Nightmares Have Become Welcomed Entertainment
Feb. 3, 2011
By: Chris Freet, Associate AD for Communications
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The best part about working in college athletics is feeling the passion that comes from successful teams.
It doesn’t matter the sport. Great teams draw you in. Visionary leaders bring you further into the fold.
If you are fortunate enough to experience both, you’re drinking the kool-aid.
I have been in that position before. I can proudly admit to being a college softball and women’s basketball junkie.
I was fortunate to work with programs that were annually ranked in the top 10 and national title contenders in both sports. Success breeds success. It also breeds enthusiasm.
So this women’s hoops junkie is writing today to give praise to Katie Meier and the UM women’s basketball team. People are beginning to notice the fantastic product they are putting on the court.
The Canes are 20-2 and ranked No. 18 (and they should be higher), but you know what really makes this team fun to watch… the intimidation factor.
Dare we call it swagger?
Meier’s bunch will press you for 40 minutes. Her players are aggressive, in your face and relentless.
As associate sports information director at Oklahoma, I feared teams like Miami. OU struggled against pressure and until their two-year run of Final Four appearances, it was the scouting report on the OU.
At OU, I hated watching teams like Ole Miss and Texas A&M press the heck out of the Sooners and force them to play at an uncomfortable speed.
At Miami, I absolutely love that the `Canes intimidate the opposing team. When their defense is going full speed, it becomes an Orange and Green layup line. The opposition becomes tentative, rushed and scared.
And Coach Meier doesn’t let up off the gas. She sees a weakness and cranks up the volume.
That “40 minutes of hell” mentality is why I still have nightmares of A&M’s A’Quonesia Franklin and Ole Miss Armintie Price.
It’s also why my favorite player on the `Canes is Shanel Williams. Williams is a role player.
Her role is simple. When Coach Meier smells a hint of exhaustion from an opposing guard, she unleashes Williams.
I can count at least five times this season that players have shrunk away from Williams’ defense, which is of the right-in-your-face mentality. So close she can tell you what flavor of Gatorade you drank at the last time out.
And that’s the only defense she plays.
So this column is an ode to Shanel Williams, Coach Meier and the entire `Canes team.
Thank you for turning my nightmares into entertainment.
