EWU player departure needs better perspective

Quick — somebody get the name of the bus that just ran over Eastern Washington University women’s basketball head coach Wendy Schuller and her program.

And get the names of those individuals who tossed her under that careening, out-of-control coach. Wait, we have those — Cece Pearl, Marly Anderson, Haley Saner, Kiana Brown and Jade Redmon.

Schuller’s coaching style was implicated as the reason, or part of the reason, these five players chose to leave the Eagles program en masse in a story published May 14 in the Spokesman-Review. Redmon gave S-R reporter Thomas Clouse “a lot of negativity and lack of communication” as reasons she’s leaving the program.

“I find it strange that so many people have voiced their unhappiness and they are going to look for other options next year, but there hasn’t been anyone looking into the source of the problem,” Brown told Clouse.

Presumably, Brown is saying the “source” is Schuller. As this is the first time something like this has happened, we wonder if the “problem” is more with the departing players, and perhaps even the nature of basketball itself, than just Eastern’s women’s head coach.

Players transfer out of and into NCAA Division I basketball programs all the time, men and women’s, and for a variety of reasons, including coaching style and playing time. Just ask the folks at that school down on Boone Street in Spokane — they’ve been on the receiving end of ins and outs.

Keeping the issue in context, let’s look at what Schuller has done at a school that’s not always on the radar as a destination for top talent. She has had an up and down career, 198-219 overall, but over the last four years has compiled a record of 72-53, a .576 winning percentage including the recently completed 21-12 season that saw the Eagles’ program win its ever NCAA Division I tournament game.

Let’s look off the court. The Eagle women have been selected to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Academic Top-25 Honor Roll in 12 of Schuller’s 13 seasons, and the 2014-15 results aren’t out yet. Only one other NCAA Division I program has done that.

The Eagle women have been in the top-five of the WBCA list eight times in those 12 years, and led the nation with a 3.63 grade point average in 2003-04.

Isn’t preserving the “student” in “student-athlete” what we want to see in college sports?

A tipping point in the relation with Schuller and two players allegedly came when they were locked out of their locker room after a four-game losing streak Jan. 17-31. Redmon said the coaches “thought it was a privilege (the locker room) and we didn’t deserve to have that privilege.” Brown said this was when she began to question her commitment to the program.

“From there on…we were pretty successful,” Brown added.

Coaches do a lot of things, including teaching, inspiring and motivating. To do that, they send players messages to get their attention when they aren’t performing to expectations and abilities.

Brown was right — after the lockout Eastern went on a six-game winning streak, and ended the season winning 10 of their final 13 games, including the Women’s National Invitational Tournament first-round win over Washington State. In this case, we’d say Schuller and her staff’s message was heard and acted upon. Some players apparently failed to see its long-term value.

Finally, basketball has one of the smallest rosters in team sports, with 12-15 players suiting up and only five playing at a time.

Players used to being the best or one of the best, and treated as such, on their teams from grade school to high school suddenly reach Division I competition to find this is no longer so. It can be a blow to the psyche of the uber-competitive, who are left with the choice of accepting their new role, or leaving for more playing time.

The exodus of five players at once from Schuller’s Eagle women’s program is likely a combination of factors, including a desire to play closer to home. All factors, along with her success on and off the court, and the experience of former players need to be considered before looking for a single “source of the problem.”