Does Geno catch Tara this season?

[nwhoopfan]

Joslyn Tinkle-top 10 recruit

That surprises me. She had a decent career, but more of a complimentary player. Not what you would expect for a top 10 recruit.

 

[DefenseBB]

... Is it that Tara is "acting old" and that Geno isn't acting similarly? Or is it just a kind of lull that happens to even the best teams? Or maybe it's something significant that we haven't yet figured out, like the effects of more TV coverage and/or social media making it harder to "sell" a school based solely on reputation? or track record of preparing athletes for professional play, or something else? Is it a trend or just a one-off?

One thing that I do know that happens is that both ADs and directors of admission focus on certain sports and then eventually move on to other interests, leaving an established program in the lurch (famously, Princeton's decision regarding men's lacrosse cost them their great coach). Not saying it happened at Stanford, which probably focuses on all sports across-the-board more successfully than any other school in the country, but there can be nuanced shifts that we'll never be privy to.

Bags, some very observant points that got me thinking (exactly what a good post should do!) and while she just went to the Final 4 with a Senior laden team, it’s unknown if this team (with some pretty good talent based on their HS rankings) will catch on soon, or at all. Tara has had ups and downs but seems to always rebound (no pun intended). My guess is a one-off as even Coach K had a one year breakdown.

Where I sort of disagree with you is the “move on to other interest” comment. I have observed that schools tend to like flagship programs and will maintain them and only “move on” when the program becomes too big for its boots or gets into NCAA trouble. This just happened with UL Lafayette Softball this past fall. The coach became a major pain so they moved on. I am curious now about Princeton Lacrosse and will see what I can understand their moving on. Preliminary investigation seems the program costs vs. the other sports became too high in money and effort at the risk of the other sports.

IMHO, I highly doubt Stanford would ever move on from WBB given what it means to them.