NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament 2012: A Texas Tradition to Avoid for Baylor

There once was a coach named Guy Lewis.

Here’s to hopin’ Baylor’s Kim Mulkey doesn’t over-coach her team right out of its rightful place in history.

The Lady Bears handily dispatched Big West Tournament champion UCSB, 81-40 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Next they will face the Florida Lady Gators, who disappointed the home crowd by turning back Ohio State 70-65 in Sunday's opening action in Bowling Green.

Mulkey chose to keep her all-purpose point guard Odyssey Sims on the bench come tip-off time in favor of junior Terran Condrey for what she later labeled a “minor thing.”

During the Big 12 Tournament, back-up forward Brooklyn Pope was held out of the rotation during one game.

Managing motivation is exceptionally tricky business, and there is no real blueprint or handbook for doing so.

Coach Kim has been working the “simple country girl” shtick, all the way down to ultra-drawling her Player of the Century’s surname.

She’s also shown a downright mean streak—and not only towards her own players.

Her studs logged extra-big minutes in Waco’s "Farewell Gary Blair Bash" a month ago.

And she unleashed her iconic post against poor Kansas State, in the conference semifinal, to the tune of 28 shots and 45 points.

Yet, in the ensuing two outings, Brittney Griner has been limited to 48 minutes, 19 shots and 25 points.

Sims, who shot quite poorly in Griner’s monster game, has since been superb, 13-20 from the field in her subsequent 45 minutes.

A good coach finds ways, discipline among them, to keep her troops ready to compete.

Kim Mulkey of the “Old School” has done a magnificent job with this incredible team.

But let’s back up the "Old School" a couple of generations for the last word here.

Former New York Jets coach Herman Edwards, notorious for some other words (“Hello!”), often quotes his dad in reference to situations like these.

“Don’t mess up the Tango!”

Apt advice, when the destination is the "Big Dance," eh?

A Limerick for the Road (to Denver?)

"

Coach Lewis did blunder, “Oh, my!”

His Phi Slamma Jamma flew high.

But they drew back their wild,

They no longer styled.

So Springfield lacks Lewis comma Guy.

"