I personally have no problem with Niele keeping things close to the vest.
ND women's basketball does not have a hundred high schoolers to choose from, they have about 20. Of that 20, maybe 15 have no interest in Notre Dame. We are talking only 2 or 3 players per year out of a possible 5. The scale of recruiting in women's basketball, at least if you want to win the championship, is completely different. I like the idea of concentrating on a few good women. The best of the best.
Oftentimes, the recruits we are looking at are not publicity hounds and would prefer that the Notre Dame coaches not reveal every visit, text, or tweet. They like their privacy. Recruit for the recruits, not for the fans. A little patience, and the fans will benefit eventually.
Sure, as many would have it, we could expand our reach to include “safety” or “insurance” players who may not win championships but make us a good also-ran if we fail in our first choices. As I have said before, I dislike the “hope for the best, plan for the worst” strategy. “Plan for the best, consider contingencies”, as I think we’ve agreed upon.
In addition, I’m not wedded to any particular strategy to the exclusion of others. It is a fine line to walk, especially when there are only 5 on the floor (from four years) at any one time. The most important thing is chemistry, and if the coaches feel like a non top 20 recruit can solidify rolls and chemistry, then, by all means, go for it. We have all seen the recruiting raters fail for some players.
But my main reason in deferring to the ND coaches is that they know so much more about the recruits and the intimate details of what would sway them one way or another. Who or who not they might want to play with, and, of course, the all important, playing time to expect. Unless I feel I know a recruit better than the coaches, I’ll be happy to let them deal with recruiting in their own way.
However, I still like to read about speculations regarding possible recruits.