After watching the LSU men and women’s basketball teams play for most of the season, I’ve come to realize one team vastly outshines the other. The women.
It’s not that the men are bad — they play against tougher, more physical competition, they beat two Top 10 teams this year and until recently had significant scholarship limitations.
Despite that, there are plenty of reasons I deem the ladies to have superior game to the Brady bunch, so in no particular order, here they are.
The crowds are more vocal for the women. Last Sunday’s Vanderbilt game felt like a war zone compared to the golf-match atmosphere of the men’s Ole Miss game, which had about 5,000 more people, and the Tigers lost 67-57.
The women do not need all the promotions to get people to watch them. The men generally have larger crowds because their popularity has always exceeded the women, but when they lose to inferior opponents, the public relations team has to break out the John Brady bobblehead dolls to bring the fans back.
Even though the women’s games feature Skip Bertman line dancing, ludicrous half-court shot contests and “Pack the PMAC” that helps draw more fans, the players are good enough to watch without all the shenanigans.
It’s more fun to listen to the women on the radio. I’ll take the stylings of Kent Lowe doing color commentary over the loud, often-missed calls of Jim Hawthorne anyday. Give me the “Doneeka Hodges for three!” chant over a Dan Borne “Bam!” call after a 3-pointer too.
Head coach Sue Gunter is a proven winner, who takes her team deep into the NCAA tournament nearly every year. True, she has never made it to the Final Four, but if she had the talent Brady had in 2000, his best year, things would be different.
This year she has the talent with five potential WNBA players on the roster that could get her to the championship round.
The ladies have better quality players. In my opinion, a Seimone Augustus jumper or an Aiysha Smith layup after a solid post move is better to watch than a Ronald Dupree dunk or Torris Bright chucking a 3-pointer.
Without all the flash of alley-oops and the physicality of a professional wrestling match, the women still play a fast-paced game that keeps the crowd energized. They also focus more on the fundamentals of basketball, do not foul as much and seem more in control of the game.
Finally, the No. 5 Lady Tigers have consistently won more this year while the men have had letdowns after big wins. Whether you are a reporter, fan or a hoops connoisseur, do yourself a favor and check the women out. They are worth it.