So when is Jeff going to Walz off with his first NC?
- Thread starter Wonkster
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Hopefully not within the next three years or so
Why, because the Huskies are on the outside looking in? Just because the premier team in the nation doesn't play in the premier conference isn't a reason to get all upset. With that being said, it is yet to be seen how this will impact UConn, specifically within the recruiting arena. My personal belief is that Kathryn Westbeld will end up at ND, and I believe the competition within the conference will be A (not THE most) significant factor. Right now the ACC is getting a large chunk of the top recruits...it is definitely going to fun watching these teams butt heads with each other.
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Walz already won a National Championship at Maryland. He did all the coaching, Frese is just a figurehead , who does very little coaching.
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No one is going to beat the best coach with the best talent, and UConn is in the midst of the best year to year recruiting run in the school's history.
A more interesting question is who will be number two. The preseason polls have Duke and Tenn as 2 and 3. Duke does have the second best talent but no coaching and there seems to be a bizarre compulsion to put Tenn high in preseason polls.
Louisville had the second best team last year and they will be better this year. ND has most of a team that beat UConn several teams last year and has good freshmen coming in. The most exciting games in the future will be between them. Or, the UConn "bench" against any other top team
A more interesting question is who will be number two. The preseason polls have Duke and Tenn as 2 and 3. Duke does have the second best talent but no coaching and there seems to be a bizarre compulsion to put Tenn high in preseason polls.
Louisville had the second best team last year and they will be better this year. ND has most of a team that beat UConn several teams last year and has good freshmen coming in. The most exciting games in the future will be between them. Or, the UConn "bench" against any other top team
That's something of a stretch in most fans' opinion, I'd daresay, and I'm no fan of Frese. Has any assistant coach ever been credited with a National Championship?
triaddukefan
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Wbbfan1
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IMHO Jeff won't win a National Championship until he signs a difference maker. He's got to get one of the Top 2 or 3 recruits in a given year. His recruiting is great, but he's not getting the player(s) that would put his program on Top. Louisville is a Top 10-15 program, but IMHO they're not a Top 5 program. Now the CARDS could fall right like it did when A&M won the Championship, but what are the odds of that happening.
triaddukefan
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National Championship ??.... he needs to start off by winning a Conference championship... and that wont be an easy thing. Despite Duke's and UNC's lack of coaching....... they will stand along with ND in the way of any redbirds cutting down the nets in Greensboro.
Mebbe, but I'll bet the NCAA would give Louisville the title if the Cardinals won the last game of the Final Four.
Just so you're clear on the matter, you and the Dukettes have my permission to beat the living snot out of Louisville in any meeting this year, or when they add the 'Birds to the ACC for the 2014-15 season and later.
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not really, if you observed Maryland timeouts during NCAA tournament games you would have seen Walz doing the coaching. Walz designed a key play that lead to Toliver getting a three pointer, and taking the Duke game to overtime.
I have observed several practices when Frese was absent. (not due to pregnancy or sickness) When Frese was there, Walz did 90% of the coaching. Frese will get credit for the NC, however without Walz it never happens.
FYI__ Frese has made one Final 4____ none without Walz, and it has never been because of lack of talent.
And Geno without Chris Dailey?
Icebear
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I expect him to win one next year.
Wbbfan1
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IMHO if the ACC Conference Championship Tournament came down to the Winner of a Duke vs Louisville game, I'd go with Louisville to Win. 
DobbsRover2
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As mentioned elsewhere, there's really no need to win a conference championship to take an NC, as MD, Texas A&M and UConn have demonstrated since 2006. It's like telling all the MLB and NFL wild card teams that have won World Series or Super Bowls that their titles aren't proper, and you'll get a chuckle in return.
And to anyone who asks why it's wrong to despise the ACC, all I can say is you haven't been hanging out on the Boneyard during the Swofford era. For some of us, there's no forgetting. But kudos to those who can turn the meek cheek and bow down to BC and its ilk.
There were a pack of BYer's who were ragging on Jeff around this time in 2012 saying that his teams underperform and that his overranked 2012-13 squad would bomb last year. Never got the reason for the hate. But again, reaching the NC game twice in the last four years is a feat that most coaches not named Geno would envy. But yeah he does need to take that final step or he will be a failure to his detractors, even if he doesn't have the kind of all-star lineups that other far less results-happy schools like UNC, Duke, and UTenn have trotted out in the last four years.
EricLA
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I think had he landed Russell, it would be fair to argue L'ville was working towards being a permanent fixture in the top 5. Missing out on her - he's landed solid kids, but no one near the talent level of players like KML, Liz Williams, Stewie or MoJeff. I'd even go so far as to say he has no one on his team with the talent of Tuck (unless you consider Schimmell a top 5 kid in her class). He does seem to get the most out his players tho.
But honestly, I don't see him recruiting at the same level as the UCONN's, Duke's, or ND's of the WCBB world.
But honestly, I don't see him recruiting at the same level as the UCONN's, Duke's, or ND's of the WCBB world.
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I think he's got a lot of upside. Personality, skill, likability, facilities, national exposure, a good story. Geno's a pal. With a bit of recruiting luck, he could go far.
Recruiting luck?
He's already used up his fair share good for 10 years, at least. How many new coaches come into a job with an Angel McCoughtry-level player on the roster with 3 years of eligibility left? And I believe he passed over her while still recruiting for Maryland. Wasn't she in the Terps' backyard?
Answer this: Where would Louisville's women's team be today if McCoughtry had not been there, waiting for Walz to show up? We wouldn't be talking about them today, that's for sure.
And yes, Jeff did a great job motivating Angel to stardom.
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I don't believe they were a top ten team last year either. The best team doesn't always win and they proved that. They were a five seed that played way above their heads at the right time of the year and he deserves a lot of the credit. Just like the UCONN men did a few years ago when they won it all. He has played for two N.C.s in the last 5 or 6 years and he gets the most out of his talent. But I agree with you that he needs that big star to push him over the top. And of course, avoid UCONN in the process.
Icebear
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But coaching has a great deal to do with a team exceeding expectations (see Walz), as well as, a team not meeting expectations (see Frese).
DobbsRover2
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Wasn't a top 10 team? Do tell about any team that could knock off Baylor (followed to a lesser degree by UTenn and Cal) that doesn't deserve to be called a top 10 team. And some teams give their best during the regular season and are happy to pick up maybe a conference title, and others see it all as preparation and the testing ground for where it matters, in the six rounds of the national championship. It's ridiculous to say a team "plays over its head" (whatever that means) when they go on a six game run that ends at the NC. Louisville played exactly at their head level, with the smarts and effort and hunger to beat teams that had hoisted up better credentials when it didn't count as much, in the regular season. The fact that they've done it twice in recent years shows it's not a fluke, and that's just how the Cards approach the season.
So unlike the Walz tsk-tskers who start peddling out the list of Cardinal failures before the season starts, I'm going to wait until the season ends to bury him and consign him back to his dish-washing job at Geno's.
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