MU Women's Basketball Thread

[Marquette Fan]

Marquette did update their roster page recently and Cam Taylor and Taylor Valladay are no longer listed as expected.  I find it interesting they list Nirel Lougbo as a redshirt sophomore but haven't updated the years of any of the other returning players (I'm pretty sure the redshirt listing is new).  I guess she had some injury causing her to miss the 20-21 season but I never heard anything about why she wasn't playing. 

It's also interesting to me that the two transfers are on the roster page but Marquette hasn't even put out a release about them joining the team.

Link to the roster page - https://gomarquette.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster?path=wbball

[shoothoops]

I could see her wanting to go back to her Alma Mater but she sure has coached at a lot of different schools.  She's now back at Vanderbilt for a second time and here are the other schools she's been at from the Vandy release: 

An assistant at Penn State for the past two seasons, Earley also has coaching stops at Northern Kentucky (2017-19), Virginia (2012-13), Marquette (2010-12), Rhode Island (2009-10), Tennessee Tech (2007-09) and Alabama (2006-07).

Grad assistant at Alabama. The next four jobs were moving up levels of teams/leagues. (TT, RI, MUWBB, UVA). She left UVA for Vandy the first time. Vandy had a head coaching change. So she then went from NKU to PSU. Then VU opened again. She's only 38. The projectory makes some sense.

The other assistants are Shea Ralph's husband, Tom Garrick, who is also a former Vandy assistant among other assistant and head coaching positions. Kevin Demille, former UConn assistant, as well as with Jen Rizzotti at GW.

[shoothoops]

I could see her wanting to go back to her Alma Mater but she sure has coached at a lot of different schools.  She's now back at Vanderbilt for a second time and here are the other schools she's been at from the Vandy release: 

An assistant at Penn State for the past two seasons, Earley also has coaching stops at Northern Kentucky (2017-19), Virginia (2012-13), Marquette (2010-12), Rhode Island (2009-10), Tennessee Tech (2007-09) and Alabama (2006-07).

By the way, Scott Merritt was cruising along as an MUWBB assistant for 6 seasons. Now, suddenly, he finds himself at his 3rd school in 3 seasons. And, he gets to add Associate Head Coach to his resume at Wisconsin under Moseley. It will be interesting to see how that goes for him, as well as the dynamics with MUWBB, recruiting etc...

[Marquette Fan]

By the way, Scott Merritt was cruising along as an MUWBB assistant for 6 seasons. Now, suddenly, he finds himself at his 3rd school in 3 seasons. And, he gets to add Associate Head Coach to his resume at Wisconsin under Moseley. It will be interesting to see how that goes for him, as well as the dynamics with MUWBB, recruiting etc...

I didn't get the chance to respond to your other post today.  Point taken - my opinion was not a good one...

[shoothoops]

LSU Women’s Basketball is expected to name Baylor Women’s Basketball Coach Kim Mulkey, as its next Head Coach, next week.

Louisiana native, 4 High School State Titles, 2 College National Titles as a player at Louisiana Tech, assistant on Louisiana Tech National Title team.

In 21 seasons as Head Coach at Baylor, she has won 2 National Titles, 12 regular season league titles, 3 Final Fours, six elite 8’s, the NCAA 2nd weekend or better, 15 times.

[shoothoops]

I didn't get the chance to respond to your other post today.  Point taken - my opinion was not a good one...

Your opinion was fine. She has been at several places. But she does seem to have moved up in leagues/positions in her stops as opposed to simply bounce around. She left Virginia for Vandy, and she left Penn St. for Vandy. Vandy of course is where she played. So it makes some sense.

It’s interesting because Earley overlapped Vandy’s AD Candice Storey Lee as a hoops player there. She also was an overlapping assistant with Shea Ralph’s husband, Tom Garrick previously. So it’s a little bit of getting the band back together with a new look.

I mentioned Scott Merritt because things can happen or change quickly sometimes as well as also being steady a long time. It varies, and sometimes even with the same person.

[Marquette Fan]

Your opinion was fine. She has been at several places. But she does seem to have moved up in leagues/positions in her stops as opposed to simply bounce around. She left Virginia for Vandy, and she left Penn St. for Vandy. Vandy of course is where she played. So it makes some sense.

It’s interesting because Earley overlapped Vandy’s AD Candice Storey Lee as a hoops player there. She also was an overlapping assistant with Shea Ralph’s husband, Tom Garrick previously. So it’s a little bit of getting the band back together with a new look.

I mentioned Scott Merritt because things can happen or change quickly sometimes as well as also being steady a long time. It varies, and sometimes even with the same person.

I also wondered for Merritt if he and his family wanted to be living back in Wisconsin.  Yes I know he's an associate head coach now so that surely comes with more money but also wonder about personal situations coming into play sometimes.

I wasn't sure if Jennie Baranczyk would ever leave Drake because she's from DesMoines and her parents still live there.  But I'm excited for her with the Oklahoma job and hoping she does well there - I'll be following her team there.

[Marquette Fan]

Taylor Valladay is transferring to Virginia:

https://www.instagram.com/p/COEeDNHHVF9/

That's where Shemera Williams originally went to after she decided not to come to Marquette after Kieger left for PSU.  But Williams then transferred to USC after one year at Virginia.  It doesn't look like Williams played this season at USC though from looking at the stats.  I found an article from November saying she was due to join USC in the spring.  USC has a coaching opening right now with Coach Mark Trakh announcing his retirement recently.

I haven't heard yet where Cam Taylor intends to transfer to.

So that's 4 of Kieger's last recruiting class who have moved on (and I realize that's not unusual):

Sharna Ayres who spent was an early enrollee at Marquette in January of Kieger's last season at MU.  After Kieger went to PSU, she transferred to LSU.

Destiny Strother left after one season and went to Pittsburgh

And now Cam Taylor and Taylor Valladay have left after their sophomore seasons.


That leaves Nirel Lougbo, Claire Kaifes and Jordan King from Kieger's last recruiting class - the one that was due to be incoming frosh right after she left.

[shoothoops]

LSU Women’s Basketball is expected to name Baylor Women’s Basketball Coach Kim Mulkey, as its next Head Coach, next week.

Louisiana native, 4 High School State Titles, 2 College National Titles as a player at Louisiana Tech, assistant on Louisiana Tech National Title team.

In 21 seasons as Head Coach at Baylor, she has won 2 National Titles, 12 regular season league titles, 3 Final Fours, six elite 8’s, the NCAA 2nd weekend or better, 15 times.

5pm Eastern Monday Presser:

https://twitter.com/lsuwbkb/status/1386442634969849861?s=21

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Some Twitter noise that Baylor didn't do much to keep her.

[shoothoops]

Some Twitter noise that Baylor didn't do much to keep her.

Mulkey is expected to make $2.5M/yr at LSU. (Her son also played baseball there recently)

[Marquette Fan]

Camryn Taylor has announced she's transferring to Virginia (this is where Taylor Valladay is also transferring to):

https://twitter.com/cam_24tay/status/1388878540712681473

[Dr. Blackheart]

Camryn Taylor has announced she's transferring to Virginia (this is where Taylor Valladay is also transferring to):

https://twitter.com/cam_24tay/status/1388878540712681473

Virginia is the new MU Transfer U.

[Marquette Fan]

This was a bit of a suprise - Baylor hires former Marquette player and current Atlanta Dream Coach Nicki Collen as their next coach - https://baylorbears.com/news/2021/5/3/womens-basketball-baylor-welcomes-collen-as-womens-basketball-head-coach.aspx

[Dr. Blackheart]

This was a bit of a suprise - Baylor hires former Marquette player and current Atlanta Dream Coach Nicki Collen as their next coach - https://baylorbears.com/news/2021/5/3/womens-basketball-baylor-welcomes-collen-as-womens-basketball-head-coach.aspx

Baylor AD Mack Rhoades, also Chico's best buddy, has Marquette roots back to 97.

[Galway Eagle]

Baylor AD Mack Rhoades, also Chico's best buddy, has Marquette roots back to 97.

I thought that was Tom Crean? Or whoever else the ever so slightly relevant name is that he needs to drop during a conversation.

[shoothoops]

Cleveland Cavalier assistant Lindsay Gottlieb is the new Women’s Head Coach at USC.

[Marquette Fan]

Itoro Coleman took an Assistant Coach job at North Carolina after one season at Marquette so there's an opening on Duffy's staff right now.

[shoothoops]

Itoro Coleman took an Assistant Coach job at North Carolina after one season at Marquette so there's an opening on Duffy's staff right now.

That’s understandable. There’s a recently hired new head coach at UNC. Better league. She spent many years at Clemson. She’s from the Southeast.

[Marquette Fan]

That’s understandable. There’s a recently hired new head coach at UNC. Better league. She spent many years at Clemson. She’s from the Southeast.

I still remember when she was a player at Clemson in 1997 and Marquette as a 12 seed pulled off a big upset over 5 seed Clemson that year - you didn't see many upsets like that in Women's Basketball back then.

[Marquette Fan]

Selena Lott got cut just before the regular season started by the Minnesota Lynx:

https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/lynx-waive-selena-lott-and-mikayla-pivec/n-5691369

[Marquette Fan]

I'm really enjoying watching Natisha Hiedeman play tonight and Kim Adams is giving her a lot of love talking about her great Marquette career .  She has set a career high tonight in a close game for the Sun - they are down 73-72 with about 3 minutes to go as I type this.

[Marquette Fan]

The Connecticut Sun won 86-78 tonight to go to 2-0 on the season.  Natisha Hiedeman had a career high 17 points on 6-12 shooting and had 4 steals.

Hiedeman has gotten starts in the first two games partly because Jasmine Thomas is out due to Covid protocols after recently returning to Turkey - she has to have 6 days of negative tests before she can join the Sun.  On the broadcast they said she may be back for their game Wednesday.

Their game Wednesday night versus the Indiana Fever is on CBS SportsNetwork again - 6P central.

[shoothoops]

DePaul is playing in the 2021 Thanksgiving Paradise Jam in St. Thomas. 4 teams, 3 games each team. They will play Arizona, Vandy, Rutgers.

[Marquette Fan]

DePaul is playing in the 2021 Thanksgiving Paradise Jam in St. Thomas. 4 teams, 3 games each team. They will play Arizona, Vandy, Rutgers.

I wonder if Marquette will play in a tournament in the 21-22 season.  They can't do the one they were supposed to do this season because fellow Big East member UCONN is in it this season.