Wesbeld and land them. 2 5 man teams worked for other great coaches in
the past. We could make it work also. That is if MM and her inter body
will go with it. I like watching her on the bench. She is so fun to
watch. Nothing like KM. That woman is a maniac once the whistle blows
and the ball is tipped off. I pity the poor officials that got to work
around her. I would pay one of the other officials 2 months pay to
switch with me. That dude from somewhere south of IN is another one I would
mortgage my house to pay the other official to take my spot. UCLA is
just one more that just came to mind.
SEG/Chief
Nielefest Scorecard
Of that group of 11, we have signed/commitment from 3 (Peoples '19, Brunelle '19, Campbell '20)
2 are going elsewhere (Bueckers '20, Parrish '20)
We have heard continued mention of Clark '20, Marshall '20, Watson '20, and Azzi Fudd '21
Leaving only Burke '20, and Wilkie '21 as quiet on the ND recruiting front
If we could sign the 4 still being mentioned, that would turn out to be a fantastic recruiting visit. I would take 7 of the 11 in a heartbeat (and still be disappointed in not getting Paige Bueckers)
...a lot. From 5'9" to some 6'1" Would you like to guess how tall Ms. Parrish is? Yup, 6'0" to 6'1".
ND knew of Parrish from a very early time and she's come to camps at ND and ND followed her in AAU and early high school. And, yes, she came to Recruitapalooza. However, they decided to go in different directions awhile back: ND stopped attending Parrish games and the Irish dropped off her social media. This is around the time Alli started making serious inroads and she committed early.
And we still may go after another wing: the 6'2" Maddie Westbeld, who is keeping a very low profile compared to, say, Parrish. I actually think this is interesting for the Irish.
BTW, my only concern for the Irish surrounding Parrish going to Oregon was this enthusiastic tweet from Caitlin Clark, who herself is being pursued by the Ducks.
I'll stay upbeat on that front and hope Muffet and Matt McGraw spend a lot of evaluation periods in the front row of Caitlin's games. And, of course, let's get her to ND for an OV.
Let's go Irish!
But Deja Kelly can create her own shot and create shots for others. Something that Arike and Jackie did and that Anya can do. I don't believe that her and Clark are mutually exclusive. I continue to believe they may sign 5-6 players for 2020. Also look for some rankings to change after this summer. Some act as though that stuff is set in stone.
I simply can't see Alli Campbell, with winning her second straight state title, does not move up a bit.
Have not thought of Clark or Kelly as being mutually exclusive: Clark can also create her own shot, both off the drive and the pull-up/step-back.
Have read much the same about Kelly, who did very well in her one year at Duncanville (MVP of the squad).
Beginning to believe it may be in the squad's and coaches' best interest to go for a larger class...playing these tight margins has got to catch up to you, one way or another.
Both wings. We'll see.
keep up with the Jones’s. Next year will be tough, but she needs some big hits coming down the pipeline.
By Danielle and Mikayla....
We'll see what happens with the security blankets gone. When she didn't need to play well for ND to succeed. She needs to do that now. She looked the same 30 games into her Sophomore year as she did 30 games into her Freshman year. Tentative.
The expectations were to high on Dani. With the players in front of her
and MM, like Geno plays limited bench. How could she get comfortable and
really learn the system and players.
...She probably is the type of person that needs to be on court and
counted on. Her first 2 years is a wash. Lets judge her when MM, the
coaching staff and us fans are counting on her. Jordan also struggled
her first year. We have a bad happen of comparing and judging compared
to past great ND players. Big mistake on our part.
...Both Jordan and Dani know there is know longer a security blanket. It
is now really up to them to show the coaches and us what they can really
do. My money is on the 2 New York women. Dani, Mik, Jordan, along with
Danielle will make us proud and eat our words.
...I also believe we will see an improved Danielle. This is where the
mental part of the game takes charge. All 4 knows what is at stake and
the expectations are not high, except for MM and the coaching staff. They
have a lot of pride and want everyone to see what they can really do.
I am not worried about these players. I think they will be better than
fine. All 4 at some time or the other as teased us with why they were
recruited to ND.
Thanks
SEG/Chief
Assuming no transfers, they'll have 9 scholarship players next year. However, they'll have 4 seniors, so they'd need 4 signees just to get to 9 for 2020-21. The general target number for scholarships for Auriemma (as with McGraw) is 12, and they'd need 7 to get there.
Dangerfield, Walker, Williams, Nelson-Ododa, and soon Bueckers, will give them more #1 and #2 ranked recruits than anyone. Geno plays with a short bench. I don't think he ever feels the need to have a big class.
It's one thing to play with a short bench because you have 12 players, but have 3-4 in development.
It's another to literally only go 8 deep total.
Small classes could come back and hit Geno real soon. Dangerfield, I believe,
will be a senior and Walker will be a junior. I do not care how good
Williams and Beuckers are. That gives them very little wiggle room. I also
believe I read some of their other higher rated players have lived up
to their billing. Plus they had some transfers.
...If Geno does not be careful. There could be a change at the top sooner
than later. It happens to every program. I think there is a team on the
west coast that is eyeing his spot, along with ND of course.
SEG/Chiegf
by Geno's attendance at her games, Muffet needs to buy season tickets to Azzi Fudd's games for the next two years. Not Niele, Beth or Carol, but Muffet. We really need to land the best player to come down the pike in a long, long time.
I've seen coaches (including a former ND men's coach) asked to leave a player and family alone. Bueckers wanted UConn. You aren't going to overcome that by showing up constantly. 1 year ago people were prattling on about (and UConn fans were panicking over) Bueckers on a twitter video jumping for joy after the Mississippi State win. And Brunelle was thought to be some sort of Pied Piper. None of that mattered or will matter.
Players are going to pick the program they like most.
during the recruiting process. If you take the position that players are simply going to pick the program they like most, why even bother trying to recruit them?
Bueckers and her high school coach have specifically cited to the importance of Auriemma's personal presence during UConn's recruitment of her. Stuff like that matters to recruits, especially the highly-ranked ones.
With the loss of our starting five, our remaining roster does not stack up with places like UConn, South Carolina, Baylor and Stanford (including their incoming class). Those places have out-recruited us the past three years. We need to do everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen with Azzi Fudd.
I think some have taken the position that what Bueckers, or her coach, said was a difference is a catch all for every recruit. And that camping out on the doorstep more is going to get a recruit. I don't agree. She said that she's always wanted to go to UConn. She saw ND more than once. Frequent flyer miles weren't going to alter that dynamic.
Brianna Turner, on the other hand, saw ND once and committed. Texas put in a lot more time and effort as a more local program. Azzi Fudd has been quoted as saying she saw herself playing at UConn when she was younger. Things may have changed. But I can't see it being because ND shows up in DC more. Some believe that Maryland is a bigger player in this than is being acknowledged.
...an effective closing few months to the 2020 recruiting season, as well. This and 2021 are pretty critical. So, whatever it takes to personalize/tailor the recruiting pitch for key prospects is paramount. Some like to see coaches; others hear from them a lot or on a consistent basis.
I do believe that some players have starting dispositions toward certain schools, but the deal still has to be finished. And Geno A. did that with Bueckers.
Once Alli Campbell attended Recruitapalooza/Nielefest, she was excited about ND and came back. From there, ND and she mutually closed it.
Who knows what it will take for Caitlin Clark, Natalija Marshall (who has now taken an OV here), Kylee Watson, Deja Kelly, Maddy Westbeld and others we may/may not know about. But here's hoping no efforts are held back.
BTW, besides UConn, it's Stanford and Oregon I worry about in going after similar players With Duke on a slow decline, Stanford seems to have become a key rival for certain kinds of playrs...but Oregon goes after some prospects that seem "Irish," too).