Irish building quiet dynasty

First appeared on January 13th, 2010
in The Lebanon Reporter
It is college sports (or perhaps politics) at its finest, knowing the Alabama state legislature will take up the issue of a Congressional resolution celebrating the Crimson Tide’s national championship. So as the grass roots movement to nominate Head Football Coach Nick Saban Czar of the BCS, Governor of Alabama or perhaps Pope, rages through the Yellowhammer State with all the fury of an Cat 5 Hurricane there are some coaches dominating their sport with much less ballyhoo and fanfare.
For 23 years Muffet McGraw has done nothing but show up and punch the time clock. Demanding the most of herself as well as her staff and players has led to 14 straight NCAA tournament appearances. Her resume includes 584 total wins as well as a National Championship (2001). McGraw’s teams have won 74% of their games and her players are graduating at a clip of 100%. Just who is she you may ask? For those not in the know, she is the head coach of the Notre Dame Lady Irish and her team is currently undefeated and ranked 3rd in the national polls.
You don’t need me telling you that winning 74% of her games far exceeds anything the football program has put together over the last 20 years but I don’t see the day the bean counters at NBC come knocking on McGraw’s door with a TV contract in hand. But such is life, and college sports of course.
Understandable or not, with the firing of Charlie Weis and undefeated runs by both the Colts and Purdue, the perfect start to this season by the Lady Irish has gone largely overlooked in the Hoosier state. This being said, while the Irish have been dominant on most nights, every great run isn’t without its own close calls. Four of Notre Dame’s wins this season have been by 5 points or less including a 68-67 squeaker over Michigan State early in the year.
In getting out to such a fast start Notre Dame has leaned hard on three key players; Freshman Skylar Diggins and Seniors Lindsay Schrader and Ashley Barlow. Diggins is a hometown hero who helped South Bend Washington win a State title. She also garnered national fame by being named the 2009 Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year. The perfect compliment for an outstanding freshman of course would be some seasoned veterans to play alongside. This is exactly what McGraw has in Schrader and the Pike grad Barlow. Not only are they experienced, both seniors are also 1,000 point scorers.
Now before we uncork the champagne and declare the Lady Irish season a complete success, bear in mind they do have a date with number 1 Connecticut on Saturday, in Storrs. You remember UCONN right? Head coach Gino Auriemma? The John Wooden of girls’ basketball? The man with so many rings the grand opening of his jewelry store would include an overstock sale?
If McGraw’s teams are anything like her however, they won’t be fazed by Auriemma’s six rings or UCONN’s recent run of total dominance. And by total dominance here we are specifically referring to the fact that they have won 54 straight games.
Despite her fountain of success however McGraw’s teams are accustomed to toiling in the shadow of a once proud tradition of grid-iron-greatness. Something tells me McGraw will once again be forced to play second fiddle to another football team when her girls face UCONN Saturday night as that is when the Colts play Baltimore. But hey, I guess it’s moments like this that prompted Al Gore to invent the DVR now isn’t it?