Big Ten WBB

[TerpWomenFan]

Maryland should win the conference again but Iowa could be close behind if they improve defensively. I’m excited to see how my Gophers do with returning all but 1 player. They need to get a good post player since we have so many talented guards. It should be a much better year for Minny.

Minnesota always puzzles me. I think they should be better than their record indicate most years. I remember one year Maryland went to Minnesota and the Gophers destroyed them by 20+ points. I thought they would sustain that level but never did.

 

[Dillon77]

Pretty much on cue, here's an in-depth feature on Michigan.
Amazing that Naz Hillmon is a senior already!

How far can Michigan's seniors take the team after last season's Sweet 16 run?

Big Ten player of the year Naz Hillmon is poised for a strong senior season.

theathletic.com

 

[triaddukefan]

I sure wished that Maryland would have gotten a better opponent for the Big10/ACC challenge. Facing Miami will be nothing more than a scrimmage

I started classes at Carolina the semester after we left the ACC.

Football wise, we stepped up by becoming a major independent.

Basketball-wise, it killed us from a scheduling and attendance point of view. Joining the Metro later on didn't cure the problem,

You had me confused at first.

 

[visitingcock]

I sure wished that Maryland would have gotten a better opponent for the Big10/ACC challenge. Facing Miami will be nothing more than a scrimmage





You had me confused at first.

Oh yeah, y'all are next to UN-Carolina

 

[gophers1995]

Minnesota always puzzles me. I think they should be better than their record indicate most years. I remember one year Maryland went to Minnesota and the Gophers destroyed them by 20+ points. I thought they would sustain that level but never did.

They just lack consistent post presence and Stollings before Whalen would play 5 guards if she could get away with it. I’m optimistic that Whalen can get some quality post players but that is still to be seen. 2022 class is very good and that should be a good measuring point if they don’t produce.

 

[sweetspot]

Maryland had a lot of success switching on defense 1-5 with the 2019-20 team, but most every contributor on that team (besides Mikesell) was strong enough to defend in the post. Kaila Charles, Blair Watson and Ashley Owusu were all long, strong guards.

Benzan's an awesome player, but smart teams took advantage of Maryland's lazy switches and got her stuck on a big. Maybe Sellers is a good enough shooter and a versatile enough defender to cut into Benzan's minutes and help Maryland be more versatile, but that's asking a lot for a freshman.

Brenda can be stubborn, but I think it's in her best interest to play more conventionally. Doubt we see it, though, especially with how she wants Reese and Miller to play.

 

[TerpWomenFan]

Maryland had a lot of success switching on defense 1-5 with the 2019-20 team, but most every contributor on that team (besides Mikesell) was strong enough to defend in the post. Kaila Charles, Blair Watson and Ashley Owusu were all long, strong guards.

Benzan's an awesome player, but smart teams took advantage of Maryland's lazy switches and got her stuck on a big. Maybe Sellers is a good enough shooter and a versatile enough defender to cut into Benzan's minutes and help Maryland be more versatile, but that's asking a lot for a freshman.

Brenda can be stubborn, but I think it's in her best interest to play more conventionally. Doubt we see it, though, especially with how she wants Reese and Miller to play.

The 2019-20 team used the Texas Tech men defensive scheme for the first time and it was a huge success after the Northwestern blowout loss. The thing I didn't like about that defense was it took Shakira Austin away from the basket therefore removing their rim protector ability. I feel the same thing will happen with Angel Reese.

 

[JellyBean]

Minnesota always puzzles me. I think they should be better than their record indicate most years. I remember one year Maryland went to Minnesota and the Gophers destroyed them by 20+ points. I thought they would sustain that level but never did.

Minnesota, like many programs in college basketball, just never seems to have an identity. Some programs have had an identity forever. Minnesota, at one point when we had Pam Borton, had an identity. Family like commitment to the team, a dedication to hard work, solid leadership, and a healthy dose of good old fashion defense. Hopefully Coach Whalen is getting those pieces in place. Gonna take some time.

 

[Matthew1589]

This past summer all Iowa worked on was defense and making some changes per the players. The coaches spoke to other coaching staffs, watched film of other teams and their own, then went to work improving their schemes. Caitlin Clark said their activity on that end of the court is something all fans will notice right away and they didn't work on offense as a group at all this summer. Despite their backup post Sharon Goodman tearing her ACL recently, there is more front court depth than I can ever recall in the Lisa Bluder era along with good length in the backcourt too.

 

[sweetspot]

This past summer all Iowa worked on was defense and making some changes per the players. The coaches spoke to other coaching staffs, watched film of other teams and their own, then went to work improving their schemes. Caitlin Clark said their activity on that end of the court is something all fans will notice right away and they didn't work on offense as a group at all this summer. Despite their backup post Sharon Goodman tearing her ACL recently, there is more front court depth than I can ever recall in the Lisa Bluder era along with good length in the backcourt too.

Scheme can help only so much when you're as relatively athletically limited as Iowa is (or was last year). No rim protection inside and not a lot of players you'd trust to defend for 94 feet. Maybe the new recruiting class and a summer of S&C helps, but I don't see Iowa's defense going from "one of the worst in the country" to "pretty dependable."

 

[Matthew1589]

Scheme can help only so much when you're as relatively athletically limited as Iowa is (or was last year). No rim protection inside and not a lot of players you'd trust to defend for 94 feet. Maybe the new recruiting class and a summer of S&C helps, but I don't see Iowa's defense going from "one of the worst in the country" to "pretty dependable."

They bring back about 97% of their scoring from last year and averaged 86 ppg, added 4 nice players who will contribute this season too. They will never be a lock down defensive team but any improvement with similar offensive output will go a long way.

 

[letsgogirls]

Are they gonna release preseason awards/rankings?

 

[undersized]

Are they gonna release preseason awards/rankings?

I've been wondering this too. For the 2019-20 season this stuff came on Monday, October 21. So maybe we'll see something tomorrow since it will be the last Monday of October? (Last season is a bad comparison because the beginning of the season was pushed back due to COVID.)

 

[DefenseBB]

They just lack consistent post presence and Stollings before Whalen would play 5 guards if she could get away with it. I’m optimistic that Whalen can get some quality post players but that is still to be seen. 2022 class is very good and that should be a good measuring point if they don’t produce.

My view of this situation is definitely less optimistic than what you “hope”, though I agree with the data you posted. Stollings padded her schedule with cupcakes to build those wins and that actually hurt Whalen her 1st year 2018-19 as they went 12-0 and stupidly, the AD extended Lindsey whose team then went 9-11 the rest of the year (9-9 conf) she then followed that up with 16-15 (5-13 conf) so again her OOC was against cupcakes. Last year she was 8-13 (7-11) which again, considering what they expected is significantly less than hoped. Add in the dysfunction and transfer out of the high profile player adds questions. Now you mentioned the lack of height (correctly) yet the 4 top recruits Lindsey signed in 2021 and 2022 are 3 guards (5’6”, 5’11”, 5’11” and a forward 6’1” which frankly is not addressing the height concerns. As this years class has 1 top 100 recruit at #98 5-6” point guard, Borowicz I think this will also be a less than great year. Honestly the only positive I can see is she’s getting top recruits from Minnesota to sign with her but Lindsey needs to get more AND show she can “coach up” these players to compete. After 3 years, I am not impressed nor am I optimistic.

 

[letsgogirls]

Does anyone have any predictions for the usual preseason awards/rankings?

 

[undersized]

Here is last year's postseason 1st team, in alphabetical order by school:
Berger
Holmes
Clark
Czinano
Miller
Owusu
Hillmon (POY)
Clouden
Burton
Juhasz
Guirantes

All return except Juhasz (transfer) and Guirantes (WNBA), so this year I'll sub Jacy Sheldon for Juhasz (same team), and Leigha Brown for Guirantes. Preseason POY goes to Hillmon IMO because she won it last year, but Clark, Owusu/Miller, or Berger could challenge for it. The only "problem" for Owusu and Miller is that they'll steal votes from each other being on the same team. That's bad for individual accolades but great for team success, of course.

I don't want to curse anything by predicting a fixed order from 1 through 14 but I'll throw out these five tiers for discussion. Each tier should be really competitive with the tier directly above it.

Maryland
----
Indiana, Michigan, Iowa
----
Michigan St., Northwestern, Ohio St., Nebraska
----
Rutgers, Penn St., Minnesota, Purdue
----
Illinois, Wisconsin

 

[TerpWomenFan]

Here is last year's postseason 1st team, in alphabetical order by school:
Berger
Holmes
Clark
Czinano
Miller
Owusu
Hillmon (POY)
Clouden
Burton
Juhasz
Guirantes

All return except Juhasz (transfer) and Guirantes (WNBA), so this year I'll sub Jacy Sheldon for Juhasz (same team), and Leigha Brown for Guirantes. Preseason POY goes to Hillmon IMO because she won it last year, but Clark, Owusu/Miller, or Berger could challenge for it. The only "problem" for Owusu and Miller is that they'll steal votes from each other being on the same team. That's bad for individual accolades but great for team success, of course.

I don't want to curse anything by predicting a fixed order from 1 through 14 but I'll throw out these five tiers for discussion. Each tier should be really competitive with the tier directly above it.

Maryland
----
Indiana, Michigan, Iowa
----
Michigan St., Northwestern, Ohio St., Nebraska
----
Rutgers, Penn St., Minnesota, Purdue
----
Illinois, Wisconsin

Will Illinois or Wisconsin ever escape the cellar?

 

[cancontent]

Does anyone have any predictions for the usual preseason awards/rankings?

Just got posted a little while ago.

Big Ten Conference

The official athletics website for Big Ten Conference

bigten.org

 

[undersized]

Just got posted a little while ago.

Big Ten Conference

The official athletics website for Big Ten Conference

bigten.org

Got my predictions on the record with literally minutes to spare haha. Holmes instead of Sheldon makes sense.

 

[Dillon77]

Got my predictions on the record with literally minutes to spare haha. Holmes instead of Sheldon makes sense.

Thanks to you and @cancontent for the updates, both personal and official.

One question the official release answered for me is: yes, Taylor Mikesell is eligible to play immediately for her third team in three years.

While I think this race is Maryland's to lose, Michigan and Indiana bring a boatload of experience and Iowa has, umm, that Clark kid.

Program I'm keeping an eye on: Penn State.

 

[cancontent]

Thanks to you and @cancontent for the updates, both personal and official.

One question the official release answered for me is: yes, Taylor Mikesell is eligible to play immediately for her third team in three years.

While I think this race is Maryland's to lose, Michigan and Indiana bring a boatload of experience and Iowa has, umm, that Clark kid.

Program I'm keeping an eye on: Penn State.

Glad to be of assistance

I'm curious to see how Michigan fares this year. They've got Varejo (sic?) back this season as I recall she couldn't come back to the US due to COVID. That could help free up Hillmon, which is a scary thought.

 

[nwhoopfan]

One question the official release answered for me is: yes, Taylor Mikesell is eligible to play immediately for her third team in three years.

Curious what possible rationale there is for her to get immediate eligibility after transferring 2 years in a row. Maybe after this season she'll be a grad transfer and she can do it again.

 

[sweetspot]

The Columbus paper makes it seem like Mikesell's eligibility wouldn't have been decided by now. Notebook: Ohio State women waiting for ruling on Oregon transfer Taylor Mikesell

 

[Dillon77]

Curious what possible rationale there is for her to get immediate eligibility after transferring 2 years in a row. Maybe after this season she'll be a grad transfer and she can do it again.

The Columbus paper makes it seem like Mikesell's eligibility wouldn't have been decided by now. Notebook: Ohio State women waiting for ruling on Oregon transfer Taylor Mikesell

This is what the B1G release said (italic print is mine):
"They are supplemented this season by the addition of senior guard Taylor Mikesell, who began her career at Maryland and shared Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year honors with Hillmon in 2018-19, before most recently helping Oregon to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen last year."

So, someone in Rosemont seemed to have jumped the gun? Or made an assumption? Stay tuned. Like @nwhoopfan I have no idea what the rationale for a waiver might be, but -- being the NCAA -- you never know. Stay tuned.

 

[sweetspot]

I just assume that Mikesell or the team would've announced by now that she'd been cleared for immediate eligibility.