Looking at the landscape if Wilson chooses South Carolina

[bballnut90]

Maybe, but IMHO SC is not nearly as good as their record or their ranking. Who exactly have they played? Not really a single top 10 team. Kentucky is showing they are no where near the top 10. UNC back in early December? Ok. The SEC is very solid this year, but I don't think a single team is final 4 material.

Clearly there are a lot of games left, but they have played a real cupcake schedule. They beat Winthrop by 8, squeaked past Arkansas by 4, beat a lousy Auburn team by 6, Vandy by 4 and Mississippi State by 7, and aTm in OT. Most of those teams just aren't any good, and SC "squeaked" past them.

You can argue they haven't beat top opponents, but NO ONE has proven to be Final Four material outside of UCONN and ND. Look at the rest of the top 10:
Stanford:
Win a close one at home vs. Tennessee.
Lose to 15-10 Washington less than 2 weeks ago. Throttled by UCONN on the road.

Louisville:
0 wins against top 15 teams
Overtime wins against Oklahoma and Florida State
Lost to Kentucky and blown out by UCONN.

Baylor:
2 wins against struggling #12 Oklahoma State (who was just blown out by 32 to West Virginia)
Lost by 16 at Kansas and to Kentucky in Texas

Duke:
Home wins vs. #14 NC State, blew out #8 Maryland, no other wins against current top 15 teams unless you count their win vs. Kentucky
Blown out at home by UCONN, Notre Dame, and lost by 11 at home against UNC

Maryland:
Only win vs. team in current top 15 is @ UNC.
Losses to Duke, Notre Dame, Connecticut, NC State and a bad 14 point loss to 13-13 Virginia.

Penn State:
No wins vs. top 15
Lost to San Diego State, @ home vs. unranked Iowa, @ home to #21 Purdue

Tennessee:
Beat North Carolina by 16 early in the season, no other wins vs. top 15 teams.
Lost to Kentucky at home, @ Vanderbilt, vs. #19 LSU

Now look at South Carolina:
Only top 15 win was a blow out at Kentucky (won by 23 points), and beat Kentucky at home by 9
Only losses are a road game @ Texas A&M in OT, and vs. UNC on a neutral court in a tight game back in December.

South Carolina also recently crushed LSU on the road. South Carolina has 0 bad losses (unlike Stanford, Baylor, Maryland, Penn State and Tennessee), a better resume of wins than Louisville, and no blowout losses unlike Duke. It's also worth mentioning, in those closer games you mentioned, South Carolina never trailed in the 2nd half (excluding 19 seconds in the first minute against Auburn.)


South Carolina is extremely young and athletic. At this point, I think they've proven to be the 3rd most impressive team in the nation. At this point, I think they have to be considered a #1 seed and Final Four favorite. They still have a date at Tennessee and the SEC tournament, but even if they lose 1 more game this year, I'd still put them as the #3 overall seed ahead of Duke, Baylor, Stanford, or Louisville unless Duke/Louisville can upset Notre Dame/UCONN.

Return everyone in your rotation, and add in a top post player and the top recruit in the class who slides in perfectly on the wing, and you have a team that is a Final Four favorite and championship contender in the next few years, especially considering the talent that other top teams (ie. Notre Dame/Connecticut) will be losing.

 

[bballnut90]

Yes, it's interesting and rather difficult in determining just how strong a team's schedule is. For instance:

Louisville (currently ranked #3): They beat LSU - but a nobody team as you say that's on their way out of the top 25, and currently 25th-ranked Rutgers. Lost to UConn and a crappy UK team that you say is moving out of the top 20. And that's it. Haven't even PLAYED anyone else, much less beat them..

Stanford (currently ranked #5): They beat top-10 ranked UT, then Purdue, Gonzaga, and beat both Arizona St. and Cal twice each. But those teams other than UT are all ranked in the top 20-25, like UK and LSU so they are all crappy teams. Stanford lost to UConn...

Baylor (currently ranked #6): They beat Okie State twice. That's it. Top-15 team that's gone 3-4 their last 7 gms and heading out of the top 20, like UK and LSU. Baylor lost to crappy UK and UConn...

Duke (currently ranked #7): They beat top-10 Maryland, then beat Cal, Purdue, crappy UK, and NC St. All teams that fall into your "crappy" category. Duke lost to Uconn, ND, and UNC...

Maryland (currently ranked #8): They beat UNC, and that's it. Lost to UConn, Duke, NC St., and ND...

Penn State (currently ranked #9): They beat Texas A&M and Purdue. Lost to UConn, ND, and Purdue...

Those are 6 of the top 10 teams currently ranked: they have all of TWO (2) wins against currently top-10 ranked opponents thus far. They have combined for TEN (10) losses to teams currently ranked top-10. The rest of their wins against ranked opponents are all of the "crappy" variety like UK and LSU, by your standards. So by your argument, those teams are all like USC and haven't really beaten anyone yet. Right?

But here's something else: what do all those teams have in common? They all lost to UConn - SIX (6) of their 10 losses are to UConn. So perhaps by your argument, UConn hasn't really played anyone yet, if the majority of their wins against top-25 opponents are these teams? Right?

You just beat me to the punch!

 

[UConnCat]

But here's something else: what do all those teams have in common? They all lost to UConn - SIX (6) of their 10 losses are to UConn. So perhaps by your argument, UConn hasn't really played anyone yet, if the majority of their wins against top-25 opponents are these teams? Right?

Well, no. What it says to me is that UConn will end up playing more games against the current top 10 teams than any other team. Notre Dame will come in second. That says both teams have earned their rankings and will be battle-tested. As for the other teams, we'll have to see what happens over the next few weeks. South Carolina isn't more proven than the other contenders for #1 seeds at this point.

 

[meyers7]

Do I expect you all to respect or like CVS? No. I understand your dislike for her. Although her & Geno seem to be way past it. So there's that.

Fans are much better at holding grudges than players or coaches.

 

[Coler]

Fans are much better at holding grudges than players or coaches.

I can understand that. I still hate Tennessee with a passion over "Clockgate".

 

[UConnCat]

Next year they will all return with a load of experience, and they will add TWO McDonalds AA and THREE 5* talents to their roster. Regardless of what happens with Wilson. I think beginning with next season there will be much greater expectations for USC than just being a FF team...

Three 5* players? By whose ranking?

 

[bballnut90]

Hoopgurlz. White is #7, Duckett #32, Cuevas #44. Realistically I don't see Cuevas or Duckett having a huge roles next year but both will add greater depth to the backcourt. White has a tough task of stealing minutes from the other frontline players, but South Carolina will definitely be rock solid in the frontcourt next year.

 

[UConnCat]

Hoopgurlz. White is #7, Duckett #32, Cuevas #44. Realistically I don't see Cuevas or Duckett having a huge roles next year but both will add greater depth to the backcourt. White has a tough task of stealing minutes from the other frontline players, but South Carolina will definitely be rock solid in the frontcourt next year.

Hoopgurlz ranks its top 52 players as 5* and the remaining 48 players as 4*. I think of 5* players as pretty select company.

 

[easttexastrash]

Hoopgurlz. White is #7, Duckett #32, Cuevas #44. Realistically I don't see Cuevas or Duckett having a huge roles next year but both will add greater depth to the backcourt. White has a tough task of stealing minutes from the other frontline players, but South Carolina will definitely be rock solid in the frontcourt next year.

Nobody saw #52 Nina Davis having a huge role for Baylor this year...until they saw her having a huge role. Rankings are not always accurate.

 

[UcMiami]

BBall and CLE802 - nice analysis - I do think for Baylor in the decent wins you need to add in at WVU though. (Another team that is difficult to quantify because of a very poor OOC.)

But it does point to a very odd year in WCBB - there are two clear front runners and then a bunch of teams that may or may not belong in the next 5 positions, and may or may not belong in the following 5 positions and then a bunch that may or not belong in the next 5, etc.
I think there has been more movement into and out of and back into the top 10 and top 20 this year than I can remember. I think it starts with OOC where a lot of good teams chose not to play anybody and a bunch of others played one or two challenging games. And those that included either ND or Uconn in that sea of crap racked up a loss that was 'expected' but nothing else that identified their relative strength. And then you get into league play and the leagues have failed to produce a clear hierarchy -
The AAC - Uconn followed by Louisville, but nothing else until you get to Rutgers somewhere in the 20-30 range.
ACC - ND, followed by ???, a group of teams that have lost games to teams they should beat or beat teams you expect them to lose to and who didn't distinguish themselves in OOC.
SEC - SC followed by ??? - SC is leading the league and has just navigated most of the toughest part of their schedule with one big game at TN to come but none of the other teams have done anything to distinguish themselves. And SC is leading by default.
Big12 - Baylor followed by WVU - again a group of questionable teams and Baylor is leading by default.
Big10 - PSU? followed by ??? PSU by default but nothing else really of interest
Pac12 - Stanford followed by ??? nothing of interest.

I just don't remember a year where this has happened before - is this parity? or just mediocrity?
I hope the dreadful OOC by most of the top teams was a one year hiatus due to all the realignment and that we will see teams like Baylor and SC and UNC and even ND actually playing meaningful OOC games

 

[easttexastrash]

I really think USC is a serious Final Four contender right now. I'm not talking about their top-4 national ranking nor their #1-seed bracketology projections. I really think they are in great position and have the talent to contend for a FF this season...

As for Wilson: let's take her entirely out of the equation - USC brings back their entire team that's doing what it's doing this season. Ibiam, Sessions, Dozier all came into this season as first-time starters. Coates came in as first-time college BB player. The team was relatively young and inexperienced heading into this year.

Next year they will all return with a load of experience, and they will add TWO McDonalds AA and THREE 5* talents to their roster. Regardless of what happens with Wilson. I think beginning with next season there will be much greater expectations for USC than just being a FF team...

I agree. I think that USC has what it takes right now to get to the FF and compete when they get there. Welch is a super talent!

 

[easttexastrash]

BBall and CLE802 - nice analysis - I do think for Baylor in the decent wins you need to add in at WVU though. (Another team that is difficult to quantify because of a very poor OOC.)

But it does point to a very odd year in WCBB - there are two clear front runners and then a bunch of teams that may or may not belong in the next 5 positions, and may or may not belong in the following 5 positions and then a bunch that may or not belong in the next 5, etc.
I think there has been more movement into and out of and back into the top 10 and top 20 this year than I can remember. I think it starts with OOC where a lot of good teams chose not to play anybody and a bunch of others played one or two challenging games. And those that included either ND or Uconn in that sea of crap racked up a loss that was 'expected' but nothing else that identified their relative strength. And then you get into league play and the leagues have failed to produce a clear hierarchy -
The AAC - Uconn followed by Louisville, but nothing else until you get to Rutgers somewhere in the 20-30 range.
ACC - ND, followed by ???, a group of teams that have lost games to teams they should beat or beat teams you expect them to lose to and who didn't distinguish themselves in OOC.
SEC - SC followed by ??? - SC is leading the league and has just navigated most of the toughest part of their schedule with one big game at TN to come but none of the other teams have done anything to distinguish themselves. And SC is leading by default.
Big12 - Baylor followed by WVU - again a group of questionable teams and Baylor is leading by default.
Big10 - PSU? followed by ??? PSU by default but nothing else really of interest
Pac12 - Stanford followed by ??? nothing of interest.

I just don't remember a year where this has happened before - is this parity? or just mediocrity?
I hope the dreadful OOC by most of the top teams was a one year hiatus due to all the realignment and that we will see teams like Baylor and SC and UNC and even ND actually playing meaningful OOC games

Interesting, I don't recall a single team defaulting a game to Baylor. I do recall them going on the road and beating WVU, OSU, OU and Texas. Beating your conference opponents is not "leading by default," it's leading by winning.

 

[Sonny44]

I don't like it and it is just my gut, but I do think at the end of the process Wilson is a S Carolina recruit.

Pretty obvious to me.

 

[Sonny44]

Wilson will change the landscape if she chooses any university othe than UCONN. If she chooses UCONN the view stays the same.

You mean this is a Wilson thread; coulda fooled me.

 

[sawxfan23]

Also I'd add Rutgers to the mix as well. We lose no one, and with the growth of Copper, Hollivay, and Scaife over this summer....watch out. So excited for next season.

"Add Rutgers to the mix" of what? National Championship contenders? If so this is one most absurd posts I have seen in a while!

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

She will not be going to Tennessee, it is either SoCar or UCONN.

I agree; Tennessee is clearly on a downward trend and she seems too humble to play with the cocky players on UNC's squad. I think at the end, A'ja will come to USC because the arena is only a 15 - 20 minute drive for her family and she seems to be pretty close to them. She will also be able to log most of her minutes at small forward and I think she prefers that over Center or Power Forward. One player I can't wait to see, in person, is the little spitfire from the Bronx, Bianca Cuevas. She's only 5'2" and supposedly lightning fast and fearless. We've always loved NYC ball players in Columbia, too.

 

[sawxfan23]

I agree; Tennessee is clearly on a downward trend and she seems too humble to play with the cocky players on UNC's squad. I think at the end, A'ja will come to USC because the arena is only a 15 - 20 minute drive for her family and she seems to be pretty close to them. She will also be able to log most of her minutes at small forward and I think she prefers that over Center or Power Forward. One player I can't wait to see, in person, the little spitfire from the Bronx, Bianca Cuevas. She's only 5'2" and supposedly lightning fast and fearless. We've always loved NYC ball players in Columbia, too.

Until she loses her cool and does something stupid to get ejected or suspended from a few games.

 

[Zorro]

Hey, we've got one who is lightening fast and fearless, who keeps her cool and who is a whopping 5'7"!

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

Until she loses her cool and does something stupid to get ejected or suspended from a few games.

I think Dawn will know how to reach her; they have similar backgrounds.

 

[ScarlettB]

Here is how strange history is created. Geno did not yell at any player as you continue to insist that he did. He yelled to DeMayo to do his job. CVS after the game used language to suggest that the thing Geno asserted directed to Cappie was so vile, so yaddaa yaddaa to lay out there that it had to be something racial. So it was perceived at the time and CVS did nothing to correct the impression. Of course, she did not know and had not had any time to try to understand the circumstances or what in fact had been said. She simply lied in a despicable way and stuck with it despite all witnesses to the contrary, including Poindexter!

We are being attacked for not liking your coach on a hijacked thread on a UConn Board. Strange day.

"
I did not mean to hijack your thread and I didn't "continue to insist" anything. I only posted once and I was referring to a quote from the article: "Pondexter was next to Ajavon and looked at Auriemma. He allegedly said something to her, referring to the score."
I do not know what he said, but he should not have said anything to any of our players while they were on the floor. As Cappie never had any history of acting the way she did that day with Geno, I can only surmise that whatever he said to her really upset her and I doubt that a pleasant comment about the score would cause her to react the way she did.

I have a lot of respect for Geno as a coach as I do for CVS. I don't have a problem with any of your fans not liking Vivian, or Cappie and I wasn't attacking anyone, just stating that none of the parties involved in the incident were blameless. One can say very vile things to people that are not racist (I'm not saying that what Geno said was vile as I don't know what he said).Vivian apparently thought it was vile based on what she was told at the time. I don't believe she is a liar, a whiner sometimes, on the defensive sometimes, but I don't think she is dishonest.

 

[bbsamjj]

I think saying SC could compete for a championship next year if they land Wilson is one of the least controversial statements ever made. They are currently ranked #4 in the nation this year, and are on track for a #1 seed. Maybe you don't believe they are top 4. Maybe you think they're only top 10. Well then they are a top 10 team who would return every single player (including a freshman center who could be dominating next year if she develops)--which on its own would make them a final four threat next year. Then you add the #1 player in the nation out of HS, as well as other quality recruits. Seems pretty logical that they could challenge for a championship next year.

In fact, SC has a lot fewer questions next year than ND, who will lose their starting center and shooting guard (and best, most clutch player). Not to say ND won't still be very good next year, but they'll have more holes to fill.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

I think saying SC could compete for a championship next year if they land Wilson is one of the least controversial statements ever made. They are currently ranked #4 in the nation this year, and are on track for a #1 seed. Maybe you don't believe they are top 4. Maybe you think they're only top 10. Well then they are a top 10 team who would return every single player (including a freshman center who could be dominating next year if she develops)--which on its own would make them a final four threat next year. Then you add the #1 player in the nation out of HS, as well as other quality recruits. Seems pretty logical that they could challenge for a championship next year.

In fact, SC has a lot fewer questions next year than ND, who will lose their starting center and shooting guard (and best, most clutch player). Not to say ND won't still be very good next year, but they'll have more holes to fill.

I don't follow Notre Dame that closely, but you never know if their new starters might be better than their old starters. I thought the Gamecocks would definitely take a small step back this season, after losing 3 starters, and they have really come together.

 

[Geno-ista]

Your efforts to explain the opinions expressed by a number of Boneyarders regarding Coach Stringer is appreciated. I wish I could believe that the lack of love is the result of a perceived threat to UConn's success. While there are very few coaches who own as many wins over UConn, it is still an insignificant number. The level of vitriol and the level of disrespect shown Coach Stringer on this board is unprecedented, unfounded, unwarranted, and unnecessary. Maybe I expect too much from UConn fans. Maybe the fans do not deserve the high esteem in which I view them. Maybe I should quit believing the hype about UConn fans being the best in the country.

Vau.... FYI- I was also right behind the bench in Htfd, after Rutgers lost in a semi final game, and one of their classy guards, not only didn't get in the line to shake hands as many of her teammates wouldn't either after this particular loss, but she actually grabbed an almost full water or gatorade bottle, flung it at either an opposing player or I think it was the refs as they were leaving the portal, and an elderly person sitting in a folding chair got hit in the head and knocked right out of the chair onto the concrete floor. No mention in any articles or anything. But it was disgraceful incident by her team that I witnessed first hand- never remember a public apology to the Big East or Htfd XL Center or the nice gentleman that got whacked- but I may have missed it!

 

[ScarlettB]

Vau....I thought we are all supposed to keep these post non political. Pls don't equate some BY's that have a negative opinion of C Viv, (who get's incredible talent year in and year out and seams to underachieve each year), with political commentators that disagree strongly with our president's policies. George Bush wasn't treated with a lot of respect either. Our once great Country is doing so much better than when he took office- I'm sorry in advance to everyone- but I'm not going to lay down and not call someone out for this stuff! Also- FYI- I was also right behind the bench in Htfd, after Rutgers lost in a semi final game, and one of their classy guards, not only didn't get in the line to shake hands as many of her teammates wouldn't either after this particular loss, but she actually grabbed an almost full water or gatorade bottle, flung it at either an opposing player or I think it was the refs as they were leaving the portal, and an elderly person sitting in a folding chair got hit in the head and knocked right out of the chair onto the concrete floor. No mention in any articles or anything. But it was disgraceful incident by her team that I witnessed first hand- never remember a public apology to the Big East or Htfd XL Center or the nice gentleman that got whacked- but I may have missed it! I think the Boneyarders that are like the people you mentioned are of High Esteem!!!!!

I was at that game too and witnessed the incident. It was Matee Ajavon and she was not throwing the water bottle at anyone, but flinging it down in disgust. She definitely should not have done that and should have been disciplined for it.

 

[ScarlettB]

"Add Rutgers to the mix" of what? National Championship contenders? If so this is one most absurd posts I have seen in a while!

If we win the B1G next season - and I think we have a decent chance, not so absurd to think we can make the final four. Not sure we could beat UConn, but you will be without Dolson and Hartley.