B1G 25-26 | Page 3 | The Boneyard

B1G 25-26

YKCornelius said:
A challenge for sure, but as you pointed out, Lindsey Gottleib has proven successful at building and developing the Women of Troy into NCAA tournament teams. A lot of moving parts this year - we shall see.
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I have long thought Lindsay is a top coaching talent, and she deserves a ton of credit. But she also seems not entirely to have figured out how to coach players for 4 years. Rayah was her only success in this regard, and I think the relationship was starting to fray by senior year. Lindsay inherited a mediocre program at USC and turned it around on the basis of winning the lottery with Juju's recruitment. Besides her and Rayah, it's been transfers all the way around. To build a great program, as opposed to occasional great teams, she will need to do more than this. It's almost like there are two paths a coach can take, one ending up where Geno and Tara and Dawn and Muffet did, the other ending up where Kim and Brenda and Cori are. Both can count as success, even though the actual experience of the players is strikingly different.
 
Bone Dog said:
I have long thought Lindsay is a top coaching talent, and she deserves a ton of credit. But she also seems not entirely to have figured out how to coach players for 4 years. Rayah was her only success in this regard, and I think the relationship was starting to fray by senior year. Lindsay inherited a mediocre program at USC and turned it around on the basis of winning the lottery with Juju's recruitment. Besides her and Rayah, it's been transfers all the way around. To build a great program, as opposed to occasional great teams, she will need to do more than this. It's almost like there are two paths a coach can take, one ending up where Geno and Tara and Dawn and Muffet did, the other ending up where Kim and Brenda and Cori are. Both can count as success, even though the actual experience of the players is strikingly different.
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To clarify, this is with respect to USC correct? It sounds like her time at California hasn't been taken into consideration here.
 
cancontent said:
To clarify, this is with respect to USC correct? It sounds like her time at California hasn't been taken into consideration here.
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Yes exactly. She definitely earned a shot at a big time program with her record at Cal.
 
I don’t know that the Geno/Tara/Muffet scenario is feasible any more - even for Dawn. NIL and the portal have changed things. Recruiting high school prospecis still important but wise portal strategy will be just as important over the next ten years.
 
visitingcock said:
I don’t know that the Geno/Tara/Muffet scenario is feasible any more - even for Dawn. NIL and the portal have changed things. Recruiting high school prospecis still important but wise portal strategy will be just as important over the next ten years.
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Feeling is that it will have to be similar to how pro teams balance free agency with drafting new players out of college and/or various development leagues.
 
YKCornelius said:
Bballnut90, fair enough. I respect your opinion.

I agree that Kara Dunn will be an impact player - she has improved each of her three years at Georgia Tech. I also agree that others stepped up, especially in the fourth quarter of games that mattered - it was not a one (or two) man show. Still, it's one thing to integrate new players into a line-up centered around JuJu and anchored by Rayah, but it's another thing altogether to build a team around one returning starting sophomore guard averaging less than ten points a game.

A challenge for sure, but as you pointed out, Lindsey Gottleib has proven successful at building and developing the Women of Troy into NCAA tournament teams. A lot of moving parts this year - we shall see.

Just for my clarification, what do you mean by "top 3-4" for next season? Top 3-4 in the Big Ten, I presume?
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Yes, top 3-4 in Big Ten. Should be an interesting season in the conference aside from UCLA. Ohio State, Maryland, and USC all will look drastically different than they did last season, and squads like Michigan and Michigan State should be improved next season.
 
cancontent said:
Feeling is that it will have to be similar to how pro teams balance free agency with drafting new players out of college and/or various development leagues.
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One difference from pro teams is that these are teenagers, effectively adolescents, and the mission of any educational institution with regard to them is different. Yes, some blend of transfers is inevitable and has always been a part of practically every program. But the core effort of every coach and AD has to be understood in terms of offering and supporting 4 year commitments. This is what differentiates the great program coaches from the great team coaches.
 
Bone Dog said:
One difference from pro teams is that these are teenagers, effectively adolescents, and the mission of any educational institution with regard to them is different. Yes, some blend of transfers is inevitable and has always been a part of practically every program. But the core effort of every coach and AD has to be understood in terms of offering and supporting 4 year commitments. This is what differentiates the great program coaches from the great team coaches.
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I agree regarding differentiation about programs. Disagree regarding the age as this is a challenge with some pro leagues like hockey where most top prospects are coming straight out of high school, or the WNBA/NBA with their draft rules for international and one-and-done prospects.
 
cancontent said:
Thanks. Wanted to make sure my interpretation was correct.
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I suspect longtime Cal followers might have a different less positive take on Gottlieb’s tenure at Cal. The Bears advanced to a final four her second season in Berkeley. That team was primarily players her predecessor Joanne Boyle recruited to Cal. Gottlieb had some continued recruiting success getting post Kristine Anigwe and guard Jaelyn Brown. Her teams finished 2nd, 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the PAC-12 her first four seasons at Cal. The next four seasons Cal finished 10th, 7th, 5th and 6th. While her last two teams finished the top half the recruiting fell off and she then resigned Cal to join the Cleveland Cavaliers. She left little for her successor Charmin Smith to work with. It took Smith four seasons to achieve a winning record and coached Cal WBB to a 25-9 record and her first NCAA tournament appearance.

Lindsey has done a very good job restoring USC’s program to the top levels of NCAA WBB. I believe some if not a lot of her success stems from the change in USC’s Athletic Department leadership. Lynn Swann paid little attention to USC WBB. While his successor Mike Bohn did hire Gottlieb in 2021 I believe then USC President Carol Folt played an instrumental role in getting increased outside financial support to the WBB program. I suspect that support help get Jazzy Davidson’s commitment to the Trojans.

We’ll see this coming season how well Gottlieb performs without Juju leading the way.
 
YoDore said:
Illinois preview.

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Pretty solid breakdown on Illinois. Illinois has a lot of talent, probably their most talented roster in a while, to the point where they might break from the middle of the pack and get into that top section of the pack (3rd or 4th place team).
 
How are we feeling about Washington? I really think they could be a team that finishes top 4 maybe even challenge UCLA, USC, Maryland and Michigan for the title.

Sienna Harvey, Nina Cain, and Bryn McGaughy are a very solid freshman class. I think Harvey and McGuaghy will get significant minutes. Their Achilles heel will likely be lack of size or go to post threat down low. Another year of Dalayah Daniels and they would’ve been set.
 
SCspur said:
How are we feeling about Washington? I really think they could be a team that finishes top 4 maybe even challenge UCLA, USC, Maryland and Michigan for the title.

Sienna Harvey, Nina Cain, and Bryn McGaughy are a very solid freshman class. I think Harvey and McGuaghy will get significant minutes. Their Achilles heel will likely be lack of size or go to post threat down low. Another year of Dalayah Daniels and they would’ve been set.
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Don't forget they also have Avery Howell transferring in as well.
 
bballnut90 said:
Yes, top 3-4 in Big Ten. Should be an interesting season in the conference aside from UCLA. Ohio State, Maryland, and USC all will look drastically different than they did last season, and squads like Michigan and Michigan State should be improved next season.
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Interesting indeed. I have my eye on Minnesota to move up to the upper third of the conference at least. I think winning the WBIT last year gave the players and the coaching staff confidence in themselves heading into this season. If Braun returns to form from her injury, the Golden Gophers have both shooters and chemistry. They are my sleeper pick to sneak into a first round bye in the Big Ten tourney.
 
SCspur said:
How are we feeling about Washington? I really think they could be a team that finishes top 4 maybe even challenge UCLA, USC, Maryland and Michigan for the title.

Sienna Harvey, Nina Cain, and Bryn McGaughy are a very solid freshman class. I think Harvey and McGuaghy will get significant minutes. Their Achilles heel will likely be lack of size or go to post threat down low. Another year of Dalayah Daniels and they would’ve been set.
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Or if Annika Soltau had showed up instead of going pro.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Or if Annika Soltau had showed up instead of going pro.
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Damn I forgot about her too! I was really impressed with her in the 2024 Hoop Summit game. I got the feeling she didn’t want to play down low though, she seemed to love the perimeter.
 
YKCornelius said:
Interesting indeed. I have my eye on Minnesota to move up to the upper third of the conference at least. I think winning the WBIT last year gave the players and the coaching staff confidence in themselves heading into this season. If Braun returns to form from her injury, the Golden Gophers have both shooters and chemistry. They are my sleeper pick to sneak into a first round bye in the Big Ten tourney.
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Thank you! Winning that championship was a huge boost for the Gophers and the fans here in Minnesota. You are right about the confidence. Seeing Amaya Battle's rise during the WBIT tournament was something special. The icing on the cake was watching the growth of Tori McKinney. Always great to see a player step up when the moment is brightest and do their thang. Ms. McKinney stepped up and was outstanding the last part of the season. Then you throw in the growth of Grace Grocholski. A healthy Mara Braun and a stronger Sophie Hart, Minnesota just might cause some noise in the Big Ten.
 
JellyBean said:
Thank you! Winning that championship was a huge boost for the Gophers and the fans here in Minnesota. You are right about the confidence. Seeing Amaya Battle's rise during the WBIT tournament was something special. The icing on the cake was watching the growth of Tori McKinney. Always great to see a player step up when the moment is brightest and do their thang. Ms. McKinney stepped up and was outstanding the last part of the season. Then you throw in the growth of Grace Grocholski. A healthy Mara Braun and a stronger Sophie Hart, Minnesota just might cause some noise in the Big Ten.
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Don't forget Taylor Woodson, Annika Stewart and Brynn Senden.
 
JellyBean said:
Oh definitely. We got a host of talent on this Gophers roster. Just a matter of the players taking that next step.
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I’m just struck by how much of the roster comes from two high schools and long time WBB rivals, Hopkins and Wayzata. You can still find videos of their games on YouTube. During Paige and Mara’s time these games were memorable.
 
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