Transfer portal shakes up Pac-12 while providing lift to Cal
The Pac-12 witnessed as much intraconference movement as any other in women's basketball this past offseason. The SEC had 11 transfers among its 14 teams, and the ACC had nine through its 15 squads. A total of 10 players transferred from one Pac-12 school to another. Two of them came to Cal: Utah's Kemery Martin and Colorado's Peanut Tutiele. Both have started the first two games for the Bears.
Tutiele is a grad student and Martin a senior, so they both spent multiple years with their previous programs and had a sense of how they wanted their final collegiate seasons to go — as players and as people.
“I didn't want to spend my last season somewhere comfortable,” Tutiele said. “I told the coaches it wasn't because I didn't like the program, it was because I did my job there.”
Tutiele averaged 7.6 points per game for Colorado, and started every game last season amid the Buffaloes' tournament run. Martin missed most of her last season with the Utes with an injury after averaging 11.1 points per game before.
Martin described the process as “being recruited all over again.”
“It's taking a lot of phone calls,” she said of the process. “I knew what I wanted, and that helped me narrow things down.”
Tutiele cited having more of an adult mind when being recruited as a transfer compared to in college, where incoming freshmen don't know what to expect from college overall.
Cal also lost one transfer within the Pac-12, as Dalayah Daniels left to go to Washington. Arizona lost the most players with three.
Claudia Langarita, Cal's third transfer for this season, was looking for a new challenge after just one season at USF. The Barcelona native had never been to the United States when she was recruited for her freshman season, and COVID protocols prevented her from seeing campuses. She wanted to move on to a Power Five conference, and had an agent to assist her in the transfer portal, something older players didn't experience in the pre-NIL era.
“It was stressful, but it wasn't that bad,” she said. “I knew more about what I wanted. Before, I didn't even know how teams practiced, because it's different in Europe. You can't see everything about someone in just a Zoom.”
Langarita said she hasn't spent much time thinking about NIL, but it's a new reality for college athletes and their transfer processes. Exposure in a bigger conference — against Notre Dame on NBC this weekend, she was on more screens than she ever had been in the WCC — is a part of the changes.
The transfer portal has been controversial since it has picked up steam in recent years. Cal coach Charmin Smith even said to The Next blog before the season, “I'm not a fan, but we have to take advantage of it if that's the way it's going to be. I'd rather see someone stay somewhere for four years and stay committed to their decision, but that's just not the landscape of college sports anymore.”
As player agency as a whole continues momentum for college athletes, the transfer portal creates stress and decisions for the players, but they also feel like they can make choices in a way women's basketball players haven't before.
“I thought it would be simple at first,” Tutiele said. “It was super stressful because I knew what I needed as a person, and instead of looking at the glory of a program or the gear or any of that, I was focused on how can I succeed after basketball, too.”
Cal plays hard
For a team picked to finish 11th in the Pac-12, Cal made its initial case that ranking was a mistake. The Bears lost their second game of the season, but they held tough against No. 9 Notre Dame, at one point trailing by just three points in the fourth quarter before dropping the contest 90-79.
“It was a tough game,” Langarita said. “You learn how you're going to get better in games like that.”
The Bears have a pair of games this week, hosting Idaho on Wednesday before heading to Saint Mary's on Sunday.
Cameron Brink’s dominance
The CBB Analytics Twitter account posted a great stat after the Cardinal's fourth game this week. Stanford's opponents are shooting 21.6% on all two-point attempts when Cameron Brink is on the floor.
The All-American's offensive game has taken leaps forward, but her defensive presence has been noticeable to begin the season. She leads the Cardinal with 7.8 rebounds and 4.6 blocks per game, but that shooting percentage number tells a larger story.
Brink's numbers get better the closer you get to the basket.
The Division I average at the rim or in the paint this season is 59%. Opponents are shooting just 20% at the rim, shooting 5for-25, with Brink on the court.
USF feels good
The Dons have opened 1-1 and lost to tournament team Washington State on Friday, 69-63. San Francisco led by as much as 38-23 in the first half, though, before struggling with their shooting in the second.
That was largely due to sharpshooter Ioanna Krimili shooting just 4-for-17. The Dons netted just nine total baskets in the second half after the Cougars stepped up.
Head coach Molly Goodenbour nevertheless took positives out of the showing before the Dons face another Pac-12 team in USC on Saturday. “I feel a lot better about them after the loss than the first win,” she said. “I thought there was tremendous improvement.”
Games of the week
USC at USF: 2 p.m. Saturday, WCC Network
No. 1 South Carolina at No. 2 Stanford: Noon Sunday 70
Cal at St. Mary's: 2 p.m. Sunday, WCC Network