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cthskzfn
Joined: 21 Nov 2004
Posts: 12851
Location: In a world where a PSYCHOpath like Trump isn't potus.
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 Posted: 11/17/06 4:23 pm ::: |
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"Sure, Mel has her fangirls, but I believe that many (not all) of the more intelligent fans underestimate Mel, and how valuable she is to the Uconn team."
If Mel shot 30% from 3, she'd play 10 mins/game. The reason she is on the court is because she can, when open, hit the 3. All the other stuff that wins her the approval of the Blue Faithful doesn't amount to much. Sure, she hustles. So do most of the other players. But for some reason, it seems, Thomas' counts for more. For example, in the Colgate game, Swanier made a nice "hustle play" to knock a sideline pass out of bounds. The crowd kept it's collective ass on its hands. Had it been Thomas, they would've stood, cheered and said, "Look at our Little Linebacker go!!!".
Watching Thomas labor as a chaser in the trapping defense- waddling from sideline to opposite corner trying to catch up to the ball- is like the scraping of nails on a chalkboard. It's 2006 for goodness sakes and we're still playing small, slow white girls 35 minutes/game. Only the genius of Geno et al can pull it off.
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dtsnms
Joined: 23 Sep 2004
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| Posted: 11/17/06 5:01 pm ::: |
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| cthskzfn wrote: |
"Sure, Mel has her fangirls, but I believe that many (not all) of the more intelligent fans underestimate Mel, and how valuable she is to the Uconn team."
If Mel shot 30% from 3, she'd play 10 mins/game. The reason she is on the court is because she can, when open, hit the 3. All the other stuff that wins her the approval of the Blue Faithful doesn't amount to much. Sure, she hustles. So do most of the other players. But for some reason, it seems, Thomas' counts for more. For example, in the Colgate game, Swanier made a nice "hustle play" to knock a sideline pass out of bounds. The crowd kept it's collective ass on its hands. Had it been Thomas, they would've stood, cheered and said, "Look at our Little Linebacker go!!!".
Watching Thomas labor as a chaser in the trapping defense- waddling from sideline to opposite corner trying to catch up to the ball- is like the scraping of nails on a chalkboard. It's 2006 for goodness sakes and we're still playing small, slow white girls 35 minutes/game. Only the genius of Geno et al can pull it off. |
See Conlon, Maria.
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GlennMacGrady
Joined: 03 Jan 2005
Posts: 8231
Location: Heisenberg
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| Posted: 11/17/06 6:38 pm ::: |
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Assuming the object in this thread is to discuss the game of basketball, I'd like to suggest a psychological reason why some UConn fans may react critically or negatively to Mel Thomas.
It's because they view Thomas not just as an individual player or person, but as a symbol � a symbol of both the general state of UConn basketball and of the specific state of UConn guard play. She is a symbolic marker buoy that reflects the talent level in the UConn reservoir.
These fans look at Thomas and ask: Would she have gotten the most minutes or the most points on any UConn team from 1994 to 2004? Would she have started on any UConn team from 1994 to 2002? They answer these questions with a resounding "NO!"
Hence, some of the fans who are used to a multiple-AA level of talent in UConn's general player pool, and/or an NPOY level of talent in the UConn guard pool, are mighty disappointed at the position of the marker buoy.
They are negative about the symbol, what it means, what it portends. Hence they are negative about the symbolic player.
Some of these fans may also resent what they see as disingenuous, hypocritical or outright phony talent level evaluations by other UConn internet posters.
Maria Conlon was a truly special case. The UConn reservoir had already begun a general recession following the HS class of 2000, but she managed to latch on to the most effective life raft teammate of all time. Plus, she wasn't close to leading the team in minutes or scoring. Her symbolic value was much more modest and incipient than Mel's.
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mercfan3
Joined: 23 Nov 2004
Posts: 19766
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| Posted: 11/17/06 10:04 pm ::: |
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[quote="CamrnCrz1974"]
| Quote: |
| You basically, in one sentence (intentional or not) said that Mel didn't deserve the amount of playing time she got, that Geno is racist because he gives her so much credit, that fans of Mel like her because she's white. |
Please do me a favor. Please do not summarize what I say because you never seem to get it right. |
Then Cam, what exactly did you mean when you said:
" Mel Thomas gets as much attention in Connecticut as she does because she has to be the new white star. There is always a white star w/r/t UConn. "
Because to me that states that There always has to be a "white star", and that's a direct reflection of Geno and Uconn fans. That the reason Mel is loved is because she's white...If that's not what you meant, please tell me what you did mean. Because I'll owe you an apology for believing you made that assumption. Sometimes people get a little upset over a stupid misunderstanding. Because, I think throughout both conversations we've both been missing the point of the other's posts.
On a side note, lets not talk about summarizing people's posts. Because my posts, in your eyes, have gone from "I think Mel's a good player, fun to watch, incredibly hard worker, and one of my favorite players.." to "Mel can turn water into wine.." 
Glenn, I agree. I think that's were some of the harsh criticism of Ann came from as well. Mel Thomas just can't be the type of guard that Uconn fans are used to. She's just not physically able to. IMO, fans of Mel, like her because her on court personality is the same as past Uconn guards. She's confident, a leader, fiesty...that's the Uconn guard persona, and people see it an like it. I think Ann recieved some of the same criticism because she was held up to even more impossible standards. Ann Strother was expected to be the next Diana..not exactly fair..or possible.
Also, If Mel Thomas shot 30% from three she wouldn't have been a top recruit. However, that she wouldn't play much, that's not quite true. During her freshman year, Mel was struggling from three, but did all of her other trademark stuff, and Geno decided he was going to start her at point guard..(granted, he stopped because she had shitty practices, but the reason she got that role was everything else she did, not her shooting. ) But that doesn't mean her persona is not important to the team. Teams need a leader, or they won't win and Renee just isn't enough of one to handle a whole team. I think Mel does hustle a tad more than the other players, and the fact that she manages to crash into just about everything in the process gets a tad more attention..
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“Anyone point out that a Donald Trump anagram is ‘Lord Dampnut’”- Colin Mochrie
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ThreeBall25
Joined: 21 Jan 2005
Posts: 2791
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| Posted: 11/17/06 11:56 pm ::: |
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| Was it Ann Strother's fault that she was supposed to be the heir apparent to Diana? Was it the fans fault? I'm not so sure. Ann was a #1 recruit coming out of high school and the best player behind Diana on the UConn team. It wasn't like the fans wanted Ann to be the next superstar/AA because she was white, and I think it is the same with Mel Thomas.
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Daddychoc
Joined: 02 Nov 2006
Posts: 67
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| Posted: 11/18/06 2:09 am ::: give others praise |
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it seems to me that praises aren't that high when other PLAYERS on UConn do well.
When Mel shows up with 15-25 points against Rutgers & Tenn I'd give her high praise but for now, she's ok!
Let me be the 1st to admit, the jumper is a lot quickier so i wouldn't be surprised if she finally show up aginst the better teams.
show CHARDE some love and STOP using that "get it" thing with her.
We can always find something wrong with Ms Houston but Ms Thomas, nothing!
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Iluvacc
Joined: 11 Jun 2005
Posts: 4167
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| Posted: 11/18/06 12:27 pm ::: |
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[quote="mercfan3"]
| Quote: |
| CamrnCrz1974 wrote: |
| Quote: |
| You basically, in one sentence (intentional or not) said that Mel didn't deserve the amount of playing time she got, that Geno is racist because he gives her so much credit, that fans of Mel like her because she's white. |
Please do me a favor. Please do not summarize what I say because you never seem to get it right. |
Then Cam, what exactly did you mean when you said:
" Mel Thomas gets as much attention in Connecticut as she does because she has to be the new white star. There is always a white star w/r/t UConn. "
Because to me that states that There always has to be a "white star", and that's a direct reflection of Geno and Uconn fans. That the reason Mel is loved is because she's white...If that's not what you meant, please tell me what you did mean. Because I'll owe you an apology for believing you made that assumption. Sometimes people get a little upset over a stupid misunderstanding. Because, I think throughout both conversations we've both been missing the point of the other's posts.
On a side note, lets not talk about summarizing people's posts. Because my posts, in your eyes, have gone from "I think Mel's a good player, fun to watch, incredibly hard worker, and one of my favorite players.." to "Mel can turn water into wine.."
Glenn, I agree. I think that's were some of the harsh criticism of Ann came from as well. Mel Thomas just can't be the type of guard that Uconn fans are used to. She's just not physically able to. IMO, fans of Mel, like her because her on court personality is the same as past Uconn guards. She's confident, a leader, fiesty...that's the Uconn guard persona, and people see it an like it. I think Ann recieved some of the same criticism because she was held up to even more impossible standards. Ann Strother was expected to be the next Diana..not exactly fair..or possible.
Also, If Mel Thomas shot 30% from three she wouldn't have been a top recruit. However, that she wouldn't play much, that's not quite true. During her freshman year, Mel was struggling from three, but did all of her other trademark stuff, and Geno decided he was going to start her at point guard..(granted, he stopped because she had shitty practices, but the reason she got that role was everything else she did, not her shooting. ) But that doesn't mean her persona is not important to the team. Teams need a leader, or they won't win and Renee just isn't enough of one to handle a whole team. I think Mel does hustle a tad more than the other players, and the fact that she manages to crash into just about everything in the process gets a tad more attention.. |
I don't necessarily agree with this. She has shown tremendous leadership as just a sophomore. If MD didn't have Kristi Toliver, I would want Renee Montgomery running the team.
Last edited by Iluvacc on 11/18/06 1:17 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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mikeyc22
Joined: 20 Apr 2006
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Iluvacc
Joined: 11 Jun 2005
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| Posted: 11/18/06 1:19 pm ::: |
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| LOL @Mikey. Thanks for lending the right amount of brevity to this situation.
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cthskzfn
Joined: 21 Nov 2004
Posts: 12851
Location: In a world where a PSYCHOpath like Trump isn't potus.
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| Posted: 11/19/06 10:07 pm ::: Re: give others praise |
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| Daddychoc wrote: |
it seems to me that praises aren't that high when other PLAYERS on UConn do well.
When Mel shows up with 15-25 points against Rutgers & Tenn I'd give her high praise but for now, she's ok!
Let me be the 1st to admit, the jumper is a lot quickier so i wouldn't be surprised if she finally show up aginst the better teams.
show CHARDE some love and STOP using that "get it" thing with her.
We can always find something wrong with Ms Houston but Ms Thomas, nothing! |
lol. try posting that on the boner!!!!!!!!!!
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CamrnCrz1974
Joined: 18 Nov 2004
Posts: 18371
Location: Phoenix
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| Posted: 11/20/06 11:28 am ::: |
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| mercfan3 wrote: |
| Because to me that states that There always has to be a "white star", and that's a direct reflection of Geno and Uconn fans. That the reason Mel is loved is because she's white...If that's not what you meant, please tell me what you did mean. Because I'll owe you an apology for believing you made that assumption. Sometimes people get a little upset over a stupid misunderstanding. Because, I think throughout both conversations we've both been missing the point of the other's posts. |
Really? Where was Geno mentioned? No fucking where.
UConn has always had a white star. I said nothing about the lack of black stars (there are quite a number), but UConn has plenty of white stars. NOWHERE does it say Mel is only loved because she is white or that other players aren't loved because they aren't white.
Start apologizing.
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dtsnms
Joined: 23 Sep 2004
Posts: 18815
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| Posted: 11/20/06 12:07 pm ::: |
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A new week, time to continue to flog the horse some more.
Anybody have any good barbeque this weekend? It's getting too cold here.
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Grumps
Joined: 22 Sep 2004
Posts: 1054
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| Posted: 11/20/06 7:18 pm ::: |
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| dtsnms wrote: |
A new week, time to continue to flog the horse some more.
Anybody have any good barbeque this weekend? It's getting too cold here. |
I had some good ribs this weekend...Slow cooked in a big green egg...Gotta figure out a way to get me one of those...
Grumps
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ThreeBall25
Joined: 21 Jan 2005
Posts: 2791
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| Posted: 11/21/06 12:59 am ::: |
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| DTS, I am back in CT and it is COLD.
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