Yeah, I saw the list of the rest of her top 7 and thought…that’s a good win.
And that’s now two top-75 players and 3 top-100 players in next year’s class.
KBA can recruit!
Yeah, I know that in the vacuum of information there was concern about cultural issues, but the continued freshman wins (and he comments in the article linked above) really suggest we just got wrong-footed on NIL.
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I hope that new locker room and an NIL boost are the remedies for retaining players.
I would think that a new CBA for the WNBA and their expansion has some trickle-down effect to college, where there’s more attention being paid to women’s basketball and more opportunities to market themselves arise.
There’s already been a rise in popularity nationally, but I haven’t seen much change in turnout in Crisler, just yet. Even 500 more fans a game would make a difference. And more local buzz could create more local NIL opportunities.
I don’t know how much NIL played a part in the departure of Phelia but I’m guessing that it was a big factor, if not THE factor. I think she’s a borderline WNBA talent but it’s not a lock. This is her last year to maximize her earnings in college so going to a slightly better team (they’re preseason #4 but would probably be down several spots without her and Michigan would likely be ranked with her) that’s in a bigger market, as well as a state with no state tax, makes sense.
Cam Williams going to Miami might’ve been for similar reasons, and she likely knows the W is a longshot.
I’m still baffled why Evans left. She seemed to be a lock as a starter and a focal point this season.
I’m going off on a tangent here.
Reeling myself back in, it seems like KBA is a very good recruiter, along with being a good coach. If we are able to add in more and better NIL opportunities, we really could see the program being a consistent top-10 squad.
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Unfortunately, women’s sports, especially baskteball, have long been marketed to ornery older white guys as an example of purity - the sport unsullied by “greed”, “selfish play”, etc. - they “play the right way” or “the way the game used to be played” (no dunking or something?). I won’t dive into all the problematic gender and race related reasons I think that messaging existed, but obviously I think the biggest reason is simply the women never HAD the opportunity to be greedy, because the money simply wasn’t there.
It’s awesome (for all of them) that’s increasingly no longer the case (tickets for the awful Chicago Sky were $100+ a seat this year!), but it’s a dynamic the sport has never really had to deal with. The WNBA was always billed as “family friendly” in part because…you could afford to take your family! It’s unquestionably good for the players that this isn’t really the case anymore, but I think it’s going to force a pretty rapid shift in messaging and perception.
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Completely agreed re: Evans. I can’t make sense of that one at all. Ditto Woodson, who was getting significant minutes as a freshman. At least she just transferred closer to home. The Evans one still makes no sense to me. I think that’s the transfer that started to make people wonder “what the heck is going on?”
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Byars clip
Quick thoughts from the scrimmage:
- Starters were two seniors and three freshmen: Hobbs, Kampschroeder, Swords, Olson (whose name was spelled wrong on her jersey), and Holloway.
- I believe Brown was first off the bench, followed by Daniels. Crockett was in street clothes.
- This team looks entirely different on offense. They clearly want to RUN and get up and down the floor FAST on both makes and misses.
- Appears that they’ll be playing a 5-out offense heavy on guards and wings.
- The ball did not stick anywhere and was constantly moving. The only time things seemed to slow even a bit was when Holloway would dribble a bit before they got into their actions.
- Grabovskaia and VanTimmeren were 8 and 9 in the rotation, so they really do look to be going small as their primary look. I think Hobbs was checking the 5 to start.
- Grabovskaia and VanTimmeren are the only players unlikely to have a green light from the perimeter. It seems clear that they want threes and rim pressure on offense. Lots of cutting.
- On defense, they are looking to put a ton of pressure on the ball, showing a lot of 1-2-2 press and often picking up the ball handler full court when not pressing. They forced a number of turnovers.
- Fouls could be an issue while they continue to settle into their defensive rotations, but it looks like they’ll rotate their top 8 pretty heavily. On offense, they seem pretty interchangeable. Several different players brought the ball up throughout the first half.
I don’t know how they will stack up against the rest of the conference, but this team should at the very least be very fun to watch. Looking forward to seeing how they continue to gel.
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Greta and Hobbs really the only serious returning minutes right? And Greta didn’t even play that much last year. Will be interesting, Crockett and shown some promise the year prior at points and Brown was a major recruit so hopefully she can help.
A little worried if Holloway is starting - she wasn’t a major commit was she?
Holloway was a four-star recruit, but not within the top 100 to ESPN. She looked pretty comfortable last night, but we’ll see how that holds up against better competition.
That’s a complete departure from KBA’s usual team, but with the transfers, it’s a necessity change. I hope they can keep it within 20 against South Carolina when they open the season.
I do think that Greta looked more comfortable last night than it seems she ever has. She was always the one inbounding the ball, never the one bringing the ball up the court or driving the offense. I saw Holloway, Brown, Daniels (I think), and Swords all bring the ball up, but never Greta.
Hoping she can thrive as an off-ball guard this year. She didn’t shoot well from outside in this game, but she shot 38% last year. Hoping she can stay in that range.
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20 seems like too lofty of a goal. 30 or 40 might be more a realistic goal. They beat Maryland by 38 at the start of the year last year
A team with 3 freshman starters is gonna get beaten by as many as South Carolina wants
https://barttorvik.com/ncaaw/?year=2025&sort=&hteam=&t2value=&conlimit=B10&state=All&begin=20241101&end=20250501&top=0&revquad=0&quad=5&venue=All&type=All&mingames=0# Torvik is introducing women’s rankings to his site this year.
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Not only that, but South Carolina returns a ton of production on a team that didn’t lose a game last year. It will likely be a bloodbath – especially given that I don’t see anyone on this roster that could really match up against a talented big without serious foul trouble.
I’m hopeful that this team can exceed expectations this year, but keeping it within three touchdowns to South Carolina seems out of the question.
She was ranked higher in her class than LJ Cason was in his, so we’ll see. 
Yeah, they return Paopao, Watkins, Johnson, Fulwiley, Kitts, Hall, and Johnson who all played significant minutes and they added 2 freshmen from the #2 recruiting classes with Joyce Edwards as the headliner. It’s going to be a bloodbath. No idea why KBA decided to schedule them as a season opener.
Do coaches have that level of control over stuff like this? I’m asking because I honestly don’t know.
I kind of assumed they can make suggestions and push for certain games against lower non-con opponents, but that when it comes to bigger non-con games/showcases/tournaments/etc. the AD just makes those decisions.
Coaches make the schedules in hoops.
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Appreciate the confirmation, Dylan! In that case, yeah, woof.