I am the first to admit that I am no expert in the ways of women's college hoops -- I only get to follow the team occasionally on the radio and when they are televised, which isn't often. But after their second Sweet 16 in three years it seemed like the program was on the cusp of BIG things. The last two seasons (Yori's 13th and 14th at NU) have instead been incredibly disappointing and I would welcome anyone's explanation or insight into why Yori doesn't play at least some role in that.
Losses|>10pts|>20pts|>30pts
2014: 7|3|0|0
2015: 11|3|1|1
2016: 13|9|5|3
RPI
2014: 18
2015: 41
2016: 111
Series Record (Same Span)
Iowa: 2-4
Maryland: 0-3 (Average Margin: 29pts)
NW: 2-3
Ohio State: 1-2
Purdue: 2-3
Rutgers: 1-3
I am genuinely interested in what would account for the program's fall and whether you all regard it as a blip in the larger trend.
Well, if you want to narrow the focus to a 2 year period vs. the last 6 years vs. a 14 year track record (which can be pretty misleading): Your assumptions are still wrong that there was a "program fall". That I suppose could be an opinion but it certainly isn't a fact. And "incredibly" disappointing would seem to be hyperbole on the level of saying our program has been "awful".
For crying out loud we made the NCAA tournament in one of the two years you are looking at. Prior to our best player and point guard breaking her foot in February, we were rated, had a high RPI, were ranked at the top of the conference. Even with the injury to a very key player (point guards are pretty huge in post-season play, and ours was a difference maker), we made the tournament, and lost at the buzzer to a rising Syracuse team, which had enough talent to make the NCAA finals this year.
We had 4 senior starters on that team. 3 of them had over 100 career starts each. 2015-16 was always going to be a rebuilding year. Despite that, we had a good season going, with some tough Big 10 road wins, when we lost 2 of our 3 starting guards for the season. Despite the rebuilding year, we still finished in the middle of the league, went 18-13, made the NIT.
While we had some transfers out, the recruiting classes were still highly ranked. There was no sign of a cratering of the program.
Did Yori's approach contribute to the rash of injuries/conditions? Are any of the other allegations valid? I don't know. Smallwood and Shimmy leaving signs of some underlying issues? All these things warning signs of a big problem? Could be. But in terms of results, this program was humming along, with a very successful track record both athletically and academically. Recruiting was solid, with connections across the country paying dividends. A good hire in Brittany Brown to keep that moving.
I hope our fans aren't to the point where they describe 4 NCAA tournament berths in 5 years as "awful". If our worst year is 18-13 and an NIT bid, well, we're doing pretty well. Realistically, this is still Nebraska. We're not going to make the tournament every year. We play in a tough league. Maryland joining it will reduce our chances for championships no doubt, it is a BEAST. While we produce more D1 girls than in boys basketball, recruiting is still a challenge.
Perhaps by having 2 sweet 16 squads, regular and tournament league championships, and being a consensus NATIONAL coach of the year in the sport of basketball at Nebraska, Yori was a victim of her own success, and expectations got a little out of whack. Again, I'm not saying there could't be legitimate problems leading to a surprising termination, but it wasn't do to what was happening in recruiting and on the court results, I can assure you of that.
