A Top 25 list "Most Intriguing Players for 2022-2023"

[Zarathustra]

it's a list designed to provoke disagreement, so I guess it's a success. As for Cardoso I'd find her more intriguing if Saxton didn't some back for a COVID year. As it is both she and Amihere are ahead of Cardoso at the 4. Boston may play limited minutes in some cupcake games, I don't see Cardoso having much of a chance in many big games other than giving Boston a breather.
I'm not sure of my count but 12 of the 25 are in the SEC and ACC. I guess I should be thankful for 2 BE players since they are the only players not in the P-5. Siegrist may be on preseason NPOY lists along with the 2 BE players on the list.

I guess other fans of other conferences feel just like I do.

Amiphere is looking good in the FIBA WORLD CUP this week. I will
be interested to see how she does against some extra defense = against
the USA. !!

 

[Bone Dog]

I can't wait for Lou to have her break out game. She's going to "burn" somebody. I hope it's against a top 10 team (not a mid-major conference opponent) on the road BEFORE the holiday break, and of course we win. Is that asking too much?

It is absolutely not asking too much.

 

[Cuango]

Boston is not an "intriguing player" for SCar. We know what we're getting there.

Our two point guards are the intriguing players. Will Fletcher be able to play as well as she did in the ACC? Will Raven return to at least near-pre-accident form? Do they - together - have what it takes to lead a Top Eight program?

C’mon! You can say it. “Top Three program”! I’m pretty sure no one will begrudge you for what is clearly a righteous comment. While I personally don’t care for Dawn and many of her actions/comments, I have to give kudos for what she has built in South Carolina. She (and her program) is a force to be reckoned with for the foreseeable future. For the moment, SC, UConn, and Stanford are the alpha dogs of Women’s Basketball and that imo is unlikely to change until one or more of those programs respective coaches decides to retire (or leave). Go ahead and bask! You deserve it.

 

[visitingcock]

C’mon! You can say it. “Top Three program”! I’m pretty sure no one will begrudge you for what is clearly a righteous comment. While I personally don’t care for Dawn and many of her actions/comments, I have to give kudos for what she has built in South Carolina. She (and her program) is a force to be reckoned with for the foreseeable future. For the moment, SC, UConn, and Stanford are the alpha dogs of Women’s Basketball and that imo is unlikely to change until one or more of those programs respective coaches decides to retire (or leave). Go ahead and bask! You deserve it.

I consider any top 8 program a “player”on the national scene.

 

[Bone Dog]

I consider any top 8 program a “player”on the national scene.

Maybe it’s just me and my sort of mistake, but I’m not impressed by much of the top 20 teams. The gap between the top 3 and the rest seems quite broad to me. Who looks strong among the rest? ND, Louisville and maybe Arizona. But the rest lost a lot more to graduation and the transfer portal than the top 3 did.

 

[TeamFirst!]

I think Texas is maybe top 4 now. Notre Dame might be in the conversation.

 

[Bone Dog]

I think Texas is maybe top 4 now. Notre Dame might be in the conversation.

Does Texas have a post player?

 

[nwhoopfan]

Maybe it’s just me and my sort of mistake, but I’m not impressed by much of the top 20 teams. The gap between the top 3 and the rest seems quite broad to me. Who looks strong among the rest? ND, Louisville and maybe Arizona. But the rest lost a lot more to graduation and the transfer portal than the top 3 did.

North Carolina played South Carolina tougher than anybody else in the Tourney last year and hardly lost anybody. They are certainly a team worth keeping an eye on. Anyway season hasn't even started yet, no need to already be writing off almost the entire field.

 

[jdote33]

Does Texas have a post player?

I really like Tayllor Jones who they picked up the portal. Aliyah Moore is also basically a post player and she came on strong towards the end of the year as a freshman
I think heading into the season I'm pretty optimistic about a lot of teams. Probably 10-12 contenders in my opinion. Like is the gap between UConn and Tennessee that big?

 

[cancontent]

I really like Tayllor Jones who they picked up the portal. Aliyah Moore is also basically a post player and she came on strong towards the end of the year as a freshman
I think heading into the season I'm pretty optimistic about a lot of teams. Probably 10-12 contenders in my opinion. Like is the gap between UConn and Tennessee that big?

Don't forget Gaston is still on the roster and they have a couple other 6'4" / 6'5" players who may help provide some depth.

 

[Bone Dog]

Don't forget Gaston is still on the roster and they have a couple other 6'4" / 6'5" players who may help provide some depth.

Yeah, Vic has had a few post-sized players. But other than Ebo, he has preferred to put a small team on the floor the last couple years. This makes me think he didn’t have any confidence in them.

 

[cancontent]

Yeah, Vic has had a few post-sized players. But other than Ebo, he has preferred to put a small team on the floor the last couple years. This makes me think he didn’t have any confidence in them.

I see where you're coming from on that.

 

[Txhoopsalot]

Yeah, Vic has had a few post-sized players. But other than Ebo, he has preferred to put a small team on the floor the last couple years. This makes me think he didn’t have any confidence in them.

In addition to Taylor Jones, Texas added 6'4" Khadija Faye from Texas Tech. She burned Texas last year when Tech played Texas in Austin. I am confident Texas will be a factor in conference play and, once again, be tournament ready in late March. I don't know how good the team will look in November against UConn! There are a lot of new players to integrate. And while the new players may be more "talented" than the players that left, we have yet to see how they are going to adjust to Vic's demands.

 

[Charliebball]

I'm not following your logic on this one.

Don't we know enough about about Joens, Boston, Hailey Van Lith, Miles and Miller? With the exception of Diamond Miller, who is being looked at as the leader of the Maryland roster, what is new about the roles of these players?

Agreed.........many of these players are already proven talents.........seems kind of silly to include them.....

 

[Bone Dog]

In addition to Taylor Jones, Texas added 6'4" Khadija Faye from Texas Tech. She burned Texas last year when Tech played Texas in Austin. I am confident Texas will be a factor in conference play and, once again, be tournament ready in late March. I don't know how good the team will look in November against UConn! There are a lot of new players to integrate. And while the new players may be more "talented" than the players that left, we have yet to see how they are going to adjust to Vic's demands.

It's good to hear that there's been some intriguing additions to the roster. I have a lot of confidence in Vic's ability to pull his teams together. I was worried when Audrey Warren transferred out, since she'd seemed like an important player for team spirit. That and the loss of Joanne Allen-Taylor, another team spirit player.

Going forward, this seems like it's Rori's team -- she's earned her leadership role -- and the addition of Gonzalez and Morris will be good support for her. Morris is a good perimeter shooter and a scrappy defender -- just the way Vic likes 'em. Aaliyah Moore also came up big against Baylor in the Big12 tournament, so she may be a bright spot this year.

I wonder who will start this year. Maybe Rori, Morris, Moore, Gonzalez, Jones (or Faye)?

 

[cancontent]

Agreed.........many of these players are already proven talents.........seems kind of silly to include them.....

It's kind of like the top recruit updates. You see breakdowns on the same players and not much about up and comers who may have had a breakthrough season that AAU season.

 

[Cuango]

North Carolina played South Carolina tougher than anybody else in the Tourney last year and hardly lost anybody. They are certainly a team worth keeping an eye on. Anyway season hasn't even started yet, no need to already be writing off almost the entire field.

No one is “writing off the entire field” but I’ll be shocked, shocked, if anyone but SC, UConn, or Stanford wins the title! Could it happen? Sure, lots of things could happen but it’s not very likely. (Barring injuries, of course) IMO!

 

[Bone Dog]

No one is “writing off the entire field” but I’ll be shocked, shocked, if anyone but SC, UConn, or Stanford wins the title! Could it happen? Sure, lots of things could happen but it’s not very likely. (Barring injuries, of course) IMO!

That's what I was thinking, too. Watching the tournament from last year, there were lots of scrappy teams, like Creighton and South Dakota, who were wonderful to watch. But when it came down to it, none of them were really competitive at the highest level. Certainly not Maryland or Indiana or Iowa or Iowa St or Baylor or Michigan or Tennessee or LSU. Last year, the real contenders were the big 3 plus ND, NC St, Louisville and Texas. That was it.

And projecting forward, I don't see a lot of improvement or even keeping up with the previous year in the field other than ND, Louisville and Texas. The Big 3 still look to be a cut above -- barring major injury woes. Are upsets and Cinderella teams possible? Absolutely, just like in any year. But they don't seem likely.

And speaking of Cinderellas, UNC could be one of these.

 

[Txhoopsalot]

It's good to hear that there's been some intriguing additions to the roster. I have a lot of confidence in Vic's ability to pull his teams together. I was worried when Audrey Warren transferred out, since she'd seemed like an important player for team spirit. That and the loss of Joanne Allen-Taylor, another team spirit player.

Going forward, this seems like it's Rori's team -- she's earned her leadership role -- and the addition of Gonzalez and Morris will be good support for her. Morris is a good perimeter shooter and a scrappy defender -- just the way Vic likes 'em. Aaliyah Moore also came up big against Baylor in the Big12 tournament, so she may be a bright spot this year.

I wonder who will start this year. Maybe Rori, Morris, Moore, Gonzalez, Jones (or Faye)?

Maybe “intriguing” is sometimes like beauty, in the eye of the beholder? Your starting lineup for Texas looks likely, but this year there is talent behind talent to make things a bit more interesting.

 

[cancontent]

Maybe “intriguing” is sometimes like beauty, in the eye of the beholder? Your starting lineup for Texas looks likely, but this year there is talent behind talent to make things a bit more interesting.

Question re the "talent behind the talent" comment. Do you mean the talent is better than last season?

If so, how would a player like Lattimore, who they recruited hard in the transfer portal last season, compare to this year's roster?

 

[visitingcock]

North Carolina played South Carolina tougher than anybody else in the Tourney last year and hardly lost anybody. They are certainly a team worth keeping an eye on. Anyway season hasn't even started yet, no need to already be writing off almost the entire field.

I don't think one gutsy performance means all that. I mean Kentucky and Mizzou . . .

Yeah, I think they can be pretty good but I need to see them topple NC State and Louisville before I put them in the Top 8.

 

[Txhoopsalot]

Question re the "talent behind the talent" comment. Do you mean the talent is better than last season?

If so, how would a player like Lattimore, who they recruited hard in the transfer portal last season, compare to this year's roster?

Yes, I think the roster has more talent. Ah, Lattimore. I just loved Lattimore. I hope she has great success. We didn’t get to see her much because she was set back by her injury. But she showed great flashes. I am a great fan and a poor analyst. But I think maybe Lattimore needs more development than the 3,4,5 players now on the Texas roster. Transfers Faye and Jones are, I think, ready and willing to play inside. Moore is expected to star at the 4. With either Jones or Faye added to the roster (would not have been room for both if Lattimore stayed), I am not sure Lattimore’s role could have changed or expanded much this year. If she wanted to be more on the perimeter, that was not going to happen either. Just a case of fit and timing?

 

[cancontent]

Yes, I think the roster has more talent. Ah, Lattimore. I just loved Lattimore. I hope she has great success. We didn’t get to see her much because she was set back by her injury. But she showed great flashes. I am a great fan and a poor analyst. But I think maybe Lattimore needs more development than the 3,4,5 players now on the Texas roster. Transfers Faye and Jones are, I think, ready and willing to play inside. Moore is expected to star at the 4. With either Jones or Faye added to the roster (would not have been room for both if Lattimore stayed), I am not sure Lattimore’s role could have changed or expanded much this year. If she wanted to be more on the perimeter, that was not going to happen either. Just a case of fit and timing?

I see where you're coming from. Fit and timing for sure considering she was committed to Syracuse prior to the fiasco there.

Interesting to hear that she needs more development as I'm of that opinion. The team behind her like to tout how she's has well rounded skillset, however I disagree. I'm of the belief she needs to get stronger in the paint/post in addition to being capable of being a wing at the 3. Time will tell if she ends up developing more strength in the post.

 

[GEAinAustin]

AS a UConn fan, specifically Auriemma, I live in Austin and have a love, hate admiration for Vic. They rolled out the Brinks truck to sign him and in just a few years he made Texas relevant again.

 

[GEAinAustin]

Texas got Madison Booker yesterday.