Creme's preseason top 25

[stwainfan]

They are unproven! 25 losses in two years doesn't exactly put fear in the hearts of other teams.

One thing this years team. Will have more options with Cooper back and the freshman. They can do some more things like press more.

 

[huskeynut]

Charlie - Charlie - Charlie! What are you thinking?

No way tOSU is 3, just no way.

Tennessee - maybe between 20 - 25 but not in the Top 10!

Texas at 8 or 9.

ND, SC, Stanford & MSU are about equal. UCLA proably in this group too. And maybe Duke.

11 - 25 is a crap shoot. MD at 17 is a little bit of a surprise.

And no love for Temple.

 

[LadyVols9]

I agree that TN should be better. I love all my Lvs but we REALLY lacked consistent talent after counting MR, DD, and Nared. If the others don't take their game to a new level, they will be sitting on the bench with the freshman playing more minutes.

 

[CBus13]

Oy.
Not sure how Creme can justify OSU at 3rd. Ohio State hasn't beat anyone of significance in the past three years. Losing three players from this seasons team and not adding any (let alone top) recruits and they are projected better? Doubtful. I'll be thrilled if they can finally live up to their hype (seeing as I have season tickets) but I really doubt it. Also, not sure how you can have a "However, ..." and then have them third, is he suggesting if the two transfers didn't leave OSU would have been 2nd?

I would bump OSU down to 12th, at the highest.

1. Uconn

2. Baylor - I think this previous years team was better than this one, but with Brown leading the way and Cox improving and a more versatile role for Mompremier...they will be trouble for most teams.

3. Texas - McCarty is a player and they have one of the top players in Patterson coming in next year. They don't lose any of their big stars from last year and Holmes will improve. It'll be interesting to see if Boothe can be a complementary player for her first season. Also, adds Jatarie White from SC.

4. South Carolina - Wilson will probably be most people's PreSeason Player of the Year. Losing Gray and Davis hurts a lot but having an experienced, national champion point guard return can help steady the newcomers. Jennings from Kentucky will now pair up with Wilson along with the freshmen LaDaizha Williams.

5. Miss. St - Returns majority of their offense. Will miss Dillingham and Richardson on defense and the depth but McCowan will have another offseason of development and Jacaira Allen was highly rated out of high school but didn't play much in her first season. Also adds Bibby, which people seem excited for.

6. Notre Dame - Losing Allen, Boley, and potentially Turner (for some of the season at least) hurts. Adding Thompson may help with the Point guard issues, but depends on how she meshes with McGraw's style of play. All of their other starters return, as does Young. So they will still be the top of the ACC.

7. Louisville - Everyone says Walz can coach and he keeps bringing in some top recruits. He's had younger teams the past years but this season will be mainly Upperclassmen leading the way.

8. UCLA - Jordin Canada is probably the best player we never see. UCLA had some strong moments against Uconn and refused to give up in the Sweet Sixteen. Monique Billings is an outstanding athlete and probably the only other player who can compete with Gabby Williams in that department.

9. Stanford - Losing McCall and Samuelson will hurt them leadership-wise (and Samuelson's consistent outside shot will be missed) But this team will be more talented than this past one. Kianna Williams was Jordan Brand MVP and Alanna Smith could emerge as their go-to player.

10. Oregon - Ionescu and Hebard will be sophomores and will be riding some confidence after making some noise in the tournament. Also add some top quality Euro players. Graves can coach a team and make them believe in themselves, however, now the rest of the country knows about them and won't be playing the underdog role.

11. Duke - Depending on the adjustment of Jade Williams in the college game, Duke could be higher by the end of the first month. Brown is what makes this team go, but losing Lambert and Primm hurts. Belton was highly ranked in high school, she could be a good piece to help replace what was lost inside

12a. OSU - This team is literally all Seniors and Juniors. Losing Cooper was expected and will be missed, but losing McCoy and Lewis was a surprise and really hurts OSU since they have no one new coming in. Only player who would be a new face would be Jensen Carretti (the lone player in the Freshmen or Sophomore class). Can this team play consistent team defense? Probably not. Having a fully healthy Mavunga will be key. I still think the Sweet Sixteen is their ceiling but individual talent has them here...for now.

12b. Tennessee - ??????? I don't know what to expect. On paper this feels like a lowball ranking but who knows.


That would be my early top "12". Feel free to poke holes.

 

[TerpWomenFan]

Oy.
Not sure how Creme can justify OSU at 3rd. Ohio State hasn't beat anyone of significance in the past three years. Losing three players from this seasons team and not adding any (let alone top) recruits and they are projected better? Doubtful. I'll be thrilled if they can finally live up to their hype (seeing as I have season tickets) but I really doubt it. Also, not sure how you can have a "However, ..." and then have them third, is he suggesting if the two transfers didn't leave OSU would have been 2nd?

I would bump OSU down to 12th, at the highest.

1. UConn

2. Baylor - I think this previous years team was better than this one, but with Brown leading the way and Cox improving and a more versatile role for Mompremier...they will be trouble for most teams.

3. Texas - McCarty is a player and they have one of the top players in Patterson coming in next year. They don't lose any of their big stars from last year and Holmes will improve. It'll be interesting to see if Boothe can be a complementary player for her first season. Also, adds Jatarie White from SC.

4. South Carolina - Wilson will probably be most people's PreSeason Player of the Year. Losing Gray and Davis hurts a lot but having an experienced, national champion point guard return can help steady the newcomers. Jennings from Kentucky will now pair up with Wilson along with the freshmen LaDaizha Williams.

5. Miss. St - Returns majority of their offense. Will miss Dillingham and Richardson on defense and the depth but McCowan will have another offseason of development and Jacaira Allen was highly rated out of high school but didn't play much in her first season. Also adds Bibby, which people seem excited for.

6. Notre Dame - Losing Allen, Boley, and potentially Turner (for some of the season at least) hurts. Adding Thompson may help with the Point guard issues, but depends on how she meshes with McGraw's style of play. All of their other starters return, as does Young. So they will still be the top of the ACC.

7. Louisville - Everyone says Walz can coach and he keeps bringing in some top recruits. He's had younger teams the past years but this season will be mainly Upperclassmen leading the way.

8. UCLA - Jordin Canada is probably the best player we never see. UCLA had some strong moments against UConn and refused to give up in the Sweet Sixteen. Monique Billings is an outstanding athlete and probably the only other player who can compete with Gabby Williams in that department.

9. Stanford - Losing McCall and Samuelson will hurt them leadership-wise (and Samuelson's consistent outside shot will be missed) But this team will be more talented than this past one. Kianna Williams was Jordan Brand MVP and Alanna Smith could emerge as their go-to player.

10. Oregon - Ionescu and Hebard will be sophomores and will be riding some confidence after making some noise in the tournament. Also add some top quality Euro players. Graves can coach a team and make them believe in themselves, however, now the rest of the country knows about them and won't be playing the underdog role.

11. Duke - Depending on the adjustment of Jade Williams in the college game, Duke could be higher by the end of the first month. Brown is what makes this team go, but losing Lambert and Primm hurts. Belton was highly ranked in high school, she could be a good piece to help replace what was lost inside

12a. OSU - This team is literally all Seniors and Juniors. Losing Cooper was expected and will be missed, but losing McCoy and Lewis was a surprise and really hurts OSU since they have no one new coming in. Only player who would be a new face would be Jensen Carretti (the lone player in the Freshmen or Sophomore class). Can this team play consistent team defense? Probably not. Having a fully healthy Mavunga will be key. I still think the Sweet Sixteen is their ceiling but individual talent has them here...for now.

12b. Tennessee - ??????? I don't know what to expect. On paper this feels like a lowball ranking but who knows.


That would be my early top "12". Feel free to poke holes.

You did better than Charlie Creme. tOSU at #3 is a joke but you may have them a little too low. Great job with Louisville. I think people are sleeping on them. I had Duke lower. I'm not convinced of their supporting players and their coach. BTW, Maryland at #17 was correct. They'll be almost like Oregon. Start slow (relative to their schedule) and play better by tournament time. I think they'll get two or three additional players (graduate transfers and maybe the freshman PG who visited this weekend - Lewis)

 

[CocoHusky]

And I ask again: had they lost to Temple, would you even have them in the top 20?

No & if Temple beat Oregon and then went on to beat Duke (2) and Maryland (3) Temple wouldn't be ranked 13th. The ranking is based on the potential of what they have coming back and Oregon has plenty.

 

[SCspur]

I think Baylor at #2 , Ohio St at #3 , Texas at #4 , ND at # 5 is a bit weird on how much creme likes these individual teams. Baylor will probably be very good but idk if they're going to be #2 next year. Ohio St doesn't play enough defense to be top 10 and they won't outscore good defensive teams, Texas was pretty erratic even with 8 McDAA they were kind of the mirror image of Tennessee, some days they were good other days they were bad. Let's see if Karen Aston can mesh all that talent. ND has strong guards and wings but their post play this year is suspect especially if BT isn't 100 % and Erin Boley transferring. Kathryn Westbeld and Kristina Nelson aren't particularly dominant. You could make an argument with SC, ND, and Baylor being ranked is some type of order right behind UCONN. No other team has shown the same kind of consistency of Winning then these three programs. SC has won 4 straight regular season title and 3 straight tourney titles, ND has won All ACC titles since joining and Baylor has won 7 Big 12 titles. On top of that each of them a constant Final Four contenders.

 

[HopJim]

17-18 could be our best team ever! I firmly believe that when Geno said "if you are going to get us you better get us this year" he was not kidding. Looking forward to some of the "prettiest basketball" ever to be played.

I hope you are right but the Jefferson, Stewie, etc. team had one of the most unique blends of offense and particularly defense-hard to emulate. Stewie and Jefferson had the ability to shut anyone down-even the Maya teams did not have these skills.

 

[CBus13]

You did better than Charlie Creme. tOSU at #3 is a joke but you may have them a little too low. Great job with Louisville. I think people are sleeping on them. I had Duke lower. I'm not convinced of their supporting players and their coach. BTW, Maryland at #17 was correct. They'll be almost like Oregon. Start slow (relative to their schedule) and play better by tournament time. I think they'll get two or three additional players (graduate transfers and maybe the freshman PG who visited this weekend - Lewis)

I may just have to lower my expectations on tOSU initially so I can be pleasantly surprised later on. haha. I initially had Duke below OSU but flipped them with Tennessee. Lexie Brown is just such a strong player it tipped their scale for me. I think Maryland will still win the Big10 tournament. I'd only see them losing to MSU (Cooks is going to be trouble in the Big10) and OSU during the Big10 season. I wish I could say Maryland wouldn't need Lewis because OSU needs her more, but you guys could use her too.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

And I ask again: had they lost to Temple, would you even have them in the top 20?

They didn't. They beat a very good Temple team, a very good Washington team, a very good Duke team, and a very good- check that- an excellent Maryland team. And every player from that team comes back. And every one of those starters and top subs comes back. And each is at the age when they should be improving. Not a team with fifth-year seniors like Tennessee who are unlikely to do better than they did last year.

And they're bringing in ringers from Europe. Yep, top 10 in my book.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Oregon St. missing from his top 25 and not even in his next group considered? I bet they finish the season ranked, and I also think it's a pretty good chance they finish ahead of both Arizona St. and Cal in the conference standings, both of whom he has ranked. I think underestimating OSU because they lost some key players is going to become an annual tradition.

 

[01Neaggrad02]

What is Charlie thinking? Didn't he get the memo? Defending champions stay at #1 until they lose a game!

We were 3rd this past year....

 

[Shorty Dee]

I agree UConn should be ranked #1. I know some maybe saying, but UConn loss to Mississippi State. Technically UConn didn't get beat by Mississippi State, UConn beat themselves, and Mississippi State were the beneficiaries.

 

[Bestiarius]

One thing this years team. Will have more options with Cooper back and the freshman. They can do some more things like press more.

They don't need to press more. What they need is to score more.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Geno and staff have shown over the years that it takes more than top recruits to dominate and win it all!
TN still has Holly Warlick and her sub par assistants to try and mold that talented class. She had worlds of talent this year and they never played like a team on offense or defense!
You give Holly and staff this years UCONN team and they lose 8 to 9 games and don't make it past the 2nd round IMO!
This so-called #1 recruiting class will pull a NoCar with DD and the rest of those world-beaters and flee Knoxville before graduation!

 

[stwainfan]

They don't need to press more. What they need is to score more.

I was just using that as a example. Of the different things the team can do. When the season gets started. More players more options.

 

[Bestiarius]

Geno and staff have shown over the years that it takes more than top recruits to dominate and win it all!
TN still has Holly Warlick and her sub par assistants to try and mold that talented class. She had worlds of talent this year and they never played like a team on offense or defense!
You give Holly and staff this years UConn team and they lose 8 to 9 games and don't make it past the 2nd round IMO!
This so-called #1 recruiting class will pull a NoCar with DD and the rest of those world-beaters and flee Knoxville before graduation!

Diamond should have jumped to the WNBA. With no real improvement in 3 years, why will the 4th be any different? Her desire to help (coach?) the freshmen could lead to more of the same troubles. Apparently, she thinks Holly needs coaching help. How will that play out?

 

[SCGamecock]

Miss St is a difficult guess for next year. They were not an offensive juggernaut. They were a defensive power, and that comes from playing great team defense. They have lost 4 of their top 7, including D specialists like Dillingham. They have some questions to answer.

Exactly. They also lost Richardson, who's a big guard/forward and a very good defender. They return their big key pieces in William, Vivians and McCowan, but they might actually take a step back defensively.

As good as McCowan is (she had a huge sophomore leap), she still needs more conditioning.. especially now that Okorie will no longer be there to spell her. If their big 3 can come together in a big way then they will still be a top 10 team I think..

 

[SCspur]

Exactly. They also lost Richardson, who's a big guard/forward and a very good defender. They return their big key pieces in William, Vivians and McCowan, but they might actually take a step back defensively.

As good as McCowan is (she had a huge sophomore leap), she still needs more conditioning.. especially now that Okorie will no longer be there to spell her. If their big 3 can come together in a big way then they will still be a top 10 team I think..

I think SC will be better then #6. Losing Davis, Coates, and Gray only mean that Harris, Cuevas-Moore, and Jennings will have to step up. There's no doubt in my mind that they will and with A'js leading them this team will still be a force.

 

[triaddukefan]

Oy.

11. Duke - Depending on the adjustment of Jade Williams in the college game, Duke could be higher by the end of the first month. Brown is what makes this team go, but losing Lambert and Primm hurts. Belton was highly ranked in high school, she could be a good piece to help replace what was lost inside

That would be my early top "12". Feel free to poke holes.

After 3 season ending knee injuries...... Im not expecting Belton to be much of a factor this coming season. I hope Im wrong, but she seems to be snake-bit. Jade Williams needs to be ready to start from day one. Mikalya Boykin needs to be ready from day one. I was hoping she would be able to ease into her transition to college playing behind Lambert......but thats not an option now.

 

[CBus13]

After 3 season ending knee injuries. Im not expecting Belton to be much of a factor this coming season. I hope Im wrong, but she seems to be snake-bit. Jade Williams needs to be ready to start from day one. Mikalya Boykin needs to be ready from day one. I was hoping she would be able to ease into her transition to college playing behind Lambert.but thats not an option now.

I was hoping you'd provide insight. I knew Belton played significant minutes her freshmen year but I haven't seen much from her since. Unfortunate for her. She and Kianna Holland seem to have similar luck. Are you expecting (hoping?) those two freshmen will help fill out your starting 5? I was struggling to think of who was going to most likely step in for Oderah Chidom and Lambert.
Brown, Greenwell, Odom, Williams, and Boykin?

 

[triaddukefan]

I was hoping you'd provide insight. I knew Belton played significant minutes her freshmen year but I haven't seen much from her since. Unfortunate for her. She and Kianna Holland seem to have similar luck. Are you expecting (hoping?) those two freshmen will help fill out your starting 5? I was struggling to think of who was going to most likely step in for Oderah Chidom and Lambert.
Brown, Greenwell, Odom, Williams, and Boykin?

The problem with that lineup is their isnt any known scoring punch off of the bench. I was hoping Boykin could provide that. Perhaps Gorecki will start..... but she hasnt played since December of 2015 due to injury. I think at the start of the season.... Erin Mathias will start.... she started a handful of games this past season.... but I'd much rather see her as the first big off of the bench.

I looked at the team pic from the End of Season Award Ceremony..... and 3 of the PF/C's either were wearing knee braces or were coming off of an ACL Tear (Schubert)

 

[CBus13]

The problem with that lineup is their isnt any known scoring punch off of the bench. I was hoping Boykin could provide that. Perhaps Gorecki will start..... but she hasnt played since December of 2015 due to injury. I think at the start of the season.... Erin Mathias will start.... she started a handful of games this past season.... but I'd much rather see her as the first big off of the bench.

I looked at the team pic from the End of Season Award Ceremony..... and 3 of the PF/C's either were wearing knee braces or were coming off of an ACL Tear (Schubert)

Oy. Looks like you could use an extra month of off-season. I remember seeing Mathias in a few of the games I did see. She moved a lot quicker and smoother than I expected from her.

 

[Plebe]

Oregon St. missing from his top 25 and not even in his next group considered? I bet they finish the season ranked, and I also think it's a pretty good chance they finish ahead of both Arizona St. and Cal in the conference standings, both of whom he has ranked. I think underestimating OSU because they lost some key players is going to become an annual tradition.

I wouldn't have them top 25 at this point either. They lost in the Sweet 16 this year, they lose their all-American who pretty much carried them to what limited offensive success they had this year, and they lose their best perimeter defender in Hanson. That's a lot to replace and some big shoes to fill.

 

[hussybulldog]

Did anyone notice that this guy cannot even count the fingers on one hand? His article started with, 'For the first time in four years, blah blah blah'. It should be the first time in five years! If he cannot count the fingers, would you trust him to rank the top 25? He will probably lose the track once it reaches 4!