New Era of Super Teams?

[Topdawg]

Every player wants to be a winner. At one time, it was about winning in basketball, to many it was also about academics. To some it was about staying close to home and making a difference in the home state. To others it was success on a national stage. Now it appears to be a lot more - social media, marketing, and NIL. At the same time, these young ladies have the perennial challenge of growing up to become mature women and leaders.

How will all of this unfold? In the women's game, the success of LSU has taught players that teams can come together out of the portal and become good enough to win a title. Interestingly, in the men's game, the opposite happened. The one and done teams flamed out and it was the teams with experience and cohesion that prevailed.

Do we think the women's game is going to see the equivalent of the one and done? Are the good players in the portal seeking to come together in super teams so they can make a splash and propel their careers beyond basketball? Which programs are going to take a new approach versus the traditional approach of training and maturing players. Many things to ponder as we see several capable players entering the transfer portal.

 

[Bone Dog]

I had a similar thought, sorta like in the NBA when Orlando or GS put together super teams and dominated. Or on the flip side when Brooklyn aimed at this and fizzled.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[oldude]

The immediate eligibility for transfers will certainly make it easier for top players to seek out championship opportunities with other teams. At the same time, after the 2024-25 season, the additional Covid year will go away, significantly limiting the overall pool of potential transfers, and returning the emphasis on recruiting and developing HS talent, something that will work to UConn’s advantage imo.

 

[Geew1992]

I had a similar thought, sorta like in the NBA when Orlando or GS put together super teams and dominated. Or on the flip side when Brooklyn aimed at this and fizzled.

Orlando? What super team did they have?

 

[hoopsdiva]

The immediate eligibility for transfers will certainly make it easier for top players to seek out championship opportunities with other teams. At the same time, after the 2024-25 season, the additional Covid year will go away, significantly limiting the overall pool of potential transfers, and returning the emphasis on recruiting and developing HS talent, something that will work to UConn’s advantage imo.

I hope you're right about the COVID year, but I fear that when that extra eligibility goes away, it will just shorten the time for players to seek greener grass elsewhere than the program that originally recruited and developed them.

I'd really like to see some limits on the portal, not specifically on the athletes but maybe on the programs, such as a limit on the number of transfers a school could accept. Kids would still be able to transfer out, but only to schools that have put most of their efforts into coaching, not poaching.

 

[Topdawg]

Orlando? What super team did they have?

He probably meant the Miami team with James, Wade, and crew. Remember the LeBron big reveal?

 

[oldude]

I hope you're right about the COVID year, but I fear that when that extra eligibility goes away, it will just shorten the time for players to seek greener grass elsewhere than the program that originally recruited and developed them.

I'd really like to see some limits on the portal, not specifically on the athletes but maybe on the programs, such as a limit on the number of transfers a school could accept. Kids would still be able to transfer out, but only to schools that have put most of their efforts into coaching, not poaching.

In my view, once these 5th year players go away, younger players will earn PT sooner, rather than having to wait an extra year, sitting behind some 5th year senior, who should have been out of eligibility after playing four years. That should eliminate some of the PT issues that cause younger players to transfer elsewhere.

 

[YSRFrisbee]

 

[Bone Dog]

Orlando? What super team did they have?

Oops! I meant to say Miami, and I was thinking of the James-Bosh-Wade years.

 

[psconn]

WNBA is having the same experience since the new CBA took effect. See LV and NY. Small market teams like the Sun will not be able to compete. It was amazing that Curt Miller was able to keep them as competitive as they were, but that's over.

 

[wingsfan055]

The Men's BB in a sense was already used to this turnover chaos with good players leaving after their freshman or sophomore years to the NBA/professional leagues prior to the Portal/NIL. The NIL will also have much less impact on the Men's game since you cant compare NIL money with the $$ you get getting drafted in the 1st Round (even the 2nd Round) of the NBA. It was the main reason why Hawk left - it was a no-brainer decision. He definitely could use the extra year of development at UConn, but as a clear Top 15 Pick in the NBA, you dont pass that up. He's set for life.

But, for the women's game, the Portal and NIL is like a whole new set of rules, and players now have much more power and influence than they did before. Successful, high visibility schools will benefit from NIL/Portal if their schools and coaches are flexible and use it to their advantage.

 

[DeepThreat]

Every player wants to be a winner. At one time, it was about winning in basketball, to many it was also about academics. To some it was about staying close to home and making a difference in the home state. To others it was success on a national stage. Now it appears to be a lot more - social media, marketing, and NIL. At the same time, these young ladies have the perennial challenge of growing up to become mature women and leaders.

How will all of this unfold? In the women's game, the success of LSU has taught players that teams can come together out of the portal and become good enough to win a title. Interestingly, in the men's game, the opposite happened. The one and done teams flamed out and it was the teams with experience and cohesion that prevailed.

Do we think the women's game is going to see the equivalent of the one and done? Are the good players in the portal seeking to come together in super teams so they can make a splash and propel their careers beyond basketball? Which programs are going to take a new approach versus the traditional approach of training and maturing players. Many things to ponder as we see several capable players entering the transfer portal.

I don't believe the one-and-done idea will be as applicable on the women's side. Why? The W has age restriction limits unlike the NBA. Secondly, players in the W earn far less than than the guys do. Thirdly, whilst players get immediate eligibility on their first transfer, I believe there are limits on the second transfer. As such it's incumbent on the players to make the right choice the first time. Lastly, the amount of coordination and collusion it would take to get 3-4 players to all go to the same school seems unrealistic.

 

[SEbluebood]

Every player wants to be a winner. At one time, it was about winning in basketball, to many it was also about academics. To some it was about staying close to home and making a difference in the home state. To others it was success on a national stage. Now it appears to be a lot more - social media, marketing, and NIL. At the same time, these young ladies have the perennial challenge of growing up to become mature women and leaders.

How will all of this unfold? In the women's game, the success of LSU has taught players that teams can come together out of the portal and become good enough to win a title. Interestingly, in the men's game, the opposite happened. The one and done teams flamed out and it was the teams with experience and cohesion that prevailed.

Do we think the women's game is going to see the equivalent of the one and done? Are the good players in the portal seeking to come together in super teams so they can make a splash and propel their careers beyond basketball? Which programs are going to take a new approach versus the traditional approach of training and maturing players. Many things to ponder as we see several capable players entering the transfer portal.

The opposite did not happen in the men’s game. The UCONN men had three key players that came from the portal. Other teams that advanced deep into the tournament also had key players from the portal.

 

[SEbluebood]

I hope you're right about the COVID year, but I fear that when that extra eligibility goes away, it will just shorten the time for players to seek greener grass elsewhere than the program that originally recruited and developed them.

I'd really like to see some limits on the portal, not specifically on the athletes but maybe on the programs, such as a limit on the number of transfers a school could accept. Kids would still be able to transfer out, but only to schools that have put most of their efforts into coaching, not poaching.

There is a limit on the portal for players as you can only transfer once with the ability to play without sitting out a season. The model school for transfers in and out is Maryland of course. Not sure how they sustain success with that model , but they do. Not sure other can duplicate!

 

[Topdawg]

The opposite did not happen in the men’s game. The UCONN men had three key players that came from the portal. Other teams that advanced deep into the tournament also had key players from the portal.

Thank you for your comment.

Four of the five starters including the stars Sanogo and Hawkins were already on the roster. I am not saying the men’s teams do not have transfers. Per the coach, he brought in players to fill specific roles.

In contrast, LSU’s key players came in as transfers. Kim built a team from scratch.

 

[topogigio]

The transfer portal, and NIL, will prove to be the demise of major college WBB as we know it. Just when it appeared that parity has entered the WCBB world, it will soon be a thing of the past. There will a handful of major players, and the rest of the teams relegated to the second tier. Fans will be turned off, and WCBB will soon have as large a following as women's crew!

 

[Pharos]

In light of all this... Does this title sound off to any of you?

‘The talent is evolving in women’s sports’: Comparing the Final Fours in Dallas and Houston

HOUSTON — Traffic along Interstate 69 is starting to get heavy as I navigate my car towards downtown Houston. Catching a glimpse of Minute Maid Park off to the …

andscape.com

Evolving?

 

[Rowdy831]

Transfers wanting to win a championship also have to find a team with a coach capable of winning one. It is unfair to think any coach can do what Kim Mulkey did this year. She is one of the top 3 coaches in the game and everything fell into place for her team in the tournament. The other thing about LSU is Reese is she is most likely the top player at her position in the country and she is freakishly athletic. I see portal players that are good, but not any that are going to make a team go from average to NC.

 

[dtbtbtb]

We are getting to the have and have not in WBB...different than MBB where the best players can leave to the NBA after 1 season, the impact of this on WBB will be profound. When a Hailey Van Lith who was the face of the team, had the green light to shoot whenever she wanted and play any amount of minutes she wanted, is leaving, something is very wrong....

 

[Huskie02]

The immediate eligibility for transfers will certainly make it easier for top players to seek out championship opportunities with other teams. At the same time, after the 2024-25 season, the additional Covid year will go away, significantly limiting the overall pool of potential transfers, and returning the emphasis on recruiting and developing HS talent, something that will work to UConn’s advantage imo.

This is going to ruin women’s college basketball. Players have a responsibility to do their own due diligence before accepting a scholarship. If a player decides she wants to leave for whatever reason after a season or two, there should be some type of penalty such as sitting out a year. There could be some exceptions such as a change in coaching or injury. The present system makes it to easy. Players will build their own teams just like the NBA. As a fan I lost interest in the men’s program for that very reason. The really good players opt out for the pros some only after 1-2 years. I find it hard to build a loyalty with the team when that happens. Coaches spend a terrific amount of time recruiting players building a program and then a player decides to leave for NIL endorsements or a better chance to win a championship with a better team. NOT FAIR!

 

[BRS24]

This is going to ruin women’s college basketball. Players have a responsibility to do their own due diligence before accepting a scholarship. If a player decides she wants to leave for whatever reason after a season or two, there should be some type of penalty such as sitting out a year. There could be some exceptions such as a change in coaching or injury. The present system makes it to easy. Players will build their own teams just like the NBA. As a fan I lost interest in the men’s program for that very reason. The really good players opt out for the pros some only after 1-2 years. I find it hard to build a loyalty with the team when that happens. Coaches spend a terrific amount of time recruiting players building a program and then a player decides to leave for NIL endorsements or a better chance to win a championship with a better team. NOT FAIR!

We've seen this already with the 2013 class at UNC - Diamond DeShields (3), Allisha Gray (7), Jessica Washington (14), Stephanie Mavunga (23). DeShields transferred after freshman year, Gray, Washington, and Mavunga left after sophomore year. You could argue that 1998 TASSK (Tamika, Ash, Sue, Swin, and Keirsten) was the first super team, however with both of these examples, it shows that when players decide to all go play together, the outcome is uncertain.

 

[CTBballfan243]

Eventually all the stars will end up in either the SEC or B1G. That is where are the money will be. Those conferences will have the best NIL deals to offer, and the most money to pay for facilities and coaches. It will be very interesting watching how this all plays out in the next few years.

 

[MSGRET]

We are getting to the have and have not in WBB...different than MBB where the best players can leave to the NBA after 1 season, the impact of this on WBB will be profound. When a Hailey Van Lith who was the face of the team, had the green light to shoot whenever she wanted and play any amount of minutes she wanted, is leaving, something is very wrong....

Maybe she saw Louisville going in the wrong direction and wants to have a chance to win at least one NC. Maybe she's a little homesick and wants to go back to the West coast. That doesn't mean something is wrong at Louisville, it's just not right for her.

 

[darrell]

Super teams are fun until everyone wants to be the star. I’ll continue to be fine with UConn building a roster of ego-less players who’ll buy into the system.