Ayanna & Ashlynn at the Butler game

[Charliebball]

just wonderin, did they leave early?

I hope so........

 

[Sifaka]

So she visited TN just to collect intel to bring back. I like it.

Alas! She found that all the “intel” in TN wouldn't fill her pocket.

 

[MSGRET]

Best part about this, two best players coming out of nd own backyard!

There are more people that live in Indiana that despise ND than ones that love it. I should know, I grew up and lived in Indiana for over 22 years.

 

[Dillon77]

here must be something to this Indiana connection. One of the greatest posters on any board, @Dillon77 , mused that it may be a troubling trend in a post on McGraw's Bench. I hope he is right and the whole central US slides from the blue and gold (and sometimes green) to the American Flag Blue!

Ivey has pulled in some nice players at ND, but certainly a coach always wants to recruit well in their own backyard. Patterson, Arnold & Shade can all be viewed as players that got away, particularly if they shine at UConn.

was a far greater blow than anything ND has had to deal with recently.......

Husky: Thanks for the kind words and glad to see you're visiting the Bench.

In regards to all the comments:

• ND, as my colleague @Orangutan once pointed out, is very much of a Route 80 school in terms of recruiting. I'd add a "T" intersection wie th I-95 going into the NJ/NY area and sometimes south to DC. Olivia Miles (NJ) and Sonia Citron (NY) are recent examples.
• Indiana, of course, is part of the gig and, by far, the best Hoosier recruit in recent years was Jackie Young, although Ali Patberg - now at IU -- was a big commit at the time.
• Patterson was a target -- no doubt about it -- and losing her to UConn stung quite a bit; in part because ND went after a number of high profile forwards and didn't come away with any of them.
• While Shade listed ND as a finalist, I never really heard much "mutual interest" (a great phrase Muffet used that I've co-opted in posts) in the last year. In fact, I've read more about '24 Chloe Spreen. That may be because both sides decided to move on? If so, tip of the hat to UConn.
• As for Arnold, she's hardly in ND's backyard. If @oldude doesn't think Worcester is close to UConn, Wisconsin is not that close to South Bend. That said, ND went after KK hard, but was also looking at Hannah Hidalgo and Lisa Thompson, so Niele/Michaela Mabrey must've felt this was not an "all or nothing" situation. Once again, tip of the hat to UConn.
• Indiana has a rich HS hoops history and still produces top players, who end up all over the place. Up to a few years ago, they usually ended up in B1G, ACC and even some SEC schools. Now, with access to "tape" so easy and prevalent, lot of schools are coming in: when they're as talented a recruiter as Geno or Kelly Graves, you worry.

As for ND, not freaking out by any means.
-Arguably, the three cornerstone players for Coach Ivey are one sophomore (Maddy Westbeld) and two freshman (Miles, Citron). They're not going anywhere. Since Miles is only a freshman and since she's up over 30 mpg, she'll be on the floor a lot. Not a lot of folks committed, but here's some future:

• KK Bransford -- a mix of Jackie Young meets the inside-game attitude of Arike O., is in next year.
• And the Irish got an early '23 commit from Emma Risch, a Bluestar 30 player who is a tall guard with very long range. Not highly rated yet, but Ivey/Mabrey saw talent that is good and getting better.
• Others? I'd look no further than KK Rice's HS, Sidwell Friends in D.C., with both Jadyn Donovan and Kendall Dudley, both of whom were on the U.S.A. u-16 team. They both (together) took an unofficial trip to ND this fall. Like Citron, tall and lean guards.

Stay tuned.

 

[Charliebball]

Husky: Thanks for the kind words and glad to see you're visiting the Bench.

In regards to all the comments:

• ND, as my colleague @Orangutan once pointed out, is very much of a Route 80 school in terms of recruiting. I'd add a "T" intersection wie th I-95 going into the NJ/NY area and sometimes south to DC. Olivia Miles (NJ) and Sonia Citron (NY) are recent examples.
• Indiana, of course, is part of the gig and, by far, the best Hoosier recruit in recent years was Jackie Young, although Ali Patberg - now at IU -- was a big commit at the time.
• Patterson was a target -- no doubt about it -- and losing her to UConn stung quite a bit; in part because ND went after a number of high profile forwards and didn't come away with any of them.
• While Shade listed ND as a finalist, I never really heard much "mutual interest" (a great phrase Muffet used that I've co-opted in posts) in the last year. In fact, I've read more about '24 Chloe Spreen. That may be because both sides decided to move on? If so, tip of the hat to UConn.
• As for Arnold, she's hardly in ND's backyard. If @oldude doesn't think Worcester is close to UConn, Wisconsin is not that close to South Bend. That said, ND went after KK hard, but was also looking at Hannah Hidalgo and Lisa Thompson, so Niele/Michaela Mabrey must've felt this was not an "all or nothing" situation. Once again, tip of the hat to UConn.
• Indiana has a rich HS hoops history and still produces top players, who end up all over the place. Up to a few years ago, they usually ended up in B1G, ACC and even some SEC schools. Now, with access to "tape" so easy and prevalent, lot of schools are coming in: when they're as talented a recruiter as Geno or Kelly Graves, you worry.

As for ND, not freaking out by any means.
-Arguably, the three cornerstone players for Coach Ivey are one sophomore (Maddy Westbeld) and two freshman (Miles, Citron). They're not going anywhere. Since Miles is only a freshman and since she's up over 30 mpg, she'll be on the floor a lot. Not a lot of folks committed, but here's some future:

• KK Bransford -- a mix of Jackie Young meets the inside-game attitude of Arike O., is in next year.
• And the Irish got an early '23 commit from Emma Risch, a Bluestar 30 player who is a tall guard with very long range. Not highly rated yet, but Ivey/Mabrey saw talent that is good and getting better.
• Others? I'd look no further than KK Rice's HS, Sidwell Friends in D.C., with both Jadyn Donovan and Kendall Dudley, both of whom were on the U.S.A. u-16 team. They both (together) took an unofficial trip to ND this fall. Like Citron, tall and lean guards.

Stay tuned.

Dillon...........it's a brave new world in WBB........sadly, with rare exception, one can never assume that any current player on a college roster "isn't going anywhere"..........

 

[Dillon77]

I don’t necessarily consider Boston a player from UConn’s back yard. Yes, I know she went to HS at Worcester Academy, an elite private boarding school an hour’s drive from Storrs. She went there primarily because she had an aunt nearby.

Boston didn’t grow up in the Northeast, and she went back to her home in St Thomas frequently. Now if Geno lost Caroline Ducharme to another school, that would have been a real concern.

I hear what you're saying but I view any high school player who lives between NJ and Maine as a "local" recruit......

Oldude....really? Are we now throwing "mindset" into the locality argument?
Who cares how Boston got to Worcester, but she was there for a number of years and she was also visiting Storrs on a frequent basis (and visa versa).

ND, if you recall, was also a finalist for Ms. Boston, although I thought the Irish were a distant third (at best) behind S. Carolina and UConn with betting odds on the Huskies.

As I very much recall a lot of people were very concerned about Boston deciding to go to S. Carolina.

At the end of the day, folks make their own decisions and god knows teenagers especially so. I'll admit Patterson blowing out of Indiana stung. There's no way one just shrugs one's shoulders on Boston heading to S. Carolina.

 

[Dillon77]

Dillon...........it's a brave new world in WBB........sadly, with rare exception, one can never assume that any current player on a college roster "isn't going anywhere"..........

You know, I was editing that post and thought I should put in "probably" ... now I will. Thanks, (That said, I feel pretty good at this time that Maddy, 'liv and Sonia will stick around. There are a few others I might question. Those three are key.)

 

[Ozimoto]

unfortunately even UConn has not been immune to losing local players........,..the loss of Boston to South Carolina was a far greater blow than anything ND has had to deal with recently.......cost two NCs as far as I'm concerned....

I'm not sure that about that Charlie. The domers were very upset about losing Caitlyn Clark to Iowa. That was their "Boston" moment.

 

[Jingo]

I hear what you're saying but I view any high school player who lives between NJ and Maine as a "local" recruit.......

What about Engstler, Citron and the Mabreys?

 

[Gus Mahler]

I think Gambill is somewhere near Fort Worth.

I thought it was some kind of duck.

 

[JordyG]

Both really fit, but I don’t know if anyone wants to arm wrestle with Ayanna. Maybe Andrea Hudy?

Me on the left.

 

[oldude]

Me on the left.

You wish.

 

[oldude]

What about Engstler, Citron and the Mabreys?

All good players to be sure. But did Geno offer any of them?

 

[Jingo]

All good players to be sure. But did Geno offer any of them?

Dunno .. but if not, why not?

 

[Mdoggie]

Glad that they were in attendance for a well played game by the Huskies. Jimmy Crickets! Looking at that cellphone...I need to upgrade mine. Jeez!

Jiminy. He is Jimmys famous older brother.

 

[Charliebball]

What about Engstler, Citron and the Mabreys?

absolutely although there's no way Geno would have put up with Engstler...............or Diamond Miller at Maryland or Justine Pissott who's going to Tennessee, but they are small potatoes compared to Boston.....

 

[Charliebball]

I'm not sure that about that Charlie. The domers were very upset about losing Caitlyn Clark to Iowa. That was their "Boston" moment.

Yes, I was amazed she didn't end up at ND because not only is she a terrific player, but she is also a very devoted Catholic so one would have assumed it was a perfect fit............still UConn's weakness was in the front court and that called for Aliyah Boston......

 

[oldude]

Dunno .. but if not, why not?

If Geno offered every single player the BY thinks he should offer, he would average 30-40 scholarship offers per year for the 15 total WBB scholarships that UConn has available to award. So I’m guessing that none of the players you mention were UConn priorities for any one of a number of reasons.

 

[Geew1992]

absolutely although there's no way Geno would have put up with Engstler...............or Diamond Miller at Maryland or Justine Pissott who's going to Tennessee, but they are small potatoes compared to Boston.....

Can you explain what you mean by put up with?

 

[Skeets]

I thought it was some kind of duck.

Isn't Gambill in Stores? (This could be it's own OT thread)

 

[Biff]

Isn't Gambill in Stores? (This could be it's own OT thread)

Not to swerve this thread but I don't think there is much more to say about A&A at the Butler game so swerve it is.

The Gambill typo reminded me that several years ago, after a similar typo incident, I explored other possible names for Gampel.

 

[Charliebball]

Can you explain what you mean by put up with?

she's one of the most talented players in all of college basketball but is incredibly inconsistent and has allowed opposing players and refs to get in her head in the past.........I'm just not sure how Geno would handle her.........

 

[Dillon77]

I'm not sure that about that Charlie. The domers were very upset about losing Caitlyn Clark to Iowa. That was their "Boston" moment.

Yes, I was amazed she didn't end up at ND because not only is she a terrific player, but she is also a very devoted Catholic so one would have assumed it was a perfect fit

Ozimoto...."were upset?" It took many of us years to get out of the proverbial closet when Clark finally decided on Iowa.

This discussion at one point focused on the "local" product got away so I'd be remiss to not bring up that Clark's three finalists were ND, Iowa State and Iowa and she ultimately chose a local school. However, there seemed to be such a good fit between Clark and ND that it almost felt "close" in the way that locality often does.

Charlie...there was a lot of talk that ND might've been hurt by a slight discontinuity in recruiting approach. If you remember, Niele left to work with the Memphis Grizzlies entering the crunch year and was replaced by Beth Morgan Cunningham. Did that have an impact, given Ivey's panache? Or did it ultimately come down to Clark wanting to stay "home?"

Who knows? The sting has been somewhat tempered by the addition of Sonia Citron and Olivia Miles. Citron is a gifted, intelligent player and Miles is, game-by-game, becoming the catalyst for this team with her measured flair.

Boston, of course, would've been a game-changer anywhere she landed.

 

[Charliebball]

Ozimoto...."were upset?" It took many of us years to get out of the proverbial closet when Clark finally decided on Iowa.

This discussion at one point focused on the "local" product got away so I'd be remiss to not bring up that Clark's three finalists were ND, Iowa State and Iowa and she ultimately chose a local school. However, there seemed to be such a good fit between Clark and ND that it almost felt "close" in the way that locality often does.

Charlie...there was a lot of talk that ND might've been hurt by a slight discontinuity in recruiting approach. If you remember, Niele left to work with the Memphis Grizzlies entering the crunch year and was replaced by Beth Morgan Cunningham. Did that have an impact, given Ivey's panache? Or did it ultimately come down to Clark wanting to stay "home?"

Who knows? The sting has been somewhat tempered by the addition of Sonia Citron and Olivia Miles. Citron is a gifted, intelligent player and Miles is, game-by-game, becoming the catalyst for this team with her measured flair.

Boston, of course, would've been a game-changer anywhere she landed.

I'll never fully understand Clark's decision but that's one of life's mysteries...........ND's "raid" of NY/NJ has certainly been fruitful..........I wish UConn had gone hard after Citron as she is a throwback two-way player that would have fit UConn perfectly......

 

[hoopsfan22]

How does a tiny religious school way out in the middle of the country, on the border of Indiana and Michigan, have such good results recruiting NY and NJ?