This was an excellent win on several levels.
1) I was impressed with the coaching and the game plan.
2) I was impressed that we pulled it off without Nunu Agara.
3) I was impressed that 5 players were in double digits.
4) I was impressed 21 assists on 28 made baskets.
5) I was impressed that we led comfortably for most of the game against a taller, more experienced team.
6) I was impressed that turnovers stayed down to less than terrible levels.
7) I was impressed that Demetre broke out of her shooting slump.
Now, there are many things I could pick on that were less than perfect. But at this point in the season, what we needed were positive results and some feel-good moments, and we got both.
Now that I am at a keyboard and not pecking on my phone, I can elaborate a bit more on the chalk talk. I am impressed that Heather Oesterle is so open, honest, and quite revealing. I asked her what I thought was a tough question. "No one in this room has experience cheering for a Stanford WBB team with a losing record, and I doubt the coaches have any experience coaching a team with a losing record. What do the coaches need to do to help a team that is struggling?"
I expected she would talk about X's and O's, but she went straight to NIL and money. This makes some sense since we recruited her away from Notre Dame where she was integral to their NIL program. She pointed to the players that were lured away with money, and she briefly mentioned Cam in that mix. It made me think--maybe Cam would have stayed for her final year of eligibility if an NIL deal that rivaled her WNBA contract had been forthcoming. (The WNBA only pays her $76k, so she mostly gets NIL money as a pro. Could she have gotten as much NIL money at Stanford?) One person asked if we had to give contracts to incoming recruits, and as I understood it, the answer is "yes." Contracts need to be offered even before a player has set foot in a single practice. Someone answered "how much is needed to recruit a 5 star?" and she said "A lot." She indicated that fundraising was required to meet commitments we have already made. And she noted that court decisions would most likely soon have the University directly paying the athletes.
She was quite profuse in her praise of Lifetime Cardinal which "has really stepped up" but it is an arms race now, and who knows how high we will have to go to truly level the playing field (level the court?) with other programs.
Another question was asked as to whether an athlete that was promised a certain amount could lose that if she did not perform well. She said it is all based on "fair market value" and so these student--athletes stand to lose value if their performance declines. That is a lot of pressure on an 18 year old.
My analysis: In short, college WBB, at least at our level, now needs to be thought of as a professional sport. All the players will be paid. Stanford got a late start on this and is now catching up, but we suffered some damage in the meantime, and this year is the result. We may not need to match every offer since the Stanford degree is still attractive, but we need to be in the ballpark with our competitors. That is, if we decide this is something we want to do within the context of an elite academic institution.
I have to say I was overjoyed at the performance during the game, but after coming in from the chalk talk I looked at the athletes differently. The starkness of knowing that I was watching a minor league professional team curbed my enthusiasm some. I am still wrestling with myself internally over this. Not sure where I will land.
Another point.
Chalk talk noted that the players were smart and knew what they were playing for: their goal is to make the ACC tournament and then go as far as possible. The ACC tournament takes the top 15 out of 18 teams. Wake Forest and SMU (that loss was devastating) are pretty much out of it, but above those two there are 7 teams with 3-5 wins each all competing for the last three spots.
And a point about Syracuse: we played against their coach when she coached Buffalo back in 2019. That was the trip we were going to go to Canada for Alyssa Jerome, I believe, but something about international travel got messed up and Buffalo filled in across the border from her parents.
1) I was impressed with the coaching and the game plan.
2) I was impressed that we pulled it off without Nunu Agara.
3) I was impressed that 5 players were in double digits.
4) I was impressed 21 assists on 28 made baskets.
5) I was impressed that we led comfortably for most of the game against a taller, more experienced team.
6) I was impressed that turnovers stayed down to less than terrible levels.
7) I was impressed that Demetre broke out of her shooting slump.
Now, there are many things I could pick on that were less than perfect. But at this point in the season, what we needed were positive results and some feel-good moments, and we got both.
Now that I am at a keyboard and not pecking on my phone, I can elaborate a bit more on the chalk talk. I am impressed that Heather Oesterle is so open, honest, and quite revealing. I asked her what I thought was a tough question. "No one in this room has experience cheering for a Stanford WBB team with a losing record, and I doubt the coaches have any experience coaching a team with a losing record. What do the coaches need to do to help a team that is struggling?"
I expected she would talk about X's and O's, but she went straight to NIL and money. This makes some sense since we recruited her away from Notre Dame where she was integral to their NIL program. She pointed to the players that were lured away with money, and she briefly mentioned Cam in that mix. It made me think--maybe Cam would have stayed for her final year of eligibility if an NIL deal that rivaled her WNBA contract had been forthcoming. (The WNBA only pays her $76k, so she mostly gets NIL money as a pro. Could she have gotten as much NIL money at Stanford?) One person asked if we had to give contracts to incoming recruits, and as I understood it, the answer is "yes." Contracts need to be offered even before a player has set foot in a single practice. Someone answered "how much is needed to recruit a 5 star?" and she said "A lot." She indicated that fundraising was required to meet commitments we have already made. And she noted that court decisions would most likely soon have the University directly paying the athletes.
She was quite profuse in her praise of Lifetime Cardinal which "has really stepped up" but it is an arms race now, and who knows how high we will have to go to truly level the playing field (level the court?) with other programs.
Another question was asked as to whether an athlete that was promised a certain amount could lose that if she did not perform well. She said it is all based on "fair market value" and so these student--athletes stand to lose value if their performance declines. That is a lot of pressure on an 18 year old.
My analysis: In short, college WBB, at least at our level, now needs to be thought of as a professional sport. All the players will be paid. Stanford got a late start on this and is now catching up, but we suffered some damage in the meantime, and this year is the result. We may not need to match every offer since the Stanford degree is still attractive, but we need to be in the ballpark with our competitors. That is, if we decide this is something we want to do within the context of an elite academic institution.
I have to say I was overjoyed at the performance during the game, but after coming in from the chalk talk I looked at the athletes differently. The starkness of knowing that I was watching a minor league professional team curbed my enthusiasm some. I am still wrestling with myself internally over this. Not sure where I will land.
Another point.
Chalk talk noted that the players were smart and knew what they were playing for: their goal is to make the ACC tournament and then go as far as possible. The ACC tournament takes the top 15 out of 18 teams. Wake Forest and SMU (that loss was devastating) are pretty much out of it, but above those two there are 7 teams with 3-5 wins each all competing for the last three spots.
And a point about Syracuse: we played against their coach when she coached Buffalo back in 2019. That was the trip we were going to go to Canada for Alyssa Jerome, I believe, but something about international travel got messed up and Buffalo filled in across the border from her parents.