Warren Grimes
Stanford’s season ended with the team’s 76-61 loss to BYU in
the WBIT quarterfinals. Stanford played
to seed but did not play its best against BYU.
The team shot only 16% from distance and was outboarded 53 to 36. On the plus side, the team had only six
turnovers (to BYU’s 15), had 9 steals (to BYU’s 2). Two players showed consistent post-season
grit: Courtney Ogden had 26 points (and
averaged 18.3 in the three WBIT games).
Chloe Clardy had 17 points and 3 steals (and averaged 16.3 points in the
tournament). In the early fourth
quarter, Stanford trailed by just one, but ran out of gas and was outscored 26
to 12 in the quarter.
Stanford modestly improved its record over last season but
did not play up to preseason predictions and hopes. A key disappointment was the failure to make
the NCAA tournament for the second straight season. Going into next season, Stanford has, in
theory, all of its late season starters coming back. Ogden’s and Swaine’s late season improvements
are encouraging. Clardy is a money
player, and so is Agara. Somfai was an
ACC all freshman team selection and probably next in line (after the Syracuse
player) for the ACC rookie of the year selection. Stanford was tested on depth, particularly
when Somfai chose not to participate in the WBIT tournament.
The transfer portal is on everyone’s mind, and I mean
everyone (players, coaches, and fans).
At least one of the team’s starters, Somfai, is said to be open to
discussions with other teams. The
transfer portal is an issue not just for Stanford but for most teams, including
the high performing UCLA team. In an LA
Times story, head coach Cori Close said: “I’ve never been as tired as I’ve been
in the last two years.” Close went on
to say: “How do we now figure out this transfer portal? Let’s not complain about it. Let’s have solutions.”
Close’s team benefitted from the transfer of former Stanford
player Lauren Betts and two other UCLA starters who transferred from other
schools. While professing to support NIL
for players, Close says that the sport needs boundaries, needs infrastructure,
needs competitive equity, and needs transparency. I’ll second that.
The details of what boundaries and transparency look like
are up for debate. Some stability and
reward for player loyalty must be part of the system. Here are two suggestions. Some sort of modest penalty should be imposed
on transfers. It could be the old rule
that a transferring player must sit out a season (with or without a lost year
of eligibility). Or perhaps a player
could be benched for just a half-season, allowing a transferee to start playing
for her new team on January 15. A second
suggestion is that all amounts paid to a player by the school or by outsiders
under NIL arrangements would have to be reported to the school and made
public. These changes, however modest
they sound, might have to be approved by the Antitrust Division of the Justice
Department or by congressional legislation.
Coach Paye has emphasized that players who sign with Stanford benefit from the team’s reputation and the value of a Stanford education. Will that be enough to persuade all of this year’s players to return? I genuinely hope that it will be, but every player is free to decide what’s in her self-interest. Fans want their players to come back and be part of a long-term, unselfish and high-achieving unit. Team loyalty is good for the sport, good for the coaching staff’s restful nights, and probably good for the players in the long term. In terms of player development, building chemistry, and fan support, the transfer portal is a major distraction, and a perverse one. Attracting dedicated and qualified coaches could be undercut if a team has to be reconstructed every year.
To Lara Somfai, and any other Stanford player
considering the portal, we don't get to vote, but we'd love to be your best and most loyal fans next
season.
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