Maddy Moves Into Middle in Zone, Against Smaller Teams
by dillon77 (2024-04-13 13:12:28)
Edited on 2024-04-13 13:14:08

In reply to: Honestly a bit surprised  posted by NPaulTodd

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when she spells Kate.

One or two other thoughts come to mind: Let's see Niele has/will give call to Iriafen and/or Gardiner, but so have a lot of other top competitors. Karlen can play at a top level and she might not mind being the focus of attention.

Plus, the one-year stint tells me that Niele is working hard on procuring a four-year starter from the Class of 2025 at forward, such as Leah Macy, Grace Knox or Madison Francis.

The fact that Karlen is taking a tour tells me she's thought about it...plus there could be a specific grad program she's after at ND.

Everyone's yelling to get more good players and maybe she
by Anotherjoe  (2024-04-13 15:28:03)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

will join ND but you can't complain about not enough players and the complain when they try to get more.

The more good ones the merrier.
Mostly agreed
by NPaulTodd  (2024-04-13 13:50:39)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

I agree with a lot of the points you're making, but I'm not worried about how we will match up with the smaller teams. I'm worried about the bigger teams that we'll run into in the tournament. Maddy at the 5 is good for a change of pace against those teams, but I'd be worried about it being the main plan. If Kate gets into foul trouble, we could be in trouble. As of right now, I think we'll be the favorites in the ACC based on our guards alone, but we have a real shot at the title if we can cover our weaknesses effectively, and post depth is likely our biggest weakness right now.

I'm hoping that Niele is selling players on a high tempo aggressive team that will sub a lot. In that case we'll want to go two deep at every position, which means we'll still be after a post player. If she's able to sell Karlen on that vision, knowing that she'll be a backup to a star player, hopefully that translates to other top players buying into the vision as well.
And Who Is to Say They're Not After a Similar Center?
by dillon77  (2024-04-13 14:09:53)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

Such as Caitlyn Weimar, the 6'4" Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year from Boston U who averaged a double double?

I'm just throwing her out as a mid-major player who was an absolute star and stud for her team but might want to try P5 competition and chase a ring.

If Karlen comes aboard -- remember she's just visiting -- and Maddy is, indeed, here, that leaves ND with 8 able-bodied players. I'm sure Niele is looking for at least one more (preferably two in my book).