[Card10Fan]

As we head towards February and the last third of the regular season, how are we assessing Coach Kate Paye's 1st season as HC thus far? 
My Grade: C-

With Stanford losing Brink, Iriafen, and Jump, it was expected this would be a transitional season for our storied program and expectations were lowered. Although this is maybe the least talented Stanford WBB roster in a decade, the roster is NOT talentless. We still have 5 players on the roster that were all top 50 recruits in their respective classes. There are teams that have NO top 100 recruits on their roster and have beaten us this season. Teams that have done more with less. We are not one of them. Despite lowered expectations, thus far, this team has underachieved. 

Markers of excellent coaching as a fan watching games includes seeing continued team improvement throughout a season, consistency game to game, player development, strong fundamentals, and team basketball. Our team has not shown continual improvement (best game against LSU in Dec?), is not consistent, and often times does not show the level of effort and intensity needed to win. Those are all qualities we took for granted with Coach Vanderveer. Her teams even our weakest teams over the years (thinking '14-15, '17-18), always competed and always improved throughout the year. A "bad year" was only making the Sweet 16. Those teams always found some identity throughout the season. The more offensively challenged teams became really good defensive teams always giving us a chance. This year's team seems to have no real identity nor leader. The pieces are never put together with the consistency needed on the same night. 

I'm not ready to give up on Coach Paye yet, but is the teaching, leadership, and preparation at the level it needs to be successful? Time will tell. This team has enough talent to be in the NCAA tourney and instead it seems we are headed for our first NCAA miss in 36 years. That's a major disappointment. I love Coach Paye's enthusiasm, love for Stanford, her postgame remarks are well articulated and she seems to have a strong sense of what is needed to be successful. However, the results don't back that up, at least not yet. Lowered expectations for this season should still mean Stanford making the NCAA tourney. 

On the flipside with the men's team, Kyle Smith inherited a depleted roster too. He went to the portal and brought in some newcomers. His team is much less talented than in years past with Coach Haase, but excellent coaching from Kyle Smith and the men's team has overachieved and done more with less. Grade for Coach Smith: A

[Card10Fan]

As we head towards February and the last third of the regular season, how are we assessing Coach Kate Paye's 1st season as HC thus far? 
My Grade: C-

With Stanford losing Brink, Iriafen, and Jump, it was expected this would be a transitional season for our storied program and expectations were lowered. Although this is maybe the least talented Stanford WBB roster in a decade, the roster is NOT talentless. We still have 5 players on the roster that were all top 50 recruits in their respective classes. There are teams that have NO top 100 recruits on their roster and have beaten us this season. Teams that have done more with less. We are not one of them. Despite lowered expectations, thus far, this team has underachieved. 

Markers of excellent coaching as a fan watching games includes seeing continued team improvement throughout a season, consistency game to game, player development, strong fundamentals, and team basketball. Our team has not shown continual improvement (best game against LSU in Dec?), is not consistent, and often times does not show the level of effort and intensity needed to win. Those are all qualities we took for granted with Coach Vanderveer. Her teams even our weakest teams over the years (thinking '14-15, '17-18), always competed and always improved throughout the year. A "bad year" was only making the Sweet 16. Those teams always found some identity throughout the season. The more offensively challenged teams became really good defensive teams always giving us a chance. This year's team seems to have no real identity nor leader. The pieces are never put together with the consistency needed on the same night. 

I'm not ready to give up on Coach Paye yet, but is the teaching, leadership, and preparation at the level it needs to be successful? Time will tell. This team has enough talent to be in the NCAA tourney and instead it seems we are headed for our first NCAA miss in 36 years. That's a major disappointment. I love Coach Paye's enthusiasm, love for Stanford, her postgame remarks are well articulated and she seems to have a strong sense of what is needed to be successful. However, the results don't back that up, at least not yet. Lowered expectations for this season should still mean Stanford making the NCAA tourney. 

On the flipside with the men's team, Kyle Smith inherited a depleted roster too. He went to the portal and brought in some newcomers. His team is much less talented than in years past with Coach Haase, but excellent coaching from Kyle Smith and the men's team has overachieved and done more with less. Grade for Coach Smith: A

[martyup]

IMO, it's too early to draw any conclusions.  We are a young team.  We'll see how they finish the season.

[martyup]

IMO, it's too early to draw any conclusions.  We are a young team.  We'll see how they finish the season.

[81alum]

IMO, it's too early to draw any conclusions.  We are a young team.  We'll see how they finish the season.

Agreed.  And I am not sure that TVD would be doing a better job had she stayed on another year.

So far we CAN say this about Paye:  she has 

1) (so far) recruited better than nearly any other program in the nation and also retained recruits that might have been scared away by TVD's retirement;

2) spoken clearly, intelligently, and incisively about the need for improvement and how to accomplish that--never sugar coating our problems but also maintaining a positive environment;

3) brought in two transfers that are each a net plus to the team.

4) Some players have developed and improved over the course of the season, most notably Clardy and we may be seeing signs of Ogden and Umeh coming along. 

But Cardfan's observation does strike a chord with me.  I well remember how weak the 14-15 season started and how much better we finished.  I don't get the feeling we are going to finish as strong this year.  Some of this may have to do not only with talent levels but with experience levels.  We do have less talent than we have had for some time--probably less than that 14-15 team- but we emphatically have FAR less experience among our starters than we have EVER had in decades.  It seems to be making a big--negative--difference.

But issuing a grade right now would be like giving a student a grade for the semester without looking at their final exam.

[81alum]

IMO, it's too early to draw any conclusions.  We are a young team.  We'll see how they finish the season.

Agreed.  And I am not sure that TVD would be doing a better job had she stayed on another year.

So far we CAN say this about Paye:  she has 

1) (so far) recruited better than nearly any other program in the nation and also retained recruits that might have been scared away by TVD's retirement;

2) spoken clearly, intelligently, and incisively about the need for improvement and how to accomplish that--never sugar coating our problems but also maintaining a positive environment;

3) brought in two transfers that are each a net plus to the team.

4) Some players have developed and improved over the course of the season, most notably Clardy and we may be seeing signs of Ogden and Umeh coming along. 

But Cardfan's observation does strike a chord with me.  I well remember how weak the 14-15 season started and how much better we finished.  I don't get the feeling we are going to finish as strong this year.  Some of this may have to do not only with talent levels but with experience levels.  We do have less talent than we have had for some time--probably less than that 14-15 team- but we emphatically have FAR less experience among our starters than we have EVER had in decades.  It seems to be making a big--negative--difference.

But issuing a grade right now would be like giving a student a grade for the semester without looking at their final exam.

[M T]

Giving a grade like this is like judging a race car driver how they do at Indianapolis with a SUV.

[M T]

Giving a grade like this is like judging a race car driver how they do at Indianapolis with a SUV.

[BosCard]

I think we have to think of this as a multi-year rebuilding effort and we won’t be able to give a final grade until at least midway through the 2026-2027 season.   That would be 2.5 years under Coach Paye.  Agara, Clardy and Ogden will be seniors.  The much heralded 2025 recruiting class will have had a year of college ball and we will see what 2026 recruits Coach Paye gets.  

The one thing I am encouraged by is her willingness to make changes and adapt.  Sometimes I felt Coach Vanderveer was too dogmatic in terms of starting and giving playing time to upperclassmen.  The ACC is filled with guard-oriented, elite defensive teams and those are the teams that would tend to give us a lot of problems in the tournament.  You need guards with the ball-handling and quickness to create their own shot (or pass if the defense collapses) because a lot of times all the passing lanes will be well defended.  I am encouraged that Coach Paye made the relatively quick switch to starting Ijiwoye and Clardy because we will need both of them to develop offensively and defensively to be successful in this league over the next couple of seasons.

[BosCard]

I think we have to think of this as a multi-year rebuilding effort and we won’t be able to give a final grade until at least midway through the 2026-2027 season.   That would be 2.5 years under Coach Paye.  Agara, Clardy and Ogden will be seniors.  The much heralded 2025 recruiting class will have had a year of college ball and we will see what 2026 recruits Coach Paye gets.  

The one thing I am encouraged by is her willingness to make changes and adapt.  Sometimes I felt Coach Vanderveer was too dogmatic in terms of starting and giving playing time to upperclassmen.  The ACC is filled with guard-oriented, elite defensive teams and those are the teams that would tend to give us a lot of problems in the tournament.  You need guards with the ball-handling and quickness to create their own shot (or pass if the defense collapses) because a lot of times all the passing lanes will be well defended.  I am encouraged that Coach Paye made the relatively quick switch to starting Ijiwoye and Clardy because we will need both of them to develop offensively and defensively to be successful in this league over the next couple of seasons.

[cardcrimson]

Giving a grade like this is like judging a race car driver how they do at Indianapolis with a SUV.

Would you say the same about TT the last two years?

[cardcrimson]

Giving a grade like this is like judging a race car driver how they do at Indianapolis with a SUV.

Would you say the same about TT the last two years?

[Mick]

Tara went 27-29 her first two years. I'm guessing Coach Paye's record will pick up.

[Mick]

Tara went 27-29 her first two years. I'm guessing Coach Paye's record will pick up.

[JohnR34231]

Tara went 27-29 her first two years. I'm guessing Coach Paye's record will pick up.

I suspect it will next year. Not so sure about this one.
26-27 should be the year when we get back in the elite. Assuming our players develop and don't bail on us.

[JohnR34231]

Tara went 27-29 her first two years. I'm guessing Coach Paye's record will pick up.

I suspect it will next year. Not so sure about this one.
26-27 should be the year when we get back in the elite. Assuming our players develop and don't bail on us.

[old spanish trail]

I think we have to think of this as a multi-year rebuilding effort and we won’t be able to give a final grade until at least midway through the 2026-2027 season.   That would be 2.5 years under Coach Paye.  Agara, Clardy and Ogden will be seniors.  The much heralded 2025 recruiting class will have had a year of college ball and we will see what 2026 recruits Coach Paye gets.  

The one thing I am encouraged by is her willingness to make changes and adapt.  Sometimes I felt Coach Vanderveer was too dogmatic in terms of starting and giving playing time to upperclassmen.  The ACC is filled with guard-oriented, elite defensive teams and those are the teams that would tend to give us a lot of problems in the tournament.  You need guards with the ball-handling and quickness to create their own shot (or pass if the defense collapses) because a lot of times all the passing lanes will be well defended.  I am encouraged that Coach Paye made the relatively quick switch to starting Ijiwoye and Clardy because we will need both of them to develop offensively and defensively to be successful in this league over the next couple of seasons.

Totally agree re adapting to start Clardy and Shay, and much more time for Ogden.

[old spanish trail]

I think we have to think of this as a multi-year rebuilding effort and we won’t be able to give a final grade until at least midway through the 2026-2027 season.   That would be 2.5 years under Coach Paye.  Agara, Clardy and Ogden will be seniors.  The much heralded 2025 recruiting class will have had a year of college ball and we will see what 2026 recruits Coach Paye gets.  

The one thing I am encouraged by is her willingness to make changes and adapt.  Sometimes I felt Coach Vanderveer was too dogmatic in terms of starting and giving playing time to upperclassmen.  The ACC is filled with guard-oriented, elite defensive teams and those are the teams that would tend to give us a lot of problems in the tournament.  You need guards with the ball-handling and quickness to create their own shot (or pass if the defense collapses) because a lot of times all the passing lanes will be well defended.  I am encouraged that Coach Paye made the relatively quick switch to starting Ijiwoye and Clardy because we will need both of them to develop offensively and defensively to be successful in this league over the next couple of seasons.

Totally agree re adapting to start Clardy and Shay, and much more time for Ogden.

[Nobadeer]

I agree that even Tara herself probably couldn't have coached this year's team to a better W/L record. Tara is a legend and LSJU treasure, and her name is painted all over the Maples floor, but at times her coaching style hindered some players and affected the team's performance, especially in the tournament? Maybe LSJU could've won a couple or even a few more NCAA titles from all those final 4 teams? 

In any event, it's way too early to grade Coach Paye, and I hope she will have a better head coaching experience than that of former M swim coach Ted Knapp, who like Paye was a star at Stanford, then a loyal assistant coach for 28 years, finally took over as head coach after the legendary Skip Kenney retired - alas, just as the team's roster was declining. M swim has yet to regain its national dominance but I am confident W BB will rise again!

[Nobadeer]

I agree that even Tara herself probably couldn't have coached this year's team to a better W/L record. Tara is a legend and LSJU treasure, and her name is painted all over the Maples floor, but at times her coaching style hindered some players and affected the team's performance, especially in the tournament? Maybe LSJU could've won a couple or even a few more NCAA titles from all those final 4 teams? 

In any event, it's way too early to grade Coach Paye, and I hope she will have a better head coaching experience than that of former M swim coach Ted Knapp, who like Paye was a star at Stanford, then a loyal assistant coach for 28 years, finally took over as head coach after the legendary Skip Kenney retired - alas, just as the team's roster was declining. M swim has yet to regain its national dominance but I am confident W BB will rise again!

[jonnyss]

anybody else notice how much kate sounds like tara when she gives the halftime coach interview on tv? it's a bit eerie!

[jonnyss]

anybody else notice how much kate sounds like tara when she gives the halftime coach interview on tv? it's a bit eerie!

[81alum]

anybody else notice how much kate sounds like tara when she gives the halftime coach interview on tv? it's a bit eerie!

Oh yes.  During press conferences she used many of the exact same phrases that Tara used.  Kate makes them sound better, though!

[81alum]

anybody else notice how much kate sounds like tara when she gives the halftime coach interview on tv? it's a bit eerie!

Oh yes.  During press conferences she used many of the exact same phrases that Tara used.  Kate makes them sound better, though!

[Baez87]

Byline: Stanford University, April 3, 2028
Stanford Universities players and coaches, celebrated their first return to the NCAA Final Four basketball Tournament in Indiana this past weekend. The excited Cardinal fans together with the dancing Tree and their uniquely wild band made their presence known at Indianapolis’s Gainbridge Field House Sunday afternoon.
Playing in the Finals was a fitting accomplishment for this team and their coaches who had been in a rebuilding mode since Hall of Fame Coach Tara VanDerveer retired in 2024. Kate Paye inherited a team ravaged by player transfers, a factor that was par for the course when the courts basically turned player loyalty on its head in the early 2000s. Paye, whose 2024-25 team would have been a powerhouse — Brink, Iriafen, Betts, Nivar, Emma-Nnopu, and Lepolo — had graduations, transfers, injuries, and portal defections that decimated the team she could have inherited in the first year as Head Coach. She had to overcome a losing season and fan doubt which started her tenure the old fashioned way — recruite, develop, teach, and inspire. Paye probably wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
So credit Coach Kate Paye and her indefatigable coaching staff! And especially credit the veteran players and the fine recruits that stuck with their coaches and fans to commit to the Stanford winning tradition!
(You get the idea… you never know where things are going to end up. And every team needs a supportive, confident fan base to make it through the tough times!)

[Baez87]

Byline: Stanford University, April 3, 2028
Stanford Universities players and coaches, celebrated their first return to the NCAA Final Four basketball Tournament in Indiana this past weekend. The excited Cardinal fans together with the dancing Tree and their uniquely wild band made their presence known at Indianapolis’s Gainbridge Field House Sunday afternoon.
Playing in the Finals was a fitting accomplishment for this team and their coaches who had been in a rebuilding mode since Hall of Fame Coach Tara VanDerveer retired in 2024. Kate Paye inherited a team ravaged by player transfers, a factor that was par for the course when the courts basically turned player loyalty on its head in the early 2000s. Paye, whose 2024-25 team would have been a powerhouse — Brink, Iriafen, Betts, Nivar, Emma-Nnopu, and Lepolo — had graduations, transfers, injuries, and portal defections that decimated the team she could have inherited in the first year as Head Coach. She had to overcome a losing season and fan doubt which started her tenure the old fashioned way — recruite, develop, teach, and inspire. Paye probably wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
So credit Coach Kate Paye and her indefatigable coaching staff! And especially credit the veteran players and the fine recruits that stuck with their coaches and fans to commit to the Stanford winning tradition!
(You get the idea… you never know where things are going to end up. And every team needs a supportive, confident fan base to make it through the tough times!)

[76lsjumb]

Byline: Stanford University, April 3, 2028
Stanford Universities players and coaches, celebrated their first return to the NCAA Final Four basketball Tournament in Indiana this past weekend. The excited Cardinal fans together with the dancing Tree and their uniquely wild band made their presence known at Indianapolis’s Gainbridge Field House Sunday afternoon.
Playing in the Finals was a fitting accomplishment for this team and their coaches who had been in a rebuilding mode since Hall of Fame Coach Tara VanDerveer retired in 2024. Kate Paye inherited a team ravaged by player transfers, a factor that was par for the course when the courts basically turned player loyalty on its head in the early 2000s. Paye, whose 2024-25 team would have been a powerhouse — Brink, Iriafen, Betts, Nivar, Emma-Nnopu, and Lepolo — had graduations, transfers, injuries, and portal defections that decimated the team she could have inherited in the first year as Head Coach. She had to overcome a losing season and fan doubt which started her tenure the old fashioned way — recruite, develop, teach, and inspire. Paye probably wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
So credit Coach Kate Paye and her indefatigable coaching staff! And especially credit the veteran players and the fine recruits that stuck with their coaches and fans to commit to the Stanford winning tradition!
(You get the idea… you never know where things are going to end up. And every team needs a supportive, confident fan base to make it through the tough times!)

You left out the part of the article where it discussed how this happened just a few months after Coach Taylor led the undefeated Cardinal football team to its first National Championship…

[76lsjumb]

Byline: Stanford University, April 3, 2028
Stanford Universities players and coaches, celebrated their first return to the NCAA Final Four basketball Tournament in Indiana this past weekend. The excited Cardinal fans together with the dancing Tree and their uniquely wild band made their presence known at Indianapolis’s Gainbridge Field House Sunday afternoon.
Playing in the Finals was a fitting accomplishment for this team and their coaches who had been in a rebuilding mode since Hall of Fame Coach Tara VanDerveer retired in 2024. Kate Paye inherited a team ravaged by player transfers, a factor that was par for the course when the courts basically turned player loyalty on its head in the early 2000s. Paye, whose 2024-25 team would have been a powerhouse — Brink, Iriafen, Betts, Nivar, Emma-Nnopu, and Lepolo — had graduations, transfers, injuries, and portal defections that decimated the team she could have inherited in the first year as Head Coach. She had to overcome a losing season and fan doubt which started her tenure the old fashioned way — recruite, develop, teach, and inspire. Paye probably wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
So credit Coach Kate Paye and her indefatigable coaching staff! And especially credit the veteran players and the fine recruits that stuck with their coaches and fans to commit to the Stanford winning tradition!
(You get the idea… you never know where things are going to end up. And every team needs a supportive, confident fan base to make it through the tough times!)

You left out the part of the article where it discussed how this happened just a few months after Coach Taylor led the undefeated Cardinal football team to its first National Championship…

[CowboyIndian]

You left out the part of the article where it discussed how this happened just a few months after Coach Taylor led the undefeated Cardinal football team to its first National Championship…

2nd

[CowboyIndian]

You left out the part of the article where it discussed how this happened just a few months after Coach Taylor led the undefeated Cardinal football team to its first National Championship…

2nd

[Nobadeer]

Kudos to Coach Paye and her assistants for the wins over BC and V. Tech!

I think in the 4th quarter and OT vs. V. Tech, there were mostly freshmen and sophomores on the floor for LSJU? When was the last time that happened in a must-win overtime conference game, on the road?

[Nobadeer]

Kudos to Coach Paye and her assistants for the wins over BC and V. Tech!

I think in the 4th quarter and OT vs. V. Tech, there were mostly freshmen and sophomores on the floor for LSJU? When was the last time that happened in a must-win overtime conference game, on the road?

[fullmetal]

IIRC, it was the new blood on the floor in the 4Q that sparked a near-comeback against SMU on the road.

I have a wholly uninformed hypothesis that the players with less time at Stanford are more apt to sometimes play outside "the system." Everyone who's recruited to Stanford was a playmaker before they came to Stanford.  They were the stars of their former teams, and they've had that will to score.  I wonder what it is that they might lose that edge in college: is it because the shots aren't so open anymore, that their opponents are no longer slow, that their opponents are that much taller?  Or is it because maybe the coaching staff wants them to play blamelessly in slight misalignment with the players' own instincts as playmakers?

Or maybe the newer players are actually faster and higher-quality players.  I could really be wrong.  I didn't watch the VT game.

But if you see your players playing really well under pressure, maybe adjust the scheme to fit that style of play.  Let the players play.  You recruited them for a reason.  They want to win!

It's been a hard season for many reasons, and there's room to improve.  This was a great win, and I think it's evidence that the team has no quit in them.

[fullmetal]

IIRC, it was the new blood on the floor in the 4Q that sparked a near-comeback against SMU on the road.

I have a wholly uninformed hypothesis that the players with less time at Stanford are more apt to sometimes play outside "the system." Everyone who's recruited to Stanford was a playmaker before they came to Stanford.  They were the stars of their former teams, and they've had that will to score.  I wonder what it is that they might lose that edge in college: is it because the shots aren't so open anymore, that their opponents are no longer slow, that their opponents are that much taller?  Or is it because maybe the coaching staff wants them to play blamelessly in slight misalignment with the players' own instincts as playmakers?

Or maybe the newer players are actually faster and higher-quality players.  I could really be wrong.  I didn't watch the VT game.

But if you see your players playing really well under pressure, maybe adjust the scheme to fit that style of play.  Let the players play.  You recruited them for a reason.  They want to win!

It's been a hard season for many reasons, and there's room to improve.  This was a great win, and I think it's evidence that the team has no quit in them.

[gailtate]

You left out the part of the article where it discussed how this happened just a few months after Coach Taylor led the undefeated Cardinal football team to its first National Championship…

2nd

3rd

[gailtate]

You left out the part of the article where it discussed how this happened just a few months after Coach Taylor led the undefeated Cardinal football team to its first National Championship…

2nd

3rd

[SkiBum80]

I was waiting til end of season to post here.
I thought Coach had a good start to season.
Also said a lot of positive things and seemed to have a good approach coming into the season.
As the season continued it became quite a rollercoaster and some things seemed to unravel.
At times getting some great efforts and games out of our players, othertimes just looking very lackluster and unprepared.
Then last night's bitter and bungled NIT game was far under potential and expectations.
And exposed some questionable schemes and coaching, or lack of quick responsive coaching adjustments.
Yes ACC travel is a bear, yes referees have been atrocious at times.
Even taking that into account, I think her coaching was average at best.
And at Stanford, as is at Lake Wobegon, we are hoping for, and expecting, above average.

[SkiBum80]

I was waiting til end of season to post here.
I thought Coach had a good start to season.
Also said a lot of positive things and seemed to have a good approach coming into the season.
As the season continued it became quite a rollercoaster and some things seemed to unravel.
At times getting some great efforts and games out of our players, othertimes just looking very lackluster and unprepared.
Then last night's bitter and bungled NIT game was far under potential and expectations.
And exposed some questionable schemes and coaching, or lack of quick responsive coaching adjustments.
Yes ACC travel is a bear, yes referees have been atrocious at times.
Even taking that into account, I think her coaching was average at best.
And at Stanford, as is at Lake Wobegon, we are hoping for, and expecting, above average.

[81alum]

I find it hard to know how to judge the coaching this year.  Not just Kate, but the overall coaching staff might well be the most qualified in the nation, with all the WNBA players and all the experience under one of the best (Tara.)  So clearly our lack of success this year is not due to lack of know-how or experience at winning and knowing how to do so.

So what is it?  There it is a ticklish calculation about how well we did with the talent/experience we had on hand.  Did we underperform our level of talent?  If you think our level of talent is high, then obviously we underperformed.  If you think our team just was not as richly talented as in the past, then maybe having a winning season (which we just barely did) is not so bad.

My own view is that we had a dearth of both talent and experience.  Our seniors (Demetre, Bosgana, and Harriel) all had particular talents, but none of them was talented enough to be the kind of player that can put the team on her back in clutch time.  And all of them had weaknesses that the opponents could exploit.  They were not up to the level of Brink and Iriafen, obviously, but I also don't think they were up to the level of leaders who were not superstars like Brittany McPhee, Erica McCall, Dijonai Carrington, Amber Orrange, etc.  It has been a very long time since we have not had one of those kinds of talents to lead the team.  So I'm not convinced that our seniors had a higher ceiling that a better coach could have helped them to reach.  And of those seniors, only Bosgana had ever started a game before this season--and for less than a season.  Not since the beginning of Tara's time here have we had such a complete dearth of experienced leadership.

Turning to our junior class...that is the class that was devastated by transfers out.  Lepolo was injured, and the others were Papadaki and Green, who never played a significant role in a game.  So other than Tess Heal transferring in, there was NO junior class, to go along with a weak senior class.

This was a team whose talent and future promise was centered on the sophomore class.  Agara, Clardy, and Ogden all made important strides this season compared with last season.  Agara and Clardy were asked to play positions outside of their most natural "fits" for the sake of the team.  Agara really should not be a 5, and Clardy was not really supposed to be a point guard.  But they both acquitted themselves well, and some of that has to be attributable to player development and coaching.  Ogden remains more of a mystery to me.  Many of us thought she was making important improvements in her game, and then last night reminded us of her inconsistency.  So while I think the coaches have done a splendid job helping Agara and Clardy to mature into improved players, they certainly have not with Ogden. 

The freshmen don't tell us a lot about coaching--but we know from a lot of past experience that the best time to judge new players is after they have been part of the system for one year.  Ijiwoye simply has to develop a consistent offensive purpose.  I am a bit disappointed we did not see more of that from her late in the season.  Umeh has done a fabulous job getting into better shape--but it won't be enough for the ACC unless she continues.  Large centers are not going to be everyday players in the ACC unless they can sprint up and down the court for an entire game.  However, she has made a great deal of progress, so the coaching/conditioning is doing something right.   Peterson has been injured all year, and I wonder whether she will be able to get healthy in time to transform herself before ACC play.  She needs to do a "Hannah Jump."  But there is nothing really to judge when it comes to coaching her.

Our transfers had big transitions for themselves.  Each of them made very important contributions.  MAS has not reached her potential yet, in my opinion.  I think she did improve over the season, as a whole, but last night reminded us of her offensive inconsistency.  She may be our best rebounder, and her defense seems to have improved too.  But I did not think her offense improved nearly enough over the season.  Not sure how the coaches can get more out of her, but they need to.  Tess Heal was more of a finished product when she arrived, and she also absorbed our system relatively quickly.  I always though she was the most aggressive player on the court.  But as last night showed, she could be victimized by opposing offenses who figured out our switching schemes.  Coaches can't make her taller.  She is who she is--one of my favorites--but she will have to be a role player in a league like the ACC.

Moving from player development to X's and O's, I was surprised that Kate Paye did not perform better at making halftime adjustments, or at anticipating opposing schemes.  She has always been Tara's best scout and game planner, by far.  But there were some head-scratchers.  Last night, we could not adequately respond to the Portland halftime adjustments.  As she herself said, the offense went stagnant.  We knew in advance what Portland did on defense, but seemed flummoxed and ill prepared to handle it.

My overall assessment is still that Kate Paye deserves two more years, although she has somewhat depleted my reservoir of patience.  I expect her to install a new offense, I expect her to settle in as she and the team learn how to deal with the travel and new opponents, and I expect her recruiting to continue to be good.  We can't expect a return to greatness next year--the incoming class that she recruited will need a year to be integrated into the team--but I would expect that next year will be significantly better than this year.  One BIG factor in our favor is the complete ending of COVID years.  If it were not for those extra 5th years teams like Portland and most of the ACC teams we played would have been entirely different, and our experience levels would not have been so vastly different.

[81alum]

I find it hard to know how to judge the coaching this year.  Not just Kate, but the overall coaching staff might well be the most qualified in the nation, with all the WNBA players and all the experience under one of the best (Tara.)  So clearly our lack of success this year is not due to lack of know-how or experience at winning and knowing how to do so.

So what is it?  There it is a ticklish calculation about how well we did with the talent/experience we had on hand.  Did we underperform our level of talent?  If you think our level of talent is high, then obviously we underperformed.  If you think our team just was not as richly talented as in the past, then maybe having a winning season (which we just barely did) is not so bad.

My own view is that we had a dearth of both talent and experience.  Our seniors (Demetre, Bosgana, and Harriel) all had particular talents, but none of them was talented enough to be the kind of player that can put the team on her back in clutch time.  And all of them had weaknesses that the opponents could exploit.  They were not up to the level of Brink and Iriafen, obviously, but I also don't think they were up to the level of leaders who were not superstars like Brittany McPhee, Erica McCall, Dijonai Carrington, Amber Orrange, etc.  It has been a very long time since we have not had one of those kinds of talents to lead the team.  So I'm not convinced that our seniors had a higher ceiling that a better coach could have helped them to reach.  And of those seniors, only Bosgana had ever started a game before this season--and for less than a season.  Not since the beginning of Tara's time here have we had such a complete dearth of experienced leadership.

Turning to our junior class...that is the class that was devastated by transfers out.  Lepolo was injured, and the others were Papadaki and Green, who never played a significant role in a game.  So other than Tess Heal transferring in, there was NO junior class, to go along with a weak senior class.

This was a team whose talent and future promise was centered on the sophomore class.  Agara, Clardy, and Ogden all made important strides this season compared with last season.  Agara and Clardy were asked to play positions outside of their most natural "fits" for the sake of the team.  Agara really should not be a 5, and Clardy was not really supposed to be a point guard.  But they both acquitted themselves well, and some of that has to be attributable to player development and coaching.  Ogden remains more of a mystery to me.  Many of us thought she was making important improvements in her game, and then last night reminded us of her inconsistency.  So while I think the coaches have done a splendid job helping Agara and Clardy to mature into improved players, they certainly have not with Ogden. 

The freshmen don't tell us a lot about coaching--but we know from a lot of past experience that the best time to judge new players is after they have been part of the system for one year.  Ijiwoye simply has to develop a consistent offensive purpose.  I am a bit disappointed we did not see more of that from her late in the season.  Umeh has done a fabulous job getting into better shape--but it won't be enough for the ACC unless she continues.  Large centers are not going to be everyday players in the ACC unless they can sprint up and down the court for an entire game.  However, she has made a great deal of progress, so the coaching/conditioning is doing something right.   Peterson has been injured all year, and I wonder whether she will be able to get healthy in time to transform herself before ACC play.  She needs to do a "Hannah Jump."  But there is nothing really to judge when it comes to coaching her.

Our transfers had big transitions for themselves.  Each of them made very important contributions.  MAS has not reached her potential yet, in my opinion.  I think she did improve over the season, as a whole, but last night reminded us of her offensive inconsistency.  She may be our best rebounder, and her defense seems to have improved too.  But I did not think her offense improved nearly enough over the season.  Not sure how the coaches can get more out of her, but they need to.  Tess Heal was more of a finished product when she arrived, and she also absorbed our system relatively quickly.  I always though she was the most aggressive player on the court.  But as last night showed, she could be victimized by opposing offenses who figured out our switching schemes.  Coaches can't make her taller.  She is who she is--one of my favorites--but she will have to be a role player in a league like the ACC.

Moving from player development to X's and O's, I was surprised that Kate Paye did not perform better at making halftime adjustments, or at anticipating opposing schemes.  She has always been Tara's best scout and game planner, by far.  But there were some head-scratchers.  Last night, we could not adequately respond to the Portland halftime adjustments.  As she herself said, the offense went stagnant.  We knew in advance what Portland did on defense, but seemed flummoxed and ill prepared to handle it.

My overall assessment is still that Kate Paye deserves two more years, although she has somewhat depleted my reservoir of patience.  I expect her to install a new offense, I expect her to settle in as she and the team learn how to deal with the travel and new opponents, and I expect her recruiting to continue to be good.  We can't expect a return to greatness next year--the incoming class that she recruited will need a year to be integrated into the team--but I would expect that next year will be significantly better than this year.  One BIG factor in our favor is the complete ending of COVID years.  If it were not for those extra 5th years teams like Portland and most of the ACC teams we played would have been entirely different, and our experience levels would not have been so vastly different.