05-01-2023, 02:32 PM
If things don't change, we are going to start seeing our men's and women's basketball teams with large freshman classes. I'd say 3 is a lot to lose in one year and hopefully that won't repeat. But even before this past season we lost JVG. So maybe we'll start losing 1-2 players per year. Given that it's not much of an option to replenish via the portal, we're going to have to replenish with freshman recruits. The trickle down effect is going to be larger incoming classes. And it's really tough to win when half your team is freshmen. Teams need the physical, mental, and emotional maturity of experienced upperclassmen. Stanford basketball will need its talent to matriculate in order to be a top team.
What really needs to be done is to figure out how to stop the players from leaving. If the degree is not enough anymore, then the rest of it really matters. From the player experience, to the student experience, to the NIL money, etc. Player A - who didn't enjoy her hoops season (coaching, teammates, playing time, whatever), and isn't that into the latest no-fun Stanford campus life, and also isn't receiving any/much compensation for playing is way more likely to leave than Player B - who maybe didn't play much as a freshman, but enjoys being a Stanford student and is making <$insert figure here>.
What really needs to be done is to figure out how to stop the players from leaving. If the degree is not enough anymore, then the rest of it really matters. From the player experience, to the student experience, to the NIL money, etc. Player A - who didn't enjoy her hoops season (coaching, teammates, playing time, whatever), and isn't that into the latest no-fun Stanford campus life, and also isn't receiving any/much compensation for playing is way more likely to leave than Player B - who maybe didn't play much as a freshman, but enjoys being a Stanford student and is making <$insert figure here>.