Muffet McGraw stepping down

[creekdipper]

If anyone watched the development of Danielle Gitzen into Missori State's undisputed team leader over the last four years, the idea that she couldn't develop point guards might be disputed.

Went from role player as freshman to 1st Team MVC as senior (and MVC defensive team). Scoring increased steadily each year to end with over 13 ppg in final year. Great floor leader with a no-quit attitude.

During the 2019 Sweet Sixteen run, she scored 20 against DePaul, 10 against Iowa State, and 14 against Stanford. Not too shabby.

Brice Calip, who just completed her junior year there, is also an outstanding guard who continues to progress.

 

[volman128]

If anyone watched the development of Danielle Gitzen into Missori State's undisputed team leader over the last four years, the idea that she couldn't develop point guards might be disputed.

I never said Kellie has never developed a PG. I said that she hasn't shown the ability that Niele has shown, which is true, given the players that Niele has coached and also given the fact that Niele has coached in a bigger conference and on a bigger stage. Keep in mind when Niele became assistant after their 2007 season, ND was far from being the elite, consistent program that she played a huge role in it becoming a few years later. Ivey coached Skylar Diggins and Lindsey Allen, both of whom were AAs, in addition to Charel Allen and Tulyah Gaines, both of whom developed quite nicely in the pre-Diggins years, although Allen was a combo guard.

 

[CannonVol80]

I never said Kellie has never developed a PG. I said that she hasn't shown the ability that Niele has shown, which is true, given the players that Niele has coached and also given the fact that Niele has coached in a bigger conference and on a bigger stage. Keep in mind when Niele became assistant after their 2007 season, ND was far from being the elite, consistent program that she played a huge role in it becoming a few years later. Ivey coached Skylar Diggins and Lindsey Allen, both of whom were AAs, in addition to Charel Allen and Tulyah Gaines, both of whom developed quite nicely in the pre-Diggins years, although Allen was a combo guard.

And this portion of your statement suggests why your declaration that Kellie hasn't shown the ability Niele has shown is based on an improper comparison. Kellie hasn't had the type of player that you reference. I would be willing to bet that if Kellie had Diggins and Allen on her previous teams, you would be singing her praises as the better "developer" of PG talent. In my opinion, taking a player of lesser talent and making them a better player demonstrates the ability to develop a player. Not to say that the players Ivey coached didn't become better under her tutelage, but they started at a higher level. Your comparison, in that regard, doesn't have the two starting on an even basis and therefore doesn't demonstrate what you would like it to. Just my opinion.

Jim

 

[volman128]

And this portion of your statement suggests why your declaration that Kellie hasn't shown the ability Niele has shown is based on an improper comparison. Kellie hasn't had the type of player that you reference. I would be willing to bet that if Kellie had Diggins and Allen on her previous teams, you would be singing her praises as the better "developer" of PG talent. In my opinion, taking a player of lesser talent and making them a better player demonstrates the ability to develop a player. Not to say that the players Ivey coached didn't become better under her tutelage, but they started at a higher level. Your comparison, in that regard, doesn't have the two starting on an even basis and therefore doesn't demonstrate what you would like it to. Just my opinion.

Jim

I figured that would be brought up, but the circumstances are what they are. It's not an improper comparison, and it's nobody's problem that Kellie has never coached at an elite program while Ivey has (despite Kellie playing for a much more storied program), even though people forget that ND was not an elite program when Niele started there. The program got turned around in large part to her recruiting ability, which she has shown to be as good as anyone in the country, right up there with Shea Ralph at UConn. The fact that Ivey was the recruiting coordinator at ND during the years of building ND back into a powerhouse adds to, not detracts from, the argument. Ivey was pretty much solely responsible for Diggins going to ND, after Diggins was a Stanford lean for much of the recruiting process (despite being from South Bend), and even went through the trouble of applying to Stanford and getting accepted. It's not as if ND was raking in HS AAs on a consistent basis when Diggins decided to go there, and they hadn't been to a FF in nearly a decade when she got to campus.