I guess this dead week for WBB ain't that lifeless.
Here's my reaction about Nicki Collen hiring and some information I found.
1) I'm surprised by this hire. Her resume doesn't impress me much (using the Baylor blueblood standard). I thought Molly Miller could be their next young Kim Mulkey based on what I read and heard, or they promote Bill Brock from within.
2) Money really talks. Imagine the WNBA regular season is about to start and you just ditch your team like that? Baylor must have offered the sum she couldn't refuse. The same situation probably would never happen on the MBB side.
3) Imaging how surprised (or to some degree, pissed off) the Atlanta Dream players and fans are right now. That team just played Bridget's Lynx in a pre-season scrimmage on May 1 and everything seems to be on track.
4) There are mixed reactions on Baylor's board tilted towards the negative side. I agree with what our dear friend
@geewago said in there. I quote "
I'm willing to sit back and watch to see how she turns out. What other choice do I have? But I would suspect the other coaches in the Big 12 just breathed a sigh of relief. "
5) Based on the positive Twitter reactions from NaLyssa Smith and Queen Egbo, those two and more Baylor players are staying. Alabama transfer Jordan Lewis likely remains committed. Collen might be good at keeping the current team intact, how she recruits in the future is a big question mark.
6) According to Baylor's board, Bill Brock is likely to stay and Sytia Messer is leaving for LSU, which makes two of Mulkey's Baylor assistants rejoining her.
7) Her introduction will be held at Baylor on Wednesday. She will not coach in the upcoming WNBA season (no surprise).
8) For ISU, next season is our golden opportunity to compete for the Big12 regular season and tournament championships. I hope our program realizes that and they have our school and fan support to achieve that.
