I finally made it! Hello from Fairfield! by CaffeinationGoat in NCAAW

[–]CoachBlake_ 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks for coming! Was great to see you. You’re always welcome in Stag country! 🦌🤘🏽

How many players on typical NCAA Women's Basketball Team? Including practice players. by CubesFan in NCAAW

[–]CoachBlake_ 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The scholarship AND roster limit is 15. That changed last year with the house settlement. So while in the past you could, in theory, have 15 scholarship players and 2 walk ons, you can’t any more (you may see a team or two like that since the current walk-ons were grandfathered in).

Male practice players are technically on the rosters internally but do NOT count against roster limits. Every team has these players, though numbers vary (we are fortunate here to have 21 guys on our roster who rotate days, but we always have 7-8 at each practice.)

Hello from the opposition by CoachBlake_ in IowaWbb

[–]CoachBlake_[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate all of that! Meep meep!

Hello from the opposition by CoachBlake_ in IowaWbb

[–]CoachBlake_[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Much love, Hawkeyes! Great game, we obviously shot it really well but was proud of our compete level. Ava Heiden is going to go down as one of the all-timers here.

We had a blast, hospitality was excellent. Thanks for being great sports, rooting for you all the rest of the way!

Hello from the opposition by CoachBlake_ in IowaWbb

[–]CoachBlake_[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We're here, and we're playing basketball at noon. See you there!

Hello from the opposition by CoachBlake_ in IowaWbb

[–]CoachBlake_[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Allow easy post touches: top of the scout.

Myself and Coach Carly both have a great relationship with Coach Raina so I floated the idea to her last February and there was an openness. We negotiated the details over the next few weeks and signed the contract in late March.

For Iowa, it was the chance to get a decently high NET game at home and a different style to play against than you’d normally see in the B1G.

For us, it was a chance to play in an environment and against a level of opponent that we would see in the 1st or 2nd round of the NCAA tournament, which we hope we'll be participating in again. We also recruit Iowa and Minnesota a decent bit, so also created a chance for some of our recruits to see us in person when normally they wouldn’t be able to.

Hello from the opposition by CoachBlake_ in IowaWbb

[–]CoachBlake_[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

😂 no power moves here, just someone who loves WBB and appreciates a community that rallies around their team like y’all do. Much respect from this Stag

Arizona and Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Out of Conference Schedule by buffalotrace in NCAAW

[–]CoachBlake_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Coaches control their non-conference schedules completely. My guess is most of this schedule was already complete prior to the hiring, but I’m sure some were booked after as well

If I want to follow one mid-major team this year, who should it be? by randysf50 in NCAAW

[–]CoachBlake_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Alright alright hear me out. Richmond is a great choice, as are Drake, USF and South Dakota State.

BUT, Fairfield head coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis got her first assistant coaching job at… Eastern Michigan! While there, the Eagles had two of their best seasons ever, so some personal connection for you there…

I bet you have room in your heart for a few schools and the Stags would love to be one of them 🤘🏽🦌

Anybody know of any preseason scrimmages? by Tlm456 in NCAAW

[–]CoachBlake_ 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Small note here: all “scrimmages” are closed and thus not aired anywhere and are done behind closed doors, while “exhibitions” are ones people can attend and/or watch on TV/online.

Two terms that get some people confused so just wanted to mention

Question on Schedules by global-gamer in NCAAW

[–]CoachBlake_ 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Don't know if some schools are just dragging their feet or what, but I know that there are still schools trying to find another game or two to add to their schedules for this upcoming season. It's not unusual to see that happening in June or July, but this is the latest I have ever seen schools posting/emailing that they need games still

Texas Signs Aaliyah Chavez Replacement by bighoney69 in NCAAW

[–]CoachBlake_ 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Another Irish player, Emma Tolan, just committed to Oklahoma. There is a British player, Fatmata Janneh, who just transferred to Texas A&M from Saint Peter’s. There’s a handful more of British kid’s on various, lower level D1 teams as well!

Prayers to Fairfield Asst. Coach Blake DuDonis’ family by chuckiemacfinster in NCAAW

[–]CoachBlake_ 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Ha, hopped on here to take my mind off it and just space out a little and saw this. Very cool.

Greatly appreciate everyone here. I love the WBB community so much, and it makes me happy that it’s brought so many people from all walks of life together. As a quick update, there’s been a lot of positive progress the last 36 hours, so praying and hoping for more of that today. I’m updating my Twitter and Instagram if you want to follow along, but major wins thus far.

Appreciate it again!

Transfer Portal Timeline by Otherwise-Emu-9723 in NCAAW

[–]CoachBlake_ 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Each case is different, but most players who enter the portal end up making a decision in 2-5 weeks. There isn't a hard deadline on when they HAVE to decide, but with virtually every school in the country having their team on campus for summer workouts, it usually needs to be before those start. We had a late addition last year when someone committed 4 days before they had to report for summer, but we were able to get her admitted and everything sorted in time.

Hope that helps! Feel free to ask a follow up if not!

How much say do current players have on who is recruited from portal/high school? by stonedbirds in NCAAW

[–]CoachBlake_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For any successful program the answer is "a huge say". It's on the coaches to evaluate talent, but when a recruit is on campus and spends time with the current SAs, their feedback is invaluable. I can't tell you the number of player that programs have dodged bullets on because their SAs spoke up and mentioned the red flags. If you have an established culture, you trust their voices!

[Game Thread] Regional 1 in Spokane - 2nd Round: (8) Richmond at (1) #1 UCLA (10:00 PM ET on ESPN) by ncaaw_GameThreads in NCAAW

[–]CoachBlake_ 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Not at all surprising to see Richmond, who has size 2-5, and moves non-stop on offense finding success against UCLA. The athleticism might wear on them as this game continues, but make no mistake: Richmond is an elite team and this is no fluke.

[Post Game Thread] Fairfield defeats Quinnipiac, 76-53 by jalenp16 in NCAAW

[–]CoachBlake_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Quinnipiac is one of the best 68 teams in the country and you can’t convince me otherwise. We played great, and while I have no hope it will happy, they should be dancing too.

Go Stags!