Dein erstes Forum » Taylors basketball acumen talk

The first half of the 2016 college football featured the emergence of a new star quarterback, the re-emergence of an old Pac-12 power and the end of an era at LSU.Texas is back! Nope.Houston to the playoff! Nah.Tom Herman to LSU? Tom Herman to Texas? Tom Herman to the Chicago Bears? This, unfortunately, has only just begun.With seven weeks of the season in the books, we assess the best and the worst of the first half.---MOST SURPRISING UNDEFEATED TEAMNo. 6 Texas A&MThe Aggies were unranked and appeared to be an unsettled program to start the season. Assistant coaches made offseason headlines for the wrong reasons . The five-star quarterbacks had fled and were replaced by former inconsistent Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight. There is no more hot-seat talk about coach Kevin Sumlin as the Aggies head to No. 1 Alabama for a game that could decide the SEC West on Saturday. There is still potential for things to go sideways for Sumlin and the Aggies, but so far A&M has replaced the swag with substance.---MOST DISAPPOINTING TEAMNotre DameThere are some serious candidates here. Oregon, but the Ducks were showing signs for crashing coming into 2016. Michigan State, but the Spartans were probably due for a reset season. Notre Dame, however, is a big hot mess . Seven games in and coach Brian Kelly has fired his defensive coordinator and created an unnecessary quarterback controversy. Even allowing the Fighting Irish some leeway for over inflated expectations, 2-5 and scrambling to get bowl eligible is unacceptable.---BEST COACHING JOB-HEAD COACHNick Saban, Alabama, and Urban Meyer, Ohio State.We often reward the coaches who exceed expectations and do the most with the least. Thats all well and good, but sustained excellence is really where its at. No. 1 Alabama won the national championship last year and is better this season with a freshman quarterback . No. 2 Ohio State lost one of the great NFL draft classes from one school of all time and the Buckeyes have not missed a beat.---BEST COACHING JOB-COORDINATORJustin Wilcox, defensive coordinator, Wisconsin.Could go back to Alabama for Lane Kiffin or Ohio State for Greg Schiano, but Wilcox is the pick as he re-establishes himself as one of the better defensive coordinators in the country. He took over a well-stocked group after Dave Aranda left for LSU, but the 10th-ranked Badgers are as feisty as ever.---BEST TURNAROUNDColoradoIt has been a long hard road back to relevance for the Buffaloes, but Mike MacIntyre has Boulder interested in its college football team again. CU has not won more than six games since 2004 and had just two Pac-12 victories in MacIntyres first three seasons. Now the Buffs (5-2) are a win away from bowl eligibility and 3-1 in conference with a legit chance to take the Pac-12 South. Props also to defensive coordinator and former USF coach Jim Leavitt for the most improved part of the team.---BREAKOUT PLAYER-OFFENSE (not named Lamar Jackson)Dede Westbrook, WR, OklahomaLots of good candidates here among receivers, most notably Cals Chad Hansen and Syracuses Amba Etta-Tawo. Westbrook was the Big 12s offensive newcomer of the year last year so its not as if he is coming out of nowhere. His recent surge (26 catches for 574 yards), though, has him playing like an All-American and he has already surpassed last years numbers for receptions and yards.---BREAKOUR PLAYER-DEFENSEJoe Mathis, LB, WashingtonMathis has gone from solid player to an absolute force for the fifth-ranked Huskies in his senior season. He has already topped his career total for sacks with five and nearly doubled his career tackles for loss with 7.5 this season. Oregon coaches could still be searching game tape for play in which the Ducks handled Mathis.---BEST GAMEClemson 42, Louisville 36.Two great quarterbacks doing spectacular things. Talented players everywhere. Huge swings in emotion and momentum. Comebacks on both sides and clutch performances . All played in one of the best venues in college football. And it came down to 1 yard. Sure it was sloppy at times, but so much fun.---WORST GAMEMichigan 78, Rutgers 0Maybe the most noncompetitive conference game in the last 25 years of college football.---WORST OFFICIATINGThe officials who worked the Central Michigan-Oklahoma State.It is one thing to blow a judgment call. It is quite another to badly misinterpret a rule and that have that mistake cost a team a game. Both the MAC officials on the field and Big 12 replay officials earned suspensions.---WORST FIRINGLes Miles, LSULSU athletic director Joe Alleva wanted Miles out last season, but botched it and allowed Miles to gain a groundswell of support. So at first chance this season, after an ugly loss at Auburn dropped the Tigers to 2-2, Alleva canned Miles before the coach could go out and save himself again. It was time for a change in Baton Rouge. And if handled properly it could have been done 10 months earlier.---HOT-SEAT COACHESCooling contractsMark Stoops, Kentucky. Has a $12 million buyout. With assistants, firing him could cost more than $17 million .Steve Addazio, Boston College. Received an extension in 2014 that runs through 2020.WarmPaul Johnson, Georgia Tech; Mark Helfrich, Oregon; Gus Malzahn, AuburnWarmerCharlie Strong, TexasToastyDavid Bailiff, RiceCookedTim DeRuyter, Fresno State---HOT COACHES-GROUP OF FIVE (not named Tom Herman)Jeff Brohm, Western KentuckyP.J. Fleck, Western MichiganScott Satterfield, Appalachian StateWillie Taggart, USF---HALFWAY HEISMAN1. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville2. Jake Browning, QB, Washington3. Greg Ward Jr., QB, HoustonThree more to watchDalvin Cook, RB, Florida StateJ.T. Barrett, QB, Ohio StateJalen Hurts, QB, Alabama---TOP FOUR NOW (doesnt matter)1. Alabama2. Ohio State3. Michigan4. Clemson---TOP FOUR ON DEC. 4 (matters)1. Alabama2. Ohio State3. Clemson4. Washington---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAPStitched Reds Jerseys . The Canadian squad, skipped by Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, got on the board first with two in the second end, and followed that with two more apiece in the fourth and sixth ends. Cincinnati Reds Pro Shop . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. https://www.cheapredsjerseys.us/ . But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. And, for three quarters, it showed as Gay shot a woeful three-for-13 from the field. Fake Reds Jerseys . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70. Reds Jerseys 2020 . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period.PHOENIX -- Penny Taylor looked sad, of course, but also irritated and disappointed as she left the court. She is an intense competitor, and her Phoenix Mercury being swept in the WNBA semifinals was an affront to her fighting spirit.Its not that she didnt acknowledge how good the victorious Minnesota Lynx are. We definitely lost to a better team, she said.But Taylor, who finished her stellar WNBA career with Sundays 82-67 loss, wanted her last stand to be a real battle to the end. It wasnt -- the Lynx didnt allow it to be -- but no one could doubt that Taylor gave everything she had, despite going 0 of 7 from the field.Oh, lets not look at that, she said later when glancing at the printed box score after the game, a show of her usual good humor.Her four points all came on free throws, including two in the first quarter after her face hit the floor in a scramble for the ball.Getting up slowly, in obvious pain, but then going to the line with determination and hitting both foul shots? Vintage Penny Taylor.I just wanted to make sure my face was still there, she joked. And then after that, I was fine. But, yeah, it gets harder. Today was hard, physically. In a way, it reinforces that there is an expiration date for everyone. Some days, you feel good. Today wasnt one of them.No, but there were a lot of days -- a lot of years, actually -- when Taylor soared.At the root of anybody that good is a burning competitive desire, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. There were so many facets to her game. I felt like every time I was scouting her, I would say, Penny Taylor is so good. She had a tenacity about her.Reeve can recall specific defensive plays that Taylor made over the years against the Lynx, and how she forced opponents into mistakes.She was so feisty and incredibly smart, Reeve said.Taylor might next take those qualities to the sidelines; she has an interest in becoming a coach. And the Mercury will have to move on without a player who has meant so much to the organization and the fans in Phoenix.Diana Taurasi, who had 12 points Sunday, will be 35 next year. Brittney Griner, who just completed her fourth WNBA season, is entering her peak years, but had an uneven performance at times in 2016. There are questions the Mercury will have to answer for 2017.Taylor has been an integral part of three WNBA championship teams. Phoenix has had to play without her before, including in 2015, when she sat out the season to rest. But this time, shes not coming back.Taylor was the last standing of the star players who retired this year: Indiannas Tamika Catchings, New Yorks Swin Cash, fellow Australian Lauren Jackson and DeLisha Milton-Jones.ddddddddddddate in Sundays game, the crowd at Talking Stick Resort Arena gave Taylor a loud ovation when Mercury coach Sandy Brondello subbed her out. And as the closing seconds ticked away, the fans began to chant her name, Penny, Penny, Penny.Taylor came into the WNBA as the 11th pick in the 2001 draft, when she was just a 19-year-old from the other side of the world. She was picked by Cleveland, and when that franchise disbanded, she was the top selection by Phoenix in the dispersal draft.The Mercury faithful immediately loved her, and their affection was returned. In fact, any WNBA fan who wanted a selfie with Taylor got one; she has been a fantastic ambassador for the league. At some point, thats likely to continue as she moves to a new role outside of playing.I think that its important that players who understand professional basketball stay involved with it, she said. But I have a lot to still learn. When youre in the game, its so easy to get lost in your part of it. But in coaching, you always have to look at the whole.I am looking forward to that personal part of it where I can help players individually, which is something I feel like I could possibly be good at.The fact that a player with Taylors basketball acumen talks about how much she doesnt know is an indicator of why she has been such a great teammate. Shes always that humble.So we leave it to Brondello to state definitively: Whatever she does, whatever she puts her mind to, shell be great.Although Taylor wants a bit of a rest first.Im just going to enjoy doing nothing, and see how long that lasts, she said. I have a feeling not very long. But when I look back, I started professionally at roughly 16, so its a good stretch. And Ive loved every minute of it.Taylor has traveled the globe in her career, playing for the Australian national team, in overseas leagues, and in the WNBA. During that time, both of her parents died of cancer. But basketball has been, and will continue to be, a comfort to her.My mother used to keep everything, because I wasnt very good at doing that, Taylor said of memorabilia. For a while there, I didnt know where my [Olympic] silver medals were. Because were always moving as basketball players.But even if I dont have the physical things, the memories are what I carry with me, and thats all that matters. ' ' '