Swish Appeal is thrilled to share this story from Jack Bonin, who regularly writes about the Dallas Wings for Mavs Moneyball.
Fresh off a breakout junior season at Stanford, Kiki Iriafen decided it was time for a change.
Though her three seasons with the the Cardinal helped the 6-foot-3 forward establish herself as an elite WNBA prospect, her reasons for transferring to USC for her final collegiate season were plentiful: Iriafen, an LA native, could come home and be close to her family; legendary Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer retired; and USC boasts sophomore phenom JuJu Watkins, perhaps the most talented player in college basketball. It made a ton of sense for Iriafen to head south and join the Trojans for her final year.
But the biggest basketball reason Iriafen gave for transferring involved what playing at USC would mean for her future. On former teammate Haley Jones’s podcast, Sometimes I Hoop, Iriafen emphasized the move was partly about preparing for “a seamless transition to the W[NBA]”. With VanDerveer retired and star teammate Cameron Brink graduating to the W, Iriafen correctly reasoned that playing with Watkins and a supremely talented Trojan team would be the perfect opportunity to build on last year’s success.
Of course, Iriafen’s junior year…
