Keeping up on the competition (ND)

[Tidepool]

No billboard material herein, but it is interesting that it already seems settled that a freshman will start at point guard for Notre Dame.

http://msn.foxsports.com/wcbk/story/Irish-enter-unfamiliar-ACC-with-familiar-goals-95098284

 

[Wbbfan1]

IMHO ND is going to be better then what some experts are saying. ND & Duke will compete for the Regular Season ACC Championship. When it comes to the ACC tournament championship, I'd take ND to win it all.

 

[Outside Shot]

Interesting that Achonwa says they've never had a post presence while she's been at Notre Dame. I thought her and Devereaux Peters were a very strong post presence. Plus their guards rebound very well. I would respectfully disagree with Achonwa.

 

[Outside Shot]

I live in suburban DC and have season tickets to Maryland. Their media day is today. You can ask questions via Twitter at #AskTheTerps

 

[Scotter]

Interesting that Achonwa says they've never had a post presence while she's been at Notre Dame. I thought her and Devereaux Peters were a very strong post presence. Plus their guards rebound very well. I would respectfully disagree with Achonwa.

If Achonowa meant a post scoring presence then she is probably right. Notre Dame's been playing with 4 guards and a high post for the last several years. and while Achonwa and Peters have some skill neither has been a back to the basket low post scorer. I'm not sure Reimer is that either, but it certainly would shift Notre Dame back to a two post offense and put a player back in the low post.

 

[Bigpetunia]

I agree with WBBFan....anyone who assumes that ND can be taken lightly by us in the post-season as a result of Diggins' departure is in fantasyland. It remains to be seen whether or not Lindsey Allen can make a big contribution as a Freshman, but they still have the second best lineup in the country....and the second best coach.

 

[Drumguy]

I agree with WBBFan....anyone who assumes that ND can be taken lightly by us in the post-season as a result of Diggins' departure is in fantasyland. It remains to be seen whether or not Lindsey Allen can make a big contribution as a Freshman, but they still have the second best lineup in the country....and the second best coach.

Also agree. ND will be very very tough. That said while Muffet is one of the best coaches in the country, if I had to anoint a second best coach I'd give Jeff Weitz the call. No one has done more with lessor talent then he has and other than UConn it's hard to see a program with greater success in the last 5 years. Not that his players are chopped liver but they aren't Diggins, Sims, Griner, Stewart, etc. Two finals in a short time and with solid, not spectacular players.

Muffet has had the talent to go with her coaching, JW is more like Jim Calhoun taking good players and making them better.

 

[Icebear]

ND will always be very tough. Muffet coaches very well against Geno. She knows and understands his tendencies.

 

[EricLA]

Maybe I'm underestimating the loss of Skyler, but i had ND 3rd in my own preseason poll just behind Duke and UCONN. Any team that returns 4 starters and beat UCONN 3 out of 4 times last year deserves consideration. I'm guessing starters of Allen, Loyd, McBride, Bracker/Wright, and Achonwa? Bracker is a 6'1" forward and Wright a 6'2" forward. They also have Reimer and freshman 6'4" Thompson, and 6'3" Nelson. A lot of size for a team that traditionally has played 4 guards and 1 forward.

ND will be very deep. in addition to post depth, they also have Maybrey, Cable, Holliway, and Huffman off the bench. Maybrey, Huffman and Holliway were at the bottom of the stats sheet last year, but Cable logged some nice minutes and decent stats. Not sure how talented the 4 will be - if they are more role players, or if they can earn substantial PT and be effective like Banks has been for UCONN.

 

[Wonkster]

... while Muffet is one of the best coaches in the country, if I had to anoint a second best coach I'd give Jeff Weitz the call...

Just make sure to ask Jeff Weitz to hand the phone to Jeff Walz.

I got a question for all you Domer-touting 'Yarders: doncha think ND ought to get a few more National Championships under their belt before we start anointing them as the heir apparent to UConn? They're still stuck at one, IIRC.

 

[rjp172]

Also agree. ND will be very very tough. That said while Muffet is one of the best coaches in the country, if I had to anoint a second best coach I'd give Jeff Weitz the call. No one has done more with lessor talent then he has and other than UConn it's hard to see a program with greater success in the last 5 years. Not that his players are chopped liver but they aren't Diggins, Sims, Griner, Stewart, etc. Two finals in a short time and with solid, not spectacular players.

Muffet has had the talent to go with her coaching, JW is more like Jim Calhoun taking good players and making them better.

I don't know how much "coaching" was involved with a once in a lifetime player like McCoughtry who he didn't recruit. She's proven she can carry a pro-team to a championship not alone a college team. Walz is a great motivator in my opinion that can get his kids to believe, but I'm not sure how much credit he deserves for the actual x's and o's of coaching. His team last year hadn't beat anyone of significance until the tourney and struggled with teams it should have soundly defeated. I'm not even sure they own a win over a higher ranked team in between their two F4 appearances. He benefited last year from the perfect storm of officials who were inept and his team hitting 16 threes against Baylor while Mulkey over confidently sat and watched without response. Still, they barely pulled off the upset. If Slaughter gets called for her fouls in the first half she doesn't go off from the 3pt line that helped ignite Louisville's fire. He's employed the "streetball" type of game against both UConn and ND before only to watch the more poised teams still easily defeat Louisville. Other than Baylor his team got by a suspect Tennessee and an offensively challenged Cal who looked horrible in previous rounds. The west regional was going to be a bye game to the championship no matter who faced them.

As for McGraw...she's taken several teams with none (1997) or few top recruits to the F4 including a national title in 2001 going against one of the best UConn teams ever that year. She's also done it with polar opposite types of teams from low post dominate teams that played 2-3 to 4 guard man to man defense line-ups.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

I got a question for all you Domer-touting 'Yarders: doncha think ND ought to get a few more National Championships under their belt before we start anointing them as the heir apparent to UConn? They're still stuck at one, IIRC.

Who is talking about the heir apparent to UConn? Right now, the heir apparent to UConn is UConn.

You went from the TASS (Tamika, Asjha, Sue, Swin) and dynasty (2000 and 2002, with Taurasi part of 2002) to the Diana Domination Era (2003 and 2004) to the Point-Wing-Post trio dynasty (Montgomery, Moore, Charles for 2009 and 2010).

Now, UConn is in the versatile, fluid scoring era of Breanna and KML (with a lot of talent around them). And there is even more talent on the way.

There is no heir apparent to UConn, as long as Geno is the coach and continues to recruit not just top-tier players, but players who fit his system and players with whom he can work individually to improve and expand their skillsets.

That being said, Muffet McGraw is a great Xs and Os coach who has done wonders on the recruiting trail in recent years, rather than going in spurts as she previously had done. Now she has the talent to push her well-coached teams into the "consistently elite" category. She lost three senior starters from her 2011-2012 team that made two straight national title games, yet managed to be back in the Final Four next year.

#UConn
#UConnHuskies
#IronyofDukeFanDiscussingDynastyon Boneyard
#MustBeNiceforUConnandNDtoHaveACoachWhoCanActuallyCoach

 

[rjp172]

Just make sure to ask Jeff Weitz to hand the phone to Jeff Walz.

I got a question for all you Domer-touting 'Yarders: doncha think ND ought to get a few more National Championships under their belt before we start anointing them as the heir apparent to UConn? They're still stuck at one, IIRC.

No team may ever be heir apparent to UConn. Just like no team may ever have as many wins in a short span as ND did over UConn. I don't see were any BY'rs are suggesting ND is heir apparent only the respect that comes with the wins that ND managed.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Who is talking about the heir apparent to UConn? Right now, the heir apparent to UConn is UConn.

You went from the TASS (Tamika, Asjha, Sue, Swin) and dynasty (2000 and 2002, with Taurasi part of 2002) to the Diana Domination Era (2003 and 2004) to the Point-Wing-Post trio dynasty (Montgomery, Moore, Charles for 2009 and 2010).

Now, UConn is in the versatile, fluid scoring era of Breanna and KML (with a lot of talent around them). And there is even more talent on the way.

There is no heir apparent to UConn, as long as Geno is the coach and continues to recruit not just top-tier players, but players who fit his system and players with whom he can work individually to improve and expand their skillsets.

That being said, Muffet McGraw is a great Xs and Os coach who has done wonders on the recruiting trail in recent years, rather than going in spurts as she previously had done. Now she has the talent to push her well-coached teams into the "consistently elite" category. She lost three senior starters from her 2011-2012 team that made two straight national title games, yet managed to be back in the Final Four next year.

#UConn
#UConnHuskies
#IronyofDukeFanDiscussingDynastyon Boneyard
#MustBeNiceforUConnandNDtoHaveACoachWhoCanActuallyCoach

Seems to me Cam should be awarded an Honorary Boneyard Doctorate.

 

[Outside Shot]

What's fascinating to me is how various teams are perceived and I think some coaches are very adept at creating an image in the media. That Louisville team featured two Top 10 recruits in the backcourt- Smith was Top 5 and Schimmel was Top 10. Hammond was a Top 20 recruit. Vails was a Top 25 recruit. I can't remember the rest, but the idea that Louisville somehow didn't have "talent" is preposterous. Yet that image keeps being put out there.

I don't know how much "coaching" was involved with a once in a lifetime player like McCoughtry who he didn't recruit. She's proven she can carry a pro-team to a championship not alone a college team. Walz is a great motivator in my opinion that can get his kids to believe, but I'm not sure how much credit he deserves for the actual x's and o's of coaching. His team last year hadn't beat anyone of significance until the tourney and struggled with teams it should have soundly defeated. I'm not even sure they own a win over a higher ranked team in between their two F4 appearances. He benefited last year from the perfect storm of officials who were inept and his team hitting 16 threes against Baylor while Mulkey over confidently sat and watched without response. Still, they barely pulled off the upset. If Slaughter gets called for her fouls in the first half she doesn't go off from the 3pt line that helped ignite Louisville's fire. He's employed the "streetball" type of game against both UConn and ND before only to watch the more poised teams still easily defeat Louisville. Other than Baylor his team got by a suspect Tennessee and an offensively challenged Cal who looked horrible in previous rounds. The west regional was going to be a bye game to the championship no matter who faced them.

As for McGraw...she's taken several teams with none (1997) or few top recruits to the F4 including a national title in 2001 going against one of the best UConn teams ever that year. She's also done it with polar opposite types of teams from low post dominate teams that played 2-3 to 4 guard man to man defense line-ups.

 

[Fightin Choke]

If Achonowa meant a post scoring presence then she is probably right. Notre Dame's been playing with 4 guards and a high post for the last several years. and while Achonwa and Peters have some skill neither has been a back to the basket low post scorer. I'm not sure Reimer is that either, but it certainly would shift Notre Dame back to a two post offense and put a player back in the low post.

Reimer is not a typical back-to-the-basket post, but Kristina Nelson is. Of course Nelson will probably make a minimal contribution this season, as she is coming off an injury and both she and Diamond Thompson need to improve their conditioning (and Diamond needs more strength).

 

[Drumguy]

What's fascinating to me is how various teams are perceived and I think some coaches are very adept at creating an image in the media. That Louisville team featured two Top 10 recruits in the backcourt- Smith was Top 5 and Schimmel was Top 10. Hammond was a Top 20 recruit. Vails was a Top 25 recruit. I can't remember the rest, but the idea that Louisville somehow didn't have "talent" is preposterous. Yet that image keeps being put out there.

Since I made the reference originally (and misspelled Walz's name on the way) my comment about Ville was that a bunch of very good, even with some top recruits - my perception and a lot of others is there's no dominating player on that team, and yet have had as much or more success relatively speaking - Baylor despite Sims and Griner - one NC; Duke none, Stamford none, Kentucky none, ND none recently; - to me those teams had a greater assemblage of talent then Ville and while Ville hasn't won it all, that's more to Geno's credit then Jeff's fault and 2 semis in a short time frame is a great accomplishment..

 

[doggydaddy]

"The biggest question is how the Irish will play without Diggins. Freshman Lindsay Allen, one of two McDonald’s All-Americans the Irish add to the squad, is expected to start at point guard. McGraw isn’t known for letting freshmen play point guard. As talented as Diggins was, making her first start in her fifth game as a freshman, she didn’t play the majority of time as point guard until her sophomore season. But McGraw said Tuesday the 5-foot-8 freshman from Mitchellville, Md., is expected to be the starting point guard. “Lindsay is a phenomenal defensive player. She’s got great speed. She’s incredibly smart. Really high basketball IQ. She’s picking things up really quickly,” McGraw said. McGraw said having four veterans around Allen will help her adjust. She said Allen won the spot during Notre Dame’s Europe tour over the summer."

Link

A lot of pressure on this young lady. After reading the many opinions on how difficult it is for a freshman point guard to come in and start, let alone replacing a legend, how tough does everyone think this will be for her and how will it impact the team.

Terrific talent on this team with 3 possible AA players. Two on the Wade list (should have been all three). Reimer is a very good player. I'm not as convinced on the returning players.

So, with a freshman point, can they get to the FF again?

 

[UcMiami]

DD - I think it depends on the rest of the team as to whether they get to the FF (and playing at home for the regionals will certainly help!) With Loyd in the back court with her she will have a very good running mate and McBride does a fair amount of ball handling as well. I don't think they are a better team without Diggins but they have enough talent and a good enough coach. I think Rene came in and was forced to run the team as a freshman and did very well so it can be done, just not ideal.

And for everyone who thinks losing Diggins is not going to be a big deal ... I point to what happened to a NC team at Uconn that everyone thought was loaded with talent in the year after Diana graduated - Uconn followed a similar path to ND - 2002 they graduate a nucleus of WNBA draft picks and with DT leading continue winning (to everyone's surprise.) Then DT goes in 2004 and we have a short period in the wilderness without a FF. I am not suggesting that Diggins is in DTs class of player (very very few are), but she did represent for ND the same sort of spirit and leadership that DT represent for CT in 2003 and 2004. It is that and not her specific stats that ND will miss I think more than people realize.

 

[UConnCat]

"The biggest question is how the Irish will play without Diggins. Freshman Lindsay Allen, one of two McDonald’s All-Americans the Irish add to the squad, is expected to start at point guard. McGraw isn’t known for letting freshmen play point guard. As talented as Diggins was, making her first start in her fifth game as a freshman, she didn’t play the majority of time as point guard until her sophomore season. But McGraw said Tuesday the 5-foot-8 freshman from Mitchellville, Md., is expected to be the starting point guard. “Lindsay is a phenomenal defensive player. She’s got great speed. She’s incredibly smart. Really high basketball IQ. She’s picking things up really quickly,” McGraw said. McGraw said having four veterans around Allen will help her adjust. She said Allen won the spot during Notre Dame’s Europe tour over the summer."

Link

A lot of pressure on this young lady. After reading the many opinions on how difficult it is for a freshman point guard to come in and start, let alone replacing a legend, how tough does everyone think this will be for her and how will it impact the team.

Terrific talent on this team with 3 possible AA players. Two on the Wade list (should have been all three). Reimer is a very good player. I'm not as convinced on the returning players.

So, with a freshman point, can they get to the FF again?

Interesting that Muffet first spoke of three players -- Allen, Mabrey and Holloway -- competing for the starting point guard spot and we now hear that 2 of the 3 didn't impress enough to be Allen's back-up. All three struggled a bit against the French teams during the European tour.

 

[arty155]

Seems to me Cam should be awarded an Honorary Boneyard Doctorate.

Good call, Rock! And on that basis, I hereby nominate Rocky to chair our Posts Doctorate program.

 

[Icebear]

Good call, Rock! And on that basis, I hereby nominate Rocky to chair our Posts Doctorate program.

He has been recognized as a honorary Bear. That is as close to a Boneyard PHD as we have. The bears are well known for many things Piled Higher and Deeper.

 

[doggydaddy]

Interesting that Muffet first spoke of three players -- Allen, Mabrey and Holloway -- competing for the starting point guard spot and we now hear that 2 of the 3 didn't impress enough to be Allen's back-up. All three struggled a bit against the French teams during the European tour.

Exactly. Horrible assist/to ratios.

I just don't see the depth that others do.

Most likely the starters will be McBride, Loyd, Achonwa, Braker and Allen.

Reimer will see plenty of time. And I believe Wright will see regular time as well. The other front court players are freshman Thompson and Nelson and they will probably get only mop up minutes.

The four guards off the bench are not a real impressive group. Huffman, Holloway, Cable and Mabrey have much to prove.

Against teams like Duke, Tennessee, UNC, Maryland I would bet that ND only goes 7-8 deep.

That being said, I think they have a great chance at the FF. Achonwa, Loyd and McBride are just that good.

 

[Icebear]

Cable did play important minutes against UCONN last year.

 

[doggydaddy]

Cable will be the first guard off the bench.