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Mary Ashley Groot commits

Junior Mary Ashley Groot '23 was named the 2021-22 New York State Sportswriters Association Class C Player of the Year. She is the first Dalton student to receive such recognition.
The junior forward scored 24 points per game and averaged over 10 rebounds to lead Dalton to the NYSAIS Championship. She was also recently selected to compete for a spot on the U17 USA Basketball team this spring.
 
Junior Mary Ashley Groot '23 was named the 2021-22 New York State Sportswriters Association Class C Player of the Year. She is the first Dalton student to receive such recognition.
The junior forward scored 24 points per game and averaged over 10 rebounds to lead Dalton to the NYSAIS Championship. She was also recently selected to compete for a spot on the U17 USA Basketball team this spring.
Originally committed to Notre Dame?
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A 2020 write up says: versatile, mobile, good size and range. Has ability to face up on the perimeter and stretches interior defenders away from the basket. Nice left handed drive and can score when catching at the top of the key. She is a vocal encourager and leader. She reads screens well and creates opportunities for her teammates to score even when she doesn’t have the ball in her hands. Can play inside and out. Needs to improve her perimeter defense.
 
Sounds like she is a great player and person and unfortunately just another wing to add to the glut there while we have few to no posts and a shortage of point guards.
 
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She’s a 6’2 post player who is trying to expand her game to create more versatility like most post players are trying to do because the game is changing and KG is recruiting versatile posts that fit what she’s trying to do. We are never going to have a bunch of 6-4, 6’5 posts- that’s not her system. Jones is going to play PG along with Hoizer. I would think we will pick up another post player or experienced PG in the transfer portal in the spring.
 
good input. yes, I think we need both in transfer portal. Katie is doing well and these will be competitive teams. But eventually she needs to recruit some stars if we are to be national at all again. I am not dissing the players she got--good ratings--but the top teams always have some major players. If we don't get that then we may have to be content with good BT showings. Katie can coach and has that enthusiasm moxy that makes a difference. If Indiana can get up from the dregs, we can. Very much looking forward to her regime.
 
Is she related to Taylor Twellman (the retired soccer player and current broadcaster)? I noticed he has replied to some of her tweets including today's announcement.
 
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Also I think Ellis, Woltman and Terry all have their pandemic years available to them so they all may be return next season. I would bet on woltman and Ellis, but I think terry probably moves on to another school or pro career.
 
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She’s a 6’2 post player who is trying to expand her game to create more versatility like most post players are trying to do because the game is changing and KG is recruiting versatile posts that fit what she’s trying to do. We are never going to have a bunch of 6-4, 6’5 posts- that’s not her system. Jones is going to play PG along with Hoizer. I would think we will pick up another post player or experienced PG in the transfer portal in the spring.
Then we won't be nationally relevant. When teams can go 6'6" and 6'5" on their front line and you are countering with 6'2" and 6'1" you are going to lose the rebounding battle and the game. And eventually those 6'2" players that want to play on the perimeter will quit coming because they see KG using their predecessors playing D in the post and getting mauled. This is EXACTLY the way SV recruited, also with a small ball/small school coaching mindset.
 
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Well, Michael thanks for dumping on the parade. You may well be right, but there are successful teams in MBB also who don't have traditional bigs. I guess we'll have to see. KG is getting better players than SV did at the end of her tenure, higher rated and more versatile. Also there is a moxy in coaching that KG seems to have. But you may be right, but I hope not.
 
Then we won't be nationally relevant. When teams can go 6'6" and 6'5" on their front line and you are countering with 6'2" and 6'1" you are going to lose the rebounding battle and the game. And eventually those 6'2" players that want to play on the perimeter will quit coming because they see KG using their predecessors playing D in the post and getting mauled. This is EXACTLY the way SV recruited, also with a small ball/small school coaching mindset.
Every single year SV was here we had a 6’4 6’5 player who could barely run or jump clogging up the lane and slowing us down. It’s an old school way to look at the game and it’s how we eventually dropped as a program. Sure I’d love to get a 6’5 post who can run like a gazelle, guard all positions, shoot 3’s rebound inside and battle with posts. Problem is there is like maybe 5 of them per class in the entire country. So until we start making final fours they aren’t coming here.
 
Here’s footage of her junior season. Looks like a quick skilled post that can take a player off the bounce, pound down low, run the court and has great court vision. A perfect fit for KG’s system. also has the frame to bang down low with Big Ten bruisers, but def more finesse to her game.
 
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Well, Michael thanks for dumping on the parade. You may well be right, but there are successful teams in MBB also who don't have traditional bigs. I guess we'll have to see. KG is getting better players than SV did at the end of her tenure, higher rated and more versatile. Also there is a moxy in coaching that KG seems to have. But you may be right, but I hope not.
This isn't the men's game, and it's very rare to see an elite 8 wbb team without at least a competent 6'3"center or taller. UWisc has 5 girls 6'4" or taller on their roster or recruited, imagine how that can turn out.... And all our desire to run doesn't matter if you cannot rebound. The majority of the games you lose the rebounding battle you lose the game.... Playing small ball makes that problem more likely. It's a very common problem that coaches have moving up from mid majors and below, big players aren't a common problem on opposing teams to have to worry about. CKG frequently played five guard lineups at Marion, but that won't get you in the upper half of the Big Ten standings very often. I would love to be proven wrong, but this is supposedly an opinion board and I'm putting my thoughts out there.
 
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Yes, it is an opinion board. Let's see how the big Wisc girls do against our agility before we judge. But anyone could use a Greiner, but programs on the upswing don;t get them. KG is doing what she thinks can make a competitive team. First you compete at the top of the BT, then maybe you get the higher level players. Matt has shown it is not the ratings that make players. But truly he does pretty good with 7footers :)
 
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Oh my, our dear, delightful Michael is at it again. How blessed we are to have his with, charm and wisdom to regale us. Hmmmm, since he is such a maven of the hardwood he certainly remembers that before Alcindor, before Walton and before Nater there was a team that won two titles with nobody taller than 6-7. Guards like Hazzard and Goodrich made a difference. Basketball evolves, but the Warriors have shown that the Bigs no longer dominate unless they shoot well from three point range. Fans complain because we have make Bigs that clog the lane and Michael complains because we don’t have any female Bigs to clog the lane. Fasten your seat belts folks!
 
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Oh my, our dear, delightful Michael is at it again. How blessed we are to have his with, charm and wisdom to regale us. Hmmmm, since he is such a maven of the hardwood he certainly remembers that before Alcindor, before Walton and before Nater there was a team that won two titles with nobody taller than 6-7. Guards like Hazzard and Goodrich made a difference. Basketball evolves, but the Warriors have shown that the Bigs no longer dominate unless they shoot well from three point range. Fans complain because we have make Bigs that clog the lane and Michael complains because we don’t have any female Bigs to clog the lane. Fasten your seat belts folks!
Wow, I'm impressed grandpa, over 50 years ago a short team won it all on the men's side....... That really showed me how unnecessary having a decent big is in the women's game..... ROFL..... And once upon a time Milan won a state title so there should not need to be classes for high school basketball either.
 
We have the tallest player in Mens college basketball therefore, we should win every game? Height is important, but gets trumped by speed and agility. Our best rebounders are often not the tallest kid on the team.
I’d like to have a 6’8” center on this team, but you got to build around who you have, not who you want.
 
good input. yes, I think we need both in transfer portal. Katie is doing well and these will be competitive teams. But eventually she needs to recruit some stars if we are to be national at all again. I am not dissing the players she got--good ratings--but the top teams always have some major players. If we don't get that then we may have to be content with good BT showings. Katie can coach and has that enthusiasm moxy that makes a difference. If Indiana can get up from the dregs, we can. Very much looking forward to her regime.
No matter how good a recruiter Katie may be we are not going to be able to get many 4-5 star recruits based on our most recent seasons. IMO expecting CKG to do so already is unrealistic. She already has us so far ahead of the curve from last season we should all be counting our blessings…Go get‘em Katie!!!
 
Junior Mary Ashley Groot '23 was named the 2021-22 New York State Sportswriters Association Class C Player of the Year. She is the first Dalton student to receive such recognition.
The junior forward scored 24 points per game and averaged over 10 rebounds to lead Dalton to the NYSAIS Championship. She was also recently selected to compete for a spot on the U17 USA Basketball team this spring.
She may arguably be the best recruit in the 2023 class. The 2023 Class now has 5 players. All recruited by Katie. Not a top 10 Recruiting class nationwide and not as talented a recruiting class as she will have in the future when she finally starts landing top 20 rated prospects on a regular basis, and as this program continues to keep improving and starts receiving more pub and recognition under Katie, but a very solid class overall imho.
 
Then we won't be nationally relevant. When teams can go 6'6" and 6'5" on their front line and you are countering with 6'2" and 6'1" you are going to lose the rebounding battle and the game. And eventually those 6'2" players that want to play on the perimeter will quit coming because they see KG using their predecessors playing D in the post and getting mauled. This is EXACTLY the way SV recruited, also with a small ball/small school coaching mindset.
You must not follow national women's college basketball that closely then. Look at Iowa State, their tallest player last year was 6'3, and their best player was a skilled 6'1 5-man.

They got up to #6 in the country and beat multiple Big 12 teams with outstanding height. You don't need height to win every game. They are built around shooters and are very good year in and year out.

Win the national championship, sure - but in Year 2 of Gearlds you don't need a 6'6 kid to compete.

Look how she played at Marian and you can see she's doing the same thing here - it works.
 
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No matter how good a recruiter Katie may be we are not going to be able to get many 4-5 star recruits based on our most recent seasons. IMO expecting CKG to do so already is unrealistic. She already has us so far ahead of the curve from last season we should all be counting our blessings…Go get‘em Katie!!!
i consider this her first real recruiting class of her Purdue career. It doesn't have stars but I think she's getting her first real taste of P5 program recruiting and it will take some time to get stars to want to come to Purdue. I also think that she needs some assistants who are better recruiters, who have experience recruiting and signing elite players. That too will come in time imho.
 
i consider this her first real recruiting class of her Purdue career. It doesn't have stars but I think she's getting her first real taste of P5 program recruiting and it will take some time to get stars to want to come to Purdue. I also think that she needs some assistants who are better recruiters, who have experience recruiting and signing elite players. That too will come in time imho.
i consider this her first real recruiting class of her Purdue career. It doesn't have stars but I think she's getting her first real taste of P5 program recruiting and it will take some time to get stars to want to come to Purdue. I also think that she needs some assistants who are better recruiters, who have experience recruiting and signing elite players. That too will come in time imho.
My apologies…I evidently mistook your comments about her choice of staffing as criticism. Otherwise, I could see no other purpose for your comments….Painter in his early years at Purdue commented more than once one needed to look at recruiting like one would dating. If you know you are not in the same “ class” as the Prom Queen don’t ask her out and expect her to say yes. Let’s give Katie the same respect and opportunity to build her team and staff as we did CMP before selling her down the river.
 
Does anyone know how Sophia Swanson from Illinois is not ranked in the top 100? She was named the player of the year in Illinois as a junior and plays at the highest level played I believe?
 
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My apologies…I evidently mistook your comments about her choice of staffing as criticism. Otherwise, I could see no other purpose for your comments….Painter in his early years at Purdue commented more than once one needed to look at recruiting like one would dating. If you know you are not in the same “ class” as the Prom Queen don’t ask her out and expect her to say yes. Let’s give Katie the same respect and opportunity to build her team and staff as we did CMP before selling her down the river.
Nothing but respect for Katie...she needs a Frank Kendrick though imho. This will come in time. If this program truly wants to be a top 20 program again it starts and ends with recruiting. And all the elite programs have assistants who are elite recruiters. Not worried about it...its part of the process. It'll happen in due time.
 
Maybe her current assistants become elite recruiters as the program continues to grow and the product on the floor keeps getting more and more successful...we'll see. As more success occurs expectations will increase as well and recruiting garners more attention and the pipeline of elite players becomes more important....can this current group hang with the big dogs and thrive in the world of elite college WBB recruiting?
 
How does Katie lose a top 5 HS national recruit from here in Noblesville In to UConn? How does that happen? Katie shouldn't be losing those recruiting battles and hopefully she doesn't in coming years as her program becomes stabilized and garners more success. Those are the recruiting situations she needs to start winning. What if Stephanie White had gone to UConn? They can be game changers for your program.
 
Then we won't be nationally relevant. When teams can go 6'6" and 6'5" on their front line and you are countering with 6'2" and 6'1" you are going to lose the rebounding battle and the game. And eventually those 6'2" players that want to play on the perimeter will quit coming because they see KG using their predecessors playing D in the post and getting mauled. This is EXACTLY the way SV recruited, also with a small ball/small school coaching mindset.
Cry more about it. Then send Bobinski your resume.
 
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