ESPN AA Team | Page 2 | The Boneyard

ESPN AA Team

I am not sure what the final results will be, but I truly believe that players who are involved in in-game fights should be disqualified from all end of year awards. And it shouldn't matter who the player(s) is/are, and what schools are involved.
Just my two cents.
 
darkstar1 said:
Based on what I’ve seen, the biggest grumble would be for omitting Kittle in favor of Hidalgo.
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Wrong era, Kittle played for Villanova 20 years ago. Maybe you meant Liz Kitley?
 
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MSSportsGuy said:
Those five are good choices but I could see putting Kitley over Watkins.

For the 10 member team Kitley will be there and probably Cardoso, Pilli, and Reese. The last spot I could see going to possibly three or four others.
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Kitley & Cardoso are probables, that leaves 3 placesfor a dozen players
 
oldude said:
ESPN leads off the season’s AA teams, POY, etc. with their selections by Creme, Voepel & Philippou as follows:

AA team
Clark
Brink
Watkins
Hidalgo
Bueckers

POY - Clark
FOY - Watkins
COY - Staley

Lots of great players out there, but I have to say that I think ESPN got it right. I have no doubt there will be some grumbling in Baton Rouge….;)
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Pretty solid list. With any picks, especially when picking such a limited number, there will always be some grumblings about a player being left off the "select" few. I think the ESPN AA teams looks pretty solid. Great job, ESPN crew.
 
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When it comes to JuJu, she completely passes the eye test for me. Her size, athleticism and skill set is pretty unique to the women’s game. She’s also made USC relevant again. However over the last 10 games of the season, she has shot 80/226 35% and 16/58 from 3 28%. To me, she’s run out of steam down the stretch. When your reputation is being a scorer, I personally value having some efficiency. She’s was only a few more missed shots away from averaging under 40% for the year. What she’s accomplished is incredible, and she’ll likely only get better and more efficient with age. But the efficiency makes me stop and pause. It’s weird how she’s a consensus AA, when the same TO and efficiency issues cost Clark first team as a freshman.
 
Rb335 said:
When it comes to JuJu, she completely passes the eye test for me. Her size, athleticism and skill set is pretty unique to the women’s game. She’s also made USC relevant again. However over the last 10 games of the season, she has shot 80/226 35% and 16/58 from 3 28%. To me, she’s run out of steam down the stretch. When your reputation is being a scorer, I personally value having some efficiency. She’s was only a few more missed shots away from averaging under 40% for the year. What she’s accomplished is incredible, and she’ll likely only get better and more efficient with age. But the efficiency makes me stop and pause. It’s weird how she’s a consensus AA, when the same TO and efficiency issues cost Clark first team as a freshman.
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I agree that JuJu passes the eye test. She & Madison Booker possess a unique skill set and will help continue to revolutionize the women's game. However, it does appear that the season is taking the sting out of her game. Ironically, of the 5 listed as ESPN's All-Americans, only Paige produced higher than average statistical numbers.

While Caitlin showed her clutch ability in the second half against Nebraska, she did not shoot particularly well, especially from 3-pt during the Big Ten tourney. However, she compensated with double digit assists in two games. Likewise, Cam Brink, JuJu & Hannah did not shoot well from the field either. In JuJu's case, she had 19 turnovers compared to 5 assists and shot less than 30%. She's been asked to carry the load for USC and it may have caught up with her. Hannah may have been slightly off shooting, but she was her usual dervish self on defense and took care of the ball.

In contrast, Paige put up some of her best numbers over the 3-game. Her scoring was complimented by 25 rebounds, 12 blocked shots and at least 3 steals each game while not committing a single foul. Oh, she shot 12-24 from 3-pt land. While doubters will point out that the Big East is not as strong as the Big Ten, ACC or Pac-12, Paige's performance over the tourney lets the nation know that she's returned and ready to reassume her place and reputation amongst the best in the nation.
 
CL82 said:
She looked pretty darn good against us.
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Hidalgo lit UConn up, but she scored a lot of those points with Nika sitting on the bench in foul trouble. Would she have scored all those points with Nika in the game? Who knows. Not that it matters, she scored the points.
 
Rb335 said:
. . . It’s weird how she’s [Watkins] a consensus AA, when the same TO and efficiency issues cost Clark first team as a freshman.
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"Efficiency issues" Clark's freshman year? I have seen this take elsewhere as well, and can't figure it out. Guess it's just part of the anti-Clark sentiment. Not sure how an effective field goal percentage of 57.4% (ranking in the 96th percentile) can count as having efficiency issues, let alone the same efficiency issues as Watkins, with her 44.9% effective field goal percentage (ranking in the 48th percentile)..

Clark's a high-volume turnover player, but the Watkins turnover comparison seems incomplete. Clark had a 1.49 assist-to-turnover ratio her freshman. A solid, not great figure, and not too far south of Hidalgo at 1.61. Watkins is at .77, meaning more turnovers than assists. That is a pitiful figure for a guard with high utilization, and not comparable to either Clark or Hidalgo, let alone Paige at well over 2.

SEASONPLAYERTEAMPTSEFG%AST/TOVASTTOV
2020-21Paige BueckersUConn2059.9%2.35.82.5
2020-21Caitlin ClarkIowa26.657.4%1.497.14.8
2023-24Hannah HidalgoNotre Dame23.349.5%1.615.53.4
2023-24JuJu WatkinsSouthern Cal27.044.9%0.773.24.2

Also, her freshman year, Clark was 1st Team AA by USBWA (5 player) and WBCA AA (10 player). She was also 2nd Team AA by AP (5 player). Those are the three AA teams the NCAA uses to determine unanimous AA. So if WBB had a consensus 1st-Team AA, Clark would have made it, but not unanimous AA.
 
BigTenGuy said:
"Efficiency issues" Clark's freshman year? I have seen this take elsewhere as well, and can't figure it out. Guess it's just part of the anti-Clark sentiment. Not sure how an effective field goal percentage of 57.4% (ranking in the 96th percentile) can count as having efficiency issues, let alone the same efficiency issues as Watkins, with her 44.9% effective field goal percentage (ranking in the 48th percentile)..

Clark's a high-volume turnover player, but the Watkins turnover comparison seems incomplete. Clark had a 1.49 assist-to-turnover ratio her freshman. A solid, not great figure, and not too far south of Hidalgo at 1.61. Watkins is at .77, meaning more turnovers than assists. That is a pitiful figure for a guard with high utilization, and not comparable to either Clark or Hidalgo, let alone Paige at well over 2.

SEASONPLAYERTEAMPTSEFG%AST/TOVASTTOV
2020-21Paige BueckersUConn2059.9%2.35.82.5
2020-21Caitlin ClarkIowa26.657.4%1.497.14.8
2023-24Hannah HidalgoNotre Dame23.349.5%1.615.53.4
2023-24JuJu WatkinsSouthern Cal27.044.9%0.773.24.2

Also, her freshman year, Clark was 1st Team AA by USBWA (5 player) and WBCA AA (10 player). She was also 2nd Team AA by AP (5 player). Those are the three AA teams the NCAA uses to determine unanimous AA. So if WBB had a consensus 1st-Team AA, Clark would have made it, but not unanimous AA.
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Thank you for this. I was going off memory, and recall Clark not being on the AP first team. In the comparison with Bueckers, I just remember efficiency and turnovers being topics of conversation. It’s illuminating to see how high Clark’s EFG was. Maybe her snub was more related to team performance.

But given these metrics, I’d say offensively the duo of Clark and Bueckers were a more impressive freshman duo. Seems like JuJus shortcomings are masked highly by that 27 ppg total.
 
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Rb335 said:
When it comes to JuJu, she completely passes the eye test for me. Her size, athleticism and skill set is pretty unique to the women’s game. She’s also made USC relevant again. However over the last 10 games of the season, she has shot 80/226 35% and 16/58 from 3 28%. To me, she’s run out of steam down the stretch. When your reputation is being a scorer, I personally value having some efficiency. She’s was only a few more missed shots away from averaging under 40% for the year. What she’s accomplished is incredible, and she’ll likely only get better and more efficient with age. But the efficiency makes me stop and pause. It’s weird how she’s a consensus AA, when the same TO and efficiency issues cost Clark first team as a freshman.
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JuJu passes the eye test for sure, except for her decision making. I saw JuJu in person, courtside vs Oregon State. JuJu was 6 for 34 in that game. USC won the game, but OSU didn't have Raegan Beers for that game. JuJu has great physical capabilities, supreme confidence, and is going to be #1 pick in WNBA at some point in the future. JuJu was also 11 for 33 in the USC's first game vs Oregon State back in January. What's the point? JuJu would be on my 1st Team AA team but for her decision making. I think it is getting better, knowing when to shoot vs pass, as demonstrated in their last game vs Stanford, but based upon the entire season, JuJu would be in my TOP 10-15 but not TOP 5.
 
Childhood said:
Watkins
Hidalgo

I just check their stat. Emm...not so good.
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VA Huskie said:
And how does Hidalgo make the team over ACC player of the year Kitley?
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Hidalgo makes ND run, Kitley kinda overrated… runs off Georgia A..
Both have an impressive stats line in a tough conference, maybe they just wanted a short person(we need love ❤️ too). ND is on tv more.
 
oldude said:
ESPN leads off the season’s AA teams, POY, etc. with their selections by Creme, Voepel & Philippou as follows:

AA team
Clark
Brink
Watkins
Hidalgo
Bueckers

POY - Clark
FOY - Watkins
COY - Staley

Lots of great players out there, but I have to say that I think ESPN got it right. I have no doubt there will be some grumbling in Baton Rouge….;)
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What Geno did after the loss of virtually 5 Bigs was worthy of COY. Did Staley suffer full season losses of her bigs? Sure, they ran the table but they had an intact team replete with Bigs. Geno's performance was one of his very, very best. I should know, I saw Geno way back when he was still dressed in swaddling clothes..........
 
Mandoo said:
What Geno did after the loss of virtually 5 Bigs was worthy of COY. Did Staley suffer full season losses of her bigs? Sure, they ran the table but they had an intact team replete with Bigs. Geno's performance was one of his very, very best. I should know, I saw Geno way back when he was still dressed in swaddling clothes..........
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Come on. They lost 5 starters from the previous year and then ran the table. That is worthy of recognition, and I'm the furthest thing from a fan of Staley.
 
MilfordHusky said:
JuJu is really, really good, but she's too much of a volume shooter to be the #2 player in the nation, in my opinion. I would put her in about the 4-6 range.
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A volume shooter as compared to whom? If compared to Paige, no argument. But, with Clark, their shots per game averages are almost identical. And volume shooting has very likely put USC on one of the top lines. And has, lately, put so much defensive focus on her that it has opened the floor for the rest of the team. USC beat a very good Stanford team with Watkins playing her worst game of the season. Even if Watkins is not the second best player in the country, it should not be because of the volume of her shots.
 
oldude said:
ESPN leads off the season’s AA teams, POY, etc. with their selections by Creme, Voepel & Philippou as follows:

AA team
Clark
Brink
Watkins
Hidalgo
Bueckers

POY - Clark
FOY - Watkins
COY - Staley

Lots of great players out there, but I have to say that I think ESPN got it right. I have no doubt there will be some grumbling in Baton Rouge….;)
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I don’t know, four guards and Brink? Plus, I’d take Liz Kitley over Brink any day. :D
 
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visitingcock said:
Aaliya Edwards COULD be chosen ahead of Rickea too. I like them both pretty equally. If both were in the board, the question for me would be whose personality fits my team the best.
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My opinion is that Aaliyah has the perfect personality for the pro game. She is totally coachable, even-tempered when the game gets chippy, not likely to get in trouble with officials when the calls don't go her way, but always intense and relentless in her play. There is never a question about her physical conditioning. As a freshman, she was prone to fouling, but she has largely overcome that.

Obviously I don't know as much about Rickea Jackson. But I do recall that there were a few games where she was a healthy scratch, for reasons which were never disclosed. That makes me wonder about her coachability.

I think that Aaliyah's pro career will be at the same level as her two most recent predecessors at UConn's power forward position. Their names were Breanna and Napheesa.

Could one Sarah Strong be the next in that line of succession?
 
BBallF said:
That is actually a very good last point. The other losses were to teams that were in the top 5 at some point in the season, with both NC State and UCLA being as high as #2, SC being #1 and Texas being a strong top 5. ND winning the ACC makes that loss a little better but a victory would have been that much better in terms of seedings. I don't care what anyone says, being a #1 is huge compared to a #2 or #3. The difference is in the second and third games. You are playing #8, in the second game, perhaps a #29-#32 ranked team whereas as a #3, you play #6 and in the Sweet Sixteen you play #2 and then presumptively #1, making for a tough two game stretch with one day off. It's a much tougher road.
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I don't disagree with your point at all but with UConn it will come down to matchups. Usually teams have to figure out how to deal with UConn but this year UConn is so challenged inside they are the ones who need to figure out how to beat a couple teams who will have a much different roster but still equal in talent.

This team to me looks really good. All the players on the team are those that impacted their teams the most and all but Brink led their team to a conference championship. AE had a great year and meant a lot to UConn but I really don't see a name on the list that she should be ahead of at this point. Even to make the second 5 will take a little good fortune.
 
CONN78SEJ said:
I don’t know, four guards and Brink? Plus, I’d take Liz Kitley over Brink any day. :D
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With all due respect to Liz Kitley and well wishes in regard to her injury, Brink’s rim protection is truly outstanding. Good luck to anyone who goes near her in the paint.

Brink did have some uncharacteristic poor games this season while Kitley was overall very consistent in her scoring, but were there any really good bigs in the ACC to challenge her?
 
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