Muffet McGraw stepping down (merged threads)

[Dillon77]

Precisely, that's why I'm not connecting on some of the thoughts expressed here that Ivey will be successful right out of the gate, or even 3 years down the road. Following a legend is no small undertaking and Holly experienced that first hand and Ivey will certainly feel the pain as the losses pile up. ND does not tolerate losing programs - see football program. It'll be interesting to watch and I hope the best for Ivey.

I understand that thinking and will have to say it's been in my mind for a few years when contemplating MM's successor. Quite candidly, I was always hoping Niele could add to her professional development by being a head coach before (possibly) coming back to interview for the ND job. Instead, the NBA position came up, which offered other skills sets to learn.

Was also hoping this day might not come for another two years or so, when other candidates might've sorted themselves out. For instance, would Megan Duffy continue to nail it at Marquette? She could bring a slightly different perspective to the court (remember, her other mentor is Kim Barnes Arrico).

But this became the year (MM thought the time off from bball due to the Virus perhaps figured into the decision to pull the trigger) and, really, Niele was the way to go given the circumstances.

I said this in another post on another thread just five minutes before this hit, but I don't think ND or Niele is that far away from competing well. They need some top-line leaders and another front-line presence, but they'll be good to watch. Think Niele will be excellent working with a young(er) team.
Stay tuned.

 

[Tonyc]

Didn’t see that coming this offseason. Also surprised Niele Ivey is taking over. Thought should would stick it out in the NBA with the Grizzlies. Guess it’ll be fun to see what she does at Notre Dame.
[/QUOTE

Ivey will get a very very high 6 diget contract with 7 digets and incentives. This is ND.

 

[CocoHusky]

It would be nice if ND recovered. I want to watch UConn beat great teams. What I don't get is that everyone is saying how great MM was and how great Ivey was/is and yet we see a mess of a team. Who was responsible? It was apparent that MM sold out the future to win a title. If she is to be feted for winning a title (and she is) she must also be held responsible for the price the team paid, very little player development along with recruits looking elsewhere. Was it worth it?

You have floated this trail lead balloon before ( that Muffet sold out the future) to win a title. I'm not sure you ever got around to reading the post by @Orangutan to explain why this is false. It is definitely false. ND graduated 5 starters last season because of a series of things that no one could have planned for unless you think MM controls injuries (Turner), the NCAA waiver process (Shepard), and the WNBA draft eligibility cut off date (Jackie Young). If MM did "sell out" to win a championship I want to be among the first to congratulate her.

 

[newfrontier]

Niele Ivy is a strong recruiter, in my opinion, and loyal to Notre Dame. She is a good hire for them. I wonder what the new name for the "McGraw's Bench" bulletin board will be?

"The forum formerly known as McGraw's Bench"

 

[eebmg]

"The forum formerly known as McGraw's Bench"

How about the "Ive(y)s of March" ??

 

[Mdoggie]

Sam Brunelle to UConn? Lol

Lol

 

[and one]

TBY has been short on juicy material since the spree of recruits were signed but this sure enough breaks the drought. Like many of you I'm amazed. But not altogether happy about it.

We lost our major rival when Pat Summit stepped away at Tennessee and then the program floundered. I'd hate to have the same happen with ND. I don't think ND will go the same route TN did, but neither did I think that UT post-Summit would get so average so fast and stay there. WCBB needs more good teams and rivalries, not fewer.

Brunelle or other ND players/recruits to Uconn? As has been mentioned, we have no pressing need for them and beyond that it strikes me as a little unseemly to be picking ND's bones. I could change my mind on that if there was a 6'7" post with quick feet in play, but there isn't.

I've seen in previous posts that Ivey may be a good recuiter as someone young enough to relate to high school kids. Maybe, but if she thinks she can bring the same firepower to the table that MM did she'll be sorely mistaken. Recruiting aside, how good a bench coach she will be is an open question. UT got and squandered loads of talent and Ivie will have to prove she can coach her team back to what is expected of ND. I wish her well and look forward to the pleasure of seeing really good UConn and ND teams play again.

 

[DefenseBB]

How about the "Ive(y)s of March" ??

 

[DefenseBB]

You have floated this trail lead balloon before ( that Muffet sold out the future) to win a title. I'm not sure you ever got around to reading the post by @Orangutan to explain why this is false. It is definitely false. ND graduated 5 starters last season because of a series of things that no one could have planned for unless you think MM controls injuries (Turner), the NCAA waiver process (Shepard), and the WNBA draft eligibility cut off date (Jackie Young). If MM did "sell out" to win a championship I want to be among the first to congratulate her.

With dueling threads on the Main board and the General board, here is my recap I posted on the general board for @Alydar and others to read here.
A unique confluence of events: transfers, injuries and early departure are the 3 culprits. To wit:
2015 Class-Ali Patberg #13 recruit, injured 2 years, transferred out. Star at Indiana
2016 Class-Erin Boley #5 recruit, transferred to Oregon after freshman year, solid role player
2016 Class-Jackie Young #11 recruit, left early for WNBA as #1 draft pick
2017 Class-Dani Patterson #30 recruit, transferred to Indiana, did not play in 2019-20
2017 Class-Mik Vaughn #56 recruit injured ACL two years in a row, first year playing significant minutes
2018 Class-Jordan Nixon #38 recruit transferred to Texas A&M, did not play in 2019-20
2018 Class-Abby Prohaska #73 recruit, during 2019-20 did not play due to blood clot.
That's your starters and depth, forced to rely on underclassman and transfers.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I’ll bet their first choice to replace Muffet was Niele, and they didn’t have to twist her arm. A promotion to HC, and a hefty pay raise got it done. As others here have predicted, 2 years minimum to become seriously competitive again. Ivey is a good judge of talent, and an excellent recruiter.

Can someone confirm the pay numbers? Niele was making NBA money before, and she won’t start at Muffet’s final salary. My guess is the initial increase is modest, but with potential increases.

 

[MilfordHusky]

My latest intel has MM at $1.4 mil per year....updated since I posted a few days ago...I expect Ivey to get $750K estimate on what other Top 1st year P5 coaches get with prior HC experience. Ivey has ND experience to compensate for that lack of HC. IMO...

What was she making in Memphis? I’m guessing $500K.

 

[vtcwbuff]

Now one would have to say that this job opening will be the most sought after in D-1 WBB (more so than the Texas Job, the Mississippi State Job, and even last years Tennessee opening). Now, what "Prominent" current D1 College Coaches do you feel might want this job? (Jeff Walz?). I personally think that Jennifer Rizzotti would be a great choice for Notre Dame to consider (Yes, I know that this is hated Notre Dame, but for Jen, this opportunity would be terrific).

Why in the world would a prominent WCBB program want Rizzotti?

 

[DeeHusky]

This has been one of the most high profile player and coaching traffic/movement seasons ever.

 

[Alydar]

Because the NBA offered more money .

You have floated this trail lead balloon before ( that Muffet sold out the future) to win a title. I'm not sure you ever got around to reading the post by @Orangutan to explain why this is false. It is definitely false. ND graduated 5 starters last season because of a series of things that no one could have planned for unless you think MM controls injuries (Turner), the NCAA waiver process (Shepard), and the WNBA draft eligibility cut off date (Jackie Young). If MM did "sell out" to win a championship I want to be among the first to congratulate her.

I don't want to revisit the entire story but it doesn't take genius coach to look at your roster and see who is graduating and when. And other than Turner there were no injuries to players who had already proven their worth in games. Most of them were new players. ND was harder hit with transfers than injuries.
Bottom line is that when you are the HC the buck stops at your desk.

Orangutan, like Biebel, is really great at rationalizing anything Notre Dame does. I love reading their posts here. My guess is that they are attorneys.

 

[bballnut90]

Can someone confirm the pay numbers? Niele was making NBA money before, and she won’t start at Muffet’s final salary. My guess is the initial increase is modest, but with potential increases.

NCAA head coach will get paid more than an NBA assistant. Nothing in particular to base this off of, but guessing she starts into the 500-900k range considering Kellie Harper makes 750k at Tennessee. ND likely has deeper pockets than Tennessee but Niele isnt as proven without any HC experience.

 

[Carnac]

So how long before Muffet is a game commentator?

I suspect her telephone will ring. Whether she answers or not remains to be seen. She knows the game and can explain a play and share insight from a coach’s perspective as well as anyone. WCBB fans would tune-in to watch/hear her do color for a game.

 

[bballnut90]

I don't want to revisit the entire story but it doesn't take genius coach to look at your roster and see who is graduating and when. And other than Turner there were no injuries to players who had already proven their worth in games. Most of them were new players. ND was harder hit with transfers than injuries.
Bottom line is that when you are the HC the buck stops at your desk.

Orangutan, like Biebel, is really great at rationalizing anything Notre Dame does. I love reading their posts here. My guess is that they are attorneys.

Gotta consider though that players like Vaughn and Patterson were likely going to play big minutes in 2019 since they didnt expect Turner to return. This likely led to Patterson's transfer. Also expected Young to stay her 4th year to have more experience. Guessing they assumed a starting lineup including those 3, plus Prohaska. That's a solid core to build around especially if you add in Gilbert/Peoples/Brunelle.

 

[chrissaran]

Niele is well-respected and a familiar face with long ties to the Irish. You may see one or two, but a mass exodus won't happen. Good luck, Niele.

 

[CocoHusky]

I don't want to revisit the entire story but it doesn't take genius coach to look at your roster and see who is graduating and when. And other than Turner there were no injuries to players who had already proven their worth in games. Most of them were new players. ND was harder hit with transfers than injuries.
Bottom line is that when you are the HC the buck stops at your desk.
Orangutan, like Biebel, is really great at rationalizing anything Notre Dame does. I love reading their posts here. My guess is that they are attorneys.

MM had bad luck with injuries, a few of her players transferred and the buck stops with the head coach. How does that equate to "selling out"?

 

[MilfordHusky]

NCAA head coach will get paid more than an NBA assistant. Nothing in particular to base this off of, but guessing she starts into the 500-900k rangs considering Kellie Harper made 500k at Missouri State and 750k at Tennessee. ND likely has deeper pockets than Tennessee but Niele isnt as proven without any HC experience.

Some NCAA head coaching positions will pay more. I’m guessing Niele jumped from $500K to $750K.

 

[Orangutan]

It would be nice if ND recovered. I want to watch UConn beat great teams. What I don't get is that everyone is saying how great MM was and how great Ivey was/is and yet we see a mess of a team. Who was responsible? It was apparent that MM sold out the future to win a title. If she is to be feted for winning a title (and she is) she must also be held responsible for the price the team paid, very little player development along with recruits looking elsewhere. Was it worth it?

They had a couple of mediocre years of recruiting. That's on both Muffet and Niele. 2017's recruiting class yielding only Mikayla Vaughn was especially damaging.

Injuries and Young's early departure didn't help matters.

Overall, the program is in reasonably good shape in terms of having talent to develop.

Niele certainly has her work cut out for her with the 2021 recruits but overall I don't think she inherited a mess.

 

[my2cents]

I think the point that everyone is missing , that the states ( and colleges) are BROKE....college coaches are going to be considered way overpaid in upcoming budgets, either they take pay cuts, or the may have to move on. ND had an opportunity because of the poor year ND had.

 

[Orangutan]

Orangutan, like Biebel, is really great at rationalizing anything Notre Dame does. I love reading their posts here. My guess is that they are attorneys.

Close. Paralegal.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Niele is inheriting an established program at a private school steeped in tradition and swimming in cash. It's not like she has to recruit from a single rotary phone and practice in a facility with a leaky roof shared with the track and field team.

 

[hoopsfan22]

If Geno ever lost 18 games he should fall on his sword too.

Geno has lost 18 games. Over the last nine years.