ESPN's top 25 woman's basketball players for 2021 has some familiar faces

[Vowelguy]

For me ONO (cause of NCAA tournament impact) & Azzi (cause no College games) don't deserve. Paige should be # 1, Christyn in the 5-10, Evina around 15, Nika in the 21-25

Haha , no.
There’s no shame in being a good but not consistently great player.
Evina and Nika are good players.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Sorry, Charlie! I disagree with your list--Paige et al.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

I think you're in the minority on that. Brink might be the best interior defender in women's basketball and is excellent offensively.

You realize Edwards led the nation in FG%? Brink is an excellent shot blocker--a clear edge there-- but Edwards is a terrific defender everywhere. You watch her shut down people like Clark on the perimeter in the tourney? I was a fan of Brink's as UConn recruited her, but I did not see an excellent offensive player the numerous times I watched her this year. Not yet.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Haha , no.
There’s no shame in being a good but not consistently great player.
Evina and Nika are good players.

Westbrook at her best, which was probably 30% of the season, is a top-10 player in the country. Will her knees ever allow her to show it more often than that is the question.

For comparison, the #24 player is Rae Burrell from Westbrook's old school. Very good player.


Burrell:

32.2 min/gm, 16.8 Points, 4.6 Rebounds, 1.8 Assists, 24 Steals, 10 Blocks, 45.8% FG, 40% 3-PT, 69 TO, -0.7 A/TO


Westbrook:

30.7 min/gm, 9.4 Points, 4.8 Rebounds, 4.3 Assists, 52 Steals, 20 Blocks, 45.4% FG, 34% 3-PT, 68 TO, 1.9 A/TO


Both can defend. Westbrook's full potential there also hindered by the surgeries.

 

[MdStang]

Creme decided to put a freshman at 23, Azzi, on the team (probably for click bait). But say I'm starting a team from scratch: I'd take Azzi over everybody but Paige and Boston. I know she hasn't played college ball yet but talent wise she is way beyond alot of players on this list.

 

[AmeriConn]

Was it only Creme and Voepel who voted? Huge UConn fans.

 

[MooseJaw]

Bueckers should be #1 but arguing for Muhl in the top 25 is embarrassing. You’d take her over Te-Hina Paopao or Diamond Johnson or Veronica Burton? And that’s just point guards.

Gee I love me some Nika, but think I would also put Lexi Danarski from Iowa State ahead of her. Lexi is also multipositional. I know I made up a word but I think it fits a number of players.

 

[AYusef]

She averaged 10 points per game in just 18 minutes and shot 58% from the floor, 37% from 3, against a decent schedule no less. Put up 24 against Taylor Jones and Oregon State, 16 vs Sabally and Oregon. Finishes well inside and from the high post. Doesn't turn the ball over much either. She's got a lot of room for improvement but anchored the post for a title team and was arguably the premier freshman post in the country last year.

I could wax poetically about Aaliyah Edwards freshman numbers and the much needed physicality that she brought to this UConn team this year. Yet she couldn't make the best 25 players going into next season. I like Brink as a player very much, not sure I would describe her as excellent offensively but how she gets ranked 11 and Edwards is nowhere to be found is disturbing to me

 

[AYusef]

Westbrook at her best, which was probably 30% of the season, is a top-10 player in the country. Will her knees ever allow her to show it more often than that is the question.

For comparison, the #24 player is Rae Burrell from Westbrook's old school. Very good player.


Burrell:

32.2 min/gm, 16.8 Points, 4.6 Rebounds, 1.8 Assists, 24 Steals, 10 Blocks, 45.8% FG, 40% 3-PT, 69 TO, -0.7 A/TO


Westbrook:

30.7 min/gm, 9.4 Points, 4.8 Rebounds, 4.3 Assists, 52 Steals, 20 Blocks, 45.4% FG, 34% 3-PT, 68 TO, 1.9 A/TO


Both can defend. Westbrook's full potential there also hindered by the surgeries.

I'm Evina all day and twice on Sunday's... I can understand her not being on this list because we haven't seen her at her best in awhile. A 100% EW is better than Burrell, and Aaliyah Edwards is certainly better than Burrell, sorry I had to throw AE into the mix again. Her omission to this list really bugs me!!

 

[CocoHusky]

For those who thought Cardoso was the next best thing are you surprised she's not on the list?

Yes, & equally surprised that Paige the returning National POY is not number 1 on this list.

 

[Drew8]

I think their top 10 is pretty much the consensus. Not putting Paige #1 is a pretty controversial thing to do.

Paige is UCONN's only sure top 10 player, I could see 4 others with the potential to crack the top 10 next year, and at least 8 others cracking the top 25. Hard to forecast how it will play out.

Tough for me to assess players that aren't on top 10 caliber teams. Nice to have them on the list to watch out for them next year.

 

[GoChips20]

I think their top 10 is pretty much the consensus. Not putting Paige #1 is a pretty controversial thing to do.

Paige is UCONN's only sure top 10 player, I could see 4 others with the potential to crack the top 10 next year, and at least 8 others cracking the top 25. Hard to forecast how it will play out.

Tough for me to assess players that aren't on top 10 caliber teams. Nice to have them on the list to watch out for them next year.

Frankly it’s ridiculous to me that the consensus NPOY is not listed as the #1 player next year. I love Smith and Boston, but the article was pretty much discredited for me after that.

 

[GoChips20]

How can you not include Edwards? There isn't a post player in the country that I would pick over Edwards and that includes Boston!

This is not the first time I have seen this sentiment expressed by users here and I sincerely have to ask: what exactly do you see that makes Edwards the most valuable post in the country? No doubt AE had a terrific freshman season (probably a top ten player in her class in my opinion), but make no mistake: she is not the rebounder, shot blocker, post defender, passer, mid-range shooter, or team leader (yet) that Boston is.

 

[Bald Husky]

Would UConn trade Paige for NaLyssa Smith?

LMAAAAAAO. Nobody, and I mean nobody would make that trade. I even think most, if not all Baylor fans would make that trade. No offense to NaLyssa, but come on!

 

[HopJim]

For me ONO (cause of NCAA tournament impact) & Azzi (cause no College games) don't deserve. Paige should be # 1, Christyn in the 5-10, Evina around 15, Nika in the 21-25

Nika in top 21-25? Did you get a thank you note from Charlie Creme? He posts click bait every year to get his name in the news and you fell into his trap.

 

[Papa33]

These rankings are bizarre in a lot of ways to me. How is it possible that both NaLyssa Smith and Aliyah Boston are higher on this list than Paige Bueckers, Haley Jones, and Caitlyn Clark? Haley Jones was the championship game MVP, Paige swept virtually every award she could win as a freshman, and Caitlyn was, well . . . Caitlyn.

And Ashley Joens and Elissa Cunane over Zia Cooke? Kierstan Bell over Azzi Fudd? I guess I don't understand the metrics that were used here, but this seems entirely arbitrary (as the Charlie Creme/Mechelle Voepel duo often seems to operate).

This is yet another example of self-anointed “experts” feeling compelled to make periodic pronouncements in the form of ranked lists with little or no meaning or value. Arguments and squabbling will ensue, again with little real value. The ONLY real manner and place where players’ (and coaches’) relative value and worth are measured is on the court. That’s why they play the games!
I usually skim over such posts— they are usually more annoying than informative— but many fans find them entertaining and too provocative to ignore, and no one gets injured.