[82lsju]

from the WBB Facebook page

Some tough news from The Farm. Senior guard Toni Kokenis has taken a medical retirement, ending her playing career with the Cardinal. Show some love for Toni by liking this photo or sharing some of your favorite Kokenis performances from her career in the comments! And don't worry, Toni will still be part of the team in 2013-14!

[82lsju]

from the WBB Facebook page

Some tough news from The Farm. Senior guard Toni Kokenis has taken a medical retirement, ending her playing career with the Cardinal. Show some love for Toni by liking this photo or sharing some of your favorite Kokenis performances from her career in the comments! And don't worry, Toni will still be part of the team in 2013-14!

[BobK]

And Beebe's 3rd ACL now officially announced.

[BobK]

And Beebe's 3rd ACL now officially announced.

[76lsjumb]

And Beebe's 3rd ACL now officially announced.

:(  Unfortunately, the initials "A.B." and "ACL" appear unable to coexist peacefully for Stanford basketball at the moment...

[76lsjumb]

And Beebe's 3rd ACL now officially announced.

:(  Unfortunately, the initials "A.B." and "ACL" appear unable to coexist peacefully for Stanford basketball at the moment...

[81alum]

This is rough news.  So sorry for both of those two young women.  This will be the third year in a row that Aly has been injured, and one begins to wonder if she will ever play--and if she does whether she will be able to shake off three years of rust.

This virtually assures a lot of playing time for our first year players to supplement Chiney and the returning starters.  I hope they are ready for it.  It is beginning to seem that this year's prospects for the team are perhaps a bit lower than they were 12 months ago when we were reeling from the loss of Nneka.  This year, we still have Chiney, but the loss of Joslyn and Toni will demand that some others step up.  The critical factor is to find someone to take the load off Chiney so this is a less one dimensional team than a year ago--and for a time we hoped that Aly might be it.  How about Erica?

[81alum]

This is rough news.  So sorry for both of those two young women.  This will be the third year in a row that Aly has been injured, and one begins to wonder if she will ever play--and if she does whether she will be able to shake off three years of rust.

This virtually assures a lot of playing time for our first year players to supplement Chiney and the returning starters.  I hope they are ready for it.  It is beginning to seem that this year's prospects for the team are perhaps a bit lower than they were 12 months ago when we were reeling from the loss of Nneka.  This year, we still have Chiney, but the loss of Joslyn and Toni will demand that some others step up.  The critical factor is to find someone to take the load off Chiney so this is a less one dimensional team than a year ago--and for a time we hoped that Aly might be it.  How about Erica?

[BobK]

Johnson and McCall could be very good.  Opportunity really exists.    And very fortunate to have Ruef for a 5th season. 

But boy this is all sad. 

[BobK]

Johnson and McCall could be very good.  Opportunity really exists.    And very fortunate to have Ruef for a 5th season. 

But boy this is all sad. 

[CompSci87]

I'll just keep my expectations low for this year and enjoy whatever the team is able to do. Hope to see some of the unheralded guards step up too.

Toni was a favorite of mine and I missed her a lot already last season, and was sad to see her looking glum on the bench at times. Hope she will have a good year doing all the other things she does.

Aly seems to have a great personality from interviews I've seen. Hope she is able to play some eventually!

[CompSci87]

I'll just keep my expectations low for this year and enjoy whatever the team is able to do. Hope to see some of the unheralded guards step up too.

Toni was a favorite of mine and I missed her a lot already last season, and was sad to see her looking glum on the bench at times. Hope she will have a good year doing all the other things she does.

Aly seems to have a great personality from interviews I've seen. Hope she is able to play some eventually!

[CompSci87]

Does this mean Michaela Ruef will be on scholarship after all?

Dunno, that hasn't been announced. If Toni's retirement moves her to a medical scholarship, that makes one scholarship slot available. It could go to Ruef or perhaps to Briana Roberson, a freshman recruit who was slated to be a walk-on this year. My guess would be Ruef, but it's just a guess.

Maybe BobK knows more.

[CompSci87]

Does this mean Michaela Ruef will be on scholarship after all?

Dunno, that hasn't been announced. If Toni's retirement moves her to a medical scholarship, that makes one scholarship slot available. It could go to Ruef or perhaps to Briana Roberson, a freshman recruit who was slated to be a walk-on this year. My guess would be Ruef, but it's just a guess.

Maybe BobK knows more.

[BobK]

Nope.  Don't know.  Bigger question is our other recruit McPhee a 6-0 or Billings a 6-3 who is a 4/5.  Beebe is now recovering from 3 ACL s missing 3 full seasons.

[BobK]

Nope.  Don't know.  Bigger question is our other recruit McPhee a 6-0 or Billings a 6-3 who is a 4/5.  Beebe is now recovering from 3 ACL s missing 3 full seasons.

[Leftcoast]

Very sad to hear that Toni will no longer be playing basketball at Stanford.  She was a joy to watch and I appreciated her quirky sense of humor in interviews and her desire to embrace all Stanford offers (joining the band, etc).

I know that Women's Basketball players are at a higher risk of ACL injuries but we've also heard a lot about concussions within Stanford Women's basketball.  Does anyone know if this is a second area where women ballers are at more risk?

Article from a happier time - Post 2012 win at Berkeley.  Per this article Toni was 3rd in scoring, assist leader and a defensive presence.  I wonder how she would have progressed without her injuries?

http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Gua...to-2644477

[Leftcoast]

Very sad to hear that Toni will no longer be playing basketball at Stanford.  She was a joy to watch and I appreciated her quirky sense of humor in interviews and her desire to embrace all Stanford offers (joining the band, etc).

I know that Women's Basketball players are at a higher risk of ACL injuries but we've also heard a lot about concussions within Stanford Women's basketball.  Does anyone know if this is a second area where women ballers are at more risk?

Article from a happier time - Post 2012 win at Berkeley.  Per this article Toni was 3rd in scoring, assist leader and a defensive presence.  I wonder how she would have progressed without her injuries?

http://www.sfgate.com/sports/article/Gua...to-2644477

[BobK]

Toni is pre med.  maybe one more concussion and she's not.  I'm sure that played heavily in the decision. 

[BobK]

Toni is pre med.  maybe one more concussion and she's not.  I'm sure that played heavily in the decision. 

[CompSci87]

I wonder if we're not just more protective than everybody else. Not that I'm against that. But remember, Texas let Jamie Carey play when we wouldn't.

I think the two cases are pretty different, though of course we only have limited info on both.

As is familiar, Jamie Carey wanted to play but Stanford doctors wouldn't clear her, while Texas doctors did. Last time a conversation about her came up, I found an article on the web that basically said she continued to have problems throughout her Texas and WNBA career (memory problems, etc.). So to me, it was no wonder Stanford doctors wouldn't let her play.

We heard through much of last year that Toni was allowed to play whenever she felt up to it. So I don't think this was a case of the doctors forbidding her to play when she herself wanted to risk it.

[CompSci87]

I wonder if we're not just more protective than everybody else. Not that I'm against that. But remember, Texas let Jamie Carey play when we wouldn't.

I think the two cases are pretty different, though of course we only have limited info on both.

As is familiar, Jamie Carey wanted to play but Stanford doctors wouldn't clear her, while Texas doctors did. Last time a conversation about her came up, I found an article on the web that basically said she continued to have problems throughout her Texas and WNBA career (memory problems, etc.). So to me, it was no wonder Stanford doctors wouldn't let her play.

We heard through much of last year that Toni was allowed to play whenever she felt up to it. So I don't think this was a case of the doctors forbidding her to play when she herself wanted to risk it.

[81alum]

I just found this article in Palo Alto online about Toni's concussions:

Kokenis sustained a concussion during spring workouts in 2012 that limited her preseason practice, then sustained a second during Stanford's 65-45 victory at Oregon State Feb. 3, which kept her out of the final 14 games of the 2012-13 season....Stanford track star Kori Carter, Kokenis' good friend, said Kokenis sometimes had to stay in her room due to headaches but that she also had good days.

http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_...p?id=30420
The Carter interview does make Toni's problem sound serious.  I do hope the effects of the concussions recede. 

I reviewed our thread on the February 3 game, and none of us even knew that Toni had been injured.  She scored 0 points in that game, which should have been a clue that something was amiss with her health. 

[81alum]

I just found this article in Palo Alto online about Toni's concussions:

Kokenis sustained a concussion during spring workouts in 2012 that limited her preseason practice, then sustained a second during Stanford's 65-45 victory at Oregon State Feb. 3, which kept her out of the final 14 games of the 2012-13 season....Stanford track star Kori Carter, Kokenis' good friend, said Kokenis sometimes had to stay in her room due to headaches but that she also had good days.

http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_...p?id=30420
The Carter interview does make Toni's problem sound serious.  I do hope the effects of the concussions recede. 

I reviewed our thread on the February 3 game, and none of us even knew that Toni had been injured.  She scored 0 points in that game, which should have been a clue that something was amiss with her health. 

[WAcard]

IMO we need Billings, she is more athletic and taller than both Erica's.

[WAcard]

IMO we need Billings, she is more athletic and taller than both Erica's.