Tuesday was a bad day.
I often grumble during my chess classes that no one listens to me. I try to do that in a light-hearted way, because chess is difficult — even the best chess teachers’ most fundamental instructions (“examine every threatening move” and “use inactive force”) are hard to do, for experienced tournament veterans and for the greenest kids.
But there’s one thing I say that kids can and should buy into easily. I’ve begun telling kids that a new aspect of my job is akin to consumer advocacy. Twenty years ago, these kids had one primary source of chess advice: Me. When I said something, that was pretty much all they had to work with.
Nowadays, I get 3rd-graders who’ve already had years of poor chess training through Internet streaming, and already played hundreds of games against the grandmaster-level mobile apps in their backpacks (that’s actually going to lead to the death of creative chess — if your practice opponent is a computer capable of playing tactically flawless chess, you’ll cultivate a flat, lifeless style designed not to get crushed quickly, and this is how almost everyone gets started these days). The problem for me is that what they’ve learned is quite contrary to what I have to give them — so I tell them early that for the rest of their lives, people are going to tell them which cars to drive, which laundry detergents to use, which chess style to adopt.
They don’t have to adopt the methods my teacher taught me forever, I say, but if we’re all stuck together for three months of whatever, they’ll get a lot more from what I say about chess if they at least bloody experiment with it during class.
Yesterday, none did. After class, I watched #23 Utah lose at unranked Baylor 70-61 in most discouraging fashion. The Utes made a season-high 21 turnovers (15 in the first half, 11 of which were unforced) — the Bears were +9 in points after turnovers, and — purely coincidentally — +9 in points scored.
The turnover that has stuck with me for two days came with 7:32 left in the game, and Baylor leading 51-50. Above the left elbow, Kneepkens threw a short lob behind Reese Ross, who was moving toward the basket on the right hash. Everyone froze, except for Baylor’s Sarah Andrews, who took it the other way for a layup. The Bears led the rest of the way.
It’s at a time like this when I’d rather Coach Roberts were still in the big chair at Utah, because she and I go back such a long way that I could say in an unprofessional manner: “What the hell happened?!”.
In fact, Coach Petersen and I have yet to talk since he moved into the HC job. We had a phone call scheduled the day after Kansas State, but I sent an email saying: If Coach doesn’t feel like talking after that game, I GET IT.
Kansas State presents Utah with matchup problems I’m not sure we could overcome at tournament time. The Wildcats do everything we do; they’re just bigger at all five positions.
I have a feeling Coach Roberts would say that she and Coach Petersen and I have the same kind of jobs. We remind girls of the same one or three things they need to be doing at all times, and remind them and remind them, though sometimes they just don’t.
I think we miss Kennady McQueen more than anybody has said aloud. Kennady’s value is far more than the numbers she produces: 3rd on the team in scoring, 6th in rebounding, 5th in assists, 2nd in blocks (which says more about Utah as a group than about McQueen as a shotblocker), 6th in steals. McQueen takes the best care of the ball (14 turnovers in almost 400 minutes played), quietly charges the floor with energy (while Reese, on the other hand, makes her presence strongly felt), and aren’t these the first games she’s missed in four years?
There’s that very broad rule of thumb that suggests if you sum a player’s FG, FT, and 3FG percentages, then multiply by 1000, 1800 suggests an excellent shooter. Quick, who’s leading the Utes in that quick-and-dirty number?
Everyone, including me, would say that’s Gianna. .486 FG + .438 3FG + .939 FT (9th best in the nation) * 1000 = 1863.
Kennady: .504 FG + .429 3FG + 1.000 FT * 1000 = 1933. The flaw in this comparison is that Gianna’s taken 60 more free throw attempts.
We miss her leadership, clutch play, and solid ballhandling. I don’t think Kennady’s back in time for the visit to TCU, the best team in the league.