Semi Finals vs Wright St

[ysufan0505]

Yikes.....

[Pita]

Yikes.  I guess.  It was a better year than we ever expected.

Thanks Coach and team.

[Wick250]

Wright State wiped out Green Bay this afternoon.  That makes the result of our final game somewhat easier to take.  How a program like Wright State, with zero fan support, managed to acquire a pair of big time guards is a great mystery to me?

[ValleyTalk]

I watched the 2nd half of the game and they said a bunch of bigtime schools were after the one from Indiana, Diggens?, but they stopped recruiting her because of bad grades.

I take pride knowing our program is on the way up and one of the top academic WBB teams in America! Remember last year we were in the top 15 academically in women's hoops!

[Lets_Talk]

The player from WSU is Kim Demmings. Here is a very good article about her. Alot of kids who are good athletes do not take academics serious in high school. That does not make them bad kids, or even stupid. And, some kids just do not do as well as others in school. And, that does not make them stupid. There are life smarts, and school smarts. Some people have both, same have one but not the other, and then there are the people with NEITHER.

Demmings had her share of troubles as a teen. But, to her credit, she worked hard, got her life together and has had a very good career at WSU. To me, Demings is an example of a success story, not a person to be derided.

http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/sports/college/wsu-freshman-demmings-turns-life-around-1/nMyQn/

And, WSU women's basketball fares solidly in the classroom. In Spring 2013, the team had a GPA of 3.1 . And for the men, all 5 of the seniors on this years team were/are on course to graduate in 4 years or less. One does not have to tear down others in order to point out their own success, or the successes of those whom they support.

http://webapp2.wright.edu/web1/newsroom/2013/10/24/optimistic-tone-at-preseason-basketball-luncheon/
..."The Wright State women compiled a 3.1 team grade-point average last spring, highest in recorded school history. Three of the five senior men’s players are on schedule to graduate in 3.5 years, the other two in 4 years."...

[Wick250]

OK, got it.  Now it makes sense.  Bad grades for one; the other was a transfer from, I think, Florida State.  Possibly grades there also.  Let's Talk, a 3.1 grade point average for a woman's sport program is probably in the bottom half of DI rankings as female athletes tend to be superior students to their male counterparts.  You have the inclinations of a social worker, and that is fine.  Not me.  I'm with ValleyTalk on this.  My expectations are no poor students (except for the inevitable few in football and men's basketball) and no criminals in any sport at YSU.

[Lets_Talk]

Yes, I do have the mindset of a social worker. And, that is something for which I will not apologize. Also have the mind-set of someone who has worked with kids from all sorts of backgrounds. Again, something I will not apologize for.

There are plenty of successful people who have dropped out of high school or college, though I would not advise anyone to drop out of high school. And, since when did accepting transfer student-athletes become such a bad thing for mid-major programs? Especially when they are transferring from a Major Conference program?

This seasons YSU roster had 2 transfers from D1 schools, and a 3rd from a JUCO. So, I guess that means these are kids who going forward ought not view YSU as an option, because transfers are not wanted?And, as far as Demmings, she WAS eligible as a Freshman. She did NOT sit out at WSU, and WSU appears to have been a very good fit for her and WSU.

I think it is great that YSU has a womens basketball program that is among the best in all of D1 when it comes to academics. But, winning on the court is also important. I mean, if doing well in the classroom is the #1 priority, why was there so much energy used by people to get rid of Hill? Her teams did well in the classroom, and got into very little trouble off the court. Same with Martin. And, the teams coached by Boldon and now Barnes have/are benefiting both on the court and in the classroom by players recruited by Hill/Martin.

I will be the first to admit that Hill and Martin were not suited to be HC's at the D1 level. With that said, Boldon had one winning season at YSU, and bolted for OU. As for Barnes, the jury is still out. YSU fared well in HL play, but the same cannot be said during OOC play. And, in the end, the team finished 15-16, which is below .500. So, I'm not ready to deem Barnes a success as HC at YSU just quite yet. Appears to be much better than Hill and Martin, but they did not exactly set the bar for ON COURT performance all that high. Let's see what happens with Barnes as he gets more of his own recruits into the program. My one question on the players recruited by Barnes is will they have the athleticism to enable YSU to compete with the top teams in the HL, with other top Mid-Major's and with teams in the higher profile conferences.

Only time will tell. I hope he has great success however long he is at YSU, then moves on to bigger and better things coaching wise. And, I hope the teams do well both on the court, and in the classroom