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Arlen/Yackley to Transfer

PolkCityClone said:
Maybe the silver lining is Mos and Anna will be out on the court more.
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Also don't forget about Lightbourne. I have always thought Gen should minutes. The little time she played when Nicky and T were out she was effective and she is by far the most athletic player we have.

Found out the news about an hour ago. I too am shocked. Ashley got substantial PT this season for a freshman and probably looking at a starting role next season. I wish them the best, but ISU WBB is bigger than a couple of players. All the freshmen coming in I believe can play right now and they will have to.
 
akaclone said:
end of season options...every player goe's through it!! #1 quit and never play again..#2 transfer and hope things work-out at the new school or #3 stay and learn to play where you are !!!..these options are the same for every div.1 player...not made up..I'am talking from experience.Oh yea and i also told her no matter what she did we loved her and were proud of her!!!
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Who knows what advice a young athlete gets during their career? Of course their family and friends support them - they are right next to them and close to the situation. They have the support system and will probably have that well beyond athletics and into life after college. Many of them become huge successes in life not because they had stellar careers in athletics but rather they *survived* college athletics and still have their system of support and a personal set of set of experiences that will set them up for success.

Not everyone can be a superstar. I think the lessons of highly competitive sport can prepare you for life better than stardom. The *role player* label that many overly zealous fans seem to discount actually builds more character than being a star and looking better in a box scores. It is a team sport...

The women that "graduate" from Fennelly U. have all been winners. They may not be all Big 12, or even starters, but they have been competitors, students of the game, and students of life. They are better people because of their successes and their struggles.

This is the cool thing about ISU Women's Basketball - We appreciate the contribution of every member. We love the enthusiasm and effort each player gives. We love the support and preparation our non-starters give. Everyone is an important cog in the wheel.

That said, the departure of Yackley and Arlen is baffling. Bad advice? Not up to the challenge? Who knows? They both had tremendous opportunities to become a bigger part of the picture. Maybe they had something going on and used the tired "playing time" excuse so they don't have to address personal issues in the press.

We'll miss them, Yackley and Arlen, but I'll miss our 2008-2009 players that used up their eligibility more. They stayed - they endured, they gave us all they had to give and got the most out of a TEAM EFFORT. They may not have been superstars but they stuck it out and will be remembered as competitors & winners... on and off the court.
 
Per mred's earlier post, the "transfer" talk regarding Arlen and Yackley had already begun back in early March, if not earlier. No one at the time wanted to take it at face value (we're optimists!), but nonetheless the news shouldn't come as a total surprise. The coaches were aware that there was at least a decent chance that the two would transfer out and I'm sure that they've had it on their minds while recuiting.

I'm excited about the potential for this team, especially if they can stay healthy (Gen, be kind to that knee!). With the influx of talented freshmen and the quality of the returning players this team should be able to make some noise in the Big 12. What Bill and staff can do in terms of recruiting on short notice will add to the adventure!

BTW, while certainly not happy with players transferring out, different players excel in different environments and regardless of their reasons for leaving I do wish Ashley and Alexis the best. :smile:
 
wow.. i was looking forward to watching what those two could do in the future.. this next class of freshmen are going to have to step it up alot and we are going to need Genisis to step it up again
 
tim_redd said:
Ahh...

I remember Tegan Stuart.
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For the record, Tegan transferred to Emporia State to play both basketball and softball. I saw her play a couple of times while she was there. She didn't score a lot of points but she was tough on defense (almost a thug) and could get the ball to teammates. Her jersey still looke very big on her, even there. ESU is generally a Top 20 Div. 2 team.
 
Amusing seeing the comments on commitment, wonder how many of those commenting ever tried to balance academics and athletics at the D-I level.

Might not be a bad idea to keep in mind that 1) the school's side of the commitment is on a year-by-year basis; 2) sometimes a player's decision to transfer follows a coach's evaluation that the fit going forward isn't right.

I think Bill Fennelly is a great guy and runs a fabulous program (and I'm an Iowa fan, BTW), but if the coach and player find themselves in serious disagreement, it's best for the player to move on. And there isn't a college anywhere that's the right place for everybody. No doubt many of you here had the experience of going from small town to big campus as an 18-19 year-old. Wasn't always peaches and cream that first year, right?

Hey, ms3765(threadstarter) that was one of the nastiest posts I've seen on a sports board. Karma's a b***h, hope that little bit of poison comes back to you x10.
 
PolkCityClone said:
Maybe the silver lining is Mos and Anna will be out on the court more.
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I think it says a lot that those two have stuck around. Both could have easily done the same thing at anytime the last two years. Mos did an internship last year and Flo is doing one with the Chiefs this year, missing some summer court time. They have probably paid with minutes during the season, but kudos for sticking with it and working to achieve their ultimate goals in life.
 
Royalclone said:
For the record, Tegan transferred to Emporia State to play both basketball and softball. I saw her play a couple of times while she was there. She didn't score a lot of points but she was tough on defense (almost a thug) and could get the ball to teammates.
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Tegan was an all-american softball player in high school, so that doesn't surprise me.

Given her toughness, it shouldn't surprise you what she's up to now:

IWFL - Independent Women's Football League Supporting Women in Football
 
Genesis picked the right season to have a knee injury. We really needed her in 07-08 after Ross and Wieben went down, and we'll really need her this upcoming season.
 
mred said:
Her team is playing in Iowa (v Iowa Crush @ Bondurant-Farrar HS) soon. Unfortunately it's this Saturday at 3pm -- the same time as the ISU spring game.
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Hmmm...watch ISU practice or Tegan Stuart kick butt...that's an easy one...
 
cyfan84 said:
Per mred's earlier post, the "transfer" talk regarding Arlen and Yackley had already begun back in early March, if not earlier. No one at the time wanted to take it at face value (we're optimists!), but nonetheless the news shouldn't come as a total surprise. The coaches were aware that there was at least a decent chance that the two would transfer out and I'm sure that they've had it on their minds while recuiting. :smile:
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Since I was the one who made the earlier post I should probably chime in here. Each players' decision is certainly unique and complex, consisting of core issues and peripheral ones. Clearly, one of the core issues is that BF is a difficult coach to play for. Some earlier posters referred to him 'pushing' players, and inferred that maybe they couldn't take it.

What I have seen and heard over the last 11 years goes WAY beyond pushing players. Many of you have seen and commented on the WHO-TV video of BF screaming at Nicky two inches from her face. That is not an isolated incident. Let's just say that adoration from former players is far from universal. If I had a child playing for BF, and he spoke to her the way I have heard him speak to current and former players, one of us would have to be carried out of the building. And I say this as a coach who has worked with female high school athletes for twenty years.

It is also clear that one of the peripheral issues for Arlen was her(evidently intense) dislike for plane travel. You can pick this up from one of her CyberCy'd blogs this year.

I am also aware that one of the peripherals for Yackley was homesickness, which is unfortunate, but something that some kids never fully deal with.

While I think Bill could be an even more effective coach if he could soften his feedback sometimes, it's doubtful this leopard will be changing his spots anytime soon. I remain a fan, and am sure they will field a competitive team next year and beyond.
 
gizzsdad said:
Since I was the one who made the earlier post I should probably chime in here. Each players' decision is certainly unique and complex, consisting of core issues and peripheral ones. Clearly, one of the core issues is that BF is a difficult coach to play for. Some earlier posters referred to him 'pushing' players, and inferred that maybe they couldn't take it.

What I have seen and heard over the last 11 years goes WAY beyond pushing players. Many of you have seen and commented on the WHO-TV video of BF screaming at Nicky two inches from her face. That is not an isolated incident. Let's just say that adoration from former players is far from universal. If I had a child playing for BF, and he spoke to her the way I have heard him speak to current and former players, one of us would have to be carried out of the building. And I say this as a coach who has worked with female high school athletes for twenty years.

It is also clear that one of the peripheral issues for Arlen was her(evidently intense) dislike for plane travel. You can pick this up from one of her CyberCy'd blogs this year.

I am also aware that one of the peripherals for Yackley was homesickness, which is unfortunate, but something that some kids never fully deal with.

While I think Bill could be an even more effective coach if he could soften his feedback sometimes, it's doubtful this leopard will be changing his spots anytime soon. I remain a fan, and am sure they will field a competitive team next year and beyond.
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Why would Fennelly change anything about his coaching style? We just went to the Elite 8! If players can't handle a coach yelling at them they should play intramural ball instead. College basketball is a big time business and the athletes need to understand that. If they aren't mentally tough enough to get yelled at by a coach who wants to push them to be their very best we don't need them wearing a Cyclone uniform.
 
Considering his effectiveness got this team to the Elite 8, I can't say he could be much more effective than that given the personnel. Some players are just soft. He said he's been harder on this team than any other. Players weren't playing to their potential and he brought out everything he could in them. This isn't high school BB, we're consistently one of the better teams in the biggest conference in the country. What qualifies as pushing players is relative. If this team would have continued along its merry way mid-season and BF would have been all happy-nice, this team would not have achieved the success they had. They were going nowhere at the time.
 
I have been reading these post now for 24 hours. I am totally appalled at the nastiness and meanness towards these young ladies. I have a few comment and observations that I would like to post myself:
First of all I find it "interesting" that all three freshmen were recruited by BF and the coaching staff and were given a full ride scholarship-meaning they are D1 recruits- (unless ofcourse D1 scholarships are just given to- oh you know-who ever wants one???) So does that mean than BF is no longer able to evaluate talent? Oh how dare you speak ill
of our head coach? Why won't you "haters" and "know-nothings" let these young ladies leave on their terms and quit "guessing" at the reasons for their departure and spewing all your lack-of-knowledge of basketball in general!
I personally DO NOT believe that BF recruits selfish, disloyal athletes that expect full playing-time ever!
I DO NOT believe BF recuits young ladies that would leave as "Freshman due to lack of playing time".
I DO NOT believe BF recruits players that do not or can not take criticisim!
I DO NOT believe BF recruits players that can not handle his "practices and workouts"!
I DO NOT believe BF would put out all the positive press at the beginning of the seaon and throughout the season on any or all of these girls if he did not feel they were D1 players or loyal, respectful young ladies!
So with all this said, sometimes one should be careful what you wish for cause "you just might get it" and NOT really like what you get!
This is a personal decision by not one, not two, but three young ladies who were part of an Elite Eight team-weather they had 1 minute or 40 minutes of playing time-they were part of it! To make any of these young ladies feel that their role wasn't any better than one of the starters is absurd!
BF makes sure that the "role players" are also an intrical part of each and every play! Don't you see the "high fives and suppport" from the bench?
In closing, these three young ladies made what appears to me as a tough, heart-wrenching decision. ISU and Ames is a great place to live and go to school. BF and his coaching staff has built a qualitly program bringing in only quality people. To try and lessen these three young ladies and question their decisions IS NOT FAIR! Do yourselves all a favor and stop the hate!
 
Thanks to MRED for useful posts on this transfer business. Rachel Pierson and Lisa Bildeau were the two most serious losses in recent years, I think. They both were either already strong inside players or had the potential to be so. Lisa B. said she was simply tired of the game, if I recall rightly.
I believe in general that few people ever know the full stories in such transfer cases, and why or how should we? There is the issue of privacy, after all. The public is left to wonder about what has NOT been said about the motives for such moves.
Which brings me to a specific point: I do not think that lack of playing time is the real reason for Arlen's transfer; as many have pointed out, she was likely to have played a great deal next year as only a sophomore. Thus, it is likely that there is more to her move than her stated motive.
 
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