Today's post is written by Assistant Coach Marcus Moeller:
Simply put, the Final Four is the pinnacle of college basketball. All year long teams push, pull, sweat, bleed, drive and sacrifice everything in order to make it to the "holy grail" of the college game. On Selection Sunday, the field of 64 teams (split up into 4, 16 team regions) is announced, and shortly thereafter, tournament play begins. Once the dust settles on each of the 4 regions, only 4 teams remain. The 4 teams that have survived will then convene on a predetermined city and site (this year, San Antonio and the Alamodome), and battle it out for the right to be called "National Champs."
The idea of any "Final Four" is something I have always loved. You could throw 8 people in a bracketed tournament of checkers, and as soon as it was down to 4...you'd have my undivided attention. I would be the best marketer you had, screaming to anyone within ear shot that "the final four is here!!" This passion obviously comes from my love of the NCAA tournament and the final weekend dubbed, the "Final Four." I watched the Final Four from my living room for as long as I can remember. I have read as many books as I can get my hands on about the amazing weekend. But, this past weekend, the Final Four, and all that the phase conjures up in my head, was radically changed.
This past weekend I had the amazing pleasure of attending the Women's Final Four in San Antonio, TX due mostly to the fact that the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) has its National Convention surrounding the Final Four. As a member of the WBCA, I was not only going to get to see the city and go to the games, but that I was going to get to hear some great speakers and view some awesome on court demonstrations. Naturally, I was very excited about the opportunity to attend the convention and watch the games, and the 10 hour drive south gave me plenty of time to think about what was in store.
I have not done much traveling in my lifetime, but San Antonio is one more enjoyable places I have ever been. Staying on The Riverwalk was AMAZING. First off, we didn't have to use a car for anything. Everything (food, shopping, convention center, Alamodome, etc) was all so close to our hotel, that walking was the only option! Second, the food was so good. You can get everything from a gourmet Italian meal, to a cookie dough ice cream cup at Ben and Jerry's. The energy on The Riverwalk (at least surrounding the Final Four) was electric. One memory that sticks out is eating on The Riverwalk and hearing a faint noise that seemed to be growing louder and louder. Upon further inspection, we realized that the pep band of each team was riding on The Riverwalk (in Gondolas) playing their team's fight song! It was quite a sight to behold.
The Final Four is truly an "event". I'm not sure if the fans feel that way, but being a coach and being involved in the WBCA convention, I came away feeling that way. That being said, I had never been to a Final Four game before, and I was pumped to watch the games on Sunday evening. First up was Oklahoma vs Stanford. 2 of the truly great coaches in the women's games were about to square off. How would Oklahoma matchup with the enormous front line of Stanford? How would Stanford's guards handle the speed and quickness of Oklahoma's bask court? Stanford took control early and held off a furious charge from Boom Sooner. The Stanford Cardinal punched its ticket for Tuesday night's championship game. The second game matched Baylor and UCONN. I was really interested to see Brittney Griner in person and to see how she would affect the UCONN offense. In the end, Maya Moore and Tina Charles were too much as UCONN solidified their spot in another National Championship game.
Walking back to the hotel after the games I started to really take in all that had gone on during the weekend. Coaching is something that has opened so many doors for me. I am so grateful to Coach Mitts for taking me down to San Antonio to experience something brand new. The NCAA puts on an unbelievable event. I'll never forget my first Final Four.
Until next time...It's a GREAT day to be a LION!!
Marcus Moeller
Assistant Coach
The idea of any "Final Four" is something I have always loved. You could throw 8 people in a bracketed tournament of checkers, and as soon as it was down to 4...you'd have my undivided attention. I would be the best marketer you had, screaming to anyone within ear shot that "the final four is here!!" This passion obviously comes from my love of the NCAA tournament and the final weekend dubbed, the "Final Four." I watched the Final Four from my living room for as long as I can remember. I have read as many books as I can get my hands on about the amazing weekend. But, this past weekend, the Final Four, and all that the phase conjures up in my head, was radically changed.
This past weekend I had the amazing pleasure of attending the Women's Final Four in San Antonio, TX due mostly to the fact that the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) has its National Convention surrounding the Final Four. As a member of the WBCA, I was not only going to get to see the city and go to the games, but that I was going to get to hear some great speakers and view some awesome on court demonstrations. Naturally, I was very excited about the opportunity to attend the convention and watch the games, and the 10 hour drive south gave me plenty of time to think about what was in store.
I have not done much traveling in my lifetime, but San Antonio is one more enjoyable places I have ever been. Staying on The Riverwalk was AMAZING. First off, we didn't have to use a car for anything. Everything (food, shopping, convention center, Alamodome, etc) was all so close to our hotel, that walking was the only option! Second, the food was so good. You can get everything from a gourmet Italian meal, to a cookie dough ice cream cup at Ben and Jerry's. The energy on The Riverwalk (at least surrounding the Final Four) was electric. One memory that sticks out is eating on The Riverwalk and hearing a faint noise that seemed to be growing louder and louder. Upon further inspection, we realized that the pep band of each team was riding on The Riverwalk (in Gondolas) playing their team's fight song! It was quite a sight to behold.
The Final Four is truly an "event". I'm not sure if the fans feel that way, but being a coach and being involved in the WBCA convention, I came away feeling that way. That being said, I had never been to a Final Four game before, and I was pumped to watch the games on Sunday evening. First up was Oklahoma vs Stanford. 2 of the truly great coaches in the women's games were about to square off. How would Oklahoma matchup with the enormous front line of Stanford? How would Stanford's guards handle the speed and quickness of Oklahoma's bask court? Stanford took control early and held off a furious charge from Boom Sooner. The Stanford Cardinal punched its ticket for Tuesday night's championship game. The second game matched Baylor and UCONN. I was really interested to see Brittney Griner in person and to see how she would affect the UCONN offense. In the end, Maya Moore and Tina Charles were too much as UCONN solidified their spot in another National Championship game.Walking back to the hotel after the games I started to really take in all that had gone on during the weekend. Coaching is something that has opened so many doors for me. I am so grateful to Coach Mitts for taking me down to San Antonio to experience something brand new. The NCAA puts on an unbelievable event. I'll never forget my first Final Four.
Until next time...It's a GREAT day to be a LION!!
Marcus Moeller
Assistant Coach
