This thread has taken some interesting twists and turns from the various comments made. Instead of "replying to each of those "curious comments" I will try to point out some of the counterpoints to them in one post.
#1. Niele Ivey is NOTHING like Holly Warlick other than being an ND assistant for a long time. It was Pat's decision to have Holly succeed her and there were objections to that but everyone deferred to Pat. It is clear by how Niele comports herself in the few interviews I have seen of her, she is more fluent and media savvy than Holly ever was or ever will be. Plus, ND always had an offense whereas Tenn NEVER had an offense so that alone will give a leg up to Niele. Whether she can actually coach a game or has to learn on the spot and understand what a "time-out" is, has yet to be seen. TO's are something Holly always struggled with using and at times so did MM.
2. Men's basketball (and Football) are more mature sports (from the 30'/40's) in the NCAA and have more parity so when a "great coach" leaves, other schools can instantly fill that void. And if that school is notorious for cheating (Kentucky/UCLA) than the fall from elite can happen quickly. Note I didn't say NC as I don't think the cheating occurred until Roy arrived and he turned a "blind eye" to it. We are at an interesting phase in WCBB as parity is now apparent and the first set of trail blazers are retired, retiring or about to retire (Barmore, Conradt, Summitt, McGraw, Blair, Vanderveer, Auriemma) so the next wave of successors is still trying to validate itself. Lady Techsters have failed mostly due to not being a P5 where as Tenn failed or is failing due to 2 main components, Pat's choice in hand picked assistant to lead and the fact her program always lacked an offensive flow and will doom Kelli Harper, in my estimation. Texas is struggling but is throwing money at the problem. ND is choosing one of it's own to keep the ship righted. Time will tell.
3. Not sure why Azzi Fudd would NOW reconsider ND given her aspiration to be an elite pro-player as this current version of the coach (Ivey) and the current construct of the team is unproven or worse, not good. How will that help her evolve? That's not to say Ivey won't eventually make an impact, I just don't think it will be within the next year or two due to a lack of elite players on the roster. Now if she gets some elite transfers, than maybe. Mik Vaughn, Anaya Peoples, Abby Prohaska and Sam Brunelle are all nice complimentary parts to team with 2 bona fide stars, which ND is clearly lacking. If the goal is to beat UConn, than this current rendition is really lacking. It will take 2, 3 or 4 years so would Fudd want to wait until she's a senior? Not buying it. I am not saying UConn if a foregone conclusion (it is though
) just that ND is not the smart choice to beat UConn during her first 2 or 3 years. Stanford, SC, Baylor are all more logical destinations.
I like the choice ND made, it's logical, it's safe, it maintains the fan base, alumni, maintains or improves recruiting and satisfies the old coach. It may even stop the hemorrhage of transfers out that has plagued ND. It's just an "unknown" from a results perspective as Ivey has never run her own program.
Continue as you were...
Context please (given the circumstances of the last 18 hours, I've probably written more posts than in the last three months combine). What was this dangling statement attached to?
