Yori's revival of the WBB program

[Bugeaters1]

Nice article on Yori and pressure to make the NCAA's. Stevie P was going to fire her if she had not got to the show in her 5th year.http://journalstar.com/sports/huskers/womens-basketball/article_9aabb02d-e214-5748-8779-7a1f98cccf03.html#.VF9y4Xvw5i0.twitter

[huskerchode]

Karma

[Norm Peterson]

I agree with what Connie said in the article that it took some luck.  You get that one player that turns out to be something a lot more special than people realized and it can do wonders for a program.  I think Connie's actually had that happen a few times now.

 

I think the first one was Kiera Hardy.  I remember Connie saying back at the time that I don't think she recruited her while at Creighton and was surprised that Paul Sanderford did here.  Didn't think she'd probably play much.  Didn't expect her to have a significant role.  Then, boom, Kiera turns into a great scoring guard who ended up being much better than people expected.  Certainly better than Connie expected.

 

Then, you get Kelsey Griffin.  I can remember going to the combined men's/women's hoops scrimmage Kelsey's true freshman year.  On the men's side, the newcomers were supposed to be Collier's best class ever with 3-star recruits like Jamel White and Kyle Marks.  There was so much hype surrounding that class of men's players but, ironically, in my mind, it was Kelsey who stole the show.  Very under-the-radar as a recruit, she was a whole hell of a lot better than anyone really anticipated when she was first offered. 

 

I think the third sort of lucked-into-a-better-player-than-expected candidate was zeros.  I don't remember what she was ranked when she was signed.  She was fairly highly regarded, IIRC, but I don't recall that anyone would have pegged her as being one of the pre-eminent point guards in the country at the time she was recruited.  And she certainly was that by the time she graduated. 

 

The fourth -- and I've had arguments with HB about this one -- is Jordan Hooper.  I think people had a sense that she was a very good, home-grown type of talent.  I don't think anyone saw her being a Kelsey Griffin kind of talent, though.  I'm one of those weird hoops junkies who pays attention to girls high school hoops in the state.  And I would have figured Jordan Hooper would probably have a pretty decent career at Nebraska.  Maybe, by the time she was a junior or senior, she might even be a starter on a decent team.  No way did I expect Jordan Hooper would eventually have her jersey hanging in the rafters at PBA.  And I think it eventually will hang there.  Wildly better than I think most people, in their heart of hearts, would have expected.

 

And then the fifth is Rachel Theriot.  Yeah, Rachel was highly regarded coming out of HS.  But, at best I think she was just a top 20 PG in her recruiting class.  (I checked it and she was ranked #18 at her position coming out of HS.)  I defy you to find 5 better PGs in the entire nation, regardless of recruiting class.  She's a UConn quality of recruit. 

 

Sometimes, you just luck out in recruiting and a player comes in who wildly exceeds your expectations and moves your program forward at a faster rate than you could have hoped.  I don't want to take anything away from Connie, because you don't win as many games as she has without the ability to coach.  And maybe these players became the players they became because of her coaching.  But you cannot argue that Connie has had about half a dozen kids come in and perform at a level far higher than where they were ranked as recruits.  And those players have enabled this program to now draw the kinds of players whom you would expect to be great players.

 

Connie built this program out of nothing.  She did it the right way.  She refused to try to poach players or recruits from her former school.  She drew the line on behavior right off the bat and cut some players who didn't toe the line.  That had to have been a tough call for Connie because it left her having to have open tryouts for walk-on spots just to fill out the roster.  (The fact they won a game in conference and beat a ranked Cinci team that year is still a wonder.)  And to be where she is now from where she was is a real triumph for Connie Yori.  But there's no question she benefited from a little luck along the way.  And maybe that's just a little bit of positive karma for making tough calls that put her at a disadvantage when she first took the job.

[Bugeaters1]

My wife and I have only been able to follow the women's program from about 99 or so. Due to the fact that we live outside of Lincoln and the media wasn't what it is today. That internet thing the only games we could get were on NET. So my knowledge isn't what it should be of the women's program. But I do remember Connie's first year, Going from 5 schollies to having a full boat. But Norm don't you think that good coaches make their own luck so to speak, Look at what Miles is doing on the men's side. Everyone keeps saying how he needs that one recruit to get the ball rolling. Does he have that one recruit yet ? only time will tell.

[Norm Peterson]

My wife and I have only been able to follow the women's program from about 99 or so. Due to the fact that we live outside of Lincoln and the media wasn't what it is today. That internet thing the only games we could get were on NET. So my knowledge isn't what it should be of the women's program. But I do remember Connie's first year, Going from 5 schollies to having a full boat. But Norm don't you think that good coaches make their own luck so to speak, Look at what Miles is doing on the men's side. Everyone keeps saying how he needs that one recruit to get the ball rolling. Does he have that one recruit yet ? only time will tell.

I think to a certain extent they can make some of their own luck, but I think even Miles has benefited from just plain old good fortune.

 

For example, I think PBA coming on line about the time he arrives was a big boost for him.  And he has really exploited that and the Hendricks Center with recruits.

 

I think Miles also benefited from Terran Petteway being waaaaay better than people would have expected based on his numbers as a freshman at Texas Tech and who had offered him coming out of HS.  He's an All-American.  Did you expect Terran Petteway to be an All-American when it was announced he was transferring here?

 

Other luck for Miles includes the fact that Shavon Shields happened to be tons better than he was ranked as a recruit.  Those two were the big difference makers for us last year. 

 

I think Miles has been able to leverage (or take advantage of) the good fortune he's had.  But some of these things are just plain lucky breaks.  For Miles, it's been Terran, Shavon and the PBA.  For Connie, she's a great coach who took advantage of some extreme good fortune of her own.  In the case of Kelsey Griffin, I think she spotted talent that others missed.  In the case of Kiera Hardy, I think she just plain lucked out.

[Bugeaters1]

All good points on Miles Norm.

[huskerchode]

Recruiting is an interesting thing for a team sport.  Rankings are not perfect, and sometimes when watching a player in person, they may be having an unusually great night, or an uncharacteristically poor night (which will then tell you something about their maturity and how they handle adversity).  Stats are hard to look at and interpret for team sports.  Maybe that's why I'm so drawn to track and field!

 

I have sometimes wondered if Connie's luck with recruits is actually having a very good eye for talent.  Then again, there have been some recruits that have been fairly highly touted coming in, but they didn't ever seem to reach what the fans expected. 

 

I'll admit it - I wasn't sold on Jordan Hooper coming out of HS, but after seeing her in action in a Husker uniform her first game, I knew she would be great.  I wasn't even sold on Emily Cady either.  Guess I'm an idiot.  I did think T Laudermill would be special, and I could see during Theriot's freshman year that she was going to likely be as good if not better than Zeroes.

 

I follow a lot of HS basketball in Nebraska.  I can honestly say I don't understand the recruiting business at all, why some kids seem to get tons of offers and others that I feel are just as good barely get any.  Assuming grades aren't a factor, I would guess that it has a lot to do with the HS coach and the girl's club coach and how much exposure they are getting.

[Row6Seat10]

I still have a hard time believing Paul Sanderford let a golden opportunity slip away!

[Bugeaters1]

I still have a hard time believing Paul Sanderford let a golden opportunity slip away!

So are you saying that you think Sanderford was forced out ?

[Norm Peterson]

I don't know the inside deal on Sanderford, but, from my perspective, it was clear he had lost the locker room for a couple of years before he quit.  I didn't have season tickets at the time but the games were broadcast on NET and I watched damn near every home game that made it on the tube. 

 

I loved the hell out of Nicole Kubik.  She remains one of my all-time favorite Husker women's basketball players.  She played the game the way it was supposed to be played.  Her ability to get steals was unrivaled.  Plus she did many other things very well.  But, for as much as I loved Nicole, I couldn't stand her backcourt teammate, Brooke Schwartz. 

 

Brooke never met a 25 foot jumper with 25 seconds on the shot clock that she didn't like.  And you could kind of see the discipline issues exemplified, IMO, by Brooke, even when the team was doing well.  But the season after Nicole and Brooke graduated, the train just went off the tracks.

 

They couldn't even in-bound the ball effectively.  I remember seeing just mindless, brain-dead, stupid turnovers.  They had the really tall transfer from Illinois who was really skilled but not at all mobile.  And that changed their whole offensive focus.  And maybe that affected them in ways that weren't apparent.  But, for Sanderford's last two years, the women played like they were in a fog.  It was downright painful to watch.

 

So, I figured he lost the locker room because they pretty much couldn't even do the simple things right.  And then some girls decide to transfer -- Steph Jones, KC Cowgill, Katie Robinette, IIRC.  The team started hemorrhaging players and Sanderford decided to call it a career.

 

Now, whether he was forced out or not, I have no idea.  But those two years had to have taken a toll on him.  I honestly don't know that he would have ever been able to recover from those bad years.  Voluntary or not, it was time for a change for everyone's sake.

[HB]

Re Sanderford: It was obviously over toward the end.  The wheels were off, and the future was bleak.  No players left, due to recruiting issues and the transfers mentioned by Norm.  The best assistants had left.  As Connie found out, the cupboard was bare.  After several years on the job,, it is difficult to have to start over and rebuild.   Paul was out of time.   If he had not resigned, he would have been fired.

 

Could it have been different?  One would think.  Sanderford was left with decent talent from Beck.  We did well early.  We had Jeff Walz on staff, who now has had a national runner-up team as HC at Louisville.  Michelle Gibson.   WE were an eyelash from getting Kendra Wecker.  If we get her and Robinette pans out, who knows.  But ultimately, it wasn't to be.  Good guy; knew his hoops.  Interesting that his record of success in the early years of women's basketball wasn't duplicated here.   

[HB]

As to Norm's initial post on this thread:  I appreciate the clarification in Norm's later post distinguishing between the luck involved in having Kiera Hardy slip through the recruiting cracks and be waiting for her (Connie still had to agree to sign her in November--she questioned it, but went ahead and took her; she didn't play until Yori's second season), and a Griffin/Hooper.

 

Anyway, naming that many prospects suggest a Miles-like eye for talent and good selection of players who can play in a system.  Yeah, it was lucky that Kelsey was from Alaska, just as Danny was lucky Piatkowski was a white kid from Rapid City.  Or they would have been more highly recruited.   I would suggest that finding players such as Griffin, Moore and Theriot involves way more than luck.  Consistently finding players who are better than the ranking services involves coaching/recruiting skill and talent.  Plus player development.  I would argue Jess Shepherd is more of a luck example than Moore or Theriot.  If she isn't from Nebraska we aren't on the radar.  That is luck.  But consistently finding players like Moore and Theriot is way more than luck.  No way a coach is just getting lucky when these players turn out to be very good. Add Danielle Page to your list and call that luck too, I guess.

 

Typically the luck balances out (other than having a Shepherd-like top 5 national recruit in your backyard).  Her best recruit from the Juco team in Kansas from which Connie signed  4 players, the Aussie McClain, gets pregnant and we never see her. Jelena Spiric blows out her knee and is never the same.  Katie Morse goes down or we win several more games in '02-'03, Amanda Cleveland gets sick (Sanderford recruit).  Heather Kephart gets a career ending injury and can't ever play, and we don't have a shooter besides Hardy for a couple of years.  .

 

And Norm, we will always disagree on Hooper.  I think there were a lot of people who thought she had the potential to be a Griffin-type player.  And most avid women's hoops followers thought she would be considerably better than "maybe becoming a starter by her junior or senior year".  She was way more highly regarded than that coming out of high school. 

[Row6Seat10]

Here's my Sanderford take. From the day Sanderford set foot in Lincoln it seemed that his number one goal was to put the program in the black. Remember how season ticket prices doubled and then some, the Heavy P tv commercials, how he appeared on billboards all around Lincoln and had speaking engagements basically wherever they’d listen to him? Dollar Bill Byrne lured him up here by doubling up his Western Kentucky salary, and by doing that he held that over his head or he would find someone else to do the job that would make the program money 1^st and win 2^nd.

 

Sanderford read the writing on the wall that last season as the seasons continued to deteriorate. I was told that last season Byrne or anyone in his office basically failed to generate any communication with the women’s basketball operation. From what I could gather back then the only time Byrne communicated with them the last few years was to inform them of how much money they were losing.

 

I also think that was part of the reason Sanderford had a hard time keeping assistants. The guy could coach but the outside pressure of putting the program in the black just got to him, and his coaching and everything that goes with it suffered because of it. It was said he had to call it quits because of a heart condition. To this day I think it was a mutual decision to save face on both sides. And by doing so I think both sides were relieved to be moving on.