Berman: Maybe it's time to pay attention
By Zach Berman
Posted: 1/16/08, 12:02 AM EST Section: Sports
Women's basketball isn't something Syracuse fans tend to pay much attention to on this campus, and to their defense, they haven't been given much of a reason.
Until last night.
Quentin Hillsman is doing something to the Syracuse women's basketball team, something that Keith Cieplicki could never do, and Marianna Freeman couldn't either. And the fact that many of you likely don't know those names (they are the two head coaches before Hillsman) is an indication of such.
Hillsman is making women's basketball matter, or at least is in the process of doing so. He helped them win 14 of their first 16 games heading into last night's near-upset over No. 1 Connecticut.
Yet college sports have a quasi caste system that places programs on different tiers. In women's basketball, UConn is at the top. The Huskies won five championships since 1995, and their coach, Geno Auriemma, is to women's basketball coaches what Frank Lloyd Wright was to architects; he's better than the rest, and he acts like it.
So last night, despite the fact that Hillsman has brought the Orange into the women's basketball consciousness, he was faced with the most trying and telling test of his short tenure: taking on Auriemma and UConn. It's like a comedian who does cruise ships and banquet halls; that's all well and good, but until he headlines in Vegas, he's not a headliner.
This was Hillsman's chance. This was Syracuse's chance. And they made the most of it.
Syracuse did not beat UConn, but it made a statement to the Huskies, to the nation and to the fans on this campus that never embraced the women's team. SU played like it belonged, with an underdog confidence in which even though they were outmatched, they were not going to be outplayed. In last night's game, the ranking did not matter, the history did not matter and the number of McDonald's All-Americans did not matter. And it seemed the only people who weren't surprised by this were those in the Syracuse locker room.
Until last night.
Quentin Hillsman is doing something to the Syracuse women's basketball team, something that Keith Cieplicki could never do, and Marianna Freeman couldn't either. And the fact that many of you likely don't know those names (they are the two head coaches before Hillsman) is an indication of such.
Hillsman is making women's basketball matter, or at least is in the process of doing so. He helped them win 14 of their first 16 games heading into last night's near-upset over No. 1 Connecticut.
Yet college sports have a quasi caste system that places programs on different tiers. In women's basketball, UConn is at the top. The Huskies won five championships since 1995, and their coach, Geno Auriemma, is to women's basketball coaches what Frank Lloyd Wright was to architects; he's better than the rest, and he acts like it.
So last night, despite the fact that Hillsman has brought the Orange into the women's basketball consciousness, he was faced with the most trying and telling test of his short tenure: taking on Auriemma and UConn. It's like a comedian who does cruise ships and banquet halls; that's all well and good, but until he headlines in Vegas, he's not a headliner.
This was Hillsman's chance. This was Syracuse's chance. And they made the most of it.
Syracuse did not beat UConn, but it made a statement to the Huskies, to the nation and to the fans on this campus that never embraced the women's team. SU played like it belonged, with an underdog confidence in which even though they were outmatched, they were not going to be outplayed. In last night's game, the ranking did not matter, the history did not matter and the number of McDonald's All-Americans did not matter. And it seemed the only people who weren't surprised by this were those in the Syracuse locker room.
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