Congrats to the UCLA Bruins on an impressive championship performance yesterday. At least Texas women's basketball can say they lost to the national champions. Texas had an impressive tournament run for a second straight season but, unfortunately, came up short in the Final Four again. I'm very proud of how the ladies performed against the Bruins. Sometimes you have a bad shooting night as a team, and that's why Texas wasn't able to advance to the national championship game.
With the national championship won, the transfer portal has now opened for players if they want to change basketball programs for the upcoming season. It's with great sadness that Aaliyah Crump and Justice Carlton have entered the portal today. Those would have been two pivotal players that Vic Schaefer would have loved to have on his squad next season. Here's more on both players and how they are a loss for the women's basketball program.
1. Aaliyah Crump
This player is somewhat shocking because I could have seen a lot more playing time for her next season. Crump would have been the perfect player to help mentor the incoming players into the program. You need those kinds of players to let the freshmen know what Schaefer expects from them on any given night. She averaged 8 points and two rebounds during her freshman season. Schaefer has to find someone who will replace her experience on the roster.
With the limited playing time that Crump got during her freshman year, I had a gut feeling this would be her only season at Texas. She's the type of player who should be playing around 20 minutes a night. Texas has a really deep roster, and she just gets lost in all the talent. Another reason she might have entered the portal is due to NIL and other brand opportunities if she had signed with another college. I wish her the best in all her future endeavors and hope she makes it to the WNBA.
2. Justice Carlton
Carlton is another player from Texas who entered the portal today, and I think it has to do with her role on the team. I think she wants a role where she is the primary offensive player on the team. When you piece together the entire Texas roster, Carlton is another player who seems to get lost in all the talent. Any Division 1 school would be lucky to have her in the lineup and provide valuable minutes on the court. I wish her nothing but the best with her new school and thank her for her contributions to Texas.
Both of these players will definitely be tough to replace next season. However, Vic Schaefer has done well in the transfer portal. Kyla Oldacre has been one of his significant transfer portal targets in the last couple of seasons. While we are losing two great players in Carlton and Crump, Schaefer is probably already contacting players to schedule visits. We will have more news on the transfer portal here at Hookem Headlines.