Eh, good for her, I guess. This isn’t something I’m going to get too excited about. I mean, she’s clearly an exceptionally talented person, and I’m sure she’s a great player. But at the high school level, I’m a little put off by the idea of one entire team being humiliated so that one player can get some headlines.
When Kobe scores 81, that’s different. The Raptors are professionals. If they don’t want him to score 81 points, they can feel free to stop him. But with this… one team was clearly unable to do anything to defend themselves. So the coach keeps her best player in the game, up by 100 points? That is shameful.
Women’s basketball, especially in high school, is still at the point where there are huge disparities in talent. There aren’t enough good players to go around. Things like this are going to happen from time to time, because some teams can’t handle certain players. But that’s not an excuse to embarrass an entire other team.
And I don’t know if there’s a shot clock in women’s high school basketball, but the coach of the other team should’ve found a way to stop this, too. Send your biggest player out there to physically lay on the basketball. If you’ve got to take a foul on her every time, then do it. If you’ve got to triple-team her, then do it. If you have to pull a pen knife out of your sock and actually deflate the basketball, do it.
LeBron noticed, too. His quote about the situation was amusing…
“It’s an amazing thing when an individual does that,” he said. “I don’t know who she is, but maybe we’ll see her in the WNBA. For that matter, the NBA.”
Well, let’s slow down a little bit. Those sound like the words of a guy who really really wants to sell some shoes to women.
alan Says:
February 3rd, 2006 at 9:28 am
you’re spot on with that thought about LeBron. he was fed that line and it’s pretty obvious…going back to the whole phil knight gets what he wants thing…
Mr. Bojangles Says:
February 3rd, 2006 at 9:37 am
Isn’t there a mercy rule in high school sports specifically for this type of thing?
Sarcastro Says:
February 3rd, 2006 at 12:56 pm
Take heart losing high school girls team. In 20-30 years Epiphanny Prince can look bad with sadness as she realizes her life peaked in high school. YAY!
Insomniac Says:
February 3rd, 2006 at 2:01 pm
The worst part is that I can absolutely guarantee that the “winning” coach was still employing a full court press while his team was up a hundy.
This story has probably already gotten more press than it deserves, but if anyone’s interested, here’s a similar take.
Mark Says:
February 3rd, 2006 at 2:05 pm
The article alludes to the time Lisa Leslie (who was probably a foot taller than her competition) scored a 101 points in a half before the other team forfeited. I remember because apparently Leslie’s coach dedicated one game a year to let his star player try to break the record. WTF are these coaches thinking?
Kevin Says:
February 6th, 2006 at 2:28 pm
Not that I am a great player but if I am playing against a team that we completely outmatch, I take it easy. That is just bad sportsmanship. She is lucky someone didn’t hurt her, because in most sports(especiall football) if a team is blowing another out and they try and pour on points, somebody is going to catch a mean one. Now if the other team is talking trash, different story. Rip their hearts out and throw nothing but bounce passes with it.