It’s tired and played out and shows a poor grasp of the current situation in college athletics.
Lexi Donarski entering transfer portal
- Thread starter SaraV
- Start date
I don't disagree that she left the coaches out and I do believe it was purposefully, but what if it was a dislike with Jody or Billy or Latoya or Carper? My point is we are all grabbing at straws when really we are just sad about this whole situation. I have been more effected by this than I want to admit and thought about this way too much this weekend. I have come to the conclusion that it is because we don't have that closure if you will.
I don't either. And with that it appears that there was friction between him and Lexi. Such a generic statement. His recruiting has been good recently but not great since who is going to be our post presence or 2 inside? Same ol same ol. Maybe a portal transfer....Soares was the exception. Many on here say look what it was before CBF? Well that doesn't mean a change in coaching will now revert back to what it used to be with all due respect. Thanks to CBF, the program is in great shape. I just think a changing of the guard may be in order. We have a tremendous fan base.
What is hard is when Texas Tech was in the same boat when Sharpe left and they are on their 4th coach since then? and fans did not stay.
On KXNO, Bill said "Lex made a....Her family made a decision".
I have zero inside information but I think his careful wording there was just as intentional as Lexi's intentional wording in her post. They have both chosen to say exactly what they wanted to say.
For those who didn't hear, he also said that Maggie Vick would likely play down a level near Tennessee and that MEM and Morgan have said all year that this would be their last here.
Also said that of the transfers, Lez was the only one that would have likely seen minutes next year which I thought was maybe honest but not the best thing to say considering the contributions of Morgan and MEM this year.
Interview starts at around the 19 minute mark.
Golden Rule PHC Podcast - Monday Hour 1 03/27/2023 - The Drive with Heather and Sean | iHeart
ISU Head Coach Bill Fennelly joins us and more
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The Drive with Heather and Sean | iHeart
Heather Burnside and Sean Roberts drive you home with the best in sports, weekdays 3pm-6pm on 106.3 KXnO!
Thank you for sending the link to the audio recording and suggesting that people listen to it…. When you listen to all that Bill says in the interview about Lexi entering the transfer portal, he comes off much more respectful (and not bitter) than I would’ve thought from the previous post noting what he said. He handled the questioning professionally.I went and listened to Fenn and the comment is a little out of context. There was a lot of words in between the two 'sentences'. I would say to listen and make your own judgement.
The Drive with Heather and Sean | iHeart
Heather Burnside and Sean Roberts drive you home with the best in sports, weekdays 3pm-6pm on 106.3 KXnO!www.iheart.com
Jack Easley got crosswise with Fennelly in 2012 so he was gone and it made room for Billy. Schaben and Steyer have been here for decades.
Jack went back to help out Oklahoma State after their head coach and an assistant coach died in a plane crash. He'd been there for 19 years earlier and went home to help the school through a tragedy.
She is friends with Cameron Brink at Standford. Can't get a much better post player than that and All-American Haley Jones is going pro so they need another high level guard.
Listened to the interview. His comment regarding only Lexi as part of next year's rotation.
Earlier in the interview Bill said MEM and Morgan had announced some time back their decision not to return to ISU for the 2023/24 season. So he was excluding them from his comments about playing time next season.
It sounded like Maggie Vick leaving was mutual decision. Thought Bill said a family member has been ill and she wanted to be closer to home and probably drop down a level.
IMO the decision for Lexi to leave comes down to ISU not being the best place for her to develop into a WNBA/ Professional player.
Does anybody know this girl personally? Her family? I don't. Just wondering. Maybe it wasn't the coaches. Maybe it was. Why is everyone automatically giving the player the benefit of the doubt? Heck, maybe she didn't want to listen to Mr. Joens for another four years. Maybe she was a CIA spy. Who the **** knows?
Jack Easley left to go back to Okie State in 2012 . That was the last big staff change that I know of.
Lexi was a Top 15 recruit in her class and our first McDonald’s All American on the Women’s Team. By all accounts she was a gym rat, took coaching well, and was a solid teammate. She played here three years and by most accounts regressed as an offensive player. If she has aspirations to play past college, I don’t think we can blame her and her family for wanting to make a change. They likely feel Bill’s offense wasn’t a good fit for her and they know Bill likely won’t change his offense or coaching style significantly. Really sad to see her go, but I can’t blame her as she only has one shot at this college experience. It’s not like she or her family are asking the University to fire Bill. In my opinion, when a player the quality of Lexi leaves there should be some self reflection by the coaching staff and the AD should have a pretty good understanding of the whole situation.
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I don't know what it would be like to have a job that depended on the decisions/judgement of 18 to 20 year old kids. I probably wouldn't last long.
Seriously! Is there no other place to discuss Clark? I hate that the majority of the posts in this thread have nothing to do with Lexi.
What wasn't said might be relevant, but we don't know. I'm very hesitant to read too much into what what wasn't said. For instance, she could have had a massive blow up with the coaches, or a minor disagreement of her strategic allocation, or it could have been nothing at all to do with the coaches. The fact is that we still don't know why she is leaving. And I think it is unwise to be too confident based on what she didn't say.
Hypothetically speaking, even if it was the coaches, one would have to ask themselves a couple of questions (ethics aside):
1. Would you trade the handful of players having left for the success Bill has accomplished?
2. Do different players react differently to different discipline approaches?
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