mickey one

Great coaches don't always go out on a positive note. CTM last summer said she was on a "treadmill" and described last year's loss to Butler as "bitter", both of which made me wonder if she was not just fed up. Somewhat inexplicable is her inability to bag top 10 recruits, given that she successfully coached the national team twice recently. Yeah, Glenn Box has been doing a great job at Miami--they knocked off conference rival Ball State by 20 at Ball State. Maybe just need some renewed energy: Carly Thibault-DuDonis is on the verge of a 3rd straight MAAC championship at Fairfield. https://fairfieldstags.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/carly-thibault-dudonis/882

Agree, sadly. I remember last summer, she described coaching (from the season to the National Team) as a "treadmill", which seemed like an odd choice of words. When you view your job as a treadmill, it's probably time to look at alternatives, if there are any. She certainly has some + she must be well-provided for financially by now.

Seems like half of the offense is to take the ball to the hoop one-on-one (or one-on-many), and get it stuffed back in your face. If you don't have the ability to do that, then don't. Seems like eons ago where IU efficiently worked the ball to Holmes for deadly inside shots . . . or worked it to the open player like Scalia for a 3. Maybe Kadlecova leaving took a bigger toll than seemed evident at first.

So many weak links on this team. Only solids were Zania and Shay. The way is open next year, if Nyemchek, Battle, or Jackson can step up. Sad to lose to Iowa again.

She's #36 in the country? Who are the 35 girls in front of her? I don't know how they do these ratings?

Ordinarily, I would agree with you. But, I don't know who on the bench could contribute big time, if given a larger role. Seems like if they set Ondineme loose, she has the potential to do damage. Sad to see a team like Illinois get a bunch of players like Wallace and Parchment. They play immediately and contribute immediately.

We had this discussion last year, i.e. IU needs a few solid recruits to turn this ship around. Z was one such recruit. A Ciezki clone would also do the trick. Caffey & Makalusky are in the right direction. We need Nyemchek to turn out to be a Larry Bird reincarnation (like her coach says), and have Zoe snag 10 rebounds a game . . . and we are there. It's a slow process. Also, a tough process, unless you are UConn, South Carolina, LSU and can "stockpile". CTM has not been a "high charisma" recruiter, but maybe Colsten Thompson solves that "problem". Got to get back to the point where we can regularly beat up Illinois, Minnesota, Purdue (of course), Michigan State, etc.

Who do you have in mind? Everyone suspected this would be a down year, due to transfers, lack of big time recruiting, and apparent bad luck. And it's turning out to be that bad. It would be nice to get an occasional "sleeper", but that doesn't seem to be happening with Noyan, Stotjin, Kiaku, and Ondineme. Can't someone step up, and surprise us . . . in a good way? The path is wide open for Nyemchek, Battle, Jackson, et al.

CTM made a comment last year, to the effect that Valentyna was not doing well in her studies, and had to bear down on that. I was surprised to see her come back after that. So, maybe she just didn't really adjust. With the portal, and all that these days, you have to assume a certain number of players will probably leave. IU was lucky to get Maya, and she has been doing well.

Kayleigh Heckel was a freshman backup to another freshman at USC last year. She will be a sophomore backup at UConn next year. The only place Heckel reliably starts and gets major PT is on the national team! Jeez. You are accusing CTM of mere favoritism by including Zania on the team? Is there any evidence for that? Strange stuff for an IU fan base forum.

I think Zania deserves more time on the floor. I do not understand the "politics" of these national teams, i.e. who is on the team and who is not; who plays and who does not. Didn't the US shoot like 2 for 16 from 3 against Hungary? Wouldn't someone like Maya Makalusky fill that need for better 3-point shooting? Kayleigh Heckel is on the team again. You can't convince me she is going to play ahead of KK Arnold at UConn next year. And Heckel was a sub at USC last year behind other freshmen. How is she on the national team year after year? I guess the test will be whether this team can get past France and Canada. For CTM's sake, I hope they do.

Also from the article: CTM said she was eager and excited to meet the challenge of putting together this year's team. You would expect that from her and her competitive instincts. It should be an interesting year.

Fascinating article. This year was a little extreme with so many people leaving at once, but CTM makes it clear that this is the new way, i.e. dealing with agents, having recruits declare what their monetary expectations are, players literally GETTING PAID MONEY TO PLAY! In the old days, it was illegal; now it is the rule. Will high school recruits in the future (and not just portal transfers) all have agents? Will college basketball "stratify", with the Big Powers going all in on the $20 m., and lower level teams spending way less, or even remaining amateurs with no NIL?

I think Zania was a big pick-up. She was hot stuff coming out of high school, and has big upside (probably required NIL). Jade Ondineme would qualify as an "athletic upgrade", no? For "a sure thing", if you mean Olivia Miles, I don't know if that's really a good player to pursue. Big ego, one year, not building a team. With the new NIL universe, "sure thing" players are going to require big money, will demand PT, and won't stick around unless they win an NCAA championship, and might not be easy to coach (can you imagine benching Olivia Miles, after you pay her $1 m?). Seems like the "Belichick model" of identifying lower-cost or underappreciated talent to get under the salary cap is the way to go, if possible.

Greener pastures for them. Smaller stage, where they will probably be able to contribute more. It will be interesting to watch them this year.

Why would they want to come back? They found greener pastures, and I hope they thrive there.

Have enough to work with in a transition year. See who develops/steps up.

This "Rodriguez watch" is getting pretty anti-climactic. Personally, I'm interested to see if Caffey and Makalusky can make all-Freshmen Big 10, if they get a decent chance to play.

I don't see anything on the internet, including from Talia Goodman. Either a false alarm, or someone has an inside scoop.

Rodriguez certainly looks like she has a lot of talent and potential, but to the extent it has come down to Iowa & Indiana for her, it doesn't seem like a "sure thing" that she would break into the starting lineup at either place. At IU, you've got some considerable talent, some of it proven, some of it potential--like Beaumont, Caffey, Makalusky, Stotijn, Kiaku, Spreen, not to mention Ciezki; and then at least 2 bigs, be that Zania, Edessa, et al. Like with Kayleigh Heckel considering UConn--"are you sure you are going to break into the starting lineup there?". Good for IU to have the extra competition. Few positions nailed down in front of her at this point, so it depends on her confidence to compete for it.

I think the WNBA is pretty worthless--I could not tell you the teams' names and don't care who wins. April Reese said she did not make enough money to pay her rent. I think it's a mistake to regard it as some kind of "benchmark" as to a basketball player's ultimate worth (people talk that way sometimes). I think college basketball is now the ultimate forum for women's basketball (esp. with the new NIL rules). IMHO. As to Holmes, unbelievable talent. If she wants to continue in B-Ball at some level, I'm sure that will be possible for her. I will remember all the games where IU needed a bucket, and she delivered. Didn't seem possible, but she made it happen. Amazingly deadly shooter around the rim, and played with such determination.

Zania Edessa Faith Sydney Jade Somebody needs to step up. Go for it! Striplin last year was fearless--we need more of that. Good thing about Jade: her team won the JUCO national championship last year, and she was a starter.

Sleeper?

Apparently, NCAA schools can spend up to $23.1 m./year as a cap (Sports Illustrated says $20.5 m). I don't know how IU has decided to spend that, or how different teams (like football, men's and women's basketball) can compete within the school for that money. ["NCAA schools will be able to spend a maximum of $23.1 million each year, and that cap will increase on a yearly basis during the ten-year-long settlement agreement. The spending limit is based on a formula that gives NCAA athletes 22% of the money the average power conference school makes from media rights deals, ticket sales, and sponsorships. Time will tell if this settlement raises more questions than answers for NCAA schools." From McCarter & English attorney website.]