Yabba Dabba Dawgs
November 06, 2023 | Women's Basketball, Joel Coleman
Sam Purcell’s team is drawing inspiration from The Flintstones.
STARKVILLE – If you were at the Humphrey Coliseum and listening closely on Monday night as No. 25 Mississippi State opened up its season with a 77-42 victory over Alcorn State, you might've been taken all the way back to the Stone Age.
It won't be the last time either, as this season, head coach Sam Purcell's Bulldogs are turning StarkVegas into Bedrock. Or perhaps, more accurately, turning legendary cartoon character Fred Flintstone's catchphrase, "Yabba dabba doo" into yabba dabba dubs.
"This could really be a lot of fun this year," Purcell declared postgame.
Here's the deal. This season, when the Bulldogs find success on the court, they're going to yell out, 'Yabba dabba.'
Let Purcell himself explain exactly why:
"Yabba dabba, first and foremost, [comes from me being] a girl dad with three kids. So, if you ask me what's my favorite movie right now, I can't tell you. I don't watch movies. I only watch little kids' movies with my three girls. So, Freddy Flintstone – and shout out to The Flintstones [because] us older people, we love that guy…You know what's awesome about Freddy Flintstone? He's got no shoes. And he's crazy enough to drive his car [and use his feet] and go 100 miles per hour. I was sitting on the couch one day and was like, 'That's what my team is missing.' We need some yabba dabba doo behavior because I've got nice [players]. But for us to win championships, we've got to get a little ugly. We've got to be some Dawgs. So, I came in one day and they all looked at me like I was crazy [for suggesting this]. Then, they were like, 'Aw, this is actually pretty cool.'"
OK. So, what exactly gets the Bulldogs hollering like Barney Rubble's best friend? It can happen in one of three ways – all of them built around tremendous effort and hustle.
The first path to a "Yabba dabba" comes when a player is on offense and is running and beating her opponent down the floor.
"Then we pass it to you, and you get a layup," Purcell further explained. "You have to be crazy enough to believe, "I'm going to beat my opponent down the floor.' As simple as that sounds, that's hard."
Alright. What else?
"Second thing is an offensive rebound putback," Purcell said. "You've got to always have a mindset that every time a shot goes up, it's going to be a miss. So, go in there and rebound it like no other because you've got yabba dabba!"
And last, but not least…
"The third thing is on the defensive end," Purcell said. "If it's a two-on-one, or three-on-two, sprint back because you believe, 'If I give a Bulldog effort and I break up a play, then I can help my team make sure we don't give up that two or three points.' And that's yabba dabba."
There were plenty of "Yabba dabba" moments in Monday's opener. State racked up 29 offensive rebounds and turned those into 33 points. The Dawgs tallied 15 fastbreak points. They played strong defense all evening as well. State yabba dabba got it done.
It didn't happen on Monday, but if Purcell gets his way, then soon his players won't be the only ones imitating Fred.
"Let's get this whole place screaming, 'Yabba dabba,' Purcell said. "Maybe [fans can] even come with some Freddy Flintstone outfits in the stands. Let's take this to the next level. This thing can go big time, and then [everyone is] going to think we're crazier than we are, because we all want to win."
The challenge has been laid out. State fans can start answering the call this weekend when Purcell's team returns to action with a pair of games – first on Friday at 6:30 p.m. against Southeastern Louisiana, then on Sunday at 2 p.m. versus Jacksonville State.
"I love my Bulldog family, so I'm going to give you all a yabba dabba opportunity to get crazy enough to come both [Friday and Sunday], and let's make a statement across the country that we really are back," Purcell said. "That we're back in the Top 25 and, yabba dabba, we're trying to get back to that national championship."
