Boy am I glad that UCONN women (and Geno) did not get Diamond DeShields in last years recruiting effort. Why? Well, first let me say that this young lady plays basketball well beyond her years. Sounds good so far? Yep, you betcha BUT there is a catch. In my estimation, she is trouble (with a capital T). Diamond DeShields chose to go to North Carolina because two outstanding high school players also elected to play at North Carolina and my guess is that they were thinking that they would become something equal to the current version of the Fab 5 that played for the University of Michigan mens basketball team in 1991. A couple of weeks ago I saw hints of what I thought was an overly cocky kid who just thought she was a Prima Donna - after a few shots, she got in the face of the person who was attempting to block her - physically taunting her (but not verbally doing so) - I smelled something that did not seem right but I still appreciated her skills - she is playing like a Junior, even though she is a first year freshman. Today, she reared her ugly head again - this time after making an incredible 3-point shot late in the game, Diamond taunted her defender - shaking her head and verbally intimidating her opponent - and the ref was right there to see her antics. I think Diamond was so enamored with her abilities, coupled with the fact that she made a long critical 3-point shot with about 8 minutes left in the game and her shot gave north carolina a 6-point lead, she never noticed the ref standing less than 10 foot from her. The ref immediately called a technical foul on Diamond, making that her fourth foul, which would then force her play extremely careful for the remainder of the game. Liston, the best free throw shooter on Duke made the penalty free throws and Duke was also awarded possession of the ball. Needless to say, that stupid rant on DeShields part, seemed to turn the tide in Dukes favor and Duke went on to win the game. The announcer, shortly after Diamond taunted her opponent, said that this was not the first time this season that she verbally taunted opponents but my guess is that it just might be the last. Her arrogance led Duke to rise to the occasion and ultimately win the game - after losing the first two games to North Carolina earlier in the year. Not that it matters now, but North Carolina has a self-imposed rule that if anyone is charged with a technical foul, that player will not start the next game PERIOD. I am sure that North Carolina will still get a bid for the big dance (the NCAA tournament) and I will be curious to see if Diamond is sitting on the bench versus starting the game. Whoever North Carolina plays in the opening game will be a much less experienced team - so it really wont matter, but I think if North Carolina gives Diamond DeShields what I consider a time out, she will be a better person in the long run.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 03:33:25 +0000
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