[chimera]

I am not on the Close train.  She is not a terrible coach.  She has gotten better over time.  I'd call her decent but not exceptional.  She recruits well.  She has also wasted more talent with fewer great results than pretty much any coach I can think of.  Her teams have consistently underperformed talent level during her time at UCLA.  For all the criticism of Tara on here lately, Stanford teams have done way better than UCLA teams since Close became coach there, and the talent level differential has not been big and sometimes has favored the Bruins.  Think of the talent that has passed through UCLA and never made it deep into the NCAAs or ended up a top 10 team.  How many F4s has Stanford been to since Close became head coach at UCLA?  Rag on Tara all you want, and this season she maybe earned some of it (but not close to what I see on here), but she has consistently been a better coach than Close.  Scoreboard over time speaks.  

All that said, I think it is getting time for a change for Stanford.  Things won't get easier unless and until there are some rules that tame the wild west of the portal and NIL.  The more I know about the attitudes of college players toward their sport and their team, and that includes Stanford, the less I am inclined to support college sports.  When there is no true commitment by anyone to a team (to coaches it is a job and now to players it is a job too) why should fans be committed?  Everyone is in it purely for themselves, so am I as a fan.  I am no longer obligated to forgive the foibles of "my" team or any athlete.  It is all a business.  Social media and building a brand is the thing.  Treat the game and the players accordingly.

[chimera]

I am not on the Close train.  She is not a terrible coach.  She has gotten better over time.  I'd call her decent but not exceptional.  She recruits well.  She has also wasted more talent with fewer great results than pretty much any coach I can think of.  Her teams have consistently underperformed talent level during her time at UCLA.  For all the criticism of Tara on here lately, Stanford teams have done way better than UCLA teams since Close became coach there, and the talent level differential has not been big and sometimes has favored the Bruins.  Think of the talent that has passed through UCLA and never made it deep into the NCAAs or ended up a top 10 team.  How many F4s has Stanford been to since Close became head coach at UCLA?  Rag on Tara all you want, and this season she maybe earned some of it (but not close to what I see on here), but she has consistently been a better coach than Close.  Scoreboard over time speaks.  

All that said, I think it is getting time for a change for Stanford.  Things won't get easier unless and until there are some rules that tame the wild west of the portal and NIL.  The more I know about the attitudes of college players toward their sport and their team, and that includes Stanford, the less I am inclined to support college sports.  When there is no true commitment by anyone to a team (to coaches it is a job and now to players it is a job too) why should fans be committed?  Everyone is in it purely for themselves, so am I as a fan.  I am no longer obligated to forgive the foibles of "my" team or any athlete.  It is all a business.  Social media and building a brand is the thing.  Treat the game and the players accordingly.