Coale drops the hammer
A common theory for several years has been that women’s basketball is exactly where men’s basketball was 20-30 years ago. There are no 7-footers in the women’s game or acrobatic dunkers, but otherwise, the styles are very similar.
Culture, too, I would say. We’ve started seeing women’s programs run afoul of NCAA rules, and we’ve started seeing women’s players run afoul of the law. OU’s Jenna Plumley the latest example.
Plumley was charged with petty larceny earlier this week and Thursday was suspended for next season by OU coach Sherri Coale. Coale indicated that Plumley had some issues even before the larceny charge. Coale acted swiftly; much more swiftly than football or men’s basketball coaches act and with a much more severe punishment.
We have a direct comparison, since OU defensive tackle DeMarcus Granger went all sticky fingers at the Fiesta Bowl and was charged with shoplifting a jacket in a Temple mall. Granger was sent home but is back on the squad now.
It’s difficult to judge different cases. We don’t know what Plumley’s issues were and we don’t know what Granger had been involved in before the Fiesta crime. But Coale’s actions send a clear message. OU women’s basketball has enjoyed a pristine reputation, which Plumley soiled, and Coale doesn’t appear to stand for it.
From a purely basketball standpoint, OU won’t miss Plumley. Let’s see, a 5-foot-2 shooting guard who shoots 31 percent from 3-point range is not exactly a precious commodity. Plumley probably was given too much credit for OU’s surge her rookie year and too much blame for its slide last season.
But Coale always can find a 5-foot-3 shooting guard who can make 31 percent from the field. And some of them don’t commit petty larceny.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
i agree with Randall and Barry on the punishment issue of why one got a slap on the hand and the other almost got a life sentence. Possible coach Coale is sending a message and if so, then so be it. personally, athletes should have been punished harshly years ago and we probably would not have the problems we have today. that includes, high school,college and pros.
So sorry about Jenna P…..not for the teams sake, but for her own life….she meant so much to her community…..what was she thinking….or she wasn’t….make-up couldn’t mean that much to her, could it? Glad Coach Coale is committed to keeping the girls on the straight and narrow –again not for teams sake— but for their future.
To be fair to coach Stoops, I’m pretty confident if Plumley was as important to the women’s basketball team as Granger is to the men’s football, coach Coale would have been less harsh in her punishment. You can afford to make a strong disciplinary statement when the player in question will not impact the success of your team and future as the coach. If Courtney Paris was caught shop lifting, she would be punished, but not suspended for the season.
SHOULDE HAVEBEEN FOR 1 SEMESTER…….BEST THING,,,,,,,,SENT A REAL TUFF MESSAGE TO THE REST OF THE TEAM………SHE WONT HAVE ANY PROBLEMS FROM THE REST OF THE TEAM……..34.95 SEEMS TO BE OVER THE TOP…….TIME TO MAKE AN EXAMPLE AND SHE DID
I agree. The comparison with DeMarcus’ Granger’s much milder punishment is interesting.