Success and effect on recruiting, then and now

By "then" I'm mostly referring to 2001.

Way back in 2001-02 I made a bold prediction that didn't come true at that time, but looks to be coming true finally. I basically compared the ND and UConn trajectories (FF in 1991 then NC 4 years later for UConn. FF in 1997 then NC 4 years later for ND) and suggested both were similar. Both coaches had similar backgrounds and offensive philosophies. The one thing ND was missing was recruiting. Keep in mind that when I was making the comparison, UConn was working on just their 3rd NC.

There was one thing that I didn't factor in, which were the years in between. From 1997 until 2010, the FF and the NC years were the only times ND got past the Sweet Sixteen. For UConn, they went to the Elite Eight the year winning the NC in 1995, and they went to two Final Fours and an Elite Eight afterwards. In fact, after 1994, the worst UConn did was the Sweet Sixteen (and they only did that twice), while ND's best job outside of 1997 and 2001 were Sweet Sixteens.

Basically, UConn's early FF and NC seemed part of a regular pattern while ND's seemed like a team that was taking advantage of having a bunch of seniors instead of being part of a regular trajectory.

The real breakthrough happened when ND had that run of 5 straight Final Fours (and the 7-2 run vs UConn). That showed the staying power of the program and really put them on the map for the recruits. Yes, the NC will help going forward, but I think it's really the 5 straight FFs that planted the seed to get ND in position to close the deal now. While some like to act like the latest thing is what gets the recruits, recruiting usually starts a lot earlier and unless you are a Pat Summitt or Geno Auriemma with a lot of NCs, you can't really expect to swoop in snipe a recruit at the last minute. You need the recruit to be familiar with your success for years.

It's also interesting to note that while she mentioned the NC, Brunelle said that it was the way the team responded to all the problems that were thrown at them this year that really seemed to seal the deal for her. The NC was just the icing on the cake.