Here come the Transfers

[donalddoowop]

Geno needs size next year. Losing our best 2 scorers, and adding a playmaker like Paige, we need size to post-up, add a physical element, and get some easy buckets inside. Or else, ONO will just wear down like she did a lot this season.

You evidently have little or no confidence in Piath.

 

[JoePgh]

You evidently have little or no confidence in Piath.

Not to mention Aaliyah Edwards, who I think will be more relevant to the success of next year's team.

 

[Kevinmac]

Not to mention Aaliyah Edwards, who I think will be more relevant to the success of next year's team.

I have only seen Edwards on tape about ten minutes but she is a gold nugget of 2020'team and will make the biggest impact against SC, Baylor and Oregon front lines.

 

[WFFL]

If they passed her over the first time.... If I were her... I would tell Notre Dame to kick rocks if they came calling now.

They didn’t pass over her she passed over them

 

[CocoHusky]

If they passed her over the first time.... If I were her... I would tell Notre Dame to kick rocks if they came calling now.

They (ND) did not pass on her the first time. ND actually offered her a scholarship. She passed on ND.

 

[Jim R]

I have only seen Edwards on tape about ten minutes but she is a gold nugget of 2020'team and will make the biggest impact against SC, Baylor and Oregon front lines.

Seems like many of us expect much of the incoming Canuck! Expect her to be that Big 4 we've been missing - that "nugget" will shine brightly, and be a difference maker

 

[Orangutan]

They (ND) did not pass on her the first time. ND actually offered her a scholarship. She passed on ND.

Mabrey said the Irish offered her a scholarship. But the Notre Dame coaches, Mabrey said, had another point guard who was their No. 1 target.

"I was No. 2 on their list, and I'm not ashamed of that," Mabrey said. "I could picture myself at Notre Dame, but when I visited Virginia Tech, I knew I was home."

Dara Mabrey reflects on wrecked fruits of her labor

Her sisters both went from the driveway to South Bend. But before Dara Mabrey closes her high school career and heads to Virginia Tech, the Manasquan star explains why she may be the best Mabrey yet.

www.espn.com

 

[HopJim]

Seems like many of us expect much of the incoming Canuck! Expect her to be that Big 4 we've been missing - that "nugget" will shine brightly, and be a difference maker

If the benchmark for UConn next year is a National Championship, at some point you have to picture 5-10 minutes of hand to hand combat with Boston from SC (and others of similar size). While Piath and Edwards may have great long term potential, as frosh, until I see them in the UConn system I would rather a solid transfer with the size to guard the middle.

 

[DeeHusky]

I don’t think there will be anybody in the country that can guard Boston next year. The one player that I thought could graduates this year, Lauren Cox.

 

[oldude]

I don’t think there will be anybody in the country that can guard Boston next year. The one player that I thought could graduates this year, Lauren Cox.

Boston had a great year in part because she was on the court with Ty Harris, a 4 year starter at pg, who ran SC’s offense beautifully. The biggest challenge for Dawn, Boston and SC next season will be to find a player to step in and run the team. How SC deals with that challenge will go a long way towards determining just how good the Gamecocks will be next season.

 

[Jim R]

If the benchmark for UConn next year is a National Championship, at some point you have to picture 5-10 minutes of hand to hand combat with Boston from SC (and others of similar size). While Piath and Edwards may have great long term potential, as frosh, until I see them in the UConn system I would rather a solid transfer with the size to guard the middle.

Boston is a presence in the middle, with excellent fundamentals of a post player (positioning & rebounding), but Liv's development during the second half of the season was very impressive. She's quicker than Boston, and has a better vertical. I'll be interested to see her off season, and continued development, including adding a bit more muscle, under Jamelle. Believe her ceiling is higher than Boston's - simply due to her athleticism. Re SC - they've got a couple of big holes to fill, especially at PG. The assists per game, and leadership Harris provided, can't be minimized. Additionally, there's Herbert-Harrigan shoes to fill as well, and believe she'll be a pro. She was was a vital part of their inside game. The transition won't be as seamless as many seem to believe. Do you really believe SC would have lost only one game had they played anyone outside the SEC ranked in the Top 10 (please, let's not talk about Baylor without Cox)? Or, if they'd had Oregon's schedule? It's interesting that many here are already anointing Staley as WCBB royalty. As I've said previously, the best thing to happen to her coaching career was the opportunity to learn under Geno. Its paid dividends - the SC offense has certainly improved. But, until SC consistently wins over other TOP 10 teams, outside the overrated SEC, I'll appreciate the improvement she's brought to the program, but, unlike the all seeing Carnac, won't consider them Elite.

 

[Carnac]

Boston is a presence in the middle, with excellent fundamentals of a post player (positioning & rebounding), but Liv's development during the second half of the season was very impressive. She's quicker than Boston, and has a better vertical. I'll be interested to see her off season, and continued development, including adding a bit more muscle, under Jamelle. Believe her ceiling is higher than Boston's - simply due to her athleticism. Re SC - they've got a couple of big holes to fill, especially at PG. The assists per game, and leadership Harris provided, can't be minimized. Additionally, there's Herbert-Harrigan shoes to fill as well, and believe she'll be a pro. She was was a vital part of their inside game. The transition won't be as seamless as many seem to believe. Do you really believe SC would have lost only one game had they played anyone outside the SEC ranked in the Top 10 (please, let's not talk about Baylor without Cox)? Or, if they'd had Oregon's schedule? It's interesting that many here are already anointing Staley as WCBB royalty. As I've said previously, the best thing to happen to her coaching career was the opportunity to learn under Geno. Its paid dividends - the SC offense has certainly improved. But, until SC consistently wins over other TOP 10 teams, outside the overrated SEC, I'll appreciate the improvement she's brought to the program, but, unlike the all seeing Carnac, won't consider them Elite.

3 questions for you.
1. How many games do you think SC will win next year
2. Do they win their conference championship?
3. Will they earn a #1 seed again next year?
SC played14 top 25 teams and lost once.

They won 32/33 games. Any team with those numbers is elite in my book. You don’t see them that way, I respect that. Those numbers get the job done, and pass my eye test regardless of who puts them up.
Teams change from year to year as do their players. Who are your top 5 teams next year?

ONO’s effectiveness next year will be determined by her ability to stay on the floor and out of foul trouble. No matter how much she develops, no matter how much she improves, she can’t help her team sitting on the bench because of cheap/early 1st quarter fouls. Her fly swat technique is her biggest obstacle to greatness. She’ll be 20 years old this summer. I’m surprised she has not been coached out of doing that by now. Her presence is needed on both ends of the court.

My question to her is how much longer before she realizes that technique does not work for her, and she begins to use a different method?

 

[Charliebball]

Mabrey said the Irish offered her a scholarship. But the Notre Dame coaches, Mabrey said, had another point guard who was their No. 1 target.

"I was No. 2 on their list, and I'm not ashamed of that," Mabrey said. "I could picture myself at Notre Dame, but when I visited Virginia Tech, I knew I was home."

Dara Mabrey reflects on wrecked fruits of her labor

Her sisters both went from the driveway to South Bend. But before Dara Mabrey closes her high school career and heads to Virginia Tech, the Manasquan star explains why she may be the best Mabrey yet.

www.espn.com

I'm not even sure she was ND's number two target...........I think she felt the offer was partly based on her sister's legacies and that didn't sit well with the little sister who is such a hyper competitive athlete......

 

[CocoHusky]

Mabrey said the Irish offered her a scholarship. But the Notre Dame coaches, Mabrey said, had another point guard who was their No. 1 target.

"I was No. 2 on their list, and I'm not ashamed of that," Mabrey said. "I could picture myself at Notre Dame, but when I visited Virginia Tech, I knew I was home."

Dara Mabrey reflects on wrecked fruits of her labor

Her sisters both went from the driveway to South Bend. But before Dara Mabrey closes her high school career and heads to Virginia Tech, the Manasquan star explains why she may be the best Mabrey yet.

www.espn.com

Thanks for posting this, amazing how quickly some people forget. Two Ironic things about this: 1) ND ended up bringing in 2 PGs (Dixon & Gilbert) that season. 2) VT also brought in a PG ( Jones) that was ranked higher than Mabrey. Question for you or @Dillon77 or @Charliebball: Is she the most talented of the 3 sisters?

 

[Dillon77]

If they passed her over the first time.... If I were her... I would tell Notre Dame to kick rocks if they came calling now.

Well Triad, this actually might the third time Dara and ND have been put on a "matching line"
- First, many thought Jenna Brown was chosen over Dara when Brown was offered a scholarship;
- After Brown decommitted and decided to go to Stanford, Niele Ivey and MM needed a replacement and Jordan Nixon ended up as the choice. Nixon, of course, is now at Texas A&M, hoping to get the freedom that Chennedy Carter had.
- So this could be the third go-round. I say "could" because -- who knows -- as Orangutan has said, let's say Dara is leaving Va. Tech for personal reasons to play closer to home and does not end up at ND at all?

Stay tuned.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Boston is a presence in the middle, with excellent fundamentals of a post player (positioning & rebounding), but Liv's development during the second half of the season was very impressive. She's quicker than Boston, and has a better vertical. I'll be interested to see her off season, and continued development, including adding a bit more muscle, under Jamelle. Believe her ceiling is higher than Boston's - simply due to her athleticism. Re SC - they've got a couple of big holes to fill, especially at PG. The assists per game, and leadership Harris provided, can't be minimized. Additionally, there's Herbert-Harrigan shoes to fill as well, and believe she'll be a pro. She was was a vital part of their inside game. The transition won't be as seamless as many seem to believe. Do you really believe SC would have lost only one game had they played anyone outside the SEC ranked in the Top 10 (please, let's not talk about Baylor without Cox)? Or, if they'd had Oregon's schedule? It's interesting that many here are already anointing Staley as WCBB royalty. As I've said previously, the best thing to happen to her coaching career was the opportunity to learn under Geno. Its paid dividends - the SC offense has certainly improved. But, until SC consistently wins over other TOP 10 teams, outside the overrated SEC, I'll appreciate the improvement she's brought to the program, but, unlike the all seeing Carnac, won't consider them Elite.

South Carolina had 5 top 10 wins. You can choose to count or disregard whichever ones of them you want, I guess.

Personally, I am not particularly worried about PG. I think Destanni Henderson will be one of the better PGs in the country after serving her two year understudy role. Maybe backup minutes here are a concern.

Herbert-Harrigan's fully developed offensive game out to the perimeter and shot blocking will be a lot harder to replicate.

 

[Dillon77]

Thanks for posting this, amazing how quickly some people forget. Two Ironic things about this: 1) ND ended up bringing in 2 PGs (Dixon & Gilbert) that season. 2) VT also brought in a PG ( Jones) that was ranked higher than Mabrey. Question for you or @Dillon77 or @Charliebball: Is she the most talented of the 3 sisters?

There's a lot of levels to address "talent" on, so I'll got at this way: if I had to choose someone for a game in the driveway, I'd pick Marina first because she meshes all aspects of her game, from outside shooting and driving, to reading the game (both on offense and defense) and her underrated rebounding skills. She's also built pretty solidly: she, Jackie Young and Arike were not long and lanky.

Dara brings a bunch of attributes though: she is the fastest of the Mabreys, by far, and she also the best ball-handler. As hard as this is to believe, she may also be the feistiest, having to deal with being the youngest sister and the smallest. They're all tremendous outside shooters and shoot in streaks (I've watched each of them do this in person over the years.)

In fact, I think Dara's outside shooting and grit could be just as valuable to a team like the Irish as anything else. MM looked lost not having someone on court who was as intense off as she was the last few years.

 

[Majic Hands]

No matter how much she develops, she can’t help her team sitting on the bench because of cheap/early 1st quarter fouls. Her fly swat technique is the biggest obstacle she needs to overcome next year. Her presence is needed on both ends of the court.

Agreed. However, I thought ONO's being on the bench made a great contribution to the team. It put Aubury on the floor for vary valuable minutes. Not even taking into consideration how the tempo and direction of the game changed when she took a seat.

 

[eebmg]

Regarding D. Mabrey, it seems she had a very big sophomore slump in shooting % and assists and just overall seemed to be below a ND level guard.

Maybe that is why she is transferring. She feels VTech is not helping her "grow".

With a Stat line like below, would ND still go after her?

 

[JordyG]

South Carolina had 5 top 10 wins. You can choose to count or disregard whichever ones of them you want, I guess.

Personally, I am not particularly worried about PG. I think Destinee Henderson will be one of the better PGs in the country after serving her two year understudy role. Maybe backup minutes here are a concern.

Herbert-Harrigan's fully developed offensive game out to the perimeter and shot blocking will be a lot harder to replicate.

I've said it once and I'll say it again, Zia Cooke is going to be a big star. Now as for Henderson, I wouldn't hold out for her to more than a little above average. I don't think she'll hit Harris' level. But Cooke? My goodness. No doubt SCar is going to be a handful for anyone next year.

 

[jabstep]

I don’t think there will be anybody in the country that can guard Boston next year. The one player that I thought could graduates this year, Lauren Cox.

I think Liv did an outstanding job on Boston. She got a couple of buckets on baseline screens for 6ft shots and a couple of outside shots. She didn't do much on the block against her. I think now that Cox is off the chart Liv just might be the #1 defensive center in WCBB. Hopefully, her offense will continue to improve. She could be our AA next year.

 

[Charliebball]

There's a lot of levels to address "talent" on, so I'll got at this way: if I had to choose someone for a game in the driveway, I'd pick Marina first because she meshes all aspects of her game, from outside shooting and driving, to reading the game (both on offense and defense) and her underrated rebounding skills. She's also built pretty solidly: she, Jackie Young and Arike were not long and lanky.

Dara brings a bunch of attributes though: she is the fastest of the Mabreys, by far, and she also the best ball-handler. As hard as this is to believe, she may also be the feistiest, having to deal with being the youngest sister and the smallest. They're all tremendous outside shooters and shoot in streaks (I've watched each of them do this in person over the years.)

In fact, I think Dara's outside shooting and grit could be just as valuable to a team like the Irish as anything else. MM looked lost not having someone on court who was as intense off as she was the last few years.

Agreed..............she is by far the quickest and can get to the lane far more easily...............I think she's a very good shooter but a bit below the other two...........not sure if she is any more nasty then the others but let's put it this way, she almost got into two fights at the state champion awards dinner over which table her team was sitting at................ Obviously UConn is not in need of another guard but players of this quality are hard to find as a transfer............somebody is going to great a really good all around player.........

 

[cbraarj]

If they passed her over the first time.... If I were her... I would tell Notre Dame to kick rocks if they came calling now.
[/QUOTE
If they passed on her she should call Geno just to stick it to the Leprechauns a-hum Pot of Gold, LOL!

 

[Jim R]

3 questions for you. Good questions
1. How many games do you think SC will win next year
Will let you know once next season schedule comes out, especially, out of conference. Coaching can be a difference maker - would love to see a Walz, McGraw, Graves Or Vanderveer quality coach on an opposing SEC team. Unlike SEC College Football, where you've got a # of the best Football coaches in the nation in the conference, the competition is, for the, most part, average in WCBB.
2. Do they win their conference championship?
Either them of Miss. St
3. Will they earn a #1 seed again next year? Will have to see their schedule, out of conference.
SC played14 top 25 teams and lost once. Yes, impressive, but, again, how many out of conference, Top 10 teams did they play? Yes, they caught Maryland early, and yes, the beat Baylor, without the pre-season player of the year, and post presence. And, yes, you can only beat who is on the schedule. But, again, I'd like to see some out of conference victories, in away games, against Top 5 competition, consistently before I consider the program elite.

They won 32/33 games. Any team with those numbers is elite in my book. Were they Elite this year? Yes. As a program - we'll see. You don’t see them that way, I respect that. Those numbers get the job done, and pass my eye test regardless of who puts them up.
Teams change from year to year as do their players. Who are your top 5 teams next year? Baylor, UCONN, NC State, Louisville, USC, Stanford & Oregon State, and perhaps Miss St would be my contenders.

ONO’s effectiveness next year will be determined by her ability to stay on the floor and out of foul trouble. No matter how much she develops, no matter how much she improves, she can’t help her team sitting on the bench because of cheap/early 1st quarter fouls. Her fly swat technique is her biggest obstacle to greatness. She’ll be 20 years old this summer. I’m surprised she has not been coached out of doing that by now. Her presence is needed on both ends of the court.
Agreed on her "fly swatting" blocking technique, but, her technique and play improved markedly with Jamelle on the sideline. Coincidence?
My question to her is how much longer before she realizes that technique does not work for her, and she begins to use a different method?

Have enjoyed your prescient & humorous commentary over the years, and appreciate the response. As for next year, "time will tell". But let's hope for the best.

 

[Dillon77]

Regarding D. Mabrey, it seems she had a very big sophomore slump in shooting % and assists and just overall seemed to be below a ND level guard.

Maybe that is why she is transferring. She feels VTech is not helping her "grow".

With a Stat line like below, would ND still go after her?

View attachment 52084

- Taja Cole was the point guard for Va. Tech this year and Dara was moved to off guard. Aisha Sheppard also helped with distribution (she and Dara were about the same). So that was by design on the part of Kenny Brooks.

- The area where she slumped the most was three-point shooting, which was exacerbated by the fact that she took 30+ more three's this year.

- That said, ND would gladly have taken Dara's .36 three-point shooting percentage in a second: ND's two leading outside shooters were at .32 (Sam Brunelle) and .26 (Destinee Walker).

- Will ND "go after her?" Who really knows, without being in MM's head office or nearby Michaela Mabrey's office?

I've written this enough on both this board and "the Bench," but I think Dara could add a lot to the Irish team. Even though there was a slump in the long-range shooting, she'll get that up again. Plus she is a fine ball-handler who knows how to finish in transition situations, something the Irish had trouble with this year. She's also fast and feisty, which are traits that can also be used.