ACC 2024-25 Season

[triaddukefan]

Preach Coach K, Preach

 

[DallasDomer]

Preach Coach K, Preach

Well that's probably true but why are any of us posting on this site other than stating opinions, maybe a few facts slip in from time to time. I would also seriously doubt that any coach would read anything on these sites.
Was there some doubt about Duke that prompted this?

 

[CalWBBfan]

Some intriguing games in the ACC this weekend

NC St/Louisville
UNC/GT

I'd add Stanford/Cal to the list....always a rivalry.

 

[FanInNC]

After watching State last night - I hope they bring something more to the Yum Center in Kentucky this weekend!

Incredibly odd game - 19-19 after the first quarter and azaiah James had 14 points. In fact James scored 18 of State’s first 23 in the game and then went ice cold finishing with 21.

After a hot first quarter both teams went cold and over the next 15 minutes only scored 17 and 13 each.

Saniya Rivers dominated the second half and finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Was very active and aggressive posting up smaller players. She impressed. Madison Hayes couldn’t get a shot to fall but was great on the boards and defensively.

State trailed in the 4th but rode Rivers and escaped with a 2 point win over Davidson.

It’s been a storyline all year but the bigs were especially atrocious last night. 1-11 3 points, 5 rebounds and 5 turnovers combined between Collier, Awou, Trygger and Cox. I bet Collier and Trygger had 6 shots blocked by smaller Davidson defenders. Majorly disappointing after the bigs had shown a little growth the last couple times out.

Zoe and Zam also had their worst games of the year. Just an ugly game all the way around. 1 total assist for State! As a team! Strange night - but they did win, so it wasn’t all bad.

 

[WBBTakeover]

Well that's probably true but why are any of us posting on this site other than stating opinions, maybe a few facts slip in from time to time. I would also seriously doubt that any coach would read anything on these sites.
Was there some doubt about Duke that prompted this?

This may be Coach Kara's way of keeping the players grounded and focused on the goals of the season (ACC championships, Final Four). At the beginning of last season, Duke was mostly an afterthought in the ACC and nationally. The team was sitting at 5-4 at one point in the season. Yes, there was a loss to South Carolina (expected). However, there were losses to Davidson (at home) and an embarrassing blowout loss on the road to a really bad Clemson team. It wasn't until they beat down Virginia Tech, hammered Florida State, and finally defeated UNC during the regular season in the Lawson era that people started to think, "hey--maybe this team isn't so bad after all". The upset win over Ohio State in Columbus really changed the narrative of that entire season for many people. They used that one win to erase their thoughts on the team that was sitting at 5-4 (with that bad loss to Clemson) at one time.

This year, the team already has multiple wins over Top 10 teams (and yes, another double-digit loss to South Carolina) and more All-ACC caliber players. The offense is much improved. Reigan Richardson is getting national attention for her play. Toby Fournier is being compared to Stewie by our totally non-biased ACC Network crew. We're Top 10 in the rankings for the first time since the former coach's era. People are talking about Duke women's basketball again as a possible contender.

And yet, as Kara astutely points out, that doesn't matter. Because if this team goes on to lose during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament (like it did in 2023 despite having home court advantage over Colorado), then what? Analysts said a lot of great things about Kansas State last season after they defeated Iowa, but where did that lead them? Not to the national championship game--but Iowa was there. NC State didn't win an ACC title last year, but where did they end up? In the Final Four--which is where Duke wants to be this season. To get there, you can't listen to the noise from the outside (who will boost you up when you succeed and tear you down when you fail). You have to listen to the voices from within.

And that's coach's message--pundits can't tell you how good you are. You have to be the determinators of that because, unlike them, you can control how good you are. Kelly Gramlich's opinion does not matter. Neither does Doug Feinberg's, Andraya Carter's, Charlie Creme's, Rebecca Lobo's, etc. I, personally, agree with much of Kara's sentiment.

 

[CAbballfan2]

This may be Coach Kara's way of keeping the players grounded and focused on the goals of the season (ACC championships, Final Four). At the beginning of last season, Duke was mostly an afterthought in the ACC and nationally. The team was sitting at 5-4 at one point in the season. Yes, there was a loss to South Carolina (expected). However, there were losses to Davidson (at home) and an embarrassing blowout loss on the road to a really bad Clemson team. It wasn't until they beat down Virginia Tech, hammered Florida State, and finally defeated UNC during the regular season in the Lawson era that people started to think, "hey--maybe this team isn't so bad after all". The upset win over Ohio State in Columbus really changed the narrative of that entire season for many people. They used that one win to erase their thoughts on the team that was sitting at 5-4 (with that bad loss to Clemson) at one time.

This year, the team already has multiple wins over Top 10 teams (and yes, another double-digit loss to South Carolina) and more All-ACC caliber players. The offense is much improved. Reigan Richardson is getting national attention for her play. Toby Fournier is being compared to Stewie by our totally non-biased ACC Network crew. We're Top 10 in the rankings for the first time since the former coach's era. People are talking about Duke women's basketball again as a possible contender.

And yet, as Kara astutely points out, that doesn't matter. Because if this team goes on to lose during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament (like it did in 2023 despite having home court advantage over Colorado), then what? Analysts said a lot of great things about Kansas State last season after they defeated Iowa, but where did that lead them? Not to the national championship game--but Iowa was there. NC State didn't win an ACC title last year, but where did they end up? In the Final Four--which is where Duke wants to be this season. To get there, you can't listen to the noise from the outside (who will boost you up when you succeed and tear you down when you fail). You have to listen to the voices from within.

And that's coach's message--pundits can't tell you how good you are. You have to be the determinators of that because, unlike them, you can control how good you are. Kelly Gramlich's opinion does not matter. Neither does Doug Feinberg's, Andraya Carter's, Charlie Creme's, Rebecca Lobo's, etc. I, personally, agree with much of Kara's sentiment.

Exactly! For context, the clip was from her weekly radio show. It was an audience question of “how do you keep your team humble”..

 

[cancontent]

UVA Athletics Receives Transformational Gift from Alexis Ohanian

The transformational gift will boost recruiting and retention for Virginia women’s basketball.

virginiasports.com

It doesn't specify value, however seeing Ohanian is behind this, it isn't going to be chump change. His investments in women's sports have been significant. Congrats to Virginia.

 

[DallasDomer]

Notre Dame wins its third game against top five opponents with s 79-68 win over Uconn. Hidalgo had 29 points 10 rebounds and 8 assists close to triple double. Paige had to work hard for shots but got 25. Three point shooting was all ND, they were 10-18 vs Uconn 3-16.

Great game all around.

 

[Dillon77]

Notre Dame wins its third game against top five opponents with s 79-68 win over Uconn. Hidalgo had 29 points 10 rebounds and 8 assists close to triple double. Paige had to work hard for shots but got 25. Three point shooting was all ND, they were 10-18 vs Uconn 3-16.

Great game all around.

Agreed. Both teams shot 48 percent overall, but the Irish proficiency from three was important.
That and the scoring of Liatu King from mid-range really helped in the first half, especially.

 

[oldude]

Agreed. Both teams shot 48 percent overall, but the Irish proficiency from three was important.
That and the scoring of Liatu King from mid-range really helped in the first half, especially.

One additional factor. ND was +8 on the boards, an area where I had felt UConn would have an advantage. While Koval didn’t score, she did pull down 7 rebounds. King was a beast with 12, although she did foul Paige on that 1 rebound where she hoisted herself on top of Paige. But the absolute stunner is Hidalgo’s 10 rebounds. She’s 5’ freakin 6”.

 

[Dillon77]

One additional factor. ND was +8 on the boards, an area where I had felt UConn would have an advantage. While Koval didn’t score, she did pull down 7 rebounds. King was a beast with 12, although she did foul Paige on that 1 rebound where she hoisted herself on top of Paige. But the absolute stunner is Hidalgo’s 10 rebounds. She’s 5’ freakin 6”.

Yup, I made a joke about HH grabbing double-digit bounds against Texas and there she goes again.
That +8 seemed large, didn't it?
UConn will be helped by Aubrey Griffin's return on the rebounding front. On the other hand, so will ND when Ms. Maddy Westbeld enters the court.

Like you and I said pre-game, good match for this point in time. Enjoy/not enjoy; live, learn and move on. Good game -- see each other in the spring or next year! Great game to play and I give credit to Geno and Niele for continuing it.

 

[cancontent]

UVA Athletics Receives Transformational Gift from Alexis Ohanian

The transformational gift will boost recruiting and retention for Virginia women’s basketball.

virginiasports.com

It doesn't specify value, however seeing Ohanian is behind this, it isn't going to be chump change. His investments in women's sports have been significant. Congrats to Virginia.

Holy cow.