Money.
Women basketball is rebuilding from the total mess itâs been for years. Takes some time.
Go Coogs!
Mr. Butch. Stop that.
The girls are starting to execute a little better on offense. And they play hard. Culture is getting established. Canât wait until Alyvia McCorkle and the other young ladies get on campus for next season.
Nate
I do think in general (at least in the state of Texas), the top prep athletes (on the girls side) are choosing other sports over basketball. Volleyball primarily - but perhaps a bit of soccer too. Thatâs not exclusive - Texas is a big state and there are still obviously a few elite players. But just compared to volleyball, this state isnât nearly as deep as it used to be. So it means youâll have to recruit more out-of-state kids to be a top 25 program.
The real issue is UH womenâs hoops has been invisible to most of the top players in the state for a long time. There is almost enough top talent locally to compete in the Big 12 but they have to build the relationships and trust of the local talent.
The portal on the womenâs side isnât as robust as the men. If you donât have the $$ itâs a lot tougher. Iâm going to judge them on the roster they build for next year since they will have had a full year to build.
bigmccoog:âThis season has been disappointing to say the least.â
Last year UH won 5 games and 1 game in Big Conference(they had a lot injuries and at times were playing only 6 or 7 players).
This year they are a better team winning 7 games so far. This is Coach Mitchellâs first year.
May be I am drinking the kool-aid but I believe UH has a chance to win 3 or 4 more conference games and a game in Big 12 Conference Tournament.
Going from winning 5 games to 10 or more is improvement. Next year UH has a chance to have a winning record.
Nate I hope you are right. Just want all of our teams to excel and happy about the win Sunday
This.
TCU went from trash to championship caliber overnight because that coach knows how to get money and use the portal.
They went from 1-17 in the Big 12 to top 25 in one season, top 10 the next. I would love to be at a point where we have the talent and can nitpick the coaching, but first we need $.
It really doesnât. See above. TCUâs best two seasons in program history are this season and last season and they were 1-17 in the league 2 years ago.
In 2026 it doesnât take time, it takes money.
If you donât have money it takes time. Have to build the old fashioned way as much as possible
Build relationships? Trust?
money changes that overnight
The days when you had to hire a father or a player to get in are over unfortunately
Womenâs basketball is always top heavy and thatâs the issue - doesnât seem like thereâs enough quality talent to go around for everyone - especially at the post spots
If you donât have money, youâre going to develop someone the âold fashioned wayâ for someone like TCU to steal them from you. In this current era, getting it done without money is a pipe dream. Kelvin can keep it going without as much as others because of who he is and what we have already done, but even he has to be compeititive with $.
I know thatâs not what you want to hear, but thatâs reality.
TT beats UH 85-61.
I hear you so I guess just give upâŠâŠThere are enough good players who want to come home as transfers along with a few good recruits and you can be competitive at the very least. Womenâs NIL $$ isnât that crazy except for maybe an elite few. Winning the big 12 is doable down the road. Itâs not the SEC in womenâs basketball.
The come home angle isnât what it used to be - WBB is top heavy so the margin for error is slimmer
Yes, give up on the idea that some coach is good enough to recruit players two tiers below the top of the league and âcoach 'em upâ to be competitive and either hire a coach or set up an infrastructure for them where we can be competitive in NIL.
The top teams in the conference are giving their womenâs basketball players between $50K and $300K each with some stars getting even more than that. Thatâs not crazy like football or mens hoops, but it is a lot of money in the aggregate. For a lot of womenâs BB players thatâs a life-changing amount and even for the now more typical upper-middle class recruit, if a kid is deciding between 100K per year at Texas Tech and next to nothing for us, we arenât going to get them unless they are wealthy legacies, and how many of those even exist?
I give $5K per year to Coog womenâs athletics in general. I know that is a drop in the bucket, but thatâs what I can do and I think all of us doing what we can do in this regard is what it will take.
Youâre saying TCU and Baylor are giving between 50K and 300K per player? I highly doubt that. I could maybe see TCU giving that type of money to their 2 stars but theyâre a 2 player team. Miles and Suarez just combined for 46 shots (of 63 total) in their win at Baylor. And they only played 7 players total. Again, I could see their 2 top players getting big money but if you can get 50K a year to shoot 2 shots in a game (and youâre starting), thatâs a hell of a gig.
You highly doubt it based on what?
Iâm not guessing here - I have it directly from one of our assistants that entry-level NIL at top programs is around $50K, and itâs widely reported that stars can reach $300K. Jaden Owens has been valued north of $200K, and Hailey Van Lith was making substantially more than that.
And letâs even you are right and my numbers are high. If starters at programs like Baylor and TCU are getting even $50K more than players at Houston, thatâs exactly the point - that gap matters. Talent follows resources in modern college sports. You donât âold-fashioned coachâ your way past systemic funding differences year after year.
And honestly, if youâre right and it only takes about $50K to move the needle, thatâs all the more reason for Houston to step up. Thatâs not an impossible number, thatâs a competitive opportunity. If relatively modest NIL differences can separate tiers, then closing that gap should be priority #1, not something we shrug off.
And yes, it is a hell of a gig. Thatâs literally why NIL exists. Top programs invest, players benefit, and results follow. Pretending that doesnât matter isnât realism, itâs denial.
Iâve talked to coaches too. And yes, while I agree the NIL at top level schools approaches the numbers youâre talking, TCU (and Baylor) are not top level schools. Not everyone at those schools is getting NIL money anything close to that. Yes, a couple of TCU starters get big money. But the ones on the bench who never play get a couple of thousand at most.
This site says womenâs basketball players on average at P4 schools are getting 16K apiece. Thatâs the average - not 50K. Maybe the top schools (UConn, LSU, South Carolina, Tennessee) give their players that much apiece. But not many more.
Whatâs the point of splitting hairs over exactly how much they are getting? If the average p4 player is getting $16,000 apiece, you donât think players at good schools are getting 50?
Regardless, the point does not change. We need to do better at this.