All-Big 12 teams a joke, as always
As usual, the all-Big 12 women’s basketball teams are a total farce. Ten players were picked first-team all-Big 12.
The coaches like to think that 10 players were honored. In truth, no players were honored. We see this a lot on a variety of coach-selected teams. Rather than make tough decisions, the coaches punt. Rather than honor those truly deserving, they draw a bigger circle and sing Kum Ba Yah.
I don’t know why coaches do this. The all-Big 12 defense in football is likely to have 14 members. The all-Big 12 baseball team will have 11 position players. Coaches, who talk incessantly about decision-making, refuse to make a decision in this case.
If they don’t want to make those decisions, fine. Then don’t make them. Get out of the awards business. Get out of the voting business. We’ve seen enough out of the coaches poll in college football to know that coaches either don’t have the time or the guts to make cold-hearted decisions that must be made.
So who deserves to be all-Big 12? Well, Courtney Paris, obviously. And Baylor’s Danielle Wilson and Kansas’ Danielle McCray. Beyond that, it’s tougher. I don’t think I would vote for Andrea Riley; too much turmoil out of the OSU point guard, even though she leads the Big 12 in scoring. So go with Kansas State all-around point guard Shalee Lehning and Texas A&M’s do-everything Danielle Gant.
That’s three Danielles on the first team.
On the men’s side, the coaches took the high road and went with a first team: OU’s Blake Griffin, Kansas’ Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich, Iowa State’s Craig Brackins and Missouri’s DeMarre Carroll.
I would have preferred OSU’s James Anderson on the first team, probably at the expense of Aldrich, but the truth is, beyond Griffin and Collins, there are about seven or eight guys for whom you could make a good case. So no big criticism here.
At least the men’s coaches made a call. That’s more than you can say for the women’s.
-------------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.
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Comments
Barry I agree, but it is sports writers like you who will question the same coaches when you favorites do not get elected. It is a damn if you do damn if you don’t.
President B. Hussein Obama and the rest of the liberal panzies would be proud of this effort to not exclude anyone. This is like the Special Olympics where everyone gets a medal.
Andrea Riley leads the conference in scoring and is 2nd in assists but you wouldn’t vote for her? I’ll take the coaches team of ten to your biases anyday.
Two questions:
First, did you have to look how to spell Kum Ba Yah?
And second-Andrea Riley not on your first team is just silly. She woudl start at PG for every Big XII team in the conference, regardless of her shenanigans.
Here come the OSU fans wanting to cry about what Tramels picks were. Rather than comment on his subject matter. Which was not who should be the five. But the fact that there isnt five. There is TEN. He then merely gave his opinion on who his five would be. Guess this is our answer. So cry babies like you dont give the coaches a hard time when YOUR girl doesnt make the team. Sad really. Because its not just OSU fans. All the fans that want to be mommies and daddies to the players have got us to this point.
if so, was grammer a required subject?
please diagram the following sentence…..
There is TEN.
duh………………………..
How many wins does OSU have in the Big 12? Four?
How many games has Riley been suspended for? Two?
Did OSU reach anywhere near their goals &/or projections? No.
No, she does not deserve 1st team recognition on a 5 person squad.
hey jeff, if ms riley had made the 1st team,
would you lose sleep over it?
geez… it must really be important to you.
good article berry.
Attitude alone should keep Andrea Riley off any team, let alone all Big 12 or whatever. The crap with her began for the world to see against LSU last year in the Sweet 16, who knows when it began for only her team to see. No way should 10 be on the all Big 12–either put 5 on it or do 1st, 2nd and 3rd teams. And she should not be on any of them. Doesn’t matter how good she is, she certainly has not represented her university with her behavior.
Point guard, I will take Danielle Robinson any day of the week. She brings alot of intangibles to the table with her game.
Mark & Jessie, my comment (I’m the second Jeff comment) was a direct response to other comments. Discussing sports is what sports fans do & the purpose of these forums, so what are you whining about?
Jessie, am I important to you? Apparently so, if you’re going to comment about me…
Mark, why are you ranting about me? Get over it!
Back to the article, Berry’s right, there are 5 starters in basketball, so a 10 person “First” team all-conference is absolutely ridiculous.
I also heard you and the sports animals (Jim T the weeble jackass)talking about this on the radio too. I would rather see people, the coaches, who KNOW the game, vote then the sportswriters (some, who have never played sports). It’s amazing how you guys find fault with womens sports and tear it apart. Andrea Thug Riley should NOT be allowed to play – let alone be given any awards. If the trainer had slugged a player they would have been suspended for the rest of the year or fired. But I guess the OSU team feels like she is the team. What a lesson they are teaching our children.
Yeah Maria, let’s talk about sprtsmanship…Your (I am guessing) best men’s basketball player is a downright arrogant prick when he plays. Have you seen him stare down the opposing team? How he beats his chest? And there are several other OU (and OSU for that matter) players on all teams that do that kind fo crap. To say she shouldn’t be playing is definitely overkill…suspended like she was-good call. Thrown off the team-just silly.
My point stands-any first team that does not include the league’s leading scorer and “assist-er” is ridiculous. “Character doesn’t really play a part, otherwise Blake Griffin wouldn’t be on anyone’s all conference team.
i was glad to see the jayhawks on the first team.guess berry voted an all oklahoma team.