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Post being replied to

A Few Thoughts Over Coffee on That ... by dillon77

First off, agree with you (gee, there's a surprise).

From ND's perspective:

- It looks like the versatile wing forward was never a priority, particularly after Maddy Westbeld came aboard.

In Fall 2021, Sam Brunelle will be a junior with two more years of eligibility. Maddy Westbeld can play that position, as well (can also play the "elbow"-based forward), and she'll have a year under her belt with three more years left. And if Niele wants to go "small," Ally Campbell or Abby Prohaska could take on some of those responsibilities.

- With that in mind, 2022 looked like the year to reload there. An incoming frosh could learn from then-senior Brunelle and get ready to take on major playing time the next season. That target for now, as you point out, is Ayanna Patterson.

From UNC's perspective:

- Key -- like Destiny Adams -- is tall (and has long arms), is a fine all-round athlete, plays interior defense and rebounds but has legit wing skills. She can play inside but I have no doubt her future is at the wing position. We know that was the attraction to Adams.

The lynch pin in all of this is UNC Coach Courtney Banghart and her use of one Bella Alarie while she was at Princeton, another tall prospect who played a little bit of everything (to paraphrase the rock group, Dawes).
Banghart also has center Tshitenge-Mutombo to take care of the deep paint responsibilities. This could free up Adams and Key to mix and match their offensive skills. That's going to be a very interesting front line to watch and Deja Kelly will be int the backcourt, to boot.

ND & UNC

Every one of the players mentioned in that paragraph should look familiar to ND fans. And UNC was in the race for both Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron.

Tells me that Courtney Banghart will be pursuing a lot of similar prospects as ND and Ivey and Stanford and Tara VanDerveer (who was also keen on Miles, Citron and 2020's Nat Marshall).

Interesting to note that Ivey and Banghart were not-chosen finalists for the Vanderbilt job that Stephanie White ultimately got. Been a rocky road for White who is still trying to get traction in Nashville. Banghart and Ivey have both moved on nicely from there. The ACC will be a tough league for it due to them, along with Wes Moore at NC State, Q at the 'cuse and, of course, he who won't be named at Louisville. The team that needs to pick it up recruiting-wise is Duke, which used to be right up there with ND. Their share of the talent pool is getting smaller.