we were even going to have a team ready to play. They seemed to be dropping like flies early on and so for the season to come together as it did, I'm proud of them!!

I am worried about Natalie quitting. But I saw a spark in her during the last game that I am hoping will shake her up and rekindle her love and dedication for the game. She's a super young woman and a very good ballplayer.
And nobody plays ball like Mel IMHO. Mel is my favorite Lady Scot ever to watch. I would be heartbroken to ever see her quit. From what I hear, she is doing well with school. So if she stays healthy and dedicated, next year will be great.

I also heard there IS a shooter seriously looking at MC. That's also very good news for this team. Again, I await to see Alex. I'm betting she's not going to disappoint!

Nice to hear Colleen is coming back. I heard she misses MC. She never showed me much last year, but I'm willing to let her toss that comment out the backdoor. 

[GottaHaveHeart]

Alex's rehab is going great and ahead of schedule. She started running today for the first time, straight line tread-mill. Said it felt okay, no pain or swelling. When she comes back, healthy, I feel she will add a defensive attitude we lack. I'm old school so she has always heard defense first from me, stop your opps and even if you dont score, you still tied. As always after surgery, a mental battle to trust that knee will come. For her to be effective, she's got to get her speed, strength and quickness back. She can score but defensively is where I think she will stand out with Mel.

[batteredbard]

For those who wonder, while at Cooper Center today the men were practicing for the road the the final four that seems to go through jackson Mississippi but in the side gym working on jump shot was Munday.

Now the notebook for what could be next year's starting five need to do to avoid being home this week next year.

Saxe: Should Katie take Reed's summer job of opening and closing the gym at MC she can be in the running for All-America. Needs to work on rebounding, defensive foot work against post of equal or greater size and developing another twist to inside game as in from behind the basket or midrange jumper to compliment current skills.

Uner: Has to keep academics first. Tough but hasn't had a fully healthy season yet. Startageizing I'd count on 20-25 minutes a game unless something changes. Off makes good drives and a good shooter, needs to make both those great to maximize offense. Speed and defense is excellent.

Fleming: Be the intangible glue. Watch a lot of tape of Andy Chaney and Alex Bowers and decide every loose ball is yours and never surrender a turnover. The team has the scoring machines, needs the heart.

Munday: No. 1 get healthy and keep strengthening. Mentally find the happy place to really enjoy playing. Shown flashes of being dominant but defensively needs to learn how to battle equal sized opponent and again rebounding.

Point guard is up in the air and switching it off with Uner, Walker, Brown could be good but somebody had to say I want the job.

Killer probably knows better than I, but wasn't Stache a 3-point shooter converted into a post? She didn't seem confortable in the paint any chance she might become the long-range threat her little sis is at Heritage High?

Lastly, I would hope that schedule-wise and attitude wise Schram might have some advice for the program. The automatic bid changes how you schedule and why you schedule, especially when we see that there is no real at-large consideration if you don't win the conference tourney.

[GottaHaveHeart]

I would really be surprised if Nat or Mel don't come back. Both are competitors. Sure it hurts now, all the success they have already experienced, but once the initial shock goes away from that last lost and everbody's emotions kind of settled down and get in check, when you look, next year looks very promising. Being king of the mountain for so long, then get knocked off, for whatever reasons, is hard for everybody to digest. If you didn't get mad, then there really would be something wrong. But now you got that hunger to reclaim that mountain. Now you kind of feel what all those other teams have been feeling for the last 7 years, while you were away playing and they were sitting at home. 

I still feel there needs to be some dialogue between both players and the Coach. Kind of clear the air session, then move on.

Nice to know Nat was in the gym, but I would actually rather see her take some time off, rest, get completely healthy. One wrong twist and her nagging injuries from this year will nag her all spring and summer. Before you know it, it will be back in the gym getting ready for next season. Take some time .... Make this Senior season coming up, a season to remember....

[GSAC Killer]

You guys are right about all your posts except one thing: COACH BELL DIDN"T WANT TO LEAVE!!!!!! $$$$$ it makes the world go round... It was probably hard for the Athletic department to see him go but you keep good people around... Coach Bell was one season away from being the All Time Leader in Wins and leading the ladies to a 10th Consecutive NCAA Apperance...By that I say this if Reinhardt offered Coach X amount of Dollars MC should have tried and least matched that... That is my opinion on that matter...
D III Sports has limitations on what it pays it coaches but you find the MONEY someway somehow... It starts up top and by that I mean the School Administration "Top Dogs"
Coach Pardue did a good job but good is not enough at MC.. You have to make it to the NCAA Tournament...
I hope the ladies comeback.... They will have good enough talent to compete against Piedmont next year and regain the Conference Title...

[GottaHaveHeart]

"GSAC".....

Check out my earlier post: "Blame the Maryville powers for that loss"

I talked to Dee numerous times after he decided to leave because he recruited Alex. I talked to him briefly last night at Lee University after they played their game in their conference tournament. I definitely know he didn't want to leave. I know the whole story. Thats all I'm going to say about that matter.

 

[GSAC Killer]

I was at the game!!

[batteredbard]

I liked Dee and not just because he was good for some pretty priceless quotes but take note that in his current rebuilding of Reinhardt I think MC recruiting will take a hit.
Carrie Bedsoe (Alcoa) has already signed, Bowman (Maryville) is reportedly close to deciding now that her season is over. Same story with the Galyon twins at South-Doyle.
I think Dee lands two of those four at MC if he was there and maybe without him recruiting East TN (which is natural, expected and accepted) Pardue lands one or two of those. But that's two impact players and one that could definitly be refined into a Saxe-like-threat likely headed to Ga. instead of Cooper Center.

Bottom line is regradless of how much better or worse you think the team would have been with Bell still there, he's definitly affecting the future of MC basketball.

[MCScotsFan]

I know Dee bell's whole story also. I don't know MC's whole story though. I don't personally know one person who wanted Bell to leave MC. I sure didn't. I just wonder if there was a reason MC seemed to let him walk away--or did they? There are always 3 sides (in this case, Dee's, MC's, and the truth). Dee had what? 2 student assistant and some gym guy helping him. He coached, recruited etc. He became a husband and father...he was one busy man. Pardue comes along and I am not sure what they offered him $$$ wise compared to Bell but he does have 2 assistants who aren't students, right? Seems to me, money came from somewhere.

Anyway, I'm not saying Bell left to just leave MC. But he left and as a team the Lady Scots have to move on. When all the talk was happening about Randy going to UT and Beaty moved to GP, I had terrible visions of what was happening at MC b-ball. Luckily, the year turned out better than I was worrying about! 

I think Nat will just be a JR this year coming up. (This I mention in reference to GHH saying something about SR year and if I read her right, I think she meant Nat's SR year but I am thinking she'll have 2 more years.)

While MC could have had these local girls, doesn't the fact play in that MC is $$$$$ and no scholarships compared to Reinhardt? Dee is the King of Recruiting, isn't he?    And there is always the fact that there are a lot of kids in this town who just want to leave home and will not even think of going to MC. (I have no idea whether these players would have wanted to come to MC or not whether Bell had still be here).

MC would probably not have struggled as they did this year if Bell had stayed. We would have seen a very different and confident team. However, having a new coach come in and losing quite a few players, I think the ladies held up great. It was a different year than they were expecting and I'm sure they learned a lot (on the court, off the court, about life and about themselves).

As far as Stache, I think she was a 3-point shooter. She looks very uncomfortable in the paint IMO. She doesn't show me her agressive side and I think that's what we need to see. She had a rough end of season time and you could tell her mind was worried. (I hope her brother stays safe).

I think Rachel Draper is someone who needs to work hard and be that type of Alex Bowers player who seemed to come out of nowhere and be all over the place! I think she has very good potential. I'm hoping for big things from and for her for next year!

[GottaHaveHeart]

My error. Nat will only be a Jr. She has 2 more years to shine.

I have said this season that I felt Draper could have helped and played more. Also, Williams is a good shooter and minutes were few for her also.

I am disappointed, as all are, about the way the season ended but just as excited about the upcoming seasons. Pardue has a nice looking team coming back next year. With a few additions and some young players stepping up, we should be find and reclaim our mountain top. Then everything will be back to normal in MC land.

Hats off to Dee! Whenever we talk, he always wishes Pardue and the team continued success. He is killing us with his recruiting, but as stated earlier, $$$$ and the fact that some kids just want to leave the home area, there is no guarantee they would have come anyway. Example of that is Alex, she didn't want to go to Lee University because Mom works in the athletic department and she didn't want to see Mom everyday. Personally, I don't think Dee will be at Reinhardt as long as he was at MC.  Bigger things to come!

Pardue will be find (I hope). He found out its alot different making the final decisions instead of offering suggestions. His assistants need to be more of a part also. Practices definitely needs some major changes. It will work out.....

[scottiedoug]

I have never met Coach Pardue, but I do know that he is different from Dee in many ways.  Some players like one kind of coach and some like another.  Some like to be yelled at, some do not.  It is not a right and wrong thing, just different.  Any first-year head coach will learn a lot and some will get better each year.  Let's hope Pardue is one of those and builds on a pretty good start.

My sense is that Rhinehart and Maryville are not likely to attract the same kind of students in the first place and when you throw in the money and scholarship differences, they might not very often be struggling over the same players/students.  It took Dee a few years to build a recruiting base and it will take Pardue a while, too.

[scottiedoug]

The first round NCAA results make it clear the Scots have a ways to go nationally.  Oglethorpe, Piedmont, and Transylvania all got beat pretty badly.