Is it coaching or the recruits we get?

[Suebird10fan]

Muffett McGraw is a good possibly great coach. However, ND did not take advantage of their National Championship in 2000/01 season. They average approx 10 losse s per year for the next six years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre_Dame_Fighting_Irish_women's_basketball

In 2007 Muffett hired Niele Ivey a member of the 2000/01 team that won the National Championship. Ivey took over the coaching of the guards and became ND's recruiting coordinator. Now look at what ND has achieved since the hiring of Ivey. What do most of us say that makes ND the tough team they are? Its there Guard Play more then any other facet of ND's system. Niele Ivey is responsible for coaching the guards.

I'm wondering why another program hasn't come calling to hire Ivey away from ND. While I'm sure its happened behind the scenes, rarely is her name mentioned for any job openings. IMHO Ivey is as valuable to ND as Chris Dailey is to Geno and UConn.

Yes, Muffett deserves all the Kudos for hiring Niele Ivey, but IMHO Ivey is the primary reason that ND has had the amount of success they've had over the last 5 years.

Could be Ivey, I don't know. But over the last five years, the vast majority of ND's recruits seem to outperform expectations. Was Ariel Braker on anyone's radar screen? She turned out to be a significant contributor. Lindsay Allen was ranked where and look at the numbers she has put up. Did anyone forecast McBride as an AA? Blanking out on the name of the forward who got a bunch of defensive PoY honors? Where was she ranked?

And on top of it all, ND tends to be better than the sum of its parts and plays well in big games.

May well be Ivey given the timing but someone deserves a lot of credit.

 

[Fightin Choke]

Could be Ivey, I don't know. But over the last five years, the vast majority of ND's recruits seem to outperform expectations. Was Ariel Braker on anyone's radar screen? She turned out to be a significant contributor. Lindsay Allen was ranked where and look at the numbers she has put up. Did anyone forecast McBride as an AA? Blanking out on the name of the forward who got a bunch of defensive PoY honors? Where was she ranked?

And on top of it all, ND tends to be better than the sum of its parts and plays well in big games.

May well be Ivey given the timing but someone deserves a lot of credit.

Ariel Braker was unranked by Hoopsgurlz with a 90 grade. The player 100th that year was graded 93rd, so Ariel was definitely off the radar for them. But she was ranked 41st by ASGR (LINK), 42nd by Blue Star (LINK) and 80th by Dan Olson, so she has outperformed expectations, but not by that much (her composite grade was not top 50).

Lindsay Allen was ranked 25th by Hoopsgurlz and was basically in that range with the other services. She started for team USA, but was never flashy. She's performed great so far, but it's only 9 games in, so there's really not enough information to judge her at this point. She was a McDonald's AA.

McBride was ranked 2oth in Hoopsgurlz (19th in the composite top 50: LINK). She was a McDonald's AA. She has definitely outperformed expectations if you look at the relative composite rankings of the other top 50 players.

The defensive forward you speak of was Devereaux Peters. She ranked in 35th by Hoopsgurlz, 21st by Olson, 24th by Blue Star, and 31st by ASGR. She was a McDonald's AA in HS.

Natalie Novosel was ranked 45th in Hoopsgurlz, 32nd by ASGR, 47th by Blue Star, and 71st by Dan Olson, so she outperformed expectations.

Presently, Notre Dame has 5 McDonald's AA: senior McBride, 2 sophomores (Loyd and Mabrey) and 2 freshman (Reimer and Allen).

 

[huskybill]

I think it's neither. Uconn has the best fans or so I've heard so many times I believe it. And who can say enough about the Boneyarders?

 

[Icebear]

And who can say enough about the Boneyarders?

Ourselves?

 

[HuskeySlim]

From the first day of practice Geno stresses team basketball. It even starts in recruiting. Geno wants players who are not greedy. From the assistants, the medical staff, down to the players, everyone is on the same page. Team basketball ! No other team passes the ball like UCONN. And it ain't even close...maybe Notre Dame.

I also firmly believe that no one else could have made Stef the player she has become. By far she is the best all-around center in wcbb. She is amazing ! A lady her size doing the things she does. She is everywhere !
Almost every point we score is because of something Stef has done.

As for Geno, if he did go somewhere else, within 5 years he would have a top 10 program !

 

[Buzzyboy]

Geno's #1 national recruits:

-Nykesha Sales
-Shea Ralph
-Tamika Williams
-Diana Taurasi
- Ann Strother
-Tina Charles
-Maya Moore
-Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis
-Breanna Stewart

That being said, Geno has turned non-#1 recruits into NPOY winners: Lobo, Rizzotti, Kara Wolters, and Sue Bird. So you have to give him some credit for recognizing and developing talent.

I do think "the system" has a lot to do with Geno's success. Just look at the incredible S&C program, the effort that is demanded at all times, the great track record developing posts, etc. The results speak for themselves, but without Sue and D, Maya and Tina, etc., he doesn't have eight championships. Just as you were pretty much guaranteed a NC with Brittney Griner, certain championships depend on getting certain recruits. However, you don't win nattys without superior coaching. Of course, superior coaches recruit well.

You have to remember Geno started this program with table scraps, seemingly. Even in 1991, he made the final four and there is only one player that probably even got a smidgeon of respect from the recruiting sites and that was Kerry Bascome. The team was primarily no names and he bonded them together into a unit. That helped precipitate getting Rebecca which in turn helped get a few others. Who really saw anything in Kara Wolters other than 6'8"? Did anyone think she'd develop into who she did. Kara and Steffie are two kids who evolved into All American players when in high school the only characteristic besides height they had was soft hands. They deserve a big hand but you also have to give Chris and Geno all the credit, too. UConn has done more with less and now had more to do MORE with.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Geno and his coaching staff has an uncanny knack at recruiting WINNING HUMAN BEINGS that are good to very good WBB players! He has gotten Kara Wolters, Maria Conlin, Kelly Faris, Stef Dolson, and others of that ilk, that other schools didn't want! I think that the post from above that said, "Geno makes good players into great players. He makes great players into superstars. And he makes superstars into all-time greats!" is one of the best explanations for UCONN's success! But the coaching staff demands perfection at every minute of practice that leads to huge performances in big games!
I think that for whatever reason the last several UCONN teams got a bug up their butt that they couldn't beat ND and lost late in each game at least 4 in a row that they should have won! In last years FF they didn't fall apart and destroyed ND and made THE DIVA look horrible doing so! I don't see CT losing to ND like that again!
Think of certain UCONN players that never achieved the level of success after graduation they had under Geno at CT........ Svet Abrasimova , Kelly Schumacher, Jessica Moore, Renee Montgomery (a good player but not as great as she was at CT), Barbara Turner, among others! Because whoever coached them later wasn't as demanding as Geno and his staff!
Look at how UCONN plays defense, no other school sells out for 40 minutes like UCONN does, no matter the score!
Any great HS player that truly wants to take their game to another level HAS TO go to UCONN! If A'ja Wilson wants to be a super star she'll go to UCONN and be a homesick super star, or stay home at So. Car. and be comfortable! EDD, the girls at No. Car. now, wanted to be comfortable and not have to work so hard to be great! Big fish in a small pond!