Reshaping of Basketball

[BfromCT]

It has become apparent over the last few years that NIL and ease of transfer (rent a basketball player) have profoundly reshaped basketball and not all in a good direction.

We have seen the emergence of huge super conferences (ACC, Big Ten, SEC, and Big 12) and with the remaining conferences of mid-majors and lower division 1 teams of essentially becoming feeders for the big ones. Economic greed has led to the destruction of the PAC with all its teams except for Oregon State and Washington State going to other conferences. The game is controlled by the four big conferences. Only one team from the other conferences (UConn) won more than one game in the recent tournament and we had two no. 1 seeds from the Big Ten and the other two from the SEC.

UConn represents an anomaly because the bulk of the team consists of talent that has been recruited and signed by Geno and his team. It almost seems as if the Huskies are a basketball unicorn. They represent a non power conference and rely primarily on players who have signed for the long haul. We expect, however, the UConn will use the portal to get one-year player to strengthen the center position and Geno has wisely used the transfer portal to obtain a player just about every year to fill in a gap. Now that Qadence Samuels has decided to transfer, it is possible that the Huskies will add a second, but the principle remains and the team has never to my memory lost an essential player who is part of the rotation and no one who has ever become a star at another school.

I can think of no other major basketball power that relies so little on the portal, although there may be others. Every other contender and pretender for a national championship relies much more heavily on transfers. Think LSU, Louisville, TCU, South Carolina, Kentucky, Maryland, etc. Louisville and Maryland seem to reload every year and Notre Dame will probably bring in 3-4 players before next season. According to ESPN, UCLA has had six players enter the portal and one person transferring in. It’s the wild, wild west.

What a tribute it is to Geno, Chris Dailey, and the rest of the staff that the bulk of the team consists year after year of players who have signed out of high school and remain for four years. How lucky we are!

 

[Sifaka]

I thought it was still round. </snark>

Excellent observations. Dawn Staley follows a similar pattern at South Carolina, albeit with more movements in and out. As college sports continues its move towards pay-to-play, it will be interesting to see if the relative stability of these two leading programs continues to produce, if not championships, at least superior teams.

Right now the power in the employer-employee relationship has gone from 100% employer to something approaching the reverse. If the court battles about college athletes being employees (see Dartmouth men's basketball case) ends with some sort of collective bargaining agreement, don't be surprised to see a new equilibrium in which athletes are contractually bound to spend more than one year at a school in return for whatever compensation they are given. The students will thus have attained the same ‘freedom of movement’ that coaches have always had, in return for vaguely similar buyout provisions in their contracts.

 

[BRS24]

Call me a homer, however I truly believe that UConn recruits not just for four years, but for life. Call me crazy, however when Sarah's mom and Paige post this picture of alums, with the caption "This.Is.Why.", it tells a story of the legacy, history, and relationship building at UConn. Family.

There have been very few transfers that have left on less than good terms (and no, I don't want to argue or discuss them here). Think about it - Walker and Westbrook were #1 and 2, we recruited Walker, and Evina ended here as a beloved Husky after a few years. Inès is best friends with current players. Recruiting isn't an exact science, and even Geno has admitted some mistakes in the past. Dawn works hard at keeping players for 4 years, however there is a lot of outside influence and pressure on players, and most coaches are experiencing it.

 

[oldude]

So why do players come to and stay at UConn?

• opportunity to win championships
• develop as a “pro-ready” player
• NIL?

There is one other reason to come to UConn that I have been thinking about since Sunday afternoon. It’s embodied by the emotional hug between Geno and Paige as she came off the court for the last time in a Husky uniform.

Every little girl who plays basketball, every HS girls basketball player, every college player and every player in the W wants THAT!!! They all want the love and respect of that old curmudgeon who’s demanded their very best and loves them for giving everything they had in return.

 

[From France]

Samarie Walker was THE exception as a rotation player off the bench during her freshman season in 2010-11 transferring (17 games, 18.8 MPG, 6.2 PPG, 5.8 RPG)

UConn freshman Walker transfers to Kentucky

In 3 years at Kentucky, she played in 96 games, starting 79 for averages of 8.7 points and 8.1 rebounds.

 

[Rowdy831]

This is a slippery slope and Dawn has started down this hill and it will end with South Carolina losing and picking up entire lineups before too long. The key to not falling victim to the Portal is not to endulge in the portal in the first place. UConn has always been careful to only add Graduate Transfers and that is different than building your team from players that quit another program. In many cases that program did the same thing to its players so they had it coming.

As soon as UConn decides the Portal is a great place to bolster their roster they will learn the hard way the ugly underbelly of the Portal beast. I really hope they continue to get players that are looking for something other than a quick buck but as you can clearly see it is currently at epidemic levels in the sport.

 

[Ozimoto]

What UConn women's basketball has was built in another era and it has been maintained by the extraordinary people in the program, both coaches/staff and players. It will be very hard to maintain the program in the modern era when the inevitable change in the staff comes. If the legacy continues, it will be quite the testimonial to the foundation Geno, Chris, their staff and their players have built.

 

[oldude]

This is a slippery slope and Dawn has started down this hill and it will end with South Carolina losing and picking up entire lineups before too long. The key to not falling victim to the Portal is not to endulge in the portal in the first place. UConn has always been careful to only add Graduate Transfers and that is different than building your team from players that quit another program. In many cases that program did the same thing to its players so they had it coming.

As soon as UConn decides the Portal is a great place to bolster their roster they will learn the hard way the ugly underbelly of the Portal beast. I really hope they continue to get players that are looking for something other than a quick buck but as you can clearly see it is currently at epidemic levels in the sport.

Just to clarify. UConn does not just bring in graduate transfers. It may have been before the official creation of the portal, but UConn brought in a number of undergraduate transfers including Nat, Z and E to name a few.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Diana touched on the future of NIL and tossed out the idea of a "buyout," supporting the school who develops the talent of a player (specifically speaking on smaller programs with one star who gets "plucked" by another *bigger team.

It would never happen in officiating, but DII and DIII coordinators put in a ton of time developing refs...only to watch them jump to DI. Which is. of course, the trajectory, but it's hard for them to replace the ones who move....

 

[my2cents]

The UConn brand is built on team play. If a player's individual goals are scoring more points and more playing time, UConn is not for you. Even if you have a prior great resume.
You come to UConn for an opportunity to showcase your abilities against the best teams in college basketball and play for championships.
Exposure is the number one attraction for any UConn player. Lou Lopez-Senechal is a perfect example. At Fairfield, nobody would have realized how good she was until she came to the big stage at UConn and was great.

 

[Skeets]

Unless something changes there will be P4 schools, another school we know something about, and a small number of other non-P4 schools. Every other school might be best served by forming something like "D1a" where they are competitive. 200 (+/-) schools could be left out in the cold.

 

[Bone Dog]

Just to clarify. UConn does not just bring in graduate transfers. It may have been before the official creation of the portal, but UConn brought in a number of undergraduate transfers including Nat, Z and E to name a few.

Speaking of Evina, Geno has said on a few occasions that her case was partly a compassionate decision. I think he felt some pressure to explain what appeared to be another departure from his usual practice.

 

[oldude]

Speaking of Evina, Geno has said on a few occasions that her case was partly a compassionate decision. I think he felt some pressure to explain what appeared to be another departure from his usual practice.

Compassion? Maybe. But it’s a lot easier to have compassion for someone who can really play.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Unless something changes there will be P4 schools, another school we know something about, and a small number of other non-P4 schools. Every other school might be best served by forming something like "D1a" where they are competitive. 200 (+/-) schools could be left out in the cold.

That's probably where things are headed, but just know the P4 isn't going to include UConn in their club. UConn would be stuck in your hypothetical D1a league.

 

[Bone Dog]

Compassion? Maybe. But it’s a lot easier to have compassion for someone who can really play.

Maybe so, but Evina arrived in need of knee surgery. And the NCAA required her to sit out a year. I loved Evina’s game, don’t get me wrong. She was a classics Swiss Army knife player and Geno loves those types. But he wasn’t just bringing in a ‘hired gun.’ He was bringing in a glue player, and whatever happened to her at Tennessee, he knew she could hold his team together.

 

[ec33]

Family.

Even those that leave for playing time at a different school are still part of the program. We saw Ines Bettencourt after the USC game (Gonzaga being in the area).

UConn is not alone, though. I thought Kaitlin Chen with her former teammates after the championship was one of the better images from the post-championship celebration.

Programs that rely heavily on the portal might be able to amass more talent, but I suspect most will be lacking in chemistry on and off the court, outside of those few with dynamic leaders (like an Evina Westbrook).

 

[Next 12]

All the above posts are eloquent and well written. I agree with their posts. I am not that eloquent as I post from my heart,and am not analytical. Geno,Chris and the other coaches that Geno has are TEAM and FAMILY orientated in their observance of how a team should be coached.No show boaters, no I'm the star and no distractions. I love watching the bench with their exuberance and passion every time some one scores. That is "old fashion BB" and I love it. Uconn has her "stars" and many,many of them, but it still was team all the way.I guess it's because of Geno, but I am permanently hooked on Uconn BB and I know I will never change. I hope he never changes, The future is looking very bright for Uconn in the next few years and I know we have a few more NC's ahead. GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!!!

 

[Vowelguy]

Thank goodness. Based on the thread title I was worried they were moving to an oblong ball.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

There was a real cautionary tale in the aftermath of the NCAA Tournament and its name is UCLA. In the Final Four and the entire freshman class and 2 upperclassmen boogie. Spent most of the year as #1 and these 6 are going away unhappy and in doing so the have hanged something unpleasant around Corey Close's neck. Who knows maybe it is deserved. Maybe it is simple as each of them believing they deserved more playing time. But it is a new day in basketball and UCLA is a cautionary tale.

 

[ucmiami2]

My image is of Dawn fighting the tears as she talked about 'her seniors' who were leaving after having been to four final fours, and what a foundation they laid for the program.

So, how many coaches (including Dawn) will be sitting there talking about their 4 year seniors, and not what a great purchase ___________ was and how she and the other three players from the portal were great rentals, and I hope I can find more this coming year! It is becoming dangerously close to the 'one and done' universe of men's basketball with an elite and then 90% of the colleges being a farm system feeding the big league.

And what is lost is that 'sisterhood' that develops over four years of college. And what a 'liberal arts' education is supposed to be - a period between HS and career during which a person learns about themself, the world outside a generally sheltered childhood, and how to think and organize/analyze that influx of new information into an adult body and mind. Non-athletes pay large money to experience that, and athletes used to get it for free - a huge advantage compared to the millions who spend the first 10+ years paying off that debt. Now the equation has changed and I don't blame anyone taking the money, but they are in danger of chasing that as the primary purpose of college and losing out on something they may miss for the rest of their life (whether than know it or not.)

Only one team 'wins' each year, so selling out everything to chase that win is a disaster for every other team. And if you do that, you mess with the whole idea of 'team'. A lot of coaches are seeing that when not only did you not win, but the freshman you work so hard to attract are leaving because they aren't getting the attention you promised, because you brought in 'stars' to play over them.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

There was a real cautionary tale in the aftermath of the NCAA Tournament and its name is UCLA. In the Final Four and the entire freshman class and 2 upperclassmen boogie. Spent most of the year as #1 and these 6 are going away unhappy and in doing so the have hanged something unpleasant around Corey Close's neck. Who knows maybe it is deserved. Maybe it is simple as each of them believing they deserved more playing time. But it is a new day in basketball and UCLA is a cautionary tale.

Absolutely. Seeing things from close up here in Arizona, one realizes that playing time and starting and the rest of it are important. Arizona experienced a lot of transfers that were at least partly due to those sorts of reasons, including the classic "recruited over". The difference for UConn is that there are side benefits - contending for a national championship, being coached by Geno, being (obviously) one of the top players in the country, looking at a WNBA opportunity if you want it - that other programs cannot offer.

I fully agree with folks who worry that UConn (at least post Geno) along with many many programs are facing long term difficulties in incenting players financially. Again, UConn being UConn with Geno and the likelihood of a Final Four and strong chance at a national championship offsets this a bit, I suspect.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Diana touched on the future of NIL and tossed out the idea of a "buyout," supporting the school who develops the talent of a player (specifically speaking on smaller programs with one star who gets "plucked" by another *bigger team.

It would never happen in officiating, but DII and DIII coordinators put in a ton of time developing refs...only to watch them jump to DI. Which is. of course, the trajectory, but it's hard for them to replace the ones who move....

Much less over-arching, but in a secondary statement on social media to Arizona fans wishing the program well, Adia Barnes suggested that the future for many teams is developing players for the next program they are going to move to. She also commented on the lack of NIL here in Arizona, thus making it impossible to retain players whose value you have increased,. The lack of funding for Arizona schools and the Big 12 was mentioned in a national article I was reading.

 

[MooseJaw]

I thought it was still round. </snark>

Excellent observations. Dawn Staley follows a similar pattern at South Carolina, albeit with more movements in and out. As college sports continues its move towards pay-to-play, it will be interesting to see if the relative stability of these two leading programs continues to produce, if not championships, at least superior teams.

Right now the power in the employer-employee relationship has gone from 100% employer to something approaching the reverse. If the court battles about college athletes being employees (see Dartmouth men's basketball case) ends with some sort of collective bargaining agreement, don't be surprised to see a new equilibrium in which athletes are contractually bound to spend more than one year at a school in return for whatever compensation they are given. The students will thus have attained the same ‘freedom of movement’ that coaches have always had, in return for vaguely similar buyout provisions in their contracts.

Sorry but Dawn is a much more into the portal than you alluded to. What does follow a similar pattern with more ins and outs mean? She is and has been a portal poacher.

 

[Dogdude]

Thank goodness. Based on the thread title I was worried they were moving to an oblong ball.

Glad I'm not the only one to think this...

 

[ucmiami2]

Sorry but Dawn is a much more into the portal than you alluded to. What does follow a similar pattern with more ins and outs mean? She is and has been a portal poacher.

She has certainly taken players from the portal, but generally they have filled a gap of experience, or been developmental behind a current star. This is the first year where she seemed to specifically sign over a developing star recruit sophomore (who then entered the portal.)