WBB 2023-2024 Season - Printable Version
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RE: WBB 2023-2024 Season - chimera - 04-28-2023
(04-28-2023, 12:50 PM)stopandpop Wrote:(04-25-2023, 06:56 PM)BobK Wrote: Stanford and the UC schools stopped using test scores about 18 months ago or more. Due the the pandemic HS students couldn’t take prep classes in person
Stop and pop the portal is new. I’m sure you know that. Hoping to land a HS player every other school missed is a hard find. But I did post Tara is trying to add a player through the portal fact
The portal was established in October, 2018; not exactly new, although the NCAA has made tweaks since then. The portal has taken off in the last 2 years, and this year it exploded, which makes it seem new.
My question to you is- If we passed on getting several players from the Ivy League, how could Tara be trying to add a player through the portal at this late stage? And even if she was, what kinds of quality players (that match our needs), are left?
Do agree with you about HS players if you're talking about U.S. players. Foreign players, a different story.
After everything written on here about admissions and the difficulty of getting transfers in, why do you frame this as the coaches somehow "passed" on players? Do you really think if there was a good player out there who was admissible as a transfer and wanted to come, the coaches would say nah, we're good? The players get a say too, and they may not want Stanford even if they can get in. Maybe too few credits transfer. Maybe the grad program they want is not available or they were rejected for that specific program. Maybe they want to be in a different area of the country or state. We may yet get a transfer, though I would not count on it. This is not shopping where we pluck what we want off a shelf.
I generally go with the assumption that coaches want to win and are not crazy, and thus are not somehow turning down eligible transfers or not bothering to look for them. Sorry to be a bit snarky. I am getting worn out with this idea that our coaches refuse to use the portal even after it has been explained over and over why Stanford is different regarding transfers. I also don't understand the idea that some Ivy League player is going to come in and make a brobdingnagian impact. An All-conference Ivy, sure, that might work, but the talent level in that league is generally much lower than what we really need. Taking a transfer who sits on the bench doesn't help.
RE: WBB 2023-2024 Season - cardfan1996 - 04-28-2023
(04-26-2023, 12:41 PM)stopandpop Wrote: We have a companion.
Indiana Women’s Basketball Quiet in Offseason, No Transfer Portal Grabs (msn.com)
So has Iowa. Stanford, Iowa and Indiana coaches - sisters in mediocrity. Meanwhile, Kim Mulkey is securing her Top 3 All-time WBB coach position after Geno and Pat. Kim is executing and what she did this year was unbelievable. It is what it is.
(04-28-2023, 12:50 PM)stopandpop Wrote:(04-25-2023, 06:56 PM)BobK Wrote: Stanford and the UC schools stopped using test scores about 18 months ago or more. Due the the pandemic HS students couldn’t take prep classes in person
Stop and pop the portal is new. I’m sure you know that. Hoping to land a HS player every other school missed is a hard find. But I did post Tara is trying to add a player through the portal fact
The portal was established in October, 2018; not exactly new, although the NCAA has made tweaks since then. The portal has taken off in the last 2 years, and this year it exploded, which makes it seem new.
My question to you is- If we passed on getting several players from the Ivy League, how could Tara be trying to add a player through the portal at this late stage? And even if she was, what kinds of quality players (that match our needs), are left?
Do agree with you about HS players if you're talking about U.S. players. Foreign players, a different story.
We desperately need a point guard and there were at least 20 in the portal better than our option right now. Some of the schools these kids came from were Duke, Georgetown, Columbia, and Harvard. I don’t buy it as someone who went through both undergrad and grad admissions. If our coaches can’t get the job done in the portal for whatever reason, then their failure to keep the players we had (and I am only referring to Nivar and Betts) should be even more amplified. Pick a struggle.
RE: WBB 2023-2024 Season - chimera - 04-28-2023
(04-28-2023, 06:34 PM)cardfan1996 Wrote:(04-26-2023, 12:41 PM)stopandpop Wrote: We have a companion.
Indiana Women’s Basketball Quiet in Offseason, No Transfer Portal Grabs (msn.com)
So has Iowa. Stanford, Iowa and Indiana coaches - sisters in mediocrity. Meanwhile, Kim Mulkey is securing her Top 3 All-time WBB coach position after Geno and Pat. Kim is executing and what she did this year was unbelievable. It is what it is.
(04-28-2023, 12:50 PM)stopandpop Wrote:(04-25-2023, 06:56 PM)BobK Wrote: Stanford and the UC schools stopped using test scores about 18 months ago or more. Due the the pandemic HS students couldn’t take prep classes in person
Stop and pop the portal is new. I’m sure you know that. Hoping to land a HS player every other school missed is a hard find. But I did post Tara is trying to add a player through the portal fact
The portal was established in October, 2018; not exactly new, although the NCAA has made tweaks since then. The portal has taken off in the last 2 years, and this year it exploded, which makes it seem new.
My question to you is- If we passed on getting several players from the Ivy League, how could Tara be trying to add a player through the portal at this late stage? And even if she was, what kinds of quality players (that match our needs), are left?
Do agree with you about HS players if you're talking about U.S. players. Foreign players, a different story.
We desperately need a point guard and there were at least 20 in the portal better than our option right now. Some of the schools these kids came from were Duke, Georgetown, Columbia, and Harvard. I don’t buy it as someone who went through both undergrad and grad admissions. If our coaches can’t get the job done in the portal for whatever reason, then their failure to keep the players we had (and I am only referring to Nivar and Betts) should be even more amplified. Pick a struggle.
So the coaches of Iowa (F4 last season), Indiana (great last two seasons) and Stanford (come on, now) are mediocre because they did not get transfers from the portal yet this year? I guess they just can't be bothered to try, right? Too stupid to understand how the portal works? Nobody around them says, psst, hey, you can take transfers!
Do you know the grades of those players from Duke, Georgetown, Columbia (and how would someone from Columbia help?) and Harvard? Does every student at those schools have fantastic grades? Do you know if any of those players want to come to Stanford? Do you know if the major or program those players want is one they can find at Stanford and get admitted to? I hate to break this to you but not everyone wants to go to Stanford. The players get a say on where they go.
Man, this board, this board, lately. Same complaints no matter what anyone explains about how the process works at Stanford. Can we just all agree that whatever you think of the coaches from Stanford or Iowa or Indiana, they are not morons, they know there is a portal, and they would take a transfer who might help if such a transfer was able to get in and wanted to come? Can we maybe understand that the way LSU or 99% of other teams can use the portal is very different from how Stanford coaches can use it? Mulkey can take anyone under as long as she meet basic NCAA eligibility, which is a pretty low academic bar.
RE: WBB 2023-2024 Season - cardfan1996 - 04-28-2023
(04-28-2023, 09:11 PM)chimera Wrote:(04-28-2023, 06:34 PM)cardfan1996 Wrote:(04-26-2023, 12:41 PM)stopandpop Wrote: We have a companion.
Indiana Women’s Basketball Quiet in Offseason, No Transfer Portal Grabs (msn.com)
So has Iowa. Stanford, Iowa and Indiana coaches - sisters in mediocrity. Meanwhile, Kim Mulkey is securing her Top 3 All-time WBB coach position after Geno and Pat. Kim is executing and what she did this year was unbelievable. It is what it is.
(04-28-2023, 12:50 PM)stopandpop Wrote:(04-25-2023, 06:56 PM)BobK Wrote: Stanford and the UC schools stopped using test scores about 18 months ago or more. Due the the pandemic HS students couldn’t take prep classes in person
Stop and pop the portal is new. I’m sure you know that. Hoping to land a HS player every other school missed is a hard find. But I did post Tara is trying to add a player through the portal fact
The portal was established in October, 2018; not exactly new, although the NCAA has made tweaks since then. The portal has taken off in the last 2 years, and this year it exploded, which makes it seem new.
My question to you is- If we passed on getting several players from the Ivy League, how could Tara be trying to add a player through the portal at this late stage? And even if she was, what kinds of quality players (that match our needs), are left?
Do agree with you about HS players if you're talking about U.S. players. Foreign players, a different story.
We desperately need a point guard and there were at least 20 in the portal better than our option right now. Some of the schools these kids came from were Duke, Georgetown, Columbia, and Harvard. I don’t buy it as someone who went through both undergrad and grad admissions. If our coaches can’t get the job done in the portal for whatever reason, then their failure to keep the players we had (and I am only referring to Nivar and Betts) should be even more amplified. Pick a struggle.
So the coaches of Iowa (F4 last season), Indiana (great last two seasons) and Stanford (come on, now) are mediocre because they did not get transfers from the portal yet this year? I guess they just can't be bothered to try, right? Too stupid to understand how the portal works? Nobody around them says, psst, hey, you can take transfers!
Do you know the grades of those players from Duke, Georgetown, Columbia (and how would someone from Columbia help?) and Harvard? Does every student at those schools have fantastic grades? Do you know if any of those players want to come to Stanford? Do you know if the major or program those players want is one they can find at Stanford and get admitted to? I hate to break this to you but not everyone wants to go to Stanford. The players get a say on where they go.
Man, this board, this board, lately. Same complaints no matter what anyone explains about how the process works at Stanford. Can we just all agree that whatever you think of the coaches from Stanford or Iowa or Indiana, they are not morons, they know there is a portal, and they would take a transfer who might help if such a transfer was able to get in and wanted to come? Can we maybe understand that the way LSU or 99% of other teams can use the portal is very different from how Stanford coaches can use it? Mulkey can take anyone under as long as she meet basic NCAA eligibility, which is a pretty low academic bar.
I don’t know their grades and neither do any of you. Bottomline, Kim was one of the first coaches - men or women - to go big on Nil last year by hiring someone to exclusively deal with Nil partnerships. And so it’s no surprise to me that she was able to get the #1 player last year in the portal (Angel) and the #1 player this year in the portal (HVL). HVL is a fabulous student. AND Kim is just good at connecting with kids, has a big personality, her kids love being around her and she has EVOLVED not slowly but quickly and has hired the right people around her to help her recruit, evolve and relate to the players.
Excuses are tools of the incompetent. And frankly if getting someone pass Admissions is so hard, then Tara should have done a better job keeping her players that she recruited. It’s just one excuse after the next.
Edited to add: I saw a corny interview with Kate last summer where she pretty much implied the portal was beneath Stanford so YES some of your questions above are rhetorical. She probably should feel differently this year. I think you are making a lot of assumptions just like I am.
RE: WBB 2023-2024 Season - old spanish trail - 04-28-2023
You are a good analyst, Card1996, but your dissing of Tara et al is wearing thin. We have enjoyed a terrific program for years. Now and then there is a downer.
RE: WBB 2023-2024 Season - chimera - 04-28-2023
No, it's just one complaint after the next from you. You seem not to understand how transferring to Stanford works and how rare it is. LSU and Stanford have little in common. How does complaining over and over that Stanford doesn't get the transfers you want help anyone? What can anyone here say at this point that hasn't been said. If we get one, we get one, and we will find out when we find out.
Edited to add, yelling loudly so everyone can hear: Yes, last season was a bummer, but the team was in the F4 the year before that and won it all two years before that. Stop acting like things have been terrible for a while. They haven't.
RE: WBB 2023-2024 Season - qwerty49 - 04-28-2023
(04-28-2023, 09:36 PM)cardfan1996 Wrote: Bottomline, Kim was one of the first coaches - men or women - to go big on Nil last year by hiring someone to exclusively deal with Nil partnerships. And so it’s no surprise to me that she was able to get the #1 player last year in the portal (Angel) and the #1 player this year in the portal (HVL). HVL is a fabulous student. AND Kim is just good at connecting with kids, has a big personality, her kids love being around her and she has EVOLVED not slowly but quickly and has hired the right people around her to help her recruit, evolve and relate to the players.
Excuses are tools of the incompetent. And frankly if getting someone pass Admissions is so hard, then Tara should have done a better job keeping her players that she recruited. It’s just one excuse after the next.
"Excuses are tools of the incompetent?" I'm sorry, that one has to go into the blowhard bluster HOF.
I appreciate your posts and perspective, and yes, at times I agree with you. But c'mon...do you know for sure that Tara had the same power to pursue NIL that Kim did? Do you know for sure exactly how LSU and Stanford view NIL, and what, if any restrictions or reservations they might have put in place? Do you know who makes those decisions re NIL at LSU vs at Stanford? Unless you do, I don't think you need to be criticizing Tara on that front. There are plenty of other things we can debate about without making presumptions.
RE: WBB 2023-2024 Season - CompSci87 - 04-28-2023
Do you even know players go to LSU because of NIL? Maybe it's more because Mulkey is one of the top coaches too, LSU isn't so hard to get admitted to and isn't as academically demanding once you're in, so you can focus on basketball, and the portal plus the extra COVID year makes it feasible to put together a super team of 4th and 5th year players there.
RE: WBB 2023-2024 Season - BobK - 04-29-2023
Maybe some here could read the story on Stanford WBB in today’s chronicle.
It’s a story about how very hard it is to undergrad or grad transfer to Stanford
RE: WBB 2023-2024 Season - 81alum - 04-29-2023
(04-29-2023, 06:52 AM)BobK Wrote: Maybe some here could read the story on Stanford WBB in today’s chronicle.Thanks Bob.
It’s a story about how very hard it is to undergrad or grad transfer to Stanford
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/college/article/stanford-s-tara-vanderveer-reveals-adjustments-17926183.php
It was not behind a paywall for me.
Tara talks directly about transfers. She makes it clear she wants them, but:
1) Stanford accepts NO junior or senior transfers (for the undergraduate program), period.
2) Grad transfers need to find a program that fits them, and the deadline is usually in November.
We have focused so much on the limited number of undergraduate slots, I had forgotten about Stanford's prohibition on junior and senior transfers--which makes a high percentage of the bloviating on this board pointless. And grad transfers mostly don't get serious about where they are going until the portal opens and they test the waters. They would have to have applied to Stanford 5 months earlier if they wanted to grad transfer here. That isn't going to happen except in rare cases, and even if they apply they need to be accepted, which is never a given. In short, the only grad transfers we are likely to get are transfers that are very serious about an academic program--probably more serious about such a program than about basketball since it requires so much advance planning.
The interview also makes it clear that Tara was well aware than playing time was a factor in our transfers out, and that carrying a smaller roster may help to remedy that in the future. Article also noted that Nivar wants to go closer to home. It sounds like a different factor was in play than basketball dissatisfaction for her.
I am now done with discussing transfers until next season. I do have a question or two I will ask at the next chalk talk on the subject--in November.
RE: WBB 2023-2024 Season - chimera - 04-29-2023
Wait, so Tara is not an idiot who refuses to take transfers? Who would have guessed?!?!?! I sure hope this is all put to bed already. It is beyond time.
RE: WBB 2023-2024 Season - cardfan1996 - 04-29-2023
(04-28-2023, 10:02 PM)old spanish trail Wrote: You are a good analyst, Card1996, but your dissing of Tara et al is wearing thin. We have enjoyed a terrific program for years. Now and then there is a downer.
Just think of me as balancing all the unnecessary praise. Frankly, I have given her a break because I’ve been exercising extreme restraint not to focus on, and overreact to the “bad optics” of the 4 people who left as well as some other “related bad optics” that has bothered me for decades about her. I am sure it has crossed at least some of your minds who are not totally consumed with lecturing me and her other critics.
RE: WBB 2023-2024 Season - stopandpop - 04-29-2023
(04-28-2023, 04:59 PM)chimera Wrote:(04-28-2023, 12:50 PM)stopandpop Wrote:(04-25-2023, 06:56 PM)BobK Wrote: Stanford and the UC schools stopped using test scores about 18 months ago or more. Due the the pandemic HS students couldn’t take prep classes in person
Stop and pop the portal is new. I’m sure you know that. Hoping to land a HS player every other school missed is a hard find. But I did post Tara is trying to add a player through the portal fact
The portal was established in October, 2018; not exactly new, although the NCAA has made tweaks since then. The portal has taken off in the last 2 years, and this year it exploded, which makes it seem new.
My question to you is- If we passed on getting several players from the Ivy League, how could Tara be trying to add a player through the portal at this late stage? And even if she was, what kinds of quality players (that match our needs), are left?
Do agree with you about HS players if you're talking about U.S. players. Foreign players, a different story.
After everything written on here about admissions and the difficulty of getting transfers in, why do you frame this as the coaches somehow "passed" on players? Do you really think if there was a good player out there who was admissible as a transfer and wanted to come, the coaches would say nah, we're good? The players get a say too, and they may not want Stanford even if they can get in. Maybe too few credits transfer. Maybe the grad program they want is not available or they were rejected for that specific program. Maybe they want to be in a different area of the country or state. We may yet get a transfer, though I would not count on it. This is not shopping where we pluck what we want off a shelf.
I generally go with the assumption that coaches want to win and are not crazy, and thus are not somehow turning down eligible transfers or not bothering to look for them. Sorry to be a bit snarky. I am getting worn out with this idea that our coaches refuse to use the portal even after it has been explained over and over why Stanford is different regarding transfers. I also don't understand the idea that some Ivy League player is going to come in and make a of immense proportions impact. An All-conference Ivy, sure, that might work, but the talent level in that league is generally much lower than what we really need. Taking a transfer who sits on the bench doesn't help.
Please be careful about 'shooting the messenger' about passing along portal information from another source. I based my comments on Bob K's message: "But I did post that Tara is trying to add a player through the portal fact." Bob K and I rarely agree on much, but I take his comment seriously and believe he knows what he's talking about. My assumption was, if Tara is using the portal now, what was going on when several quality IVY League players were still available (i.e. McKenzie Forbes and Kayla Padilla)? Legit question. So, from your perspective, what might have been a reason for passing on these players? Doesn't make sense to me.
Your comments about the IVY Leage tells me you never saw game film on Padilla. Her skill sets would have been a perfect fit for us at guard and would have solved a lot of our problems going into 2023-2024. I certainly was not talking about bench warmers, which we don't need.
RE: WBB 2023-2024 Season - cardfan1996 - 04-29-2023
The article implies the grad school deadlines were in November. But I doubt there is any connection with those deadlines and Padilla’s and Forbes’ situation. High achievers usually plan out their life. And honestly if Forbes wanted to go to Stanford, wouldn’t she just have transferred right from Cal instead of going to Harvard first?
RE: WBB 2023-2024 Season - chimera - 04-29-2023
(04-29-2023, 12:59 PM)stopandpop Wrote:(04-28-2023, 04:59 PM)chimera Wrote:(04-28-2023, 12:50 PM)stopandpop Wrote:(04-25-2023, 06:56 PM)BobK Wrote: Stanford and the UC schools stopped using test scores about 18 months ago or more. Due the the pandemic HS students couldn’t take prep classes in person
Stop and pop the portal is new. I’m sure you know that. Hoping to land a HS player every other school missed is a hard find. But I did post Tara is trying to add a player through the portal fact
The portal was established in October, 2018; not exactly new, although the NCAA has made tweaks since then. The portal has taken off in the last 2 years, and this year it exploded, which makes it seem new.
My question to you is- If we passed on getting several players from the Ivy League, how could Tara be trying to add a player through the portal at this late stage? And even if she was, what kinds of quality players (that match our needs), are left?
Do agree with you about HS players if you're talking about U.S. players. Foreign players, a different story.
After everything written on here about admissions and the difficulty of getting transfers in, why do you frame this as the coaches somehow "passed" on players? Do you really think if there was a good player out there who was admissible as a transfer and wanted to come, the coaches would say nah, we're good? The players get a say too, and they may not want Stanford even if they can get in. Maybe too few credits transfer. Maybe the grad program they want is not available or they were rejected for that specific program. Maybe they want to be in a different area of the country or state. We may yet get a transfer, though I would not count on it. This is not shopping where we pluck what we want off a shelf.
I generally go with the assumption that coaches want to win and are not crazy, and thus are not somehow turning down eligible transfers or not bothering to look for them. Sorry to be a bit snarky. I am getting worn out with this idea that our coaches refuse to use the portal even after it has been explained over and over why Stanford is different regarding transfers. I also don't understand the idea that some Ivy League player is going to come in and make a of immense proportions impact. An All-conference Ivy, sure, that might work, but the talent level in that league is generally much lower than what we really need. Taking a transfer who sits on the bench doesn't help.
Please be careful about 'shooting the messenger' about passing along portal information from another source. I based my comments on Bob K's message: "But I did post that Tara is trying to add a player through the portal fact." Bob K and I rarely agree on much, but I take his comment seriously and believe he knows what he's talking about. My assumption was, if Tara is using the portal now, what was going on when several quality IVY League players were still available (i.e. McKenzie Forbes and Kayla Padilla)? Legit question. So, from your perspective, what might have been a reason for passing on these players? Doesn't make sense to me.
Your comments about the IVY Leage tells me you never saw game film on Padilla. Her skill sets would have been a perfect fit for us at guard and would have solved a lot of our problems going into 2023-2024. I certainly was not talking about bench warmers, which we don't need.
Bob does know what he is talking about. Regarding Padilla, I said an Ivy who was all-league might be helpful. Padilla was all-league. I stand by my statement that the Ivy League is far below the P-12 level and there is no guarantee even an all-league Ivy would be a major contributor. Totally different talent levels generally in the two leagues.
What do you mean "passing on these players?" Nobody passed on players. Either those players could not get admitted or they chose to go elsewhere. Why is that so hard for you to understand? What do you mean by Tara is using the portal now but what was going on when the Ivy league players were available a few weeks ago? So you think she just started using the portal this week? We got a transfer from the portal two years ago when Hamilton transferred in. They did not just start using the portal this week or this year even. Did you not read any of the discussion about the difficulty of getting transfers in? Did you not read the SF Chron story that got quotes from Tara about it?
For the last time, nobody is "passing on" players. The coaches are using the portal as best they can given how Stanford operates. Most of your assumptions are wrong. Your framing is incorrect. Please read all the info posted in this thread by people who do understand how Stanford works. If you want to follow a team that can grab whoever they want out of the portal you are in the wrong place.
RE: WBB 2023-2024 Season - BobK - 04-29-2023
Stop I ‘ve sorry Stanford admissions isn’t to your liking . But they choose not you. Read the chronicle story or ignore the facts as usual. Tara tried but couldn’t get anyone admissions qualified
Or Grad school qualified
RE: WBB 2023-2024 Season - chimera - 04-29-2023
Can someone please come and slap me in the face? That would be more enjoyable than reading this thread.
RE: WBB 2023-2024 Season - jonnyss - 04-29-2023
(04-29-2023, 12:59 PM)stopandpop Wrote:(04-28-2023, 04:59 PM)chimera Wrote:(04-28-2023, 12:50 PM)stopandpop Wrote:(04-25-2023, 06:56 PM)BobK Wrote: Stanford and the UC schools stopped using test scores about 18 months ago or more. Due the the pandemic HS students couldn’t take prep classes in person
Stop and pop the portal is new. I’m sure you know that. Hoping to land a HS player every other school missed is a hard find. But I did post Tara is trying to add a player through the portal fact
The portal was established in October, 2018; not exactly new, although the NCAA has made tweaks since then. The portal has taken off in the last 2 years, and this year it exploded, which makes it seem new.
My question to you is- If we passed on getting several players from the Ivy League, how could Tara be trying to add a player through the portal at this late stage? And even if she was, what kinds of quality players (that match our needs), are left?
Do agree with you about HS players if you're talking about U.S. players. Foreign players, a different story.
After everything written on here about admissions and the difficulty of getting transfers in, why do you frame this as the coaches somehow "passed" on players? Do you really think if there was a good player out there who was admissible as a transfer and wanted to come, the coaches would say nah, we're good? The players get a say too, and they may not want Stanford even if they can get in. Maybe too few credits transfer. Maybe the grad program they want is not available or they were rejected for that specific program. Maybe they want to be in a different area of the country or state. We may yet get a transfer, though I would not count on it. This is not shopping where we pluck what we want off a shelf.
I generally go with the assumption that coaches want to win and are not crazy, and thus are not somehow turning down eligible transfers or not bothering to look for them. Sorry to be a bit snarky. I am getting worn out with this idea that our coaches refuse to use the portal even after it has been explained over and over why Stanford is different regarding transfers. I also don't understand the idea that some Ivy League player is going to come in and make a of immense proportions impact. An All-conference Ivy, sure, that might work, but the talent level in that league is generally much lower than what we really need. Taking a transfer who sits on the bench doesn't help.
Please be careful about 'shooting the messenger' about passing along portal information from another source. I based my comments on Bob K's message: "But I did post that Tara is trying to add a player through the portal fact." Bob K and I rarely agree on much, but I take his comment seriously and believe he knows what he's talking about. My assumption was, if Tara is using the portal now, what was going on when several quality IVY League players were still available (i.e. McKenzie Forbes and Kayla Padilla)? Legit question. So, from your perspective, what might have been a reason for passing on these players? Doesn't make sense to me.
Your comments about the IVY Leage tells me you never saw game film on Padilla. Her skill sets would have been a perfect fit for us at guard and would have solved a lot of our problems going into 2023-2024. I certainly was not talking about bench warmers, which we don't need.
2 words for ivy league transfers: abby meyers. 2 words about abby meyers: if only.
RE: WBB 2023-2024 Season - stopandpop - 04-29-2023
I'm ready to move on to 2023-2024, but 2 things should be cleared up.
Bob K. I had such faith in you when you posted: "Tara is trying to add a player through the portal fact". Yet the SF Chronicle clearly states that Tara will go with the 12 players she has. Where did your information come from?
Second, The Chronicle said that McKenzie Forbes and Kayla Padilla had (academic) profiles that could have been a good fit (for Stanford). Why would the writer even mention them, considering Stanford's restrictive policies about grad transfers? It is a strange comment by the writer who dangles their names, but fails to explain what indeed happened.
Moving on:
I have mixed feelings about the 2023-2024 season. CONCERNS 1) Tara really has only 10 players who will contribute and 2 benchwarmers. Green and Papadaki rarely saw minutes as freshmen because they lack the talent, quickness and athleticism for the college game. 2) The team will not have a guard who can score. 3) Opponents will clog the paint and push Brink to the outside. Her mid-range and 3-point shooting will improve, but her offensive rebounding and scoring down low (the bread and butter of her game), will be taken away because there will be no meaningful offense to support her. 4) The team will have no one coming off the bench to spell Brink or Iriafen. The 6'2 Agara is raw and not nearly tall enough to contend with some of the non-conference opponents Stanford will face and certainly several PAC-12 opponents. 5) Contrary to the SF Chronicle story, Demetre is not a rising junior. She remains a limited player who does not provide consistent offense.
HOPE- 1) A healthy Harriel will come in at guard and prove to be a creator and an effective shooter. 2) The freshman Ogden will have an immediate impact and provide another source of scoring at the wing; 3) Iriafen will have developed her midrange game, combined with her strong offensive moves in the paint. 4) Brink will reduce her fouling and (somehow) elevate her elite game to a whole other level.
PREDICTION- 22-8; 4th. place finish in the PAC-12 regular season and an early exit from the Tournament. Stanford will make the NCAA Tourney but will have to play in someone else's gym for the first round. They'll win game 1, but lose game 2.
RE: WBB 2023-2024 Season - 81alum - 04-29-2023
(04-29-2023, 02:14 PM)stopandpop Wrote: .I generally agree with this analysis, with a couple of differences. "Rising junior" is a technical term which simply means she is going to be a junior next year ( the "rising" year, as opposed to last year,) not that she is "rising" in the basketball ranks. But we will be relying more heavily on her. Hopefully her defense improves. But putting her in the opposite corner to Jump on offense could open up the floor.
I have mixed feelings about the 2023-2024 season. CONCERNS 1) Tara really has only 10 players who will contribute and 2 benchwarmers. Green and Papadaki rarely saw minutes as freshmen because they lack the talent, quickness and athleticism for the college game. 2) The team will not have a guard who can score. 3) Opponents will clog the paint and push Brink to the outside. Her mid-range and 3-point shooting will improve, but her offensive rebounding and scoring down low (the bread and butter of her game), will be taken away because there will be no meaningful offense to support her. 4) The team will have no one coming off the bench to spell Brink or Iriafen. The 6'2 Agara is raw and not nearly tall enough to contend with some of the non-conference opponents Stanford will face and certainly several PAC-12 opponents. 5) Contrary to the SF Chronicle story, Demetre is not a rising junior. She remains a limited player who does not provide consistent offense.
HOPE- 1) A healthy Harriel will come in at guard and prove to be a creator and an effective shooter. 2) The freshman Ogden will have an immediate impact and provide another source of scoring at the wing; 3) Iriafen will have developed her midrange game, combined with her strong offensive moves in the paint. 4) Brink will reduce her fouling and (somehow) elevate her elite game to a whole other level..
I too hope for Harriel to see time and improvement. Papadaki has a nice shot, there is some chance that she improves enough to play more. Green is not bad on defense. Not counting on a lot from them but one or both could surprise us.
I am hoping to see Bosgana have a break out year on both ends of the court. She was very young by age when she arrived--with a couple of years of maturity under her belt I hope she can prove herself a regular in the rotation.
We are going to see a LOT more of the freshmen next year than is usual. With a 12 person roster I am positive that Ogden is going to get a lot of opportunity to prove herself. But Agara and Clardy will be called upon more than is usual for freshmen.
The hope for Iriafen and Brink both to improve their midrange shot is real. This is not a pipe dream--they both have shown that skill, it is a matter of consistency and that could be corrected over the summer. Will they?
One factor not much discussed is how Jump might improve or change for next year. She is coming back rather than going pro, presumably because she knows she has things to work on and improve. Chief among these is making her own shot. She improved in this way last year--but not enough.
Then, finally, the X-factor. How much will Lepolo improve? It is objectively true that she is ahead of where some other accomplished point guards were after their freshman year--such as Amber Orrange. But did Lepolo get there by peaking super early, or is she going to be one of those players who makes great strides from freshman to sophomore years? The answer to that question could determine--as much as any other single factor--how well we do next year.
One of my biggest concerns is not point guard play, or offense, or even having players who are athletic enough to defend. The place I am most concerned is rebounding. There were signs of weakness last year, and one of our best rebounders (Jones) is gone. Brink can't do it all, and if she tries she will foul out. Iriafen needs to become a rebounding monster, and perhaps one of the freshmen will show themselves capable.
At this point, I would not be surprised if we wound up 4th in the Pac 12. I could see us doing better than that if the puzzle pieces come together well. And Tara may be able to solve the puzzle better next year than she was able to last year--less of that constant concern about rotating so many players to try (and fail) to keep everyone happy. It looks more straightforward to me, which may help the team to build cohesion and focus. That is the hope.
But UCLA, USC, and Utah all look like strong teams for next year. And some of the other conference teams--like Washington and even Arizona State--will improve. It will be a brutal conference.
I certainly won't go into the season expecting that we will contend for a natty, as I did a year ago. How much of that is my new found realism, and how much of it is simply a psychological defense mechanism, will only be apparent after seeing us play.