Hypothetical questions for board experts
by walden2 (2024-04-16 11:49:38)

I like following the ND women and women's bball in general, but I'm a pretty casual fan, so I really enjoy the commentary on this board from more knowledgable fans. Anyway, I was watching some of the tournament games in the last few weeks with some ND friends and two questions came up that I'd be curious to hear your opinions on:

1) If Caitlin Clark had come to ND, how would that have changed the team the last four years? How would she have fit in with our other strong guards like Olivia and Hannah? Would ND have been a lock for the FF?

2) Conversely, how would Iowa have done the last two years without Clark? It seemed like they had some solid players, but Clark was pulling them through the tournament against teams like UConn/LSU/South Carolina that had multiple 5 star recruits who were headed for the WNBA. It also surprised me that Iowa wasn't able to recruit better players to surround her.

Anyway, happy to hear your thoughts.


Here's my take (But there are a lot of what ifs)
by irishfan2008  (2024-04-17 08:21:53)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

Yes Muffet would probably have coached a few more years because Clark would have gotten more wins. She might have been still coaching today which would change recruiting since Niele was an assistant in the NBA.

Yes I agree we'd probably have two championships with Clark.

I thought we would have been seeing a Clark-Maddy combination for the duration of their four years. I think Maddy would have been the beneficiary of Clark's passes like Monika Czinano was. Sam Brunelle also would have had open threes playing with Clark.

Caitlin still develops into the prolific scorer but she doesn't have to score as much because of the talent around her at ND. She may not break all of the records she currently owns.

I think that Olivia probably goes elsewhere if Clark was here. Olivia wanted to play early and often and that wouldn't have happened with Clark here.

Soni, may have come here as she wanted a school with strong academics but she said that Niele was the difference between ND and Stanford. Hannah has a close connection with Niele and also may not be here.


Can't make a single assumption on what if scenarios
by SixShutouts66  (2024-04-16 12:19:32)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

Your first question assumes that the only condition that would have changed is Clark came to Notre Dame. I believe significant other changes could have happened that make it difficult to answer your question.

1. Would Muffet have retired when she did?
I think there's a good chance she would have stayed for CC's for years - perhaps like Auriemma and Bueckers at UCONN.

2. Would Clark have developed the same way at ND?
She may have become the same quality player (and perhaps better), but she would have been the top player within the system (i.e. nowhere near the scorer she was at Iowa).

3. Would the same players have enrolled at ND if she was here?
My guess, within zero knowledge, is that I question whether Olivia and Sonia would choose ND. It's also hard to judge recruiting if Muffet was still the coach versus Niele. But then, I'm not sure Iowa's failure to recruit elite players alongside Clark means the same would have occurred at ND.




3.


Well-Done on ND. I'll Add a Bit There & on Iowa
by dillon77  (2024-04-16 14:01:34)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

- If Muffet had stayed, Niele would probably still be coaching in the NBA.
MM's refined Princeton-based system would probably have been the basis for the offense, giving allowances to Clark's specialties/preferences (think of the leeways designed for Jewell, Arike, etc.)

- As such, some players might've stayed, most notably Sam Brunelle, who would've had a field day getting open passes from Caitlin Clark. Abby Prohaska would've thrived being CC's wingman/protector, etc.

- Beth Morgan Cunningham -- assisted by Michaela -- would still be overseeing recruiting and the combination of offense/CC would probably have focused on some players with different skill sets.
I doubt Olivia would've come. Sonia could play with anyone, but wanted to play with Olivia, so who knows where they would've ended up? Stanford?

- However, I think there's a good chance Maddy would still have come to ND.

- Meanwhile at Iowa. The combination of Lisa Bluder/Jan Jensen have always managed to get pretty decent guard/center combinations. Not necessarily highly rated, but good. Remember Katherine Doyle and Megan Gustafson?

My guess is they'd be in the top third of the B1G, made up of four and three-star players who were coached up.