First real top 25 for the season.

[MilfordHusky]

The consensus ranking from then:

1. Notre Dame
2. Baylor
3. UConn
4. Ohio St
5. Texas
6. South Carolina
7. Stanford
8. Louisville
9. Maryland
10. UCLA

I'd move SC, Maryland, and UCLA up a little. I think Stanford is too high, and OSU may be.

 

[easttexastrash]

The consensus ranking from then:

1. Notre Dame
2. Baylor
3. UConn
4. Ohio St
5. Texas
6. South Carolina
7. Stanford
8. Louisville
9. Maryland
10. UCLA

We've had a lot to drink since then.

 

[wallman]

Just had some of that Florida OJ that he was drinking and I think UCLA should be the clear number 1

 

[Nuyoika]

Just had some of that Florida OJ that he was drinking and I think UCLA should be the clear number 1

How dare you tempt me with a Mimosa...

 

[EricSD]

The Regionals are in Bridgeport. Can someone beat the Huskies there? I doubt it.

Several teams will be good, but I think the only ones with a real shot at UConn are ND, Baylor, and maybe SC. I don't think that Maryland or OSU are good enough. Tennessee is not.

A few random thoughts. First, it's sort of funny that his list is getting so much debate. I get why, but no Syracuse, Stanford, or Tenn in the top 25 is a joke and makes the entire list laughable. But again, it's just one man's opinion. I think there are several UCONN, ND, Baylor and SC fans on this board alone who know more about WCBB than Kenny Kalina.

With regards to Tennessee, I would love to see them legitimately fall out of the top 25 with a string of bad losses this coming year. Last year it took them forever to drop out of the top 25 because they started the season at about #4. They lost Moore, Graves (both to graduation) and Carter (injuries - retired), Cooper (injury - redshirt). they added Harris, Nunn and Green. Still, on paper, you have Russell, Deshields, and Nared as guaranteed starters. I would imagine the other starters would be Reynolds and Milddleton/Jackson, or maybe one of the forwards.

As we always say when looking at them on paper, there is some good talent there. Nared and Deshields are talented. Reynolds is solid. It remains to be seen if they can play with anything resembling chemistry...

 

[wallman]

How dare you tempt me with a Mimosa...

Well if you're paying, I'm in

 

[Nuyoika]

A few random thoughts. First, it's sort of funny that his list is getting so much debate. I get why, but no Syracuse, Stanford, or Tenn in the top 25 is a joke and makes the entire list laughable. But again, it's just one man's opinion. I think there are several UCONN, ND, Baylor and SC fans on this board alone who know more about WCBB than Kenny Kalina.

With regards to Tennessee, I would love to see them legitimately fall out of the top 25 with a string of bad losses this coming year. Last year it took them forever to drop out of the top 25 because they started the season at about #4. They lost Moore, Graves (both to graduation) and Carter (injuries - retired), Cooper (injury - redshirt). they added Harris, Nunn and Green. Still, on paper, you have Russell, Deshields, and Nared as guaranteed starters. I would imagine the other starters would be Reynolds and Milddleton/Jackson, or maybe one of the forwards.

As we always say when looking at them on paper, there is some good talent there. Nared and Deshields are talented. Reynolds is solid. It remains to be seen if they can play with anything resembling chemistry...

Even if they find some sort of chemistry they still gotta figure out how to put the ball through the hoop. They were missing wide open... and I mean WIDE OPEN shots for most of the year. Some of the chemistry issues could have been caused by what seemed like completely random substitution patterns. They will be in the pre-season Top 25 based on the perceived talent alone however I can't imagine they would start in Top 10.

 

[huskyd]

Kenny Kalina tells us how he sees things: LINK His rating has a blurb on each team so it's worth a read.

1. South Carolina
2. Ohio State
3. Louisville
4. Baylor
5. UConn
6. Notre Dame
7. Texas
8. Maryland
9. UCLA
10. Mississippi St.

Mucho talk of players here but scant mention of coaches. Some of us believe that with a talented bunch of athletes the coach makes the difference. We got Geno and they don't.

 

[watanabe]

Do these rankings measure team member talent alone,
Or do they include team chemistry, coach, asst coaches?

 

[chrissaran]

Kelsey Mitchell as the best women's college basketball player men or women? That tells you all you need to know. The only thing she's best at is taking a lot of shots. Talented offensively - yes. The best women's or men's college basketball player - NO WAY. No mention of one of the best freshmen from last year - Eleanna Christinaki of the Florida Gators. She's a player I wish UConn had. There's no way to take this guy seriously. As Fightin Choke said no Syracuse, Stanford or Washington. Absurd.

 

[ASweet3781]

Notre Dame has a ton of talent and the best coach not named Geno Auriemma. To me, they are the #1 team in the nation. They defend very well and are far better on offense than South Carolina.

I agree with you first 2 sentences.

But ND defends well? They didn't play a lick of defense and allowed an ordinary Stanford team to light them up like a Christmas tree.

 

[Vowelguy]

The consensus ranking from then:

1. Notre Dame
2. Baylor
3. UConn
4. Ohio St
5. Texas
6. South Carolina
7. Stanford
8. Louisville
9. Maryland
10. UCLA

I initially had Stanford at #4, but will lower them now that Lili Thompson won't be back.
Bay - ND - Ohio St remains my clear top 3.
I'd also drop Tenn out of the top 15 (from #12) given the injuries.

 

[Zorro]

I HATE weasel words! including possibly one of the best college basketball players ever in Breanna Stewart . Yeah, Kenny, you could even change that "possibly" to a "probably" and still be on pretty safe ground! Sheesh! You could even probably change the "one" to "three" and not be too far off. Why the fear of making a definite statement?

 

[asuwish]

Notre Dame has a ton of talent and the best coach not named Geno Auriemma. To me, they are the #1 team in the nation. They defend very well and are far better on offense than South Carolina.

A healthy ND team is easily #1 Great outside shooting, tons of depth, very athletic, and can flat out score. The 2 incoming freshman are very good as is the RS Freshman who sat out last year.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

I think the top eight are a real crapshoot.

Exactly. But this is also true: " Dancing at the Final Four for this group will be one of Geno’s greater accomplishments as a coach."

I would at least switch UConn and Notre Dame. And I might also switch Notre Dame with Louisville.

In my view, Texas and Baylor will be awesome, and will contend with South Carolina. In terms of raw talent, those three have it. But they don't have the greatest coaches around.

That's their problem. And that's why Connecticut will have a chance come March.

But if Coach Geno pulls it off, it might just be his greatest coaching job of all time.

 

[Stinger92860]

The Regionals are in Bridgeport. Can someone beat the Huskies there? I doubt it.

Several teams will be good, but I think the only ones with a real shot at UConn are ND, Baylor, and maybe SC. I don't think that Maryland or OSU are good enough. Tennessee is not.

Duke beat us there.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Duke beat us there.

In overtime, when Duke was ranked #1 or so and we were clearly a flawed team. I don't think we'll draw a top-2 team, and I think we'll be better than the UConn team that lost to Duke.

 

[Hope]

Do these rankings measure team member talent alone,
Or do they include team chemistry, coach, asst coaches?

Coaches play a large role. Which is why y'all--but not me--will be scratching your heads when Kentucky cracks the top 25. It may take until February but I know MM has a couple of aces up each of his sleeves.

 

[HardHatGuy#2]

That is such a ridiculous TOP 25 that it doesn't warrant discussion. Next topic, please.

 

[CocoHusky]

Coaches play a large role. Which is why y'all--but not me--will be scratching your heads when Kentucky cracks the top 25. It may take until February but I know MM has a couple of aces up each of his sleeves.

Don't get this twisted. If when Kentucky cracks the top 25 it will not be that big a deal because there are some really dreadful teams out there. Given all the talent and great coach (LoL) that Kentucky had last year they should have been a FF team, no? Why are there more players leaving Kentucky than Syrian refugees?

 

[4evercard]

Kentucky will give the coaches no reason to put them into the top 25. Right now they have only eight players on the team, with one being a walk on I believe. They'll find two or three more walk on players, but Mitchell has dug a very deep hole it will take him at least a couple of years from where his team must climb before he'll be beating anyone again.

It is believed his special rules for his star, Epps, versus his rules for the remainder of the team led to all his coaches departing and then all his players transferring. Epps would have been kicked off most teams for her off court antics, more likely all teams except Kentucky. Mitchell let her make a fool of him and she remains his star. I'm not going to say I have a source, but too many Kentucky fans down here are telling this story, so there must be something to it and it does make sense.

Coaches play a large role. Which is why y'all--but not me--will be scratching your heads when Kentucky cracks the top 25. It may take until February but I know MM has a couple of aces up each of his sleeves.

 

[CocoHusky]

Kentucky will give the coaches no reason to put them into the top 25. Right now they have only eight players on the team, with one being a walk on I believe. They'll find two or three more walk on players, but Mitchell has dug a very deep hole it will take him at least a couple of years from where his team must climb before he'll be beating anyone again.

It is believed his special rules for his star, Epps, versus his rules for the remainder of the team led to all his coaches departing and then all his players transferring. Epps would have been kicked off most teams for her off court antics, more likely all teams except Kentucky. Mitchell let her make a fool of him and she remains his star. I'm not going to say I have a source, but too many Kentucky fans down here are telling this story, so there must be something to it and it does make sense.

BLUF: If you are going to bash KY you need to come stronger than this: You act like Epps was not suspended for an alcohol related offense. Your statement that she would have been "kicked off most teams" is factually incorrect for most DI programs including UCONN. Your portrayal of MM as one who would let a player run a muck is not consistent with his record. MM suspension of Azia Bishop cost him a tournament win.
"Win or lose, Matthew Mitchell didn't think he would be doing his job if he didn't suspend senior Azia Bishop for violating a team rule leading up to Kentucky's NCAA Tournament game on Sunday."
Read more here: UK women's notes: Senior forward Azia Bishop suspended for crucial NCAA game Cats lose

 

[stwainfan]

That is such a ridiculous TOP 25 that it doesn't warrant discussion. Next topic, please.

I agree.

 

[Justavisitor]

A few random thoughts. First, it's sort of funny that his list is getting so much debate. I get why, but no Syracuse, Stanford, or Tenn in the top 25 is a joke and makes the entire list laughable. But again, it's just one man's opinion. I think there are several UCONN, ND, Baylor and SC fans on this board alone who know more about WCBB than Kenny Kalina.

With regards to Tennessee, I would love to see them legitimately fall out of the top 25 with a string of bad losses this coming year. Last year it took them forever to drop out of the top 25 because they started the season at about #4. They lost Moore, Graves (both to graduation) and Carter (injuries - retired), Cooper (injury - redshirt). they added Harris, Nunn and Green. Still, on paper, you have Russell, Deshields, and Nared as guaranteed starters. I would imagine the other starters would be Reynolds and Milddleton/Jackson, or maybe one of the forwards.

As we always say when looking at them on paper, there is some good talent there. Nared and Deshields are talented. Reynolds is solid. It remains to be seen if they can play with anything resembling chemistry...

Provided they pick up where they left off and don't get hit by injuries again, they're a legit top 10 team and possibly higher. Any more injury hits and they're doomed. As for chemistry, see the SEC tourney and the NCAA tourney. They were slow to find the chemistry, but much of that had to do with injuries they battled all season that required players either sitting or unavailable to even practice. That's tough when building a new chemistry with the addition of 3 key players. Deshields was also coming off a major injury and was no where near 100% until near the season's end and even then she was about 80%. Looking forward to seeing her start the season healthy

 

[Justavisitor]

And yes, it's ridiculous as Kenny can't be objective, because he allows his personal feelings to get in the way of rational thinking.

 

[stwainfan]

Here's a article about DeShields regained health and confidence.
www.knoxnews.com

 

[4evercard]

Coco, I told you I don't any sources other than a couple of posters on Cats Illustrated, their Rivals board, Though Kentucky has no women's forum, during their turmoil, two posters threw in this information on the men's forum. Perhaps, as a Husky fan, you can set these Cats straight about their program. Are you President of the Mathew Mitchell Fan Club in the Northeast? If so, you probably have more members up there than the like club in Kentucky has. I strongly suspect this was a big factor in causing the mass exodus. Yes, for all three of the assistants to quit and seven players transfer over two seasons there was probably other factors. But then, you probably already have all that information. I find it quite interesting you're using your own program and how it is run to defend how Mitchell, with all his problems, and the way he runs his program.

I consider that an insult to Auriemma and UConn.

Your replay hardly rebuts the assertion of the two Cats fans, nor my mention of their claims.

BLUF: If you are going to bash KY you need to come stronger than this: You act like Epps was not suspended for an alcohol related offense. Your statement that she would have been "kicked off most teams" is factually incorrect for most DI programs including UCONN. Your portrayal of MM as one who would let a player run a muck is not consistent with his record. MM suspension of Azia Bishop cost him a tournament win.
"Win or lose, Matthew Mitchell didn't think he would be doing his job if he didn't suspend senior Azia Bishop for violating a team rule leading up to Kentucky's NCAA Tournament game on Sunday."
Read more here: UK women's notes: Senior forward Azia Bishop suspended for crucial NCAA game Cats lose

 

[CocoHusky]

Coco, I told you I don't any sources other than a couple of posters on Cats Illustrated, their Rivals board, Though Kentucky has no women's forum, during their turmoil, two posters threw in this information on the men's forum. Perhaps, as a Husky fan, you can set these Cats straight about their program. Are you President of the Mathew Mitchell Fan Club in the Northeast? If so, you probably have more members up there than the like club in Kentucky has. I strongly suspect this was a big factor in causing the mass exodus. Yes, for all three of the assistants to quit and seven players transfer over two seasons there was probably other factors. But then, you probably already have all that information. I find it quite interesting you're using your own program and how it is run to defend how Mitchell, with all his problems, and the way he runs his program.

I consider that an insult to Auriemma and UConn.

Your replay hardly rebuts the assertion of the two Cats fans, nor my mention of their claims.

You funny. Mathew Mitchell fan club is a global movement not just Northeast. What I find interesting is you jumping on a UCONN board to bash Mitchell and expecting full concurrence. And don't act like the program I support (UCONN) is not the standard bearer of all things WCBB. There is no need for me to use UCONN to defend the actions of another program. I'm not defending anything just stating fact. Fact: Alcohol related offenses DO NOT (Even at UCONN or Louisville) result in automatic dismissals as you incorrectly stated.
Report on arrest of UofL basketball players released
UConn basketball: Tyler Olander Suspended From UConn Men's Basketball Team

 

[wallman]

Coco, I told you I don't any sources other than a couple of posters on Cats Illustrated, their Rivals board, Though Kentucky has no women's forum, during their turmoil, two posters threw in this information on the men's forum. Perhaps, as a Husky fan, you can set these Cats straight about their program. Are you President of the Mathew Mitchell Fan Club in the Northeast? If so, you probably have more members up there than the like club in Kentucky has. I strongly suspect this was a big factor in causing the mass exodus. Yes, for all three of the assistants to quit and seven players transfer over two seasons there was probably other factors. But then, you probably already have all that information. I find it quite interesting you're using your own program and how it is run to defend how Mitchell, with all his problems, and the way he runs his program.

I consider that an insult to Auriemma and UConn.

Your replay hardly rebuts the assertion of the two Cats fans, nor my mention of their claims.

I wonder if they were the same sources that said Walz babied McCoughtry and Schimmel and the other top players he tries to pull in!!!

 

[4evercard]

I identified my source(s). My post was to question the poster saying UK would be in the top 25 before the season ended. I only suggested considering all the problems in the UK program at this time don't count on that happening.

If Walz was mishandling his program when McCoughtry and Schimmel were at UofL, was your source able to explain why his teams won so many games during that time, including advancing to two championship games during those periods?

Coco, I think you put on your boxing gloves before you even read the first words of my posts. To suggest I do not consider UConn the standard bearer of every program in the country as often as I noted such on this board makes me wonder if your speed reading skills are failing you.