A bit Half-Cocked? Sporting News Picks South Carolina as Preseason #1

[ChicagoGG]

For us: Definitely bulletin board material for Stewie and Mo. For USF: Jose mustn't let them drink the Kool Aid. Top 25, yes. #15, no.

 

[Dougie]

I agree with the poster that this is, in fact, bulletin board material. Any motivational tool is good and Geno uses them better than anyone.

South Carolina does have a terrific frontcourt which only underscores my belief that Natalie will be the 5th starter to help neutralize Coates. Butler's presence on the court will be a huge help to Stewie, both offensively and defensively.

 

[Carnac]

Sporting News scouting report is out and up with its Preseason Top 20 - and sitting at the top of the roost is . . . USC East! While great exposure for a great program & coach, I think this makes for some mighty fine bulletin board material in the Husky locker room. SN doesn't play coy in predicting the next NC, stating emphatically, "The Gamecocks will be the 2016 NCAA Women's Basketball Champions"; citing their very abundant talent, depth, and leadership. You know, we got a lot of that in Storrs too. Here's their Top 20:

1. South Carolina
2. Connecticut
3. Notre Dame
4. Baylor
5. Ohio State
6. Florida State
7. George Washington
8. Duke
9. Tennessee
10. Oregon State
11. Arizona State
12. Louisville
13. Texas
14. UCLA
15. South Florida
16. Princeton
17. Chattanooga
18. Northwestern
19. Texas A&M
20. Maryland


I agree with some other posters. The author of this article may have been on medication. Unless some of the historically lesser talented teams listed here have secretly built a juggernaut, and we don't know about it, I seriously question some of the schools listed in their top 20.

I too am going to look up some of the rosters of several of these programs. I know there was a exodus of several players from Maryland, but they've got to be better than 20th.

Interesting to see that UConn plays four of the top six teams listed here. That will be a real test of the strength and resolve of this year's team.
If you want to be the best, you've got to play the best.

 

[TerpWomenFan]

South Carolina lineup is pretty well set for the next three years. Not only will they have Aja Wilson for 2016-17 but they'll have Kayla Davis (GTech) and Alishia Gray (UNC) joining her.

 

[Nuyoika]

Ouch... listed Tiffany Mitchell as their starting PG... Know your personnel sports writers, or go write children's books where fiction is acceptable.

 

[HGN]

The ONE thing I know is that chickens are fed well, watered , and treated well early on. They Fatten up . Get Killed . And then served for dinner.

 

[Outside Shot]

I don't know that Geno has been in the habit of adjusting his lineup to match others. Seems like he prefers to dictate rather than respond. Maybe Butler will be best? But not sure it will be because of what another team looks like.

 

[EricLA]

South Carolina lineup is pretty well set for the next three years. Not only will they have Aja Wilson for 2016-17 but they'll have Kayla Davis (GTech) and Alishia Gray (UNC) joining her.

Easy to forget about transfers and the impact they will have. But you are correct - I know Davis was anywhere from 1-3 in the HS rankings, and I think Gray was a top 10 kid (or if not top 10, definitely top 20)...

 

[DishNSwish]

I actually think the top five teams are pretty good selections; just not in the right order

 

[Nuyoika]

Easy to forget about transfers and the impact they will have. But you are correct - I know Davis was anywhere from 1-3 in the HS rankings, and I think Gray was a top 10 kid (or if not top 10, definitely top 20)...

Davis and Gray both have 3 years left?

 

[connboy77]

Davis and Gray both have 3 years left?

I believe they both have two years left not three!

 

[UcMiami]

Didn't Princeton graduate a few of their best players this last year - great run they had last year, but I think it will be hard to duplicate.

Definitely some very 'interesting choices' especially the further out you go.

 

[Nuyoika]

I believe they both have two years left not three!

Ok thanks for the clarification, that's what I thought. I think SCar will have it's best shot 2016-2017 if they are gonna win it.

 

[TerpWomenFan]

Didn't Princeton graduate a few of their best players this last year - great run they had last year, but I think it will be hard to duplicate.

Definitely some very 'interesting choices' especially the further out you go.

They only graduated one player of significance. Their PG. The other major players are seniors this upcoming season.

 

[UConn79]

No one in their right mind could possibly argue any team but UConn as #1. 3 time defending champion, top recruiting class, and no changes in leadership on and off the court. This poll reeks of desperation by the sporting news. Trying to create some buzz for themselves. I did not even realize they were still being published. Like a little kid screaming "hey, look at me". Sorry SN, your 15 minutes were up a long time ago. Less than 1 month till 1st night.

 

[SCGamecock]

The TSN still does sell a print edition. The college basketball issue is the only edition I buy of theirs. I tried to upload a scanned image of the two page article onto the Boneyard but I kept getting an error message.

South Carolina does scare me in 2016 -2017, Aja Wilson and others in her terrific recruiting class will be juniors. Perhaps Dawn will also have developed a reliable three point shooter by then. That seemed to be their biggest liability last season.

Just my opinion.. but 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 will be our best years to challenge for a title. There's a MASS exodus of talent after 2018 that I'm hoping Dawn is planning to stay in front of..

 

[mudcat]

Didn't Princeton graduate a few of their best players this last year - great run they had last year, but I think it will be hard to duplicate.

Definitely some very 'interesting choices' especially the further out you go.

They graduated their top scorer, but the rest of the starting five (and I think the next six in terms of minutes) all return.

 

[Tonyc]

SC over UConn. I'll take that bet. MoJeff Stewie Tuck and Nurse will make it a 20pt game now with the game in SC UConn may not maintain that lead but UConns win will not be in doubt. Now who thinks SC makes the FF and who thinks UConn is a shu in for the FF???? put up the money honey. If you lose you have a date with me and I will make it a nice dinner on the town. Go Huskies

 

[jimazee]

The Huskies are doomed.

Scott Walker will be the Republican nominee.

 

[Big 12 Fan]

This is the same publication that ranks Joyner Holmes over Cox.

There are other services, including Blue Star, that rank Holmes over Cox. And there are some regulars on this board that also consider Joyner the top player in her class. OTOH I don't know anyone that thinks SC should be ranked over UCONN. But I don't know many that put much stock in pre-season polls either.

 

[Huskylove3]

Crazy that UCONN isn't #1 but what's crazier to me is Notre Dame at #3. I don't think you lose lloyd and stay at #3 (at least in preseason polls) They're Notre Dame so they will rebuild quick but before seeing it, I wouldn't put them as #3. But then again, I don't get paid to do rankings

 

[cohenzone]

Basketball is a guards game. On paper, there's no better starting backcourt than ours. Chong off the bench might not be perfect, but she starts for a lot of teams. Who knows with freshmen, but we have 2 or 3 kids who come in with great credentials, including a rough outside matchup for anyone in KLS at what looks like a real 6'3 and good quickness. If her shot can fall at near 40%, we become an impossible team to guard outside. Heck, maybe a healthy Ekmark will produce.

Front court, hmm. We only have the best player in the country, and a power forward in Tuck who is probably the least acknowledged great player in the country. A new possible starter at at least 6'5" who was only rookie of the year in the Big East, watered down yes but not shabby either.

We lost a few important pieces, so maybe there is an issue of replacing KML's points against the better teams, and maybe we don't have the stopper we had in Stokes, but to pick against this team for number 1 as good as USC is likely to be, is a bit silly, especially since the gap between the two was obvious last year. But, a much worse team than USC beat UConn last year, and that's why they play the game.

 

[Fightin Choke]

Crazy that UCONN isn't #1 but what's crazier to me is Notre Dame at #3. I don't think you lose lloyd and stay at #3 (at least in preseason polls) They're Notre Dame so they will rebuild quick but before seeing it, I wouldn't put them as #3. But then again, I don't get paid to do rankings

Personally, I think it's a lot crazier to rank UConn 2nd than to rank ND as third. There is a much greater chance that ND is top 3 than UConn not being number 1. To rank any team higher than UConn (preseason) is ridiculous.

ND has a very solid PG in Lindsay Allen and a great young post in Brianna Turner. Reimer started playing better the last half of the season and the front court gets boosted by the return of big body Kristina Nelson, who missed all of last season following shoulder surgery in summer 2014. Westbeld will provide quality minutes up front as well. ND will obviously miss Loyd on the wing, and the starting backcourt (SG and W) is presently uncertain. Most likely Michaela Mabrey comes back as the starting SG and designated bomber, but after that, there are plenty of questions. Cable probably deserves to start on the wing; she's scrappy and stretches the defense with her 3-point range (44% career), but neither she nor Michaela can create their own shot like Loyd could. In addition, Cable provides a valuable service as the first player off the bench, providing energy and good defense. Arike can create her own shot (as can PG Allen), but presently she is working with the 1's and combo guards, suggesting a different role for her. Maybe Arike can play the 2 and Mabrey slides over to the 3. The biggest problem with Michaela is that she is a liability on defense. While she is good at team defense, she gets beat fairly easily off the dribble by quicker players. By starting her, ND is probably forced into playing a zone to start a game. Other backcourt options include Marina Mabrey (W), Ali Patberg (combo) and Mychal Johnson (combo). Hannah Huffman will see minutes because of her defensive skills, but she's a liability on defense. Tall, thin post Diamond Thompson is probably relegated to minutes at the end of games. Of course all this can change as the team practices together the next 6 weeks until the season starts.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Personally, I think it's a lot crazier to rank UConn 2nd than to rank ND as third. There is a much greater chance that ND is top 3 than UConn not being number 1. To rank any team higher than UConn (preseason) is ridiculous.

ND has a very solid PG in Lindsay Allen and a great young post in Brianna Turner. Reimer started playing better the last half of the season and the front court gets boosted by the return of big body Kristina Nelson, who missed all of last season following shoulder surgery in summer 2014. Westbeld will provide quality minutes up front as well. ND will obviously miss Loyd on the wing, and the starting backcourt (SG and W) is presently uncertain. Most likely Michaela Mabrey comes back as the starting SG and designated bomber, but after that, there are plenty of questions. Cable probably deserves to start on the wing; she's scrappy and stretches the defense with her 3-point range (44% career), but neither she nor Michaela can create their own shot like Loyd could. In addition, Cable provides a valuable service as the first player off the bench, providing energy and good defense. Arike can create her own shot (as can PG Allen), but presently she is working with the 1's and combo guards, suggesting a different role for her. Maybe Arike can play the 2 and Mabrey slides over to the 3. The biggest problem with Michaela is that she is a liability on defense. While she is good at team defense, she gets beat fairly easily off the dribble by quicker players. By starting her, ND is probably forced into playing a zone to start a game. Other backcourt options include Marina Mabrey (W), Ali Patberg (combo) and Mychal Johnson (combo). Hannah Huffman will see minutes because of her defensive skills, but she's a liability on defense. Tall, thin post Diamond Thompson is probably relegated to minutes at the end of games. Of course all this can change as the team practices together the next 6 weeks until the season starts.

Good post. Irrespective of pre-season polls, I predict ND will be right there at the end of the year. I see UCONN and ND as 1 and 2 again, destined to collide once more in the Final Four (all this barring injuries, of course). ND might be more effective offensively as a team because, sans Loyd, they will be forced to play more as a team. And they're already pretty good at that. Muffett doesn't have the perfect complement of pieces going in, but she has a lot of talent overall and knows what to do with it.

Personally, I'd rather not see UCONN and ND meet again, simply because it would cultivate more/new drama if there were other matchups. And USC ought to be strong--they have the horses. But I see UCONN and ND as the two best come April.

 

[stwainfan]

This was on SEC network. As a preview for the season. http://www.secsports.com/video/13477606/previewing-sec-women-basketball-season