It is almost unfathomable for a Sweet 16 appearance to be considered a disappointment…but when you make 5 straight Final 4s from 2011-2015 the bar gets set unreasonably high. Last year Notre Dame went 33-1 before losing to Stanford in March, but those who underestimate Muffet McGraw do so at the peril of getting beat by Muffet McGraw. She won her 1st NCAA tourney game in 1996 and is on pace to make her 22nd straight tourney next month. In 2001 she was named national COY en route to winning an NCAA title, in 2011 she was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, and last year she became the 10th head coach in D-1 women’s basketball history with 800 career wins. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach McGraw about winning a title and making the Hall of Fame.
After graduating from St. Joe’s you played for the California Dreams of the Women’s Professional Basketball League: how good a player were you back in the day, and how did you get into coaching? I was a defensive specialist and a PG who liked to pass/play defense during college. I was looking at some jobs when a spot opened up at a local high school and I figured I would give it a try because I loved the game.
Take me through the magical 2001 NCAA tourney:
In the Final 4 you beat defending national champion UConn: how did you overcome a 16-PT 1st half deficit to win by 15 PTS (setting a record for the largest margin ever overcome in a Final 4)? We had some foul trouble in the 1st half (particularly eventual tourney MOP Ruth Riley) and were not playing our game. We had the wrong people taking shots but we settled down at halftime and got on a roll in the 2nd half.
In the title game Riley made a pair of FTs with 5.8 seconds left to clinch a 2-PT win over Purdue: did you think that she was going to make them both, and what did it mean to you to win a title? I thought that she would make them: talk about pressure! We only had the lead for about 60 seconds during that entire game. It was an unbelievable experience to win it all: you treasure the moment when you end the season with a win and we will have that moment for the rest of our lives.
In the 2011 NCAA tourney title game, tourney MOP Danielle Adams scored 30 PTS in a 6-PT win by Texas A&M: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot the Aggies put up in the 2nd half seemed to go in because they were all “in the zone” (15-22 FG)? They made a 3 late in the game where they just threw it up and it went in, which kind of derailed us. We just could not figure out a way to stop Adams: she was a great player.
In 2011 you were inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? It is not that high. It was a great moment to recognize all my former players/assistants to enjoy it with me, but winning the title was more important.
Take me through the 2012 NCAA tourney:
In the Elite 8 Skylar Diggins had a triple-double in a 31-PT win over Maryland: where does Diggins rank among the best all-around players you have ever seen? She is definitely in the top-5. She really changed our program when she arrived here. She brought a competitive winning attitude and is 1 of the most recognizable players in our history.
After an 8-PT OT win over UConn in the Final 4 you lost to Baylor in the title game: did you ever think that you would see a team go 40-0? I really did not: we should not be playing 40 games at the college level.
You entered the 2014 NCAA tourney title game undefeated before losing to an undefeated UConn team: do you think that the outcome would have been different if Natalie Achonwa had not been injured? I think the game would have been better but I cannot say whether we would have won. We had such an amazing group that had beaten UConn in 6 of our previous 8 meetings.
In the 2015 NCAA tourney title game you had a 10-PT loss to UConn: what makes Geno Auriemma such a great coach? Geno does a tremendous job and is very good at recruiting. They have been very consistent over the years. He is great at practice and really understands the game.
You made 5 straight Final 4s from 2011-2015: how were you able to be so dominant for such a long stretch of time? We have had some pretty good players too! This is the most that All-Americans we have ever had at 1 time. We recruit the players that fit our system even if they are not the best players in the country.
You have had a perfect Graduation Success Rate for all of your 4-year players since 2007: how much importance do you place on academics? We value the degree here at Notre Dame so my players are students 1st, which the alumni appreciate.
You are a 3-time national COY and won your 800th game last season: what makes you such a great coach, and how long do you plan on sticking around for? I am enjoying what I do and I love practice more than anything. I hope I know when it is time to move on but I have no thoughts on retiring at the moment.
The Hoops HD Report: February 6th
It’s the day after the Super Bowl, college basketball is now the biggest sport in the country, and Chad is joined by a full Hoops HD Panel. They recap one of the craziest days of college basketball that we can remember where we saw six top ten teams lose, and of those three lost at home to unranked teams. They discuss what this means for the NCAA Tournament as Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and Iowa State all picked up huge wins for on their resume. From there, they run through all of the conferences and recap all the action, including a crazy finish between VCU and Saint Bonaventure in the Atlantic Ten. They also preview this week’s upcoming action, and give their Final Four and National Title picks.
And for all you radio lovers, below is an mp3 version of the show…