07-29-2020, 08:32 PM
Assuming (as seems increasingly justifiable) there will not be a WBB 20-21 season, what will be the effects on 21-22?
One possibility is that Stanford will be hurt the most, since the value of the degree is so high that students who can graduate and move on will, as opposed to delaying graduation to finish their eligibility. Anna Wilson, Alyssa Jerome, Maya Dodson, and Kiana Williams will all have to decide whether to graduate and move on or spend 5 (6) years on the farm. Those who don't have a future in basketball will graduate, I would think. Those that do will have to decide if an extra year at Stanford will help their careers or not.
All that is 1) assuming that everyone is granted a redshirt for the missing season, and 2) assuming that the number of scholarships is temporarily increased, and 3) assuming that Stanford has the finances to pay for 25% more athletic scholarships for a year.
Losing Kiana Williams would be a major blow to the team, but who can say whether she would be content to spend 5 years earning her degree? And how bittersweet for Anna Wilson, who would need to stick around for a 6th year to complete her eligibility?
If, however, there is a partial season, it could be even worse. After all of their injuries and partial seasons already, Anna and Maya playing a fraction of a season in their final year would be bittersweet. Kiana and Alyssa have played 3 solid years each, at least, but playing your penultimate season as a pale reflection of a real season would not be easy either.
On the other hand, a completely cancelled season is exactly what Oregon State needs. Getting an extra year to rebuild the team will give them a little breathing room after the terrible attrition they have suffered recently. And Oregon has superb but very inexperienced talent. This year would have been the year we had a big advantage over them, 21-22 will be more even, I think.
The pandemic is what the pandemic is, and I think the season should be scrubbed. But we will be losing a year in which we would have been favored to win the Pac 12, and that makes me sad.
One possibility is that Stanford will be hurt the most, since the value of the degree is so high that students who can graduate and move on will, as opposed to delaying graduation to finish their eligibility. Anna Wilson, Alyssa Jerome, Maya Dodson, and Kiana Williams will all have to decide whether to graduate and move on or spend 5 (6) years on the farm. Those who don't have a future in basketball will graduate, I would think. Those that do will have to decide if an extra year at Stanford will help their careers or not.
All that is 1) assuming that everyone is granted a redshirt for the missing season, and 2) assuming that the number of scholarships is temporarily increased, and 3) assuming that Stanford has the finances to pay for 25% more athletic scholarships for a year.
Losing Kiana Williams would be a major blow to the team, but who can say whether she would be content to spend 5 years earning her degree? And how bittersweet for Anna Wilson, who would need to stick around for a 6th year to complete her eligibility?
If, however, there is a partial season, it could be even worse. After all of their injuries and partial seasons already, Anna and Maya playing a fraction of a season in their final year would be bittersweet. Kiana and Alyssa have played 3 solid years each, at least, but playing your penultimate season as a pale reflection of a real season would not be easy either.
On the other hand, a completely cancelled season is exactly what Oregon State needs. Getting an extra year to rebuild the team will give them a little breathing room after the terrible attrition they have suffered recently. And Oregon has superb but very inexperienced talent. This year would have been the year we had a big advantage over them, 21-22 will be more even, I think.
The pandemic is what the pandemic is, and I think the season should be scrubbed. But we will be losing a year in which we would have been favored to win the Pac 12, and that makes me sad.
