ESPN's "Way too early 2018/2019 Top 25"

[Dillon77]

Some history...Maryland won the first three Big Ten regular season and conference tournament championships in its first three years in the Big Ten. Maryland made the Final Four in 2014, lost their best player (Alyssa Thomas) to graduation, then made the Final Four again in 2015. After a Sweet 16 in 2017 (which arguably was bowing out earlier than expected), Maryland lost Walker-Kimbrough and Jones to graduation and Destiny Slocum to transfer. But this past year, Maryland went 25-7, finished second in the Big Ten, and did so after not returning its three best players. I think it is a bit unfair to say Maryland "always bow out early in the tourney."

As an aside, if you were to ask UConn fans about the 2015-16 and 2016-17 games with Maryland, you will hear stories about how Brenda Frese's team played the Huskies very, very close in two games. In 2015-16, Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson, Morgan Tuck, etc. beat Maryland 83-73, but UConn led only 75-71 with 1:11 remaining. And in 2016-17, Maryland led a furious fourth quarter charge to cut UConn's lead to five at various points in the fourth quarter, before succumbing, 87-81.

As Charlie Creme noted, if Blair Watson can return from an ACL tear suffered in January, then Brenda Frese will have her top five scorers returning, plus point guard Channise Lewis. And consider this - in the 2018 recruiting class, Maryland got the following players:

Shakira Austin
#4 - Dan Olson/Collegiate Girls Basketball Report
#5 - ASGR
#10 - Blue Star
#12 - Prospects Nation

Olivia Owens
#26 - Blue Star
#26 - ASGR
#31 - Dan Olson/Collegiate Girls Basketball Report
#50 - Prospects Nation

Taylor Mikesell
#28 - Blue Star
#30 - Dan Olson/Collegiate Girls Basketball Report
#31 - ASGR
#60 - Prospects Nation

Maryland finished 18th in RPI this year and, again, with a record of 25-7. If Watson returns healthy, Frese will have her top five scorers, another point guard, a top ten freshmen, plus two other well-regarded recruits. Given the losses by some of the schools, I do not see Maryland at #7 as all that shocking.

Watson grew up in a neighboring town in northern NJ and have seen her play more than a few times. She's an excellent scorer and was having a fine year until the injury. First, hope her recuperation is going well. Second, if she does come back well, she'll add a bunch to that team.

 

[wallman]

LOL maybe the NCAA forgot to check the IDs of the officiating crew this year too.

 

[LoTrader]

Creme is officially a joke

You said it before me.

 

[Charliebball]

We ND fans always welcome competition, but didn't you mean "winning" Irish?
(and, besides, these young women look pretty darn happy to me...

See you next season. December. Let's do it again.

It's kind of refreshing to not have a target on UConn's back for a change............it's all your's Dillon!!!!!!!! .....even a single loss is going to be a big story next season...........,....all that talent and yet ND lost to who?

 

[Sluconn Husky]

What's your take on the Gamecocks #15 ranking? Thoughts about other teams? @SCGamecock @cockhrnleghrn @shiverz45 @Gamecockfan77

You guys and the media are always saying how incredible A'ja Wilson is and how important she is to that team. Maybe Creme is simply reiterating that point.

 

[Dillon77]

It's kind of refreshing to not have a target on UConn's back for a change..it's all your's Dillon!!!!!!!! .....even a single loss is going to be a big story next season......,....all that talent and yet ND lost to who?

Hah! I'd better get in better shape! Or maybe Orangutan, Fighting Choke and I can disperse the zings! (highly doubtful ) That said, I'd rather be in the position than not (geez, 17 years was a stretch...).

 

[Vowelguy]

Big surprises for me are Tenn at #9 and UCLA at #21. Also Stan at #6 .

 

[wallman]

Sometimes posters get what they deserve around here, especially when we are fans from other schools.

 

[Charliebball]

Hah! I'd better get in better shape! Or maybe Orangutan, Fighting Choke and I can disperse the zings! (highly doubtful ) That said, I'd rather be in the position than not (geez, 17 years was a stretch...).

oh yes.............. be prepared to field all sorts of gems..........you know that you'll get that here...............Bone Yarders put up with you Irishmen as just another pesky school............now you're UConn enemy number one..............by the end of next season you'll be wishing that UConn was the team with the dramatic buzzer beater!!!!

 

[CL82]

We ND fans always welcome competition, but didn't you mean "winning" Irish?
(and, besides, these young women look pretty darn happy to me...

See you next season. December. Let's do it again.

Congrats on a great season. You guys did what you needed to do (tough D, clutch scoring, bribing refs - wait, did I say that out loud?) when you needed to do it.

It was an outstanding job by Muffet and COY is well deserved.

 

[Bigpetunia]

I am quite comfortable with a pre-season #4 ranking for the Huskies, and I am most assuredly NOT one of those who think the sky is falling for this program. This team lost two games over the course of two seasons, both by a bucket in overtime, has three outstanding returning starters, and two previously ranked #1 recruits in the country to fill in holes left by graduation and all-of-a-sudden we’re feeling it’s gloom-and-doom time? In what universe do we reside?
I am especially amused and mystified by the oft-expressed notion that Megan W is a bust. Are posters here so oblivious to the historic realities of UConn WBB that they are willing to succumb to this type of thinking? I saw the very same sentiments posted about Crystal at this time last year. Geno routinely beats down his Freshman players in an effort to make them more complete players down the road...unless he needs their contribution right away. How many times do we need to see this movie before we accept the plot as real?
CW, on the other hand, will be depended upon as a Freshman, as will Ono, and will therefore be handled accordingly.
Had UConn won the NC, and if Z had still elected to leave, we wouldn’t be witnessing all this hand-wringing. The team missed out by a bucket, folks. No panic required.

 

[biobioprof]

Don't forget they lost in the round of 32 in 2016 to seventh seed Washington. My initial post wasn't a knock on Maryland. They are a fine program and Frese is a very good coach. But I just don't think they'll be that good. IMHO I wouldn't be surprised if Iowa or Nebraska or even Mich St won the Big 10 this year. SC plays Maryland again this year so maybe they will prove me wrong.

That may say more about that Washington team being underrated than Maryland being overrated.

Aside from being too early, it should also be noted that in ranking anything, the numerical rank loses a lot of information, like the size of the gaps and the uncertainty in the metric being ranked. I see the teams below 6ish being a big pick 'em of massively overlapping error bars.

Along those lines, I have no idea who the favorite should be in the SEC next season, much less the B1G, which I watch much less often. This past year we saw Miss State clear of the pack with 6 other teams with the potential to get the double bye in the SEC tourney. SC with A'ja was, IMO, in a different class than the other 5. Next season I see MSU and SC probably coming back to the pack, but the other 5 have their own issues. Georgia was the surprise of 17-18 but IMO Engram was a big part of their success. Mizzou I've addressed above. A&M's questions are obvious; so are Tennessee's. LSU loses Raigyne and Mickie DeMoss. I would be surprised but not shocked if Bama or Auburn moved up next season. Maybe not enough to contend, but enough to be spoilers. Every team's best-case scenario is rosy. I can construct one for A&M even without Anriel. But while best-case scenario is great for us as fans, objectively it's a sucker's bet.

 

[SCspur]

You guys and the media are always saying how incredible A'ja Wilson is and how important she is to that team. Maybe Creme is simply reiterating that point.

Honestly, the media really didn't start covering A'ja until her senior year. And while she was a vital point to our team I don't think we'll fall off the face of the earth because she graduates. It's really an insult to Dawn's coaching, to think she can't coach these girls up because they lost their best player when she had 2 25+ win seasons before Aja even stepped on campus. As much complaining that I'm doing now, I actually think it's good we're #15. I'm sure the players see these type of things and that will only add fuel to their fire when the media underestimates them.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Honestly, the media really didn't start covering A'ja until her senior year.

We weren't watching the same media then! She's been one of ESPN's and other media's poster girls since she was ranked #1 by ESPN's recruiting outlet in high school. Highly touted even playing against UConn as a freshmen.

 

[Dillon77]

Congrats on a great season. You guys did what you needed to do (tough D, clutch scoring, bribing refs - wait, did I say that out loud?) when you needed to do it.

It was an outstanding job by Muffet and COY is well deserved.

But you forgot our trip to NCAA headquarters just prior to the season

Thanks much. Kara Lawson, at the end of the blowout to Louisville, reminded viewers...even chided them...that while ND had 4 players out, the ones that had left were not exactly scrubs. She challenged those players, as much as McGraw, to get their act together. They did. Still, I didn't expect this kind of run back in the winter.

I fully expect, Geno, Chris & the Huskies to come storming back, as well as a number of teams, many of whom are being discussed on this thread as I type. Once again, look forward to our teams playing each other in December and on the recruiting fronts.

 

[Shmermerer]

Big surprises for me are Tenn at #9 and UCLA at #21. Also Stan at #6 .

Stanford just looked terrible when McPhee was injured. I just don't see them in the top 10.

 

[CL82]

But you forgot our trip to NCAA headquarters just prior to the season

Oh I it's not forgotten, especially since we had a transfer on the men's side who was at St. John's for all of like 8 seconds and he had to sit.

I appreciate the ND WBB program. I don't like them, I but I do appreciate them.

 

[SCspur]

We weren't watching the same media then! She's been one of ESPN's and other media's poster girls since she was ranked #1 by ESPN's recruiting outlet in high school. Highly touted even playing against UConn as a freshmen.

That's true but I was referring to all around coverage! Yes she has gotten the media coverage but it's been 2x that this year. You can also make an arguement KLS has gotten a lot of coverage since her freshman year but expect it will be much more next year of her senior season.

 

[hugefan]

When the majority of press on Uconn is that it is bad for the game, the consequences of such press is negative.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

That's true but I was referring to all around coverage! Yes she has gotten the media coverage but it's been 2x that this year. You can also make an arguement KLS has gotten a lot of coverage since her freshman year but expect it will be much more next year of her senior season.

When Wilson came into college South Carolina was seen as a burgeoning threat to UConn, even to the point of getting ranked #1 prior to the game at Storrs. I think that, along with Wilson's height and position, led to the media spotlight almost instantly. Her play on the court along with winning a title didn't hurt either.

Samuelson has flown pretty much below the radar in comparison, imo.

 

[Orangutan]

Hah! I'd better get in better shape! Or maybe Orangutan, Fighting Choke and I can disperse the zings! (highly doubtful ) That said, I'd rather be in the position than not (geez, 17 years was a stretch...).

I'm already in training. I went a few rounds in sparring with Wallman a couple days ago. Working my way to fighting shape.

 

[wallman]

O I will spar with you anyday my friend as you have class, cannot say that about some of the other ND posters.

 

[Orangutan]

I would have UConn at #2 and slide Oregon and Baylor down one each. This may sound like brown-nosing but in my mind UConn is always #1 until proven otherwise.

Obviously, ND has to be #1 given that they return 4 starters from a national championship team and the 5th starter will be an All-American returning from injury. But I think UConn is pretty much 1a.

I expect Walker will make the leap to being a star. Post presence will be an issue but UConn will be able to beat all but the very elite teams on the strength of Dangerfield, Walker, Williams, KLS, and Collier. The rest are so good that basic competency will be all that is required of the bigs. I think Camara and ONO will be able to provide at least that. ND made a national final with Turner starting at Center as a true freshman (with a busted shoulder). It's certainly doable and we all have seen that ONO has the talent.

Oregon is going to be a monster. Ionescu will be that much smarter and that much more motivated next year. Boley will fit really well with what they do. I like them at #3.

6 for Stanford seems high but doubt Tara at your own peril. I'd probably put Miss St. in that #6 spot myself.

Tennessee and South Carolina ought to flipped simply on the principal that Staley can coach and Warlick can't.

 

[SCspur]

When Wilson came into college South Carolina was seen as a burgeoning threat to UConn, even to the point of getting ranked #1 prior to the game at Storrs. I think that, along with Wilson's height and position, led to the media spotlight almost instantly. Her play on the court along with winning a title didn't hurt either.

Samuelson has flown pretty much below the radar in comparison, imo.

Great point! I really can't argue with that. And maybe it's because Samuelson is on the best team and the media like to cover UCONN as a team?

 

[Charliebball]

But you forgot our trip to NCAA headquarters just prior to the season

Thanks much. Kara Lawson, at the end of the blowout to Louisville, reminded viewers...even chided them...that while ND had 4 players out, the ones that had left were not exactly scrubs. She challenged those players, as much as McGraw, to get their act together. They did. Still, I didn't expect this kind of run back in the winter.

I fully expect, Geno, Chris & the Huskies to come storming back, as well as a number of teams, many of whom are being discussed on this thread as I type. Once again, look forward to our teams playing each other in December and on the recruiting fronts.

Funny you say that..................I was writing in defense of MM a while back regarding her not wining the other NCOY award................I was about to say look how well ND has done with only seven players and even those are not all that highly ranked...............then when I really looked at the individual players I was reminded that according to ESPN these kids weren't exactly chopped liver