WBB: ACC Tournament - Printable Version
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RE: WBB: ACC Tournament - Goose - 03-05-2026
(03-05-2026, 03:18 PM)SkiBum80 Wrote:FIFY(03-05-2026, 01:17 PM)paloalto Wrote: There are some wildly different opinions about travel in the ACC for Stanford. Coach Hambly for WVB on several occasions has said the travel really doesn't bother the players. He says the flights are a few hours longer and that's it. He feels they figured out the best routine for dealing with jet lag.
I realize some WBB fans are frustrated at the moment in being knocked out of the conference tournament but give it a few days to put things in perspective. There are no other preferable options in the near future. Nothing even close unless you want to take a massive downgrade out of the power 4 conferences. There's no way in hell the football team is going to do that.
Agree.
To repurpose a quote from Winston Churchill:
The ACC is the worst conference that would accept us to be in, except for all the others.
RE: WBB: ACC Tournament - skip75 - 03-05-2026
(03-05-2026, 03:25 PM)Goose Wrote:Sad - but all too true.(03-05-2026, 03:18 PM)SkiBum80 Wrote:FIFY(03-05-2026, 01:17 PM)paloalto Wrote: There are some wildly different opinions about travel in the ACC for Stanford. Coach Hambly for WVB on several occasions has said the travel really doesn't bother the players. He says the flights are a few hours longer and that's it. He feels they figured out the best routine for dealing with jet lag.
I realize some WBB fans are frustrated at the moment in being knocked out of the conference tournament but give it a few days to put things in perspective. There are no other preferable options in the near future. Nothing even close unless you want to take a massive downgrade out of the power 4 conferences. There's no way in hell the football team is going to do that.
Agree.
To repurpose a quote from Winston Churchill:
The ACC is the worst conference that would accept us to be in, except for all the others.
RE: WBB: ACC Tournament - Hieronymus - 03-05-2026
(03-05-2026, 01:17 PM)paloalto Wrote: There are some wildly different opinions about travel in the ACC for Stanford. Coach Hambly for WVB on several occasions has said the travel really doesn't bother the players. He says the flights are a few hours longer and that's it. He feels they figured out the best routine for dealing with jet lag.I do think it’s easier for fall sports - our quarters mean the teams are able to get several of their travel trips out of the way before school starts. That said as somebody who has consulted on the road across time zones for years, it isn’t fun but you adjust. The real answer as others noted is there isn’t another option right now. The Big 12 is closer, but a much weaker cultural fit and for the moment just weaker overall vs. the ACC.
I realize some WBB fans are frustrated at the moment in being knocked out of the conference tournament but give it a few days to put things in perspective. There are no other preferable options in the near future. Nothing even close unless you want to take a massive downgrade out of the power 4 conferences. There's no way in hell the football team is going to do that.
RE: WBB: ACC Tournament - Jskass - 03-06-2026
After reading Stanford QB is 68/68, maybe ACC not as great a fit for football either! Just trying to be creative in thinking - and admittedly love having better TV coverage on ACC than would have otherwise.
RE: WBB: ACC Tournament - joemontes - 03-06-2026
Stanford was predicted to place 6th in the ACC and return to the NCAA tournamen after a one year hiatus.
The final result (13th in the ACC and kicked out during the 1st Round of the ACC tourney) speaks volumes as to how this team was badly coached. That's two years in a row of generally dismal coaching. I feel for their players, especially their Top 6 players (including 4 McD AAs), because they deserve much better coaching.
If Stanford decided to retain PAYE for another season, some of the top players will hit the portal and the chances of acquiring Top 50 recruits from the Class of 2027 is very bleak, pretty much zero (a repeat of their recruiting result from the Class of 2026).
RE: WBB: ACC Tournament - JohnR34231 - 03-06-2026
JMO. but I think more players would leave if KP got fired than will if she doesn't.
Anyway, I think she will be given another year.
If she still doesn't get us in the tourney next year than I will jump on the fire KP bandwagon.
RE: WBB: ACC Tournament - Leftcoast - 03-06-2026
Just a quick reminder that following a legendary coach is monumentally difficult.
For many reasons, but including that legendary coaches tend to leave when the arrows are pointing down and the program needs a radical shake-up. Very view step aside when they are on the top. Instead they step aside when they know their program needs a shake-up they don't feel equipped to lead.
KP is dealing with all of that. She deserves another year to prove (or not) that she's the right person to lead a restructuring. But, we better see those arrows start to flip up and to the right soon.
(All of this is obvious of course but deserves to be acknowledged here)
RE: WBB: ACC Tournament - SkiBum80 - 03-06-2026
(03-06-2026, 10:12 AM)JohnR34231 Wrote: JMO. but I think more players would leave if KP got fired than will if she doesn't.
Anyway, I think she will be given another year.
If she still doesn't get us in the tourney next year than I will jump on the fire KP bandwagon.
Agree with your thought that I'm not sure how many players leave or not, is improved upon if Coach P were to be let go now.
I also agree with anyone thinking that they have been impressed, at least to a modest extent, on the recruiting achieved under Coach.
This freshman class this year was an impressive recruiting success IMO.
I lastly agree with anyone thinking that the overall season performance has been less than the sum of the parts,
and is why I have at times referred to our WBB sometimes reminding me of being "Haasian" in its performance.
In one way of having lapses of defensive team awareness and intensity,
and also of very often having loose and wild ball control on O, indicated by so many games with a disappointing Assist/Turnover ratio.
RE: WBB: ACC Tournament - rogpodge - 03-06-2026
https://x.com/i/status/2029720703897948539
Iowa girls' playoff game. Ava Smid is apparently all hustle.
https://www.kcci.com/article/iowa-girls-basketball-dallas-center-grimes-crazy-comeback-against-norwalk-ava-smid/70631949
RE: WBB: ACC Tournament - Nobadeer - 03-06-2026
"There are some wildly different opinions about travel in the ACC for Stanford. Coach Hambly for WVB on several occasions has said the travel really doesn't bother the players. He says the flights are a few hours longer and that's it. He feels they figured out the best routine for dealing with jet lag."
That's an interesting W VB quote, PaloAlto! I remember Coach H saying the multiple cross country trips were awful, and everyone in the program hated it. This was off-the-record, in the fall of 2024, to an all-LSJU, quasi-insider audience. Maybe the team got a better charter flight system for last fall.
As for the portal, nothing would surprise me. I could see everyone staying, or at the other extreme, half a dozen or more deciding to leave. The upperclass players want an NCAA tournament experience, and the elite McD frosh have probably been carefully advised and managed to maximize the ROI on their college career, to help build their personal brand, play professionally, have a lucrative career, fame and fortune, etc. Everyone wants to be a Brink or Angel Reese or Flaujae Johnson. The WNIT doesn't quite fit that trajectory.
RE: WBB: ACC Tournament - Treebound - 03-06-2026
I heard the same from Coach Hambly, Nobadeer. We may have been at the same meeting, but I recall that he felt guilty having to "stuff" a 6'5" player into the center seat of a commercial flight that was delayed and arrived back at SFO or SJC very late, when she had a major mid term the next morning (less than four hours from making it back to campus).
While I'm certain that the AD has improved things, the travel is brutal on the student athletes. The ACC is what we have for now, but I'm hopeful that this all gets reshuffled soon...at least for all the non-football sports.
As for KP, let's see what she can do to hold this high potential team in place, land a great recruiting class and make the Dance next year. The clock is ticking from my perspective. As mentioned prior, Tara is still on staff, so I'm hoping she is coaching the coach a ton.
RE: WBB: ACC Tournament - M T - 03-06-2026
(03-06-2026, 01:10 PM)Nobadeer Wrote: "There are some wildly different opinions about travel in the ACC for Stanford. Coach Hambly for WVB on several occasions has said the travel really doesn't bother the players. He says the flights are a few hours longer and that's it. He feels they figured out the best routine for dealing with jet lag."
That's an interesting W VB quote, PaloAlto! I remember Coach H saying the multiple cross country trips were awful, and everyone in the program hated it. This was off-the-record, in the fall of 2024, to an all-LSJU, quasi-insider audience. Maybe the team got a better charter flight system for last fall.
What would a Stanford coach publicly say? If he/she says "Playing half our games on the opposite side of the country is problematic for our players, our season record, and our budget," then recruiting will be even more difficult.
Also, I would expect that multi-hour, multi-timezone travel affects different sports differently. A fast-paced, high intensity sport may be impacted more than a sport with more rest between efforts.
I note that both Swimming & Diving and Track & Field do not have any conference matches other than the conference tournament.
RE: WBB: ACC Tournament - crackpot - 03-06-2026
Historically, we've played worse when heading east than what was likely predicted.
And if you look at the results from the last time of major tumult in the program (post-Tara's leave for the Olympics and its effect on recruiting), we weren't winning anything east of the Rockies until the 2005 Sweet Sixteen. Hoping this doesn't last as long.
RE: WBB: ACC Tournament - BobK - 03-06-2026
In person Hambly has certainly said travel has been hard. At a small meeting late in the season he did say things have been improved some under our new AD
However the team seldom flies charter per conversation at the banquet.
RE: WBB: ACC Tournament - paloalto - 03-06-2026
(03-06-2026, 03:35 PM)M T Wrote: What would a Stanford coach publicly say? If he/she says "Playing half our games on the opposite side of the country is problematic for our players, our season record, and our budget," then recruiting will be even more difficult.
I don’t believe Hambly would intentionally lie about player thoughts on jet lag. In 2024 there are plenty of public quotes of Hambly talking about the downside of ACC jet lag. He did not deceive the public about player opinions to help with budget and recruiting.
There are also subsequent Hambly quotes about different routines he tried and how he evolved to an approach the players seem satisfied with. This is what I was referring to in my original comment; " He feels they figured out the best routine for dealing with jet lag."
I have no idea what Paye has tried to deal with jet lag or what WBB players think about it. I’m not following WBB enough this year to look into it. The beach volleyball team joined the MPSF where travel is more condensed. A conference outside the ACC might be an option for WBB if jet lag is an overwhelming head wind.
RE: WBB: ACC Tournament - Canalejas - 03-06-2026
Are there any recent examples of a school playing WBB or MBB outside its primary conference? Chicago State has played as an independent, I think.
Sports with fewer sponsoring schools like water polo or ice hockey have been more commonly placed in secondary conferences (like the MPSF) or played as affiliates of a different primary conference. But generally wherever basketball goes, most other sports follow.
Which might mean that those tired of east coast trips are actually hoping for primary membership in the WCC or Big West and a football-only arrangement with the ACC. As the new Pac or MWC might not take our WBB team without football coming too.
RE: WBB: ACC Tournament - chrisk - 03-06-2026
(03-06-2026, 08:28 PM)Canalejas Wrote: Are there any recent examples of a school playing WBB or MBB outside its primary conference? Chicago State has played as an independent, I think.
Sports with fewer sponsoring schools like water polo or ice hockey have been more commonly placed in secondary conferences (like the MPSF) or played as affiliates of a different primary conference. But generally wherever basketball goes, most other sports follow.
Which might mean that those tired of east coast trips are actually hoping for primary membership in the WCC or Big West and a football-only arrangement with the ACC. As the new Pac or MWC might not take our WBB team without football coming too.
Does Stanford have a choice if the ACC sponsors a sport? The examples given here seem to be ones where the ACC does not have enough teams to form a championship for a sport.
RE: WBB: ACC Tournament - tahoma17 - 03-06-2026
(03-06-2026, 04:24 PM)crackpot Wrote: Historically, we've played worse when heading east than what was likely predicted.
And if you look at the results from the last time of major tumult in the program (post-Tara's leave for the Olympics and its effect on recruiting), we weren't winning anything east of the Rockies until the 2005 Sweet Sixteen. Hoping this doesn't last as long.
This is not directed particularly to Crackpot, but to those commenters who are inclined to place blame on the ACC East Coast/West Coast time difference for the results this year, rather than on coaching. Look at the records of the other (prior) Pac-12 teams who had to travel east this year (i.e., Cal, Washington, UCLA, USC). Cal made it past the first round of the ACC tournament, and had the same travel challenges (and arguably had less talent than Stanford). For the Big 10 teams, there is only a one-hour time difference between the ACC and the Big 10, and UCLA is undefeated in the Big 10 and Washington got a bye in the first round of the Big 10 tournament, and then won its first game to get to the next round, losing, by not a brobdingnagian margin, to UCLA. I found it hard to believe that a one hour time difference is significant in the performance/results. But feel free to convince me otherwise.
We are talking about young players, who, at least in my view, should be able to adapt more quickly to jet lag/time differences. And, if jet lag is an issue, fly the team out a day earlier for their games. Given technology, it should be easy for players to attend and keep up with their classes, even if in a different timezone.
Finally, if the team is not flying charter these days, that is on the university. If the university is not providing/paying for charter flights to the East Coast, that tells me they don't care about women's basketball now that Tara is gone. I suspect (but admit I do not know) that all of the top WBB programs fly charter these days, regardless of the timezone differences.
My apologies for omitting Oregon, which prevailed in the first and second rounds of the Big 10 tournament and lost to Michigan (No. 3 in the conference standings) today .
RE: WBB: ACC Tournament - Jskass - 03-07-2026
speaking for myself only among the Cardboarders, I ABSOLUTELY am not blaming the travel for the issues. As I stated earlier, while I am a statistician at heart, I also step back and ask at the highest level -- are they outperforming or underperforming their talent? They are vastly underperforming it. Which tells me this is a coaching issue.
Or as my husband the former coach asks, "are they beating the teams they are expected to beat?" and "do they beat teams they are not expected to beat?" You want to answer affirmatively to both as an indicator of positive coaching and culture. This team ESPECIALLY this year unfortunately has the answers NO and NO - so if they retain talent, we should expect the freshman to sophomore jump and YES and YES next year if all is good in Dodge.
RE: WBB: ACC Tournament - PalmTree - 03-07-2026
(03-06-2026, 11:26 PM)tahoma17 Wrote:(03-06-2026, 04:24 PM)crackpot Wrote: Historically, we've played worse when heading east than what was likely predicted.
And if you look at the results from the last time of major tumult in the program (post-Tara's leave for the Olympics and its effect on recruiting), we weren't winning anything east of the Rockies until the 2005 Sweet Sixteen. Hoping this doesn't last as long.
This is not directed particularly to Crackpot, but to those commenters who are inclined to place blame on the ACC East Coast/West Coast time difference for the results this year, rather than on coaching. Look at the records of the other (prior) Pac-12 teams who had to travel east this year (i.e., Cal, Washington, UCLA, USC). Cal made it past the first round of the ACC tournament, and had the same travel challenges (and arguably had less talent than Stanford). For the Big 10 teams, there is only a one-hour time difference between the ACC and the Big 10, and UCLA is undefeated in the Big 10 and Washington got a bye in the first round of the Big 10 tournament, and then won its first game to get to the next round, losing, by not a brobdingnagian margin, to UCLA. I found it hard to believe that a one hour time difference is significant in the performance/results. But feel free to convince me otherwise.
We are talking about young players, who, at least in my view, should be able to adapt more quickly to jet lag/time differences. And, if jet lag is an issue, fly the team out a day earlier for their games. Given technology, it should be easy for players to attend and keep up with their classes, even if in a different timezone.
Finally, if the team is not flying charter these days, that is on the university. If the university is not providing/paying for charter flights to the East Coast, that tells me they don't care about women's basketball now that Tara is gone. I suspect (but admit I do not know) that all of the top WBB programs fly charter these days, regardless of the timezone differences.
My apologies for omitting Oregon, which prevailed in the first and second rounds of the Big 10 tournament and lost to Michigan (No. 3 in the conference standings) today .
IIRC, the majority, if not all of the team's travel videos show them boarding/on charter jets for their trips east.
This (charter travel) isn't rocket science - beats trying to book travel for a party of 20+ on a commercial carrier by a mile.