Musick to Arkansas.

[Bogus Smith]

The first defection to Arkansas.......

 

[TrueBlue82]

13 minutes ago, Bogus Smith said:

The first defection to Arkansas.......

 

This is a HUGE disappointment, as Emily was my favorite player on the team.  While not a flashy player, she was very solid and steady - and a foundational part of the team's success, IMHO.

[titansforever]

Emily will definitely be missed if she leaves. She is a great player!

[Bogus Smith]

Although disappointing, I know that this staff has anticipated these possible player movements and have certain players in the portal targeted.  It wiil also provide opportunities for people like Gentry Baldwin and the new girls coming in to "up their game" and show why they should get the majority of the minutes next season.

[Bogus Smith]

Second defection to Arkansas.......

If coaches really cared about the student-athletes, they would evaluate where the players would be better suited for their games.  I hope both Emily and Taleyah do great next season, but they will be severely challenged against the likes of South Carolina, Texas, OU and others.

 

[titansforever]

From Channel 6: ORU players in the portal.

Mary Carden, 6-6, C, Fr. (1.8 ppg)

Tyla Heard, 5-11, G, Fr. (2.3 ppg) -- committed to Oklahoma State March 28th

Alayna Kraus, 5-8, G, Fr. (3.3 ppg)

Emily Robinson, 5-10, G, Soph. (10 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.4 apg)

Taleyah Jones, 5-10, G, Jr. (18.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg)

[Bogus Smith]

 

[titansforever]

So, there are 4 players who haven't entered the portal? Is that right?

[Bogus Smith]

1 minute ago, titansforever said:

So, there are 4 players who haven't entered the portal? Is that right?

That's correct (so far):

Jalei, Gentry, Azailah, and Alana.  We also have three high quality recruits coming in that did not waiver in their commitments with the coaching change.  That means we have up to eight scholarships available to give for next season.

[ORUalum11]

Are we assuming they are going to Arkansas? What am I missing? 

[titansforever]

5 minutes ago, ORUalum11 said:

Are we assuming they are going to Arkansas? What am I missing? 

Also, how many players are coming back from Arkansas' 2024-25 team? Will Kelsi have a lot of scholarships to offer? Checking their site, I see this:

Arkansas women’s basketball guards Kiki Smith and Karley Johnson entered the NCAA transfer portal Tuesday.

They became the fourth and fifth players from the 2024-25 team to enter the portal, joining Phoenix Stotijn, Vera Ojenuwa, and Cristina Sánchez Cerqueira.

... 

Newly hired Arkansas women’s basketball coach Kelsi Musick met with players face-to-face for the first time this week, following the university’s spring break. Musick noted it could be an active portal cycle for her.

“Right now, we have to figure out who we want to retain from this current roster, and who wants to stay,” Musick said last Tuesday.

[Bogus Smith]

3 hours ago, ORUalum11 said:

Are we assuming they are going to Arkansas? What am I missing? 

Yes, we are.  However, it is known that Arkansas is providing "advice" to these girls.  They can't discuss or offer anything (technically) until their names have been accepted into the Transfer Portal.

[titansforever]

On 3/22/2025 at 10:05 PM, ORU82 said:

Additional food for thought.  Tyla Heard announces on March 15 she is entering the transfer portal, 10 days before the portal opens and 5 days before our game at MSU which she did not play in.  Could she have known something about Coach Musick leaving at that time (March 15)? 

The story on Tyla, from the World.

 

An OSU sister reunion.pdf

[Bogus Smith]

#1 Mission accomplished for Coach Musick!

 

 

 

[eagle88]

On 4/3/2025 at 9:32 AM, Bogus Smith said:

Second defection to Arkansas.......

If coaches really cared about the student-athletes, they would evaluate where the players would be better suited for their games.  I hope both Emily and Taleyah do great next season, but they will be severely challenged against the likes of South Carolina, Texas, OU and others.

 

My wife and I had this very conversation yesterday. I find it interesting that Kelsi being at Arkansas can’t find better players than Taleyah and Emily and I am not insinuating that they are not good players but we are talking about one of the top conferences in college basketball. It Tayleyah and Emily get significant minutes at Arkansas this upcoming year it could be a long 1st season for Kelsi.

[2014Grad]

Arkansas probably wont be competing with Texas or South Carolina anytime soon regardless of who their coach is lol! Kelsi signed a Mayberry away from the Jayhawks recently, her first transfer before Taleyah. I honestly think Taleyah can get decent minutes on an average SEC team. Definitely not the first or second option, but she has the talent, size and decision making as a guard to hold her own and be a solid contributor.

[Bogus Smith]

#2 Mission Accomplished for Coach Musick

 

[tmh8286]

I have not followed the women's team closely enough to know how good the players that Coach Musick is taking with her are in relation to players they will be playing against in the SEC, but the situation reminds me of other players we've watched leave the Summit League via the portal - Grant Nelson, Zeke Mayo, William Kyle, and others. These guys have had remarkable success playing at a higher level. I think of Nelson in particular, going back to the 2023 season when ORU dominated NDSU in all three games they played. While Nelson hung over 20 points on ORU in each of the first two games, he only scored 9 in the Championship game, and overall I thought he was unimpressive. 

But he entered the portal, was picked up by Alabama, and has been a star on their team. He played a significant roll in their run to the Final Four last year and the Elite Eight this year. 

My impression of Nelson in the Summit League was that he was a nice player in a low major conference. Clearly my impression of him was wrong.

Perhaps Musick knows these players are capable of more than the Summit League revealed. I guess time will tell.