JR Payne isn’t much different than many of her coaching peers in the Pac-12 Conference.
From her playing days at St. Mary’s through a coaching career now in its third decade spent entirely in the West, the Pac-12 Conference has set the standard for women’s basketball. Nevertheless, Payne admits she has met a few hurdles recently while talking to prospects on the recruiting trail, given the uncertainty surrounding the future of the Pac-12.
Colorado’s part in that future, or lack thereof, was clarified last week, when athletic director Rick George executed CU’s return to the Big 12 Conference. For Payne and the CU women’s basketball team, the move is perhaps somewhat more lateral than the jump in competition the CU men’s team soon will encounter in the Big 12.
That may not necessarily hold true in the reconfigured Big 12 once the Buffs begin conference play. But, like just about everyone associated with Colorado athletics, Payne is grateful she no longer has to attempt to answer awkward questions from potential recruits.
“I love the stability the move has created for not only for our program, but for the entire department and university,” Payne said. “We love the Pac-12 and have loved being in it. Most of us grew up on the West Coast dreaming of being part of the (Pac-12). But even for the past year itap been difficult because recruits want to know where you’re going to be, who you’re going to play, what league are you going to be in. Thatap a huge factor in recruits choosing where they’re going to go. Itap been difficult to say because everyone knows there’s been some uncertainty.”
During Colorado’s 12 seasons in the Pac-12 (encompassing 11 NCAA Tournaments, given the cancellation of the 2020 tourney due to the COVID-19 pandemic), the league has recorded 10 Final Four appearances. Most of that has been powered by Stanford, which owns five of those NCAA tourney berths, but five other Pac-12 teams have recorded Final Four appearances during that span as well — California (2013), Oregon State (2016), Washington (2016), Oregon (2019) and Arizona (2021).
In those 12 years, the Big 12 has recorded just two berths in the women’s Final Four, though both were national championship seasons by Baylor (2012, 2019).
This past season, the Pac-12 sent seven of its dozen teams into the tournament, while the 10-team Big 12 sent six. However, all of those Big 12 teams fell short of the Sweet 16, while the Pac-12 had three Sweet 16 entrants (CU, Utah, UCLA). The Pac-12 even posted a pair of head-to-head wins against the Big 12 in the tournament, with Arizona topping West Virginia in the first round and UCLA defeating Oklahoma in the second round.
Still, one significant difference between the men’s and women’s sides of the reconfigured Big 12 is the disparity in the quality between whatap going out and whatap coming in. Thanks to Houston’s current status as a men’s powerhouse, the pending loss of Texas and Oklahoma is getting somewhat offset in men’s basketball. Thatap not quite the case in women’s basketball.
In the final women’s basketball NET rankings of 2022-23, the Pac-12 posted an average ranking of 48.4, while the Big 12 recorded a comparable 49.5. Houston’s women’s team posted a solid 73 in the NET, but the other three incoming Big 12 members — BYU (109), Central Florida (148) and Cincinnati (194) — were behind the curve.
“We haven’t played a lot of Big 12 teams over the years, so I don’t know that conference as well as some of the more western conferences,” Payne said. “I kind of grew up on the western seaboard as a coach. Thatap actually one thing I love about the move for myself personally is itap just a huge challenge trying to learn new teams, learn new coaches, learn new styles and systems and stuff like that. Itap an exciting challenge as a coach and competitor.
“As for the strength of the league, certainly losing Oklahoma and Texas is a big loss. But I know Cincinnati just got a new coach who’s been very successful everywhere she’s been. BYU we know pretty well because we lived in Utah, they’ve always been strong. UCF has been historically pretty strong.”
