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Florida State Women’s Basketball: Anything Is Possible

By Ryan for ChantRant

FSU vs. UCONN, Tuesday @7:04pm on ESPN360

Boston Celtics Forward Kevin Garnett said “Anything Is Possible” after winning his first NBA Championship. He obviously was not going up against the ladies of the Connecticut Huskies basketball program.

The UConn Lady Huskies are currently in the midst of the longest winning streak in Division-1 Women’s Basketball history (75 wins and counting). Not only did this squad beat the record, but it was a record they set themselves, with their 2001-2003 team; a team Head Coach Geno Aurriema said was better than the current record holders.

When a team wins each of its games by an average of 32 points, and the closest victory was a 12 point game, I don’t know how much better one team could get. In the NCAA Tournament this season, they have won each game by an average margin of 49, and seem poised to advance very handily against a Florida State squad they already beat once.

Yes, FSU is merely a number on UConn’s streak, losing by 19 points in a December showdown. Even though it was only a 41-35 game at halftime, as always, UConn found a way to win, and win handily.

However, FSU has a chance to win, albeit as small as their average margin of victory over their last two games (two points). But this is an FSU team that is walking on air right now, soaking up the joy of their first Elite Eight appearance. As they say in Vegas, FSU is playing with house money at this point.

So how does one stop the best team in the nation? With these simple steps:

CUT THE HEAD OFF THE SNAKE

Who is the head in the snake of UConn? Senior Center Tina Charles. The 6-4 leader was amazing in putting FSU away during their first matchup, scoring 16 of her team-leading 24 in the second half. For the season, she’s averaged 18.3 points and 9.3 rebounds. She is a smart, knowledgeable player, capable of taking the ball in her hands and leading a team to victory. In their first matchup, UConn scored 46 of 78 (58%) of their points in the paint, a direct result from Charles’s efforts.

The ability to stop her will fall squarely on Sophomore Center Cierra Bravard. No slouch herself at 6-4, she suffered from foul trouble in the first game and was highly inefficient. With most of the focus on Forward Jacinta Monroe (more on her later), this game has the ability to be a huge coming-out party for Bravard. FSU has had some strong women down low in the past, and a solid effort against Charles will be the start for Bravard.

DON’T TURN THE BALL OVER

Easy enough, right? Last time the two teams met, FSU turned the ball over 21 times, which gave UConn a 10 point swing in Points Off Turnovers. Against the best team in the nation, mistakes will happen, but they have to be minimal, and not cause a huge swing like this.

You'd look P-O'd too if you were the lowest paid coach in Florida and the ACC

Okay, now the world knows why Randy Shannon always looks like he's got sandspurs in his shorts. Compared to guys like Saban, Brown, Urban and even Jimbo, he's practically in the bread lines.

A column by the Sun-Sentinel's Dave Hyde chides da-U for low-balling Randy like he's damaged goods. Poor Shannon eeked by on less than a million the past few years (lowest in the ACC). And the school's latest offer would put him on par with UCF's George O'Leary and a half mil less than Jimbo. Heck, USF ponied up $1.7 million to bring Skip Holtz into the fold.

Worst part for Canes fans (but great news for Nole faithful) is that negotiations -- which have dragged on since November -- are apparently hurting UM recruiting. Shannon admits, "It had an effect. I was asked point-blank by recruits, ‘Are you going to be there next year?' Some of the universities we were going against were saying, ‘Why go to Miami when my coach has a new contract?' ‘'

Maybe UM honchos are being stingy because the team draws so poorly in its new home at LandShark (or whatever it's called this week) Stadium. Last season, for example, the Canes were 5 - 1 and ranked ninth in the nation when Clemson came to town. But only 40,000 people, and one Ibis, paid to watch UM choke against the Tigers.

At least thousands of FSU fans will ensure Miami of one big payday this season.

Garnet and Golden Oldie: An Elvis impersonator who looks a lot like FSU's legendary coach

No slight here against Florida State's one-of-a-kind coaching icon. But get a load of Bobby's bitchin' Elvis-style pantsuit in this 1977 TV flashback. And it's not just the far out threads, Bowden also had the beginnings of a Presley pompadour -- especially with that pre-gray jet black hair. And dig those grrrroovy sideburns.

Add the down-home drawl and it almost seems like Bobby is channeling The King.

Little did we know -- those of us who were rockin' through the decade -- that Bobby was about to become The King of College Football. And this interview, after FSU's first winning season in five years, was his awkward entrée into the limelight.

FSU Men's Basketball excels against NCAA tourney teams -- off the court

Take heart, Nole fans. When it comes to graduation rates, FSU basketball lights up half the teams in this year's NCAA tournament.

A report by the University of Central Florida's Center for Diversity and Ethics in Sports computes the average grad rate of tourney teams at 84% for white players and 56% of African-American players. FSU's grad rates are 100% and 71% respectively.

Some other revealing stats from the study:

• Seven teams have grad rates so poor they probably shouldn't be in the tourney, or at least play with a ten-point handicap. Among those is Georgia Tech, which graduated 44% of its African-American players and zero white players.

• Worst in the ACC, and one of the worst in the country: Maryland. The Terps graduated zero African-Am. players and 33% of white hoopsters.

• The gators saw only half of its African-Am. players receive a sheepskin.

• Clemson had one of the lowest grad rates for African-Am. players, a paltry 31%.

• FSU's first round opponent, Gonzaga, graduated 50% of its African-Am. players.

• Absolute worst is a school recognized as one of the best academically. Cal Berkeley, which has an 85% grad rate for all students, graduated zero percent of its men's basketball players. In the 60s Cal students would've burned down the admin building for that.

FSU Women’s Basketball: The Best Team You're Not Watching

By Ryan for ChantRant

A top ten program year in and year out, two straight ACC Regular Season Championships, six straight years of postseason play, and multiple post-season All-ACC awards. Do you know who this squad is?

This is the FSU Women’s Basketball squad, that has redefined consistency at Florida State.

Led by three time ACC Coach of The Year Sue Semrau, the women’s basketball program has begun to gather fear and respect, much like other top-tier basketball programs including Duke and North Carolina. In fact, FSU’s program has garnered enough respect, that it has earned a #3 seed in the Womens NCAA Tournament for two years in a row.

Even though the program has reached a glass ceiling in the tournament, they have won their opening round game every year during their current six-year appearance streak. 2007 saw the program reach the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.

FSUs Lady Seminole squad only gets so much success in the postseason thanks to dominance in the regular season. 2008-09 saw FSU claim it’s first ever ACC Regular Season Championship, where they went 12-2 in conference play (7-0 on the road). The team backed that up with another ACC Regular Season Championship this past season, again with a 12-2 conference record, including a perfect 7-0 at home.

This past season truly showed how far the FSU Lady Seminoles have come. They reached the highest spot in the polls in school history (sixth on December 14th and March 1st), after starting at their previous highest ranking (12th). For the second straight season, they were picked to finish third in the ACC, behind perennial powers Duke and North Carolina. Simply put, FSU Women’s Basketball is the epitome and model of a successful program that breaks records and wins games.

Why FSU shouldn't promote Christian Ponder as a Heisman Candidate

By Ryan Liss

   As spring practice began for the Florida State Seminoles, Junior QB Christian Ponder was back under center, after a shoulder injury took away the rest of his 2009 season. Stronger and bigger than last season, Ponder was one of the few bright spots for FSU in their dismal 2009, with numbers rivaling that of the top Quarterback award winners.

   His role as the face of Florida State, combined with impressive 2009 statistics (2,717 yards, 14 touchdowns, four games with 300+ throwing yards), is a big reason why Head Coach Jimbo Fisher said he would support a Ponder for Heisman campaign.

   Now, do I think Ponder potentially could earn the Heisman trophy? Yes. In fact, I think, if his 2009 performance is any indication, Ponder will earn at least All-ACC and a finalist slot for the Davey O’Brien Award and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. If his numbers improve, and early reports would say it will, then All-American and a postseason award are all but guaranteed.

    However, a Heisman trophy campaign requires more than just throwing the ball and leading the Seminoles to victory. There is a huge level of media scrutiny that comes along with it. Does Ponder have what it takes to deal with the pressure? Yes. Does the rest of the Florida State squad? Not so much.

Looking for a few tips before the tip-off?

FSU's first round playoff destination is as uninspiring as the team's performance last week in being ousted from the ACC tournament.

Buffalo. In March. And against a Gonzaga team with far more history and success in the NCAA tourney than the Noles.

Tip #1: The Zags have made the big dance for the past eleven years in a row. Eight of those years they've advanced to the second round, and five times to the Sweet Sixteen. Back in 1999 they even made it to the Elite Eight against UConn. Advantage: Gonzaga.

Tip #2: If you're a betting man, here's what Vegas is telling you about Friday night's matchup.

Tip #3: No Jet Lag for the Zags. Flying through three time zones the day before the game could have been a possible advantage for FSU. No such luck. Gonzaga's charter flight lifted off early Wednesday morning from Spokane to Buffalo, giving the team Thursday to shake off any cobwebs.

Tip #4: The mental edge. Will Gonzaga players be distracted and give less than their best performance because their head coach may be quitting for a bigger school and a fatter paycheck? In fact, two Zags assistants are also rumored to be leaving for greener pastures. Possible advantage: FSU.

Tip #5: Here's what our roundball analyst Bill from Tampa says after looking into his crystal ball:

"FSU will win the game if they take care of the ball and avoid having possessions end with needless, unforced turnovers. FSU will lose
if they do not contain Gonzaga's efficient offense and let either Elias Harris or Matt Bouldin have big games." 

Tip #6:

College Basketball

Jimbo unplugged: " I can’t be Bobby Bowden. I can’t be Nick Saban. I can’t be Les Miles."

FSU's new limited media access puts the spotlight on Jimbo, though it doesn't often allow for him to open up with answers beyond press conference-type soundbites. But we heard some deeper insights in this recent podcast. Fisher got into behind-the-scenes stuff about discipline, player development, mental conditioning, and his transition to being the new chief on the Seminole reservation. Here are the highlights:

On making the transition from offensive coach to head coach.

JF: “The big thing is time management. Making sure you spend time on that side of the ball so the players see you on that side of the ball and they see you as the head coach and not just as an offensive coach or that you don’t care about that side of the ball.”

On what he’s learned as an assistant under several great coaches.

JF: “The biggest thing I’ve been able to take away from all of them is, I’ve gotta be Jimbo Fisher. I can’t be Bobby Bowden. I can’t be Nick Saban. I can’t be Les Miles. I can’t be Terry Bowden.”

What can FSU fans expect to see that may be new to them?

FSU is One and Done in Greensboro

by Bill from Tampa

I’ll keep this brief and to the point.

Of Florida State’s nine losses this season, Friday night’s 58-52 loss to North Carolina State is in my opinion the worse loss of the season.

Why do I say that? The mistakes made tonight mirror exactly the very same mistakes this team made in the first week of the season. Thirty-one games played with a week to prepare and FSU still looked like a team in its first week of practice much of the time.

The most prominent of those mistakes were the 20 turnovers the Seminoles garnered, giving the Wolfpack 16 easy points. Leonard Hamilton likes to say we invent ways to give the ball away. Well, he would be dead on with that comment about this game.

Just ludicrous turnovers like throwing the ball too low to a teammate and bouncing it off his foot and out of bounds. Getting a rebound and flipping it causally to another player -- that player unfortunately being the opponent. Throwing a pass way wiiiiiiiide of your mark and you weren’t even being defended on the play. Throwing a pass to nobody, things like that.

Then there was free throw shooting, or the lack thereof. Aside from not getting to the line enough in the first place the ‘Noles had another horrid game from the stripe, shooting 9 of 17. Andy Enfield, FSU’s shooting guru has his work cut out for him for this to improve for next season. Assuming he can, that is, because it is going to have to be up to the players to fix what has become a huge issue.

Then there was Scott Wood, who once again burned FSU with 6, that’s SIX three pointers out of ten attempts for 18 points. The combined total for Wood against FSU is 13 of 21 threes and 49 total points.

So why, after getting scorched for 31 in the first game did the coaching staff come out with the very same defensive assignment on Wood?? That worked out real well didn’t it. And by the time the adjustment was made in who was guarding Wood, it was way too late as the Pack held a nine point advantage, 46-37, with fourteen minutes left to play.

Recycled Nole players and coaches making West Georgia the new FSU-North

When Terry Bowden brought his brother Jeff and several ex-Nole players to North Alabama, people called it FSU North.

Now there's another school vying for the title. The University of West Georgia recently hired Jody Allen -- the same recently fired Jody Allen -- to be the new defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Make that CO-defensive coordinator, as Allen will share the title with James Colzie, former FSU DB from the Dynasty years.

Looks like Allen will outrank Colzie, though, as he wangled the extra title of Associate Head Coach.

Robinson the latest former Nole. Add another familiar name to the growing list at UWG. On Thursday Dominic Robinson was announced as the team's wide receivers coach. Robinson had 42 catches and two TDs during his FSU career (2001-04). Seminole fans will remember D-Rob most for his clutch catch that set up the winning TD throw that beat the gators in 2003.

And the head coach doing all the hiring? Daryl Dickey, the much maligned former FSU QB Coach from 2001 thru 2006. Under Dickey, who's also the school's A.D., West Georgia has won one game during the past two seasons.