Chances of her going to UTSA? Chances of her, with an exception provided by the molasses-slow NCAA, playing for her new school Jan 2022?
Dislike, Brnkj because she is transferring. Ashley always gave 100% on the court every time she stepped on. The coaches never had to get her to hustle. I suppose JAT would be the primary back-up point with Ashley moving on. Ashley has already been removed from the official roster.
It appears more and more athletes are using "mental health" to be synonymous with happiness. With Rori progressing and shining at the point, Ashley's playing minutes had dwindled and she's unhappy about it. But dang, she didn't mention the current coaching staff for investing in her, but instead thanked the previous coaching staff. I can only guess she's upset with the coaching staff.
Yeah, I'm not a fan of her doing that. The prior coaching staff did recruit her, and offer her a scholarship. But, the new coaching staff honored that scholarship, and invested a lot of time coaching her and helping her improve her skills. The prior coaching staff did the easy part, IMO.
I hate that she is leaving with apparently hard feelings. If she believed she was "next in line" for the PG position and it would be automatically given to her while the freshman served her time on the bench then she is terribly naive. Perhaps that is the way KA would and did do it but not the current coaching staff. I hope Ashley goes home where she had her greatest success as a player and has the support of her coach/parents. I expect when her mom was visiting they discussed this in detail and she probably already knows where she will be gong.
Wouldn’t surprise me to see her at UTSA but personally I don’t think that would be a good move for her. Not thanking the current staff is very telling… but maybe more telling about the player than the staff. I wish her the best of luck and hope she finds that happiness. My own kid transferred schools after three semesters. It happens.
Here's an interesting case study. This player played one game in 2020-2021 and one game in 2021-2022 (11/0921). Will we be seeing this player against Texas in 2022? [I'm trying to see if Ashley would get immediate playing chance in 2022 at her new school]
Look at her demeanor on the bench in this highlight. Mental health and playing time seem to be the same thing these days. Hope she takes that hustle and gets her starting spot somewhere.
Not surprised at all. Seems like the right decision for her. It will hurt us some. Why would she stick around here, when it was clear she would never be anything more than a back-up? From things Vic said last year in interviews, it was clear he knew Rory would be the main point guard when she got here. The one thing I don't like is just up and leaving in mid-season. But that is the spirit of the times. I prefer the old transfer rules. Old fashioned concepts such as commitment and loyalty have gone out the door. For some people in the country, it is a different school every year. Makes a joke out of the idea of scholar-athlete. The scholar part is meaningless. Good luck to Ashley. I loved her left handed drive and lay-ups, and how hard she worked on defense.
I agree that leaving in Dec is not a good move for both parties. On the flip side, do we want an unhappy player that might be oozing negative vibes for the next few months?
Having the team facebook pictures pop up on my feed, I found two pictures of Ashley: Before the game during stretches. I'm sure she went into "Smile, you're going to be on social media" pose: And post game, the "I can't wait to get off the team" picture All this discussion about her playing time. Last year, she averaged 14 minutes a game. This year, if you take out the tiny A&M playing time, she was at 14 minutes a game And compare it to Rori's time this year. My personal confusion is that during games at home, I would suddenly see Rori pulled out because she wasn't doing well or what Vic wanted and he would put in Ashley and thought, "there's a PG#2" that he really trusts. And "I hope she's happy being #2"
Well, I'm just gonna say it...as an Ashley fan this entire time, I am totally surprised and disappointed in her. I thought she was getting sufficient minutes because Rori is learning and is also foul-prone. This final tweet with all it's parting shots shows me just how petulant Ashley is...something I never thought before. Hope she gets her starting PG position somewhere...I just know it won't be with a school the caliber of UT. We'll adjust!
I could not agree with you more @Bucksgal and It reeks of parental influence if you ask me. Just my two cents....
Hate to continue to beat this dead horse (it's best for all if we just move on). But, I'm reminded of different approaches to the portal. Naomi Cabello is in the portal for our volleyball team. She left the team for a few matches (possibly to even visit other schools), but she and the coaches have a mutual agreement (it seems) which has allowed her to train with the team and continue to be on the roster for the season. There are definitely some apples v. oranges comparisons here, namely that the volleyball season ends in the first semester so if she was leaving after the term, she still could. I'm not advocating that Ashley stick around. But it's a very telling difference in the way the student (and coaches) dealt with the situation. Naomi was a backup setter who came highly touted (top 10 recruit). We brought in a transfer setter who's become the new backup (though she had eligibility issues for the first few games and Naomi did play some). Naomi announced midseason she would be portaling. There are lots the same here. I just wish these situations could be more amicable. It's certainly a distraction for the team. ^sorry for that semi-stream of consciousness. I'm not organizing my thoughts well today.
The only constant in life is that things change, and what changed is Texas was able to recruit a player who may end up the best PG in the history of the program. That can happen anywhere and a player has to always have that in the back of their mind no matter where they sign. She needs to accept the reality of college sports and accept being a backup or move on to a program where she thinks she can start. But there's also a chance she goes somewhere else and the same thing happens. Reality is also I haven't seen top 50 talent from her in all the games I've watched. Why can't both sides say thank you and move on. No need to purposely not thank the current coaching staff for giving her a chance.
I have no insider info on the Ashley situation but my hunch is that "things" were bubbling beneath the surface for a while and something happened that triggered her decision to enter the portal immediately. Like others, I interpreted her announcement as a petulant slam to the coaching staff. It certainly wasn't a graceful exit. Even though the timing wasn't ideal, I don't begrudge Ashley for entering the portal if she believes it was in her best interest to leave the program. I would guess both sides could have handled the situation better. In my own personal life, I'm trying to learn to wait for my emotions to subside before sending an email or text in response to an event that angers or frustrates me. I may write the response but upon a day of reflection and my emotions calm, I may revise the response or likely, I never send it. Although there is an initial high from sending an emotional retort, the high doesn't last and it can quickly turn to regret. Onto a bit of good news. From reading Kyndall Hunter's IG, it appears that she cleared to start practicing and playing in games again. Hopefully, she'll shake the rust off and will be one of our lethal weapons going forward. We need her contributions because Matharu and Harmon aren't always going to have the hot hand. We will be tough to beat if all three guards are draining their shots at the same time.
Best hopes for Ashley to find the best situation for her. Appears to be a good kid. Thanks to her for the time, work and effort while on Forty Acres.
As I re-read her statement, this is the line that cuts deepest: "I am choosing to prioritize my happiness and mental health with people who love me, support me, and believe I'm me." I wish her the best and will miss her hustle on the court.
Sorry, I'm still flogging the dead horse while thinking, "Shouldn't I just get over it?" Last post, promise. Then I'm going to start a different one on transfers (hey it gets me through until the Idaho game) 1. The sudden transfer with the negative omission of the current staff makes me wonder about Vic's comments about that they're a tight knit family. I'm not saying this one transfer tears that down, it just there was no hint of any unhappiness towards the program. i.e. if Ashley had be sat a game or two due to "coaches decision" 2. Vic's used to players transferring out. With Celeste, I crossed my fingers and said, "I hope it's only because of COVID and she wants to be on the East Coast with her Dad". I hope it was. But remember, in the game against Jackson St., we played against the post that played for him her freshman year. 3. It dawned on me that we've seen this before. In 2018-2019, Brooke had graduated. Sug was a junior and Chasity Patterson was a sophmore, who played in 24 freshman games, averaging 7.5 minutes a game the year. I know she played 9 minutes of garbage time in 1 game, and bam she was gone the next day. I guess she realized by then that KA was handing the reins of the team to Sug and she didn't want to wait around 2 years for her chance. Remember in the preseason we were talking about potential for kids to transfer? I said: 1. Joanne is on track to get her Mechanical Engineering degree, it would be stupid to transfer 2. Audrey is a military brat. She is used to change 3. Shay is burnt orange kid from Austin, she's not going anywhere 4. Ashley's parents are coaches. I'm sure they've talked to her about coaching changes and adapting. Oooops!
As I read the comments about Ashley I disagree that we need a point guard replacement right away. If you think back to last year we had a point guard by committee! Kyra, JAT, Celeste or any guard could start the offense or the play that Vic called. What quality point would want to back up Rori knowing they would not get many minutes over the next 3 years? I hate to see Ashley leave. She’s a kid that you just loved her moxie and really wanted her to succeed! When Jamie found her in California she was a home run commit for a KA team. But unfortunately she doesn’t fit what Coach Schaefer requires in his guards. She could only contribute at the point, could only drive to her left and as previously discussed she had lost a step with the weight gain she started the year with! She’s a quality player and needs to find a place she can contribute. I really was disappointed with her parting salvo at the current coaching staff. Coaches are like in any business executives who have to make tough decisions and Coach Vic’s expectations are at the very highest level! Like every Texas coach should be. I wish her the best of luck and will always be a fan of her success.
Ellis…..very thoughtful points. Can’t disagree. The only adder might be that if I remember Kyra correctly, she wasn’t prone to foul trouble. Harmon is a different point guard defensively. Full court pressure, hounding the best ball handler and just super aggressive. By and far, she does that effectively…..but early on seems she “might” be in early foul trouble at times. If she has to sit for significant parts, the other parts of her game will be sorely missed. Chevalier provided that last year, not so much this year. There is always risk of injury as well, although Harmon appears to have the body type that is less risky. Perhaps the potential gap I see is one that Lambert and Harmon both excel in running the team…..getting into the offense, pulling it back out when nothings there, making the right decision, calmness, etc. I am overly pessimistic about what happens when she is not available. Maybe it never happens. Maybe a new backup can’t provide that either. Maybe the others “can” provide some of that. Perhaps an overreaction week for me. We’ll see how Schaefer feels soon enough.
Even without Ashley, we’ve got 8 guards to work with. We’ll be fine. I’m 100% for a player transferring for any reason they want. It’s their life. Their college career. Their future. I wish Ashley the best. If you come to a school that has a history of always competing at the highest level (or at least trying to) then you have to understand that you are simply one part of a larger machine. If you don’t excel, you don’t get minutes. If the coach doesn’t excel, they get fired. I do, however, think this social media driven generation hasn’t learned the concept of not burning bridges. Your 15 minutes of “gotcha” could quickly become a lifetime of regret.
Ashley was one of my favorite players and Celeste Taylor was my favorite from the first game she played. It broke my heart to see Celeste move on, but I have to say the way Ashley is going out, I’ll find it hard to miss her although I know the team will miss her in her role in the immediate future. Not sure what there is to gain by the way she’s chosen to leave. Just seems completely unnecessary. If this was about starting and/ or playing time that’s all on her in my opinion. Rori is clearly the better player. I did notice the few shots of her Mom in the stands attending a recent game I felt there was some definite negative body language and it made me wonder at the time. Then I forgot about it. No doubt conversations were had during that time. All that said, I wish the very best for Ashley and I truly hope she finds the right fit for her.
Don’t feel like criticizing a 19 to 20 year old with hurt feelings today. Hey, they say the rational part of the brain is not even fully developed until around 25. Then one has to learn to use it. Does remind me how really special Celeste and her family are. Celeste played hard until the end and left as graciously as she could. I wish Ashley all the best.
