FishDuck Article Administrator No. 1 Share Posted April 2 Having grown up Catholic, I am well-schooled in the fine art of self-flagellation. (Full disclosure…I considered wearing a hairshirt. I know, I know. Think how I feel.) My latest iteration of this pursuit is following all the former Duck women basketball players who have transferred out of the program and who are now playing on teams that qualified for The ... What Coulda (Shoulda) Been…and With the WORST Timing | FishDuck FISHDUCK.COM Having grown up Catholic, I am well-schooled in the fine art of self-flagellation. (Full disclosure…I considered wearing a hairshirt. I know, I know. 1 3 1 Two Sites: FishDuck and the Our Beloved Ducks forum, The only "Forum with Decorum!" And All-Volunteer? What a wonderful community of Duck fans! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDuck Moderator No. 2 Share Posted April 2 Thanks Don for a this in-depth article of the women Ducks program. I feel like the program started to go down-hill after Mark Campbell left. I truly believe he played a big important part to the Ducks success. After he left the decline started happening. I could be wrong, but I can't help thinking he was the man behind the curtain. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Hilarius Moderator No. 3 Share Posted April 2 On 4/2/2024 at 6:59 AM, NJDuck said: the program started to go down-hill after Mark Campbell left 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph No. 4 Share Posted April 2 Thank you, Don. Echoing friend Darren Perkins, perhaps the transfers did not like the court? Caitlin Clark is a multi-millionaire and counting. In today's NIL world you have to be able to recruit, pick the portal and re-recruit the players in just about every sport. I wonder if Graves has issues with this 'New School' World compared to the 'Old School?' Great article, Sir. Go forth, all sins are forgiven. Interesting, same Final 4 mix for the Women as the Men: one SEC team, South Carolina; one B1G team, Iowa; one ACC team, same program, NC State; and a Big East team, Conneticut. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckman60 No. 5 Share Posted April 2 Very good piece! While reading it, a thought occurred to me-Maybe to much talent? You mentioned 10 names that left and played well, not all of them would have played much if they all had stayed. I am on the fence about Graves...but I am not on the fence about Campbell. I think he could be great at Oregon. How much loyalty do you show a coach (Graves) who brought so much success to Oregon? Give him another year? Could we pry Campbell away from TCU? The way the team finished was very disappointing and is it a sign of a big issue that us outsiders cannot see? Would a great coach let his team quit the way they did? If Mullens was going to make a move you would think he would have done it by now. That's my 2-cents and you might have over paid me! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Kamikaze Kid Moderator No. 6 Share Posted April 2 Great article. I think more needs to be made of this topic. It seems to me that an elite eight level group of players all decided to take their talents elsewhere as the Ducks had one of the worst seasons in program history. Just as women’s hoops has reached an all time popularity high, the Ducks are at an all time low. This looks very similar to Ernie Kent’s elite eight team becoming a bottom dweller just a year later. May be time for a coaching change. Seems like Campbell would be the obvious choice. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Administrator No. 7 Share Posted April 2 For those who asked recently why the program declined? The three article series by Don Marsh is a must-read. My thanks again for the guest article, although it was painful reading how well former Ducks are doing compared to their time at Eugene. BTW...John Canzano hinted that there is scuttlebutt out there about Mark Campbell...that due to actions we don't know about--he is not welcome at the Casanova Center? Bad blood between him and Graves? Or the Athletic Department? This is all rumors, but Canzano said he heard murmurings from several different directions and sources. So, Campbell may NOT be an option later? These rumors might be as welcome as a cat at a Yoga session... 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JabbaNoBargain No. 8 Share Posted April 2 On 4/2/2024 at 10:41 AM, The Kamikaze Kid said: Great article. I think more needs to be made of this topic. It seems to me that an elite eight level group of players all decided to take their talents elsewhere as the Ducks had one of the worst seasons in program history. Just as women’s hoops has reached an all time popularity high, the Ducks are at an all time low. This looks very similar to Ernie Kent’s elite eight team becoming a bottom dweller just a year later. May be time for a coaching change. Seems like Campbell would be the obvious choice. There may be multiple causes, but one thing that stood out IMO is the lack of an alpha since Sabrina left. Sedona tried, but couldn’t deliver for one reason or another. All the other 5-star types that have left seem like support or complimentary players. Need that alpha…large part of why the men had their recent run was Couisnard stepping up. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph No. 9 Share Posted April 2 On 4/2/2024 at 3:15 PM, Charles Fischer said: For those who asked recently why the program declined? The three article series by Don Marsh is a must-read. My thanks again for the guest article, although it was painful reading how well former Ducks are doing compared to their time at Eugene. BTW...John Canzano hinted that there is scuttlebutt out there about Mark Campbell...that due to actions we don't know about--he is not welcome at the Casanova Center? Bad blood between him and Graves? Or the Athletic Department? This is all rumors, but Canzano said he heard murmurings from several different directions and sources. So, Campbell may NOT be an option later? These rumors might be as welcome as a cat at a Yoga session... Man, it's tough to refrain from the mile away obvious comment here. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCDuck1 No. 10 Share Posted April 2 Don, Great article - very informative! One thing we know is Coach Graves is not the right coach for the Ducks Women's Basketball team. We don't lose to Baylor like that and then with an internal critique of, I thought we played well, or words to that effect. Losing to Colorado in the PAC-12 Tourney by 49 points! That is the number one criterion for separation. The AD and his Women's Sports Director should have been embarrassed! Don stated Coach Graves is is a genuinely nice person and decent human being. Don never described Coach Graves as an incredible BB coach. Don never mentioned he might be an incredible leader, communicator, recruiter, motivator, and/or problem-solver; so, I believe he is not any of those things. Nor is a he consistent game-winner and player developer. If the criteria to be the Ducks Women's BB coach is not to have and demonstrate the above capabilities and capacities, then the AD is grossly over-paying this man, when he has become unable to effectively carry out the expected duties at a high level, as demonstrated by his and the team's performance this past year. If the University is unable to make that decision quickly and complete their search for a new leader, then perhaps it's time to make another higher change. When the UofO AD becomes willing to release $30MIL of the universities' money for no good reason, and to give up our Men's BB Conference Tourney and Post-season earnings/revenues seemingly without a second thought, then perhaps (in fact, it is!) the problem is much bigger/higher than it first seemed to be. See the FishDuck article, "Rob Mullens: Is it Sloth or Apathy?" VR, KCDuck1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Washington Waddler Moderator No. 11 Share Posted April 2 Looking back, it’s like night and day. From the unbelievable feeling that Oregon was on the verge of being coached by the next Gene Auriemma to . . . Jimmy Lake? It’s an unfortunate comparison, but Kelly Graves seems to have more in common with Mario Cristobal than any one else: great recruiter, lousy coach. The waste of all that talent is beyond comprehension, especially in light of how well so many of them are doing since leaving the program. Like rubbing salt in a wound. Aside from the unavoidable conclusion as to how important a role Mark Campbell played, two names that shed some light on this are Courtney Vandersloot and Sabrina Ionesco. Both players elevated Kelly’s programs and career. Both played the same role for him: defacto head floor coaches who operated his teams as field generals while he sat quietly, legs crossed, on the sideline. With the departure of Campbell, I now wonder if the promise of all that talent in coming to Oregon was lost to the single-minded sacrifice of a meat grinder whose only purpose was to search for Kelly’s next defacto head coach, and keep his career on track. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArkieDuck No. 12 Share Posted April 3 So many, many transfers of 5 and 4 star players from the Ducks. The replacements are not of that caliber. The defense was limited to zone this year because of the lack of athletic ability. The offense was so deficient in 3 point shooting that teams could clod the middle and control the rebounding. The only bright spot was the development of Kyei. No Oregon commitment or possible commitment was even mentioned at the girls high school All Star game yesterday. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph No. 13 Share Posted April 3 Worst Timing is spot on. LSU-Iowa was most-watched women's college basketball game ever WWW.YARDBARKER.COM If you watched Iowa's 94-87 win over LSU in the Elite Eight on Monday night, you weren't alone. Per ESPN, an astounding 12.3 million people tuned into the second regional final in Albany, N.Y... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utki No. 14 Share Posted April 3 As posted elsewhere. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven A Moderator No. 15 Share Posted April 3 I will be happy to write the “Egg on My Face” piece about how wrong I was." Hey Don, ain't gonna happen. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
