State of the Program

PilotNut wrote:Starting with the 2014-15 season through now (pre-USD game tonight), Coach Sorenson's program is a combined 7-53 (0.1167) in WCC play, not counting 3 consecutive first round losses in the WCC Tournament (the Pilots were the #10 seed all 3 years).  

Are there any compelling arguments that the program is getting better?  The current state of this once-proud program is very disappointing...

Through the end of the season, the disappointment continued.  The team's record under the current coaching staff if 10-63 (0.137), with a 4th consecutive first round loss in the WCC tourney, and a 4th consecutive #10 seed.  Let that sink in.  

I know the team works hard and puts in a lot of effort, and I do not mean disrespect our student athletes.  And yes, the team showed some life in the win over SMC this season (but that is 1 game in 5 years?).  The state of this program continues to be unacceptable, however.  Shouldn't we be setting our expectations higher than dead last?  I certainly hope there is change in the works, and soon--how can this be allowed to continue?

I would like to hear if anyone has other thoughts on this, because in my opinion it is a shame that this once proud program has been in this condition for this long.

PilotNut wrote:I would like to hear if anyone has other thoughts on this, because in my opinion it is a shame that this once proud program has been in this condition for this long.

There was a time when Mrs. DD and I would go to every home game and even travel with the team on occasion, including a couple of NCAA Tournament trips, but now we attend no more than a couple of games a year.

But face it, the program rose and hit it's peak when Kelly Graves was the assistant coach, and then began to decline after he left for, first SMC, then GU, and now UO, all below average programs that took off under Kelly's guidance and became NCAA Tounament teams.  So the simple answer is UP needs another recruiter and coach like Kelly, but it's probably not that simple in reality.

Because I consider myself a friend of Coach Sorenson and her wonderful family, I won't comment on her ability as a recruiter and coach except to comment that she was selected to guide a declining program, and along with her staff, is improving the program....little by little.

Coach Sorenson has one more year remaining on her current contract.

Let me know when the program is fully funded.

My thoughts are not meant to be personal--I do not know Coach Sorenson...  my comments are based on the results, period, which I don't think anyone should be happy about.

If coming in dead last annually is considered acceptable, what message does that send?

If the program is not fully funded, why not?

We have coach Sorenson because nobody else would come here to a program that has been historically undermanned, understaffed, and underfunded. When it’s time o replace her, what will change?

The EADA database hows 13 scholarships this year, which is the most I recall. At one point last year it was 10. For comparison, D2 limit is 10, NAIA division 1 is 11, and JC is 15 scholarships.


Getting rid of her does nothing unless there is a change of mindset on priorities.

And stop talking about getting people like Kelly.
The EADA database shows that total expenses for the program last year was $302.000. That covers just 60% of Kelly’s salary when he was hired at UofO. He gets more than we pay our men’s coach.

He will no doubt be getting a Raise.

Increasing funding for the program is huge--I completely agree.

But if no one ever pushes for it, it will never happen. We need to increase expectations and our support, and stop just hoping that the next season will be any different.

Or comparison, in the column that says we spend $302,000 , Gonzaga spends $847,000

So, shouldn't we be lobbying to increase the support for the program?

Other schools have figured this out...

The Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), recently announced the WBCA "Thirty Under 30" list that recognizes 30 up-and-coming women’s basketball coaches age 30 and under at all levels of the game. Each honoree has exemplified their involvement in community service, mentorship, professional manner, and professional association involvement.

Among the 14 D1 honorees is UP Assistant Coach Drew Muscatell, who just completed his third year on the Bluff.  Could be Drew will one day be the next Kelly Graves at UP....



https://wbca.org/about/press-releases/wbca-names-2018-thirty-under-30-honorees

DoubleDipper wrote:Among the 14 D1 honorees is UP Assistant Coach Drew Muscatell, who just completed his third year on the Bluff.  Could be Drew will one day be the next Kelly Graves at UP....

Drew was presented his award this morning in Columbus, Ohio at the Women's Final Four....

DoubleDipper wrote:Among the 14 D1 honorees is UP Assistant Coach Drew Muscatell, who just completed his third year on the Bluff.  Could be Drew will one day be the next Kelly Graves at UP....

Well, if Drew is to be the next Kelly Graves at UP, he'll have to return someday.

Drew has taken an assistant's position with the Idaho Women's Basketball program.  More responsibility and more $$ were apparently a couple of the incentives.

Not only are UP WBB players upset at his leaving, so are a number of his hair stylist girlfriend's clients, as she will be going to Moscow with him.

Tiffany Gibson has left her position as the Women's Director of Basketball Operations and is now an assistant coach with the team.

Already called "Coach Tiffany" by just about everyone, Tiffany has been the DOBO for the past three years after spending three years as an assistant coach at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton.

Prior to her time in Stockton, Tiffany was an assistant at Cal State Stanislaus, and prior to that she was a volunteer assistant at Cal State Hayward (now CS Bay Area) and at Cal.  

From what I've seen, Coach Tiffany has earned the respect of her fellow coaches and players during her time on the Bluff, and will be a welcome addition on the court and during recruiting.

Welcome back to coaching, Coach!

First it was assistant Drew Muscatell leaving to coach at Idaho, and now assistant Brianna Chambers has gone to Niagara...

Coach Sorenson is in the final year of her 5-year contract, could it be some are apprehensive about their future at UP?

No announcement from UP yet, but it would appear the Pilots will be making a big gain in experience in the coaching ranks with the addition of Skyler Young (Coach Sky).

Young comes to UP with plenty of successful experience, most recently two years as an assistant at Weber St, and prior to that four seasons at Bradley and three at Ohio U.

Young graduated from Western Michigan in 2005 and began his coaching career there as assistant coach for three years.

After wearing plenty of purple at Weber State, at least Coach Sky won't have to make a big wardrobe change....

confirmed on Twitter:

@PortlandPilots wrote:WBB: Pilots add Skyler Young as an Assistant Coach #GoPilots

wrv wrote:Sorenson and staff have earned another year. Let us not change when things are beginning to move in a positive direction.

Whether it is another "bench-wide" search or a "national" search, a search is underway for a new head coach for the Women's Basketball program.

On a personal level it's very upsetting, but on a professional level, I understand...

UP Athletics wrote:The University of Portland announced today that Cheryl Sorenson will not return as women's basketball head coach. Sorenson recently completed her fifth season as head coach at Portland.

"I would like to thank Coach Sorenson for her service and dedication during her time here at Portland," Vice President for Athletics Scott Leykam said. "Cheryl represented the department and the University with professionalism and positively shaped the lives of many student-athletes."

The search for a new head coach will begin immediately.

Regards to Ms.Sorensen. I am sorry to learn that the they let her go.

Now, what national coach with experience are we going to entice without a full 15 scholarships and a small recruiting and staff budget?

Open to suggestions.

Geezaldinho wrote:Now, what national coach with experience are we going to entice without a full 15 scholarships and a small recruiting and staff budget?

I would wager a smaller college coach looking to move up (worked out pretty, pretty, pretty good for OSU), or an experienced head coach that was let go from their last gig and looking for a second chance.

If you leave out the "with experience" part, then an up and coming assistant looking for a first head coaching opportunity.

I'm not too too familiar with the NCAA women's BB landscape... are there a lot of programs that aren't fully funded? My instinct would tell me that there are, but I'm certainly not sure.

For many over the last four seasons Julie Spencer has been one of the bright spots in the program, and now Julie has signed to play professionally in Sweden!  

As she prepares to head overseas to her career as a professional, she had this to say as she reflected upon her time as a member of the UP Women's Basketball Team.

Julie Spencer wrote:“I knew that it (Portland) was a weaker program. Our coach told us, you know I want you to be a starter of something different, of a new legacy and you know, I thought we would win more games. I thought that we would be higher in conference,” Spencer said. “That was one disappointing aspect that I had to deal with throughout college but every year, we got better and I could have quit many times and I told myself I’m not going to give up on this. I’m not going to leave just because things aren’t going just the way I wish that they would and so I kind of just changed my mindset to if we’re not all having the outcome that we want, I have to find little ways to win and have to focus on myself and what I want so looking back, maybe we didn’t get as many wins as I would have liked to get but I grew in ways as a person and a player that are so valuable. I wouldn’t trade them for any new experience at any other school.”

http://www.chronline.com/sports/swedish-swish-julie-spencer-signs-to-play-professional-basketball-in/article_378a5a02-a1c8-11e9-b000-ff7e97ffa696.html

I think anyone who has seen the 2019-2010 Pilots will agree the program is definitely trending upward and the team, with its up-tempo style and 40 minutes of pressing defense, is fun to watch...

They are still learning how to finish a game, but if they can stay relatively healthy for the rest of the season, they will continue to surprise a few teams like they did BYU and SMC this past week.

IMO, there are two very good on-court leaders, senior guard Kate Anderson (the only senior on the roster) and sophomore point guard Haylee Andrews, but they are getting really strong inside support from freshman Alex Fowler and junior Lauren Walker, who has emerged from simply being tall, 6-5, to become a basketball player.

Season ending injuries to Rose Pflug, Josie Matz and Liana Kaitu'u, and career ending injuries to Erika Kankfelt, have given plenty of playing time to others who might not otherwise see a lot of action, but it might also be the reason UP has given up leads of 20 points in losses to three different teams this season.

With nine scholarship players (two of whom would probably have redshirted this season if it weren't for the injuries) and two walk-ons, the Pilots have a short bench...but they are definitely worth watching this season, something I haven't been able to say about the team for the last couple of years.

Found via a retweet from @PortlandPilots:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinehopkins1/2020/01/22/ncaaw-portland-pilots-west-coast-conference-alex-fowler/#7751177719f8

up7587 wrote:Found via a retweet from @PortlandPilots:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinehopkins1/2020/01/22/ncaaw-portland-pilots-west-coast-conference-alex-fowler/#7751177719f8

Seems a big deal to have the Women's Basketball program written-up in Forbes.

"A New Beginning, Episode 3" (Shown at last night's game in the Chiles Center).

It's pretty apparent the team loves their coach, Mike Meek...

Here is some good news, for a change.  The WCC columnist reviews all ten WBB programs, and makes projections for next year.  Turns out several teams had players out with knee injuries.  Key summary for the Pilots:

Jeff Faraudo wrote:What to expect next season: The Pilots should pick up where they left off at the WCC tournament and challenge Gonzaga, BYU and San Diego at the top of the conference. In addition to the 1-2 punch of Fowler and Andrews, the Pilots hope for a healthy Liana Kaitu’u (7.0 points, 4.5 rebounds), who played just six games as a sophomore before a season-ending knee injury. Twin sisters Jacksen and Tyler McCliment-Call, both guards, signed with the program in November.

Read the whole thing: https://wccsports.com/news/2020/3/25/womens-basketball-faraudo-2019-20-wbb-recap.aspx