In reply to: Not Only Coach Ivey, But Lauren Ebo ... posted by dillon77
some promising young former Irish player assistants right now but I think they need to build their own resumes. Niele should hire the best person she can get and not get too focused on ND background.
...including me...that Niele should hire the best person available. Absolutely.
I'm just seeing a pattern of going with whom/what she knows.
With coaches, Muffet started hiring former ND players (Niele, Beth Morgan Cunningham) and/or rehiring previous assistants (Coach O, Angie Pottoff as director of operations).
BTW, a lot of the players I've listed have built their own resumes. Charel Allen and Ashley Barlow have both been in this business more than a decade and have many years as assistants. They are adding value to their programs. Whether Niele thinks it's the right kind of value for ND, she'll determine.
I'll be interested in seeing what direction she goes.
Why limit the search that way?
Get the best coach you can. Muffet didn’t go to ND. Nor did Ara, Lou or Freeman. There’s a big world of talented people out there. Don’t limit the search.
Done to date - only consider people she has recruited before, worked with at ND, played for or coached at ND.
It was a quick list of people that meet that criteria. I tend to agree that we need the best and should ignore ND history. That wasn’t the intent of this specific post.
BTW, I totally agree with badelman, SorinBasement and others who think that Niele should find the best coach she can to help the team, regardless of any previous association with ND.
Up to this point, Niele has talked about players having to have "the right fit" and that seems to translate into having a vetting period and/or experience with ND andor, perhaps, with Niele.
As such, for a short turnaround for Neiele (and the Bench, for that matter), I just listed the ND players/personnel (Angie P.) that she could look at...which she probably will, anyways.
A night after posting this, I come back to Ashley Barlow, who is Katrina Merriweather's top aide at Memphis and in her early 30's, plus Charel Allen, who most certainly interviewed for the post Michaela ultimately got.
Both are experienced, yet relatively young and could relate to players.
Remember, I flew the idea of Lindsay Allen -- even though she has no formal experience in coaching per see -- well, Troy just hired Chelsea Dungee, another WNBA player fresh off multiple cuts to be an assistant.
Whereas Coach Ivey was looking for an experienced hand when she hired Coach Q a few years back, I'm thinking Niele seems quite comfortable in her shoes right now and still has Coach O around. Plus, Michaela has been active and obviously has involvement. So, I could see a young(er) person here to join Mike and help relate to younger players.
Stay tuned.
Fortunately (or unfortunately) she's still going strong in the WNBA.
... she'll be in the WNBA a bit longer. A smart, good post can stay in the pro leagues a long time.
Personally, I think that's not a bad thing for ND, either. Why? By the time Ace bows out of playing, it may be around the time Coach O is thinking of calling it a day coaching posts. I have absolutely no doubt Ace would be a great teacher of and draw to young post prospects.
If you have read the football board, one recurring point was made that young coaches often benefit from having an experienced hand around. I know Carol Owens and Coquese were supposed to provide that benefit, but it could be another factor to consider.
I'm wondering if maybe Melissa D'Amico would leave a HC job at Boston University if Niele called. I don't know how close the two are.
Maybe she could see serving as an assistant at her alma mater, a Top 25 school as a stepping stone since that's her first year as a HC.
She's only been at Boston for one year and the team went 17-14.
Leaving a HC position (after only 1 year) to self demote yourself to an assistant again seems like a backwards solution. Although I am not acquainted with the BU offense, I'm pretty sure that their offense uses some form of the Princeton offense which she is proficient at. Coming to ND where those concepts are/have substituted to a different, unfamiliar offense would make this fit even harder. It's in her best interest to go the Megan Duffy route and work her way up to a Power 5 program if that's what she desires.