Loyality and the Portal

[LoboDays]

Some here suggest that Geno had a talk Piath and told her the reality of her situation. If that is true and Geno sits down with a player after the season and tells her that her chances of getting serious playing time are not good at UCONN, he is, in effect, using the portal as a pro-active strategy to strengthen his team.. and, not a reactive move to replace missing roster spots.

Coaches can use the portal just like players can. To improve their situation. This brings up the topic of loyalty and what it means in today’s “amateur” sports. What does a coach tell a recruit in order to entice her to come to his/her school? In UCONN’s case, it sells itself. A storied program, filled with a winning tradition, close-knit ties that last a lifetime and an opportunity to be part of a championship team. And, probably a commitment to make the recruit a better player.

All good, but now with the portal there as an added recruitment tool, coaches don’t need to fulfill that commitment to players like they did in the past. They can tell players (indirectly) if you want more playing time, the portal is for you. Knowing before the talk that he is going to use the portal to improve his team.

I’m not saying that this is wrong or even a bad thing. Just mentioning that loyality …coaches to players…..players to the school…is disappearing.

May the Portal be with you.

 

[Zarathustra]

Question: When a H.S. student SIGNS a letter of intent ... a written contract as
I think of it, is the school and the H.S. student commiting to four years?
In a different context, or the same context, the similiar question: Can a play
opt to sit on the bench, i.e. not play per the coach's discretion, and "complete'
the original " contract' to obtain her four years of education? I recall major
league baseball players signing long contracts, not living up to their potential
( whatever that might be), and the baseball team having to pay out the
remaining of their obligation. Please help me.... is the concept different?.
Could Piath have decided to stay at UCONN and collect the remaining
two years of the agreement? thanks for any insights and clarifications. Z

 

[uconnfan68]

"Some here suggest that Geno had a talk Piath and told her the reality of her situation. If that is true and Geno sits down with a player after the season..."

I'm sure it's true. Have you ever had a job where you didn't have an annual review? He also had one the year before where he gave her multiple things to work on. Whether she did them satisfactorily is a subject in the 2nd year review. She seemed to be a good teammate, and she has physical gifts that are unique enough for her to get an opportunity to play at UConn... but... if she doesn't improve in the areas she's been tasked to improve on, well, sorry, but this may not be a place for you. She seemed to be much better offensively, but very limited to rote moves. It all goes to understanding the game and where she fits in. Some kids just don't get there. Others with fewer physical gifts make up for it by their understanding. Sometimes we get lucky and they have both. I wish her the best.

 

[ConnMotors]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought that scholarships were not guaranteed. That they were renewed yearly. And, the coaching staff does discuss each player after the season comes to an end. Then Geno does have a one on one with each player.

 

[LoboDays]

"Some here suggest that Geno had a talk Piath and told her the reality of her situation. If that is true and Geno sits down with a player after the season..."

I'm sure it's true. Have you ever had a job where you didn't have an annual review? He also had one the year before where he gave her multiple things to work on. Whether she did them satisfactorily is a subject in the 2nd year review. She seemed to be a good teammate, and she has physical gifts that are unique enough for her to get an opportunity to play at UConn... but... if she doesn't improve in the areas she's been tasked to improve on, well, sorry, but this may not be a place for you. She seemed to be much better offensively, but very limited to rote moves. It all goes to understanding the game and where she fits in. Some kids just don't get there. Others with fewer physical gifts make up for it by their understanding. Sometimes we get lucky and they have both. I wish her the best.

My point is the “talk” has changed with the introduction of the Portal. I doubt very much that “this isn’t the place for you” was uttered to a 2nd year player when a coach didn’t have the portal to upgrade his team. Coaches can give up on their players now rather to work on their improvement.

 

[Huskee11]

People have different opinions on the basic big picture question of whether the portal - or, more specifically, the freedom now afforded players due largely to the immediate eligibility rules - is a good thing or a bad thing.

The knee jerk reaction is good if it helps your team, bad if it hurts your team.

It is certainly chaotic, messy, and creates uncertainty. Over 1000 entrants! For some players it is a great opportunity, a second chance. For many others, a path to nowhere. The grass may not always be greener, but sometimes it is.

For some who stay put, they may find that their team has been strengthened but possibly at their personal expense. That of course can happen through the regular recruiting process as well.

We are not privy to the conversations that coaches have with players at the end of the season. The "annual review" described in a post earlier. It is unusual though not unprecedented for a coach to pull a scholarship (see recent article about the entire Grambling volleyball team being cut). Pushing a player out the door seems unseemly if phrased that way, but on the other hand a coach does owe all of his or her players honesty in assessing her strengths and weaknesses, and prospects for future playing time.

No knock on Piath, who seems to be a wonderful teammate and a hard worker, but I think it is pretty clear to anyone who has followed the team closely that there was virtually no path for her to see meaningful playing time at UConn. There are many other players at the 4-5 positions who are simply more advanced. She has made improvement but the gap remains large. It doesn`t take a Geno Auriemma to figure that out or to communicate it to her honestly.

I have yet to meet a player that prefers sitting on a bench to playing. But if a player in that situation chooses to stay for whatever reason - maybe the academics, now there`s a novel thought - it is highly unlikely that the Coach will go to the extreme length of pulling the scholarship. There is generally some "loyalty" in that regard.

Players, whether starters playing 35 minutes per game or benchwarmers, may choose to leave for a variety of reasons as well. "Loyalty" to the current coach or program may enter into the decision, or not. If we look towards professional sports, players are changing teams all the time. If we look outside the sports world, people are changing jobs all the time. So, why should this be any different? Loyalty is to the individual, her career, her family first. Selfish? Nah, I don`t think so.

Back to the initial question about the portal - I think it is a good thing. Because simply stated, I think the more freedom, the better.

 

[MD#12Fan]

The key point is that IMO, Geno's greatest responsibility is looking out for the welfare of his players. Maybe he is encouraging her to explore other options. It can't always be viewed as recruiting snafus, sometimes the player does not develop adequately in order to advance in the program. Despite total lack of meaningful PT, she has gotten state-of-the-art training the last two years.
I used to be a supervisor at UPS. The BEST thing we could do for an employee is to work with them, keep them well informed of their progress/performance, and get them whatever they would need to be successful. After that, it is up to the employee to meet expectations. If this is done, everyone parts or stays on good terms, knowing that best efforts were made by all concerned. A principle part of accountability is that the person feels that it is possible to do the job. If that is missing, it is all corrupted.
I think she got a fair shake. One note: big people are a unique species. She may wake up tomorrow dunking over her brother.
Best of luck to her!

 

[TeamFirst!]

Just like Lebron and other NBA players teaming up to coordinate where they sign, we are seeing the creation of super teams. The top will get better. The secondary schools will struggle to have major success. It will be more difficult than ever for secondary programs to emerge at the top. The college game is now structurally stratefied. Schools like Depaul will struggle to keep players like Aneesa Morrow for even 3 years let alone 4. Morrow might be an anomaly as she is so Chicago centric but many great players are going to bail on secondary schools for better exposure. If anything, this should help programs like Uconn, Stanford and SC.

 

[LoboDays]

Just like Lebron and other NBA players teaming up to coordinate where they sign, we are seeing the creation of super teams. The top will get better. The secondary schools will struggle to have major success. It will be more difficult than ever for secondary programs to emerge at the top. The college game is now structurally stratefied. Schools like Depaul will struggle to keep players like Aneesa Morrow for even 3 years let alone 4. Morrow might be an anomaly as she is so Chicago centric but many great players are going to bail on secondary schools for better exposure. If anything, this should help programs like Uconn, Stanford and SC.

Somewhat related is todays interview with Clemson Football coach Dabo Sweeney suggesting that a new football conference is coming. From a womens BB POV , I fear that you are right…..the rich will get richer. That would be a step in the wrong direction.

Dabo: College football needs 'complete blowup'

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney says the lack of uniformity across college football will lead to a "complete blowup" of the system.

www.espn.com

 

[BobbyJ]

My point is the “talk” has changed with the introduction of the Portal. I doubt very much that “this isn’t the place for you” was uttered to a 2nd year player when a coach didn’t have the portal to upgrade his team. Coaches can give up on their players now rather to work on their improvement.

The portal has always been there, there just wasn't a formal name for it. Transfers have been going on forever. And coaches, some more so than others, have used "advised" transfers to manage their rosters all along. The difference maker has been the elimination of the year wait to be eligible. Coaches with integrity used them more sparingly, usually to deal with academic or disciplinary problems that they didn't want to spend a scholarship on. Less scrupulous coaches have used it mainly to upgrade the talent on their roster showing less commitment to certain kids. Having to wait a year for the presumed star transfer to be eligible tempered the use somewhat but they still advised some kids to transfer to open up slots for more recruits that they considered an upgrade. The "no wait" rule is an equalizer allowing kids as much control over their situation as the coaches have. Especially if they feel they've been "recruited over" or the coaching staff isn't what they had been "sold". I think it's a positive to prevent a small percentage of schools to stockpile talent. But it does force the kids to use it judiciously to avoid winding up with no place to land. And obviously, many aren't doing that.

 

[MD#12Fan]

Just like Lebron and other NBA players teaming up to coordinate where they sign, we are seeing the creation of super teams. The top will get better. The secondary schools will struggle to have major success. It will be more difficult than ever for secondary programs to emerge at the top. The college game is now structurally stratefied. Schools like Depaul will struggle to keep players like Aneesa Morrow for even 3 years let alone 4. Morrow might be an anomaly as she is so Chicago centric but many great players are going to bail on secondary schools for better exposure. If anything, this should help programs like Uconn, Stanford and SC.

Not sure I see it the same way. I could argue the opposite. MD is a top-10 team year after year. Their two best players are in the portal. Do you see them going to a "blue blood"? Remember how Arkansas became relevant for a minute, long enough to thump UConn. Maybe middle-of-the-road teams will get better quicker. The "blue bloods" like UConn, Stanford, SC will always go the route of developing young players, recruited players. Lesser programs can get rich quicker by using the portal. Could it be DePaul? Maybe Morrow will get some friends to play with, rather than her leaving, like suggested. Maybe Bruno's system is fun to play in. (Guru of Go- Paul Westhead at LMU- snagged Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble from USC and became seriously relevant)
I think it will be fascinating to see where the best players end up. I personally think MORE teams will enter the fray.
Does Angel Reese really want to lock horns with HOF coaches her last couple of years. Coming into a program being "behind" from day 1. Fussing that she belongs at the 2 and not at the 4. What about going to a Virginia Tech or Duke, getting promises from upstart programs, and helping to move them forward. You think Kara would have trouble with Angel? Heck she dealt with Marcus, Jason, and Jalen ok.

 

[UcMiami]

I am pretty sure every good coach sits down with each player at the end of each season and reviews the good and bad of the past year, where they stand re their stated goals, identifies what the player needs to work on specifically, and with non-starters what their prospects of starting the next year and/or increasing their minutes are.

While the NCAA LOI is not a four year commitment for the school, most women's coaches consider it one unless their is a serious commitment or academic issues, or if there is a behavioral issue (internal, campus wide, or external.) Uconn has had a number of scholarship players who never got serious minutes and seemed happy - the portal may change that equation a bit for some players.

The trade off for marginal players at top 10 schools is being part of a contending NC team with a bunch of friends and traveling in style vs. playing more of minutes for a an also ran team or minor conference champion.

 

[CocoHusky]

Question: When a H.S. student SIGNS a letter of intent ... a written contract as
I think of it, is the school and the H.S. student commiting to four years?
In a different context, or the same context, the similiar question: Can a play
opt to sit on the bench, i.e. not play per the coach's discretion, and "complete'
the original " contract' to obtain her four years of education? I recall major
league baseball players signing long contracts, not living up to their potential
( whatever that might be), and the baseball team having to pay out the
remaining of their obligation. Please help me.... is the concept different?.
Could Piath have decided to stay at UCONN and collect the remaining
two years of the agreement? thanks for any insights and clarifications. Z

No. For most student-athletes, athletic scholarships are awarded for one year only and renewed annually. Most coaches and programs see one-year scholarships as not much different than multi-year scholarships, because they automatically renew them if the athlete has no academic or conduct issues but the schools are not obligated to do so.

Baseball operates slightly differently for the NCAA. High school players are eligible only after HS graduation, and if they have not attended college. Players at four-year colleges and universities are eligible three years after first enrolling in such an institution, or after their 21st birthdays.

Paith could certainly have decided to stay and UCONN would mostly likely have had her scholarship renewed for the coming season.

Much of what you are reading regarding Piath including this thread is rather reckless speculation and irresponsible conjecture. It is highly irresponsible to speculate that Geno asked Piath to leave to make room for a player from the portal as is being suggested in this thread and in several other threads. Geno does not operate this way and the UCONN roster before Piath departure was 11. That roster size left plenty of room for Geno to add 1, 2, 3, or 4 Players from the portal if he wanted to. Piath left because she wanted to leave.

 

[Centerstream]

Much of what you are reading regarding Piath including this thread is rather reckless speculation and irresponsible conjecture. It is highly irresponsible to speculate that Geno asked Piath to leave to make room for a player from the portal as is being suggested in this thread and in several other threads. Geno does not operate this way and the UCONN roster before Piath departure was 11. That roster size left plenty of room for Geno to add 1, 2, 3, or 4 Players from the portal if he wanted to. Piath left because she wanted to leave.

Gotta agree with you but it is the off season where a good number of threads and posts (I'm guilty) are speculation and conjecture. I would hope that Geno wouldn't suggest to a player to leave. But any thing is possible nowadays.

 

[MD#12Fan]

The portal has always been there, there just wasn't a formal name for it. Transfers have been going on forever. And coaches, some more so than others, have used "advised" transfers to manage their rosters all along. The difference maker has been the elimination of the year wait to be eligible. Coaches with integrity used them more sparingly, usually to deal with academic or disciplinary problems that they didn't want to spend a scholarship on. Less scrupulous coaches have used it mainly to upgrade the talent on their roster showing less commitment to certain kids. Having to wait a year for the presumed star transfer to be eligible tempered the use somewhat but they still advised some kids to transfer to open up slots for more recruits that they considered an upgrade. The "no wait" rule is an equalizer allowing kids as much control over their situation as the coaches have. Especially if they feel they've been "recruited over" or the coaching staff isn't what they had been "sold". I think it's a positive to prevent a small percentage of schools to stockpile talent. But it does force the kids to use it judiciously to avoid winding up with no place to land. And obviously, many aren't doing that.

Kids come in all shapes and sizes, from all kinds of backgrounds. It's about them. Education at any level is about kids, not institutions.
Have you ever quit a job, in which you were terribly unhappy at, before you had another job in hand. Done it twice. Got lucky both times. Both times ended up in better situations for me. I'm leaving the Alaska tundra for a little piece of paradise, Kodiak Island. Had to roll the dice. Can't wait to sit on a bar stool, sipping a cold one, watching a UConn WCBB game.
See what happens with these kids. You're right, some will be left out in the cold. Time to move on to something else.

 

[Zarathustra]

No. For most student-athletes, athletic scholarships are awarded for one year only and renewed annually. Most coaches and programs see one-year scholarships as not much different than multi-year scholarships, because they automatically renew them if the athlete has no academic or conduct issues but the schools are not obligated to do so.

Baseball operates slightly differently for the NCAA. High school players are eligible only after HS graduation, and if they have not attended college. Players at four-year colleges and universities are eligible three years after first enrolling in such an institution, or after their 21st birthdays.

Paith could certainly have decided to stay and UCONN would mostly likely have had her scholarship renewed for the coming season.

Much of what you are reading regarding Piath including this thread is rather reckless speculation and irresponsible conjecture. It is highly irresponsible to speculate that Geno asked Piath to leave to make room for a player from the portal as is being suggested in this thread and in several other threads. Geno does not operate this way and the UCONN roster before Piath departure was 11. That roster size left plenty of room for Geno to add 1, 2, 3, or 4 Players from the portal if he wanted to. Piath left because she wanted to leave.

Thank you for the information and clarification. Z

 

[CocoHusky]

No disrespect intended, I actually wish Piath well. Piath played 119 minutes for UCONN in two season. The need for an additional guard/wing and post player from the portal for next season had nothing to do with Piath. It had everything to do with UCONN getting back to the championship game and hopefully getting over the hump this time.

 

[uconnfan68]

My point is the “talk” has changed with the introduction of the Portal. I doubt very much that “this isn’t the place for you” was uttered to a 2nd year player when a coach didn’t have the portal to upgrade his team. Coaches can give up on their players now rather to work on their improvement.

I doubt that Geno ever told someone to leave, but I’m going to say he was brutally honest about their situation. Just because they may not play doesn’t mean they don’t matter to him. He values their total contributions, on and off the court.

 

[FairView]

I doubt that Geno ever told someone to leave, but I’m going to say he was brutally honest about their situation. Just because they may not play doesn’t mean they don’t matter to him. He values their total contributions, on and off the court.

I am sure Geno is brutally honest with every player and has been every year of his career. That is a mark of a good manager. What's the value in sugar coating and beating around the bush? That cheats the individual and the organization. Brutally honest doesn't mean cruel or hurtful, but anything less than a frank, honest evaluation and talk about potential is a disservice to everyone. I feel bad whenever a kid leaves. I dunno, I guess it's a sentimentality about the team as family. But ultimately, Piath or any other player needs to do what they think is best for them.
Go Piath!

 

[BRS24]

Before a player commits to, and gets to UConn, Geno makes no promises as to positions, playing time, starting, etc. I would expect that he would do the same at year end evals, and outlines G&Os for the next season, without setting any expectations on what is going to happen.

 

[LoboDays]

Before a player commits to, and gets to UConn, Geno makes no promises as to positions, playing time, starting, etc. I would expect that he would do the same at year end evals, and outlines G&Os for the next season, without setting any expectations on what is going to happen.

I strongly doubt that Geno’s pitch to Paige regarding his expectations about playing time and starting was the same as the pitch to Piath.

And it makes no sense to me that year-end talk to certain players hasn’t changed knowing he has the Portal in his pocket to improve his roster. It would be like being handed a golden egg and using it to make an omelette.

 

[CocoHusky]

I strongly doubt that Geno’s pitch to Paige regarding his expectations about playing time and starting was the same as the pitch to Piath.

And it makes no sense to me that year-end talk to certain players hasn’t changed knowing he has the Portal in his pocket to improve his roster. It would be like being handed a golden egg and using it to make an omelette.

Your first myth is that Geno has conversations with players regarding playing time -this does not happen. Well there was the one conversation that Sadie Edwards initiated but that did go so well for her.

Your second myth is because you perceive the portal as a "brand new tool" to improve the roster and it simply is not new. The portal is a collection of players looking to transfer. Before the portal existed Geno certainly used transfers to improve the roster. Natalie Butler, and Azura Stevens ended up at UCONN without a portal because the portal did not exists. The only aspect that is new is that players transferring for the first time are now immediately eligible as has already been pointed out in @BobbyJ post.

Year end talks are also not new nor are they unique to UCONN and Geno . Every school has these end of year talk and evaluations and players make decisions based on thier standing on the team. Do you really think that Piath had to have a conversation with Geno to figure out what her standing on the team was?

 

[TeamFirst!]

The portal is made up mostly of mediocre players thinking maybe they are better than evaluated by their current coaches and warrant more PT. It also has a component of players who really are good and want more exposure and fine tuning for maybe a pro career. That 2nd batch is very rare. A third batch is just real solid players who want to play for better teams. Peronally, I could see Oregon or Maryland emerging as a great power but let's be honest, it's been an exodus especially at Maryland. It's probably not happening and they will hemorrhage their best players for years to come unless something major changes.