Why isn't there any parity in women's college hoops?

[P C H]

The Real number one reason for the lack of parity, and i'm sure it's been mentioned in here,

is that the pool is just so much smaller in men than in women.

There's not a lot of women that grow up playing basketball, relative to men. So a team like UConn can monopolize that pool because there isn't that many elite players to begin with.

 

[P C H]

Why is that, though?

With Men, there's sooooo many kids that grow up hooping, that it's inevitable that everyone won't be able to play for Duke, UNC, Kentucky, etc.

With women, it isn't like this. The experience for women growing up playing basketball is drastically different and varies tremendously.

A primitive fake example would be:

     Say like there's only 25 good basketball schools but with men, there's like 6000 good players. Inevitably, the talent pool is greater as opposed to women, where there's only like 25 really good players for 400 schools.

 

[jjs07]

I was just reading that the girl the Mystics traded for said she'd be in favor of 9 foot rims.

 

[P C H]

I was just reading that the girl the Mystics traded for said she'd be in favor of 9 foot rims.

Yeah I remember Elana mentioning this last season.

This is a terrible idea.

 

[jjs07]

I was just reading that the girl the Mystics traded for said she'd be in favor of 9 foot rims.

Yeah I remember Elana mentioning this last season.

This is a terrible idea.

Why do you think it's a bad idea? I think it would spark a lot more interest in the game if there were more players who could play above the rim.

 

[Sonny Corinthos]

Why do you think it's a bad idea? I think it would spark a lot more interest in the game if there were more players who could play above the rim.

It wouldn't be real basketball. Having a bunch of women dunking on small rims would look ridiculous

 

[frshstunna]

Wouldnt mind seeing the ladies flying thru the air for windmills, posters n all that

 

[P C H]

Why do you think it's a bad idea? I think it would spark a lot more interest in the game if there were more players who could play above the rim.

Well for a few reasons.

One, the lack of support for women's basketball isn't because they 'can't dunk'

the product being lesser than men's basketball is much deeper than dunks.

Two, it would do more harm than good. Can you imagine the backlash and reaction from WNBA players dunking in the air on 9 foot rims? It would be ridiculous and turn the WNBA and women's hoops into a circus. Midas whale let them play with trampolines too. The WNBA and women's hoops as a whole is vying for legitimacy, and playing on 9 foot rims completely goes against that.

 

[P C H]

Wouldnt mind seeing the ladies flying thru the air for windmills, posters n all that

This sounds so bad.

 

[shogun]

Why do you think it's a bad idea? I think it would spark a lot more interest in the game if there were more players who could play above the rim.

It wouldn't be real basketball. Having a bunch of women dunking on small rims would look ridiculous

Few people are already watching as it is. I dunno if that many people would care with lower rims.

 

[Sonny Corinthos]

Few people are already watching as it is. I dunno if that many people would care with lower rims.

Either you have a certain level of appreciation for it or you don't . There have been good WNBA teams and teams Overseas in the past without dunks

 

[addict4sneakers]

If daily fantasy sports got behind the WNBA, I think it would help its popularity some

 

[llerraj]

Why do you think it's a bad idea? I think it would spark a lot more interest in the game if there were more players who could play above the rim.

Shooting on a lower sized rim for one is a lot more difficult than it appears to be when your body is used to shooting at regulation height.

 

[RyGuy45]

The lowering of the rims for the WNBA has def. been brought up before. Different dimension of lines on courts have also been brought up. I can see the point because, well, women are not the same as men and for instance they play with a smaller ball because that makes more sense too.

The biggest problem with attempting to correct for these discrepancies is the high schools and colleges would not go for it because they build their gyms and that's it....the guys and girls have to have same dimensions, rims, etc. The WNBA knows this and knows they could never make any moves unless all levels did as well.

 

[dman14]

a lot of the ladies main focus is overseas ball since that is where the money is at. wnba needs to increase the salaries and lengthen the season.

the wnba finals was :lit they just need to eyeballs to see it
would not be upset if they had the wnba season overlap with the nba

 

[shogun]

I thought the wnba was operating at a defecit meaning they have no profits and is losinf money. Can't really increase salaries if the league isn't generating money. Is women's basketball in countries like Russia and Turkey really that popular for teams to be paying the players significantly more than the wnba?

 

[P C H]

In general though, the WNBA is barely 20 years old and it's obviously getting better and better.

When the NBA first started, it didn't hit the ground running either.

I don't know what genuine basketball fan couldn't find enjoyment in this past year's WNBA finals. It was downright awesome. At the end of the day they need to just find a way to keep the league going.

I do agree with longer seasons and higher pay, both of which I feel will come within the next decade.

 

[651akathepaul]

100 straight games is one thing, but I heard 98 of those were by double digits. What?! Women's ball is weak as hell, we all know that, so the 100 straight was impressive, but meh...The 98 by double digits though? That's great coaching. Almost never did the team take a night off. That's the more impressive stat within the stat. I was shrugging it off until I heard that.

 

[jape]

have yall watched the wnba? 

its absolutely horrible.  you can't sell a bad product. period. 

boy hs basketball is more exciting

 

[P C H]

 
have yall watched the wnba? 

its absolutely horrible.  you can't sell a bad product. period. 

boy hs basketball is more exciting

This is a damn lie man. I mean I guess you have your opinion but as someone who's been watching WNBA basketball for over 16 years, the product isn't nearly as bad as this sentiment suggest that it is.

You can't tell me that EDD, Diana T,  or Maya Moore is a bad product. Hell nah, FOH.

 

[lightweight champion]

The lowering of the rims for the WNBA has def. been brought up before. Different dimension of lines on courts have also been brought up. I can see the point because, well, women are not the same as men and for instance they play with a smaller ball because that makes more sense too.

The biggest problem with attempting to correct for these discrepancies is the high schools and colleges would not go for it because they build their gyms and that's it....the guys and girls have to have same dimensions, rims, etc. The WNBA knows this and knows they could never make any moves unless all levels did as well.

Agree with all of this.

 

[AZwildcats]

 
have yall watched the wnba? 
its absolutely horrible.  you can't sell a bad product. period. 


boy hs basketball is more exciting

This is a damn lie man. I mean I guess you have your opinion but as someone who's been watching WNBA basketball for over 16 years, the product isn't nearly as bad as this sentiment suggest that it is.

You can't tell me that EDD, Diana T,  or Maya Moore is a bad product. Hell nah, FOH.

In comparison to the men's game (both professional and college), it is a bad product. I've watched a few of the UCONN games televised on ESPN over the past few years, their competition is awful with some extremely rare exceptions.

 

[P C H]

In comparison to the men's game (both professional and college), it is a bad product. I've watched a few of the UCONN games televised on ESPN over the past few years, their competition is awful with some extremely rare exceptions.

Whyyy would you compare it to the men's game

 

[crazydav0]

So many "alternative facts" being mentioned in here; however, there are some true statement sprinkled in here too 

WNBA is a viable product. The finals last year was proof of that ... even though the refs influenced the outcome 

You can't say Geno gets all of the best players. This is not true. Katie Lou was the #1 player in a weak HS class. With that being said she will be a top 10 player by next year because of her ability to shoot the ball. 

I think it was mentioned that athleticism is a main reason and i do agree with that. Coaching is a major issue. It's not like it was 20 years ago where the same 5 schools got all the good players. There are so many good players in women's basketball but now they're spread out at 25 schools. That's is how you end up with a Syracuse in the championship game, and new teams in the Women's Final Four. You have teams with 1 great player carrying bums. 

The issue which really isn't an issue is that UCONN the program is head and shoulders above everyone else. No one told Baylor to lose to Louisville and allow Stewie to get 4 straight wins. Baylor should have had back to back chips. UCONN is extremely consistent and they have the most athletic player in the country in Gabby Williams (she was ranked ~17 in her class - she was coached up). 

The other part is that UCONN focuses on the fundamentals. You'll see them run the same drill for 3 straight weeks until they get it right. They emphasize layups. Post play and layups in women's basketball is ABSOLUTELY terrible. 

Maryland, Notre Dame, Duke, Florida State, Texas and Baylor can all make a run. UCONN is the best team but this year isn't a given. 

 

[RyGuy45]

Question: Has Geno kept his continuity with his assistants? Are they ever leaving to run other schools? I rarely hear about any of this, but you have to figure schools would come and offer up jobs to his assistants almost every year right?