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cbibat · Joined: 14 Jun 2002 Posts: 232

Looking back over the season so far has triggered some thoughts and questions....

It seems the 2 big blows to the team ego were the Swoopes last second game winner in Houston - (they did come back and win at home) - then the 41 pt blowout at Seattle seemed to take whatever wind was left out of the sails...

when we were winning in the early season, there was a team on the court, they played well, found their teammates, created shots and looked cohesive. they had good chemistry, they knew where their teammates were going to be, they played like they knew what the mission was - to beat the other team. The same team is on the court now but not as team, they are making mistakes that seem to show lack of cohesion, purpose, confusion......and consequently, lack of confidence

What is the difference between now and the beginning of the season - with the team, not the opponents..... this is not a question about our opponents, this a question about the lost team chemistry of the Merc.......

The only real change has been Cooper's leaving (yes, there was Maria, but she never showed up; yes there was Brandy, but we were winning when she was around and not around) - is it a possibility that, regardless of her persona on the bench during the games, that she knew how to prepare the team in the locker room to come out against a common 'enemy' - the other team; how to be a cohesive unit with a purpose, and maybe her yelling on court was because someone deviated from the plan. This is neither approval nor condemnation of her bench behaviour its a question about maybe her ability/knowledge of what it takes mentally and emotionally to win. Houston won 4 titles, with a team that, from rumors out there, didn't really like each other, but they knew what they needed to do on the court. Did Cooper bring that to the Merc? Is that what we don't have now? Wasn't it Cooper in one of her more unfortunate interviews that said something to the effect that you have to prepare and plan to win the game, not expect the other team to lose.

Anyway...... what's happened to the team chemistry they used to have?

mb · Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2002 1:31 pm Post subject:

Perhaps this has been posted elsewhere earlier, yet here are Nancy Leiberman's mid season comments from ESPN on the Mercury:

Quote: This has been a very disappointing year for the Mercury, a team I thought would reach the playoffs this season. There has been a lot of locker room drama -- from losing Maria Stepanova to Brandy Reed's suspension and from Michele Timms retiring to Cynthia Cooper stepping down as coach -- and it seems the team has lost its chemistry. Linda Sharp is doing the best she can, and this is the best Jen Gillom has played in three years. But she's 38, and you can't throw it all on her back. Although we've seen glimpses of great things -- such as that win over Houston -- we've also seen a 41-point loss (at Seattle last Friday). Phoenix isn't rebounding well, and fails to get the shots when it needs them. Right now, Gordana Grubin needs to step it up a notch -- she was sensational during the first dozen games of the season but then hit a lull -- and the Mercury need a road win. They haven't won on the road in a year and a half, losing a league-record 17 consecutive road games.

SportsFan48 · Joined: 12 Jun 2002 Posts: 1137

I think that Coopers resignation has had an impact on this team, but not they way you implied. I have no doubt that Cooper knows what it takes to win, both emotionally and mentally. In fact, that is one thing I admire most about Cooper: the way she was able to overcome the emotional and mental distractions away from the game and still perform at the level she did.

That is one reason why I was surprised she quit like she did. Cooper didn't seem the type of person to give up when times got tough. I would have expected her to honor her commitment to her team, at least, through the rest of the season. But she didn't. She quit on them. That can be interpreted a couple of ways: she didn't believe in them or they weren't important enough to her to stay in and fight.

This may be way off base, but I am going to throw it out and see where it lands. This is my take on the impact (if any) of Cooper's resignation on our current demise:

One of the preseason questions marks for this team was who was going to step up and take on the leadership role. That role fell naturally on the shoulders of Lisa and Jennifer. Cooper resigned on the heels of a negative and public situation involving Lisa. Some people questioned whether Lisa played a part in her decision to leave. Whether that is true or not, the thought alone could destroy any trust Lisa's team mates may have had for her. You can not be a leader without trust. A team without leadership will not have an identity or chemistry.

Cooper was involved in bringing in GG, Tracy Reid, and Bonofiglio. GG and Reid have been passed around a little and weren't given the opportunity to contribute the way they know they can. Bonofiglio couldn't even get anyone to give her a chance at all. I would think that they would have some concern over what their roles may be and whether the "new" folks would believe in them the way they perceived Cooper did.

I have no doubt that Cooper did some things in the locker room to prepare her team for their opponents. I don't think Sharp does any less. In our earlier wins, we still had situations when we came out sluggish and had to over come decifits. We also blew some comfortable leads to make to game close. Those things happened under Cooper.

cbibat · Joined: 14 Jun 2002 Posts: 232

SportsFan

thanks for your response! I didn't mean to have the question revolve around Cooper. My main question was really to be 'what happened to what looked like good team chemistry in the beginning of the season'.

You have some really valid points about players perceptions, maybe of themselves as well as from others. That kind of uncertainty could cause hesitancy on court if someone is not sure of what support they'll get....

I don't know... it seems the bench is a more cohesive group than the starters, maybe because the expectations are less?