[TheFarm07]

Would we be in a better position if NIL doesn't exist? Yes, but blaming NIL solely doesn't fully explain the step back we've taken.

I'm not sure I agree with this, though.  Many of the problems you accurately recite predated NIL and held us back from time to time then--the lack of elite guards, for example.  So this is nothing new and not a "step back" but business as usual.  Swain is a remarkable success and I hope will reverse that long standing problem. 

But I would say that the difference between last year and this year is almost entirely due to the toxic NIL/transfer stew.  Note that I am not saying that Iriafen and Betts made the wrong decisions for them, nor am I blaming them for using this new system to their advantage.  But under the old system they would be playing for Stanford, and under the new system they are not.  

The new system makes it difficult to impossible to plan roster management four years in advance--which is what Tara always did.  The majority of our players were recruited and developed into starters 1,2, or 3 years into their college careers.  Only a few started straight out of high school.  It took two years to develop Kiki into the truly great, elite player she became.  And then poof.  It is my understanding with her that she wanted to stay and could have stayed for this year, but was put under significant pressure by her family, who urged her to take the $800k and come home to play in front of them.  I don't think any of us are in a position to criticize her--that much money for some families would be life changing.  But the fact remains:  she is gone.   Thankfully, with a degree.

Certainly Stanford has been the one of the most, if not the most disadvantaged school by NIL. I don't think I am going out on a limb here to say, the vast majority of CardBoarders would agree that we wish the old ways would come back. 

I was also unaware of the pressure Kiki was under to chase the $$, which as you pointed out, is a result of what is now basically legalized bribery. 

Unfortunately, that is how the system is and we'll need to adapt or get left behind. An overarching point is that in this age of NIL, player satisfaction is more important than ever. As distasteful as it is, our NIL office (for lack of a better term) must be uber-competitive and I hope the administration recognizes that and be willing to go toe-to-toe with other schools. And for some players, $$ might be the end-all and be-all. I am hoping that in addition to the monetary compensation, we can have a program that can attract elite recruits of all 5 positions.

My illustration of our PG/G misses compared to the forward/post successes we have makes me wonder why we haven't been as successful and we need to change that. 

In summary, this has been my overall reply to the team's current state: NIL majorly sucks, but we need to adapt to this gross new world if we want to retain our place as a premier program in wbb. But we have issues beyond NIL (which doesn't help), including elite guard recruitment.

[TheFarm07]

Would we be in a better position if NIL doesn't exist? Yes, but blaming NIL solely doesn't fully explain the step back we've taken.

I'm not sure I agree with this, though.  Many of the problems you accurately recite predated NIL and held us back from time to time then--the lack of elite guards, for example.  So this is nothing new and not a "step back" but business as usual.  Swain is a remarkable success and I hope will reverse that long standing problem. 

But I would say that the difference between last year and this year is almost entirely due to the toxic NIL/transfer stew.  Note that I am not saying that Iriafen and Betts made the wrong decisions for them, nor am I blaming them for using this new system to their advantage.  But under the old system they would be playing for Stanford, and under the new system they are not.  

The new system makes it difficult to impossible to plan roster management four years in advance--which is what Tara always did.  The majority of our players were recruited and developed into starters 1,2, or 3 years into their college careers.  Only a few started straight out of high school.  It took two years to develop Kiki into the truly great, elite player she became.  And then poof.  It is my understanding with her that she wanted to stay and could have stayed for this year, but was put under significant pressure by her family, who urged her to take the $800k and come home to play in front of them.  I don't think any of us are in a position to criticize her--that much money for some families would be life changing.  But the fact remains:  she is gone.   Thankfully, with a degree.

Certainly Stanford has been the one of the most, if not the most disadvantaged school by NIL. I don't think I am going out on a limb here to say, the vast majority of CardBoarders would agree that we wish the old ways would come back. 

I was also unaware of the pressure Kiki was under to chase the $$, which as you pointed out, is a result of what is now basically legalized bribery. 

Unfortunately, that is how the system is and we'll need to adapt or get left behind. An overarching point is that in this age of NIL, player satisfaction is more important than ever. As distasteful as it is, our NIL office (for lack of a better term) must be uber-competitive and I hope the administration recognizes that and be willing to go toe-to-toe with other schools. And for some players, $$ might be the end-all and be-all. I am hoping that in addition to the monetary compensation, we can have a program that can attract elite recruits of all 5 positions.

My illustration of our PG/G misses compared to the forward/post successes we have makes me wonder why we haven't been as successful and we need to change that. 

In summary, this has been my overall reply to the team's current state: NIL majorly sucks, but we need to adapt to this gross new world if we want to retain our place as a premier program in wbb. But we have issues beyond NIL (which doesn't help), including elite guard recruitment.