Kiki Iriafen headed to Stanford

[Heytherego]

 

[bballnut90]

View attachment 57425

Stanford is loading up nicely. On deck for the next few years they have:

Haley Jones- #1 in 2019
Cameron Brink-#3 in 2020
Brooke Demetre-#4 in 2021
Kiki Iriafen-#9 in 2021
Lexie Hull-#14 in 2018
Ashten Prectel-#15 in 2019
Fran Belibi-#19 in 2019

They're loaded up on paper along with a few other teams.

 

[lebronfan23]

We just want Azzi!

 

[Scud49]

We just want Azzi!

Who...?

 

[Carnac]

I didn't think she was going to leave California. It's hard to turn down a "full-ride" offer from Stanford. Stanford University is ranked #6 in National Universities. A private institution whose tuition rates are sky high, has an acceptance rate of only 4.4%, and the "quality" of their degrees are never questioned.

A great get for Tara and her program. Congratulations to Kiki and her family. Iriafen gives Stanford their second top ten commitment from the class of 2021. #4 Brooke Demetre is the other one.

 

[MSGRET]

Geno will still end up with the most wins, he doesn't lose to teams that UConn is supposed to beat. Unlike Tara, when was the last time she had an undefeated season, has she ever had one?

 

[MilfordHusky]

Good for Kiki and Stanford!

Can Haley Jones really play PG? I like the front court talent, but after Williams leaves, the backcourt looks light.

 

[bluedevil]

Nice get..hardly unexpected...wish her well....

 

[the Q]

I didn't think she was going to leave California. It's hard to turn down a "full-ride" offer from Stanford. Stanford University is ranked #6 in National Universities. A private institution whose tuition rates are sky high. A great get for Tara and her program. Congratulations to Kiki and her family.

what is Vanderbilt’s problem? Or even Georgetown?

while they may not be Stanford, how many power conference schools offer a better education than those two?

 

[DefenseBB]

what is Vanderbilt’s problem? Or even Georgetown?

while they may not be Stanford, how many power conference schools offer a better education than those two?

Q1 answer is Stephanie White is the problem. Q2 How is Georgetown even mention in the same breath with any schools in the top 100 for WCBB? Q3 Duke, Northwestern, Notre Dame to name 3.

 

[saywho]

Good for Kiki and Stanford!

Can Haley Jones really play PG? I like the front court talent, but after Williams leaves, the backcourt looks light.

Good pick up by Tara with Iriafen!

I actually think Jana Van Gytenbeek will slide in pretty nicely at PG for the Cardinal next year after Williams leaves. She is rated #29 for incoming frosh this year by PN (7th PG), and I actually think a little underrated. She made pretty big strides each of the past few years, and is a true PG with great passing and play making abilities. A little on the shorter side but so is Kiana. Kiki Rice has also made a number of appearances at Stanford so far, so if she heads there, I think they will be pretty solid in the backcourt.

 

[Cuango]

Not many I would imagine. But........................both of their women's BB teams are not doing too well right now. Neither of them have a prayer of recruiting a player of Iriafen's #9/2021 ranking right now. Iriafen,like most other top ten ranked recruits, had her choice of any D1 school in the country. Vanderbilt and G-town both finished in the bottom third of their respective conference standings last year. Top ranked recruits seldom commit to programs outside of the top 10. Stanford finished last season ranked #7.

can someone please explain to me how Maryland could be ranked higher than UCONN at the end of the season?

 

[Argonaut]

can someone please explain to me how Maryland could be ranked higher than UCONN at the end of the season?

The American Athletic Conference.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Geno will still end up with the most wins, he doesn't lose to teams that UConn is supposed to beat. Unlike Tara, when was the last time she had an undefeated season, has she ever had one?

The only undefeated seasons in NCAA WCBB Division I history:

Baylor 1

Tennessee 1

Texas 1

UConn 6

 

[Go/huskies]

Good for Kiki and Stanford!

Can Haley Jones really play PG? I like the front court talent, but after Williams leaves, the backcourt looks light.

I thought Brown might look to graduate transfer next season like a few other Stanford players have recently if she wants a chance to get some PT, but it’s possible she could start her senior year at point guard, and then maybe they will bring in KiKi Rice the other KiKi, who could be a starter her freshman year.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Iriafen's a tremendous player. Would've been a massive pickup for UConn. Disappointing but saw it coming for a while.

 

[Plebe]

The American Athletic Conference.

This isn't really accurate.

UConn just didn't collect quality wins. Their only wins over NCAA at-large caliber teams were DePaul, Ohio State, and (bubble team) Tennessee. Compared to other years, UConn's nonconference schedule just wasn't very good outside of those top 3 opponents, each of whom beat UConn soundly.

Maryland looked ragged at the start of the year but, as it turns out, didn't lose to any bad teams. The Terps not only collected a slew of wins over top 25 and top 50 teams, but they also finished on a long win streak, which in the polls tends to be rewarded on some sort of de facto "what have you done for me lately" logic.

Maryland would have been the #1 seed in Fort Wayne and, based on résumé quality, they earned every bit of it.

 

[kat0189]

Good for Kiki and Stanford!

Can Haley Jones really play PG? I like the front court talent, but after Williams leaves, the backcourt looks light.

The million dollar question! Although I do think the PG from Colorado Jana Van Gytenbeek looks good, I worry they might not have enough backcourt firepower to complement their outstanding frontline. I mean, wow. They're even more loaded inside now than they were when they had Jayne Appel, Kayla Pedersen, and Nneka Ogwumike together that one year.

 

[JonathanXIV]

This isn't really accurate.

UConn just didn't collect quality wins. Their only wins over NCAA at-large caliber teams were DePaul, Ohio State, and (bubble team) Tennessee. Compared to other years, UConn's nonconference schedule just wasn't very good outside of those top 3 opponents, each of whom beat UConn soundly.

Maryland looked ragged at the start of the year but, as it turns out, didn't lose to any bad teams. The Terps not only collected a slew of wins over top 25 and top 50 teams, but they also finished on a long win streak, which in the polls tends to be rewarded on some sort of de facto "what have you done for me lately" logic.

Maryland would have been the #1 seed in Fort Wayne and, based on résumé quality, they earned every bit of it.

And would have disappointed in the tournament. After all, they are Maryland.

 

[TheFarmFan]

We're excited to have her, and it sounds like she will be a great contribution to the program and a great fit for the Stanford community. This must have been the "Christmas" present our assistant coach was promising we'd get at the end of July, just with a few "delivery delays."

More broadly, I agree that at this point Stanford has so much to work with in the paint, but a Kiki Rice would really round things out nicely. We have one more spot available for 2021 and I don't think it's likely we'll land Fudd, those with insider knowledge said on our board this morning that Stanford is not recruiting Fudd, and we are done for 2021, but I agree a top rated PG should definitely be a high recruiting priority over the next year.

And Tara was very prescient to switch to the Princeton, because she has so many versatile players that can shoot from all over. Haley Jones's skill set goes without saying at this point. For a 6'4" post, Brink's handle and 3 point shooting is pretty fantastic. Even our big big, Ashten Prechtel, is a strong threat from outside. And the Hull twins play much taller than they are in terms of rebounding, but also defend like 5'10" guards. Assuming everyone stays healthy, Tara has so many pieces to work with, and I can't wait to see how she spreads out responsibilities among these several very talented classes.

And yes: UConn stands alone because UConn has Geno and everybody else doesn't. Unless and until that's not true, there's no question in my mind who's #1.

 

[CocoHusky]

Iriafen's a tremendous player. Would've been a massive pickup for UConn. Disappointing but saw it coming for a while.

Agreed. I think it is now Azzi or nothing else for UCONN in 2021 class. Hollingshead & Marshall as still out there but I think UCONN moves on. Adding Azzi and one other player puts the roster at 15 and eliminates the possibility of Evina returning for a senior season.

 

[Argonaut]

This isn't really accurate.

UConn just didn't collect quality wins. Their only wins over NCAA at-large caliber teams were DePaul, Ohio State, and (bubble team) Tennessee. Compared to other years, UConn's nonconference schedule just wasn't very good outside of those top 3 opponents, each of whom beat UConn soundly.

Maryland looked ragged at the start of the year but, as it turns out, didn't lose to any bad teams. The Terps not only collected a slew of wins over top 25 and top 50 teams, but they also finished on a long win streak, which in the polls tends to be rewarded on some sort of de facto "what have you done for me lately" logic.

Maryland would have been the #1 seed in Fort Wayne and, based on résumé quality, they earned every bit of it.

I don’t disagree with anything you said, however, this is the year that UConn didn’t get a hallmark win over a big program, so this is when conference strength finally did them dirty.

Maryland had quality wins from conference games to balance out their losses, which UConn didn’t (loads of wins, no real quality). If UConn had a similar strength of conference and the same losses, they would have definitely been ranked ahead of Maryland at the end of the season.

 

[Plebe]

I don’t disagree with anything you said, however, this is the year that UConn didn’t get a hallmark win over a big program, so this is when conference strength finally did them dirty.

Maryland had quality wins from conference games to balance out their losses, which UConn didn’t (loads of wins, no real quality). If UConn had a similar strength of conference and the same losses, they would have definitely been ranked ahead of Maryland at the end of the season.

Chalking it up to conference strength is the facile explanation.

If UConn had as many games against teams in the 5-50 range as Maryland did, it's quite possible, maybe even likely, they would have suffered additional losses.

 

[JonathanXIV]

Chalking it up to conference strength is the facile explanation.

If UConn had as many games against teams in the 5-50 range as Maryland did, it's quite possible, maybe even likely, they would have suffered additional losses.

Not necessarily. UConn's losses, as usual, came against the very best teams in the country. UConn rarely loses to a team that they are expected to beat. Can't say the same about Maryland.

 

[Argonaut]

Chalking it up to conference strength is the facile explanation.

If UConn had as many games against teams in the 5-50 range as Maryland did, it's quite possible, maybe even likely, they would have suffered additional losses.

I’m confident that UConn would have beaten Iowa and Northwestern. I’m about 75% confident they would have beaten NC State.

Both teams lost to SC.

Maryland didn’t have then personnel to beat Oregon or Baylor.

Are you telling me that if Maryland had the exact same losses and played in the American they would have been considered for a #1 seed?

We can move this to another thread if you want — this one should be about Kiki and Stanford.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

I would have liked to have seen the Regional Final @ Ft. Wayne if Maryland had made the final vs. UCONN. UCONN would have won by more than 20, so the conversation of "how Maryland will handle SC, Baylor, and/or Oregon" would have ended by half time....

 

[Watchdog]

We're excited to have her, and it sounds like she will be a great contribution to the program and a great fit for the Stanford community. This must have been the "Christmas" present our assistant coach was promising we'd get at the end of July, just with a few "delivery delays."

More broadly, I agree that at this point Stanford has so much to work with in the paint, but a Kiki Rice would really round things out nicely. We have one more spot available for 2021 and I don't think it's likely we'll land Fudd, those with insider knowledge said on our board this morning that Stanford is not recruiting Fudd, and we are done for 2021, but I agree a top rated PG should definitely be a high recruiting priority over the next year.

And Tara was very prescient to switch to the Princeton, because she has so many versatile players that can shoot from all over. Haley Jones's skill set goes without saying at this point. For a 6'4" post, Brink's handle and 3 point shooting is pretty fantastic. Even our big big, Ashten Prechtel, is a strong threat from outside. And the Hull twins play much taller than they are in terms of rebounding, but also defend like 5'10" guards. Assuming everyone stays healthy, Tara has so many pieces to work with, and I can't wait to see how she spreads out responsibilities among these several very talented classes.

And yes: UConn stands alone because UConn has Geno and everybody else doesn't. Unless and until that's not true, there's no question in my mind who's #1.

Are Stanford fans losing hope for winning it all with Tara as coach? It's been 28 years (she won in 90 and 92) and people here would be pulling their (remaining) hair out by now if that was the case at UConn.

 

[Mdoggie]

Are Stanford fans losing hope for winning it all with Tara as coach? It's been 28 years (she won in 90 and 92) and people here would be pulling their (remaining) hair out by now if that was the case at UConn.

Unsure. Are Stanford WBB fans as rabid as UConn fans?

 

[TheFarmFan]

Unsure. Are Stanford WBB fans as rabid as UConn fans?

I think most of us are not as dogged and we also recognize that the admissions hurdles make our runs to a national championship more limited in likelihood. Nothing will ever unbreak my heart from 2010 and 2011, and I'd love nothing more than Tara to get a third natty, but more than anything it's just a love of the game that keeps me a fan.

Not coincidentally, that's the same reason why UConn is generally my runaway #2 team to be a fan of - almost always exceptionally well executed basketball. Who doesn't get a thrill watching DT, Maya, Stewie and now likely Bueckers achieve super human results on the court? Not to mention everybody's favorite lovable hard-@, Geno.

 

[bballnut90]

I would have liked to have seen the Regional Final @ Ft. Wayne if Maryland had made the final vs. UCONN. UCONN would have won by more than 20, so the conversation of "how Maryland will handle SC, Baylor, and/or Oregon" would have ended by half time....

UCONN wasn't ever going to Fort Wayne. Maryland was a lock for the #1 seed and Louisville was getting the #2 seed based on location. UCONN was going to Portland as the 2 and if they advanced to the regional finals, was likely facing Oregon in a road environment.