Penn State 2022 Season News

AMEN!  It's time to drop that name for the BB team.  It reminds me of the sad days of Rene Portland's prejudice.

Circling back for me though, our current squad is very thin and I think we all agree it is time to get to work. I'd like to hear about bringing in a transfer or three as well as a few more top flight freshmen. All three of our new coaches are excellent recruiters we are told. Let's see some of that! Agree?

And also in my house.

I have no idea -- but if they don't get a second setter via transfer (I would guess they do), I assume Menger, with her experience at setter prior to Penn State, would get a look.

Parker is moving on.  She's starting her career as a teacher.  I wish her well. 

On your Bleak House take: you may be right, but I think you're jumping to a few conclusions:

1) the 2022 class is currently a two person class, but I'll be very much surprised if they don't bring in two scholarship transfer players -- probably in late April/early May (when the next semester starts, I think) but perhaps sooner.  I'm essentially totally ignorant on the mechanics/timing of bringing in transfers;

2) We have no idea if the top 2023 recruit is abandoning ship -- that isn't supported by her Twitter account, but certainly, kids do change their minds, so who knows.  I just wouldn't jump to that conclusion (there's plenty of time for us to pull out our hair);

3) I think it's way over the top to say there is nothing in KSC's background to suggest she’s capable of being an excellent head coach.  Let's start with the fact that as a player, she was a starter (and key player) on PSU's first National Championship WVB team.  She had underwhelming results at UCI, but we really don't know the background there.  And I've seen commentary from people who actually watched those teams first-hand to the effect that her players always got better -- but she wasn't able to attract really good players (or enough of them) to UIC.  Hardly a perennial powerhouse.  At Penn, she was more than fine.  Finally, I've spoken with people who actually know the program well, that of all the assistants Russ had over the past 10 years, KSC is the only one about whom they never heard any criticism from former players.  That includes Salima.  So, she's held in high regard by her players.  That's a very good place to start. 

So, I'd say the future is challenging, not bleak.  It may turn out to be very poor -- things can happen.  But I'd bet on the over for the bleak/much better than bleak. outlook.  And I'm really not in the business of trotting out diatribes.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and your opinion may be much more accurate than mine.  Love, peace and volleyball.

That last point -- starting a new dynasty -- is one I meant to address, but didn't, in my prior post.  Not meaning this as criticism -- we'd all love for there to be a new Golden Age for PSU WVB, with multiple National Championships in the next 10-15 years.  But I think that's an unfair bar to set as the standard for success.  I think KSC should be judged on whether she produces winning records overall and in the B1G, and whether her teams make it to the Regional Finals (and hopefully the Final Four) at least every few years.  Of course I'd want National Titles in the record, too.  But so many things can interrupt that journey -- injuries, meeting an outlier hot team (like Wisconsin in 2013), and more.  So I wouldn't call KSC a failure if she meets my standards, but doesn't win a National Title.  I would call her tenure a failure if she stopped trying to fix the things that had come between her and that elusive National Title.  Not winning it all should never be acceptable.  It just shouldn't be a mark of abject failure.