Mid-major leagues, excluding UConn for now, are just going to be the farm system for the so-called power conferences. It'll be like bigger schools picking off the best/proven juco players in the pre-NIL era. Now schools can just hit the central clearinghouse for players up for bid (a.k.a. portal) and buy the best players you can afford.
The answer is to get better players
ESPN reporting she is going to Iowa.
headed to Iowa per espnSource: Villanova's Lucy Olsen, nation's No. 3 scorer, in portal
Source: Villanova's Lucy Olsen, nation's No. 3 scorer, in portal
Villanova's Lucy Olsen, who averaged 23.3 points as the nation's No. 3 scorer this season, is in the transfer portal, a source told ESPN.www.espn.com
Apologies if this in the portal thread. Just thought it deserved its own.
Agree with all of this. Just want to add that I think NIL has contributed a great deal to the loss of some of the best players from the Big East and Mid Major Conferences in general. It used to not be a factor, but when the 5th or 6th best player from a top power 4 program can make as much as the top player from a Mid Major school, of course the players will leave.
NIL money?
$$$$$$
If she aspires to a WNBA career, she might reasonably believe that it's necessary to prove herself against stronger competition than the Big East (other than UConn) offers. And she is right that if she can score 20 ppg against Ohio State, Indiana, Michigan, Maryland, and the new West Coast entrants to the B1G, she will be a first round draft pick next spring.
I also don’t get it. It honestly feels like maybe she just looked at Iowa as a chance where she’d be allowed to just shoot as much as she wants to.
Villanova fans (of the men’s & women’s teams) on Twitter are bemoaning the defection of so many players to the portal and are blaming the fact that the Big East’s media contract is with FloSports and that players don’t get seen. It’s a valid reason, IMO, if a player has pro aspirations
Possibly a lot more NIL dollars.
But.... consider that LUCY OLSEN "uped" her game to fill the boots (and part of the stat line) of Maddy Siegrist. I find it
I think you mentioned what some potential
Wbb in big east other than UConn is
The Big East needs a complete overhaul before it goes the way of the Pac 12 but it may be too late. It obviously receives mid-major respect from the NCAA. Other than UConn, after the departure of BC, Pitt and Syracuse the majority of teams are mid-major in size and attention-getting. Butler vs UConn? Really? UConn is a much better fit across all sports in either the ACC or Big Ten (ie the Big) but certainly no longer the "Big" East.
Somehow I don't believe that the big east is at risk of having its best programs rated by the football power conferences. Although, I actually hope I'm wrong on that.
And don't forget; Morrow left the BE for LSU. And she was a surprise talent, I think ( probably no surprise in Chicago area ).
I think riding the CC wave was a major factor. Also Iowa is coached by someone who just let's scorers score. Also better NIL deals can be presented to her because of the Iowa hype. I get it. But to me, call me old school, it's all about loyalty. Judging by her transfer to Iowa, I don't think she is too concerned about potentially winning an NCAA championship because if that was the case, transferring to Uconn or South Carolina would of made more sense.
There would be no interest from either school
Must have been more NIL, with Clark gone it’s just a parallel move.
I hate FloSports.
www.desmoinesregister.com
If what the article states is true, that being consideration to Maryland and LSU, and understanding the dollars in play here, I still don’t get her decision making. But, that’s hers, not mine…Leistikow: Exciting guard Lucy Olsen shares why Iowa women's basketball 'felt like home'
Lucy Olsen explains what she's learned watching Iowa women's basketball's Caitlin Clark and how her Iowa City visit sealed her Hawkeyes commitment.
Morrow was rated #18 in her recruiting class by ESPN, so she wasn't completely a surprise. She certainly played significantly higher than that ranking.
Being the replacement for Caitlin Clark ( and she will be labeled as such ) is like replacing Jeter at SS for the Yankees. Not an enviable task. No one can succeed at that.