College Sports Madness Women's Basketball Top 44 Preview

[doggydaddy]

interesting that they put Duke ahead of Miami. i think most everyone else has it reversed.

"Interesting" is being kind. I think they have one moron doing these ranking and analysis and he/she has never watched a game.

 

[UConnCat]

"Interesting" is being kind. I think they have one moron doing these ranking and analysis and he/she has never watched a game.

Actually I think they have two morons doing the ranking and analysis.

Speaking of Miami, I checked the team website and all 5 starters from last year are back, plus the #1 player off the bench. And the team adds 6-6 transfer Pepper Wilson. I am really looking forward to the match-up against Tennessee on the 15th.

 

[caravaggio]

Am I then the only person who thinks that Duke IS better than Miami? I think the Duke freshmen, especially Williams, are going to be impact players who can bring much of the needed offense?

 

[VAMike23]

But Monica was perhaps their best 3-point shooter (I'm sure you recall the stressful Philly game) and, more importantly, their player with the greatest heart and toughness. I think that is a big, big loss for them.

I remember her post-game comments got her a lot of flack - to me there was no one "right" way of looking it. Yes she was chippy, but I still admired her moxie as a competitor and did not hold it against her at all. They will need to find someone with that kind of heart as I think Sugar is a fairly quiet customer. Not to say everyone on the team needs to be the same way, but you need at least one of those in your starting 5.

 

[EricLA]

Am I then the only person who thinks that Duke IS better than Miami? I think the Duke freshmen, especially Williams, are going to be impact players who can bring much of the needed offense?

probably. i think the reason Miami is/should be rated higher is they lost no one and get 6'6" Pepper Wilson at center, where as Duke lost Christmas and Krystal and Jasmine Thomas. they will get a chance to play each other at least twice so we will be able to see who's better...

 

[triaddukefan]

Am I then the only person who thinks that Duke IS better than Miami? I think the Duke freshmen, especially Williams, are going to be impact players who can bring much of the needed offense?

I think Miami should be ranked higher, and they are right to be picked as preseason favorites in the ACC. They probably have as much firepower as any team in the country... but they havent shown that they can handle being the favorite in post-season. Carolina shredded them in the ACC Semis....and they lost to Oklahoma in the 2nd round of the NCAAs.

That being said.... I wont be shocked if Duke wins the ACC regular season... and I do expect us to cut down the nets again in Greensboro. Duke might take some lumps earlier.... but watch out for the Devils in Feb.

 

[NCorBust]

"In any event, I think it's important to at least mention that when the All American lists that people actually care about are revealed at the end of the season, no one is going to remember or care what College Sports Madness had to say." UConnCat

If you feel this way, then why have you made 28 posts regarding College Sports Madness' All-American list? The AP All-American list is out. Who can remember College Sports Madness' All-American list?

 

[UConnCat]

"In any event, I think it's important to at least mention that when the All American lists that people actually care about are revealed at the end of the season, no one is going to remember or care what College Sports Madness had to say." UConnCat

If you feel this way, then why have you made 28 posts regarding College Sports Madness' All-American list? The AP All-American list is out. Who can remember College Sports Madness' All-American list?

I haven't made 28 posts regarding College Sports Madness' All-American list. Beyond that point of clarification, I have no idea what your point is other than that you can count to 28.

 

[JS]

"In any event, I think it's important to at least mention that when the All American lists that people actually care about are revealed at the end of the season, no one is going to remember or care what College Sports Madness had to say." UConnCat

If you feel this way, then why have you made 28 posts regarding College Sports Madness' All-American list? The AP All-American list is out. Who can remember College Sports Madness' All-American list?

Cat referred to the lists at the end of the season, and not the AP preseason one you cite, as being the ones people will actually care about in the long run.

In the meantime, a thread about the Sports Madness or any other preseason list serves as a springboard for discussion and analysis. I've been clicking on this thread regularly and find it quite informative.

You apparently see a contradiction in Cat's statements that her words don't actually suggest, and for some reason you feel a need to point out this supposed contradiction. No harm done, but it's a little puzzling.

 

[UConnCat]

Cat referred to the lists at the end of the season, and not the AP preseason one you cite, as being the ones people will actually care about in the long run.

In the meantime, a thread about the Sports Madness or any other preseason list serves as a springboard for discussion and analysis. I've been clicking on this thread regularly and find it quite informative.

You apparently see a contradiction in Cat's statements that her words don't actually suggest, and for some reason you feel a need to point out this supposed contradiction. No harm done, but it's a little puzzling.

Thank you JS. There was some amount of effort undertaken to point out a contradiction, including digging up my post from 10 days ago and counting my posts in this thread (now up to 30). There are two lists, of course. The Sports Madness preseason AA list was addressed in another thread and I did question its relevancy both now and at the end of the season. To the extent writers and broadcasters will mention preseason AA in connection with a player, it will be the AP list, not Sports Madness.

The same, of course, will be true for preseason team rankings which is the subject of this thread. No one will remember or care about the preseason rankings of Sports Madness. I acknowledged this fact in the other thread and will acknowledge it again here. The point of following Sports Madness' rankings every day has been to learn something about the teams (who graduated, who's new, starters, etc) which is information not made available with other rankings. The other reason, as you note, is to generate discussion of the upcoming season and to invite fans of other teams to share their knowledge and thoughts.

The thread is lengthy but only 6 more teams to go.

 

[UConnCat]

In at #6 Texas A&M

This site lists freshman Alexia Standish as a starter at guard. I watched a little bit of A&M's exh game yesterday and I thought she looked pretty good, although she came off the bench. A&M as a whole looked just okay. Bone played like it was her first game in a year. Tyra White hasn't lost her shooting stroke.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I remember her post-game comments got her a lot of flack - to me there was no one "right" way of looking it. Yes she was chippy, but I still admired her moxie as a competitor and did not hold it against her at all. They will need to find someone with that kind of heart as I think Sugar is a fairly quiet customer. Not to say everyone on the team needs to be the same way, but you need at least one of those in your starting 5.

Yeah, Monica said some inappropriate things, in my view, but she was a competitor. With her on the team, they were going to fight and not roll over. It will be interesting to see the personality of this year's team.

 

[MilfordHusky]

In at #8: Duke Blue Devils.

I'm looking forward to watching Elizabeth Williams play this year.

Me too. She comes to Duke with great tools and desire. She's ranked just slightly below Kaleena! It may be a stretch, but she could even compete with Shenise Johnson for ACC POY. I'd be very surprised if Williams is not ACC POY at least once in her career. If their underclassmen step up, they could definitely be a top 4 team by the end of this year. They have lots of very nice pieces.

 

[triaddukefan]

Me too. She comes to Duke with great tools and desire. She's ranked just slightly below Kaleena! It may be a stretch, but she could even compete with Shenise Johnson for ACC POY. I'd be very surprised if Williams is not ACC POY at least once in her career. If their underclassmen step up, they could definitely be a top 4 team by the end of this year. They have lots of very nice pieces.

From the scouting reports this season... Gray is Duke's best player. Im biased, but I think she can be the best PG in the nation this year. I agree Williams will be the ACC POY at least once in her career... but I think Gray has a shot to be the POY this season. I can hardly wait.

 

[MilfordHusky]

From the scouting reports this season... Gray is Duke's best player. Im biased, but I think she can be the best PG in the nation this year. I agree Williams will be the ACC POY at least once in her career... but I think Gray has a shot to be the POY this season. I can hardly wait.

Gray was highly regarded in high school. I was impressed watching her in person in the San Antonio AA game. She had some really good moments last season, but I think she deferred to Jasmine, perhaps too much. She should be very good, and I like some of the other sophs. I don't know if Gray is better than Hartley, Simmons, Schimmel, or Syms, but it will be interesting to see her develop. If Diggins is considered a PG, I'd be surprised to see Gray surpass her this season. But I think Chelsey is more athletic and may have at least as much upside as Skylar.

 

[UConnCat]

In at #5: Stanford Cardinal.

Sports Madness projects a starting lineup of: Chiney (So), Nneka (Sr), LaRoque (Sr), Greenfield (Fr) and Orange (Fr). This was the starting lineup in Stanford's 2nd exhibition game.

In Stanford's 1st exhibition game, the starting lineup was Chiney, Nneka, Kokenis, LaRoque and James.

Maybe one of the Stanford fans can stop by and tell us what the starting lineup might look like on Friday night when Stanford opens up against Texas. With so much young talent on Stanford's roster this might be one of those seasons in which the starting lineup changes later in the season.

 

[MilfordHusky]

In at #5: Stanford Cardinal.

Sports Madness projects a starting lineup of: Chiney (So), Nneka (Sr), LaRoque (Sr), Greenfield (Fr) and Orange (Fr). This was the starting lineup in Stanford's 2nd exhibition game.

In Stanford's 1st exhibition game, the starting lineup was Chiney, Nneka, Kokenis, LaRoque and James.

Maybe one of the Stanford fans can stop by and tell us what the starting lineup might look like on Friday night when Stanford opens up against Texas. With so much young talent on Stanford's roster this might be one of those seasons in which the starting lineup changes later in the season.

I'm surprised at the number of freshman. I would have expected Kokenis and James. Orange sounds like a player, though.

This is an interesting and smaller lineup, especially for the 1st game. No Tinkle or Booth for either.

 

[CompSci87]

In at #5: Stanford Cardinal.

Sports Madness projects a starting lineup of: Chiney (So), Nneka (Sr), LaRoque (Sr), Greenfield (Fr) and Orange (Fr). This was the starting lineup in Stanford's 2nd exhibition game.

In Stanford's 1st exhibition game, the starting lineup was Chiney, Nneka, Kokenis, LaRoque and James.

Maybe one of the Stanford fans can stop by and tell us what the starting lineup might look like on Friday night when Stanford opens up against Texas. With so much young talent on Stanford's roster this might be one of those seasons in which the starting lineup changes later in the season.

We all find it hard to guess who will start beyond the O sisters. Tara said in her Dishin' and Swishin' interview that the starting lineup could include as many as two freshmen. Even if that doesn't happen in the first game, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see a freshman or two starting later in the season.

As you noted, Sports Madness took the 2nd exhibition game's starting lineup as the projected starters for the season. However, Ruef was injured for both exhibitions (recovering from plantar fasciitis) and Kokenis started the first one but was injured for the second (minor wrist and ankle injuries, could have played). Either or both might start Friday IMO.

Boothe is backing up Nneka at the 5. She looks improved this year after getting her shoulder fixed, and gives us a different look at 6'5", but is unlikely to win a starting spot.

Tinkle has moved to the 4 where she looks at home and is playing well, so we won't see her start at the 3, but she'll get a lot of time off the bench.

That leaves Ruef or Greenfield the best candidates to start at the 3, unless Tara goes with 3 guards as in exhibition game #1.

The guard spots are pretty much up for grabs. Most of the guards other than James can play either the 1 or 2, so it's hard to narrow down that way. Orrange or Kokenis are the most likely to start at the 1. LaRocque may be the most likely 2, but Kokenis and Orrange could start together, or James could start at the 2.

 

[UConnCat]

We all find it hard to guess who will start beyond the O sisters. Tara said in her Dishin' and Swishin' interview that the starting lineup could include as many as two freshmen. Even if that doesn't happen in the first game, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see a freshman or two starting later in the season.

As you noted, Sports Madness took the 2nd exhibition game's starting lineup as the projected starters for the season. However, Ruef was injured for both exhibitions (recovering from plantar fasciitis) and Kokenis started the first one but was injured for the second (minor wrist and ankle injuries, could have played). Either or both might start Friday IMO.

Boothe is backing up Nneka at the 5. She looks improved this year after getting her shoulder fixed, and gives us a different look at 6'5", but is unlikely to win a starting spot.

Tinkle has moved to the 4 where she looks at home and is playing well, so we won't see her start at the 3, but she'll get a lot of time off the bench.

That leaves Ruef or Greenfield the best candidates to start at the 3, unless Tara goes with 3 guards as in exhibition game #1.

The guard spots are pretty much up for grabs. Most of the guards other than James can play either the 1 or 2, so it's hard to narrow down that way. Orrange or Kokenis are the most likely to start at the 1. LaRocque may be the most likely 2, but Kokenis and Orrange could start together, or James could start at the 2.

Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. What we do know is that Tara will have a lot of lineup options this year.

 

[UConnCat]

In at #4: our own UConn Huskies

Sports Madness projects a starting lineup that includes the usual suspects (Dolson, Hartley, Faris, Hayes) and KML instead of Doty. The analysis concludes with this: "Look for the Huskies to grind their way to another 30 plus win season and be peaking come tourney time. If you are going to pin a loss on Connecticut you better get them early in the season."

 

[MilfordHusky]

In at #4: our own UConn Huskies

Sports Madness projects a starting lineup that includes the usual suspects (Dolson, Hartley, Faris, Hayes) and KML instead of Doty. The analysis concludes with this: "Look for the Huskies to grind their way to another 30 plus win season and be peaking come tourney time. If you are going to pin a loss on Connecticut you better get them early in the season."

Yeah. They are looking to extend their record (shared with LSU) for consecutive Final Fours to 9. But they need to get to 5 first. Stanford could get to 5 this year as well.

 

[UConnCat]

In at #3: Tennessee

Massengale is not in Sports Madness' starting lineup but I expect she'll be in Summitt's for the first game.

Baylor and ND remain and will likely be #1 and #2, respectively.

 

[MilfordHusky]

In at #3: Tennessee

Massengale is not in Sports Madness' starting lineup but I expect she'll be in Summitt's for the first game.

Baylor and ND remain and will likely be #1 and #2, respectively.

I think they should keep Ariel on the bench so she can observe and learn.

She could be their best player soon.

 

[UConnCat]

Just to wrap this up -- Notre Dame comes in at #2 and Baylor at #1.

Now let the games begin...