By Jeff Metcalfe
What will the Pac-12 learn from a postseason that did not unfold as planned?
The conference sent seven teams into the NCAA Tournament, four were eliminated by lower seeds and nobody advanced past the Sweet 16.
No. 1 Stanford didn’t escape the second round; No. 5 Washington State lost to a No. 12 (Florida Gulf Coast); No. 8 USC was bounced by South Dakota State.
This is the first tournament since 2015 that the Pac-12 wasn’t represented in the Elite Eight.
What are the lessons?
Clearly, it needs more size and must become more physical. And the guards require more seasoning to handle NCAA Tournament-level pressure.
All seven tournament teams return enough talent to contend for the field of 68 again next season. The Arizona, Stanford and USC recruiting classes are ranked among the top 10 nationally by ESPN, with Washington and Oregon also in the top 20.
What changes will the transfer portal bring? There are several significant names in the portal already, including Arizona’s Lauren Ware and Paris Clark and California’s Jayda Curry.
There were 10 intra-conference transfers last year – most notably the eventual Pac-12 Player of the Year, Utah’s Alissa Pili (from USC) — and UCLA’s Dominique Onu made the switch to USC a few months ago, so more could be coming.
Pac-12 deputy commissioner Teresa Gould said women’s basketball coaches remain focused on what’s best for the league.
“There are a lot of conferences where this transfer portal has wreaked havoc on those relationships and this conference-first mindset,” Gould said.
“I have not felt that at all, and that’s not easy when you’ve got kids transferring within the league. The mindset we have had, despite how uncomfortable that might be at times, is at least they stayed in the league.
“It’s better to have them stay in the league than go to another league we’re going to compete against.”
No coaching changes appear to be coming after just one last offseason (Arizona State).
Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer has 1,186 career wins, the most ever in the women’s game and just 16 behind former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, the leader on the men’s side.
Traditional powers Stanford, Connecticut and Tennessee missed out on the NCAA Elite Eight this season — the first time none of them were involved since 1985.
The Cardinal has work to do given the loss of Haley Jones but historically is always a Final Four contender.
Meanwhile, Utah could return its entire roster, UCLA was the youngest team in the NCAA field, and USC’s incoming freshmen include the nation’s No. 1 recruit, Juju Watkins.
(The Los Angeles schools have one year remaining in the Pac-12 before moving to the Big Ten.)
“I will never forget what the Pac-12 has meant for this program, for me,” UCLA coach Cori Close said after advancing to the Sweet 16. “And we don’t represent anybody else but the Pac-12 right now.
“I was one of the first to join in on the ‘Back the Pac’ (strategic messaging plan). That goes deep for me.
“I want to continue to do that in a really solid way and with great gratitude and joy and perseverance knowing that we represent something that’s really special.”
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