Local basketball coaches share how women's basketball continues to grow

YOU BET. IF THIS WOMEN’S NATIONAL TOURNAMENT PROVED ONE THING, IT PROVED THAT PEOPLE WANT TO WATCH THE WOMEN’S GAME. 9.9 MILLION VIEWERS TUNED IN ON SUNDAY TO WATCH THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BETWEEN LSU AND IOWA. A RECORD NUMBER OF VIEWERS. THAT’S BETTER THAN THE 2023 ORANGE BOWL, SUGAR BOWL AND EVEN THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL. PLUS THE 2021 NBA FINALS. AND 2020 WORLD SERIES SHOWING WHAT MANY IN THE GAME HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN THAT WOMEN ARE WORTH WATCHING. THEY’LL BE ABLE TO SEE IT JUST GET THE RECOGNITION THAT IT DESERVES. IT MEANS A LOT. A THREE PEAT STATE CHAMPIONSHIP WINNING COACH WOULD UNDERSTAND JUST HOW MUCH IT MEANS TO HAVE A BRIGHTER SPOTLIGHT ON FEMALE BASKETBALL PLAYERS. THE GIRLS PUT IN JUST AS MUCH, IF NOT MORE, WORK AND THEY JUST NEED TO BE APPRECIATED. SOMETHING CRYSTAL JOHNSON’S HOOVER BUCKS HAVE PROVEN OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. IT’S HARD TO WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP. OF COURSE, THEY’RE GOING TO BE MORE COMPETITIVE. PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE DIVING ALL OVER THE FLOOR AND THAT LEADS TO EXCITING BASKETBALL TO BE PLAYED, COMPETITIVE BASKETBALL TO BE PLAYED. ANOTHER COACH WHO HAS BEEN IN THE SAME JOURNEY OF GROWING THE WOMEN’S GAME IS ALABAMA’S HEAD COACH, KRISTI CURRY. I’VE BEEN BLESSED TO BE ON THAT JOURNEY FOR A LONG TIME, SO I HAVE A GREAT APPRECIATION FOR WHERE WE WERE AND NOW WHERE WE’RE AT. YOU KNOW, YOU SEE ADMINISTRATION FANS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, MAN, AS ONE OF THOSE THAT ARE EMBRACING OUR SPORT ON TOP OF SHARING THE SAME LEAGUE AS THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS. CURRY ALSO SHARES A DEEP ROOTED RELATIONSHIP WITH LSU HEAD COACH KIM MULKEY, WHO WON HER FOURTH NATIONAL TITLE. WE HAD A CHANCE TO WORK TOGETHER FOR THREE YEARS AND, YOU KNOW, BACK IN THE DAY WHEN OUR GAME WAS IN A PLACE THAT IT’S NOT IN NOW. SO I THINK WE BOTH HAVE WORKED EXTREMELY HARD. SO I HAVE A LOT OF RESPECT FOR HER WORK ETHIC, HER PASSION. WHILE CURRY’S LEADING WOMAN AT THE COLLEGIATE LEVEL, JOHNSON IS LEADING HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES TO THOSE EVER GROWING OPPORTUNITIES. I’VE BEEN ABLE TO WATCH MY GIRLS PLAY ON ESPN AND NOT NECESSARILY AT THE FINAL FOUR, BUT TO SEE MY PLAYERS ON TV NEXT ON THAT SCREEN WILL BE GATORADE, ALABAMA BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR AND USC SIGNEE RANIA KELLY. YOU KNOW HER SAYING I WANT TO BE HERE NEXT YEAR AND KNOWING THAT SHE HAS THE OPPORTUNITIES. THAT’S EXCITING FOR HER. IT IS EXCITING FOR THIS COMMUNITY. HER FAMILY, THIS PROGRAM FOR A TOURNAMENT THAT SAW A LOT OF PASSION, THAT CAUGHT A LOT OF ATTENTION. BOTH COACHES EXPECTING ONLY MORE TO COME. I TALK TRASH, TOO, WHEN I PLAYED IN. IT’S JUST SOMETHING WHEN YOU PUT SO MUCH INTO A SPORT, YOU’RE GOING TO BE EMOTIONAL AND PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT YOU’RE DOING. AND CERTAINLY THE CRITICISM THAT COMES ALONG WITH IT IS UNFAIR. I JUST THINK THAT WE’RE AT A POINT IN TIME WHERE WE HAVE EXTREMELY TALENTED, PASSIONATE ATHLETES, AND MAYBE THAT IS THE NEXT STEP FOR OUR GAME FOR PEOPLE TO EMBRACE THAT THE NAMES ARE GETTING OUT THERE, THE PROGRAMS ARE GETTING OUT THERE, AND THE GAME IN GENERAL IS NOW BEING BROADCASTED TO A BIGGER AUDIENCE. SO MANY LITTLE GIRLS, AGAIN, THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONTINUE TO PLAY AT AN EARLY AGE, AN IMPACT, THE LEVEL OF TALENT AT OUR LEVEL AND THE PARITY IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO GROW. SO I THINK WE’VE ONLY SCRATCHED THE SURFACE, BUT I FEEL LIKE WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY AND I TAKE A LOT OF PRIDE IN THAT AS I KNOW I KNOW ALL OF OUR COACHES IN THE SEC ARE CONSISTENTLY TALKING ON HOW WE C