Charlie Creme's Way-Too-Early Top 25

[Boreifs]

I can’t take him seriously.

Wait until he finds out Emma Ronsiek is in the portal. He somehow missed that when throwing darts at the board.

Ronsiek wants to play one season with her sister, who I think is at Colorado State. One of the Creighton parents told me that at the Big East tournament. All the other Creighton seniors are coming back for a fifth year.

 

[cferraro04]

Hmmm...South Carolina #1 and UConn #4...let me think on this one.

Ashley Watkins - 6'3...Ice Brady - 6'3"
Raven Johnson - 5'9"....Ashylynn Shade- 5'10"
Cloe Kitts - 6'2"....Ice Brady - 6'3" or Caroline Ducharme - 6'2"
Malaysia Fulwiley - 5'10"...KK Arnold - 5'9"
Te-Hina Paopao - 5'9"...Azzi Fudd - 5'11"
Tessa Johnson - 6'0"...Paige Bueckers - 6'0"
Bree Hall - 6'0"...Aubrey Griffin - 6'1" or Morgan Chelli - 6'2"
Sania Feagin - 6'3"...Jana El-alfy - 6'5"
Adel Tac - 6'5"...Ayanna Patterson - 6'2" / 6'3" or Amari DeBerry - 6'6"
Joyce Edwards - 6'2"...Sarah Strong - 6'2"
Madison McDaniel - 5'9"...Allie Ziebel - 6'0" maybe 6'1"

I think we got it covered...

Maybe #2 preseason is accurate but come January...it is going to be the Huskies baby....

 

[triaddukefan]

He didn't mention a few players, but I think Dukes incoming class has two very talented bigs and I think they will be better then people think.

 

[Forego]

I haven’t been able to open Charlie’s list yet so I don’t know what rational, if anything, he wrote about Iowa falling out of the top 25. But aside from the obvious loss of Clark, Iowa won’t be able to enjoy the romp through the B10 they had last year. USC and UCLA, et all, will make winning the conference more difficult. Also, Michigan is adding two high level recruits and has a top level coach in Kim Barnes Arico. Trouble is looming for the Hawkeyes

 

[oldhusky]

The early betting lines are out for next season, and there Uconn is second at 4-1. Iowa and Stanford dropped to 30-1. The one disconnect for me was the difference between Charlie's rankings and the betting odds for Texas at 12-1 despite being #2 on Charlie's list. I think they will be exceptionally good next year, getting Harmon back to team with Booker, a top recruiting class, and apparently Taylor Jones still has another year of eligibility, which surprised me and is a huge advantage for them.

I have SC, Uconn and Texas in the top tier, and then USC, Notre Dame, UCLA and LSU in the next one.

 

[browns]

I think #4 is about right
SC returns everyone except Cardoso but gets the #2 ranked kid in the 6'2" Edwards who was co-mvp of the MD..AA game and high scorer with 19 points
Texas brings back Harmond to play with Booker plus a great recruiting class and they will be tough
ND with returning AA in Miles with AA Hildago and Citron and Westbeld plus the #1 big in recruiting in 6'4" Koval and they may have the best starting 5 in the country
USC great recruiting class to go with JUJU

 

[browns]

South Carolina is the clear cut #1 if they don’t lose anyone to the portal. The quality of depth they have is just ridiculous. They have a very realistic shot at going undefeated in back to back seasons next year, and they're going to have another insane roster the following year.

Aside from SC, it’s a pretty open field. Texas has a great roster on paper and returns Harmon and brings in top recruits. UCONN has questions about health and post play, but on paper they're as good as anymore. Notre Dame also has a talented roster but they too have questions about post play and will need to figure out chemistry with Miles/Hidalgo both in the backcourt. LSU might have the best trio in the nation in Morrow/Johnson/Williams, but the rest of their roster has question marks. UCLA should be good, USC too as they build on Juju's great freshman year. Oregon State has a great roster coming back provided they don't lose more players to the portal. Other programs like Stanford, Ohio State, and NC State lose a lot but have stars returning. And then there are some up and coming programs looking to build on their season and get to the next level like Oklahoma, Iowa State and Duke.


It's an open field, lots of portal movement is bound to happen and it should shape up for an interesting offseason. I don't think anyone this year would've predicted that South Carolina would become a top 3 point shooting team and go undefeated after graduating 5 starters. No one would've predicted that LSU/UCONN would be 3 seeds in the tournament, or that NC State would make the Final Four. It's going to be a fun season and November can't get here soon enough.

ND brings in the #1 post player in 6'4' Koval

 

[faninwisc]

I feel like he has Notre Dame entirely too high. By the time the season starts it will have been almost a year and a half since Olivia Miles has played a basketball game. It remains to be seen how her and Hidalgo will fit together. Also, losing Bransford from their guard core will hurt. I also feel like aside from Hidalgo and Miles they have a bunch of good but not great players.

 

[visitingcock]

And so goes Bluder. No disrespect mind you but it’s like Arizona a few years back when they had McDOnald and they were anointing the coach out there and then…..

Except that Blluder also made the Elite 8 before Clark arrived. She has been upper/mid level Big Ten for several years without Clark. She does not seem to be maintaining the same “ atmosphere” that there seems to be. In Arizona.

Not saying she’ll be back in the elite 8 next year, but Iowa could be ranked again — or in and out of the rankings while Bluder “ rebuilds.”

 

[MdStang]

A few reasons why we should ranked #2 in the preseason polls:

1. With Paige, KK, Ash and Q returning; Azzi and Caroline coming back from injury; and Morgan and Allie coming in as highly ranked guards we may have the deepest and most talented back court in the country. Only Notre Dame and South Carolina are a close second.

2. We are bringing in the #1 recruit in the country (Sarah) whose exceptional skills at shooting, passing and court IQ will allow Geno to plug her in at PF, SF, SG, and maybe occasionally in the post. Odds on BE ROY and maybe national ROY.

3. The return of Ice, Aubrey, Ayanna and Jana will allow us to play a variety of defensive styles: full court pressure defense with multiple talented subs, half court big girl style with Jana, Ice, Sarah and Ayanna, or sticky half court defense with enough depth to minimize fouling concerns.

4. Who will have a better shooting team than us? Paige, Azzi, Ash and Caroline are proven snipers. KK and Q are streaky but can knock down shots. And we are adding two of the best FR shooters in the class in Allie and Sarah. Again only Notre Dame and South Carolina are close.

5. We have a bunch of multi-talented players that give us a lot of flexibility on offense and defense: Paige, Caroline, Aubrey, Sarah and Morgan can all play multiple positions.

 

[Ozimoto]

Of course, the whole point of the article was to generate discussion and interest in next season, so in that respect, mission accomplished.

 

[meyers7]

Not surprised that Charlie Creme doesn't give UCONN much love. He never does unless we're coming off a Natty and have nearly everyone returning. I believe the 2024 - 2025 version of UCONN will be heard from ALL season long... including the National Championship.

He had UCONN #1 in his last year's way to early. That was coming off a S16 exit.

 

[meyers7]

I haven’t been able to open Charlie’s list yet so I don’t know what rational, if anything, he wrote about Iowa falling out of the top 25. But aside from the obvious loss of Clark, Iowa won’t be able to enjoy the romp through the B10 they had last year. USC and UCLA, et all, will make winning the conference more difficult. Also, Michigan is adding two high level recruits and has a top level coach in Kim Barnes Arico. Trouble is looming for the Hawkeyes

They didn't actually romp. They were 15-3 and ended up in 2nd place. behind Ohio St.

 

[meyers7]

How accurate was Charlie's predictions this time last year?

Charlie's initial Way Too Early last year was

1. UCONN
2. Utah
3. LSU
4. Iowa
5. Indiana
6. UCLA
7. S. Carolina
8. Ohio St
9. Stanford
10. Notre Dame
11. Tennessee
12. Maryland
13. Texas
14. Virginia Tech
15. Ole Miss
16. Duke
17. Baylor
18. Oregon
19. Florida St
20. Colorado
21. USC
22. Louisville
23. Creighton
24. UNC
25. Washington St.

 

[browns]

Hmmm...South Carolina #1 and UConn #4...let me think on this one.

Ashley Watkins - 6'3...Ice Brady - 6'3"
Raven Johnson - 5'9"....Ashylynn Shade- 5'10"
Cloe Kitts - 6'2"....Ice Brady - 6'3" or Caroline Ducharme - 6'2"
Malaysia Fulwiley - 5'10"...KK Arnold - 5'9"
Te-Hina Paopao - 5'9"...Azzi Fudd - 5'11"
Tessa Johnson - 6'0"...Paige Bueckers - 6'0"
Bree Hall - 6'0"...Aubrey Griffin - 6'1" or Morgan Chelli - 6'2"
Sania Feagin - 6'3"...Jana El-alfy - 6'5"
Adel Tac - 6'5"...Ayanna Patterson - 6'2" / 6'3" or Amari DeBerry - 6'6"
Joyce Edwards - 6'2"...Sarah Strong - 6'2"
Madison McDaniel - 5'9"...Allie Ziebel - 6'0" maybe 6'1"

I think we got it covered...

Maybe #2 preseason is accurate but come January..

A few reasons why we should ranked #2 in the preseason polls:

1. With Paige, KK, Ash and Q returning; Azzi and Caroline coming back from injury; and Morgan and Allie coming in as highly ranked guards we may have the deepest and most talented back court in the country. Only Notre Dame and South Carolina are a close second.

2. We are bringing in the #1 recruit in the country (Sarah) whose exceptional skills at shooting, passing and court IQ will allow Geno to plug her in at PF, SF, SG, and maybe occasionally in the post. Odds on BE ROY and maybe national ROY.

3. The return of Ice, Aubrey, Ayanna and Jana will allow us to play a variety of defensive styles: full court pressure defense with multiple talented subs, half court big girl style with Jana, Ice, Sarah and Ayanna, or sticky half court defense with enough depth to minimize fouling concerns.

4. Who will have a better shooting team than us? Paige, Azzi, Ash and Caroline are proven snipers. KK and Q are streaky but can knock down shots. And we are adding two of the best FR shooters in the class in Allie and Sarah. Again only Notre Dame and South Carolina are close.

5. We have a bunch of multi-talented players that give us a lot of flexibility on offense and defense: Paige, Caroline, Aubrey, Sarah and Morgan can all play multiple positions.

Who is going to rebound the ball? Jana is unproven.Ice was not a good rebounder..Aubrey will give you 8 or 9 tops but they miss AE and her rebounding..Sara possibly but she can't do everything
As far as shooters.. on paper it looks great but how will they play defense with Nika gone..KK was allright but certainly not in Nika's class..look what happened when Nika fouled out against ND
Rebounding and defence is where Geno is going to have to figure things out

 

[Veteran]

Meh. Useless at this point. The "expert" Creme had LSU on top last year and South Carolina as 8th.

 

[itsasport]

Until all the injured players are actually performing again on court next year, and Azzi and Aubry probably will be given part of the season to fully recover, the #4 makes sense.

But, if the injured players are able to return as did Paige, UConn will clearly be the #1 team. And, there are some new openings in the roster.

USC is losing Cordoso, the only player that UConn would have had a match up difficulty with. I think that the incoming UConn class will be a monster- even better than last years, which is saying a lot.

 

[VA Huskie]

I feel like he has Notre Dame entirely too high. By the time the season starts it will have been almost a year and a half since Olivia Miles has played a basketball game. It remains to be seen how her and Hidalgo will fit together. Also, losing Bransford from their guard core will hurt. I also feel like aside from Hidalgo and Miles they have a bunch of good but not great players.

I think they have a top big coming in. Can’t remember her name.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

Meh. Useless at this point. The "expert" Creme had LSU on top last year and South Carolina as 8th.

With all due, South Carolina lost five starters. Who expected the team to go undefeated?
And per @meyers7 's post above (link), Creme had three 2024 Final Four teams in the top seven of his post-2023 NCAAT "too early rankings".

Again, it is a projection for next year. He is not advertising himself as The Amazing Kreskin or claiming to have the ability to see into the future.

 

[reelfan]

After today Charlie needs to reboot his Ouija board

 

[maple]

I feel like he has Notre Dame entirely too high. By the time the season starts it will have been almost a year and a half since Olivia Miles has played a basketball game. It remains to be seen how her and Hidalgo will fit together. Also, losing Bransford from their guard core will hurt. I also feel like aside from Hidalgo and Miles they have a bunch of good but not great players.

I honestly can't believe it's been that long. But if HH and Miles can find some chemistry, they will be a very strong team. Not sure how far that pair can take them, though.

 

[Veteran]

With all due, South Carolina lost five starters. Who expected the team to go undefeated?
And per @meyers7 's post above (link), Creme had three 2024 Final Four teams in the top seven of his post-2023 NCAAT "too early rankings".

Again, it is a projection for next year. He is not advertising himself as The Amazing Kreskin or claiming to have the ability to see into the future.

I absolutely understand where you're coming from on this. But my point is that it's simply useless to make predictions at this junction or to believe them. Nobody knows how things are going to develop. He had UConn as #2 last year and look what happened. Creme makes his living making predictions which is a pretty good gig if you can get it. But it means nothing. I barely pay attention to mock drafts for the same reason.

And your point that South Carolina lost 5 starters perfectly illustrates my own point. Nobody knows anything concrete the day after the championship game about how things will be a year later. Creme certainly didn't last year. Or this year, in all likelihood. I'm not knocking anyone who enjoys the predictions. Just take them with a grain of salt.

 

[FormerCTrez]

To your point above it’s very much not an open field next year with South Carolina likely going undefeated back to back lol

With your team winning it all this year, that’s a reasonable goal for next year. But, did you know it’s very hard to win back-back championships? If you doubt me, just ask UConn, even though the championship has been missing from the women’s side of things since 2016. And you can also ask someone with closer ties to the SCAR Gamecocks, Aliyah Boston.
Anyway, congrats to the SCAR Gamecocks on their successful year. A job well done!

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

I absolutely understand where you're coming from on this. But my point is that it's simply useless to make predictions at this junction or to believe them. Nobody knows how things are going to develop. He had UConn as #2 last year and look what happened. Creme makes his living making predictions which is a pretty good gig if you can get it. But it means nothing. I barely pay attention to mock drafts for the same reason.

And your point that South Carolina lost 5 starters perfectly illustrates my own point. Nobody knows anything concrete the day after the championship game about how things will be a year later. Creme certainly didn't last year. Or this year, in all likelihood. I'm not knocking anyone who enjoys the predictions. Just take them with a grain of salt.

The flip side is that ESPN is treating women's basketball with the same interest (analysis, immediate coverage, etc.) as men's basketball after the national title game. Having year-round coverage is a testament to the growth of the sport over the last several years.

 

[Veteran]

The flip side is that ESPN is treating women's basketball with the same interest (analysis, immediate coverage, etc.) as men's basketball after the national title game. Having year-round coverage is a testament to the growth of the sport over the last several years.

Totally agree that the increased coverage of WCBB is welcome. But I think that's more about Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark hype than it is about Creme these days. Hopefully it continues now that they've moved on. I imagine that Paige Bueckers and maybe even Sarah Strong will help with that.