In regards to the Instagram post I just put here regarding Michaela Mabrey deciding to leave her assistant coaching position at Notre Dame. I have a bit of news -- but not much -- and some thoughts. Here goes:
As virtually anyone on McGraw's Bench has noticed, Michaela Mabrey was not pictured in the latest commitment photos and didn't take part in the annual April excursion to oversee various AAU events, which one would expect the coordinator of recruiting to take part in. There were other aspects noted, including lack of social media presence on ND WBB happenings, of which she is a usual partaker.
The Instagram post -- at the least the part I read -- didn't seem to have a lot of insights as to why she left and/or where she's going.
Was it voluntary? Mutual? Forced? I've had conversations with many of you that thought, with a bit of hindsight, that Mabrey looked a bit less animated these past few months. Couple that with the fact that recruiting has become one bear of a job -- twice over at the very least -- and the possibility of burnout is large bordering on huge. Yet, Mabrey has helped to bring in talent and is well-known both for her scouts, practices and ability to get along with players and parents. So, this appears voluntary.
She's had a heck of an ND career, both as a player and assistant coach. I have no idea what comes next but I wish her well.
From a personal perspective, Michaela was a bit of a jump start to me upgrading my interest in Notre Dame, in part because of her success as a high school senior who then went to ND. Her success led me to go watch (next and younger sister) Marina and the whole Jersey Shore world of high school girls hoops. That got me on the road to see many other eventual ND and WCBB players. So, thanks Michaela for helping to propel a guy's interest in WCBB. Whatever you do next, drain it.