BIG 12 25-26

[azfan]

Updates from Arizona

Both the Sun Devils and Kitties enter the season with new coaches.

This post is motivated by the schedule release by Grand Canyon University.

Their new coach has a tremendous schedule as they open at South Carolina.

The big news however is November 18th when the fashionista brings her ponies to Arizona. Got the date circled on the calendar I'm really looking forward to seeing how Winston Gandy follows Molly Miller. Hat tip to Barnes for her willingness to include Grand Canyon in her non-conference schedule. When she was down in the dirty t she consistently scheduled NAU and was actually willing to travel up the road to play the Jacks

The Lopes have a first class non-conference schedule playing Oregon in addition to South Carolina.

 

[JellyBean]

Well, I am curious to see if TCU can stay on top of the Big 12 or if Baylor (or another team) replaces them at the top of the Big 12.

 

[azfan]

Well, I am curious to see if TCU can stay on top of the Big 12 or if Baylor (or another team) replaces them at the top of the Big 12.

And......dare I say it? Might Molly Miller pull a rabbit out of the hat?

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

And......dare I say it? Might Molly Miller pull a rabbit out of the hat?

It is probably not practical for a first year coach in rebuild to "pull a rabbit out of a hat" - but some success is likely. Beyond the cupcake non-conference, I'm less hopeful for Arizona (this year). Depending on how good the new coach is, it appears there has been some promising recruiting towards year 2.

Arizona has played NAU 7 of the last 8 seasons. This year as well, but possibly pre-scheduled, our friends were talking to the new coach and she said that a fair amount of the schedule was already set when she arrived. Not only is the schedule "weak" - but not only that but all home games.

 

[12au]

Looking forward to the Big 12 preseason polls. Last year it came out October 3rd. So it might be coming out this week.

 

[ISUnorth]

Looking forward to the Big 12 preseason polls. Last year it came out October 3rd. So it might be coming out this week.

Last year the coaches picked KSU/ISU in what was essentially a tie for 1st. Both fell well short of 1st place. Based on returning players and portal adds ISU should be at least considered as a favorite. TCU lost a lot but added a lot and their young coach has proven he can meld transfers into a team quickly so they have to be right in there again.

ISU has a pretty easy conference schedule IMHO. In the old smaller league everyone got a home and an away, not so now with bigly league numbers. They only play Baylor (in Ames) and TCU (road) once.

The pre-season player picks are sort of BS but I'm sort of curious as to whether they pick Audi Crooks or one of the newcomers like Olivia Miles. Crooks is the only returning player that was a unanimous pick for seasons end All-Big 12.

 

[ISUnorth]

More schedule talk, non conference games. ISU plays Iowa in Ames and rest of NC looks really soft. Same for TCU, North Carolina State and than a whole slew of cupcakes. So NC might not tell much. Probably good to not go crazy with a tough NC for TCU with a lot of new players to integrate into a team.

We will get to see Baylor versus some good teams though, Duke (in Paris, cool!), Iowa and Texas (also cool).

 

[12au]

Time to get up to speed on all the teams. I went through all the Big 12 rosters. I have brief comments for each team, and listed the freshmen from the ESPN 100.

Arizona
Complete turnover with coaching staff and roster. Don't have a good handle on what the expected outcome is here. I'd guess they're worse than last year, but I really have no idea. They should retain a good home court advantage at least.

Arizona State
I'm not familiar with the players except Poa and Brackens, but either way I expect them to be a top half of the conference team due to the coaching boost. Maybe sniffing around top 5 even. Miller nabbed one of Walz's top assistants for her staff.

Baylor
(might post longer form comments in a separate post)

Incoming freshmen -
#41 Marcayla Johnson

BYU
I feel like BYU is a high variance team. Their coach last year wasn't completely awful schematically. The team would have good moments but lacked consistency. Hard to get a read on Cummard. Delaney Gibb is a POY candidate. So I could see them being good. Not sure how big a loss Whiting is.

Incoming freshmen -
#86 Sydney Benally

Cincinnati
Landed top-ranked freshman in the conference. Jillian Hayes is a big loss, but they return other pieces. I'd guess they're in about same position as last year. They actually outperformed their true quality in conference play last year (IMO).

Incoming freshmen -
#11 Darianna Alexander
#62 Caliya DeVillasee

Colorado
This team might've been good last year if not for bad injury luck. Unfortunately they've lost those core players: Formann, Diew, Garzon, Wetta et al. They return Masogayo but no one else of note I think. Zyanna Walker is a good addition, but hard to imagine this is better than a middle of the pack team. They should be frisky in Boulder though.

Incoming freshmen -
#81 Logyn Greer

Houston
I'm bullish Matthew Mitchell. I could see a scenario where they're middle of the pack too. Maybe upper half even. There are a lot of uncertain teams in the conference this year.

Iowa State
Lose Emily Ryan, Kelsey Joens, Lily Hansford. Ryan is a big loss. Jada Williams is a nice replacement though. Joens was in rotation so it'll be interesting to see who fits in there. Hansford didn't really seem to play. Not sure why her Corvallis shooting didn't translate. This team should be top 3 in the preseason poll.

Kansas
Great continuity from last year. Rotational players Conesa, Nichols, Evans, Copeland, Harshaw, Williams all return. They nabbed Lily Meister from Indiana, not sure how much this changes things. They add the best freshmen class in conference (probably). Really like the situation here. Nichols is a player of the year candidate. Dark horse contender? Not to win conference but to be among the upper echelon. Maybe not since they still seem to lack a big. I expect they'll be upper half tho.

Incoming freshmen -
#19 Jaliya Davis
#31 Keeley Parks
#43 Libby Fandell

Kansas State
Rebuild. Lost Zyanna Walker, Temira Pointexter, Jaelyn Glenn, Serena Sundell, Kennedy Taylor,
Eliza Maupin, Gisela Sanchez, Imani Lester, Ayoka Lee. Still have Taryn Sides but that's it. Added Izela Arenas. Great freshmen class.

Incoming freshmen -
#16 Jordan Speiser
#47 Aniya Foy
#58 Bradie Harrod

Oklahoma State
Seems like they'll be a contender again. Magassa is a loss. But they brought in bigs who should approximate her. Asi is a loss. But Whiting should be ok. Maybe Stailee Heard's little sister is good too.

Incoming freshmen -
#56 Lena Girardi

TCU
Really like TCU's roster. They brought in a million bigs to replace Prince (Including several freshman bigs from overseas). I assume they'll hit on one.

Ballhanding - Sheffey, Miles, Hunter
Shooting - Miles, Scherr, Bigby, Parker, Suarez
Bigs - Roberson, Basham, Silva

Texas Tech
Rough situation once again. Tech was actually a little better than their record last year. They found ways to blow games. Situation looks worse this year. They return Fritz, Bristow, Maupin. Lost Merritt, Shavers, Johnson. Freelon as well--strange she hasn't been picked up elsewhere.

UCF
A lot of attrition in the offseason. Ngodu is really the only one left. Rough situation.

Departures -
Kaitlin Peterson (Ole Miss)
Emely Rodriguez (Iowa)
Achol Akot (Oklahoma State)
Adeang Ring (Virginia)

Utah
Not a bad situation. Better than many others. Return Wilke and Lani White (sort of). Should be upper half again (IMO).

Incoming freshmen -
#28 Leonna Sneed
#44 Avery Hjelmstad

West Virginia
Lost Quinerly and Watson (significant). Also lost 2 serviceable if not great bigs (Moore and Blacksten). I think McCray and Wheeler should be upgrades in the frontcourt. Returning on the perimeter is Harrison, Woodley, and Shaw. Good foundation. Cooke is a good addition. Overall, team should be similar to last year.

Incoming freshmen -
#88 Madison Parrish

 

[Bone Dog]

TCU
Really like TCU's roster. They brought in a million bigs to replace Prince (Including several freshman bigs from overseas). I assume they'll hit on one.

Ballhanding - Sheffey, Miles, Hunter
Shooting - Miles, Scherr, Bigby, Parker, Suarez
Bigs - Roberson, Basham, Silva

Looks like Roberson may be out for the season. I’d have guessed she was the best of these three. Silva could turn into something special in time. I have some doubts about Basham. Neither of them has much foot speed.

 

[12au]

Looks like Roberson may be out for the season. I’d have guessed she was the best of these three. Silva could turn into something special in time. I have some doubts about Basham. Neither of them has much foot speed.

The Roberson injury is tough. She would've gave them a different look at the 5. Plus she has been in that system for years. All their other options appear to be poor man's Sedona types. Silva is probably the starter. I didn't watch Kentucky much last year but it seems like she's a solid player. I think Basham will at least be playable in a bench role, assuming there ends up being a Campbell-boost of some sort.

 

[Bone Dog]

The Roberson injury is tough. She would've gave them a different look at the 5. Plus she has been in that system for years. All their other options appear to be poor man's Sedona types. Silva is probably the starter. I didn't watch Kentucky much last year but it seems like she's a solid player. I think Basham will at least be playable in a bench role, assuming there ends up being a Campbell-boost of some sort.

I’ve only seen a few highlights of Basham. But I watched a few games with Silva. I think either of them could be compared to Kennedy Brown from Duke, who became a capable defender and rebounder by her final year. Silva looks like a less assertive version of Brown, and nowhere near the scorer Clara Strack is. But she could learn to do this. They each have long arms and could muscle up a bit. It’s really up to them if they want to develop their skills.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I think either of them could be compared to Kennedy Brown from Duke, who became a capable defender and rebounder by her final year.

She was a capable rebounder and defender right from the beginning at Oregon St. She just never developed much offense.

 

[ISUnorth]

BYU
I feel like BYU is a high variance team. Their coach last year wasn't completely awful schematically. The team would have good moments but lacked consistency. Hard to get a read on Cummard. Delaney Gibb is a POY candidate. So I could see them being good. Not sure how big a loss Whiting is.

Incoming freshmen -
#86 Sydney Benally

Iowa State
Lose Emily Ryan, Kelsey Joens, Lily Hansford. Ryan is a big loss. Jada Williams is a nice replacement though. Joens was in rotation so it'll be interesting to see who fits in there. Hansford didn't really seem to play. Not sure why her Corvallis shooting didn't translate. This team should be top 3 in the preseason poll.

Kansas
Great continuity from last year. Rotational players Conesa, Nichols, Evans, Copeland, Harshaw, Williams all return. They nabbed Lily Meister from Indiana, not sure how much this changes things. They add the best freshmen class in conference (probably). Really like the situation here. Nichols is a player of the year candidate. Dark horse contender? Not to win conference but to be among the upper echelon. Maybe not since they still seem to lack a big. I expect they'll be upper half tho.

Incoming freshmen -
#19 Jaliya Davis
#31 Keeley Parks
#43 Libby Fandell

Kansas State
Rebuild. Lost Zyanna Walker, Temira Pointexter, Jaelyn Glenn, Serena Sundell, Kennedy Taylor,
Eliza Maupin, Gisela Sanchez, Imani Lester, Ayoka Lee. Still have Taryn Sides but that's it. Added Izela Arenas. Great freshmen class.

Incoming freshmen -
#16 Jordan Speiser
#47 Aniya Foy
#58 Bradie Harrod

BYU
I looked to see if Kailey Woolston was on the BYU roster but she isn't yet. She was 2nd in the NCAA in 3-point % as a freshman but started an 18-month mission in May 2024. Seems that will end in Nov/Dec but not sure if she is back than or at the semester, not sure how enrolling at near the end of a semester might work. She'll be a good complement to Gibbs if she is in any sort of basketball shape (that's going to be a wildcard, not like she was likely hooping much in Baltimore). Wonder if a redshirt might make more sense than wasting half a season? Mission time does not count against NCAA eligibility.

Iowa State
This is blaspheme within the Cyclone fan community but I believe Jada Williams is an upgrade over Ryan. Ryan was the champion of assist stats but in five years (granted she was ill and injured year 4/5) the team never advanced much. Jada adds speed and defense to a team that is slow and not great defensively. Ryan is still there as a grad assistant and between her and Fennelly I hope they do not try to reign in Jada so much as to kill her game, but fear they will. Caitlin Clark would never have been what she became if she had decided on ISU over Iowa.

Cyclone get Kenzie Hare back after missing most of last year form hip surgery. She was a 40% three-pointer at Marquette. They added Evangelia Paulk, a small conference forward as a likely depth piece. Freshman recruit Reese Beaty from Tennessee might be an unranked HS sleeper signing.

They were picked last year to compete with KSU for the title and going with subtracts and adds to the roster they should be better (barring injures).

Post - Crooks/Taulelei
PG - Williams/Wilson
F - Brown/Paulk
G - Hare/Jackson
G - Harris/Beatty

End of bench: Tanke/Jensen

This is year one of a two year window with Crooks/Brown/Williams to do something before a complete reset with the likely retirement of long time coach Bill Fennelly. His likely lame duck status seems to be impacting HS recruiting more than short term portals moves but it is a factor.

Kansas and Kansas State
Both made a HS recruit splash. Will be interesting to see how that plays out in a year or two.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Seems that will end in Nov/Dec but not sure if she is back than or at the semester, not sure how enrolling at near the end of a semester might work. She'll be a good complement to Gibbs if she is in any sort of basketball shape (that's going to be a wildcard, not like she was likely hooping much in Baltimore). Wonder if a redshirt might make more sense than wasting half a season? Mission time does not count against NCAA eligibility.

Somehow BYU athletes that come back from their missions seem to almost always hit the ground running. Especially notable w/ men's bball players over the years.

 

[Bone Dog]

Iowa State
This is blaspheme within the Cyclone fan community but I believe Jada Williams is an upgrade over Ryan. Ryan was the champion of assist stats but in five years (granted she was ill and injured year 4/5) the team never advanced much. Jada adds speed and defense to a team that is slow and not great defensively.

I don’t know exactly why, but I really like this kid. Jada Williams has got chutzpah and a lot of it. She’s little but she’s fierce and she has the personality to lift a team. As good as Ryan was, I never felt the need to praise her like this. But Jada is a different kind of cat.

 

[ISUnorth]

I don’t know exactly why, but I really like this kid. Jada Williams has got chutzpah and a lot of it. She’s little but she’s fierce and she has the personality to lift a team. As good as Ryan was, I never felt the need to praise her like this. But Jada is a different kind of cat.

I get what you mean. She's got some pizzazz to her game. I get why she'd like to play with Crooks and Brown since she's a PG. I don't get why she'd also come to play for a spirit crushing coach like Fennelly unless he's promised to not try and kill her game.

 

[cancontent]

Iowa State
This is blaspheme within the Cyclone fan community but I believe Jada Williams is an upgrade over Ryan. Ryan was the champion of assist stats but in five years (granted she was ill and injured year 4/5) the team never advanced much. Jada adds speed and defense to a team that is slow and not great defensively. Ryan is still there as a grad assistant and between her and Fennelly I hope they do not try to reign in Jada so much as to kill her game, but fear they will. Caitlin Clark would never have been what she became if she had decided on ISU over Iowa.

Not surprised that Cyclone fans would react this way, but it's a tad disappointing at the same time. I would think the fans would be excited about having a very talented guard like Williams join the roster. She frees up Brown and Crooks because teams can't leave her alone on defense. Coach Fennelly's previous attempts to recruit a guard like her haven't been successful in recent years. I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

I don’t know exactly why, but I really like this kid. Jada Williams has got chutzpah and a lot of it. She’s little but she’s fierce and she has the personality to lift a team. As good as Ryan was, I never felt the need to praise her like this. But Jada is a different kind of cat.

She came to Canada for USA vs Canada prep all-stars event. Believe she was entering Grade 9 at the time. The chutzpah you're referring to was very evident then. She was willing to take on anyone and I recall she wanted to go one-on-one against Day-Wilson that weekend.