Transfer Portal

[Shades]

Shakira Austin of Maryland enters the transfer portal.

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

Shakira Austin of Maryland enters the transfer portal.

Maryland women’s basketball’s Shakira Austin to transfer from the program

The sophomore is the second player to transfer from the program this week.

www.testudotimes.com

Maryland women’s basketball suffered its second loss of the week as sophomore Shakira Austin intends to transfer from the program, a team spokesperson confirmed to Testudo Times.

This decision comes just two days after fellow center Olivia Owens announced her decision to leave the program after a redshirt season in 2019-20.

At 6’5, Austin was part of a two-headed monster inside alongside senior Stephanie Jones. She was second on the team with 12 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in her sophomore season, while starting in 26 of 32 games, to earn Second Team All-Big Ten honors.

...

With Austin and Owens departing the program, there is now an instant need for players next season at the forward position. Maryland is a team that often dominated teams with its array of tall talents, but now Diamond Miller, Mimi Collins and incoming freshman Angel Reese are the tallest players at 6’3.

 

[Katogopher]

Big loss for Maryland, but I think they have another good recruiting class coming in. Frese always seems to stockpile good talent

 

[adamj95]

Come on up to Minny!

 

[Katogopher]

Ok, misspoke, according to ESPN, Maryland has only 1 recruit coming in although she is a good one. #2 Angel Reese, again according to ESPN.

 

[Shades]

Big loss for Maryland, but I think they have another good recruiting class coming in. Frese always seems to stockpile good talent

Not nearly enough to make up for the loss of Charles, Jones, Watson, and another senior to graduation, plus now the loss of Austin and Owens to the portal.

 

[Shades]

 

[LakevilleBro]

I get a feeling that Brenda Frese is not fun to play for. 3 players transferred in 2017, and 3 more players just transferred. Something is not right there.

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

 

[MNGirlsHoops]

Ok, misspoke, according to ESPN, Maryland has only 1 recruit coming in although she is a good one. #2 Angel Reese, again according to ESPN.

Reese will be a headache just watch....

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

 

[tripledouble]

Looks like some good post players have entered the portal. It would be great if the Gophers could add a post transfer. On Maryland losing Austin, that's a huge loss for the Terps. I agree with the thought that there must be something about Freese that at least some players don't like, as she has lost an alarming number of star players in recent years. I can always understand if players decide to leave to get more playing time somewhere else, but players like Austin and Slocum had ample playing time before transferring. (Geno has lost some players, but he hasn't lost as many players as Freese has.) Thankfully for Brenda, she is a helluva recruiter (best ihe BIG). On a related note, I recall that Austin didn't start in one of Maryland's late season games. When asked why, Freese disclosed that Austin had been late for a meeting. At the same time, Freese noted that Austin is a good person and she didn't expect that become a regular occurrence. As a final note, it's obvious that things have now changed in the era of the transfer portal. A coach and staff who bust their tails to secure a major recruit can no longer feel comfortable that they'll have that recruit for 4 years. They better make sure that they figure out how to communicate with that player once they arrive on campus or the time they spent recruiting will have been wasted. (The Wichita State men's team has 6 players transferring from a coach and program that has previously been successful; the Ole Miss women's team has lost 2 key players to transfer.) I'd like to see a stat on coaches who lose players to transfer. Seems to me that, among other longstanding coaches, Izzo on the men's side and Bluder on the women's side have lost very few players to transfer. I think this says something about those coaches and their staffs. Sorry for the longwinded diatribe. Stuck at home, as many of us are these days.

 

[Shades]

Each case is different. Probably not wise to make any generalizations out of transfers, especially considering Whalen already has two in only her second year.

Looks like Austin went to 4 different high schools. Is that normal? She might have parents that are overly controlling of her basketball career.

 

[LakevilleBro]

Each case is different. Probably not wise to make any generalizations out of transfers, especially considering Whalen already has two in only her second year.

Looks like Austin went to 4 different high schools. Is that normal? She might have parents that are overly controlling of her basketball career.

That should be a giant red flag for coaches, when a player goes to 4 different high schools in 4 years. Now she is leaving Maryland.

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

Illinois' Petra Holesinska is a grad transfer.

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

A big one in the B1G.

 

[whalenfan]

A big one in the B1G.

Extremely talented player but there seemed to be alot going on with her. She was suspended early in the year. Then left the team for personal reasons for a couple games later in the year. Ohio State has now lost 3 of their 6 recruits in last years monster class.

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

Ashtyn Veerbeek to Transfer from Nebraska to Dordt

Nebraska women's basketball will be losing one of their top players for this next season. According to a Dordt University release, Sophomore Ashtyn Veerbeek announced her intention to transfer away from Nebraska and to the school in her hometown of Sioux Center, Iowa. Dordt plays in the Great Pla

www.klin.com

This, on the surface, is odd-even today.

Nebraska women’s basketball will be losing one of their top players for this next season.

According to a Dordt University release, Sophomore Ashtyn Veerbeek announced her intention to transfer away from Nebraska and to the school in her hometown of Sioux Center, Iowa. Dordt plays in the Great Plains Athletic Conference at the NAIA level.

“I chose to transfer to Dordt University because I wanted to be a part of a great faith-centered community and play in front of all my family and friends in my hometown,” said Veerbeek in the release.

Veerbeek started in all 29 games that she played during the season, averaging 7.4 points and 4.3 rebounds a game while shooting 44.1-percent from the field and 34.8-percent from beyond the arc.

She joins Kayla Mershon as the only underclassmen so far to be leaving the program, and joins seniors Hannah Whitish and Nicea Eliely as outgoing starters that will need replaced. Kristian Hudson and Grace Mitchell are also outgoing seniors

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

The transfer portal is now an essential service.

 

[blkroll]

Ashtyn Veerbeek to Transfer from Nebraska to Dordt

Nebraska women's basketball will be losing one of their top players for this next season. According to a Dordt University release, Sophomore Ashtyn Veerbeek announced her intention to transfer away from Nebraska and to the school in her hometown of Sioux Center, Iowa. Dordt plays in the Great Pla

www.klin.com

This, on the surface, is odd-even today.

Homesickness for both?

 

[CutDownTheNet]

Ashtyn Veerbeek to Transfer from Nebraska to Dordt

Nebraska women's basketball will be losing one of their top players for this next season. According to a Dordt University release, Sophomore Ashtyn Veerbeek announced her intention to transfer away from Nebraska and to the school in her hometown of Sioux Center, Iowa. Dordt plays in the Great Pla

www.klin.com

This, on the surface, is odd-even today.

That's a big blow for Nebraska. They'll have Cain for another year, but Kate Cain and Ashtyn Veerbeek were the one-two rebounding/blocking duo that just killed other Big-Ten teams, and gave the Huskers a fighting chance for their (otherwise average) guards to go to work and win games for them. The Gophers, for instance, seemingly had no choice (or at least didn't execute on what other choices they had) but to run poor 6'2" Taiye all-by-herself against equally-sized Veerbeek plus 6'5" Cain. We never had a fighting chance. In one game against Nebraska, I recall that Cain blocked about 5 of our shots. With Cain blocking out Taiye, Veerbeek could get easy rebounds since she was always guarded by a Gopher guard. A recipe for disaster, and disaster it was.

Without Veerbeek, they'll have to scramble go fill hat PF position.

As to reasons why she's going home to play for Dordt, besides the fact that she can be the star of a D3 team, it's pretty much certain that almost every single one of her high-school friends went to Dordt. This I knew even before reading her quote that pretty much admitted as much. It's most certainly also a religious thing (the faith-based community thing that she mentions) - maybe she realized a bit late that the secular school was not as good a fit for her as the religious school. I know this bit of it first-hand, because Dordt is the other CRC school that is the sister school to Calvin U (who often competes post-season with St. Thomas, at both women's and men's basketball) where I went as a freshman/sophomore - as did virtually all of my high-school friends. I had the opposite reaction, it was too parochial for me, and I needed to switch to a secular school. Perhaps Ashtyn had the opposite reaction, needing to switch from secular to religious school. Just speculation, but I can very easily see many motivations for her transfer besides just homesickness. It's not that far of a drive home on weekends from Nebraska. The secular school Nebraska was just not a good fit for her. Now, ironically (and too bad for Minnesota), she might have been a good fit with the Gophers since there are 4 CRC churches in town to attend plus on-campus ministries, etc. Too late now - she's D3.

 

[CutDownTheNet]

Big loss for Maryland, but I think they have another good recruiting class coming in. Frese always seems to stockpile good talent

Yeah you're right in that Frese always seems to luck out big-time with the recruits. But I agree with the other comments - namely that I suspect Frese is a bear to be coached by. There are some players that are just going to be rubbed the wrong way by her.

On one hand, that can happen with any coach/player combination. We'll never know the deep details, but underneath all the peripheral details, it just might well be that in the long run Lindsay and Destiny may have simply been incompatible personalities with different styles of working, etc.

On the other hand, Frese simply drives me crazy with her complete over-the-top-ness over every little thing in every game. Without even meeting her, I could tell you that I had joined the Maryland WBB program, I would have had to hit the transfer portal after about the first couple games. Frese just gives the the creeps.

> @tripledouble: I recall that Austin didn't start in one of Maryland's late season games. When asked why, Freese disclosed that Austin had been late for a meeting. At the same time, Freese noted that Austin is a good person and she didn't expect that become a regular occurrence.

OK, late for a meeting, I guess if Frese wants to not-start Austin as punishment for that, that's her prerogative. Thank goodness Austin didn't use bad body language.

Not-start-for-a-game ... that should also have been Pitts punishment for bad body language. But in the end, it might just have been incompatible personalities in both cases.

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

As to reasons why she's going home to play for Dordt, besides the fact that she can be the star of a D3 team, it's pretty much certain that almost every single one of her high-school friends went to Dordt.

Dordt is a NAIA school.

 

[Whytetale]

Kayla Mershon, Welcome home!

Kayla Mershon Transferring from Nebraska to Minnesota

Another transfer from Nebraska women's basketball. Sophomore Kayla Mershon joins fellow sophomore Ashtyn Veerbeek in leaving the program. While Veerbeek is going to Dordt at the NAIA level, Mershon is off to Big Ten foe Minnesota. Mershon made the announcement via her Instagram account Tuesday

www.1620thezone.com

 

[Shades]

The Chanshassen, Minnesota native played in all 30 games this past season while starting one, averaging 1.6 points and 2.5 rebounds on 34.7-percent shooting. In her freshman campaign, she started 14 of the 30 games, averaging 3.2 points and 3.0 rebounds.

She went from starting 14 games (3.2 ppg) her freshman year to starting one game this year (1.6 ppg). Should we be celebrating? I guess I’m one of those rare Minnesota fans that actually want to win.

 

[bball_craz_31]

She went from starting 14 games (3.2 ppg) her freshman year to starting one game this year (1.6 ppg). Should we be celebrating? I guess I’m one of those rare Minnesota fans that actually want to win.

Sissoko averaged 3.2 ppg at Syracuse, should we not want her as a transfer? and right players cant ever shine with more playing time and opportunity right? Not like Lamke or Taiye did it the last two seasons or anything.

Complains we lack height, and get 6'3 transfer, yet still has an issue.

 

[skiumah1]

Sissoko averaged 3.2 ppg at Syracuse, should we not want her as a transfer? and right players cant ever shine with more playing time and opportunity right? Not like Lamke or Taiye did it the last two seasons or anything.

Complains we lack height, and get 6'3 transfer, yet still has an issue.

Bring 'em all in. We're building here. Far from a finished product. They might not be great but I agree more playing time and you never know with these girls. Also we can use the depth right now. I like the roster she's putting together going into this coming year.

 

[MNGirlsHoops]

Whalen is starting to bring in kids that are 'team first' players, chemistry is huge at the D1 level.. The amount of kids transferring is shocking, especially the Maryland and Ohio St. kids. There are several categories of transfers, I'm talking about the kids that don't agree with their coach, maybe playing time, maybe the coach wants them to play a different role then what they want... News alert to these kids, the grass is not greener on another team. The reality for many is they are not being realistic on their skill set for the level they are playing at and that probably is not going to change from school to school, unless you drop from power5 to mid or mid to D2 etc etc. In some cases though, you fill a void moving to another team, but that is not the kid I'm referring to.
When AAU coaches share honest opinions to kids, the families usually get defensive and either talk bad about their coach or they leave the program.. seen it.

 

[Shades]

Sissoko averaged 3.2 ppg at Syracuse, should we not want her as a transfer?

I guess the point of Mershon regressing from her freshman year flew way over your head. How often is that a good sign? Sissoko has only played her freshman year, and she was very highly rated out of high school, so she’s a safer bet, although no sure thing either.

and right players cant ever shine with more playing time and opportunity right?

It was hard to read whatever that was, but are you saying Nebraska did her wrong and Whalen will be giving her more playing time and opportunity... just because? Whalenland hasn’t exactly been shown as the land of opportunity with the starters getting heavy minutes while other players are being hidden on the bench. Why did Staples leave again?

Not like Lamke or Taiye did it the last two seasons or anything.

Lamke didn’t do anything last season. She wasn’t here. I want to know the history of Gopher players who regressed from their freshman season.

Complains we lack height, and get 6'3 transfer, yet still has an issue.

Except it was a legitimate issue you fail to recognize. Again, I want to win. I want GREAT players in all positions. That’s my issue.

 

[bball_craz_31]

I guess the point of Mershon regressing from her freshman year flew way over your head. How often is that a good sign? Sissoko has only played her freshman year, and she was very highly rated out of high school, so she’s a safer bet, although no sure thing either.



It was hard to read whatever that was, but are you saying Nebraska did her wrong and Whalen will be giving her more playing time and opportunity... just because? Whalenland hasn’t exactly been shown as the land of opportunity with the starters getting heavy minutes while other players are being hidden on the bench. Why did Staples leave again


Lamke didn’t do anything last season. She wasn’t here. I want to know the history of Gopher players who regressed from their freshman season.

Lamke went from starting 14 games as freshman and playing in 25 to playing in 14 and starting none as a sophomore. However when Whalen came she went to playing in 32 games, starting in 21 and averaging 7.7 ppg. Also going to my point that with more opportunity and playing time, a player can provide value to a team. Lamkes senior year, they would of had 5 players to play consistently without her. Should they have given up on her after a regress from freshman to sophomore year?

In terms of staples, who should she have gotten minutes over? Scalia, Powell, Hubbard, Brunson or Pitts? All better players than she was.

Without Mershon, they have a juco in Woodard and its never a guarantee jucos will work, Tomancova which is little to nothing productive, no clue was Cumming can give since injured and didn't play at all, Sconiers who barely played half the games, and Hedman the freshman as posts. Possibly Sissoko and Bagwag-Katalinich can fill in at post for a few minutes, but you have a problem with a 6'3 body, that knows the big ten game mentality and physically? Seems like something the gophers could use to win.