We've all heard lots of hype every year about Brianna Turner, but I question whether she is the asset so many believe she should/would be or if she is the type player who, for whatever reason, diminishes the team as a whole.
That also seemed to be the case for Diamond DeShields where ever she happened to be playing.
Well considering she has been injured for all 5 years she's been at ND...you can't really fault her for that:
Fr-missed UCONN game and several others with shoulder problems
So-again missed UCONN game with shoulder issues
Jr-tore ACL in tournament, team has a great shot to win it all if she's healthy
Sr-out all year with ACL
Super Sr-no injuries yet as of early December
She's definitely not the type of player whose presence diminishes returns. This year the chemistry is different with her in the roster, but she as hugely important to the success of the previous 3 teams she was on. If you go the diminishing route, you could easily argue that DT's presence in 2001 had a diminishing effect on the team after they won it all but most players ended up having worse seasons in 2001 than in 2000.
I don't think anyone has been hyping her up this year other than saying she could be a difference maker in the front court for ND.
Last year Notre Dame had great chemistry and caught fire. Everyone who contributed knew they didn't have a plausible backup and had to rise to the occasion, so they did. Playing in adversity like that can cause players like to elevate their game, and it definitely did for ND last year.
This year her presence does change the chemistry a lot...for better or worse remains to be seen. The biggest impact is that she effectively moves Shepard out of the low post where she was a stud last year, and ND is lacking a "do all the little things" type of player in Westbeld. Turner definitely adds a defensive presence that was missing, but the high low action and figuring out where Shepard plays alongside Turner is going to take time.
Kind of a weird fact, but in general, adding great players from a championship (or championship caliber) team that already returns its best 4-5 players traditionally leads to worse teams:
1998 Tennessee ran the table, returned everyone and brought in Michelle Snow....ended up with 3 losses and out in the Elite 8.
2000 UCONN went 36-1 and won it all. Next year they return everyone and add in DT but had 3 losses (including one where they were blown out at full strength)
2003 UCONN went 37-1 and won it all. Next year they weren't as good even though they won it all, they had 4 losses with the same roster and were just a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
2012 Baylor went 40-0 and won it all. Returned everyone, went 34-2 and lost in the Sweet 16.
2016 Notre Dame returned everyone from a very strong 33-2 year and went 33-4 in 2017.
2017 UCONN went 36-1, nearly won it all. Returned all major contributors and added Stevens, had the same result and arguably weren't as good in 2018.
Nelson-Ododa will get much better as she gains confidence with more playing time. It comes from whom? Phee? Walker? Hopefully Coombs gets a confidence boost some how and become the 7th player in the rotation. Irwin will help games which don't feature an elite team.
