81, thanks for the interesting observations re: Tara and grad transfers. Your post reminded me to mention that a recent episode of the PAC-12 Women's Basketball podcast had a great interview with Kiana Williams about those last 10 seconds vs. Colorado. Worth checking out for that reason alone.
Also on that episode, Ashley Adamson and Mary Murphy discussed the Moore and Tapley grad transfers, and both Moore and Tapley said they asked for, and received, Mark Trakh's blessing before seeking to grad transfer. They both said he'd been nothing but encouraging for them to pursue the best opportunities for themselves for their final season of eligibility. Adamson and Murphy went out of their way to say how gracious Trakh was and how eager both Moore and Tapley were to see him when they returned to Galen for their games this season. One other mitigating factor in both cases is that Trakh did not recruit either Moore or Tapley, so I do think less loyalty is owed if the coach who recruited you left after your freshman season. Also, Moore mentioned in an interview about her grad transfer decision that she had almost no D1 interest out of HS because she'd had two significant injuries that limited playing time. She felt the grad transfer to Oregon gave her the opportunity "to play for a ring" that she'd hoped for out of high school.
Maybe I'm laissez-faire, but in both cases I think it worked out, and now U$C is forming a really terrific foundation for the future. If Trakh, Moore, and Tapley are all happy, who am I to second-guess?
(Worth noting is that another difference between our Stanford grad transfers and Moore and Tapley is that they both graduated in three years. That is different from both Lili (who sat out her senior year) and Marta (who had a medical RS her senior year with no open scholarships to return for a 5th year). I can definitely see Tara being honked if one of our rising seniors up and left for greener pastures. OTOH, it's probably harder to graduate from Stanford in 3 years than U$C, and why would you want to?)
Also on that episode, Ashley Adamson and Mary Murphy discussed the Moore and Tapley grad transfers, and both Moore and Tapley said they asked for, and received, Mark Trakh's blessing before seeking to grad transfer. They both said he'd been nothing but encouraging for them to pursue the best opportunities for themselves for their final season of eligibility. Adamson and Murphy went out of their way to say how gracious Trakh was and how eager both Moore and Tapley were to see him when they returned to Galen for their games this season. One other mitigating factor in both cases is that Trakh did not recruit either Moore or Tapley, so I do think less loyalty is owed if the coach who recruited you left after your freshman season. Also, Moore mentioned in an interview about her grad transfer decision that she had almost no D1 interest out of HS because she'd had two significant injuries that limited playing time. She felt the grad transfer to Oregon gave her the opportunity "to play for a ring" that she'd hoped for out of high school.
Maybe I'm laissez-faire, but in both cases I think it worked out, and now U$C is forming a really terrific foundation for the future. If Trakh, Moore, and Tapley are all happy, who am I to second-guess?
(Worth noting is that another difference between our Stanford grad transfers and Moore and Tapley is that they both graduated in three years. That is different from both Lili (who sat out her senior year) and Marta (who had a medical RS her senior year with no open scholarships to return for a 5th year). I can definitely see Tara being honked if one of our rising seniors up and left for greener pastures. OTOH, it's probably harder to graduate from Stanford in 3 years than U$C, and why would you want to?)