Lady Cats Lose A Player

[Positive thinker]

As someone close to the situation, I am sickened by the Binford comment that Kayla couldn't handle the grind and mental commitment of Division 1. That is a mean, irresponsible comment and completely unfounded. Kayla is a tough, talented, hardworking, good person and could take her game to anyone. I'm sure she would stay in D1 if not required to sit out a year to do so. To leave a negative miserable playing culture is a brave decision and one she did not take lightly. Life is too short.

[Helcat72]

with the incentives given to the coach for academic achievement I would assume the mental grind is alot more difficult at MSU than at other institutions. with those kind of incentives, why even hold basketball practices. it would be much more lucrative to have a study hall. I'm not saying this is what's happening, but you have to stop and think.....what has this women's program excelled at in the past few years?

[MSU01]

Odd thread, we seem to have Binford saying one thing and several people who claim the opposite. The truth probably lies somewhere in between the two extremes, but either way it's unfortunate to lose a promising young player whatever the reason. Binford's three year contract is up after the upcoming season, if MSU has yet another middling finish it will be interesting to see if Cruzado/Fields still consider her to be worth a salary higher than what the men's coach has been making.

[WeedKillinCat]

It makes you wonder how many other players have thought the same thing....

[aucat]

Kayla DeWitt was a joy to watch and I sure hate to see her leave the program.

I wish her the very best.

Everyone I've ever met who knows Coach Binford personally has told me she
is a super person, but of course, that was also true with Coach Huse.

As a fan, all I know to do is look at the results on the court. The ups and downs
that Colter discusses in his column is what I find most frustrating. The classic
example of this is a team capable of defeating the Big Sky Conference regular season champs, (UND) AND tournament
champs TWICE, yet, end up with such a mediocre record and season overall.

I'm no expert but this would seem to have to do with motivation of the players, and that's coaching.

Oh well, let's focus on spring football. RIght now I just find that MSU hoops has a long way to go.

[Colter_Nuanez]

Just finishing up this Binford transcript. It's a really good interview. Trish is a very smart woman who knows what she's doing. It's a matter of finding players with the right mental fit to your program. You can recruit a kid all you want, but you don't know the edge they'll bring or the mental fortitude they'll develop until you have them in your program. The different between a 17-year-old girl and a 22-year-old young lady is striking. You can try to predict, but many players won't ever develop the passion or love of the game or the killer instinct of a Katie Bussey. Binford wants kids who share the same passion of the game that she does, but it's hard to get a roster full of kids like that to a mid-major program in the middle of the arctic tundra. Binford herself was a fantastic player and a fierce competitor. Often times, people with personalities like that are challenged by being a head coach because it's hard to find a roster full of players like them. Take Isaiah Thomas. He's one of the greatest point guards of all time, a top 25 basketball player to ever live. And he couldn't coach at all.

Sorry for the tangent. I just think Binford is a good coach who knows what she's doing, but bad luck, youth, injuries and the lack of honing the right mental attitude has held this team back the last two seasons. To clarify, here's what she said about Kayla DeWit verbatim.

You mentioned Kayla DeWit. What was that conversation like? Why did she choose to leave?

Binford: “It was a huge surprise to be quite honest because she really turned the corner. She really, really turned the corner. She just felt that she needed to play at a lower level, just the challenges of the Division I level, especially from the mental standpoint, she felt it was the right decision for her.

BB: MSU-B, is that where she is going?

Binford: “Not as far as I know. I don’t think the though process has really been decided. She’s extremely open.”

BB: Is her sister finished at Tech? I was wondering if she might end up there.

Binford: “She very well could. Our conversation was that we would help her find a place, wherever she wants to go. But I just want to also make it clear that I thought she turned the corner and I thought this would have been a great step for her this next year in our program.”

BB: It was a surprise because she was getting some good tick.

Binford: “For her, her first couple of years, she just had so many things outside of her control. You got to see her have that first year under her belt healthy this season and you saw what she was capable of doing with that.

[Jobu]

Geez. This is a big loss for the team, but I wish Kayla the best.


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[SonomaCat]

Odd thread, we seem to have Binford saying one thing and several people who claim the opposite.

If you think back on what we've seen many times in the past, it's really not that odd. This is pretty much how it plays out quite often. Everybody wants to get "their side" of the argument out there, and that's totally understandable.

[BLACKnBLUEnGOLD]

As someone close to the situation, I am sickened by the Binford comment that Kayla couldn't handle the grind and mental commitment of Division 1. That is a mean, irresponsible comment and completely unfounded. Kayla is a tough, talented, hardworking, good person and could take her game to anyone. I'm sure she would stay in D1 if not required to sit out a year to do so. To leave a negative miserable playing culture is a brave decision and one she did not take lightly. Life is too short.

I don't have an agenda on Binford one way or the other, but if you read Colter's post carefully, you'll see that those comments are things that DeWitt said to Binford, which Binford then passed on to Colter.

[kyle_sample]

I've talked with several people close to the situation who have said DeWit denied ever saying that she couldn't mentally handle the Division I level. They don't know what that assertion came from

[HassFan]

I'm just looking at the attrition rate of what seem to be top level players. I don't recall all the names but started paying attention when Jenny Heringer left. It would be interesting to compare rates between UM and MSU as I have to think they are both competetive coaches, but Selvig may have different tactics or chemistry that is developed between he and the players. He has also has several long time assistant coaches. I'm not sure how our assistant coach longevity stacks up....

[Hawks86]

I'm just looking at the attrition rate of what seem to be top level players. I don't recall all the names but started paying attention when Jenny Heringer left. It would be interesting to compare rates between UM and MSU as I have to think they are both competetive coaches, but Selvig may have different tactics or chemistry that is developed between he and the players. He has also has several long time assistant coaches. I'm not sure how our assistant coach longevity stacks up....

I can name 3 of the top players in recent memory. Bussey,Semansky, and Brumwell. They didn't seem to have a problem. Maybe if Binford coaches 30 more years, like Selvig,she'll get it all figured out.

[WyomingGrizFan]

So how does Selvig do it? It always seems like he is constantly screaming and is tough on his players, yet they all not only stick it out, they all speak well of him once they are finished. I sure would like to know how he does this and how it is different from Binford. Does Delvig just recruit tougher girls, both mentally and physically?

Because everyone knows that Robin Selvig wants to win, not just honestly and cleanly, playing the game as it's meant to be played, just as much as the players do. You might say something about some so-called 'screaming,' etc., but the same passion for winning that he displayed when the LG defeated Judy Spoelstra's Lady Bobcats back on 02 February 1991 67 - 66 hasn't seem to have gone away; probably never will. He was seen jumping up and down in jubilation on the sidelines just as much as his players were. No reason why not. It was a tough game to win.

[Helcat72]

I'm just looking at the attrition rate of what seem to be top level players. I don't recall all the names but started paying attention when Jenny Heringer left. It would be interesting to compare rates between UM and MSU as I have to think they are both competetive coaches, but Selvig may have different tactics or chemistry that is developed between he and the players. He has also has several long time assistant coaches. I'm not sure how our assistant coach longevity stacks up....

Herringer left due to the pain she was having in her legs. I talked to her father who told me that I wouldn't believe what she went through her junior year just to make it through the season.She may have felt better as a senior in Billings, but that is why she transferred. She just didn't feel as though she could compete at the D1 level with the pain.