Muffet McGraw stepping down (merged threads)

[dogged1]

just a tweekView attachment 53474

"A picture is worth a thousand words."

 

[BostonBay]

Never liked her passive aggressive style towards Geno. Things got worse in that regard especially with recent Final Four comments on coaching/gender equality.

 

[VAUConnFan]

Assistant Coaching Jobs for women in the NBA are glass ceiling jobs. I do not see any women breaking through in my lifetime.

Do you expect to die in the next couple of years?

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Well said Lynx23. I have first-hand knowledge that contrary to what some believe MM and GA really are friends. Here’s to a wonderful retirement for MM! Go UCONN!

With friends like that who needs enemies?

 

[Centerstream]

@Dillon77, I am wondering if during this offseason if Muffet did indeed assess her future, then maybe she watched those post game interviews where she was throwing her team under the bus. She knew from the beginning of the season that it was going to be tough going, so maybe in hindsight she realized that her treatment of this year's players was not something that she was proud of.
Or maybe not.

 

[Ouremblem]

You broke our hearts more than I’d liked, but having said that, enjoy your retirement. You deserve it.

 

[Watchdog]

Nevermind - I just read about Niele Ivey being named the new coach at ND. What is everyone's thoughts on that selection ??

Wishing her the same level of success as Holly Warlick..........

 

[HuskylnSC]

Coaches can’t call recruits whenever they like. The NCAA has rules about when contact can be made.

Muffet will be a “representative of ND’s basketball interest” (booster) even after she retires, the way a UConn grad like Diana or Maya are still UConn boosters.

NCAA Suspends In-Person Recruiting Until May 31: In response to the coronavirus, the NCAA has suspended all in-person recruiting though May 31. Schools have also been asked to suspend official and unofficial visits. This time period will be treated similarly to a dead period, during which time phone calls and digital communication are still permitted. It’s possible the NCAA will decide to extend this date again.

 

[newfrontier]

The name of the ND student rooting section will be "The Ivey League"

 

[MilfordHusky]

Niele should be a good coach. Can she actually be better than Muffet? Don't know. That would be tough. We'll see. In any case, I expect she will be better than Holly W.

Niele is personable and has a reputation as a strong recruiter. But when I look at the kids who went to N.D., most of them seem like the typical N.D. recruits over the past 20+ years: kids from Catholic high schools, kids from the Northeast (especially N.J.), and kids from the Midwest and Lake States. Lindsay Allen fits the first group, the Mabreys fit the second, and KMac, Skylar, and Jewell fit the third. Sky was a great recruit, but she lived in South Bend. The one player who chose N.D. that seemed to be out of the norm was Brianna Turner. She was a great "get" for the Irish. What other elite player did Niele recruit who was out of their normal recruiting domain?

 

[FridaFriend]

What is missing from the depictions of the ancient Gampel Pavilion is a statue of the Goddess Diana.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

Wow. Will be replaced by former Irish AC Niele Ivey.

Now, I'm wondering, who do you think could replace Geno when he retires? I think that we will fall (I mean look at the replacement coaches when they replaced legendary coaches here at UConn - PP to replace RE, Kevin replaced Jim, Reid when he replaced Morrone) I just hope it will be a good coach... Thoughts?

 

[EricSD]

Now, I'm wondering, who do you think could replace Geno when he retires? I think that we will fall (I mean look at the replacement coaches when they replaced legendary coaches here at UConn - PP to replace RE, Kevin replaced Jim, Reid when he replaced Morrone) I just hope it will be a good coach... Thoughts?

Not trying to dodge your question, but this thread is about Muffet. Threads about "who will replace Geno" have popped up now and again, with hundreds of replies. My point is; answering your question, or discussing it, would take a huge U-turn in the main topic of this thread.

 

[HuskyNan]

NCAA Suspends In-Person Recruiting Until May 31: In response to the coronavirus, the NCAA has suspended all in-person recruiting though May 31. Schools have also been asked to suspend official and unofficial visits. This time period will be treated similarly to a dead period, during which time phone calls and digital communication are still permitted. It’s possible the NCAA will decide to extend this date again.

https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/compliance/recruiting/calendar/2019-20D1REC_WBBRecruitingCalendars.pdf

quiet period = no contact

 

[CocoHusky]

Niele should be a good coach. Can she actually be better than Muffet? Don't know. That would be tough. We'll see. In any case, I expect she will be better than Holly W.

Niele is personable and has a reputation as a strong recruiter. But when I look at the kids who went to N.D., most of them seem like the typical N.D. recruits over the past 20+ years: kids from Catholic high schools, kids from the Northeast (especially N.J.), and kids from the Midwest and Lake States. Lindsay Allen fits the first group, the Mabreys fit the second, and KMac, Skylar, and Jewell fit the third. Sky was a great recruit, but she lived in South Bend. The one player who chose N.D. that seemed to be out of the norm was Brianna Turner. She was a great "get" for the Irish. What other elite player did Niele recruit who was out of their normal recruiting domain?

Don't know if you would consider her elite but Natalie Achonwa from Canada?

 

[CocoHusky]

https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/compliance/recruiting/calendar/2019-20D1REC_WBBRecruitingCalendars.pdf

quiet period = no contact

Normally a quiet period occurs when a coach at an NCAA institution cannot have any in-person contact with a prospective student-athlete or their parents outside of the colleges campus.
This being abnormal it really is quiet period + don't go to campus. There will still be plenty of contact via phone social media text etc.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Don't know if you would consider her elite but Natalie Achonwa from Canada?

Borderline. But she came from the other side of the Great Lakes. Not all that different from KMac in Erie.

Did they get elite players from CA, FL, TX?

 

[Tonyc]

Why I dont like ND. Well for years they couldnt compete with UConn. Then ND got a couple of good players and UConn a team known for not fouling was called for numerous fouls against ND and only ND. Now with a new coach who is a very good recruter and I expect ND to get good recruits just like MD and LVille but will they be better then MD and LVille? It was the FLOP era of fouls

 

[Orangutan]

Niele should be a good coach. Can she actually be better than Muffet? Don't know. That would be tough. We'll see. In any case, I expect she will be better than Holly W.

Niele is personable and has a reputation as a strong recruiter. But when I look at the kids who went to N.D., most of them seem like the typical N.D. recruits over the past 20+ years: kids from Catholic high schools, kids from the Northeast (especially N.J.), and kids from the Midwest and Lake States. Lindsay Allen fits the first group, the Mabreys fit the second, and KMac, Skylar, and Jewell fit the third. Sky was a great recruit, but she lived in South Bend. The one player who chose N.D. that seemed to be out of the norm was Brianna Turner. She was a great "get" for the Irish. What other elite player did Niele recruit who was out of their normal recruiting domain?

Brunelle signed when Niele was still recruiting coordinator although it was Beth Cunningham who joined Muffet on the home visit. I can't think of any other exceptions.

If you recruit those three areas well, though, there is ample opportunity to succeed.

The dismaying thing for me is that Louisville and Oregon are increasingly able to recruit nationally like previously only UConn, Stanford, and maybe Tennessee had.

So there is more competition even for the elite recruits in ND's typical geographic reach.

 

[CocoHusky]

Dillon great takes. My feeling is ND is better off with Muffet retiring and Niele back. I for one felt she was missed last year more than people knew and without her ND was not going to recover from the 13-18 season quickly, despite Muffet's greatness. Whether it's xfrs or recruits, Niele will be a better selling point to close the deal for certain players. The ones destined for ND will still come and Muffet will still be in South Bend, much like John Wooden stayed at UCLA. Sky's take was looking to ND's future not a diss to Muffet.

Let's explore this growing urban legend of Niele Ivey the great closer recruiter for a second. Closer for who and when? Maybe @Dillon77 can refresh my memory about the recruita palooza even that was organized by Niele. Who was in attendance? Who has ND signed from the players that were there?

 

[triaddukefan]

Brunelle signed when Niele was still recruiting coordinator although it was Beth Cunningham who joined Muffet on the home visit. I can't think of any other exceptions.

If you recruit those three areas well, though, there is ample opportunity to succeed.

The dismaying thing for me is that Louisville and Oregon are increasingly able to recruit nationally like previously only UConn, Stanford, and maybe Tennessee had.

So there is more competition even for the elite recruits in ND's typical geographic reach.

You missed a certain school that recruited as well nationally as any other school in the country. I aint gonna name that school....

 

[Zanzman]

Highpoint?

 

[Watchdog]

This was all so fast! Muffet goes, and within the hour, Ivey is named the new head coach. Obviously this was in the works for a while. I don't see any drop off with Ivey as the HC. In fact, with all the problems/issues at ND, I think she will stabilize the team and take ND back to the top 10.

UCONN should take note - I don't see any drop off any time soon for ND as far as future recruiting. Ivey was a huge force in them landing a bunch of top kids when she was there and is the perfect replacement.

We will have the same challenge when Geno chooses to retire... I hope we do it like ND did, and that the next UCONN HC is as respected and has as many WCBB contacts as Ivey.

You may well be giving an unproven, first time, head coach too much credit and overly high expectations. Look at all the failed assistants out there. It's a big jump from recruiting and sitting next to the head coach to running all aspects of a high level program.
Some have done it, but many more have been successful because of the challenges they overcame as head coaches at lower level programs where they were in charge and had to make the tough calls. Ivey's first big decision will be hiring a new assistant. Let's see who that is. If it's an ND alum with little meaningful experience she could be on the road to Ollieville.

 

[Watchdog]

I hope ESPN does not play on playing all the UCONN vs ND games in which we lost.

They practically did it during the first couple weeks that would have seen tournament games, so why would they not continue it? They are an ACC school and ESPN partner conference so all that pumps up the ACC is fair game.

 

[Watchdog]

I’m OK with ESPN showing all the ND games UConn lost, so long as they also show all the games UConn won.

Isn't it getting tiresome listening to how great ND (with Muffet) has done against UConn?

Let's look at the facts: Muffet's overall record against UConn--13 wins and 38 losses
Of those 13 UConn losses, 7 were in the 8 games played from April 2011 to March 2013.

Bottom line: Muffet had several great players in the three year period where they won 7 of 8 games played with UConn.

Other than that 8 game block, Muffet's record against UConn was 6 wins and37 losses.
Pat Summitt had 9 wins and 14 losses.

 

[triaddukefan]

25,000 views in a little over 36 hours

 

[domerduck]

Isn't it getting tiresome listening to how great ND (with Muffet) has done against UConn?

Let's look at the facts: Muffet's overall record against UConn--13 wins and 38 losses
Of those 13 UConn losses, 7 were in the 8 games played from April 2011 to March 2013.

Bottom line: Muffet had several great players in the three year period where they won 7 of 8 games played with UConn.

Other than that 8 game block, Muffet's record against UConn was 6 wins and37 losses.
Pat Summitt had 9 wins and 14 losses.

This analysis is pretty disingenuous. First of all the 8 games you picked are actually over 4 seasons since the April 2011 loss was at the Final 4 in a season which ND was 1-3 against UConn. Secondly to not count games when ND had "several great players" during a period when UConn has had some of the greatest women's bball players ever (which is why UConn has 38 wins against ND) is ridiculous. In fact that 2011 Final 4 game was the only game Maya Moore ever lost to ND as she was 7-1 against ND, should we not count those? Then there was this pretty good UConn player Breanna Stewart who won her last 6 games against ND, should we not include those?

The obvious facts are that UConn has been historically superior than ND over the years, but still Muffet and ND had earned the most wins against Geno and UConn than any other team and coach. The series didn't even start until 1996, the year after Lobo & UConn won their 1st championship, ND came into the Big East that year and proceeded to lose their 1st 11 games until Ruth Riley & Niele Ivey's senior year where they split their 4 games, the year ND won their 1st National championship. After their graduation, UConn proceeded to win 16 of the next 18, then we have the last 19 which have been almost split (UConn 10, ND 9). We shouldn't exclude any games because one team had "several great players".

The interesting thing to me is to realize Niele Ivey's record against UConn as a player (2-7) and as an assistant coach at ND (9-17) is 11-24 overall, which is a better % than Muffet's and more wins than Pat (who by the way only lost 13 against Geno). Maybe she can improve on that now that she is head coach. You never know. So far Pat's successors are 0-1, but Kellie Harper was 4-2 as a player against UConn.

 

[sivad40]

Isn't it getting tiresome listening to how great ND (with Muffet) has done against UConn?

Let's look at the facts: Muffet's overall record against UConn--13 wins and 38 losses
Of those 13 UConn losses, 7 were in the 8 games played from April 2011 to March 2013.

Bottom line: Muffet had several great players in the three year period where they won 7 of 8 games played with UConn.

Other than that 8 game block, Muffet's record against UConn was 6 wins and 37 losses.
Pat Summitt had 9 wins and 14 losses.

3 of those 6 wins outside of the 8 game block came in the NCAA Final Four Semifinal game . Muffet went 5-1 against UConn in Final Final Semifinals and 5-3 in the NCAAs overall. It's comparable to Tom Brady having an better overall head to head record against Peyton Manning but Manning had a winning postseason record against Brady.

 

[Jim R]

This analysis is pretty disingenuous. First of all the 8 games you picked are actually over 4 seasons since the April 2011 loss was at the Final 4 in a season which ND was 1-3 against UConn. Secondly to not count games when ND had "several great players" during a period when UConn has had some of the greatest women's bball players ever (which is why UConn has 38 wins against ND) is ridiculous. In fact that 2011 Final 4 game was the only game Maya Moore ever lost to ND as she was 7-1 against ND, should we not count those? Then there was this pretty good UConn player Breanna Stewart who won her last 6 games against ND, should we not include those?

The obvious facts are that UConn has been historically superior than ND over the years, but still Muffet and ND had earned the most wins against Geno and UConn than any other team and coach. The series didn't even start until 1996, the year after Lobo & UConn won their 1st championship, ND came into the Big East that year and proceeded to lose their 1st 11 games until Ruth Riley & Niele Ivey's senior year where they split their 4 games, the year ND won their 1st National championship. After their graduation, UConn proceeded to win 16 of the next 18, then we have the last 19 which have been almost split (UConn 10, ND 9). We shouldn't exclude any games because one team had "several great players".

The interesting thing to me is to realize Niele Ivey's record against UConn as a player (2-7) and as an assistant coach at ND (9-17) is 11-24 overall, which is a better % than Muffet's and more wins than Pat (who by the way only lost 13 against Geno). Maybe she can improve on that now that she is head coach. You never know. So far Pat's successors are 0-1, but Kellie Harper was 4-2 as a player against UConn.

ESPN Analysis Disingenuous? Say it isn't so!!!

 

[DefenseBB]

The interesting thing to me is to realize Niele Ivey's record against UConn as a player (2-7) and as an assistant coach at ND (9-17) is 11-24 overall, which is a better % than Muffet's and more wins than Pat (who by the way only lost 13 against Geno). Maybe she can improve on that now that she is head coach. You never know. So far Pat's successors are 0-1, but Kellie Harper was 4-2 as a player against UConn.

Please tell me this is not another post touting that the success Muffet has had should be attributed to Niele Ivey. The sheer number of posters who are delusional about that theme is mind boggling to me and does a great disservice to how great a coach MM is, was and will be remembered. This year's disaster of a season SHOULD not be attributed to Niele going to the Memphis Grizzlies. This season of 13-18 would have happened with Niele on the bench just as much with her off it. It was a unique confluence of events as noted. The simple HARD truth is we don't know if Niele Ivey will be a great coach or not. Only time will tell but to attribute her success (or Kelli Harper's) as a player or a coach against UConn over that of the actual Head Coach is simply ludicrous and ignorant and completely disrespectful to MM and the program she built. You are now taking a page from MM herself and throwing MM under the bus-well done my Irish loving fanatic, well done in following her lead.