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