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.
