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RE: 76lsjumb - qwerty49 - 04-30-2026

(04-30-2026, 09:16 AM)martyup Wrote:  
(04-29-2026, 10:41 PM)qwerty49 Wrote:  
(04-29-2026, 09:20 PM)martyup Wrote:  
(04-29-2026, 05:40 PM)SearchingForTheTruth Wrote:  Can you clarify what problem did you want Kate Paye to own?

I would guess that the big "problem" is missing the NCAA tourney two years in a row and a mass exodus of players from the team via the portal.

Well, those were the consequences. The problems causing them were not playing consistently, not playing to our potential.

The underlying reasons could have been lack of player development and/or lack of viable offensive and defensive systems. In this case, “viable” means best suited to the various talents on the roster.

As HC, she owns those reasons. I don’t know her at all but from what I’ve seen, I honestly doubt if her personality lets her express that ownership in a tactful or gracious fashion.

Yes, well I interpreted Searchingfortruth's question as seeking criticism of KP that he/she could then shoot down.  My point is that you don't have to look under the hood.  All you need to know is that the car lost the race and then the wheels came off.

I was just trying to refine your semantics ie the difference between causes and effects. I apologize for the nitpicking. Too much debate training as a kid.

RE: 76lsjumb - SearchingForTheTruth - 04-30-2026

Sorry, just asking a question. 

(04-30-2026, 09:16 AM)martyup Wrote:  
(04-29-2026, 10:41 PM)qwerty49 Wrote:  
(04-29-2026, 09:20 PM)martyup Wrote:  
(04-29-2026, 05:40 PM)SearchingForTheTruth Wrote:  Can you clarify what problem did you want Kate Paye to own?

I would guess that the big "problem" is missing the NCAA tourney two years in a row and a mass exodus of players from the team via the portal.

Well, those were the consequences. The problems causing them were not playing consistently, not playing to our potential.

The underlying reasons could have been lack of player development and/or lack of viable offensive and defensive systems. In this case, “viable” means best suited to the various talents on the roster.

As HC, she owns those reasons. I don’t know her at all but from what I’ve seen, I honestly doubt if her personality lets her express that ownership in a tactful or gracious fashion.

Yes, well I interpreted Searchingfortruth's question as seeking criticism of KP that he/she could then shoot down.  My point is that you don't have to look under the hood.  All you need to know is that the car lost the race and then the wheels came off.


RE: WBB 2026-2027 season - JohnR34231 - 04-30-2026

(04-30-2026, 10:36 AM)Jamesy Wrote:  
(04-30-2026, 09:58 AM)Treebound Wrote:  Ugh - thank you for that reminder BC!

Let's not forget that both of the those esteemed coaches were under Bernard's "gentle touch" tenure and we lost the excitement of the Montgomery years in Maples.  

To counter that - No Fault/quick kick Walt Harris was fired after two ugly seasons by the wonderful Bob Bowlsby.   Not thrilled at all about entitled KP, but JD is new and navigating challenging waters in college athletics.   I love the Luck and Skov hires as there is a strong touch of EUTM there.

I agree that Bowlsby was great, fired Walt and hired Harbaugh, but I would think even incompetent Muir would have fired Harris after going 1-11.

My impression was that Bowlsby fired Harris because he talked to the players and they almost unanimously hated him. That was worse than the 1-11 record.

RE: WBB 2026-2027 season - Goose - 04-30-2026

(04-30-2026, 11:11 AM)JohnR34231 Wrote:  My impression was that Bowlsby fired Harris because he talked to the players and they almost unanimously hated him. That was worse than the 1-11 record.
My possibly flawed memory is that actually the players talked quite loudly to Bowlsby on their own initiative. Indeed that was far worse than the 1-11 record. It had been quite clear from the get-go that Harris was not a "fit" for Stanford. The player revolt simply created a "problem" that could not be ignored, forcing the issue.

RE: WBB 2026-2027 season - jacket3ree - 04-30-2026

(04-29-2026, 09:29 PM)Treebound Wrote:  
(04-29-2026, 07:59 PM)jacket3ree Wrote:  At this point, it's Levin

Can you please explain this statement?

BC got it, the buck/cardinal stops here sort of thing.  Of course I don't expect Levin to step in and do something about a coach who has twice missed tournament that hadn't been missed in 36 consecutive years or even get involved when all the players left. That's Donahoe's job. But Levin (presumably - I don't know to be fair) hired Donahoe and it is Levin's job to set the tone for Donahoe while staying out of the details. If the tone has shifted from 'Home of Champions with National Title aspirations every year' to 'gosh, I hope we can be ranked again someday,' then yes, that is going to be Levin at some point if we're not already there. All that said, we might just need to get used to Stanford being decent rather than dominant in a lot of sports and there's nothing wrong with that, if that is the collective wisdom, which again, Levin is in charge of marshalling. 

Levin has a lot on his plate, starting with how to manage Stanford's historical tether to federal research dollars as they dry up. I don't mean to be harsh, although something rubbed me the wrong way with how Levin handled football. "Why don't you handle football, Andrew?" That's completely unfair on my part because I wasn't in the room where that happened to evaluate the verbal and body language but it felt Pontius Pilot Pilate, the way say my wife delegated culinary duty distribution about 20 years ago when I suddenly decided to become calorie conscious in the middle of that zucchini thing she made. I said nothing. She took one look at me and said: "Don't like my dinners, huh? Why don't you handle dinners, dumbass?"

RE: WBB 2026-2027 season - crackpot - 04-30-2026

(04-29-2026, 10:26 PM)needle Wrote:  I'm probably the only one, but I do not believe it is 100% certain that KP is coaching Stanford next season.

I saw Skim Mulkey hinting that some WBB team was getting a new coach and I got way too excited. But there are, what, 359 Div I WBB teams?

RE: 76lsjumb - KenCard - 04-30-2026

(04-29-2026, 09:57 AM)crackpot Wrote:  
(04-29-2026, 09:37 AM)76lsjumb Wrote:  Just got through listening to the basketball webinar. The world’s largest elephant in the room…never mentioned once from what I heard.

I want that hour of my life back.

In summary:
  • coaching college basketball is HARD. You should be grateful we're taking the time
  • You should be grateful for KP
  • Donahoe isn't paying attention and/or thinks we aren't

He said Lara was the only freshman to leave. I guess Carly doesn't count? And that all of our incoming freshman are nationally ranked. He thanked us for our questions but didn't answer one.

I got the link below from a friend.  It is the beginning of a survey of college athletes regarding NIL and such.  I'm posting it here because there is one statement that is particularly germane to the discussion about how forthcoming the webinar was regarding Stanford Women's Basketball.

https://www.sfgate.com/collegesports/article/stanford-athletes-anonymous-survey-22230831.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20

RE: WBB 2026-2027 season - BobK - 04-30-2026

We know 1/3 of the players didn’t leave before the season ended. Fake news.
But 2 did leave Somfai and Lepolo.

RE: WBB 2026-2027 season - jonnyss - 04-30-2026

(04-30-2026, 02:39 PM)BobK Wrote:  We know 1/3 of the players didn’t leave before the season ended. Fake news.
But 2 did leave Sunfai and Lepolo.

in "1/3 of the players walked away," maybe depends how literally she meant walked.  i took the player not to mean transferred, but rather figuratively to mean gave up (on the coaching staff) or stopped caring, as folks have said haley and betts and perhaps dijonai did in past years.

RE: WBB 2026-2027 season - crackpot - 04-30-2026

(04-30-2026, 01:48 PM)crackpot Wrote:  
(04-29-2026, 10:26 PM)needle Wrote:  I'm probably the only one, but I do not believe it is 100% certain that KP is coaching Stanford next season.

I saw Skim Mulkey hinting that some WBB team was getting a new coach and I got way too excited. But there are, what, 359 Div I WBB teams?

Looks like the winner of a new HC opening is Long Beach State.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

RE: WBB 2026-2027 season - BostonCard - 04-30-2026

(04-30-2026, 02:39 PM)BobK Wrote:  We know 1/3 of the players didn’t leave before the season ended. Fake news.
But 2 did leave Sunfai and Lepolo.

Could Lepolo have come back? I thought she was injured.

BC

RE: WBB 2026-2027 season - BobK - 04-30-2026

When Lepolo was cleared she didn’t come back except for Sr day

RE: WBB 2026-2027 season - MV72018 - 05-01-2026

(04-30-2026, 05:41 PM)BobK Wrote:  When Lepolo was cleared she didn’t come back except for Sr day

And what does that say? Probably not an endorsement of the coaches. Btw, I emailed the AD and got a one-line response saying “I’m involved.” Color me unimpressed, especially with the reports on what transpired at the so-called Webinar. No specific WBB fan questions or critical comments addressed with facts (other than saying that the landscape is complex these days) or specific plans.

RE: WBB 2026-2027 season - BobK - 05-01-2026

Actually my question was answered. Of course not to anyone’s satisfaction
Remember the comment by Kate on not contributing

RE: WBB 2026-2027 season - JohnR34231 - 05-01-2026

(05-01-2026, 11:38 AM)MV72018 Wrote:  
(04-30-2026, 05:41 PM)BobK Wrote:  When Lepolo was cleared she didn’t come back except for Sr day

And what does that say? Probably not an endorsement of the coaches. Btw, I emailed the AD and got a one-line response saying “I’m involved.” Color me unimpressed, especially with the reports on what transpired at the so-called Webinar. No specific WBB fan questions or critical comments addressed with facts (other than saying that the landscape is complex these days) or specific plans.

I thought they said the plan was to structure the offense to get Alex more involved.

RE: WBB 2026-2027 season - MV72018 - 05-01-2026

(05-01-2026, 12:15 PM)JohnR34231 Wrote:  
(05-01-2026, 11:38 AM)MV72018 Wrote:  
(04-30-2026, 05:41 PM)BobK Wrote:  When Lepolo was cleared she didn’t come back except for Sr day

And what does that say? Probably not an endorsement of the coaches. Btw, I emailed the AD and got a one-line response saying “I’m involved.” Color me unimpressed, especially with the reports on what transpired at the so-called Webinar. No specific WBB fan questions or critical comments addressed with facts (other than saying that the landscape is complex these days) or specific plans.

I thought they said the plan was to structure the offense to get Alex more involved.

If so, that would be something specific, which I would welcome. I may have failed to pick that up from the reports of the Webinar. If so, my bad.

RE: WBB 2026-2027 season - BostonCard - 05-01-2026

There's a reason it is called "stakeholder management".

We are all stakeholders, and we are being managed.  I had no expectations beyond that.

BC

RE: WBB 2026-2027 season - MV72018 - 05-01-2026

(05-01-2026, 01:31 PM)BostonCard Wrote:  There's a reason it is called "stakeholder management".

We are all stakeholders, and we are being managed.  I had no expectations beyond that.

BC

Smart posture. In an optimistic mood, I hope there are still some thoughtful managers who have not swallowed and implemented the entire conceptual framework peddled in many business schools, including "stakeholder management." 

One of my betes noires is the canonization and widespread invocation of "benefit-cost analysis" (or "cost-benefit analysis"), often pushed by managers who ask "Do the benefits outweigh the costs?" Many or most assume that (i) costs and benefits are truly commensurable, and that (ii) it would be utterly ludicrous to decline to proceed with a course of action if its benefits 'exceeded' its costs. That is a gross simplification. 

Under certain circumstances it can be quite rational to decline to proceed with such a course of action. For example, it might not be wise to proceed if realizing the greater benefits required bearing accompanying smaller but substantial costs that exceed some threshhold of acceptability. It's one thing if there are 99 units of benefit and 1 unit of cost, and quite another if there are 50.5 units of benefit and 49.5 units of cost. Other factors that could merit reconsideration of a course of action with a 'favorable benefit-cost analysis' include an inequitable its distribution of its costs, and whether they are practically reversible. Maybe there are other factors that, if applicable, could reasonably trump a favorable benefit-cost analysis.

RE: WBB 2026-2027 season - TonyLima - 05-02-2026

(05-01-2026, 01:31 PM)BostonCard Wrote:  <snip>
<yet more snippage
Under certain circumstances it can be quite rational to decline to proceed with such a course of action. For example, it might not be wise to proceed if realizing the greater benefits required bearing accompanying smaller but substantial costs that exceed some threshhold of acceptability. It's one thing if there are 99 units of benefit and 1 unit of cost, and quite another if there are 50.5 units of benefit and 49.5 units of cost. Other factors that could merit reconsideration of a course of action with a 'favorable benefit-cost analysis' include an inequitable its distribution of its costs, and whether they are practically reversible. Maybe there are other factors that, if applicable, could reasonably trump a favorable benefit-cost analysis.
You are not measuring cost correctly. Cost is the total spending plus non-monetary opportunity costs. Also, where is risk?

RE: WBB 2026-2027 season - stopandpop - 05-02-2026

In trying to keep things as positive and non-biased as I can, here are my 2026-2027 projections for the team.  These projections are based on 3 assumptions: 1) As she stated in the webinar, KP has indeed learned some (tough) lessons in guiding Stanford over the past 2 seasons. 2) KP keeps her word (as promised in the same webinar) that Stanford is going to open things up offensively and give Eschmeyer more opportunities to operate and 3) that Alex develops more upper body strength in the off-season and that Swain develops a mid-range game.

Starting Lineup- Eschmeyer (6'5) at the post; Ilse de Vries (6'3) power forward; Ines Sotelo (6'3) forward/wing; Swain (5'11); point guard/shooting guard; and Jordyn Wheeler (6'0) off-guard.  Shay is much more effective coming off the bench.  She brings energy and defensive quickness, but she's not much of a scorer.  I watched a lot of HS game film on Wheeler, Elyse Ngenda and Graclyn Gilliard and of the three, Wheeler (right now) seems slightly more college-ready.

The offense- Stanford loses a lot of talent with the departures of Agara, Ogden, Somfai and Clardy, but I'm predicting a more productive offense with more early passes going into Eschmeyer in the low block and passes to de Vries at the high post where she is very skilled at taking defenders down into the key with her crafty Euro-moves and scoring, or getting fouled.  She appears to be strong.  Sotelo was not asked to do a lot of scoring at Michigan State, but she is capable as a mid-range shooter and with the ability to drive from the angle or baseline to the bucket.  I see Stanford trying to fast break at every opportunity with Hailee, Sotelo and the off-guard leading the way, but then in the halfcourt, playing inside/out.  My only caution is whether KP has given up the desire to throw up 3-pointers at every opportunity.  I hope one of the lessons she has learned is that there are some players who should take the 3, but others who should not.

On defense- I hope another lesson KP has learned is not to bring Eschmeyer out to the perimeter and guard her defender because 1) she is not quick enough to trail her opponent (driving to the key) without fouling and 2) she is constantly out of position to get defensive rebounds.  Alex is best when she's near the basket defending- notice the number of blocks and intimidations per minutes played.  Your team is actually getting a better defender in de Vries.  She has better footwork than Eschmeyer, can block shots and not foul.  If KP plays her cards right, she will have great defensive size in the front court and fewer teams will out-rebound them.  If Wheeler starts at the off guard, Stanford has 2 guards with good length on defense to harass many smaller opponents.  The one thing Stanford will lack is defensive quickness and that, of course, is a staple of the ACC.

Bench- Hopefully, KP has also learned that she needs a bigger rotation and that means using her bench.  If she is finally healthy, Kennedy Umeh should provide good-great relief for Eschmeyer or de Vries.  Shay can come in for either guards, but definitely for Swain.  Hoping for breakthroughs for either or both Gilliard or Ngenda- both of whom can score the ball.  I just don't know what their summer development will be.  I am less optimistic about Nora Ezike, but maybe I'm wrong.  Charlotte Tuhy (American University transfer) looks way too slow and mechanical to be much of a factor and I think 6'5 Kiara Green will be redshirted.

Prediction- A revamped offense with 3 highly talented pieces: Eschmeyer, Swain and de Vries and smarter game management from KP will move the Cardinal up a few notches to somewhere between 7th. and 9th. place in the ACC.  If the Cardinal can muster a few quality wins and not lose to lesser opponents, there's an outside chance they'll make the expanded 73-field NCAA Tournament.