All wins look the same in the printed record, but fans of basketball know that they are not really equal. Despite the fact that they are counted alike, some wins weigh more than others and those charged with evaluating the varying degrees of excellence and ranking the teams based on that are much more informed by the sources of information than they used to be, and the rankings reflect more nuanced qualitative judgments.
This board has several posters who keep us informed about the current data as it changes week to week, and we profit from their efforts. Hambone has long been one of my favorites in this regard and I appreciate the postings he brings to us, along with his commentary. Futurist Roy Amara postulated a "law" which we might find useful to remember, however: "We tend to overestimate the effect of technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run." We know that the numbers are not the totality of the matter, and in the short run they are sometimes wrong. In the long run, however, the numbers usually are predictive of success or failure.
One of the effects of short run errors based on the predictive quality of numbers may also produce long run alterations. Another quote of value here, from The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, is to the point:
"The fact is, troops who have fought a few battles and won, and followed up their victories, improve upon what they were before to an extent that can hardly be counted by percentage. The difference in result is often decisive victory instead of inglorious defeat."
Baylor basketball for both its women and its men has reached a plateau of excellence that elevates expectations for the coaches and players. The benefit derived from this is that players coming into the programs encounter players who have fought more than a few battles and won and followed up those victories and improved on what they were before, so they know that their leaders can be trusted and that what is being taught will likely lead to a continuity of success.
The women faced an unprecedented challenge this season. The iconic leader of the women's program had moved on and a new leader had arrived, bringing with her a new program. The core for a very good team remained, but an unaccustomed uncertainty now shrouded it. This was compounded by the departure of major contributors from the preceding year, graduated and transferred, and a leadership vacuum which resulted from that. The new system, the different personality and coaching style which arrived in the late Spring, accentuated the need to address the issue of team chemistry resulting from transfers who would now play a major role on a depleted squad. They worked hard, but in a season marred by a Covid break that interrupted their momentum, unexpected losses could well have proved fatal to hopeful outcomes.
Iowa State had talent and seemed to be a mismatch for the Bears, who had not shown good results in their defense around the perimeter. As it turned out, Baylor extended their defense, went over screens, played an effective help defense to cut off potential drives to the basket, rebounded effectively and except for a few long rebounds, starved the ISU offense of shot opportunities, and forced a team unaccustomed to turning the ball over into two dozen of them, leading to a disparity in transition points and shots at the basket. At the end of the game, the ISU coach said that Baylor was a terrible mismatch for them. That was true, both offensively and defensively, but there were few, including Coach Fennelly, who would have said so before the game.
This could turn out to be a decisive moment for this version of the women's team. They discovered that the new coach and the new system could work if they devoted to making it so, that this coach was not asking them to do something so much as she was asking them to be something. The former came to them from without, the latter came from within each individual, and taken as a whole, the small band of warriors who wore the Green and Gold, representing something of themselves and much, much more.
Now the question is, will they follow up on these two recent victories and what they represent for this group of players, and improve on what they were before? That will determine the long run success, or disappointment, for these fine young players. My bet is on them - and on their coach.
This board has several posters who keep us informed about the current data as it changes week to week, and we profit from their efforts. Hambone has long been one of my favorites in this regard and I appreciate the postings he brings to us, along with his commentary. Futurist Roy Amara postulated a "law" which we might find useful to remember, however: "We tend to overestimate the effect of technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run." We know that the numbers are not the totality of the matter, and in the short run they are sometimes wrong. In the long run, however, the numbers usually are predictive of success or failure.
One of the effects of short run errors based on the predictive quality of numbers may also produce long run alterations. Another quote of value here, from The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, is to the point:
"The fact is, troops who have fought a few battles and won, and followed up their victories, improve upon what they were before to an extent that can hardly be counted by percentage. The difference in result is often decisive victory instead of inglorious defeat."
Baylor basketball for both its women and its men has reached a plateau of excellence that elevates expectations for the coaches and players. The benefit derived from this is that players coming into the programs encounter players who have fought more than a few battles and won and followed up those victories and improved on what they were before, so they know that their leaders can be trusted and that what is being taught will likely lead to a continuity of success.
The women faced an unprecedented challenge this season. The iconic leader of the women's program had moved on and a new leader had arrived, bringing with her a new program. The core for a very good team remained, but an unaccustomed uncertainty now shrouded it. This was compounded by the departure of major contributors from the preceding year, graduated and transferred, and a leadership vacuum which resulted from that. The new system, the different personality and coaching style which arrived in the late Spring, accentuated the need to address the issue of team chemistry resulting from transfers who would now play a major role on a depleted squad. They worked hard, but in a season marred by a Covid break that interrupted their momentum, unexpected losses could well have proved fatal to hopeful outcomes.
Iowa State had talent and seemed to be a mismatch for the Bears, who had not shown good results in their defense around the perimeter. As it turned out, Baylor extended their defense, went over screens, played an effective help defense to cut off potential drives to the basket, rebounded effectively and except for a few long rebounds, starved the ISU offense of shot opportunities, and forced a team unaccustomed to turning the ball over into two dozen of them, leading to a disparity in transition points and shots at the basket. At the end of the game, the ISU coach said that Baylor was a terrible mismatch for them. That was true, both offensively and defensively, but there were few, including Coach Fennelly, who would have said so before the game.
This could turn out to be a decisive moment for this version of the women's team. They discovered that the new coach and the new system could work if they devoted to making it so, that this coach was not asking them to do something so much as she was asking them to be something. The former came to them from without, the latter came from within each individual, and taken as a whole, the small band of warriors who wore the Green and Gold, representing something of themselves and much, much more.
Now the question is, will they follow up on these two recent victories and what they represent for this group of players, and improve on what they were before? That will determine the long run success, or disappointment, for these fine young players. My bet is on them - and on their coach.