ND has a few things going for them that they did not

have in the past. They won a recent National Championship beating Uconn on the way. UConn looks a little bit less dominant. It's not an automatic NC for an incoming player. ND is going to have a really good team next season, probably be the consensus pre-season pick to repeat, and they should still be in the conversation at the end of the season. There is going to be a lot of very good publicity. They have an excellent recruiting class coming in this year and a couple of great ones already committed for next year. In terms of talent, a recruit should not worry about being able to compete and win a NC in the future by choosing ND. In case there was any doubt, MM showed everyone what a great coach she is by winning the NC with a severely depleted roster. And, on top of that is the relationship thing between SB and Paige.

And, the other points noted above also apply to other recruits.