I think the remark is on a more "over-all" basis. Having gone to a Rutgers WBB game in Madison "in the day" and talked to a couple folks, she is correct. In fact, very common in the B1G, it is different than the UConn fandom, which is largely WBB driven. It seems different from fandom in the Northeast in general. At most of those schools, football is king, and then whatever the school is known for - Nebraska for instance has volleyball, many have strong MBB programs, etc.
I can honestly say I think UConn is the only program where there is such a large WBB fanbase that probably doesn't really follow other sports. And that were attracted to being a UConn WBB fan directly. There are other programs with strong WBB support (South Carolina, Tennessee, Iowa State, others) but many of those fans came to WBB from other sports.
Mosley has a monumental task in front of her. One she no doubt embraces and accepts. Being a member of Geno's staff for 9 years, she became acutely aware of the type of players/people she needs to recruit to put Wisconsin WBB on the map. On the map means finishing in the top third of the conference standings, making the NCAA Tournament EVERY year and advancing past the first round. Wisconsin WBB MUST become a household name in that geographical region.
She should not have to introduce herself when she visits a potential recruit's home. Geno doesn't, Dawn Staley doesn't, Kim Mulkey doesn't, Tara VanDerveer doesn't, Vic Schaefer doesn't, Brenda Frese doesn't etc. She MUST change the culture there from a losing one to a winning one. That means finishing with a winning record for 4-5 years consecutively. She must also change the perception of her program in D1 WCBB to that of a winner and a formidable opponent. Then and only then will she be able to attract players from the top third of the recruiting classes each year.
Look at the top 33 players from any class.
Hoopgurlz 2020 -
Hoopgurlz 2021 Look at the schools they commit to. MAJOR P-5 programs (with the exception of UConn). Wisconsin got 1 commitment (#93) from the 2020 class, and NONE from the 2021 class. It's hard to compete against girls that were the best on their HS team with girls that were the third or fourth best players on their team.
Job 1 for Mosley and her staff is to get some of those top 100 players and some "disgruntled" players in the transfer portal to come to Wisconsin. You can't run a serious horse race without some thoroughbreds and expect to win.
Disclaimer: I'm NOT calling women basketball players horses or thoroughbreds.
I'm speaking figuratively. It wouldn't hurt to start (if they don't already have one) a fan chatroom for Wisconsin WBB similar to the Boneyard. Of course it won't be as large or attractive as ours right away. It took the Boneyard years to reach the popularity it enjoys today. The journey of a thousand miles......... Wisconsin is in a P-5 conference. It's a MAJOR University. So what's the problem? No excuses right? It will be interesting to see how her program progresses year to year the next 5-6 years.
