In reply to: Link to announcement (link) posted by NDoggie78
..making it's way back as opposed to "early success."
- Duke wasn't a powerhouse last year and lost it's two best players (by far) to graduation: Leanna Odom (now in the WNBA) and Haley Gorecki (who ended what seemed like ten years there).
- They've got some talent with senior forward Jade Williams, junior Aussie guard Miela Goodchild, who can go off on three pointers, and oft-injured Mikayla Boykin. If those three can stay injury free, we'll see. Maybe Kara, Beth, etc. can squeeze a good year out of them. They do, unlike ND last year, have playing time.
- However, they've only got one freshman, PG Vanessa DeJesus (#37 HG), coming in and all three 2021 verbal prospects have decommitted. I find that extremely unusual given a school of Duke's ilk, which leads me to believe the new coaching staff wants their own players. Now.
- So, it will take a bit for recruiting to catch up, since they got now got zip in 2021 and most of the top prospects are signed up. (Do they make a run at Kiki Iriafen, as well?).
Expect them to go hard at some of the same 2022's, particularly those that are academically inclined.
Rice has done a very good job the last few years and has gotten transfers and not-highly-rated recruits to play up. If this now-Duke asst. coach had anything to do with that improvement, that's solid.
Like you, I expect them to make their way back, but I don't think it will be immediate: Louisville simply keeps reloading; Syracuse is getting Top Ten players now and Wes Moore is getting his kind of players at NC State.
Meanwhile, UNC and ND are going hard -- and getting -- similar kinds of players, which Duke wants to go after, too. And Stanford is probably in on most of them, too. Plus, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Wake are all picking up a player here and there. Competition is out.
Thanks for your thoughts! I suppose my "early success" statement was out of line. Maybe "early recruiting success," but for all the reasons you stated I don't expect they'll be terribly successful on the court this season or next. Losing Gorecki and Odom is big for them! I always thought Odom had a lot of untapped potential.
..by incoming staff, according to this tweet. On one hand, Coach Lawson probably made a determination that she wasn't going to use these players much.
On the other hand, she's got an Aussie on board who may know these girls or clubs.
And what she also has is Sam Tomlinson, who oversees a de facto Aussie pipeline into the states, thinking this is bogus. Kind of akin to pissing off the head of the Philly Belles....for a whole continent.
Hmm....