Carol Owens working with the "bigs" ........ and there's only 2 of them.

Last year, there would have been 5

And long overdue. Great D is an equalizer when facing superior talent and ND will be in that position at times with this being a transition season.

..team thrived off of defense.

I loved that squad, seemed their offense lived on turning the other team over.

On one hand, she and the staff talked a lot about inexperience, about needing to see the team gel and mature, coachspeak, coachspeak, coachspeak. But when talking about individuals, there was a lot of discussion about how Sam, DC, Destinee all can shoot from 3, how Abby's game could open up on offense, how Marta is experienced and should be able to run the offense (I envision her taking on an LA style role with steady leadership, passing and defense being the focus).

KG showed flashes of being a scorer in her limited action pre-injury. I can see Mik cleaning up a lot of inside stuff and scoring without the offense having to run through her, except maybe to run inside/out plays for the three point shooters.

Should be fun to see it all develop.

Is Muffet slow playing.......I'd think not.

Four players? Ok, not a lot of returning players. But Sam, Anaya, Destinee and Marta are 4 athletic, high quality recruits/veterans. The first 3 are expected to be big scorers and scoring is usually the easiest part of the transition from HS to college. Defense/rebounding/hitting the wall are typically bigger pitfalls for incoming frosh. Health is probably the biggest concern with the two transfers.

Gilbert is a potential scorer. DC can shoot.

I think there's more potential here than Muffet is letting on.

they are all [for the most part] young and inexperienced and have not yet played a game together. Given their very daunting schedule, even early on, this team will definitely be a work in progress. Only two post players,[Vaughn & Cosgrove] if either gets into early foul trouble, look out.

talent on this team Sam, for example, was rated as the #1 recruit before she was injured last year.

I really only became a consistent fan of ND wbb when Jewell Loyd came to ND. Since I have watched or listened to every game that has been available. But I don't pretent to have the expertise of many who post on this board.

But here is my impression. A few years back UCONN was almost unbeatable. They are still a great program , but suddenly there are a whole bunch of first-rate programs.

My explanations for that include: (1) there are simply many more really good women players coming out of high school; (2) Many girls, not rated in the top 10 or 20, develope into great players a year or
two later than other; (3) coaching can make a major a difference; (4) There are also great
foreign players coming upon the scene.

Nevertheless, one thing remains constant: players ranked in the Top 15 normally go on to have
great careers (just look at the class of '14, for example). But a quick look at the Class of '14
also shows that there were other players ranked lower who also had great careers: Marina Mabrey (HG24) Stephanie Watts (H21), Sophie Cunningham (HG28), Katie McWilliams (HG39), Teaira McCowan (HG45) ....

I don't think Muffet missed when she recruited Gibert (HG27), Peoples (HG18) , Vaughn and Brunelle (HG6) , or when she grabbed Sniezek (HG38) and Walker (HG17). I need to see more of Cosgrove.

I think this can be a really good team - if they can avoid injury or sickness.
I am looking forward to seeing them ... if Mediacom ever condescends to get ACCN.

she was unbelievable hitting far and away the most 3s - w/o looking I would guess at least 60-70% rapid fire. She outdistanced not only the women who participated at the McDonald's all-American competition but the men as well. her score was close to the men pro winner for the same routine. If she is on and in rythem she we be increibly dangerous. I have never seen someone (other than Curry) shoot so well with so little effort.