That's not about this. I just thought your passive-aggressive reaction was overreacting. Someone as positive like you should handle differing opinions better and not act like it's the end of the world, but okay, let's move on.What is apocalyptic about me saying that Jan is doing a good job in her second year and I'm looking forward to the upcoming season?
*****2026-27 Transfer Portal News*****
- Thread starter QChawks
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Adding a piece of two is one thing. Flipping the whole roster is another. People like to use UCLA as an example but their core (Betts, Rice, Jacquez) I believe were all there their whole careers. Adding Kneepkins was a cherry on top....
Houston signed Raegan McCowan [and Texas starter Justice Carlton].
I think only Rice and Jacquez were commits out of high school. Betts, Kneepkins, Leger-Walker, and Dugalic all started their careers somewhere else to varying degrees.
Well they were 7-23 last year. They have some work to do.
I do believe that Jan is embracing the portal and is doing very well.
Of course LaSondre was directly responsible for the new south east recruiting connection. But then Jan was the one who hired her in the first place. That is beginning to look like a very smart choice/decision.
But then again only time will tell. If in the future, those who are predisposed to negativity are still not satisfied, I would imagine they will be saying that Jan should have hired someone else. The same ones that believe that, are the ones that now say Jan would be failing in the portal if not for LaSondre. I believe that is a no win thought process.
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Who, Merkle? She's a poor women's Crooks.....
Beers was a senior I believe and she was at Oklahoma not PSU.
There has to be way more to this story….No way a recruit chooses Houston over Iowa.
Houston also agreed to give a student manager job to her brother
I meant comp…
Gracie Merkle - Penn State Lady Lions Center - ESPN
View the profile of Penn State Lady Lions Center Gracie Merkle on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.
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They wanted more money and burned some bridges. I think lets leave it at that. They had initial offers or inquiries from Iowa State, Iowa, OSU and TCU yet ended with Houston.
The initial request was for him to be a Grey Shirt, and lying about offers from different schools and making different requests to different schools. Odd all the way around.
It's not negative to wish that Jan feels more comfortable with the Portal and finds the motivation to deal with it better, to the point that one day it ceases to be the least favorite and most disheartening part of her job [in her own words] and becomes one of the parts she enjoys most and performs best in. That's wishing positive things for her and for the program. It's wishing that she evolves and becomes better and better. Unfortunately, some here act like guard dogs, barking and trying to bite anyone who dares to say there are points to be improved. The only accepted comments are compliments, as if everything and everyone were perfect and didn't need improvement. Anyone who makes a constructive criticism is automatically treated as a hater who is attacking my team and my coach, so it's necessary to attack them to defend my team and my coach. I find this a very negative attitude for those who accuse others of "predisposed to negativity".
I guess if she did a crappy job in the portal but as of right now you are upset because she doesn’t like it enough in your opinion.
I don't think she did a crappy job, and at no point did I write that, but here's again what i explained it: ANY comments about points for improvement is taken as if the person is saying that Jan does a crappy job and Iowa is a trash team. Some people here live in that mode: I need to defend my team from the haters, but there aren't any Iowa haters here IMO.I guess if she did a crappy job in the portal but as of right now you are upset because she doesn’t like it enough in your opinion.
First of all, I am not the one to judge anybody, so I am not accusing anyone of anything. I believe everyone must judge only for themselves (let your own conscience be your guide/judge) Of course I understand that is harder to do in practice than in theory. I know this from experience.
I also agree that it is not negative to wish. If that is your intended message, then I would not put you in that category.
My main gripe (other than the condescension and name calling) is the seemingly incessant repeating of negative memes that focus/obsess over relatively minor short-term/transient failures and disappointments rather than the over-arching, overwhelmingly positive, long-term and continuing successes. (It’s the complete opposite of looking for the “silver lining”)
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Everyone has the right to act as they wish, but I don't have a habit of making repetitive, provocative, offensive, or derogatory comments. I don't want to fight with anyone. I don't like to offend or be offended. I just wish I had the freedom to express my opinion about my favorite team without being offended for it.
If I'm a basketball coach, I think my favorite part of that job would be coaching basketball. That's me anyway. I know some of you might prefer talking to agents and haggling with families over playing time, but please recognize that you are probably a very odd and small minority. Embrace what you love. Give well-wishes and cookies to the players you developed, talk to agents at all hours, reassemble a team with your budget, work the numbers(!). Have fun.
I'm going to be over here helping with footwork and press breaks.
I'm going to be over here helping with footwork and press breaks.
some coaches hate recruiting, some love practicing some love the big games. Your opinion is she should like it better so she does better in the portal- making the statement she isn’t doing good enough In the portal due to not having a good enough attitude. So in this portal what could she have done better this portal, be specific. How did her attitude hinder this portal recruiting.
The Iowa Wbb is my one and [pretty much] only favorite team. The rise in success and subsequent explosion of popularity of the team over the past eight to nine years (early Gustafson era and throughout the CC era until now), has had a traumatic impact on this Wbb forum. It is almost just like I remember the Mbb forum being.
I guess my best advice is to accept the fact that not everyone is going to understand you and/or agree with you and therefore you should not take poorly thought out backlash too seriously.
[message intended] ≠ [message interpreted]
Okay, BUT Beers was an AA, Merkle is certainly not as skilled. Especially more then three ft from the basket....I meant comp…
Looks like a slight upgrade over Hart.Gracie Merkle - Penn State Lady Lions Center - ESPN
View the profile of Penn State Lady Lions Center Gracie Merkle on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.
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While “certainly nowhere near [Beers]” (edit “certainly not as skilled”) is debatable on relative terms, I will not engage in that debate. Maybe one could say that Merkle is a “poor man’s” Beers. In Merkle’s defense, I will only say PSU was no Oklahoma and I do believe that she is an upgrade for Minnesota over Hart.
I might also suggest that Hays is from a relatively similar mold.
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When PSU played us here, she was taken out of the game after two series (about the 8:45 mark of the first period). Yes she can score and yes she makes shots at the basket but she is completely lacking in the conditioning aspect.
No wonder your "posts to likes" ratio is so piss poor, with gems like that!
Be Better!
I merely replied as soon as I read your post. I am not in control of the placement of posts. Have great day. I believe Lisa Bluder recruited her as she was Addie O’Grady’s teammate. But Iowa could not match Stanford’s incentives $$$$.
I don't think you understood what Jan said in that interview at all.
To think that the portal would ever, "become one of the parts she enjoys most" is so far off the mark. She enjoys coaching basketball and mentoring young people.
It's not "wishing positive things for her." I don't understand how you could truly mean that. She has been coaching her whole life and you think that she is going to enjoy dealing with agents and handlers that are trying to maximize profit through young athletes?
As Jan said, "to whom much is given, much is expected.". She understands the portal is part of the job and necessary to elevate a program she has spent a lot of her life building.
Exactly. Go find me any coach who enjoys now losing probably 1/3 of your team every year, even blue bloods like KU losing 8-9 players, and basically having to re-recruit your existing players every year plus deal with all the outside noise going on. Coaches now have it much much tougher than coaches just 2-3 years ago because they were basically just coaching. Jan seems to be doing as well as can be expected at the moment.