You are right and UConn is going to be one of them. Depending on how the incoming class adapts, we could be awesome next year. There are no guarantees from freshmen but these kids coming in have the potential to be unbelievable. Time will tell.
It's as if she was satisfied that ND only lost to UConn by 10 points. Fouling would only add to the score and look worse. No other reason, ICTO.
I believe that Natalie Butler is the key to next year. If she plays anything like Dolson, freeing up Stewart and Tuck, it will be an incredible year. Can Butler stay with Turner from ND and Wilson from SC? Tune in next year, folks.
Would be nice if she could be the new intimidator like Kiah from a defensive perspective while adding more scoring. I still don't know who replaces KML. Slide Tuck into her spot and make Butler a true starting center? With the class coming in how do you divide up the minutes between Chong, Gabby, Ek, KLS, DJ, Collier, T, and Polly? Our bench in a year will be top 5 or 6 team.
I'm appreciably less worried about Wilson than I am about Turner. I think there's a massive difference between a Muffet McGraw coached team and a Dawn Staley coached team. I think with a year of maturity, this Notre Dame is going to be amazing and I don't think we'll see too much growth in South Carolina. I do think Wilson is going to be quite impressive but it's the Irish that'll continue to be a concern for the Huskies. If Butler has improved physically and emotionally from her outstanding season in the Big East where she was freshman of the year, I think we'll be in good shape. Assuming that Samuelson and Collier come in and perform at the level most people expect them to, we are going to be crazy good, at least in the latter part of the season. I would say this incoming class is in the same ballpark as the class who came in three years ago, with Moriah, Breanna and Morgan and how awesome were they?
This game will be the perfect lesson on the value of defense and rebounding. I can already hear coach yelling at the incoming freshmen to move their feet!
The two teams played to a 1 point game in the final 4. There were 2 lead changes in the last minute of the game. I would not call that a "massive difference".
Agreed- she will be playing a lot of minutes and be given every opportunity to be our new KML.
Yeah she kept saying that they didn't expect to be there? Was that just to take pressure off her players? But it did seem as if she was content just to be there. In post game comments (see link to local TV report in another thread) all the players were really pissed off and tired of seeing UCONN with the NC. One of the players said they wouldn't be satisfied until they were cutting down the nets and UCONN was in the locker room.
In order to make fouling work, 1) it has to be against a team that doesn't make clutch FT's, UCONN normally does. 2) you have to have a team that can make a lot of 3's. ND doesn't really shoot that many of them. I think she realized they couldn't make up the deficit. No use dragging out the inevitable.
