Creme's Preseason Top 25 2013-2014

[Phil]

Tony, I have to agree. I don't see any team staying within 20 points of UCONN next season. It will just be the "1" to see next season.

I think we've got as good a shot as any time for a really special season, but I won't go that far. I predict Stanford will be the closest of any opponent. Plus there will be at least one surprise.

 

[EricSD]

View attachment 2810

I know you hate UNC (I think you call them UNCheat?) but you have to admit they were a legit top 15-20 team last year, and they do have a terrific rookie class coming in. Maybe the lack of defense and run/gun disorganized offense will really hurt them this year, esp. against disciplined teams like ND, but I also have them in my preseason top 10 (not that my opinion counts for squadoosh...!)

 

[MilfordHusky]

Chiney will get help but won't have a Mercedes.

But is Mercedes a C240 or an S550?

 

[triaddukefan]

stwainfan is the eastern time zone version of cardfan

 

[triaddukefan]

I know you hate UNC (I think you call them UNCheat?) but you have to admit they were a legit top 15-20 team last year, and they do have a terrific rookie class coming in. Maybe the lack of defense and run/gun disorganized offense will really hurt them this year, esp. against disciplined teams like ND, but I also have them in my preseason top 10 (not that my opinion counts for squadoosh...!)

I think they are good for 4th place in the ACC. They are gonna miss their senior class alot.... I would put them in the 11-15 range...

 

[VAMike23]

But is Mercedes a C240 or an S550?

All I know is that it'll be awhile before she's a CL65, if ever..........

 

[bballnut90]

Notre Dame at 10? Baylor at 12? Really?

Notre Dame returns arguably the best off guard in the nation in McBride, Loyd who I think will break out and have a great season, Achonwa who was one of the best posts last year, and they bring in Taya Reimer who is the #4 recruit in the nation and should be able to contribute from day 1. Add in McGraw, who was Coach of the Year this past season, and you're looking at a team that is definitely better than 10. I'd put them all the way up at #3 over Tennessee. Nobody on Tennessee is as proven as McBride/Loyd/Achonwa.

Baylor should also be much much higher in my opinion. Baylor is 74-2 in their last 76 games and was simply dominant. Sure, they lose just about everyone but they return the best point guard and on ball defender in the nation in Sims. The new players will be unproven, but it's worth noting that they spent the last couple seasons practicing against Hayden/Williams/Griner/Pope/Madden so they are used to facing touch competition, and they also bring in a strong recruiting class. Sims alone makes them a top 8 team in my book, I wouldn't be suprised if they are a final four team next year.

 

[ochoopsfan]

These 3 post players will help a lot, plus getting Camp and Greene back up to speed after injuries will help the back court. There is hope we’ll get Toni back, too.

Eric McCall
http://espn.go.com/high-school/girls-basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/138727/erica-mccall

Kalee Johnson
http://espn.go.com/high-school/girls-basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/103456/kailee-johnson

Beebe who signed last yr. but sat out due to ACL
http://espn.go.com/high-school/girls-basketball/recruiting/player/news/_/id/99317/alyson-beebe

and some guard help from Bonnie's lil sis

Karlie Samuelson
http://espn.go.com/high-school/girls-basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/102712/karlie-samuelson

You are expecting a lot of help from three bigs who havent played a second in the NCAA. One of them hasnt played anywhere in 2+ years, since the ACL.
Thats a lot to expect. None of them are close to the talent of Ogwumike. All will help eventually, but I am not sure they are currently ready for a lot of minutes.
Hope it works out as I always root for the Pac12.
I also hope Kokenis can make it back, but I wouldnt count on it.

 

[bballnut90]

I'd also drop Maryland a couple spots down, they haven't beaten a top 5 team (other than Duke) in the last few years, nor has Thomas proven that she can deliver in big games. Losing Hawkins also hurts a lot.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Don't think Charlie composed this list last year, at least at this time though he did have a hand in ESPN's preseason picks in November. All I can say is it has a lot of similarities to last year's preseason list, which took a moderate amount of jumbling on the road to the final rankings. Of course, with any of these preseason lists, the question is are they supposed to be speculation on how the teams will be shaping up in the rankings in say mid December, or are they actually a guess about how the teams will produce for the whole year.

Louisville again occupies the #8 slot despite going to the NC and losing only one contributing player who was also playing on damaged goods while scoring the two biggest points in Cardinals' history. Odd. I'm not brave or foolish enough to predict the future before the stocks have been decently inventoried, but here's the biggest misguesses in last year's preseason polls.

Got No Lovin': How could the pollsters prematurely bury such "I'm not dead yet" old pepsters UNC, LSU, UCLA, and Wisconsin-GB? Not exactly spring chickens last year but they still made the top 25, and this year Charlie is officially raising UNC up from the dead zone. South Carolina and Dayton were newer faces among the top 16 teams.

Too Little Lovin': Notre Dame, Louisville, Cal, and UTenn were the most evident examples of teams that way exceeded expectations. Creme has certainly made sure that UTenn is fully appreciated this time, while Louisville, ND and Cal still apparently need to prove that they're just as lovable.

A Little and Way Too Much Lovin': ACC top dogs Duke and MD were a bit too beloved, and St. John's, Vanderbilt, and West Virginia fooled'em with the makeup and were considered way too pretty as they missed the final rankings completely.

One team was picked exactly right, Nebraska at #18. We'll see how Charlie's #9 does this season.

 

[stwainfan]

http://images.search.yahoo.com/imag...=12heeapt4&sigi=14vlpjodt&.crumb=SfDVRGXXDTZ&

 

[meyers7]

UConn will be far above and beyond any team in WCBB. Breanna and our freshman have shown what they can do in the NCAA tournament. UConns height advantage, and athleticism with their height will by itself overpower opponets on both sides of the ball. Breanna and KML will light it up big. Bria is healthy next season and BB should be. BB will be a wait and see. If healthy BB could make a huge difference. With that said I will say now UConn will be undefeated next season, and win their 9th NC without much competition.

Ah there's the old Tony. No more Mr Negativity.

 

[meyers7]

Notre Dame at 10? Baylor at 12? Really?

Notre Dame returns arguably the best off guard in the nation in McBride, Loyd who I think will break out and have a great season, Achonwa who was one of the best posts last year, and they bring in Taya Reimer who is the #4 recruit in the nation and should be able to contribute from day 1. Add in McGraw, who was Coach of the Year this past season, and you're looking at a team that is definitely better than 10. I'd put them all the way up at #3 over Tennessee. Nobody on Tennessee is as proven as McBride/Loyd/Achonwa.

Baylor should also be much much higher in my opinion. Baylor is 74-2 in their last 76 games and was simply dominant. Sure, they lose just about everyone but they return the best point guard and on ball defender in the nation in Sims. The new players will be unproven, but it's worth noting that they spent the last couple seasons practicing against Hayden/Williams/Griner/Pope/Madden so they are used to facing touch competition, and they also bring in a strong recruiting class. Sims alone makes them a top 8 team in my book, I wouldn't be suprised if they are a final four team next year.

I agree about ND. But Baylor? I'd be shocked (shocked I say) if they made it to the FF. (but then I was shocked by Louisville this year, so who knows. But I'd still be shocked)

 

[triaddukefan]

Notre Dame is way too low at #10. I wouldnt have them any lower than #6.... if that low.

All I know is that it'll be awhile before she's a CL65, if ever..........

That is a MONSTER of a car.. I have a good female friend who is deadset on getting the CL 63 AMG.... I looked at the prices for a USED one..... and its still like Asked her if she was willing to "settle" on a regular ol CL 550 Not sure if she still values my car advice though.... I tried to steer her towards a Honda Accord coupe...... she didnt really like my opinion on that Perhaps Im being a bit chauvinistic, but I told her that a woman doesnt really need a car with over 360 HP.

 

[triaddukefan]

Don't think Charlie composed this list last year, at least at this time though he did have a hand in ESPN's preseason picks in November. All I can say is it has a lot of similarities to last year's preseason list, which took a moderate amount of jumbling on the road to the final rankings. Of course, with any of these preseason lists, the question is are they supposed to be speculation on how the teams will be shaping up in the rankings in say mid December, or are they actually a guess about how the teams will produce for the whole year.


A Little and Way Too Much Lovin': ACC top dogs Duke and MD were a bit too beloved, and St. John's, Vanderbilt, and West Virginia fooled'em with the makeup and were considered way too pretty as they missed the final rankings completely.

One team was picked exactly right, Nebraska at #18. We'll see how Charlie's #9 does this season.

I'm biased but the Duke pick wasnt that far off base. Preseason 3..... Finished regular season at 5. Just two losses...

Vanderbilt lost one of their top players in the preseason.... WVU lost its best player in the preseason as well. They both would likely have finished in the top 20 if completely healthy.
http://espn.go.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7787083/baylor-lady-bears-top-early-rankings-2012-13-season

 

[itsasport]

Tenn #3? I don't care who is coming in, they still will be a group of talented players who will play one on one on offense and have a disorganized, porous defense. They should be behind ND, Satanford (that was a typo, but, what the heck) Maryland and Louisville, at the very least.

 

[cardfan]

You are expecting a lot of help from three bigs who havent played a second in the NCAA. One of them hasnt played anywhere in 2+ years, since the ACL.
Thats a lot to expect. None of them are close to the talent of Ogwumike. All will help eventually, but I am not sure they are currently ready for a lot of minutes.
Hope it works out as I always root for the Pac12.
I also hope Kokenis can make it back, but I wouldnt count on it.

any help is needed and appreciated. Beebe and McCall will play right away and will have an impact for rebounding and less pressure on Chiney! Obviously none are as great as Chiney. I'm not counting on Toni, but there is still a chance...

 

[DobbsRover2]

I'm biased but the Duke pick wasnt that far off base. Preseason 3..... Finished regular season at 5. Just two losses...

Vanderbilt lost one of their top players in the preseason.... WVU lost its best player in the preseason as well. They both would likely have finished in the top 20 if completely healthy.
http://espn.go.com/womens-college-b...-lady-bears-top-early-rankings-2012-13-season

Yeah, well I put it that Duke got a little too much love because it's at the top level where differences are magnified and I was going of the final-final rankings where Duke goes out at #6 after being picked at #3. Injuries are indeed big game changers for the final performance levels, as are the "they're getting so-and-so back" who always seem to be reckoned at their previous level of play when so often that is not the case. Preseason picks especially the way-early ones are always just kind of a fantasy draft kind of thing where you make selections based on the best info which turns out to be very imperfect by week 1 of a season.

 

[johnnyc]

I'll play along.....


UConn
Duke
ND
Louisville
NC
Stanford
Tenn
Maryland
Baylor
Kentucky

with Nebraska looking to crack top 10

 

[doggydaddy]

That's crazy. Stanford will be improved with a very good incoming class and getting many injured players back (Beebe, Camp, Greene, and still hope for Toni). Stanford will be better than many in top 10- 12. Can't wait to play TN and UConn to show ya.

Gotta give you credit, Cardfan. A 26 point loss and scoring only 35 points against Uconn and you can't wait to play them again. Quite the glutton for punishment, aren't we?

Sad to say Uconn knows very well the impact of multiple ACL Injuries to a player. I hope that Beebe staysa healthy, but to believe that she can have a big impact for Stanford this year seems to be wishful thinking to me.

You can have all the front line help you want but you need a good backcourt to beat Uconn. What you have are good but not great players.

It won't be pretty in Connecticut for Stanford.

 

[bballnut90]

I agree about ND. But Baylor? I'd be shocked (shocked I say) if they made it to the FF. (but then I was shocked by Louisville this year, so who knows. But I'd still be shocked)

A lot of people thought Duke would be struggling after losing Black/Currie/Williams/Foley in 2006 but they came back a better team in 2007. Same with Notre Dame this year after they lost Peters/Novosel/Mallory. Not saying Sims will turn Baylor into a Final Four favorite, but don't underestimate the crew Baylor has coming back, especially when they are led by the best point guard in the nation.

 

[doggydaddy]

A lot of people thought Duke would be struggling after losing Black/Currie/Williams/Foley in 2006 but they came back a better team in 2007. Same with Notre Dame this year after they lost Peters/Novosel/Mallory. Not saying Sims will turn Baylor into a Final Four favorite, but don't underestimate the crew Baylor has coming back, especially when they are led by the best point guard in the nation.

Black didn't graduate with the other three. Bales, Harding, Black and Emily Waner were all upper class men that year. How is that similar to Baylor?

What will Baylor's starting lineup be?

 

[triaddukefan]

Black didn't graduate with the other three. Bales, Harding, Black and Emily Waner were all upper class men that year. How is that similar to Baylor?

What will Baylor's starting lineup be?

Black got injured and redshirted in 2006-7.

 

[wire chief]

Interesting to me...after the tournament Georgia had, Charlie leaves them out,
and no one here comments.

 

[Scotter]

Preseason picks are always interesting. I was one of the few people here that thought Notre Dame was going to be really good going into last season. I didn't predict 3 wins against UConn, but I thought Notre Dame would easily be the 2nd best team in the Big East with a very good shot at being a Final Four team. My rationale for that is the same with predicting the fortunes of any team. Teams are going to be as good as the combination of their top end talent and coaching. Notre Dame's returning top end talent in Diggins, McBride, and Achonwa was easily top 5 in the country and they had a top 5 coach.

Looking ahead to next year it is pretty wide open. UConn is at least a lock to be the best team in the country and get to the Final Four. After that you have some teams deep with talent that should be near locks to get to the Final four, but could stall out yet again at the Elite 8 partly due to coaching. And then there are teams not quite as deep in talent or not having truly elite top level talent that have the coaching to pull an upset of a more talented overall team and get to the Final Four.

Predictions for how they will be seeded going into the NCAA tournament
1 Seeds
UConn
Duke - their overall talent as well as their elite talent should be overwhelming to every team, but UConn. Wrong matchup and they still could stall out in the Elite 8 though
Tennessee - will probably win the SEC regular season. I'm not convinced that Matthew Mitchell is a good enough coach to make up for the talent gap. Will get to the Elite 8 again, but likely lose under the pressure of getting back to a Final Four in Tennessee unless they get a favorable matchup in the Elite 8.
Stanford - will probably return to running the table in the West with the combination of an elite player Chiney and the overall depth of talent on the roster, while other final #1 seed contenders beat each other up some. If they are the #1 seed in the West and get the easiest #2 seed again on geography they could be headed back to the Final Four.

2 Seeds
Kentucky - if they find away to take a step in halfcourt execution they could win the SEC, either way they will get to the Elite 8 and then have close to a 50/50 chance against anyone except UConn. Wouldn't be surprised if they were better without Mathis.
Louisville - They have the coaching, they gained confidence, and players figured out their roles. They lack truly elite talent, but have a decent depth of talent. Wouldn't be that much of a surprise to see Shoni put together a much better senior year. Likely playing UConn 3 times in conference will most likely result in a #2 seed at best, but they'll be prepared for the tournament with a 50/50 shot at getting to the Final Four against anyone except UConn.
Maryland - They broke with recent Maryland tradition by playing physically and mentally tough last season. Thomas is an elite player and they have plenty of other talented players back. That will get them a #2 seed. Not convinced they have the half court execution, shooters, and ability to pressure the ball to advance all the way to the Final Four. Potentially could be upset in the Sweet 16.
Baylor - I'm not one of the people who thought Sims was better than Diggins. Sims and the other talent will have enough talent to win the Big 12 and the conference's inflated RPI will get Baylor a two seed. I think their 50/50 to get out of the Sweet 16 with their ceiling being the Elite 8. Mulkey is a good coach, but I don't see the half court execution that is needed to get past anyone they would face in the Elite 8.

3 Seeds
Notre Dame - Still have a nice collection of top end talent, but they are going to miss having the ball in the hands of Diggins late in games. I expect they'll fall to a 3 seed with a couple of extra losses in close games to the traditional ACC powers. Probably 50/50 to get to the elite 8. Will need a good matchup to get back to the Final Four
Big 10 Champion - No idea who it is going to be out of Nebraska, Michigan State, and Penn State. Not sure I buy the high ranking of Nebraska by Creme. I would guess that Penn State wins the Big 10 regular season, despite their losses to graduation. Almost no chance of the Bid 10 champion getting past the Sweet 16. The conference is still what it has been, full of parity with some attractive basketball to watch although lacking Elite 8 caliber teams let alone national championship contenders.
North Carolina - they'll win enough games on talent to get a #3 seed, but likely won't get past the Sweet 16. Coaching and overall execution won't be good enough to get to the Elite 8.
Cailfornia - Not convinced they'll truly challenge Stanford again so they'll likely end up a #3 seed instead of a #2 seed. Would need the right match up to get past the Sweet 16.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Notre Dame is way too low at #10. I wouldnt have them any lower than #6.... if that low.

Are the used ones under $100K? I think that's about $130K new.




That is a MONSTER of a car.. I have a good female friend who is deadset on getting the CL 63 AMG.... I looked at the prices for a USED one..... and its still like Asked her if she was willing to "settle" on a regular ol CL 550 Not sure if she still values my car advice though.... I tried to steer her towards a Honda Accord coupe...... she didnt really like my opinion on that Perhaps Im being a bit chauvinistic, but I told her that a woman doesnt really need a car with over 360 HP.

 

[MilfordHusky]

All I know is that it'll be awhile before she's a CL65, if ever..........

Mike is driving a much nicer car than Milford is.

 

[triaddukefan]

Are the used ones under $100K? I think that's about $130K new.

I think the cheapest used one I saw was a 2011 for maybe 99K.... most were in the 110-120K range. Base for a 2013 is I think in the 150K range... for the one Mike posted... over 200K base

 

[MilfordHusky]

I think the cheapest used one I saw was a 2011 for maybe 99K.... most were in the 110-120K range. Base for a 2013 is I think in the 150K range... for the one Mike posted... over 200K base

Are you a Duke grad? Just buy it for her, dammit.

 

[meyers7]

What will Baylor's starting lineup be?

A guess:
Sims 5-8
Prince 6-2
Johnson 5-7
Robertson 5-8
Agbuke/Higgins 6-4

Yea, doesn't look FF to me.