Another Updated ESPN Way Too Early Top 25 | Page 6 | The Boneyard

Another Updated ESPN Way Too Early Top 25

MilfordHusky

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UConnCat nails it and is on a roll tonight. Charlie says that UConn has only questions, and all the other teams have answers. WTH?! Cat provides several legitimate answers for UConn and many obvious questions that some of the other have. Charlie's write-up was, well, bizarre!
 
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But that isn't what you claimed. Your exact words were: "I think the team were bringing back is stronger than what we had in that game."
Fair enough (though a little hair-splitty), but you suggested that I said we’re simply better without Paige. That is an obvious misreading of what I’d written. Moreover, “what we had in that game” was no Dorka, an injured Caroline, and a hobbled Paige. There’s no reasonable way to take that as saying that we’re simply better without Paige, even reading it out of context.
 
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It’s all a crap shoot right now except for SC.

I have no problem with Stanford at #2. Who ya gonna put ahead of them? I’d move UConn, NCState, Creighton and maybe LSU up. I’d move Iowa and Virginia Tech down. But it’s still a WAG with all the portal movement.
I the the voters have UCONN where they are in the rankings right now to see how they do the first 2 months of the season with the rigorous schedule. They lost more than 2 games they will solidify the pre season voters ranking . They win them all then the voters dont look so bad still giving them a top 10 pre season ranking.
 
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Because we have a more talented, better balanced roster.
Im an optimist but im going to keep my opinion until the games tip off. Right now im not as convinced as you my friend :) . On a high note we could be the 3rd best team in the country on a low note we could be barely #25 in the country if no one steps up to fill the best player in college basketball's shoes. If SC loses boston , would you still consider them #1 or a title favorite ? The entire expectation changes ijs for now it's a wait and see game.
 
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"Kellie Harper nearly acquired an entire starting lineup in the transfer portal."

It's funny, this line is used to argue that Tennessee belongs at #4, and yet this looks to me to be precisely the reason why they should be rather lower.

I don't disagree that we belong lower than #2 until we prove something. I just think Iowa and Tennessee have things to prove as well, and belong even lower than we do. I have no doubt whatsoever that we are stronger than both of them. It's an open question in my mind whether we are stronger than Texas.

Our likely core starting 5 -- Azzi Caroline Dorka Aaliyah Nika -- are all veterans who have proved themselves playing together. Not so Tennessee or Texas (or even Stanford). Only Iowa in the group 3-5 has a stable lineup from last year, but they have never shown that they are competitive with us.
Tennessee has Walker, Horston , Key , Puckett , Suarez , as a veteran core who have proved themselves along with playing together for multiple years as well . Throw in Rickea Jackson a flat out scorer , Hollingshead who's offense is as strong as key's defense , Can't forget 6'4 high school AA Sniper specialist from 3 Justine Pissot being added . This team has the build of a FF contender something Tennessee has not even remotely looked qualified in the past 5 years. If coach harper can't get this team there i have a feeling some eyes will start to roll in knoxville next offseason.
 
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Personally , I could give a rats petutie what Charlie thinks.
Rubber is going to hit the road in a couple of weeks.
I love climbing the ladder, weekly and hearing the excuses from the deposed.
Nothing like going into the gym of a higher ranked opponent and beating the bejesus out of them.
You may not know this UCONN team .
But you will…
 

triaddukefan

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Personally , I could give a rats petutie what Charlie thinks.
Rubber is going to hit the road in a couple of weeks.
I love climbing the ladder, weekly and hearing the excuses from the deposed.
Nothing like going into the gym of a higher ranked opponent and beating the bejesus out of them.
You may not know this UCONN team .
But you will…

How many times has that actually happened?
 
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Pretchel and Jump are premiere shooters . The PG spot is where the mystery lies . Overall with a 2 headed monster like Haley Jones & Cameron Brink the tree will be there at the end. Tara has a knack for developing a player into a position randomly during the season and they become a player of notice . Wonder whom that will be this year ? NC State is Top 5 material imo. Boyd , Johnson , Rivers , MiMi Collins , River Baldwin , Brown-Turner make a solid core . They are way to low imo i do not see Louisville or ND being more talented than that group .
Prechtel and Jump are shooters, but ones that aren't going to play the bulk of minutes. You don't sit Jones, Brink Bellibi, and Betts to have a stretch 4(Prechtel) who isn't as good as the 4 players I mentioned, out there shooting 3's.
 

triaddukefan

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If we beat Texas, one more time at least.

This is just a espn poll made up of two or three voters. Do people really think Texas will be ahead of Connecticut when the real polls come out?
 
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You don't sit Jones, Brink Bellibi, and Betts to have a stretch 4(Prechtel) who isn't as good as the 4 players I mentioned, out there shooting 3's.
Belibi hasn't typically played a lot of minutes either. I like her game -- sort of like Aaliyah -- but she's been a rotation player, getting 14 mins/g all three years. This is more or less what Prechtel did, with a dip to 10/g last season. It's hard to see Prechtel as a stretch-4. That seems more descriptive of Brink and Belibi.

The problem for Stanford is going to be team speed, and Belibi seems like a quicker option than Prechtel -- which probably explains why Prechtel's minutes dipped last season. Until a viable pg emerges for them, they will struggle with this.
 

EricLA

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Joan pretty much nailed it. Even without Paige this team is loaded with talent, and very highly rated talent coming out of HS as well. Frankly, the talent at Tennessee and Texas isn't even remotely close. And Texas was picked 2nd in their own conference by the coaches.

Of course losing Paige is huge. She's a former NPOY and would be on the short list for NPOY in any season that she was healthy. But UCONN is not ONLY Paige Bueckers, and that is what some people seem to be forgetting.

Dorka may well be a top 5 draft pick if she has the kind of season Geno expects. Nika has already proven she is a very solid PG, and hopefully she worked on things over the summer to make her much better than "solid".

Azzi was the #1 recruit in her class. Ducharme was consensus top 10. Amari was consensus top 5. Sure there are questions about the last 2, but Caroline has already proven that when health and confident, she's a force. Edwards is poised for a tremendous season and will be a huge part of our post success.

Oh, and Ice and Ayanna - the best freshman duo in the nation on any team. So frankly I can see maybe putting Stanford ahead of UCONN - maybe. They lost a lot and have a ton of guard questions. I still believe UCONN is the 2nd or 3rd best team on paper and it's not even close. Just my $.02
 
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Shoot, and i forgot about Lou. UCONN's secret weapon. She's gonna surprise almost everyone this season...
Lou isn’t gonna surprise.
Coaches already let the Cat ( err Husky) out of the bag.
 
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Stymie, loved "rat's petutie". On Monday , Dec. 5th Conn. will have played Texas, N.C. State, and Notre Dame, and on the 12th Maryland. Those are Mondays when the polls are taken. The Huskies should be firmly entrenched at #2 at that time. I stated in another post that if a preseason poll was taken of coaches they would be #2, or 3.
 
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Prechtel and Jump are shooters, but ones that aren't going to play the bulk of minutes. You don't sit Jones, Brink Bellibi, and Betts to have a stretch 4(Prechtel) who isn't as good as the 4 players I mentioned, out there shooting 3's.
I have a feeling Pretchel will start to begin the season and Betts will gradually eat into her minutes and become a starter by the tourney . Brink at 4 would be scary she has the outside shot to fit and the defense of a monster. Im anxious to see how Betts incorporates with this group . I have not seen much of her in high school that impressed me other than her being literally taller than everyone else on the court.Pretchel can stretch the D and hit 3's in a quick sequence if she gets hot. We saw that multiple times these last 2 season's so i dont think she comes off the bench . Eventually she should though if Betts is as good as her ranking identifies.
 
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I have a feeling Pretchel will start to begin the season and Betts will gradually eat into her minutes and become a starter by the tourney . Brink at 4 would be scary she has the outside shot to fit and the defense of a monster. Im anxious to see how Betts incorporates with this group . I have not seen much of her in high school that impressed me other than her being literally taller than everyone else on the court.Pretchel can stretch the D and hit 3's in a quick sequence if she gets hot. We saw that multiple times these last 2 season's so i dont think she comes off the bench . Eventually she should though if Betts is as good as her ranking identifies.
I agree about Betts. Whatever her virtues, they weren't entirely apparent in high school. She was a good shot blocker and a decent rebounder. But a lumbering presence otherwise, which may limit her contributions on offense. Of course, with Brink and Jones next to her, she may not need to be all that quick. By contrast, Kardoso is much more mobile and has rather better offensive skills, even if she lacks a perimeter shot.
 
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Just thinking on the account of Tennessee and this particular claim:

"Point guard Jasmine Powell (Minnesota), forwards Rickea Jackson (Mississippi State) and Jasmine Franklin (Missouri State) and 6-5 center Jillian Hollingshead (Georgia) would start for many teams in the country...".

My initial response was "Could they really?" Would these be mid-major teams? Perhaps Rickea Jackson could get substantial minutes at a top 25 team. But would the others be more than rotation players? How does that help them. Tennessee already has plenty of those, once you look past Horston and Key. The problem for Tennessee recently has been weak recruiting. Pissot is an exception, and may be the only bright spot, though I don't think she can really play the pg. They better hope Powell can translate Minnesota skills to the big show and give some needed support to Walker.
 

Plebe

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The past is in the past. I've erased any games from last year vs that school from my memory.... and no need to post box scores or youtube highlights either to refresh my memory either :mad::oops::(
I may have reminded you of the past a time or two, but I certainly didn't stoop so low as to post highlights of previous games.
Just in case anyone else is interested in refreshing their memory, the final score in this game was 74-46 :D

 
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I have a feeling Pretchel will start to begin the season and Betts will gradually eat into her minutes and become a starter by the tourney . Brink at 4 would be scary she has the outside shot to fit and the defense of a monster. Im anxious to see how Betts incorporates with this group . I have not seen much of her in high school that impressed me other than her being literally taller than everyone else on the court.Pretchel can stretch the D and hit 3's in a quick sequence if she gets hot. We saw that multiple times these last 2 season's so i dont think she comes off the bench . Eventually she should though if Betts is as good as her ranking identifies.
I realize that the McDonalds AA game should not be ove emphasized because it’s stars vs stars not team vs team. However, Betts was lost when lined up against a strong post. She was continuously kept out of position by Oldacre’s size and strength.

She may dominate against smaller posts but I think she has a lot to learn against strong, physical posts. She still has the height and wingspan to be a force defensively. Nevertheless, I don’t see her having a major role -her first year - other than as Brink’s backup. Brink spends a lot of time in foul trouble, so a backup can be important.
 
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I realize that the McDonalds AA game should not be ove emphasized because it’s stars vs stars not team vs team. However, Betts was lost when lined up against a strong post. She was continuously kept out of position by Oldacre’s size and strength.

She may dominate against smaller posts but I think she has a lot to learn against strong, physical posts. She still has the height and wingspan to be a force defensively. Nevertheless, I don’t see her having a major role -her first year - other than as Brink’s backup. Brink spends a lot of time in foul trouble, so a backup can be important.
If you saw any of the FIBA games with Betts, you saw something similar. Mostly she was matched up with smaller players and then she could dominate. But she could also get pushed around by other bigs. What I remember about Amari last season is her remark that she wasn't used to playing against kids her size. I suspect Betts will be in the same boat her first year.
 
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Betts might not start the beginning of the year but I don't think it will take 5 games before she does. She's Stanford's future. If I were Stanford, I'd go with a 2 big lineup and focus on getting the ball inside. They still have Haley Jones, who penetrates well. Jump sets out at the 3 point line. No doubt speed and quickness will be issues so they are going to need to score well. Replacing the Hulls is going to hurt them but I think Betts is a star. How are other teams going to stop Brinks and Betts when we couldn't even stop Brink's alone last year? Stanford and SC deserve their ratings.

I think Texas and Notre Dame are strong and Tennessee may well be also. It's tough to project when so much of your talent is new but Horston is no slouch.

I agree that NC State is probably underated some. At the end of last year, Brown-Turner was one of their top 2 players in my opinion and I think she has even more in the tank. They still have a lot of talent coming back. I thought I read that they lost Jada Boyd but she seems to still be on their roster. They still have decent guards and Brown-Turner.
 

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