107 - 1006

Last March seems like a long time ago.  That is when the Lady Vols had their earliest exit from the NCAA Women's National Tournament.  So early, it was shocking.  The winningest coach in the history of college basketball (men or women) and the winningest program in women's college basketball ... the team lost in the first round.  Last year's team was not your typical Tennessee team.  After the team lost back to back games in Feb., Pat kicked them out of their locker room saying they weren't worthy to use it.

Today, the 2009/2010 season started.  UT was pre-season ranked #9, which Pat said was very generous.  They played Baylor, ranked #4.  And yes, they won.  This is still a young team, not a senior on the squad, and they struggled in the first half.  But they listed to Coach take them to task at half time and responded well.

Why is this a positve?  Because I love women's college basketball and am glad the season has started.  The women's game, because they pretty much don't have a dunk, is a more true form of basketball than the men's.  You can see them set and run the plays.  They have to work as a team.  In addition to that, the women's game focuses on academics.  If a UT player has a GPA of 3.0 or higher, there's a patch she wears on the right shoulder of her uniform.  Most all of the UT players wear that patch.  A starter who graduated 2 years ago and is now playing pro ball (WNBA) carried a 3.7 GPA and a triple major: sociology/criminal justice, political science and legal studies.  These young women are not "dumb jocks".

My blog title, 1006?  Today was Pat Summitt's 1006th win.  When asked if she's going to let the players back into their locker room, her reply was "Let's see how they play on Sunday."

Let the season begin!!!!