04-13-2024, 09:36 AM
The coming of the transfer portal affects the significance of recruiting -- just because Stanford or others succeeds in signing a great recruit, that no long means that we can look forward to having that player for 4 years. Maybe yes, maybe no. Stanford has lost players to the porta1 in each of the last 3 years. And if we were to succeed in getting a player from the portal, that player would be on the team for less than a full four years. All of this makes me much less excited about recruiting. I wonder how the coaches feel about it? Frustrated, worried, feeling, if we get someone as a freshman, can we keep her? Recruiting is no longer simply a matter of luring high school players. It's a multi-year effort -- persuading them players to come in the first place, then persuading them to stay, at the same time that you have to be looking at people already in college and luring them to come, if you can get them admitted. More effort needed for the coaches, potential tension among players and between them and coaches -- and harder to build a real feeling of committed teammates. NONE of this is good.