PartyBear said:

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Are these the same level of players we have been offering over the past 15 or so years?

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DFW Bill said:

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One reason Maddie Cox dropped from the Top 25 is she played Volleyball for Flower Mound and the team went into a deep playoff run, only played 8 or 9 basketball games this season. She is like Lauren in that she was outstanding in Volleyball as a Sophomore. Maddie will go to Baylor or LSU, but if it is somewhere else, it will be with Sammie Wagner, they are bonded at the waist.

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TxRainMkr said:

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Cox' Dad wore a "Kim Mulkey Is My Homegirl" shirt to about every away game Lauren's senior year.

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setshot said:

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Mulkey's sudden departure was a surprise for everyone, probably for Mulkey, as well, since LSU had, at least in the formal sense, a coach in place there despite rumors that she would be replaced. Had Mulkey not phoned in, the probability is that LSU would not have had her high on the list of coaches both desirable and accessible. I was among those who thought that she would be at Baylor until she retired, as there were many reasons for that and not too many that seemed too promising otherwise. If that was indeed what Kim Mulkey wanted, then I am glad for her.

My skeptical reaction to those who suspected that she might be attracted to the LSU position reminded me of the Union General John Sedgwick, who said to his troops, "I'm ashamed of you, dodging that way. They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." Shortly thereafter a Confederate bullet struck his skill and killed him.
Not to be too dramatic about this, but Mulkey's decision made my reassurances to my fellow posters look similarly foolish, and I don't hesitate to confess it as such.

Meantime, our former coach left the Lady Bear program in fine shape for next year and in terrible shape for the year or two following, overloaded with senior personnel and woefully thin below that. Her departure immediately brought defections, as every event of that kind now does as a result of the loosening of transfer rules. It is rare that early commits stay with their commitment when the coaches who recruit them leave, but sometimes they come back to the commitment when they are recruited by the new staff. I think that both Wagner and Cox may do that, but if they choose otherwise, while regrettable, it is well within the bounds of normal practice in today's recruitment. It is a wait and see situation with both, but I think that Baylor has a good chance there.

What we must not do is rush to fill spots on the roster with prospects and projects who are not promising in terms of quality. Some are needed, but Mulkey had three years to fill the pipeline following the departure of Grayson and DeCosta, and the graduation of several others and Andrews is the only high school commitment on the roster to show for it. Owens was highly recruited and her transfer was thought to be advantageous, but she rarely played last year so we don't know how she fits. The other transfers are one year rentals, useful but of no long term significance.

In short, Collen has her work cut out for her. The condition of the program as currently constituted appears to be healthier than it in fact is...we have a one year reprieve before the recruiting results of the past three years becomes a problem of severe proportions. The new staff will have minutes on the floor to dangle in front of portal transfers and high school prospects and that is a two edged sword.

Abraham Lincoln once said that "We must not promise what we ought not, lest we be called on to perform what we cannot." The same thing can be said about what we do on this board, where over hoping leads to over hyping, and vice versa. Collen may or may not justify our hopes for her, but she deserves more patience than our short recollections of the past two decades dictate for her. Mulkey was both very good and very lucky, as all the great coaches must be, and while luck may be the residue of preparation, the fact that a gangly 6'8" sophomore came to a Baylor summer camp and committed two years ahead of time is unlikely to be replicated, either for Collen, or for that matter, Mulkey. That commitment formed the foundation for Baylor dominance for over a decade.

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