Stanford's Toni Kokenis may be done...

[pap49cba]

From the SF Chronicle:

"Unfortunately, it appears that Toni Kokenis, an All-Pac-12 guard in 2011-12, may be done as a college player as a result of a condition that VanDerveer won't disclose, for privacy reasons. Kokenis' absence was particularly apparent in the 61-59 loss to Georgia in the Spokane Region semifinals."

 

[katiecrum1992]

Poor kid. Hope she's ok!

 

[meyers7]

hmmm wonder if she's the last casualty of the scholarship mess? With her and Ruef not on scholarship and the 2 walk-ons, that gets them down to 15 scholarship players next year.

 

[EricLA]

Sad news indeed. My heart goes out to her. Hope she gets better or is ok!

 

[RadyLady]

there is a part of me that kinda hopes it;s the scholarship thing....no, maybe not. I just hate the thought of someone so young losing the ability to play a game they love.

Well, we may never know....

 

[Wonkster]

... Well, we may never know....

Sooner or later the rumor mill will smoke it out.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

hmmm wonder if she's the last casualty of the scholarship mess? With her and Ruef not on scholarship and the 2 walk-ons, that gets them down to 15 scholarship players next year.

Almost certainly not. Or are we doubting whatever is wrong with her? With her, they probably didn't lose the Pac final and might have made the FF4.

Now, if this was out of the blue, and she played till the end of the season, different story.

 

[meyers7]

Almost certainly not. Or are we doubting whatever is wrong with her?

Doubting what? We don't know what's wrong with her.

 

[Sakibomb25]

hmmm wonder if she's the last casualty of the scholarship mess? With her and Ruef not on scholarship and the 2 walk-ons, that gets them down to 15 scholarship players next year.

This is not a scholarship issue. She hasn't played since February and it's something that has been bothering her since last year, in fact. It just got so bad that she couldn't play the last half of the season.

If she doesn't come back, she'll be on a medical hardship scholarship, meaning she'll still be on scholarship but it won't affect the overall 15 count. And for all you doubters out there, Toni is our best shooting guard, so she wasn't just some bench player. Everyone wants her back.

If Toni retires and doesn't come back, Ruef will most likely get Kokenis' scholarship. The other three players are walk-ons. This has nothing to do with the scholarship numbers.

 

[Sakibomb25]

Almost certainly not. Or are we doubting whatever is wrong with her? With her, they probably didn't lose the Pac final and might have made the FF4.

Now, if this was out of the blue, and she played till the end of the season, different story.

Just to clarify, Stanford didn't lose the Pac-12 final Though I do agree with you that Stanford probably would be in the Final Four instead of Cal.

 

[meyers7]

The other three players are walk-ons.

Besides Lakhian and Ebersole, who's the third?

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Just to clarify, Stanford didn't lose the Pac-12 final Though I do agree with you that Stanford probably would be in the Final Four instead of Cal.

Oops. My bad. Considering the PAC12 is my conference, now. But it is softball season - something that didn't mean much when we lived in NJ. Now, if the Cats were just a little better . . .

 

[Sakibomb25]

Besides Lakhian and Ebersole, who's the third?

An incoming freshman walk-on guard by the name of Briana Roberson.

 

[meyers7]

An incoming freshman walk-on guard by the name of Briana Roberson.

Thanks. Didn't realize she was gonna be a walk-on. Wonder why they list her as a commit??

 

[UConnCat]

Thanks. Didn't realize she was gonna be a walk-on. Wonder why they list her as a commit??

Also strange that Roberson participated in a Letter of Intent ceremony at her high school.

 

[Sakibomb25]

Thanks. Didn't realize she was gonna be a walk-on. Wonder why they list her as a commit??

Who listed Roberson as a Stanford commit? According to the official Stanford press release here, there are only four players that signed Letter of Intents: Erica McCall, Kailee Johnson, Karlie Samuelson, and Lili Thompson.

 

[cardfan]

Most importantly, we all hope Toni is okay and gets healthy.

 

[Sakibomb25]

Also strange that Roberson participated in a Letter of Intent ceremony at her high school.

Letter of Intent ceremonies are good publicity for the school and a reward of sorts for the athlete. Even if an athlete isn't getting a scholarship, but is going to walk-on with the team, high schools like to recognize all the hard-work. Not to mention, if there are multiple athletes from the same high school playing at the collegiate level, it's a nice way to recognize them all, regardless if they are scholarship or walk-on athletes. Not strange at all.

 

[MilfordHusky]

That's a shame. Toni became a solid player.

 

[cardfan]

also from the article:

Aly Beebe, who spent this season rehabbing her second torn ACL, is a 6-3 post player who could have helped Ogwumike this year.
"If she's totally healthy, she's playing," VanDerveer said. "She's a big, strong body. Her AAU coach called her the best kid to ever play in California."
Those are big words, considering that Lisa Leslie, a three-time WNBA MVP, is in that mix, among many other great players.

McCall nearly averaged a triple-double (18.1 points, 15.0 rebounds, 9.1 blocks) for Ridgeview High in Bakersfield. Her father, Greg, is the women's coach at Cal State Bakersfield.
"She wants to lead the Pac-12 in rebounding and shot blocking," her coach, Michael Martin, said. "She's very goal-oriented, very driven. She's a total team player."
UConn, Duke and UCLA were her other finalists, and when she picked Stanford, UConn coach Geno Auriemma "didn't take it too well," Martin said.


Stanford's 2013-14 nonconference schedule will be taxing, as usual. It includes UConn and Texas on the road, Tennessee and defending WCC champion Gonzaga at home, and a tournament in Cancun, Mexico. VanDerveer hopes to book a game with Notre Dame to fill an opening created when Fresno State backed out because of a schedule conflict.

 

[UConnCat]

Letter of Intent ceremonies are good publicity for the school and a reward of sorts for the athlete. Even if an athlete isn't getting a scholarship, but is going to walk-on with the team, high schools like to recognize all the hard-work. Not to mention, if there are multiple athletes from the same high school playing at the collegiate level, it's a nice way to recognize them all, regardless if they are scholarship or walk-on athletes. Not strange at all.

Of course it's great publicity for her school. I agree that she should be recognized for admission to Stanford, which is an extraordinary accomplishment, and the fact that she'll play basketball for a great program. I also think it's unusual for a student-athlete to be photographed holding a letter of intent that the school and the student athlete know won't be sent.

 

[luckyhusky7]

also from the article:

Aly Beebe, who spent this season rehabbing her second torn ACL, is a 6-3 post player who could have helped Ogwumike this year.
"If she's totally healthy, she's playing," VanDerveer said. "She's a big, strong body. Her AAU coach called her the best kid to ever play in California."
Those are big words, considering that Lisa Leslie, a three-time WNBA MVP, is in that mix, among many other great players.

McCall nearly averaged a triple-double (18.1 points, 15.0 rebounds, 9.1 blocks) for Ridgeview High in Bakersfield. Her father, Greg, is the women's coach at Cal State Bakersfield.
"She wants to lead the Pac-12 in rebounding and shot blocking," her coach, Michael Martin, said. "She's very goal-oriented, very driven. She's a total team player."
UConn, Duke and UCLA were her other finalists, and when she picked Stanford, UConn coach Geno Auriemma "didn't take it too well," Martin said.


I guess her AAU coach doesn't know about some kid name Taurasi huh??

 

[cardfan]

agree. Or Miller.

 

[Sakibomb25]

Of course it's great publicity for her school. I agree that she should be recognized for admission to Stanford, which is an extraordinary accomplishment, and the fact that she'll play basketball for a great program. I also think it's unusual for a student-athlete to be photographed holding a letter of intent that the school and the student athlete know won't be sent.

Well I don't know what to tell you then. All I know is that Roberson is a walk-on from what I've been told and the Stanford press release confirms that.

 

[UConnCat]

Well I don't know what to tell you then. All I know is that Roberson is a walk-on from what I've been told and the Stanford press release confirms that.

I don't doubt she will be a walk-on. I think some of the media/recruiting service coverage (calling it a commitment) and subsequent events have been confusing.