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Message: [QUOTE="Dillon77, post: 5290431, member: 6620"] "...as the talk her and chatter on McGraws Bench is excitement on a 5’8” legacy (Ratigan) and the addition of their first 2026 commit 6’0” Ragone[B]. I am lost on how mid major player having to have a role on an elite program?[/B] She adds a body is really the only value. I doubt she even contributes what Ines Bettencourt did this year at Gonzaga." Well, of course, there are examples of mid-major players of playing for Top D1 programs and making contributions at varying levels. Yes, Kaitlyn Chen made solid contributions to the Huskies, as did -- a few years earlier -- Lou Lopez-Senechal who came up to Storrs after a stellar career at Fairfield. Lopez-Senechal turned out to be a godsend, given how many injuries UConn suffered that year and she stepped into the void and filled it admirably...and then some. Notre Dame "took a chance" on Anna DeWolfe from Fordham (if you can call taking one of the Ram's leading scorers ever a chance) and she stepped into a similar situation as Lopez-Senechal. Viewed initially as a substitute who could come in and shoot some threes, she started every game next to Hannah Hidalgo and Sonia Citron. Timely and very good get. My initial take, btw, on Ratigan was that she was an adequate roster filler who could shoot the three...ND needed someone besides Hidalgo to stretch defenses. I'm on record as saying on The Bench and here as saying Coach Ivey should expand her roster to include what could be called "developmental" players. As such, I've had friends and contacts from South Bend tell me she is a great athlete who works hard on defense as well, so maybe there will a surprise there; maybe not. The good news is due to an injury is that they'll have her for two years to segue into the next round of -- knock on wood -- a replenished high-school based roster. BTW, don't see the knock on the excitement on Bella Ragone. Most ND watchers -- let alone Benchers -- know Ivey has only had one commitment each the last year (and one of them left), so getting someone prior to summer break is cause for an exclamation point or two. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach