Most of the speculation in this particular thread was about the ND-UConn semifinal game. Is that what you're referring to?

If so, I'll stand corrected if I inferred (to you) that Marina was man to man on KLS. That was rarely the case (if at all) in the semi since ND went zone.

I think I was referring to the makeup of the teams and how MM allows them to bring their qualities to the team (following Baba's comment). Sorry if the link was not made explicit enough.

My point is that one of the qualities that Mabrey brings to this team is a very competitive, gritty approach to the game, which frequently is seen when she and the rest of the team get to play man on man defense. And she demonstrated that in high school, where I saw her play often, and at the McDonald's game, as mentioned. Hopefully we'll get the chance to see some aggressive man on man defense this year.

As for thinking Marina is more important than most? Hmmm, she's most certainly the current ND player I enjoy following the most, in part because of our respective ND roots. But I also loved Kat because we play similar roles on our respective hoops teams (albeit, she does it a lot better).

What I do think is that Mabrey brings a lot of savvy, grit and leadership and some solid scoring ability. But that meshes well with Arike's timely ability to score when needed and Jackie's natural ability to score from a lot of places. Quite a trio of guards.

Dillon, we / I all love your contributions (for me, including on UCONN’s board).
Unrelated, and likely unread (IGAS), I love the Mabrey’s attitude—I wish we had found room for ‘ shorty’ aka Dara. Forget the, ultimate ‘trust MM’, and Nixon’s/People’s potential, I’ll miss the chippiness.

are an asset. Jersey girls, tough, chippy, highly skilled, want to win. Not the most athletic or quickest. Dillon’s reports are fantastic. Please keep them up. Remember my candidates for the Notre Dame Ring of Honor: If Dara had committed—Mr. and Mrs. Mabrey!