Two Players Have Left The Team

[Sioux04]

Looks like Mills and Williams have left UND, effective immediately. Does anyone have more information on this?

[GeauxSioux]

Pair of sophomores leave women's basketball team - UNDSports.com: Official Web Site of University of North Dakota Athletics

"Cy’erra and Brianna both indicated to me that they had been considering a change of scenery and have made the decision to showcase their abilities elsewhere. I will support them in their efforts and I wish them all the best in their future endeavors," said Brewster.

[NODAK13]

That is strange to leave the program with only 2 weeks left. It's not like they weren't playing minutes. It's got to be more than what is posted.

[CMSioux]

Wish them well, hope they find what they are looking for. Forwarding thinking now - two scholarships that Brewster can use to build his team, that could make for a very strong freshman class next year - not unusual for freshman to make an impact on a team.

Oh and I assume this means we won't see UND shirts on su football players anymore or hear them say "Sioux Suck" at their national championship rally.

[Feff]

Williams was losing playtime throughout this season, the last couple of games she is about the third guard in off the bench. Her decision making was suspect and had no outside shot, good on ball defense though.

Mills I thought would develop given more time. She has great foot speed, is excellent at breaking a press by herself, and was probably out best on-ball defender. She didn't have much of an outside shot but was at least willing to put one up now and then.

Not sure if declining playtime was a factor or if it was something else, but wish them both luck moving forward.

[andtheHomeoftheSIOUX!!]

Williams is just as classy as her brother I guess...

[jdub27]

As Brewster said, best of luck to both girls.

[Dagger]

I'm guessing the gals saw the handwriting on the wall and weren't happy and decided to show their unhappiness by just quitting. If they would have played better this wouldn't have happened. Simple as that.

[sioux2013]

I'm guessing the gals saw the handwriting on the wall and weren't happy and decided to show their unhappiness by just quitting. If they would have played better this wouldn't have happened. Simple as that.

I believe you may be right. They just probably wanted to try and show Brewster up for their unhappiness. The question I have, do they have to pay back scholarship money for the remainder of the semester? They received x amount of dollars towards food/lodging for the entire semester and of course schooling/books were paid for.

[Cratter]

My guess is probably some girls have an issue with how the coach is doing things.

[Feff]

The two that are leaving are the two that have had their playing time cut the most. Coincidence?

[ND Ball]

I have always followed the UND womens program since my playing days as this program meant so much to me. I am extremely disappointed in the results since Coach Roebuck's retirement and concerned on where the program is headed - especially after reading about the recent players quitting the team.

Coach Roebuck was not only a good practice and game coach, but a person who worked extremely hard in getting players to reach their potential and pushing them to be the best they could be and get better each year. Sometimes we wouldn't always agree with his way of doing things, but after you left the program you realized and appreciated how you were a part of something so special and your respect for him grew even deeper. He let us grow and develop but did not control us - or as I have read earlier "micro-manage".

I have watched some of the webcasts this year and it was evident players were being asked to play a "fast" game that did not suit the players that were on the floor which resulted in the turnovers, etc. This especially affected the guards. The two players that quit had a bright future coming into this year as they contributed last year as freshman. I was able to watch them a couple of times and followed their progress.

Developing the UND women's basketball tradition started with great leadership and having the ability to work with players that all had different expectations and abilities. It is sad to see that disappear in one year - - and it is also sad to hear that entering the Big Sky Conference is an excuse. The players and coaches today should of had to play in the North Central Conference with the great competition it had year in and year out. Playing back to back nights weekend after weekend was a challenge and if you slipped up even once, you lost the luxury of hosting a conference or regional tourney which had implications of a possible national championship opportunity. The competitiveness of this conference was unbelievable.

So - maybe the exit of these players sends a message to the coaches. It is a shame what one year can do that took +20 years to build - the tradition is something the past players have great pride in.

[gfhockey]

Post of the year above!

[CMSioux]

A coaching change over means the new coach gets to develop the program the way he wants and with players that fit the needs of the new program direction. Not to bash the two that are leaving but if you have seen any of the games and focused on their play you would not be that concerned about these departures. In fact with two scholarships free it means the coach can bring in two new players that better fit the future needs of the teams.

I am totally not concerned about the direction of this team and see Brewster easily able to bring in the talent needed to put it at the top of the Big Sky and keep it there.

[ND Ball]

I think the program meaning coaches, players, and fans should always be concerned about departures whether they are new or not - - especially players that leave before the season is done - and in this case only one game remaining.

The attitude about freeing up scholarships to bring in new players doesn't say much about the program - - scholarships were already available - didn't a couple of players (one that has close ties to the program) get cut when the new coach came in.

So - with this being said - it has a reflection on the program and what it has stood for - - which is important to the fans and players that have supported the program - - TRADITION!

[CMSioux]

You can turn this into a negative about the program if that is what you are looking for. Leaving a program with one game left in a season is more a reflection on the players than the staff. No way the staff would kick players off a team with one game left unless there were major team violations or legal issues. What does it say about their relationship and connection with their team mates and their personal integrity - they were playing on scholarship and didn't fulfill their part of the deal.

[coach daddy]

All good thoughts and ideas. The bottom line, neither of these guards were DI talent. Athletic, yes, bball players?, no.

The idea that these 2 scholarships are of any value this spring is a bit naive. The best are committed and gone. Very few "good" players wait til their season is completed anymore before picking a school. I'd use the scholarships in the fall for class of 2014 athletes rather than spend them now on talent that there is already too much of in this program.

Facts are facts, this team is 2nd to last in the Big Sky, handles the ball over like its on fire, and these 2 guards were part of the problem not the solution. The days of playing for championships like the 90's and early in this century are a long way off. Brewster helped bring these kids in when we was the first Asst., now he's gotta fix the mess.

[UND92,96]

Even though I suspect part of it can be explained by the fact that the high school girls basketball talent level has seemingly dried up in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota compared to the 80's, 90's and early 2000's, I am surprised at how far the UND women's program has fallen. I would have never thought the women's program would struggle more in recruiting than the men, but that seems to be what has happened in the past three years or so.

I don't follow dII basketball anymore, but I'm curious--how would our perimeter players stack up against the best teams from the NSIC? Is it a matter of there just not being enough talented players in Minnesota anymore, or have we just made some recruiting miscalculations and failed to offer some quality 1's, 2's and 3's who are now starring in the NSIC and who could have helped us?

[coach daddy]

Even though I suspect part of it can be explained by the fact that the high school girls basketball talent level has seemingly dried up in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota compared to the 80's, 90's and early 2000's, I am surprised at how far the UND women's program has fallen. I would have never thought the women's program would struggle more in recruiting than the men, but that seems to be what has happened in the past three years or so.

I don't follow dII basketball anymore, but I'm curious--how would our perimeter players stack up against the best teams from the NSIC? Is it a matter of there just not being enough talented players in Minnesota anymore, or have we just made some recruiting miscalculations and failed to offer some quality 1's, 2's and 3's who are now starring in the NSIC and who could have helped us?

We would NOT beat Mankato or Augie right now with the players we have in the program. U Mary is good but sr. dominated and their coach is in his first year after many years as the asst. They do well in Wisc. for recruiting as well as ND. Con.-St. Paul also a solid program but they pick up some DI transfers who come back to MN after failed efforts. Wouldn't be surprised if 1 or both who just left program end up there.

EGF girl who left gets about 13 min/night at Jamestown right now if that means anything regarding our recruiting lately.

[homer]

I have a ton of respect for Coach Roebuck but this program was already downhill when he left. I am not willing to jump on Brewster for the lack of talent on this team. We would be no better off if Gene was still coaching than we are right now. Only difference would be that two players who were recruited by Roebuck and have shown are not impact D1 players may still be on the team.

[coach daddy]

I have a ton of respect for Coach Roebuck but this program was already downhill when he left. I am not willing to jump on Brewster for the lack of talent on this team. We would be no better off if Gene was still coaching than we are right now. Only difference would be that two players who were recruited by Roebuck and have shown are not impact D1 players may still be on the team.

Don't disagree with anything said here. I will put Brew on the hotseat though as he and Buck recruited these players. Head coaches rely heavily on their asst. coaches for evaluations of players. Brew spent more time on the road than Buck the last 3-4 years so these are his players too.

[the green team]

Is it odd that the 2 players who quit the team just a few days earlier, were at the game on Saturday? I thought it was different. If you wanted to get away from the program that much, that you quit before the final 2 games. Why show up in the stands of the last home game?

[Sioux_FF]

Is it odd that the 2 players who quit the team just a few days earlier, were at the game on Saturday? I thought it was different. If you wanted to get away from the program that much, that you quit before the final 2 games. Why show up in the stands of the last home game?

I didn't see the 2 at the game on Saturday. That makes the situation even more strange. Eventually, we'll hear what happened. If they wanted to transfer, they had to know leaving a program that late in the year could be a red-flag to a future team. If it wasn't voluntary, it's still concerning for the program. Hopefully, they can land somewhere.

I've seen most of the home games this year and I think we match up talent wise very closely with most BSC teams. The area that concerned me the most all season was how we never seemed to adjust to the physical level of play. All season it seemed to surprise us. We lost a lot of games where we were as good or even the more talented basketball team, but didn't match the intensity or physical play of the opponent. I think it was the source of much of our turnover issue. Hopefully the program will find a way to improve that mentality going forward.

[SWSiouxMN]

Was at the game, and I did see the 2 of them walk into the game and watch the team (where they sat I had no idea). Perhaps they showed up to support their teammates. Honestly, those were the last 2 I expected to walk into the Betty on Saturday.

Just was a lost year for a lot of reasons

-Wall wasn't herself all year due to her mysterious leg injury

-2 guards leaving the program to go elsewhere

-Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers

-lot of poor shooting nights

-terrible refs (just kidding, I just wanted to throw Big Sky officiating under the bus 1 time)

I expect improvement next year and not ready to give up on Brew just yet. Another year of this and I might think otherwise. With Wall 100% and Evers making more improvements in her game, we will have 2 awesome posts to work with.

I also expect that Mia and Josie to step up and improve their game too, they will be very solid players and we saw some good flashes from both of them this year. Also hoping that this Dyer girl is the real deal when she starts play in 2014.

[watchmaker49]

How has the attendance been this year?