Clemson @ Notre Dame - 12/29/19

[triaddukefan]

They're 6-8 and just got blown out on their home floor by one of the worst teams in the ACC.

You think they're finishing .500 in the league?

I do see they don't really draw the most difficult league schedule --- but that should hurt them as much as help them.

When your best win is at Michigan, they're going to need some upsets.

No question McGraw is good though and they have talent so I guess it could happen.

I think they finish above .500

 

[Crazyhorse]

Winning year in and year out is difficult to maintain, it separates the good coaches from the great.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I think they finish above .500

Their schedule is a little lighter than I initially guessed, but Clemson is as bad as they'll see in the ACC. Just about all they have is that forward. The guard that went off isn't really all that good, IMO.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Winning year in and year out is difficult to maintain, it separates the good coaches from the great.

I think McGraw wins year in and year out, but sometimes when you have a complete turn over season it gets away from even the best ones.

I will say in WBB it happens more infrequently than in men's but still.

 

[triaddukefan]

Their schedule is a little lighter than I initially guessed, but Clemson is as bad as they'll see in the ACC. Just about all they have is that forward. The guard that went off isn't really all that good, IMO.

Naw.... Pitt is as bad as they will see.... and they play them Thursday.

 

[Shades]

Naw.... Pitt is as bad as they will see.... and they play them Thursday.

I agree... PITT is the only team I have confidence in beating.

One of the projection sites have ND going 6–12 in conference.

 

[DefenseBB]

The sad thing about ND being this bad this year is we have lost two of our most logical and best posters in @Dillon77 and @Orangutan, that this season has to be brutal for them and our piling on these woes, I know I have been particularly harsh towards MM and only feel bad as I respect Dillon and Orangutan so I ask their forgiveness and wish them the best during this trying season. Happy New Year my fine Irish WCBB fan colleagues, may the new year bring you Better success. We do miss you. (green smile for you guys!)

 

[Orangutan]

The sad thing about ND being this bad this year is we have lost two of our most logical and best posters in @Dillon77 and @Orangutan, that this season has to be brutal for them and our piling on these woes, I know I have been particularly harsh towards MM and only feel bad as I respect Dillon and Orangutan so I ask their forgiveness and wish them the best during this trying season. Happy New Year my fine Irish WCBB fan colleagues, may the new year bring you Better success. We do miss you. (green smile for you guys!)

Appreciate the kind words. Sadly, I'm just kind of out on this wbb season. ND stinks and I can't watch the games anyway due to Comcast's refusal to carry ACC Network.

I usually like discussing the wcbb scene in general, but of course it's more fun to compare the top teams when your team is one of them.

I probably will get into it more once football stops dominating my weekend sports viewing. But right now I really have nothing to say.

All there's left to do as an Irish fan is hope that this season's struggles don't drive any of the talented youngsters away and that things get better next year with new recruits (and maybe help from the transfer portal, if we're lucky.)

 

[Dillon77]

The sad thing about ND being this bad this year is we have lost two of our most logical and best posters in @Dillon77 and @Orangutan, that this season has to be brutal for them and our piling on these woes, I know I have been particularly harsh towards MM and only feel bad as I respect Dillon and Orangutan so I ask their forgiveness and wish them the best during this trying season. Happy New Year my fine Irish WCBB fan colleagues, may the new year bring you Better success. We do miss you. (green smile for you guys!)

All there's left to do as an Irish fan is hope that this season's struggles don't drive any of the talented youngsters away and that things get better next year with new recruits (and maybe help from the transfer portal, if we're lucky.)

DefenseBB - Thanks for reaching out. In general, I echo the sentiments addressed by my simian colleague.

As all you know, the season was expected to be challenging, then switched to brutal with the illness/injuries of Vaughn and Prohaska; and, has now turned into a continual s+#tstorm, with further injuries and a coach who is clearly thrown off her stride by all of these said and unsaid developments. The fact that Post Mik Vaughn finally came back to the lineup, only to have (the only) point guard Marta Sniezek sit out due to plantar fasciitis (ouch!) is a pretty apt snapshot of the Irish season. For those who have had it, PF can be a lingering, uncomfortable condition and that certainly seems to sumamrize the Irish.

If any of you have ventured over to "the Bench," you'll see that the core Benchers -- including myself -- are thoroughly behind the young and talented neophytes that are clearly trying their best under tough circumstances. I've cut and pasted Orangutan's closing paragraph as my chief hope for this group: Peoples and Brunelle are trying their best. In fact, they're trying to do it all and that does not translate into doing it best, no? Hopefully, they'll be aided and abetted in 2020 by Maddy Westbeld, Nat Marshall and Alli Campbell, et al.

My prime concern with the Irish is at the leadership/institutional levels and many of us have tried to engage in some tactful discussions regarding those shortcomings on the Bench. Quite candidly, it's tough to summon up the effort to do so again on another board when you're not "the home team." Particularly when it's also the holiday season and your adult children are coming and going from home. Plus -- surprise -- the Irish football team is actually peforming at a better level than the women's hoops team for once!

Well, that said, I have paid for Sling TV to access ACC Network and will root for Anaya, Katlyn, Sam, etc. And keep track of Irish prospects. One of the more interesting developments is that Michaela Mabrey's work at LSU for a year has clearly carried over to the Irish, with offers in Arkansas (Jersey Wolfenbarger) and Oklahoma (Aaliyah Moore). Hopefully, Mabrey1 has also been n spending time back at the Jersey Shore watching Destiny Adams.

As I've often said on the Bench, cross fingers and hope good thoughts. Keep your faith and Go Irish!