Did Tara go straight to Stanford from D2?Her first 42 wins were at—-hold onto yer hats, Laydeees 'n gennulmin—-
a Div. II college.
I wish her a long and happy retirement.
Well deserved.
Probably not. Her longtime assistant is set to take over the program. Tara had a succession plan in place.Wonder if any of Stanford's assistant coaches want to head East muhahah
He was going to pass her this year anyway. I wonder how much NIL had to do with her decision?
You exaggerate. She was head coach at then D2 Idaho for 2 seasons, then 5 seasons as HC for Ohio State.Right. So the implied comparison of a D2 coach having crazy success at Stanford was a tiny tad misleading. Left out a decade or so of steps.
1978–1980 | Idaho |
---|---|
1980–1985 | Ohio State |
1985–2024 | Stanford |
And Brink didn’t do her any favors while walking out the door.
I’m talking about the comment she made, she said one of the mains reasons she’s not coming back is the 3 hour practices, so I’m not sure if most of the team felt that way,Brink graduated. Not taking advantage of the extra COVID year is not the same as walking out on a program.
In any case, Stanford's problem wasn't in the frontcourt (though losing Betts after the 2022-23 season was a definite blow). VanDerveer's biggest problem over the last three seasons was her inability to recruit and develop an elite point guard.
I’m sure she had mixed emotions but I am going to tell you don’t wait too long to retire. You never know how long your health will be good. I know a lot of folks who waited to retire and within a couple of years had a major health issue and never got to travel, pursue new interests Etc. that they had always planned on doing.I knew this was coming, although I thought she would last one more year. This realignment is so ridiculous on so many levels. The travel expenses will be enormous considering that it affects all sports, even the non-revenue ones. They should have done this just for football since they are the reason for all the upheaval. If the conferences remained the same for all other sports there would be no problem, but the powers that be, the football guys always get what they want. It doesn't affect UConn because our football program sucks, and the Big East is all about basketball anyway. Sorry about Tara, she should have had a few good years left in the PAC12.
She’s gonna be water skiing and hanging out at her cabin instead of flying cross country, dealing with NIL demands, and working the transfer portal. Sounds peacefulI’m sure she had mixed emotions but I am going to tell you don’t wait too long to retire. You never know how long your health will be good. I know a lot of folks who waited to retire and within a couple of years had a major health issue and never got to travel, pursue new interests Etc. that they had always planned on doing.
When you can afford it do it!!
The viewership had a lot to do with them promoting her on all platforms the least few months, the views would not have been there without it.
When I read pieces like this, it just demonstrates how oblivious WNBA players are to reality. They saw what Clark did for WCBB viewership and should be welcoming her with open arms. Instead, it’s just another example of current and former players downplaying her significance. And they wonder why they have no viewers!
As a vigilante watcher of WBB interest, I would predict that it won't stay at this top peak every year (i.e., games bigger than any other sport men's or women's except football), but that there are robust trends about attendance and TV ratings outside of games involving Reese or Clark that bode well for WBB. Crowds of 10,000 plus and/or sellout crowds at small arenas have become increasingly commonplace for a variety of teams, not just SC, LSU, and Iowa. Important games between rated teams, almost all the NCAA games, and all the conference tournament titles are all dramatically trending upward in regard to tv ratings and attendance. Furthermore, with so many exceptional freshmen players this year, the sport will continue to produce stars that folks can follow for 4 to 5 years, unlike most other big college sports.Sadly, I doubt it. I've talked to too many who just tuned in to see what all the fuss was about. If they had watched CONN/Duke, they,'d have sworn off women's sports for life.