Would you consider Virginia an upgrade over Marquette? If so, I would hire Megan Duffy. She's done a great job at Marquette. Moving on to Virginia she would be able to get better players. Now if I'm Megan, I'm not sure Virginia is enough of a high profile job. Might be better to stay at Marquette until she gets a better offer.
Virginia is a step up from Marquette
1. It’s power 5 AND in the ACC
2. She’ll get a pay raise
3. Virginia program wasn’t a bottom feeder like they have been the last 4 years
4. Maybe you can persuade Mir to stay
5. The right person will recruit higher level players than Marquette
6. Virginia administration is motivated and feeling the heat of Va Tech turnaround
Duffy has familiarity with 2 Virginia players as Camryn Taylor and Taylor Valladay transferred from Marquette to Virginia. Could be a weird situation though.
As one of the resident ND observers and followers of Megan Duffy's coaching career, I've brought this suggestion up on other threads and boards (much to chagrin of some who worry she'd eventually rival her alma mater, ND). To add a few druthers:
- UVA is the kind of place Megan Duffy wants to be and is right in her wheel house. A place where you can combine athletics and high-level academics, attracting players who will realize/take advantage of the academics/reputation/connections while playing at a high level. And, yes, some kids can go pro.
- According to many reports, Duffy was one of top candidates for the Oklahoma job. And she really isn't a big Plains state presence (yet). Yeah, she'd be interested in UVA.
- Duffy has solid experience in the Mid-Atlantic region. During her playing days, ND was traversing the east. Her first two coaching gigs were in the east: learning the ropes from Kim Barnes Arrico at St. John's; and then helping to build the core group of players that Jonathan Tsipis was HC for at George Washington.
- She then went back to work for Arrico at Michigan and coached the guards (Katelynn Flaherty, most notably) before getting the HC gig at Miami of Ohio. Having Arrico and McGraw on the phone is a big positive and Duffy will make those calls.
- Marquette's key players are either grad students, seniors or upperclassmen. Might be time to leave while you're on top...
- The only yellow flag for me is the Taylor/Valladay situation. I can guess why Valladay left -- she was the #2 PG at Marquette behind King and that wasn't changing. But Taylor started, was on Big East teams and had developed well. Was it the allure of being coached by a WNBA great in Thompson? If so, maybe...but I didn't see much growth there. But if there was friction, that should be examined.
Having said all that, Duffy seems to like it in Marquette, she recently got married and her husband is a Midwestern guy. The AD is a former ND guy who knows her well. We'll see.
I look for her to field a better team this coming season as she adds more players of HER choice to the roster. LSU will be a mainstay in the top 10 as long as Mulkey is there.
