Charlie Creme preseason rankings

[doggydaddy]

My appetite is hoping so too....... my post game ritual is a trip to http://www.chargrillusa.com/ for the 1/2 hamburger steak, fries, and a mountain dew...... needless to say... without a better showing... no trip to chargrill for me...

It's only a game.

Go eat and enjoy.

 

[Vowelguy]

I think Tennessee deserves a high position.

Definitely.
They went 14-2 in the SEC last year, and should do no worse this year with the addition of Russell and return of Carter, while their top competition lost Mathies and Bone.

Dunno about them winning at Stanford though.

 

[stwainfan]

Definitely.
They went 14-2 in the SEC last year, and should do no worse this year with the addition of Russell and return of Carter, while their top competition lost Mathies and Bone.

Dunno about them winning at Stanford though.

Also Graves and I see Burdick having a real good year.

 

[Tonyc]

As good as Tenn was and is on paper....well the paper is another way of saying GO Lady Vols. LOL only kidding.

 

[Kevin G]

Notre Dame is a top 5 team.

Stanford is way too high but having Chiney will give you that. Poor thing has no help though. It will be the Chiney show all year.

L'ville brings back their entire team with the exception of Reid. Didn't this team make the Championship game? And how are they ranked preseason #8?!?

Duke on paper is ranked #2. They have the players but coaching brings them down. Sorry Coach McCallie

Tennessee ....big question mark! If Simmons learns how to pass and use her quickness for the benefit of the team and not just her shot UT will be a hard team to beat.

Maryland was a good team last year despite so many injuries. With all their players back they should be a top 5 team.

UNC will only be as good as Hatchell is. So who knows. They sure got the talent

LSU & Penn St are my sleepers.

UCONN wins #9 in NASHVILLE !!!!!!

 

[Vowelguy]

L'ville brings back their entire team with the exception of Reid. Didn't this team make the Championship game? And how are they ranked preseason #8?!?

Louisville is a tough one. Are they the team that made it to the NC, or the team that went 23-8 during the season (including just 6-5 in Away games)?

 

[svetbird]

Nebraska? How can they be ranked better than ND this year? Maybe I am the only one but I do not see Duke as a number 2 If they are 2 and Stanford is 4, I see a lot of upsets in the NCAA Tournament. I have never been Impressed with Stanford.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Louisville is a tough one. Are they the team that made it to the NC, or the team that went 23-8 during the season (including just 6-5 in Away games)?

While I agree that they (Louisville) are tough to predict, I don't buy into the fact that a great season = a great NCAA run and a so-so season necessarily precludes a final 4. Yes, the truly dominant teams like UConn consistently and various other programs at times tend to show up as expected in the final 4 (or at least elite 8) after seasons with 3 or less losses. But that's not necessarily typical for every programs. Some gaudy regular season records bow out early and some mediocre season records (including Rutgers several years) make it to the Elite 8 or beyond.

And, regarding Svetbird's comment about never being impressed with Stanford - all I can say is they are pretty impressive to me. Consistent top 10 team; consistently best in conference - which has, at times, had 2 or 3 other good teams in a given year, many deep runs into the tourney, etc.

As a side-note, part of the reason the PAC is viewed as weak is because they really don't play that competitive of out of conference schedules. This really hurts the RPI, and given that a few teams have been truly dreadful of late years, and it is hard to get a true reading of how good PAC teams are. Of course, the primary reason that they have weak schedules is that there just isn't a lot of good schools in the far west that aren't in-conference. End of Rant.

 

[UCONNfan1]

Everyone's got an opinion and theory. Creme's was published March 17. Since then Kokenis retired, Tucker quit, but Stewart, and somewhat surprisingly, Tuck came on gangbusters. Oh and KML and Bria shone as well for Team USA.

UCONN - obvious
Duke - obvious
Notre Dame - Lost Diggins but get back 3 potential AA's as well as an excellent freshman class. Just look at Loyd to see how well Mufett can do with a freshman starter.
Maryland - Did really well last year in spite of losing most of their guards to injuries. Get them all back plus Thomas is a total beast.
Louisville - Took out Baylor, Tennessee, and Cal on their way to the NC game and bring all 5 starters back. Lack height tho.
Stanford - Lost Kokenis. Huge loss. That's why they aren't #4. But they have Orrange and Ogwumike.
Tennessee - Russell won't start, Carter hasn't played a game yet, and they lost Tucker. Also lost their 2 best players during the NCAA's. The best player on their team (Graves) is a sophomore.
Kentucky - Lost Mathias, but add Harper. She's a stud.
UNC - Were solid last year and only add more this year
Oklahoma - also could have put Cal or aTm here. Kind of a WAG on my part for #10...

It's only preseason. Not a lot of parity and a lot of drop off after #1 and 2, just like last season. But I honestly think the top 4 are who we see in the final 4. Unless they make Tennessee a 1 seed and give them UNC as their 2 seed...

 

[Buzzyboy]

I think Tennessee deserves a high position. I was thinking 4th, but Stanford losing Kokenis is a big deal. Maryland looks better on paper, but don't they always? I think ND loses a lot, but I thought that last year, so with the addition of Reimer and the growth of Loyd, they may well be under-rated. Baylor at 12? Not early, if anyone has the guts to rank them high, they shouldn't lose a game with that schedule, and might slide up into the top 6 or 7 as other teams who actually scheduled opponents stumble. But once they actually play some teams, they should drop back down.

Dayton may be too low - a team to watch.

I hope WV can crack the top 25, they struggled last year, but had some injury problems.

I agree with your assessment of Baylor. Most writers seem to rank any national team highly if they have very few or no losses and I think the Big 12 isn't going to be very competitive this year, meaning Baylor might skate through it with little or no trouble. It's when they play a team that's actually good, particularly away from home where they'll stumble and probably quite badly. Sims is great and they may have some decent athletes but there is no way I think they'll compete against the elite teams. If they break into the top 10, it'll be due to a very uncompetitive schedule and that bubble will surely bust down the road.

 

[doggydaddy]

Everyone's got an opinion and theory. Creme's was published March 17. Since then Kokenis retired, Tucker quit, but Stewart, and somewhat surprisingly, Tuck came on gangbusters. Oh and KML and Bria shone as well for Team USA.

UCONN - obvious
Duke - obvious
Notre Dame - Lost Diggins but get back 3 potential AA's as well as an excellent freshman class. Just look at Loyd to see how well Mufett can do with a freshman starter.
Maryland - Did really well last year in spite of losing most of their guards to injuries. Get them all back plus Thomas is a total beast.
Louisville - Took out Baylor, Tennessee, and Cal on their way to the NC game and bring all 5 starters back. Lack height tho.
Stanford - Lost Kokenis. Huge loss. That's why they aren't #4. But they have Orrange and Ogwumike.
Tennessee - Russell won't start, Carter hasn't played a game yet, and they lost Tucker. Also lost their 2 best players during the NCAA's. The best player on their team (Graves) is a sophomore.
Kentucky - Lost Mathias, but add Harper. She's a stud.
UNC - Were solid last year and only add more this year
Oklahoma - also could have put Cal or aTm here. Kind of a WAG on my part for #10...

It's only preseason. Not a lot of parity and a lot of drop off after #1 and 2, just like last season. But I honestly think the top 4 are who we see in the final 4. Unless they make Tennessee a 1 seed and give them UNC as their 2 seed...

It was originally published March 17 but since updated. I'm just not sure when.

 

[stwainfan]

UCONN - obvious
Duke - obvious
Notre Dame - Lost Diggins but get back 3 potential AA's as well as an excellent freshman class. Just look at Loyd to see how well Mufett can do with a freshman starter.
Maryland - Did really well last year in spite of losing most of their guards to injuries. Get them all back plus Thomas is a total beast.
Louisville - Took out Baylor, Tennessee, and Cal on their way to the NC game and bring all 5 starters back. Lack height tho.
Stanford - Lost Kokenis. Huge loss. That's why they aren't #4. But they have Orrange and Ogwumike.
Tennessee - Russell won't start, Carter hasn't played a game yet, and they lost Tucker. Also lost their 2 best players during the NCAA's. The best player on their team (Graves) is a sophomore.
Kentucky - Lost Mathias, but add Harper. She's a stud.
UNC - Were solid last year and only add more this year
Oklahoma - also could have put Cal or aTm here. Kind of a WAG on my part for #10...

It's only preseason. Not a lot of parity and a lot of drop off after #1 and 2, just like last season. But I honestly think the top 4 are who we see in the final 4. Unless they make Tennessee a 1 seed and give them UNC as their 2 seed...[/quote]
Just to clarify Carter did play in seven games last year. And while Spani a good offensive player. Who has a nice shot is gone. She isn't as fast or athletic as most of the team. So I think this years team is faster and more athletic.

 

[triaddukefan]

It's only a game.

Go eat and enjoy.

Easy for you to say when the team you are a fan of is administering the 30 point beatdowns

 

[John Glass]

UCONN - obvious
Duke - obvious not really , they have been underachievers
Notre Dame - Lost Diggins but get back 3 potential AA's as well as an excellent freshman class. Just look at Loyd to see how well Mufett can do with a freshman starter.
Maryland - Did really well last year ? in spite of losing most of their guards to injuries. Get them all back plus Thomas is a total beast. The ACC was weak last year. MD was crushed twice by UConn ,and Duke .
Louisville - Took out Baylor, Tennessee, and Cal on their way to the NC game and bring all 5 starters back. Lack height tho.
Stanford - Lost Kokenis. Huge loss. That's why they aren't #4. But they have Orrange and Ogwumike.
Tennessee - Russell won't start, Carter hasn't played a game yet, and they lost Tucker. Also lost their 2 best players during the NCAA's. The best player on their team (Graves) is a sophomore.
Kentucky - Lost Mathias, but add Harper. She's a stud. offense is lacking
UNC - Were solid last year and only add more this year Solid ? Rolle was a big loss
Oklahoma - also could have put Cal or aTm here. Kind of a WAG on my part for #10...

 

[UCONNfan1]

It was originally published March 17 but since updated. I'm just not sure when.

Oh I did not realize he updated his list. Still, his list is as meh as mine is. Seriously I have no idea. All that matters in the end is who is #1 on April whatever - after the NC game. Smart money's on UCONN...

 

[doggydaddy]

Just to clarify Carter did play in seven games last year. And while Spani a good offensive player. Who has a nice shot is gone. She isn't as fast or athletic as most of the team. So I think this years team is faster and more athletic.

Faster is not always better.

Williams was quick enough and maybe the best on the ball defender. You can hope that the inexperienced Carer can replace that. But you will need more than the 5 ppg and 2 apg in 20 mpg that she averaged her first 7 games last year fore testing injured.

You can't diminish the contributions of Williams and Spani.

 

[stwainfan]

Faster is not always better.

Williams was quick enough and maybe the best on the ball defender. You can hope that the inexperienced Carer can replace that. But you will need more than the 5 ppg and 2 apg in 20 mpg that she averaged her first 7 games last year fore testing injured.

You can't diminish the contributions of Williams and Spani.

Before the injury I think Carter was starting to play well. Her on ball defense will make a difference. Add in a multi skilled 6'5 tall center. Who can block shots. I think both improves the defense.

 

[UConnCat]

Faster is not always better.

Williams was quick enough and maybe the best on the ball defender. You can hope that the inexperienced Carer can replace that. But you will need more than the 5 ppg and 2 apg in 20 mpg that she averaged her first 7 games last year fore testing injured.

You can't diminish the contributions of Williams and Spani.

Spani and Williams were Tennessee's best perimeter players in the E8 loss to Louisville last season. Massengale, Simmons and Burdick were not effective in the team's biggest game.

 

[doggydaddy]

Before the injury I think Carter was starting to play well. Her on ball defense will make a difference. Add in a multi skilled 6'5 tall center. Who can block shots. I think both improves the defense.

That was your imagination. She had one really really good game. 4-5 on three pointers for 16 points. 2-11 the other 6 games.

Williams led the team in steals. Carter will struggle to match that.

 

[Outside Shot]

I'm not sure Tenn needs to play faster. It just seems like there are times that Simmons plays and shoots too fast for everyone. She is an interesting character, because there are times she looks really impressive. I'm not sure there is another player that compares when it comes to range of performances. I'll have to think about it.

Interestingly, I think in recent preseasons, most considered UConn, Baylor, Notre Dame and possibly Stanford as almost locks to get to the Final Four. Anybody else would've been considered an upset or surprise. This year it seems less is certain. Certainly Duke has the pieces in place, but they've yet to do it. Notre Dame seems possible, but there is the lingering doubt of life after Skylar. Diggins really resurrected Notre Dame in a way, because they had not been an "elite" team in roughly a decade before her. She really elevated the program and McGraw. They seem to have capitalized with the recruiting mojo, but I'm not convinced all their incoming freshman are quite as good as advertised. I am curious to see if Mabrey gets out of the doghouse.

 

[stwainfan]

That was your imagination. She had one really really good game. 4-5 on three pointers for 16 points. 2-11 the other 6 games.

Williams led the team in steals. Carter will struggle to match that.

That was also the Miami game. The game were she was injured. We won't know the numbers if she stayed healthy. One more thing I am sure sitting out makes her more ready to play.

 

[doggydaddy]

That was also the Miami game. The game were she was injured. We won't know the numbers if she stayed healthy. One more thing I am sure sitting out makes her more ready to play.

Yes, the 4-5 for 16 points was the Miami game. So?

The game she was injured was against UNC and she only played 5 minutes missing her only shot.

Yes, we will never know the numbers if she stayed healthy. They might have stayed the same or even worse. Why even talk about that.

One more thing I am sure, how does sitting out make someone more ready to play?

 

[stwainfan]

Yes, the 4-5 for 16 points was the Miami game. So?

The game she was injured was against UNC and she only played 5 minutes missing her only shot.

Yes, we will never know the numbers if she stayed healthy. They might have stayed the same or even worse. Why even talk about that.

One more thing I am sure, how does sitting out make someone more ready to play?

She landed on it in the Miami game. Then in the MTSU game she got hit on it same with the UNC game. She left both games after she got hit. That's why she had the brace on. I think she is wanting to play really bad.

 

[doggydaddy]

She landed on it in the Miami game. Then in the MTSU game she got hit on it same with the UNC game. She left both games after she got hit. I think she is wanting to play really bad.

Yeah, you are correct. Of course you are...it's your team...lol.

I am sure she is wanting to play really well.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

By some standards, Notre Dame wasn't an elite team ever before recently - if you want to so designate them.

They went to the F4 in '97 and won in '01; the immediate surrounding seasons included 2 2nd round exits and 2 sweet 16's. Elite??

From '01 - '10 we have 4 Sweet 16's, 3 2nd rounds and 2 1st round exits. Meh.

Then the 3 years in the F4.

Actually, while I don't consider them elite, I consider them one of the top programs on a consistent basis. It is significant that they haven't missed the NCAA's in their entire Big East span, from the '95-'96 season till last year. Muffet has a 618-216 record at ND, not shabby by any standard. The odd thing - never finished "Elite 8"; if they made the Regional Final they made the F4.

 

[Tonyc]

When talking about the FF understand the reason LVille got to the finals was because imo defenses didn't play perimeter defense. Tenn and Baylor for sure. Now if Duke MD UNC Stanford are thinking about the FF they better play perimeter defense against a team like LVille. UConn with all their outside shooters and the very best shooter in KML will be tuff to defend because of their shooters and their athletic height inside. When you have a player that shoots to fast from deep the inside is vunerable, and the opponets have an opportunity to get their fast break going. This is why I keep talking about poise and chemistry and not offensive players. ND proved that the past 2 seasons. They didn't have terrific outside shooters. They had terrific passing, they drew a lot of fouls, and they played tuff defense. It all worked because they have Diggins who had poise and through her ND built chemistry. Everything ND did was a direct result of execution....team execution. UConn much the same way.

 

[Icebear]

Sometimes it is about match ups and bad coaching decisions.

 

[Bestiarius]

I think she is wanting to play really bad.

I hope for your sake she doesn't.

I think the key to the season is Simmons. If she can control herself and play as part of the team, that will be a big help. Last year, in the NCAA's, she seemed to be a mental mess. In the L'ville game, she couldn't hit a shot, but once she did drain one, she got excited and just stood around asking for the ball and shot it whenever it touched her hands. You'd think that after 3 years, she would have learned how to be consistent but she doesn't seem capable of learning to harness her natural talent.

Massengale is a question mark. She didn't particularly shine in Europe this summer. She hasn't met expectations.

Shoulder injuries are easier to come back from than knee problems, but we'll have to see if the layoff helps or hurts.

To me, Graves is the only sure bet. She's shown herself to be a consistently superior player. Consistency will be the key for Tennessee - something that has not been in evidence for quite a few years. No more Chattanoogas.

 

[Outside Shot]

I'm not sure what the right word is and maybe "elite" is harsh. I do consider making the tournament and advancing to Sweet 16 very good and probably elite. However, they were not the strong championship contender again until Diggins arrived.

By some standards, Notre Dame wasn't an elite team ever before recently - if you want to so designate them.

They went to the F4 in '97 and won in '01; the immediate surrounding seasons included 2 2nd round exits and 2 sweet 16's. Elite??

From '01 - '10 we have 4 Sweet 16's, 3 2nd rounds and 2 1st round exits. Meh.

Then the 3 years in the F4.

Actually, while I don't consider them elite, I consider them one of the top programs on a consistent basis. It is significant that they haven't missed the NCAA's in their entire Big East span, from the '95-'96 season till last year. Muffet has a 618-216 record at ND, not shabby by any standard. The odd thing - never finished "Elite 8"; if they made the Regional Final they made the F4.

 

[connboy77]

That was also the Miami game. The game were she was injured. We won't know the numbers if she stayed healthy. One more thing I am sure sitting out makes her more ready to play.

Not necessarily, when you are not playing you are not getting better. Rust might have set in and it will probably take a while for her to reach the level she was at before getting hurt.