Which College Coaches Are Best At Developing WNBA Players?

[@MiguelRivera-qr1sp]

I think Muffet McGraw was worth mentioning even tho retired. Since Skylar diggins-smith they’ve had some decent success with players transitioning into the league, especially guards. I think Niele really built the program back up since McGraw retired, but within a few years you’ll see more ND players in the league. Great content tho man! Keep it up :)

[@HunterCruse14]

Thank you! Yeah, Muffet is one of the best ever. I considered including her, but I wanted to keep it to active coaches and coaches who just retired

[@ak_hoops]

She developed Guard U!

[@TransGuyReacts]

Totally agree that Gottlieb has great potential to be an impactful coach. She really put her mark on Cal and Layshia Clarendon has had a long successful career. I look forward to seeing who else Lindsay develops past Juju.

[@Sorceroussundries]

Great video! Kinda disappointing that Kim doesn’t seem to care about developing a player to be successful in the league. People like Angel or Flau’jae might’ve benefitted from being under Geno or Dawn

[@Ariamallo]

wtf you mean that is cap

[@taylorreed6831]

That what she knows. She not on the same level. She’s good, but I think the top coaches connect with players, letting them know regardless of who they think they are, those coaches keep raising the bar, and that’s what a true player wants.

[@Ariamallo]

@@taylorreed6831 yall are stupid

[@ak_hoops]

@@Ariamallo Yea I'm confused cause Dijonai is feeding, NaLyssa been an All-Star, Britney Griner will be in the Hall of Fame, Angel became top in the country with her time at LSU.

[@brorick5472]

Great video.

[@mikailbumpus692]

Thank you Hunter! Another Great Topic, with Excellently detailed Commentary. As a newbie to the league, and learning about all the players and coaches, I don’t have enough knowledge as of yet, to really say much more than thank you again Hunter, because I learn alot from watching your videos and all the detailed information you gather and put together. And in any case this was a fantastic List of Coaches and Detailed Information 👍

[@HunterCruse14]

Thank you sir!

[@mikailbumpus692]

@@HunterCruse14 Your welcome Hunter 👍

[@Kelly_HornsUp]

Hunter, I enjoyed the video. The different types of analysis is very informative. One up 'n coming coach to keep an eye on is Oklahoma's Jenny Baranczyk. She has taken Oklahoma up a couple levels in a short time. The SEC is going to be crazy next year with SC. LSU. Texas. OK, and Tennessee, etc. Vic Shaeffer is starting to recruit at an elite level which should give Texas a better chance against teams like Uconn and SC.

[@RustyLou18]

SEC, the BEST and STRONGEST conference in all of WCBB.

[@IIVIRAL1TY]

Keep this up bro this is amazing

[@HunterCruse14]

Thanks, will do!

[@TravisGarnett]

@12:42 - Tomekia Reed is a "rising st🌟r!" Also, Lindsay Edmonds is 🦉-ing in Houston. 👏🗣Great work, as usual, #Hunter_Cruse!

[@HunterCruse14]

Thanks, agreed, Tomekia is awesome

[@TheEricBrandNYC]

That is correct Anriel Howard wrestles in WWE NXT brand as Lash Legend

[@gman1474]

I know this is abt current coaches but Notre Dame has put some incredible players in the W. And they have more coming

[@HunterCruse14]

Yes, I mentioned Ivey towards the end of the vid!

[@AtomEdmonds]

I’m a big fan of Shea Ralph, Is that guy from Louisville not under 50?

[@RichardIILionheart]

Is development recruiting top high school players and not screwing them up too badly? Or is development recruiting second echelon high school players and having them WNBA ready four years later? It rather changes the answer to the question of which coach is best at developing players.

[@HunterCruse14]

@@RichardIILionheart I think it’s both. There’s tons of top recruits who just don’t pan out because of lack of development in college after just being more athletic than everyone in HS

[@clampsgiveup9235]

BANGER

[@missdramaqueen3315]

Nalyssa smith Odyssey sims

[@Idklemmesee]

Odyssey being released hurt my soul😔

[@djfoodanddrank]

@@Idklemmesee She got picked up by the Sparks if you hadnt seen

[@Idklemmesee]

@@djfoodanddrank yeah I seen it but they probably won't keep her😔

[@quinnakbar3080]

Plz make the wnba new teams video

[@HunterCruse14]

@@quinnakbar3080 Like where I think teams will play?

[@quinnakbar3080]

Yea

[@ak_hoops]

Why'd you exclude NaLyssa Smith & Britney Griner? Kim isn't Dawn but she's produced star talent Now I see, you're measuring making the league vs. succeeding. I feel like it's important to mention how they succeed after being drafted, that's true sign of development.

[@HunterCruse14]

NaLyssa played for a different coach as a senior & that’s where she started to actually take more 3s and overall had her best season

[@missdramaqueen3315]

Brittney griner

[@charliedoyle7824]

None of the famous women's college coaches have taught players to shoot well, yet shooting is the most important skill in basketball. It's hard to find a star athlete in a major college program who came in as a bad shooter, and left able to shoot well. These coaches just don't teach shooting technique, which is really dumb. The good shooters all have come in as good shooters, such as Paige and Azzi at Uconn, Sonia Citron at Notre Dame. Cam Brink improved at shooting at Stanford, but she had a good shooting form coming in, and on her own she improved a bit. If Tara van Deveer had taught Haley Jones to shoot, she might have a chance to be a serious WNBA guard, also Lexie Hull can't dribble or shoot much. Same with Aaliyah Edwards at UConn, Olivia Nelson-Ododa is an awful shooter with a perfect WNBA body, and Nika Muhl has a terrible shot. Dawn Staley, same thing with all her players such as Boston, Amihere, Victaria Saxton, Brie Beal, now Raven Johnson. We'll see if Niele Ivy can teach Hannah Hidalgo to shoot. I doubt it, despite it being the one big flaw in her game that could prevent them from a national championship.

[@eniola8062]

Nika is a 40% 3 pt shooter and Aaliyah has a wonderful mid range shot so idk what you’re even saying also these coaches aren’t meant to develop your skills like shooting they tell you that you need to develop it if you don’t then that’s on you a coach can’t force a player to become better they have to want to so this argument makes no sense

[@eniola8062]

Also you saying Hannah hidalgo can’t shoot is actually making me cackle

[@charliedoyle7824]

@@eniola8062 Nika can't shoot on a professional level. She has learned to hit wide-open 3s, at least for one year, but her release is way too slow, and she can't shoot at all off the bounce or from mid-range. It's the kind of shot that will probably be inconsistent as she tries to speed it up. That's not gonna work as a WNBA point guard; she needs to develop a real shooting stroke. Aaliyah, I assume you mean Edwards, does not have a wonderful mid-range shot. She is terrible at distance control and free throws, and is not at all effective at making shots consistently, except layups. She needs to adjust her mechanics for better distance control, by using her lower body more and having a slightly higher arc and more-forward release, and then lots of work on having consistent feel for the distances. She could watch Emma Meeseman for a good example, or of course Sabrina or plenty of other elite shooters. If you mean Aaliyah Boston, she does have ok shooting mechanics, but Dawn Staley didn't teach it to her, and it could improve. She came into the W as a mediocre mid-range shooter and a non-3 shooter. She is improving now. Your idea that shooting should be up to the individual is silly. It's the most important skill in the game, and the difference in most games between winning and losing, along with defense. NBA teams have figured this out and now use shooting-mechanics coaches and shot-arc tracking machines with instant feedback. Many players in recent years have gone from lousy shooters to very good, in a few years, often noticeably better in one year. Reed Sheppard used the machine to become an elite shooter in one year. It's just a matter of wanting a serious shooting program. Sooner or later these big-time coaches will wake up and start shooting programs. It's low-hanging fruit. UConn could have won another championship if they had more than Paige doing the shooting the last few years. Caroline can't shoot reliably, and hasn't improved or changed at all under Geno, same with everybody else not named Paige or Azzi; these two players learned how to shoot as little kids. It's not that hard, it just requires knowing what you're doing, which is not a valid description of any of these big-time women's college coaches. They also need to teach dribbling far more. Golf swings, NFL QB mechanics, baseball swings, now NBA shooting, they all are taught precisely and obsessively by pro mechancs coaches, with great success.

[@charliedoyle7824]

@@eniola8062 Hannah Hidalgo can't shoot 3s or longer 2s or FTs as well as she should; it's the weakest part of her otherwise stellar game. She is awesome at finishing at the rim, and can hit some 3s, but she is quite inconsistent. She could probably muddle along with her current mechanics and still be a good WNBA guard, because she's not terrible, but she won't be elite unless she becomes a serious shot-maker. Niele should recognize this and change her shot now while she's young, or even better, in her first summer camp it should have started. She is the kind of point guard who has the ball all the time. She needs to be able to hit shots like Courtney Vandersloot, Caitlin, Plum, Chelsey Gray, etc., if she wants to live up to her huge potential and be a big star. And it's obvious that she does want to be the best. Olivia Miles is worse and in very serious need of intervention at shooting. She's basically a non-shooter, but a WNBA athlete and elite speed and transition guard and good passer and WNBA-level dribbler. If she doesn't learn to shoot, she'll be similar to Haley Jones, almost but not quite. Shooting is the most important skill in the game. I doubt Niele Ivey will do anything about it, likely because she doesn't understand the problem.

[@RustyLou18]

I agree with you 95%, but Azzi Fudd has not been on the floor enough to prove any "good" shooting for me.

[@ladyvolshoopsfan]

Jeff Walz IMO has probably been the best coach at developing guards in the country over the last 15 years and getting them ready for the W and the international ranks. Even when he was at Maryland and helped develop Kristi Toliver and Marissa Coleman.

[@RustyLou18]

If Pat Summit were alive today, she would be second ONLY to Dawn Staley.

[@ladyvolshoopsfan]

@@RustyLou18 If Pat Summit were alive and well she would be trying to create the next best big with a defensive prowess in a half court set

[@RustyLou18]

Geno has been around way too long, Dawn Staley is a FAR better coach in a lot less time. She knows how to prepare her players for the next level because the NEXT level requires TEAM play, not individual.

[@bennybenson5]

It took Geno 10yrs at UConn to get his first title. Dawn has been a head coach since 2000 (temple) and didn’t get her first until 2017 so I wouldn’t say it’s a lot less time. If we wanna compare current schools tho it took dawn 9yrs at SC to get her first title

[@ak_hoops]

This!

[@Idklemmesee]

Kim Mulkey isn't really that great of a coach in my opinion.

[@KelzKelz]

thought you was going to say Victaria Saxton for Staley developing a not top 30.

[@HunterCruse14]

Saxton was a top 30 recruit

[@RustyLou18]

@@HunterCruse14 And we have not seen Vic at her best, Fever coach is wasting her talents.

[@charliedoyle7824]

@@RustyLou18 the problem is, Vic can't shoot or dribble, and isn't big enough to just play under the rim. There are not many places in the W for players who can't shoot or dribble, unless they are huge like Kamilla. If she doesn't improve at least her shot, she won't be in the league much longer.

[@KelzKelz]

@@charliedoyle7824 why Grace Burger don't play?

[@charliedoyle7824]

@@KelzKelz because Caitlin Clark is so good that the coach thinks she needs to be out there as the point guard at least 35 minutes, and the better backup point is Erica Wheeler. Grace could play 2-guard, but Wheeler, Hull, and Wallace are ahead of her. Grace's problem is she isn't a natural point guard; she doesn't make much happen with the ball. She isn't a 3-point shooter, and her mid-range is ok but not good enough for the coach to ever think that she needs Grace to go out and hit a shot. Wallace is a slightly better shooter, and so is Hull, and Wheeler is overall more versatile and aggressive. To stick in the league, Grace needs to either improve her shot or dribble, penetration, dish game, and make more happen in transition. I doubt any team is looking at grabbing her if Indiana cuts her. She has good size and is kinda tough and plays defense and rebounds; she's pretty good, but barely hanging on because of her skills mediocrity. Maybe league expansion will give her more time to develop, but there are always more guards coming into the league who are at least as good, including a few from Europe this year like Vanloo and Uzun. Grace is another example of major college coaches not teaching shooting. Her shooting stroke is weird, with a 2-hand push that isn't ideal for shooting straight, and her arc is a bit low. Her shot isn't likely to improve. Her college coach should have addressed it as a freshman.

[@zealazax6287]

Give Diana Turasi a break. She is going through a learning curve since reality has come 😂 and to Geno who talked crap about Caitlin Clark, yes she is better than Diana Turasi and she just proved it through her game