When was the last time either men's or women's was ranked. I thought for years women's BB was highly competitive. Who were the best coaches for each team?
PSU Basketball
- Thread starter psulongago
- Start date
Women’s team was excellent under the late Renee Portland, who unfortunately is now considered a non-person at PSU due to woke insanity.
i do remember her and the competitive teams, knew there was an issue as to why she left, don't recall what. Thought the men's coach was building a competitive program, he too was forced out by the admins. He is down here in SW FL at Florida Gulf Coast, i live a few miles from the school, should check his record. Believe he has restocked with portal players,
The "issue" was she wasn't "supportive" of gay players on the team. She was a great coach regardless and the program suffered greatly without her.
I dont recall any men's coach that was even decent at least since leaving the A10.
The men were up to 8th in the country in 2020, and last ranked in the March 2nd 2020 poll.
The women finished the year ranked 14th in both polls in 2014.
She was a very good coach...however prior statements about her archaic stance on her player's sexuality ultimately did her in (as did her abrasive personality and treatment of her players which caused a revolving door at the end of her tenure).
Her and her sons coming out wearing Indiana gear at a men's home game against IU wasn't exactly a smooth move either.
I've always wondered what the real story was about that. I know that some players spoke out against her. I just can't imagine a coach caring about it as long as it was discrete. For all we know there were public displays of affection on busses and in the locker room and she said cut it out. I guess we'll never know.
I recall a story about Iowa players (I forget with sport) complaining of racism. Their complaint was that the coaches wanted them to dress like white kids. I couldn't help but to think back to when we had to wear suits to away games. JoePa would have been annihilated by today's standards.
Of course we all remember Pat Chambers telling a player who was playing tight to let him help remove the noose around his neck. Most teammates came to Chambers' defense but he was done.
It doesn't take much these days
It's not like it was just rumors. Granted it goes back to earlier in her tenure, but she was willing to go on the record in stating that she didn't allow lesbians in her program, and she never retracted those statements.
JoePa would not have been annihilated today. He was not a racist. He had expectations that some may have decided not to deal with but he would have survived.
The case against Rene was leveled very publicly by a player. What was difficult was the world changed around her and she did not. She was very kind to me while I was in school and to my family later. I wished that she could have adjusted and kept coaching. Our teams have never been competitive since.
She was abrasive but great coaches often are. It's not like anyone didn't know what they were getting into when they decided to play for her.
Coquese had a solid run in the middle of her tenure, making the tourney in 4 straight years with a couple of Sweet Sixteens and winning the Big Ten 3 years in a row. But things really fell off after 2014.
Wasn't that just Maggie Lucas carrying a team for a few years? I thought for a while Coquese took too much heat but as time went on it seems like most of it was legit.
Former player Lisa Faloon recalled, “Rene explained to all of us that we weren’t to talk to a lesbian, and if we were a lesbian, she specifically said, I will take your scholarship away and you will never play basketball again.”
Getting rid of her was ‘woke insanity’? More like common decency.
Rene was someone that needed to be removed because she openly expressed her views. There was a lot of talk that the teams always had plenty of athletes of varying orientations, but it was tolerated if not a public issue. Also wrong.
The only bad part was that the player that finally took her down was a bad kid. Always in trouble and used Rene to attack Rene.
The only bad part was that the player that finally took her down was a bad kid. Always in trouble and used Rene to attack Rene.
Except what you just posted is hearsay and should never be used to carry out a punishment. You fool!
Maggie was a mid-second round WNBA pick that ended up scoring 4.4 points/game in her WNBA career. Maybe a player like that can carry you in the Patriot League, but it takes more than that to win the Big Ten three years in a row (though she was obviously a key part of the success).
Bruce Parkhill was doing a good job when we entered the Big Ten but then left abruptly amid a rumor of a relationship with a PSU student who may or may not have been a friend of his family.
I often wonder what would've happened if he stayed at PSU. I don't think he ever resurfaced in coaching and little was formally reported.
As for Pat I work with Delco folks who know the extended family. Apparently he is happy in Florida. I was very hopeful and supportive of him during his tenure...and it seemed he finally turned a corner...
but then got canned.
It is interesting that the same player was surprised to be pushed out at Iowa State by a new coach and then ended up a 2 year starter for Gonzaga. What if Pat had chosen other words and that team reached its potential?
In short that is the bitch of being a PSU hoops fan....the coin usually ends up tails...
Hoping Shrew is a game changer. So far he is very impressive.
I often wonder what would've happened if he stayed at PSU. I don't think he ever resurfaced in coaching and little was formally reported.
As for Pat I work with Delco folks who know the extended family. Apparently he is happy in Florida. I was very hopeful and supportive of him during his tenure...and it seemed he finally turned a corner...
but then got canned.
It is interesting that the same player was surprised to be pushed out at Iowa State by a new coach and then ended up a 2 year starter for Gonzaga. What if Pat had chosen other words and that team reached its potential?
In short that is the bitch of being a PSU hoops fan....the coin usually ends up tails...
Hoping Shrew is a game changer. So far he is very impressive.
Yep, interesting how many believe that people that actually stand on their beliefs should change or accept the beliefs of other that they don't agree with.
I respect her for sticking to her beliefs. Just because others do not agree with her, even if a spineless university fires her, does not make her beliefs and actions "archaic".
Maggie Lucas was a great player at PSU,but she didn't do it alone. Alex Bently, Ariel Edwards, Nikki Green, Shaque Gray and Talia East were all very good players. Bently played very well in the WNBA. Coquese took over a program in turmoil and turned it into a Big Ten champ in a couple of years.
I still can't figure what happened the last few years. Something was off. Too many transfers out of the program by kids that were playing significant minutes?
I still can't figure what happened the last few years. Something was off. Too many transfers out of the program by kids that were playing significant minutes?
Rene had a problem with gay players hitting-on and bullying other hetero players, especially the freshman hetero's. Rene spoke about this publicly.
Bruce ended up coaching at Ohio State under Jim O'Brien for a few years in the early 2000s.
Deciding that you won't embrace players of a certain sexuality is certainly archaic when coaching at a public university. Would you also embrace a coach that refused to be open to black players, interracial dating by their players, players of a different religion that won't accept Jesus, etc, if they are just "standing on their beliefs"?
Agree but I don't know if that's what happened. How would she even know if certain players were gay unless they publicly displayed their sexuality in some way?
Rene should not be judged on not "embracing" anything she in her personal beliefs does not agree with. Rene or any coach should not be required to embrace any particular beliefs that are not a part of her actual responsibilities as the coach.
As long as she did not discriminate against those with other beliefs during the execution of her responsibilities. She may have done just that and got fired for it. But criticizing her because she has beliefs that are not what the university considers main stream, or firing her for just having those beliefs is a spineless response.
Great college players aren't always great pro players. It's also why she couldn't lead them past the Sweet 16. That team crashed the second Maggie left if we're being honest
I knew who several players were dating from the team when I was in school, and I probably spent about 2% of the time with them that Rene did.
Correct. She needed to learn to keep her bigotry to herself for the sake of wins. The SEC is built on that concept.
INcorrect. Having beliefs that are different from others is not "bigotry"
Actually, it's diversity of beliefs. And embracing that is actually tolerance.
So if I’m not willing to embrace racists, sexists, homophobes, anti-semites, etc, then I’m “intolerant “? And those people aren’t “bigots”, they just have “different beliefs”? Interesting take.
You are wrong. Gays bullying hetero's, particularly freshman hetero's is wrong and not tolerating that activity is what got Rene ousted. Would you allow this on your team? Oh, and you seem to be the one that is carrying the torch. Why do you find bigotry everywhere you look (This thread is just your latest among many)?
This whole “Rene was protecting the straight players from being bullied” is complete BS. Rene was on record on trying to stop players from ever arriving at PSU if they were gay. And the players that I knew cared a lot less about their teammate’s sexuality than Rene did. (And for the record, Rene also cared way too much about the personal lives of her straight players)
Looking back, I am still disappointed Bruce Parkhill left Penn State. I would love to have seen what he could have accomplished.
