Women's Hoops Blog

Inane commentary on a game that deserves far better


Wednesday, March 17, 2004

Big stuff from Joe Drape in tomorrow's Times:

When people talk about the men's game, many say "the game is on the decline because too many underclassmen jump to the N.B.A. and because some high school stars do not go to college at all."

On our side: "When the N.C.A.A. women's basketball tournament begins Saturday, the voices will mostly be unanimous that the game is on the upswing. Women's college basketball is attracting more fans to its arenas and higher television ratings."

The article makes the now-familiar point that the women's game has better fundamentals. But two other points are more important: first, that the quality of play is increasing rapidly as more young girls are playing seriously; and second, that parity is increasing.

(One possible touch of grey -- Drape notes that "So far, no women have left college early for the W.N.B.A." Will this be changing soon?)