I am sure Nicki is not yet done in the portal. Likely this won't be starting line up.

i wonder where Samaya Smith is headed haven't heard much about her yet.

I believe we recruited her and were in her top 7 but I do not think she ever visited.

BaylorBears_254 said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

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BaylorBears_254 said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

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BaylorBears_254 said:

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Typical reply from the person that THINKS and WANTS to be always right, but will completely switch his stance mid year or towards the end.

Trinity will provide better defense than JVG; however, she won't be the better shooter. Her willingness to attack the rim will depend on the players this team has around her. Not easy to attack the rim, with no shooters. Crazy i have to defend JVG and i wasn't a fan. Like i said, if this is who we consider our starting guard next to Scott, we failed with the portal.


Thompson can shoot it, but comparing her to Bella as if that's hard to beat is ridiculous lmao. Everything Bella threw up from 3, i had absolutely no confidence in.

Again, these are ok depth pieces, but if you consider these two moves to catapult the team next year, you're lying to not only yourself but everyone here.


Also, I don't want you to go back on this either once next year rolls around and it didn't pan out, you're very quick to do such.

Im all for sunshine pumping, but be realistic.

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Nice Goal Post Move.

You opine that obtaining two Starters from upper half SEC teams is "eh players". When opposed, you pivot to attacks, different issues (catapult the team), etc.

Normal people understand that evaluating players and projecting team results are different topics.
Teams rise and fall on numerous bases.

Funny how you are so easily triggered by a different opinion citing publicly available data.

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Where did i move the goal post? Or did i just use my own evaluation process? I replied to every point you stated.

Of the 2, Turner is the only one who played heavy minutes…Thompson averaged 14 for the year and taking a look at it, against the better teams she didn't have the best of games.

Could these two flourish in the Big 12? Sure. What is the goal tho? Build an average team to compete in the Big 12 amongst maybe 2 other teams? Or nationwide? Last I checked, you wre VERY adamant that NC needs to knock it out the ballpark this portal. Would these really be ballpark home-runs AP?

I didn't attack you at all btw, sorry that you're used to everyone bowing and agreeing with you on the free board.

Im not triggered at all, I just replied, since my original post came off as "nonsense", but you wouldn't consider that an attack on your end.

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Why would anyone ding Thompson for playing 507 minutes for the season when she played the same position as Cotie McMahon (WNBA #11 draft pick)? She was effective when she played and she played a decent amount in the top conference.

Why compliment the 2026 NIL efforts? Same reason to ding the 2025 NIL efforts.
Only practical threshold…….were needs addressed at a reasonable level?

Big 3 holes last season:

1) ball handling against ball pressure

addressed? Yes

2) ability to dribble attack in half court offense

addressed? Yes

3) spotty three point shooting

addressed? Yes

Can new problems arise? Yes
is it possible that pieces don't fit together? Yes
can injuries occur? Yes
Can teenagers do dumb stuff and get suspended? Yes

But evaluating the Portal success is primarily about "were glaring holes addressed"?

and the same standard that made dinging CNC last year an appropriate response now says offer her props this season.
same plate, same dimensions, simply calling balls and strikes depending on where the pitch lands.

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What do we consider affective AP? I understand playing beside a ball dominant player, however, what role is she truly playing here that would be much of a difference with another ball dominant player in Scott?

Last year wasn't a terrible portal. We landed a big fish, but we backed it up with a few players that didn't pan out. Deng was 50/50 for me, I think with the correct coaching she could have flourished more . Johnson did what was expected. Pimberton was the true fail.

Ball handling against pressure? I agree, however we take a hit with shooting which is what NC wants to center her offense around.

Ability to attack? I agree, my rebuttal is that paint is going to be clogged due to no outside shooters, making it easier to defend the paint.

3 point shooting still needs to he addressed. Im not one to depend on Thompson coming in and fixing that.

As I stated, im all for evuals, i NEVER disagreed. I just think you have to look at it both ways. Issues were addressed, but the new additions have glaring ones as well.

Which is why a said a player like a McMiller and a solid post is VERY important to add to this group.

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If I understand your question……

2025 Portal was a misfire for two reasons:

1) 2025 priorities in order of importance: PG, SG, rotational post, backup swing 3/4 (shooter)

Hitting on items 2-4 doesn't fix the issues of missing on the biggest priority.
PG is simply the most important offensive position.
CNC missed badly

2) #1 above forced our new SG to function as our half court O initiator. That reality basically resulted in our top two priorities being unmet or damaged. It also damaged #4 priority because one of our two effective shooters became an initiator and our other shooter got blanketed.

It is the domino effect. First bad domino falls; numerous bad dominoes fall.

CNC couldn't run her preferred offense. By the end of the season we couldn't run any offense because we ground Scott's legs into mincemeat.

Add on that our D became less effective because our constant turnovers resulted in huge transitional O opportunities for opponents.

Simply having a player who can consistently win the dribble improves not only that PG position but also Scott.
A PG that isn't a turnover machine improves our D.

We now have 3 players besides an initiator who shot the 3 effectively at decent volume. That number could reach 5 players even w/o the initiator being one of them.

half court offenses rarely work without a front side shooter and a backside shooter. Add a top side shooter & a reliable rimroller and they become lethal. A shooting PG is great. A dribble winning PG is far more important in our ballscreen O. Winning the dribble makes everything else open up. Is shooting still needed? Yes. But shooting is the second domino, dribble drive is the first domino.

Donovyn Hunter from TCU to UCLA.

Brusinbear2001 said:

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i wonder where Samaya Smith is headed haven't heard much about her yet.

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Still at VA

Smith is still in the transfer portal. She would be a good pickup for Baylor, good rebounder, good foot movement, soft touch around the basket. If healthy, she can score 10-15 pts/game and a double-bouble player.

I think so too just need a Point and and forward for sure now. We still have one more commitment that has to be announced. Maybe it's Vann

Dont want to be ungrateful for our transfers but I hope nicki pick up someone height as well. Like starter worthy height. If im not mistaking we will have just 4 players over 6 foot.

Wbbfan29 said:

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Dont want to be ungrateful for our transfers but I hope nicki pick up someone height as well. Like starter worthy height. If im not mistaking we will have just 4 players over 6 foot.

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We are a little small and definitely need a 4 with size, but other than TCU we aren't likely to be overwhelmed.
TCU has/will overwhelm us on the boards if we don't add at least one more player 6'3 or taller.

BaylorBears_254 said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

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BaylorBears_254 said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

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BaylorBears_254 said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

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BaylorBears_254 said:

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Typical reply from the person that THINKS and WANTS to be always right, but will completely switch his stance mid year or towards the end.

Trinity will provide better defense than JVG; however, she won't be the better shooter. Her willingness to attack the rim will depend on the players this team has around her. Not easy to attack the rim, with no shooters. Crazy i have to defend JVG and i wasn't a fan. Like i said, if this is who we consider our starting guard next to Scott, we failed with the portal.


Thompson can shoot it, but comparing her to Bella as if that's hard to beat is ridiculous lmao. Everything Bella threw up from 3, i had absolutely no confidence in.

Again, these are ok depth pieces, but if you consider these two moves to catapult the team next year, you're lying to not only yourself but everyone here.


Also, I don't want you to go back on this either once next year rolls around and it didn't pan out, you're very quick to do such.

Im all for sunshine pumping, but be realistic.

---

Nice Goal Post Move.

You opine that obtaining two Starters from upper half SEC teams is "eh players". When opposed, you pivot to attacks, different issues (catapult the team), etc.

Normal people understand that evaluating players and projecting team results are different topics.
Teams rise and fall on numerous bases.

Funny how you are so easily triggered by a different opinion citing publicly available data.

---

Where did i move the goal post? Or did i just use my own evaluation process? I replied to every point you stated.

Of the 2, Turner is the only one who played heavy minutes…Thompson averaged 14 for the year and taking a look at it, against the better teams she didn't have the best of games.

Could these two flourish in the Big 12? Sure. What is the goal tho? Build an average team to compete in the Big 12 amongst maybe 2 other teams? Or nationwide? Last I checked, you wre VERY adamant that NC needs to knock it out the ballpark this portal. Would these really be ballpark home-runs AP?

I didn't attack you at all btw, sorry that you're used to everyone bowing and agreeing with you on the free board.

Im not triggered at all, I just replied, since my original post came off as "nonsense", but you wouldn't consider that an attack on your end.

---

Why would anyone ding Thompson for playing 507 minutes for the season when she played the same position as Cotie McMahon (WNBA #11 draft pick)? She was effective when she played and she played a decent amount in the top conference.

Why compliment the 2026 NIL efforts? Same reason to ding the 2025 NIL efforts.
Only practical threshold…….were needs addressed at a reasonable level?

Big 3 holes last season:

1) ball handling against ball pressure

addressed? Yes

2) ability to dribble attack in half court offense

addressed? Yes

3) spotty three point shooting

addressed? Yes

Can new problems arise? Yes
is it possible that pieces don't fit together? Yes
can injuries occur? Yes
Can teenagers do dumb stuff and get suspended? Yes

But evaluating the Portal success is primarily about "were glaring holes addressed"?

and the same standard that made dinging CNC last year an appropriate response now says offer her props this season.
same plate, same dimensions, simply calling balls and strikes depending on where the pitch lands.

---

What do we consider affective AP? I understand playing beside a ball dominant player, however, what role is she truly playing here that would be much of a difference with another ball dominant player in Scott?

Last year wasn't a terrible portal. We landed a big fish, but we backed it up with a few players that didn't pan out. Deng was 50/50 for me, I think with the correct coaching she could have flourished more . Johnson did what was expected. Pimberton was the true fail.

Ball handling against pressure? I agree, however we take a hit with shooting which is what NC wants to center her offense around.

Ability to attack? I agree, my rebuttal is that paint is going to be clogged due to no outside shooters, making it easier to defend the paint.

3 point shooting still needs to he addressed. Im not one to depend on Thompson coming in and fixing that.

As I stated, im all for evuals, i NEVER disagreed. I just think you have to look at it both ways. Issues were addressed, but the new additions have glaring ones as well.

Which is why a said a player like a McMiller and a solid post is VERY important to add to this group.

---

If I understand your question……

2025 Portal was a misfire for two reasons:

1) 2025 priorities in order of importance: PG, SG, rotational post, backup swing 3/4 (shooter)

Hitting on items 2-4 doesn't fix the issues of missing on the biggest priority.
PG is simply the most important offensive position.
CNC missed badly

2) #1 above forced our new SG to function as our half court O initiator. That reality basically resulted in our top two priorities being unmet or damaged. It also damaged #4 priority because one of our two effective shooters became an initiator and our other shooter got blanketed.

It is the domino effect. First bad domino falls; numerous bad dominoes fall.

CNC couldn't run her preferred offense. By the end of the season we couldn't run any offense because we ground Scott's legs into mincemeat.

Add on that our D became less effective because our constant turnovers resulted in huge transitional O opportunities for opponents.

Simply having a player who can consistently win the dribble improves not only that PG position but also Scott.
A PG that isn't a turnover machine improves our D.

We now have 3 players besides an initiator who shot the 3 effectively at decent volume. That number could reach 5 players even w/o the initiator being one of them.

half court offenses rarely work without a front side shooter and a backside shooter. Add a top side shooter & a reliable rimroller and they become lethal. A shooting PG is great. A dribble winning PG is far more important in our ballscreen O. Winning the dribble makes everything else open up. Is shooting still needed? Yes. But shooting is the second domino, dribble drive is the first domino.

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Now we're cooking, and having conversation.

Im not defending the 2025 portal by any means. I think Scott was the only bright spot, however, the exact reason Im criticizing this portal start is because we are taking players that I feel like we could FOR SURE slow play, while we hunt for better players. Give me the rankings for all 3 players that committed and outside of maybe the Utah girl, the other two would be extremely low.

slow playing the Portal is juggling hand grenades. Strike fast, strike hard. The music stops unexpectedly. Have a chair.

I understand the need/want for "fit", but are we truly doing out due diligence to bring in the correct players to fix the holes we had.

A PG that can dribble penetrate is for sure important, but she averaged about the same TO's per game as Jana. To top that off even more, the ONLY reason her TO percentage isn't higher is because she took care of the ball within her weak non-conf schedule. Soon as conference hit, she wasn't very good. Nonetheless, Im willing to see if that improves with a less talented Big 12, so that helps out on that end.

the gap between the two players is huge. There is a massive gap between a turnover trying to make O happen with a bad roster and a turnover simply trying to get the ball to half court.

Thompsons averages, coupled with minutes played don't scream game changer to me at all. Im sorry. Again, im willing to give the benefit of doubt since the Big 12 is nowhere near the SEC in terms of tougher matchups.

If we can pull off the OU guard, i would feel better, she's battle tested for sure and clears the Georgia guard. She also played with a similar player to Scott in Chavez.

Baylor WBB will almost certainly sign a combo guard in some form.

I think when you look at the offense NC "wants" vs what is presented, you can see why the teams struggle. This is deeper than the recruiting, and just more on the coaching/staff. My trust in them is where i truly have an issue. We run an offense with no identity.

CNC's offense has a very clear identity. The problems are (1) not having the right players to run it, and (2) the fact that it was a great offense to run when she was hired in 2021 but is now out of date and needs updating. Last season was especially ugly because the staff continually threw crap against the wall to see if anything stuck. We were INCREDIBLY BAD in half court O.

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I hope we get players to fit her style. If we don't, I hope she updates her style to maximize her players. No more forcing a square peg in a round hole.

Adriacus Peratuun said:

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Wbbfan29 said:

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Dont want to be ungrateful for our transfers but I hope nicki pick up someone height as well. Like starter worthy height. If im not mistaking we will have just 4 players over 6 foot.

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We are a little small and definitely need a 4 with size, but other than TCU we aren't likely to be overwhelmed.
TCU has/will overwhelm us on the boards if we don't add at least one more player 6'3 or taller.

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Weren't we overwhelmed by both Tech and Colorado?

LTBear19 said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

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Wbbfan29 said:

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Dont want to be ungrateful for our transfers but I hope nicki pick up someone height as well. Like starter worthy height. If im not mistaking we will have just 4 players over 6 foot.

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We are a little small and definitely need a 4 with size, but other than TCU we aren't likely to be overwhelmed.
TCU has/will overwhelm us on the boards if we don't add at least one more player 6'3 or taller.

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Weren't we overwhelmed by both Tech and Colorado?

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Note the comment was forward looking.

Baylorbearsupporter said:

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Coach nicki has started following skylar jones (arizona) and justice carlton (texas)

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Jones started at Arizona but was at Louisville last year. Was the player who exited right before NCAAT. Likely making her a very inexpensive add

Adriacus Peratuun said:

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Baylorbearsupporter said:

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Coach nicki has started following skylar jones (arizona) and justice carlton (texas)

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Jones started at Arizona but was at Louisville last year. Was the player who exited right before NCAAT. Likely making her a very inexpensive ad.

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Any idea why she left Louisville?

Baylorbearsupporter said:

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Coach nicki has started following skylar jones (arizona) and justice carlton (texas)

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I am all for this. This could help the 3 position.

Is she a needle mover?

https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/player/stats/_/id/5239073/trinity-turner

I admit she does need to improve shooting from the field and 3, but she is a facilitator on offense. The turnovers could be cut down too. This is based on the numbers.

ScottyB_The_Baylor_King said:

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https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/player/stats/_/id/5239073/trinity-turner

I admit she does need to improve shooting from the field and 3, but she is a facilitator on offense. The turnovers could be cut down too. This is based on the numbers.

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So no. She isn't a day one needle mover.

Up from JVG, yes, as it relates to ppg, rb, and fg%. About the same on turnovers.

Eager to see the next moves that are made.

Id have to imagine, the cost to get the current 3 ladies wasn't expensive at all. Hoping there is more than enough to get 2 for sure impact players

BaylorBears_254 said:

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Eager to see the next moves that are made.

Id have to imagine, the cost to get the current 3 ladies wasn't expensive at all. Hoping there is more than enough to get 2 for sure impact players

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Agree. Two proven players that put us in the conversation with tcu…too big an ask? Hope not. I'm wondering…are we going with the PGs we have? What about our bigs? What type impact players?

Bargain shopping long athletic threes. Great. Easier position to fill. Bargains to be had.

Use whatever spend is left on an upsized four that has shooting range. If another good but cost effective combo guard falls in our lap then great.

Roster holes are in much better shape than at any point in CNC tenure. Good for her but it shouldn't have taken five years to get to this point.

O'Neal is the Dream add. But any 6'3 or above four with some shooting range is a Big Plus. One more wing shooter wouldn't be bad either.

I think Skylar Forbes would be ideal. UCLA and Louisville have been linked to her.

It would be great to get her! 5 Star recruit, # 11 in class. Will take a lot of NIL to pull this off.

O'Neal with a DNC Tag on entering the Portal.

Oh Well……..next option.
Maybe some day a DNC will mean Baylor bound.