There Is An Odd, Interesting Symmetry to ND, Oregon and....

..the 2020 Recruiting Class.

First, while Oregon is often known as the Sabrina Ionescu show, Maite Cazorla often brought the ball up and Ionescu would move to off guard. This is somewhat similar to ND's approach last year when Marina, Jackie and Arike (primarily on the break) would bring the ball upcourt.

As such, Oregon is looking for ball-handling guards. PaoPao is certainly a good one, but Caitlin Clark, Deja Kelly and -- don't forget this one -- Hailey Van Lith are also on Coach Kelly Graves' recruiting list.

ND is also looking at multiple ball-handling guards, including Clark and Kelly and will already have a number of guards who have handle the #1: Jordan Nixon, Anaya Peoples and Katlyn Gilbert.

So, both teams don't mind/like having a back-court in which multiple guards have handles and can take over the flow.

Another similarity: the players who have committed/being targeted so far.

- a point guard: PaoPao for Oregon; Clark/Kelly for the Irish
- a tall guard who could play the #2 or #3: Parrish for Oregon; Campbell for the Irish
- a tall, versatile forward: 6'-4" Angela Dugalic for Oregon; 6'-5" Nat Marshall for the Irish.

Interestingly, Oregon (and UCLA) are -- along with the Irish -- in the hunt for Kylee Watson, the forward who is coming to South Bend in June for an official visit (OV).

If Van Lith had committed to the Ducks, I'd be doing a jig. But, I wouldn't be surprised if Graves continues to push for one more of these guards in the belief that they're combo guards. Paige Bueckers sees herself as a combo guard. I'm not sure how Clark characterizes herself but I'm sure she can play #1 or #2 (or combo). And Van Lith is a scorer.

Stay tuned....and hope the Irish stay in touch with their prime targets: a few years agao, who would've thought Oregon (and Stanford) would become two of our major rivals for prospects (displacing Duke).