[2006alum]

USB coaching change a big upgrade? Really? That seems like a stretch.

First and foremost, I was talking from a recruiting standpoint. And yes, Ivey was the recruiting ace in the hole for the Domers for a long time, and it was not a coincidence their recruiting and retention went off a cliff when she it became widely anticipated that she would likely be leaving once her son graduated high school. Muffet is a brilliant tactician and motivator, but Ivey was probably even better liked by most Domer players and the loyalty to her is profound for an assistant coach.

And I agree that while it will be TBD for several seasons whether Ivey and Lawson are coaches for the ages, we have always had a small number of recruits we can target and the Domers and Dook are two of the schools that are competitive for those kinds of recruits. We have lost recruits to both of them in the past, including Miles and Citron right after Ivey came on board. The only other place we regularly lose recruits to is Geno, and that is pretty apples and oranges.

So as recruiters, Ivey has already shown her prowess. And what 17-year-old wouldn't want to be coached by a WNBA/Women's National Basketball legend who can help them navigate everything from college to pro ball to off-court basketball opportunities? As for Schaefer, he has been to as many national championship games in the past 4 seasons as Tara has in the past 28, and he did it without a single McDonald's A-A recruit. Recall that three of our best players in the past 20 years have been Texas natives (Nneka, Chiney, and Kiana Williams), and two others who were highly impactful (Amber Orrange and Lili Thompson) also went to HS in Texas. 

I am not kidding when I say that from a recruiting competition standpoint, the past three months have been worse for us than the past five seasons combined.

[2006alum]

USB coaching change a big upgrade? Really? That seems like a stretch.

First and foremost, I was talking from a recruiting standpoint. And yes, Ivey was the recruiting ace in the hole for the Domers for a long time, and it was not a coincidence their recruiting and retention went off a cliff when she it became widely anticipated that she would likely be leaving once her son graduated high school. Muffet is a brilliant tactician and motivator, but Ivey was probably even better liked by most Domer players and the loyalty to her is profound for an assistant coach.

And I agree that while it will be TBD for several seasons whether Ivey and Lawson are coaches for the ages, we have always had a small number of recruits we can target and the Domers and Dook are two of the schools that are competitive for those kinds of recruits. We have lost recruits to both of them in the past, including Miles and Citron right after Ivey came on board. The only other place we regularly lose recruits to is Geno, and that is pretty apples and oranges.

So as recruiters, Ivey has already shown her prowess. And what 17-year-old wouldn't want to be coached by a WNBA/Women's National Basketball legend who can help them navigate everything from college to pro ball to off-court basketball opportunities? As for Schaefer, he has been to as many national championship games in the past 4 seasons as Tara has in the past 28, and he did it without a single McDonald's A-A recruit. Recall that three of our best players in the past 20 years have been Texas natives (Nneka, Chiney, and Kiana Williams), and two others who were highly impactful (Amber Orrange and Lili Thompson) also went to HS in Texas. 

I am not kidding when I say that from a recruiting competition standpoint, the past three months have been worse for us than the past five seasons combined.