annarborbear said:

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Utah is another program in transition. They made the tournament this year, but then lost Kneepkens to the portal and other starters to graduation. They do have two ESPN top 100 recruits coming in, and seem to still want to win. So they must have seen something from Mafua in her high school days, and think that she can help them.

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stu said:

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annarborbear said:

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Utah is another program in transition. They made the tournament this year, but then lost Kneepkens to the portal and other starters to graduation. They do have two ESPN top 100 recruits coming in, and seem to still want to win. So they must have seen something from Mafua in her high school days, and think that she can help them.

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From what little I remember (did the Pac-12 break up that long ago?) Utah always had shooters. I don't know why Kamryn left, possibly she thought she would play more at Utah.

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xxnatedoggxx said:

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stu said:

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annarborbear said:

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Utah is another program in transition. They made the tournament this year, but then lost Kneepkens to the portal and other starters to graduation. They do have two ESPN top 100 recruits coming in, and seem to still want to win. So they must have seen something from Mafua in her high school days, and think that she can help them.

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From what little I remember (did the Pac-12 break up that long ago?) Utah always had shooters. I don't know why Kamryn left, possibly she thought she would play more at Utah.

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Probably does have to do with NIL. Possibly playing time as well, Charmin Smith does seem to still go with the Tara coaching of not playing the freshman that much. That is always going to hurt in the age of the transfer portal.

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HoopDreams said:

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First, Marta was our 6-3 PF who with her strength and experience was a very good post defender, except vs some long matchups. That's one of the reasons she was so valuable and for some reason under rated by some here

Then there was Ackerman, except when injured). She was undersized but had good fundamentals and experienced. But again matchups meant she wasn't effective against some posts

Then there was Gaby. Our best freshman by a long shot, and most important returning player after our starters

Long, athletic, talented and a high character, great locker room player

She got playtime because she was good and needed for certain matchups.

She needs experience and development but we are very lucky we had her last season. I hope she is a Cal Bear for years to come

xxnatedoggxx said:

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SFCALBear72 said:

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xxnatedoggxx said:

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stu said:

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annarborbear said:

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Utah is another program in transition. They made the tournament this year, but then lost Kneepkens to the portal and other starters to graduation. They do have two ESPN top 100 recruits coming in, and seem to still want to win. So they must have seen something from Mafua in her high school days, and think that she can help them.

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From what little I remember (did the Pac-12 break up that long ago?) Utah always had shooters. I don't know why Kamryn left, possibly she thought she would play more at Utah.

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Probably does have to do with NIL. Possibly playing time as well, Charmin Smith does seem to still go with the Tara coaching of not playing the freshman that much. That is always going to hurt in the age of the transfer portal.

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Not necessarily true,

Gabrielle Abigor played 279 minutes this past season, while Lola Donez saw 271 minutes of action. She even missed some games because of an injury. Zahra King had 156 minutes. Kamryn Mafua had 86 minutes.

You play if you contribute.

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Well, Gabrielle is pretty much the only other center/forward that was on the team, so of course she will get lots of playing time. The team has lots of guards, I get it is hard to play all of them. But it is what it is in this age of the transfer portal.

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mbBear said:

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HoopDreams said:

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First, Marta was our 6-3 PF who with her strength and experience was a very good post defender, except vs some long matchups. That's one of the reasons she was so valuable and for some reason under rated by some here

Then there was Ackerman, except when injured). She was undersized but had good fundamentals and experienced. But again matchups meant she wasn't effective against some posts

Then there was Gaby. Our best freshman by a long shot, and most important returning player after our starters

Long, athletic, talented and a high character, great locker room player

She got playtime because she was good and needed for certain matchups.

She needs experience and development but we are very lucky we had her last season. I hope she is a Cal Bear for years to come

xxnatedoggxx said:

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SFCALBear72 said:

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xxnatedoggxx said:

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stu said:

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annarborbear said:

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Utah is another program in transition. They made the tournament this year, but then lost Kneepkens to the portal and other starters to graduation. They do have two ESPN top 100 recruits coming in, and seem to still want to win. So they must have seen something from Mafua in her high school days, and think that she can help them.

---

From what little I remember (did the Pac-12 break up that long ago?) Utah always had shooters. I don't know why Kamryn left, possibly she thought she would play more at Utah.

---

Probably does have to do with NIL. Possibly playing time as well, Charmin Smith does seem to still go with the Tara coaching of not playing the freshman that much. That is always going to hurt in the age of the transfer portal.

---

Not necessarily true,

Gabrielle Abigor played 279 minutes this past season, while Lola Donez saw 271 minutes of action. She even missed some games because of an injury. Zahra King had 156 minutes. Kamryn Mafua had 86 minutes.

You play if you contribute.

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Well, Gabrielle is pretty much the only other center/forward that was on the team, so of course she will get lots of playing time. The team has lots of guards, I get it is hard to play all of them. But it is what it is in this age of the transfer portal.

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TCU is now up to 6 players 6-3 or taller...will be interesting to see how this shakes out for her..

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xxnatedoggxx said:

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mbBear said:

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HoopDreams said:

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First, Marta was our 6-3 PF who with her strength and experience was a very good post defender, except vs some long matchups. That's one of the reasons she was so valuable and for some reason under rated by some here

Then there was Ackerman, except when injured). She was undersized but had good fundamentals and experienced. But again matchups meant she wasn't effective against some posts

Then there was Gaby. Our best freshman by a long shot, and most important returning player after our starters

Long, athletic, talented and a high character, great locker room player

She got playtime because she was good and needed for certain matchups.

She needs experience and development but we are very lucky we had her last season. I hope she is a Cal Bear for years to come

xxnatedoggxx said:

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SFCALBear72 said:

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xxnatedoggxx said:

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stu said:

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annarborbear said:

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Utah is another program in transition. They made the tournament this year, but then lost Kneepkens to the portal and other starters to graduation. They do have two ESPN top 100 recruits coming in, and seem to still want to win. So they must have seen something from Mafua in her high school days, and think that she can help them.

---

From what little I remember (did the Pac-12 break up that long ago?) Utah always had shooters. I don't know why Kamryn left, possibly she thought she would play more at Utah.

---

Probably does have to do with NIL. Possibly playing time as well, Charmin Smith does seem to still go with the Tara coaching of not playing the freshman that much. That is always going to hurt in the age of the transfer portal.

---

Not necessarily true,

Gabrielle Abigor played 279 minutes this past season, while Lola Donez saw 271 minutes of action. She even missed some games because of an injury. Zahra King had 156 minutes. Kamryn Mafua had 86 minutes.

You play if you contribute.

---

Well, Gabrielle is pretty much the only other center/forward that was on the team, so of course she will get lots of playing time. The team has lots of guards, I get it is hard to play all of them. But it is what it is in this age of the transfer portal.

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TCU is now up to 6 players 6-3 or taller...will be interesting to see how this shakes out for her..

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I hope the money was worth it for her. She probably won't get much playing time with all the turnovers that she had with us.

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ethan0l said:

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My read -- and this isn't based on anything from inside practice or coach's room -- is that, yes, the turnovers came when she put the ball on the floor. But as a fan, it never felt like she was being "asked" or "forced" or "pushed" to do that. It often seemed like the team would have preferred she get it to Kayla/others, but that Marta WANTED to get out and run, and then would often lose possession. One reason this seems possible, is that on more egregious instances of this, she would seemingly get benched (see, Miss State in the NCAAs).

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ethan0l said:

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My read -- and this isn't based on anything from inside practice or coach's room -- is that, yes, the turnovers came when she put the ball on the floor. But as a fan, it never felt like she was being "asked" or "forced" or "pushed" to do that. It often seemed like the team would have preferred she get it to Kayla/others, but that Marta WANTED to get out and run, and then would often lose possession. One reason this seems possible, is that on more egregious instances of this, she would seemingly get benched (see, Miss State in the NCAAs).

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ethan0l said:

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No disagreement, Redless. I really appreciated who Marta was, and her game and deeply wish she had stayed. I do wish she had understood her game skills and challenges a bit more -- and wonder how that will manifest at TCU. But, all things considered, she is a real asset and great player and person, and we will miss her.

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RedlessWardrobe said:

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ethan0l said:

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No disagreement, Redless. I really appreciated who Marta was, and her game and deeply wish she had stayed. I do wish she had understood her game skills and challenges a bit more -- and wonder how that will manifest at TCU. But, all things considered, she is a real asset and great player and person, and we will miss her.

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And like others have mentioned, the fact that she transferred out of the conference makes it even easier to root for her.

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wifeisafurd said:

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mbBear said:

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ClayK said:

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So let's just use Marta Suarez as an example ...

1) She's going to have a pro career in Europe, so she wants to come out of college as polished and ready as possible. If she feels a different program will help her improve, then she'll move on.

2) As with anyone, she will listen to money. If a Big 10 school offers her $100,000 and Cal offers $50,000, the choice is obvious.

3) Players like to win and play with other good players. Lulu is a good player. What other good players are guaranteed to be on the Cal roster next year? Presumably Marta can find a team with more returning talent.

4) Facilities. Yes, a practice gym. And a modern arena with good crowds would be nice too.

These are the hurdles Charmin and a large number of other P4 coaches must overcome. And there's not enough talent to go around.

If Tess Heal didn;'t play the same position as Puff, she would be a great get, but it makes little sense to have two point guards, a shooting guard and no inside depth. Cal's limited money has to go to fours and fives, it would seem.

In the short run, Charmin needs to get lucky. In the long run, Cal's football team needs to start winning lots of games so the athletic department and the collective have more money available for players and facilities.

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I don't understand how she is eligible for NiL money.

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pretty good question there. According to my AI, international student-athletes on F-1 visas face restrictions, generally limiting them to on-campus employment and potentially missing out on NIL opportunities in the US.
Canadian players have been able to find loopholes, but that really seems to be it.

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ncbears said:

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Suarez was at the banquet?

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