I'm not sure where you're seeing any of these narratives or how UCONN doesn't receive rose colored treatment.
-Everyone has UCONN penciled in at #1 or #2 primarily because Bueckers is back.
-The narrative with LSU is that their potential is high but they're a potential ticking time bomb trying to fit all of the new pieces together.
-Notre Dame is listed as projected 3 seed which is not typically a title contender, UCONN is a 1 seed and consensus top 2 preseason.
-No one knows the status of Miles injury, so to compare her to Bueckers is apples to oranges. Bueckers has missed most of the lsat 2 years due to 2 significant left knee injuries. No one knows what injury Miles had/has.
-UCONN's freshmen aren't as highly rated as LSU's Williams, and they aren't likely to get major minutes with so much depth and experience in front of them.
-Muhl vs. Van Lith comparison isn't apt despite both receiving similar national honors a year ago. Impact transfers will always be talked about more preseason than a 4th or 5th option. Van Lith has been a closely followed player with a lot of NCAA tournament success and a huge social media following in her career.
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My comments were based on ESPN's pre-season top 25 article that came out sometime around the end of October, 2022. Each team was given about a half dozen sentences. The kind you will read about UConn in the UConn student paper. That's the "rosy scenario" I referred to. Except for UConn. Of their six or so sentences 5 were questions and concerns about what could go wrong. For UConn uncertainty was everywhere. When they knocked off NCSt & Texas it showed that UConn did have depth of talent, but then more injuries came. There is way more talent this year. The 2 transfers left but UConn's last 3 classes have been great.
-No one knows the status of Miles injury, so to compare her to Bueckers is apples to oranges. Bueckers has missed most of the lsat 2 years due to 2 significant left knee injuries. No one knows what injury Miles had/has.
Bueckers retuned from the 1st injury (fractured tibia) Was she healed? Did you watch the E8 game in 22? So now we are talking an ACL from August of 2022. She has been cleared to play and seems to be in the best shape of her life. Maybe you missed the recent video where she made 29 3's in a row? Miles on the other hand has had undisclosed surgery for an undisclosed knee-related injury.
So it is apples to oranges. Bueckers is back while Miles is not even practicing.
-UCONN's freshmen aren't as highly rated as LSU's Williams, and they aren't likely to get major minutes with so much depth and experience in front of them.
Brady & Arnold were top 5 recruits. Brady will get major minutes as the season goes on IMO. She showed up at UConn with skills that fit right into Geno's system. I watched Williams in some 3X3 and was impressed but you are right in that Arnold, Shade and Samuels aren't going to see much time. After the last 2 seasons that will be nice. And having 4-6 guards to rotate will keep the starters fresh all season.
Impact transfers will always be talked about more preseason than a 4th or 5th option.
Sure. What are they saying about Van Lith? Are they telling us about her negative assist to turnover stats? Or her mediocre 3 pt shot? Any comments on her lack of experience at pg or that her size made her a defensive liability at Louisville? When Juhasz, all B1G as a soph and a junior transfered to UConn there was no ESPN front page article and Juhasz played 2 years without much fanfare. She is now a starter in Minn. Same thing with Senechal. ESPN barely noticed her. She didn't even get an honorable mention as an AA and yet was a 1st round pick. Where was the interest for those two?
I'm only pointing out that ESPN focuses on what could go wrong when it comes to UConn and the opposite for the rest of wcbb.
The ESPN preseason top 25 will be out in 5 or 6 weeks and we'll see.
