On April 15, 2018, Sam Brunelle announced her commitment
by MPG (2021-04-15 11:12:53)
Edited on 2021-04-15 11:16:31

to ND. We were riding high on that day, exactly two weeks after Arike's national championship winning shot. It was also less than six months after the Nielefest recruiting weekend filled us with boundless optimism for the future. I'll admit to having some belief that Friends of Sam would follow her to ND with the possibility of Paige and Azzi choosing ND. (However, I never joined the crazy speculation that Paige and Caitlin would commit to ND in the 2020 recruiting class.) The future looked bright...

In April 2019, we had enjoyed an exciting season that included an "almost" in the championship game with plenty of "if onlys." It was sad to lose the five starters, but we still felt good about the possibilities for the longer-term future with the April commitment of Natalija Marshall (choosing ND over Stanford) and with Caitlin Clark looking like a good bet to choose ND.

In April 2020, our heads were spinning after a truly terrible season, the whirlwind retirement of Muffet and return of Niele, followed by the immediate commitments of Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron for 2021. In addition, it looked as if ND was recruiting some top 2022 forwards who had been teammates of Olivia and Sonia. The incoming 2020 freshmen seemed to be a promising group, so there was an air of optimism among us.

This April finds us shaking our heads after a disappointing season followed by the departure of three-fifths of the 2020 recruiting class, the withdrawal of our mystic guru, Baba the Baffler, and the disappearance of our greatest optimist, Hempfield. (I hope Hempfield is in good health and consulting with Baba at a Sufi basketball retreat.) The only good news so far this April has been yesterday's pictures of Natalija (without a knee brace), Sam, and Kaitlyn running a cone drill.

I am maintaining optimism for clear improvement next season, but would like to see a significant commitment from a 2022 prospect this month to build some momentum for the future. We still have half of April ahead of us!


NCAA Reportedly To Shift from Dead to Quiet Period on June 1
by dillon77  (2021-04-15 13:44:07)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

What is a quiet period?
"During a quiet period, a college coach may only have face-to-face contact with college-bound student-athletes or their parents on the college's campus. A coach may not watch student-athletes compete (unless a competition occurs on the college's campus) or visit their high schoolrs."

Per MPG's comment on ND 2022 Recruiting:
- Class of 2022 (juniors) would normally have been taking official visits (paid by the university) since just after the NCAA D-1 Championship Game. They can now start to do this in June.

- So, perhaps KK Bransford and Janiah Barker or recruits heretofore unknown will show up at ND. Bransford has some 10 finalists and taking her 5 allowable OC's (or an unofficial to a "close" school like ND) can help her winnow down her choices. Barker has kept a close deck on who her finalists are (some teases, some hints). If she was to show up at du lac, that would be a good sign.

- And there could be 22 prospects we don't know aobut or even some of the 2023's allowed to drop by for a visit.

Will verify this when I see the offical press release, but it looks like there is going to be movement on the recruiting front. Let's hope that helps ND's efforts.


Keep up the good work it is really appreciated *
by maverick  (2021-04-15 14:02:38)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post


You summed things up very well
by maverick  (2021-04-15 13:37:22)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

I always hoped we could maintain the excellence from the time Skylar arrived thru the 2018 season and, as a fan, have been devastated by our unparalleled fall. The rapid decline has been really hard to handle and I find myself frequently checking this site for recruiting news, in hopes it is good news, or good transfer portal news. As a 71 year old diehard season ticket holder that makes the 300 mile RT drive from the west on Rte 80 I was in 7th heaven in the glory years. I'm a realist so I am hoping everyday we can once again turn things around but for us "Seniors" our clock is ticking GO IRISH!!!