The grad transfer rule has now made returning to play a calculation on the part of injured players and puts them in a position of power over their coach. If things are not going right for one reason or another and they have an injury that knocks them out for a while before they have spent their season of eligibility, then they can reserve their eligibility for elsewhere--even if they are physically able to come back. Dodson chose to come back. Carrington did not. I wonder now that the season was cut short whether Dodson feels she made the right choice.
My guess is that Carrington does go to Maryland for the grad program. This way she can get basketball to pay for 5 years of productive education instead of 4. And Maryland has the grad degree she wants and Stanford doesn't. Stretching out her BA doesn't help her in the long run. Remember, these women come to Stanford for the academics too. They don't stop caring about academics when they are seniors.
With Carrington's track record of injuries she has little prospect of a long WNBA career, and so a professionally oriented Master's may be important to her. Her degree choice also fits in with her undergraduate interests and her social activism. And as has been pointed out, the Maryland criminology program is at the top. As I recall, they produce a lot of FBI agents there.
I doubt it has anything to do with Wilson. It just can't be about the money. Tara could give the scholarship to Carrington if she wanted to and Wilson would almost certainly find the money--or grad transfer herself.
And I doubt it has anything to do with basketball opportunities. Stanford will be a much better team next year than Maryland, and Carrington--if she stayed--would have been one of its leaders. Next year promised to be her best year ever in basketball, if she stayed healthy.
Could it be some sort of conflict with the coaches? I suppose. I doubt it though, there has been no sign of that over the last 4 years.
If Carrington does decide to transfer to Maryland, I think it has to be for academic reasons first and foremost.
My guess is that Carrington does go to Maryland for the grad program. This way she can get basketball to pay for 5 years of productive education instead of 4. And Maryland has the grad degree she wants and Stanford doesn't. Stretching out her BA doesn't help her in the long run. Remember, these women come to Stanford for the academics too. They don't stop caring about academics when they are seniors.
With Carrington's track record of injuries she has little prospect of a long WNBA career, and so a professionally oriented Master's may be important to her. Her degree choice also fits in with her undergraduate interests and her social activism. And as has been pointed out, the Maryland criminology program is at the top. As I recall, they produce a lot of FBI agents there.
I doubt it has anything to do with Wilson. It just can't be about the money. Tara could give the scholarship to Carrington if she wanted to and Wilson would almost certainly find the money--or grad transfer herself.
And I doubt it has anything to do with basketball opportunities. Stanford will be a much better team next year than Maryland, and Carrington--if she stayed--would have been one of its leaders. Next year promised to be her best year ever in basketball, if she stayed healthy.
Could it be some sort of conflict with the coaches? I suppose. I doubt it though, there has been no sign of that over the last 4 years.
If Carrington does decide to transfer to Maryland, I think it has to be for academic reasons first and foremost.