Wilson sees Purdue career close; NCAA notes (link)
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Much respect to Wilson as her play this season was largely responsible for the turnaround from last season. The first half of the season was probably about the best the point guard position has been played at Purdue under Versyp.
Here's hoping Murphy can pick up where Wilson left off because if she play at a high level next year then the team should be pretty good.
Here's hoping Murphy can pick up where Wilson left off because if she play at a high level next year then the team should be pretty good.
What did you see in our play against a 10 loss Oklahoma team that gave you optimism about next year?
Well I like that we get Perry and Morrissette back. I like that McBryde returns and can build on a very good freshman season. I like that we have a little bit of experience coming back at the center position and have hope that they will also improve with a summer of hard work on their games. I also think the Harris girl from Indianapolis could be very good for us. Like I said before, I think we can be a decent team if the point guard situation is sound. You can sit back and pout because we may not be a top 10 team if you choose to but that's not going to be my approach.
You were not responsive to the question. What did you see in our game against Oklahoma, losers of 10 games on the season, that made you optimistic about the future? Offense? Defense? Rebounding? Passing? Free throw shooting? Game Preparation?
I'm not going to judge our future potential based on one game. Quite frankly, it's idiotic to do so when you have a much larger sample to draw from.
Des, it is time to move to the present. Unless something radically changes, the Purdue glory days are over, which is true for over 95% of wbb teams in this country. Now the issue is if you are a competitive, winning program or not. Last year we were a last place team and it was impossible to tell if we had fallen into the lower rung of the BT to stay there, which is true for some teams like Illinois. But we rebounded and won 20 and took a MSU team to the wire which were two points away from an Elite 8 berth. We do have some talent on next year's team and Versyp is recruiting decently to probably keep us in the upper half of the BT. That is what we have and we can either choose to enjoy it or continue to grumble about what will probably never be again. If Purdue stumbles into the lower echelons of the BT permanently, then we will get a new coach, but right now that is not happening.
Ok, we played well early and especially in win over injury riddled Louisville early. But, after 14-2 start finished 6-10 down the stretch. Attrition has stripped us of four recruits in the last 12 months which impacted our depth and leaves us with a short bench with only three recruits replacing our three seniors. Have an injury or two and they can't even scrimmage 5 on 5.
As for future potential, in the seven seasons since she has been playing strictly with her own recruits she has made the NCAA five times and her record is 4 wins and 5 losses. That means she has never made it past the second round in her seven seasons of playing with her own recruits.
Forget Top Ten, we are barely hanging on to the Top 64!
Yes, the loss of those recruits is disturbing and could bite this team. Yes she has not done as well as we hoped. But I don't think if she gets us into the NCAA and has a winning record that they will fire Versyp. Maybe a new AD will think differently. Indeed, we could have a better program and maybe we will, but no big changes are coming soon.
Also no one said Top Ten. Was talking about the top third of the conference.
Also no one said Top Ten. Was talking about the top third of the conference.
Middle of the Big Ten. You should get a playing part in the commercial THE SETTLERS if you indeed seriously are willing to concede that the glory days are over.
Nobody ever wants to be the one to fire someone, at any level, in any occupation. However, sometimes it must be done for the greater good.
I supported Versyp as the one to replace Curry. She was hit with team injuries and some bad luck. However, all teams get hit with injuries and bad luck at some point. She has been here long enough for everyone to realize she is just average. Average recruiting, average coach, average results.
I hope our new AD is not emotionally tied to our coaches. Personally, timing is right to thank Versyp for her service and bring in Steph White to take us back to national prominence again. How excited would our fan base be if that happened?
I supported Versyp as the one to replace Curry. She was hit with team injuries and some bad luck. However, all teams get hit with injuries and bad luck at some point. She has been here long enough for everyone to realize she is just average. Average recruiting, average coach, average results.
I hope our new AD is not emotionally tied to our coaches. Personally, timing is right to thank Versyp for her service and bring in Steph White to take us back to national prominence again. How excited would our fan base be if that happened?
I think it is harder to get a program to the very slim top of WBB then you think. It is different than the men's game as there is much less dominant talent and it is concentrated in a few schools. WBB still lets teams play on their home court during tournaments just to get enough fans. Therefore, I think the glory days are farther away than just a new coach. They aren't firing Versyp as long as her teams are winning whether any one likes it or not. I never said middle of the big Ten. By the top of the BT, I meant being competitive for the top of the league. That is doable. Maryland seems to be the only program that may be hard to dislodge because they still do national recruiting. OSU may have moved into that category but their late season swoon makes that still questionable. We only lost by 2 to the third place team in the BTT. Hold those same standards for the men and you would be really frustrated. Just trying to be realistic here, which I know is hard to swallow. And altho Steph White was a great player and personality we have no idea if she would want the job nor whether she could recruit better. If Versyp does go, however, White would certainly be an exciting hire.
Do remember, Versyp was once a super player here too and why she left first year success at Indiana to come here.
Nonsense. I am watching IU play even with ND. Versyp is not getting kids who are now going to ND and even IU. Ridiculous. There is no excuse for the collapse in womens basketball at Purdue. No excuse!
Based on the game I am watching, I would hire IU's coach again. She's a former Purdue player, and it looks like she is recruiting a heck of a lot better then Versyp. That we settle for the mediocrity that is now Purdue's womens basketball is silly
It's her first year. Not sure how many players on that roster are her recruits. Pretty sure that Buss was Miller's recruit. Also, we did beat them this year and they did end up losing by 17.
Why do you think Stephanie would immediately be a great coach at Purdue?. Never a head coach in college, and that is different from the WNBA; no great success with the Fever; in my opinion, many questionable strategic comments as a commentator during college games. I think there was more reason to expect SV to be a great coach than there is at this time to expect Stephanie to be. There are hundreds of college coaches. How many meet the standard that many Purdue fans expect?
Maryland just went down to a 7th seed on Maryland's home court. SO much for the BT. This is a weak league and Purdue is in the top half. Doesn't say much does it. It is what it is. I am not sure there are the quality players out there to turn many programs around and, given where we are now, hard to believe we could just find a coach that gets them.
No great success no great success with the Fever? She took them to the WNBA Finals!
Yeah they lost but you made it sound like they were bad.
Hey , no one knows how good she'd be at Purdue but we went through a number of coaches while staying at a high level nationally.
Versyp just can't do that
.Is this "Great" success?
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB CONF HOME ROAD L-10 STREAK
New York Liberty - x 23 11 0.676 0 13-9 12-5 11-6 6-4 L 2
Chicago Sky - x 21 13 0.618 2 14-8 13-4 8-9 7-3 L 1
Indiana Fever - x 20 14 0.588 3 13-9 11-6 9-8 5-5 W 2
Washington Mystics - x 18 16 0.529 5 10-12 11-6 7-10 3-7 L 1
Atlanta Dream - o 15 19 0.441 8 10-12 9-8 6-11 6-4 W 1
Connecticut Sun - o 15 19 0.441 8 6-16 8-9 7-10 3-7 W 1
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB CONF HOME ROAD L-10 STREAK
New York Liberty - x 23 11 0.676 0 13-9 12-5 11-6 6-4 L 2
Chicago Sky - x 21 13 0.618 2 14-8 13-4 8-9 7-3 L 1
Indiana Fever - x 20 14 0.588 3 13-9 11-6 9-8 5-5 W 2
Washington Mystics - x 18 16 0.529 5 10-12 11-6 7-10 3-7 L 1
Atlanta Dream - o 15 19 0.441 8 10-12 9-8 6-11 6-4 W 1
Connecticut Sun - o 15 19 0.441 8 6-16 8-9 7-10 3-7 W 1
We were ranked 67th, but a Big Ten school would not be seeded above 13th. Can you came a 13-16 Big Ten seed?
We would probably just be left out if they didn't feel we were worthy of a bid ahead of some of the small conference winners and the other fringe bubble teams. As it was we were one of the last teams in the field.
I know you have made a decision about the coach, and I understand your position. It is one that I loath taking myself, because I too see some of the same problems. I keep looking for improvements, which I do think I see. So, let's not make this any worse than it is, and recognize improvements when they do occur.
Maybe the team will not improve as quickly as we want, or as quickly as the new AD will want. Then a change will be forthcoming. However, if the team keeps improving from their low point a couple years back, then we should also recognize the positive direction we are heading.
The low point was a year ago! We gaded late again this year. Look at our post Jan. 1 records the last two years. Then consider we lost three Top 100 recruits in the last 14 months. Then consider we've had just two Miss Basketballs in eleven seasons and where is the next one coming from? You are excited with third or fourth place Big Ten finishes. Tell me what dramatic change is likely in the recruiting and cosching of a 12th year coach?
Sorry, but since our team with multiple Miss Basketballs (not just Indiana) that was relatively ineffective, I have been less interested in getting them. Miss Indiana - yes, Miss - what ever - no.
I do not even recognize Miss Basketball from other states. My reference was to those homegrown selections.
In that case, I agree with you. We need to get Miss Indiana Basketball's onto our team. Miss Basketballs from other states have not proven to be as impactful as those from Indiana. Frankly, I have moved from a supporter of the coach, to a more nuetral position. I am not ready to throw out both bath water and baby yet. I am in a wait & see attitude.
I see strong parallels between the MBB and WBB programs. Since the MBB program is recovering nicely, my hope is that the coaching staff for the WBB program can engineer the same sort of recovery. I am seeing us recruit better players such as McBride and Cooper. For me, this next year will determine how I feel about our situation.
We both want the same thing, but we might differ on the path to get there, at least for now.
Two of this year's recruits and our next three future commitments are not ranked in the Top 100. Does a program seeking national relevance consistently recruit players 2-3 years out who are not highly ranked or heavily recruited? Right now we have eleven scholarshipped players on our roster for the next season. It only takes a couple injuries and we don't even have enough players to practice 5 on 5. You have to wonder how we can have four vacant scholarships?
Des, I guess there is a difference in our perspectives, and also, what data we chose to support them. I am seeing an influx of top talent into the program lately. The 2015 class had 3 X 5* players who are top 100 by definition, right? McBryde, Murphy, and Cooper were all 5 star players. The one 3-star was Kiesler, who was pretty good for a freshman big.
Now we all know Cooper backed out of the 2015 class and will come in as a 2016 recruit. She is arriving with Harris, a second 5-star. You say 2 of our 4 recruits are not top 100. I say the other 2 are top 100. That kind of explains why I find hope and you find despair. I might also add that one of those non-5-star players, Grey, is a legacy of one of our assistant coaches. She is supposed to be pretty darned good as well.
You usually have your facts clear, so I might be mistaken but the kid in 2017, Lawson, might also be a top 100 player. The kid who verballed for 2018 (too early to trust any ranking) is the #9 ranked PG in the country, for 2018.
I find “hope” in this that the program is turning around. We are getting better players IMHO, than we have recruited in recent years. That should lead to better results on the court.
Now we all know Cooper backed out of the 2015 class and will come in as a 2016 recruit. She is arriving with Harris, a second 5-star. You say 2 of our 4 recruits are not top 100. I say the other 2 are top 100. That kind of explains why I find hope and you find despair. I might also add that one of those non-5-star players, Grey, is a legacy of one of our assistant coaches. She is supposed to be pretty darned good as well.
You usually have your facts clear, so I might be mistaken but the kid in 2017, Lawson, might also be a top 100 player. The kid who verballed for 2018 (too early to trust any ranking) is the #9 ranked PG in the country, for 2018.
I find “hope” in this that the program is turning around. We are getting better players IMHO, than we have recruited in recent years. That should lead to better results on the court.
Good points MathBoy. No one realized what the Curry mess was going to engender but it really bit us. A number of these recruits are top 100 players. That translates into BT competitiveness and a shot in the NCAA or should. To be an upper echelon team means to get a number of the Top, top players. At this point, we do not get two or three McDonald's AA's. as the top programs do. Maybe Versyp never can. Maybe she can if we start winning more like OSU did. Maybe another coach like White might make a difference. No one knows, but it is true that the recent Versyp classes are better than they have been, with the only, but significant downside, being the transfers, an epidemic throughout college sports now.
Depends on what rankings you use. ESPN does not have any of our future recruits ranked for 2017-18-19.
I did a quick Google search for Purdue WBB recruits. IIRC I landed at the Rivals site that had some rankings for the out-years.
I don't really trust the rankings in WBB and I think they are much less accurate than the rankings for MBB. A good player in one region may be mediocer in another, more competative region. Also, I think most women players do not get the number of chances to be seen that the boys do, hence a smaller sample size to draw rankings from. (It's my theory, and I am sticking to it... right now).
I certainly think that a Rivals #9 ranking in the position for a 2018 kid is widely inaccurate and highly likely to change. I don't put much stock in it, but we do have a verbal from Traylor who has that ranking right now.
I agree with you on getting McD AA's. We need to start pulling in that level of talent. However, until we start to win more, we will probably struggle getting those kids. The only other way to pull them in is to get on them early and often.
Often the recruiting impact in WBB is 3-4 years. Because it takes the kids longer to adapt to the college game, and because the most talented kids stay all 4 years, it is your seniors and juniors that are the most influencial players. Not saying freshmen don't make an impact. It is just the core of the team are probably the senior and junior classes.
By the way, I am not sure the Curry mess is still impacting our recruiting. There are perhaps some echos from that loss of a really good class that were felt several seasons later, when we did not win at the conference level. That caused us to not recruit as well. That impact should no longer be a factor, or at least dying down. I do think there may be other factors. I have alluded to the recruiting budget constraints impact on all our programs as a factor in poor recruiting in MBB and FB. I suspect the same negative impact hit WBB.
It is also possible that our decline in performance can be traced to a low period in Indiana High School WBB. We used to draw much of our core talent locally. I recall looking at the McD AA's for a couple years and seeing few if any Indiana kids. I think it was 2-3 years after Curry left. Des will probably look this up. Right now I am just speculating.
The Curry mess cost us two front line A-A kids and another that was on the cusp. Two of those kids went to Xavier and had them in the Top Ten in the country for at least two years. While this was happening, we began losing and that is the biggest reason for the downturn in recruiting I think. It is not foolish to think that those two players would have not have kept us in the Top Ten which would certainly have given us a better shot at top players. There were a lot of other factors, but it is impossible to believe, along with the Merryweather scandal, that this short time in our history did not have a major impact. But it is over, over, over now and we have to go forward with what we have and that has all been laid out here. Lamenting the glory days if foolish, tho it is fine to always want better. Not many teams are in the upper echelon consistently any more.
