Clay Kallam picked ND to win it all

[pap49cba]

LINK

 

[HuskyNan]

Clay has never been a lemming.

 

[msf22b]

Interesting thought but his presumption fails completely if Kiah shines (and everyone always forgets Morgan).

 

[Wbbfan1]

I disagree with his prediction that the Irish will win it all, but its not far fetched that it couldn't happen. ND is more talented then what most of the experts are saying. There's no reason why ND can't be in the Final Four and then who knows what happens.

 

[doggydaddy]

Clay has never been a lemming.

He picked UConn last year over Baylor. One of the few "experts" to do that.

 

[Phil]

I don't think Clay is discounting Stokes or Tuck. If he missed anything, it might be Banks. Plus, he didn't see MoJeff last night.

However, while I thought it was crazy when he first persuaded Slam to pick them, I don't think it is so crazy. Diggins was flashy, and seemed to hit big shots late, which is no tiny thing, but she was a below average shooter on her team, and made up for it with volume/ Her shooting percentage was the same as Moriah Jefferson last year (emphasis LAST year) which would make her third worst on the Huskies. Sure she made up for it in other ways, but her loss isn't the devastating hit to the overall stats that one might think based upon her Twitter following. ND is returning a lot, and will be a force.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

Time will Tell for NC, but...Morgan and Kiah=no depth?

Feet and Brain of Clay.

 

[Phil]

Clay has never been a lemming.

To be fair, lemmings have never been lemmings, but I catch your point.

 

[vtcwbuff]

"But it says here the Huskies are too thin up front to repeat."

Good enough to win it all last year but "too thin" this year? Dolson, Stewart, Tuck and what sounds like a committed Stokes. What's missing?

 

[Icebear]

Too thin? It's the same front court as last year. Last year he thought it was good enough to beat Baylor.

 

[Adesmar123]

Clay has never been a lemming.

The world will end tomorrow....

My momma didn't raise no lemming....

 

[HGN]

I agree with Msf, Kallam totally discounts Morgan and Kiah....2 very talented front court players. Very few teams can boost that they have such talent available at their disposal. Both are capable of starting and could be game changers.

There are at least 7 players on the team that are interchangeable. Plus, having a year of ( NC) experience won't hurt either of them.

 

[doggydaddy]

her loss isn't the devastating hit to the overall stats that one might think based upon her Twitter following. ND is returning a lot, and will be a force.

Gotta disagree here, Phil.

They have to make up 225 assists. Clearly she had the ball in her hands most of the time. And she had an incredible 114 steals.

No way they are better than last year.

 

[Fightin Choke]

Too thin? It's the same front court as last year. Last year he thought it was good enough to beat Baylor.

I agree, Ice, but Clay explains himself somewhat HERE (starts about 1/3 of the way down the page after I question him about it). In short, he's fearful that Stef's injury will linger: "UConn is extremely good, and like every other team at this level, needs to stay healthy. The reason, though, I singled the Huskies out is that Dolson was struggling with stress fractures, a notably nasty and lingering injury, at the end of last season, and they are extremely thin at that position"

UConn looked bad when Dolson missed a game last year due to illness (a sample of one, of course), but the UConn's other bigs seem to have progressed since then, although the Huskies would miss Dolson's passing ability and savvy on the court if she were to miss extensive time. In the thread he goes on to say that UConn IS the prohibitive favorite, but he's sticking with his pick of Notre Dame.

 

[Icebear]

I agree, Ice, but Clay explains himself somewhat HERE (starts about 1/3 of the way down the page after I question him about it). In short, he's fearful that Stef's injury will linger: "UConn is extremely good, and like every other team at this level, needs to stay healthy. The reason, though, I singled the Huskies out is that Dolson was struggling with stress fractures, a notably nasty and lingering injury, at the end of last season, and they are extremely thin at that position"

UConn looked bad when Dolson missed a game last year due to illness (a sample of one, of course), but the UConn's other bigs seem to have progressed since then, although the Huskies would miss Dolson's passing ability and savvy on the court if she were to miss extensive time. In the thread he goes on to say that UConn IS the prohibitive favorite, but he's sticking with his pick of Notre Dame.

Clay's argument is incredibly weak. There is absolutely no evidence Stef health is an on going issue. No sign of it at the USA Basketball camp and no sign of it a UCONN's opening practices where Geno has praised her as the best. So unless Clay has evidence his comment is useless. Plus no one has more available grade A post talent behind an AA then does UCONN with both Kiah and Morgan while still having a player like Breanna already on the court. If he wants to say that injuries are one potential thing that can derail UCONN fine but you don't pick against them because of some mythical element in your mind. On top of that while I disagree with Doggie about how much ND will miss her I do believe that it is very hard to win a NC with a freshman PG. If so, that frosh needs to be over the top.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Clay has never been a lemming.

Are you saying he's more than capable of heading over the cliff all by himself?

 

[johnnyc]

It just a 'to be different' pick. He pretty much says so.....

It’s just too easy to pick UConn

I certainly don't agree with his supposed reasons for making the pick.....Stewart, Dolson, Tuck (I don't know why people keep forgetting about her but they won't for long ), KML (2nd in rebounds last season) and Stokes makes a solid (best in the nation) front court.

Still, ND is going to be good. I just wish UConn was playing them in season just to get a handle on them.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Reasonable minds can disagree on this one. There will be more to talk about as these teams put the season under their belts. We get the development Geno thinks is coming and U Conn will be very hard to beat.

 

[UcMiami]

I don't think Clay is discounting Stokes or Tuck. If he missed anything, it might be Banks. Plus, he didn't see MoJeff last night.

However, while I thought it was crazy when he first persuaded Slam to pick them, I don't think it is so crazy. Diggins was flashy, and seemed to hit big shots late, which is no tiny thing, but she was a below average shooter on her team, and made up for it with volume/ Her shooting percentage was the same as Moriah Jefferson last year (emphasis LAST year) which would make her third worst on the Huskies. Sure she made up for it in other ways, but her loss isn't the devastating hit to the overall stats that one might think based upon her Twitter following. ND is returning a lot, and will be a force.

I agree that stats wise Diggins' numbers will not be that hard to replace, but I disagree about the importance of her leadership and spirit - she led that team for three years and was able to mask the loss last year of significant talent to graduation. I do not see another player on the current team that will seamlessly replace that aspect of what she brought and suspect that ND will look more like Uconn in 2005. ND has some great talent as did Uconn, but without DT to draw focus and lead, that talent was not enough to return them to the FF.

 

[Phil]

Gotta disagree here, Phil.

They have to make up 225 assists. Clearly she had the ball in her hands most of the time. And she had an incredible 114 assists.

I know I'm supposed to be the stat geek, so I should be answering, not asking this question, but when's the last time a FF team returned 4 of 5 starters and didn't repeat? I bet it is rare.

 

[Phil]

Gotta disagree here, Phil.


No way they are better than last year.

They don't have to be better than last year. They have to be better than three other teams in their bracket to make it to the final four.

Then if UConn has an injury problem, they have to beat two other teams, neither of which are likely to be as good as last year's ND team. If UConn isn't injured, they have to mange to do what they did three time last year, beat UConn, which will be harder if the team is weaker, but not impossible. I'm not predicting they will win. I'm saying it doesn't look like a dumb pick.

 

[Vowelguy]

I know I'm supposed to be the stat geek, so I should be answering, not asking this question, but when's the last time a FF team returned 4 of 5 starters and didn't repeat? I bet it is rare.

Uh ... Baylor 2013.

 

[Phil]

Gotta disagree here, Phil.

And she had an incredible 114 assists.

You mean steals.

 

[Phil]

Uh ... Baylor 2013.

Ouch good point.

I did say rare, I didn't say it never happened. Of course, Baylor was predicted to win it all, so a related question is, when's the last time a FF team returned 4 of 5 and wasn't predicted to repeat? My guess is that happens as well, maybe a surprise FF team like Missouri State or Michigan State, but I bet it is rare.

 

[Vowelguy]

Not sure why everyone has a big issue with questions about UConn's depth. It is undoubtedly the team's biggest weakness (if not, what is?). The roster has just 9 scholarship players! And 3 of them have big question marks (Chong - frosh, Banks - recovering, Stokes).
UConn clearly has the best starting 5, but throw in a twisted ankle, foul trouble, or even a bad cold, and the team has some vulnerability.

I'm one of those who think ND lost a ton with Diggins graduation, but the Irish have 2 big advantages: hosting the Regional and that they will not be intimidated by UConn. Who else can say that? Duke, Kentucky, Louisville, and Maryland have all lost badly in recent years.