AUDI CROOKS, TALAYSIA COOPER, PAULDO TWINS..TRANSFER PORTAL MADNESS

Welcome to The Mid Majors Podcast, where we break down the women’s college basketball transfer portal, NIL influence, and the biggest player movement shaping the game. Tap in for real, unfiltered analysis on Audi Crooks, the Pauldo twins, and how mid-majors vs power conferences are being impacted.

Transcript

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The babies are leaving. Let's talk about it. Welcome to the Mid Majors podcast where the real hoop talk happens, unfiltered and unapologetic. I am one of your hosts, Tokara. And usually I would have with me my co-host, Courtney, but she is on a short leave of absence. Um, she will be back for the live watch parties this weekend. So if you're new here, join the Mid Rangers. Make sure you go subscribe to our channel. If you love real talk talking about women's basketball, this is the place to be. But honey, we gotta get into some things today. This a few things could not wait. Usually I would like to say the babies are bawling, but honey, the babies are leaving. Okay, so the last few days, honey, the babies are in the portal. And I actually went on a rant on TikTok because at the time I had said that it was going to be, well, they're projecting that it is going to be over 500 kids in the portal. I was being generous and I was being nice because they're saying that it's projected to be over a thousand. And my question is where the hell are they gonna go? Baby, we're some of them, where they gonna go. But the a couple of the big ones that we're going to talk about today, briefly, Audi Crooks just went in the portal today. Talesia Cooper just went in the portal as we expected. The Paul Doe twins went into the portal yesterday, which I honestly expected them to stay. I don't know why. I just I figured they would stay. I just I truly did. But that is not the case, honey. That is not happening. They are on their way too. So the rant that I went on with the transfer portal before we get into that, I I'm team player, okay? I'm always at the best, the best, whatever the player decisions they want to make, I'm always with the players. I like to say I am anti-NCAA all the time just because I felt like the NCAA has made a lot of money since the beginning of time. I feel like they've always had the upper hand. Now the players they they can decide. They can decide what move they want to make. The transfer portal, the transfer rule is it is what it is now. I'm at the point with these numbers because I'm okay if we go with a rule of you get one free transfer and then you can go, you're gonna have to set out. I think I'm at that point with it. Because y'all, a thousand kids in the portal. I have so many questions, and a lot of people have said to me, and I do understand this, because I've made this point too as well early in the season. I feel like now the coaches are using the portal to their advantage as well. I think that the transfer portal is the new we're gonna recruit over you. So I think that you should go ahead and transfer and give them that option, we'll release you. You know, you can go somewhere, hope you find the best place. I think the coaches are using the portal to their benefit, just like the players are too as well. But what gets me is if you're new here, I'm Takara, I'm a mid-major. I played at Tennessee Tech University. Shout out to the Goat and Eagles. I've made it very clear that if I was playing during this time with the type of player that I was, the type of seasons that I was having, I was a first team all-conference player for three years in a row. Um, conference player, defensive player of the year, I would be in the portal. I knew that I know what these, I know what kids are getting paid now. And I even know what the walk-ons are getting money. The walk-ons are getting in IL. So I think that a lot of these are money moves. Now, some people will say, I don't think these key all these kids are getting bad advice. I think that some of them are. Just because of the simple fact where you guys like, it was a couple kids yesterday. They're going at the portal, a couple mid-major kids, they're averaging 2.3 points and they have representation. Now, a couple of them I've seen, I've watched with my own two eyes. And my question is if you average two points a game and you going in the portal and you have representation, like, baby, while while we got representation, I don't that's how I know. Like, some of them are trying to get money. Um, what I'm working on, I want us to, if you know an NIL agent for women's for college basketball who represents women's basketball players, please send them our way because I would love I have so many questions. I would love to talk. I have a few friends who are on staffs and they tell me that, you know, even Don Staley made this point. Don Staley said, you know, the conversations now is what's the number? And it's a couple coaches too who make jokes and make reels and say, you know, kids are averaging five points and they want$300,000. So for me, that's my concern with it. I feel like some of these players are getting it by saying that they should leave. You're better than this, you're better than that. But the case is they may not be. Who am I to say that you aren't? But a couple of them I know you're not. You're you're I don't know where you're gonna end up. You might end up at home, unfortunately, because there's not going to be a place, a better situation for a lot of these players. I think that a lot of, especially the mid-majors, I think a lot of these players are going to make lateral moves. Now, my question is this too. What are you looking for? So, say, for example, say I'm a mid-major player, um, I can be here or I can go somewhere else, and they're offered to pay me little, it ain't little money, but I'm just gonna say lower end money. They're offered to pay me$100,000. Yes, I have to go. So I get that too as well. But I also think that we are going to see a situation where some of these players are going to have to go to D2, they're gonna have to go to NIIA, they're not going to be at a D1 program. I and I want us to keep an eye on this. It's something I'm definitely gonna keep an eye on for sure. That's just my thought process with it. It's like some of it, I'm just like, make it make sense. So we'll see. Like I said, end of the day, I'm always wishing the babies the best. But some of this, I'm starting to get really concerned about the way some of these choices are being made. Like, I have so many questions. Like I said, I think that somebody should come up with a my joke is just like an insurance agency, right? You know how you have like a a claims adjuster. Maybe they should have like an NIL adjuster, claim something to evaluate, tell you this is the part, this is what you're worth. There you go. I think maybe that's something they should think about. And maybe the agent's doing that. I don't know. Guess we'll we'll see. We'll see. Anyway, but let's get into let's get into the Pardo twins. Like I said, I did not expect them to leave. You know, they have made it clear that they are a package deal. Where do they end up? No. I think now with this situation, just with these portals, and it's just so many players, like I feel like we were able to see with that team with Tennessee, I think that we weren't able to see what a lot of the players there could do, what they could showcase just because of, you know, the rotations, the coaching that's been questionable. But I think that I could see them maybe not going back into the SEC. I think that we could see them in a different conference. I think that we could see them in the Big 12, in the Big Ten. I don't see them going to another SEC school. I personally don't see that. Um Talasia Cooper, I think that she's a player who this is what her third time transferring, I I want to say. I think that she's a player who can really pick and choose and decide. And I think that she's probably gonna land in a good spot. Now that was her second uh SEC school. Does she want to stay in the SEC? I don't, you know, we we don't know these questions. We don't know. We don't know that we don't have the answers to any of this. Um, with her, I would like to see her with the fast-paced team. I would like to see her at a place where she could insert herself and really make a difference. Get, I think that she's a player who should be playing a minimum of between 25 and 35 minutes a game, depending on the right situation, uh tournament time. I think that she's one of those players. She can score, she can score the ball. I think that she would be a really good asset to a contending team. I truly think that. Audie crooks. So, y'all know I'm a major Audi Crooks fan. Love Audi. At the beginning of the season, I was like, yeah, I want Audi to get player of the year. I I love Audi's game. Audi had gotten exposed defensively a lot. So in the comments, I am seeing a whole lot of Audi should go to South Carolina. Audi should go to LSU. We need bigs. I think that I understand that y'all are saying that y'all need bigs, but I think that you also have to understand that you need players in the right system. Now, when it comes to Audi crooks, I think that the SEC for those two particular teams, I think defensively, I don't know if Dawn can get out of Audi what she wants defensively. I think the pace of the game with South Carolina and LSU, I think that that's too much of a fast-paced game for her. I think that, to be honest, like, I think that she's a little too slower for those teams. And nothing knocking her. I think she's great. Now, I'll tell you what I do like. I do like her. I would like to see her with Madison Booker. I like Texas for her. I think that she could just replace Old Acker. I think that she can just fit right in, you know. But I she is definitely a starter. I think that if you, I think Texas would get significantly better with her on their roster because boom, we got a post that can get 25 points a game, 40 any given night. We've got Madison Booker, we've got, you know, Jordan Lee. I would I if I had to say a spot where I think that she would be a good fit in the SEC, it would be there. Um that's honestly probably the only one I can really think that I like today. But that y'all know we change our minds here. So that could change. Um, I've seen people say for her, I've seen a lot of schools. Somebody mentioned Iowa. I think with the I with the with the rivalry with them, would she go there? But I see Audi wanting to go. She's a player who she could go somewhere to be a contending national championship team. I think that she can go somewhere and make a team better offensively with the right system. I think with Texas, like I said, I think they can run half-court sets. I think they can slow the offense down. I think that they value, you know, half-court execution. So I think that she can do that. I've also seen Notre Dame. That one's not a bad one. I just don't know. I think that Notre Dame tried to half-court execute against UConn defensively. Again, I just don't know. Now, I do I think she can play in the ATC? Absolutely. That was probably the one that I can say where I think that was probably close. Like, okay, I could see that. I could see that. But the South Carolina fans, the LSU fans, I love y'all, but not saying that it won't happen, but I just don't think so. Um, y'all let me know. Y'all let me know where y'all think she should go. Y'all let me know what y'all think about all this madness is going on. I'm like literally scrolling through my phone and somebody's going somewhere. Um it's it's a lot, honey. The bay the babies are leaving, like I said. And I made a joke yesterday, which was an April Fool's joke, that you know, I was going into the transfer portal to find another show. That was a joke for sure. It was just because my my literally, my whole timeline looked like that. So I was just like, let me just go ahead and say I'm going in the portal too at this point, honey, because what what are we doing? Make sure you guys go watch our episode that we did with Responsible Degenerate. That was a pretty good episode. I enjoyed doing it. I took over for me and Courtney, so I had to hold it down for the mid-majors. We will be going live for the next few days. We will be covering the final four. So make sure you guys tap in. Like I said, Courtney has been getting her rest, child. Last week kind of wore us out from the show, honey. We recorded literally like every all the games for the most part, as much as we could. We were doing two games a day online for like four or five hours. So it was a lot. But like I said, you guys let me know what you guys are thinking about the portal. Who do you think we'll see next? I feel at this point, I feel like Iowa State and Tennessee had a transfer portal battle. Also, too, one last thing I forgot to mention. So the whole time with Iowa State, I'm thinking, like, surely their coach has to be retiring, right? Like, what is going on over there? But he just made a statement like maybe an hour ago. And I'm like, oh, so you're not leaving. You're not retiring. I don't. If I was him, baby, I don't know. Y'all let me know what y'all think. It's just, it's, it's madness at this point. We'll see how everything goes. We'll keep an eye on everything. We'll see where everybody ends up. I can't wait to see. I'm really excited about this time of women's basketball, but make sure you guys stick with us in the upcoming final four for the live watch parties. Y'all have a good day.