Looking way ahead to 2016-17

[HuskyNan]

Yeah she is...my hope is CViv gets one more "hurrah" and maybe get that elusive Natty!?!..Clock is ticking though...I hope they get another HC in the elite category post CVS when she hangs it up Nan?

I have to think the RU head coach job is highly desirable. A Big 10 team in a major market near one of the great talent pools in the U.S.? absolutely.

I heard Courtney Banghart is high on the short list of potential coaches for when CVS retires. She was high on the list before this past year's incredible success. RU fans should be hoping she's not snatched up befoe CViv calls it a day.

 

[hoophuskee]

I think ND will be best of the rest, but its still UConns world. IF Allen and Turner develop as much as you think they will have a very strong team. I think Tuck will be better than Turner though, or at least as good even though Turner will have a size and athleticism advantage. Our guard group should be very good, even if we don't have one dominant guard. I think Nurse will still be able to smother Allen on defense though. I think we will clearly have the advantage on the wings, and its definitely possible KLS becomes the best player on the court. If Butler is a good passer and the offense can move through her then we will be practically unstoppable. We will still have the best coach, and a team that will outwork any other team.

Okay- I agree with you about the wings. With that said I have 3 comments

1--- If you think Tuck will be better than Turner and Nurse will smother Allen and we agree our wings are better -- then you must feel ND has nearly no shot to beat UCONN after Stewie and MoJeff leave along with you have to feel UCONN will blow them out.

2--- So do you think if Turner is better than Tuck and is the best player on the court, and Allen is the best guard on the court - can you understand the argument that ND will be favored?

3--- Like you said-- I too reserve the right to change my opinion. If Butler becomes a force - certainly UCONN becomes that much more of a beast and they will be a beast in 2016-2017 even if Butler isn't a beastly machine. If for example we beat them in 2016-2017 I think she would either have negated Reimer or outplayed her. That would be impressive imo.

 

[meyers7]

UConn will be relying on either Chong or freshmen Dangerfield at the point. That's a big, big issue. I don't see Nurse as a point guard though maybe that'll change.

I don't know that's true. Nurse will be able to play the point. Granted she not a true point, but I think she will be able to run the team some of the time. Won't be Jeffersonish, but we've lived with a combo guard before (Hartley). In truth Bird was a combo guard when she came to UCONN.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

I don't know that's true. Nurse will be able to play the point. Granted she not a true point, but I think she will be able to run the team some of the time. Won't be Jeffersonish, but we've lived with a combo guard before (Hartley). In truth Bird was a combo guard when she came to UCONN.

Nurse is quite a bit bigger than Bird or Hartley though. If you have Nurse at the point then who plays the other guard spot? That's why I think it might have to be Dangerfield and Nurse in the backcourt. Unless Dangerfield is completely out of her element, which I don't expect, it's probably the best scenario. They will just need her to improve over the season if they want to compete in March/April. She can do that much better by getting heavy minutes.

 

[meyers7]

Nurse is quite a bit bigger than Bird or Hartley though. If you have Nurse at the point then who plays the other guard spot? That's why I think it might have to be Dangerfield and Nurse in the backcourt. Unless Dangerfield is completely out of her element, which I don't expect, it's probably the best scenario. They will just need her to improve over the season if they want to compete in March/April. She can do that much better by getting heavy minutes.

Well there are plenty of possibilities. Nurse's height is not going to hurt her ability to run the point. Probably help. But anyway, you could use Nurse and Chong. Haven't figured out if Chong is more a 1/2 or a 2/1, probably a 1/2. Either way you could use them both, with them splitting the PG duties. Also Williams is probably more a 3/4 than a 3/2, but she may develop into playing some 2. I think Ekmark and Samuelson could play some time at the 2. And of course you can let Dangerfield play with Nurse, probably not start, but bring her along slowly like Jefferson was her FR year. Probably need her up to speed by her SO year though.

 

[2Husky]

Okay- I agree with you about the wings. With that said I have 3 comments

1--- If you think Tuck will be better than Turner and Nurse will smother Allen and we agree our wings are better -- then you must feel ND has nearly no shot to beat UCONN after Stewie and MoJeff leave along with you have to feel UCONN will blow them out.

2--- So do you think if Turner is better than Tuck and is the best player on the court, and Allen is the best guard on the court - can you understand the argument that ND will be favored?

3--- Like you said-- I too reserve the right to change my opinion. If Butler becomes a force - certainly UCONN becomes that much more of a beast and they will be a beast in 2016-2017 even if Butler isn't a beastly machine. If for example we beat them in 2016-2017 I think she would either have negated Reimer or outplayed her. That would be impressive imo.

1) I wouldn't say no shot but under that scenario UConn should be 10-15pt neutral court favorites. ND's best shot would be in a regular season meeting.

2) I definitely understand the arguments for favoring ND. I even think they are completely plausible. I think Turner being an AA is pretty much a sure thing. If Allen is indeed the best guard that makes them very dangerous. It looks like they will have a very very very good team. I think UConn's help defense can go a long way in taking out players who on paper are better than the UConn player at that position, which is why I would think best case scenario is they are ~4pt favorites.

3) I agree.

I just hope I'm right because I want UConn to win. But if you are right it looks like UConn will have great competition, which will also be good. To me, partly because I don't watch a lot of ND games, there are more question marks in terms of the potential of their players, so I lean towards UConn for now. Lets hope the players stay healthy so we can see how this plays out.

Nurse is quite a bit bigger than Bird or Hartley though. If you have Nurse at the point then who plays the other guard spot? That's why I think it might have to be Dangerfield and Nurse in the backcourt. Unless Dangerfield is completely out of her element, which I don't expect, it's probably the best scenario. They will just need her to improve over the season if they want to compete in March/April. She can do that much better by getting heavy minutes.

I think Nurse is about the same size as DT, and she played a lot at point. I also wouldn't overlook the possibility of Williams starting at point, we will see how much she develops this season, but I would expect to start gravitating back to her natural position, albeit with a new arsenal of skills in her bag of tricks.

 

[UcMiami]

I actually thought the 'competition' in this past year's NCAAs was extremely good - if one stops looking for 'major' upsets and instead looks at the actual games being played. Except for Uconn, the FF teams could easily have lost games prior to the FF and were hard pressed in previous games and ND/SC could have gone either way. Uconn's win over ND was not exactly a cake walk either.

Agree that ND appears to be maintaining a very strong team and should be really tough in 2016-17. Muffet is keeping the pipeline of talent consistently high, and she does a very good job of 'plug and play' when she loses talent. The unexpected departure this year may make for some growing pains next year, but they will still be talented and tough.

As for the others - Baylor and TN seem to have the horses, SC needs to have some recruiting success to restock. Curious to see what happens on the west coast - a more competitive atmosphere in the Pac12 this past year sort of fizzled in the NCAAs, but ...?

 

[UcMiami]

UConn will be relying on either Chong or freshmen Dangerfield at the point. That's a big, big issue. I don't see Nurse as a point guard though maybe that'll change.

She plays point for a pretty good national team up north so ...I don't know what you are not seeing? She is not a Moriah type of PG, but maybe more of a Whalen physically and mentally?

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Also Williams is probably more a 3/4 than a 3/2, but she may develop into playing some 2. I think Ekmark and Samuelson could play some time at the 2. And of course you can let Dangerfield play with Nurse, probably not start, but bring her along slowly like Jefferson was her FR year.

I don't see Williams going back to the perimeter at UConn for numerous reasons and Ekmark has to show a lot more to prove she can be part of the rotation. Jefferson wasn't so much brought along slowly as she was nearly helpless on offense for 3/4 of her first year. There were times I didn't think she was ever going to make it. I don't expect that to be the case for Dangerfield, but it's not out of the question. Chong will have to make significant strides to be a starter on a national contender which UConn should be if the PG situation settles. Maybe Dangerfield works her way into the starting lineup over the course of the year.

 

[CocoHusky]

Nurse is quite a bit bigger than Bird or Hartley though. If you have Nurse at the point then who plays the other guard spot?

I don't know the way KLS is handling the ball in that recently posted video might be just what that spot needs.

 

[meyers7]

I don't see Williams going back to the perimeter at UConn for numerous reasons and Ekmark has to show a lot more to prove she can be part of the rotation.

Possibly. Time will tell. I agree they are both more 3 than 2's. But we did have KML at the 2 some this year when Stokes would come in for Nurse. Granted, we had Jefferson at the point, so there really wasn't any need for a 2G.

Jefferson wasn't so much brought along slowly as she was nearly helpless on offense for 3/4 of her first year. There were times I didn't think she was ever going to make it.

I disagree with that, and I had no doubts she'd be really good. Took a little longer than I thought, I'll give you that.

I don't expect that to be the case for Dangerfield, but it's not out of the question.

Really? You are expecting Dangerfield to be better than Jefferson? That would be nice, but that's a lot to ask. You realize Jefferson was the number 1 player in her class.....except for the fact that Stewart was in her class. And there is no Stewart in Dangerfield's class.

Chong will have to make significant strides to be a starter on a national contender which UConn should be if the PG situation settles. Maybe Dangerfield works her way into the starting lineup over the course of the year.

Not necessarily. Geno has started SR's before that were not the best player. I don't know that it will be her that keeps her from starting her SR year. She may be plenty capable, but might still be overtaken by other players.

 

[meyers7]

I don't know the way KLS is handling the ball in that recently posted video might be just what that spot needs.

Ummmm, that was a Forward's ball handling, not a guard's. Not that she might not play the 2 on occasion, but it won't be for her ball handling. KML played the 2 spot some last year, but you had Jefferson to handle the ball.

This is a guard's handling.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

I disagree with that, and I had no doubts she'd be really good. Took a little longer than I thought, I'll give you that.

You disagree that Jefferson was helpless on offense early on? She had no clue how to get a shot off or where to go on the court for quite a while.

Really? You are expecting Dangerfield to be better than Jefferson? That would be nice, but that's a lot to ask. You realize Jefferson was the number 1 player in her class.....except for the fact that Stewart was in her class. And there is no Stewart in Dangerfield's class.

Dangerfield's ranked 3rd by Hoopgurlz and 4th by both Blue Star and Prospects Nation. But none of that is relevant. I believe Dangerfield will be ready to play sooner than Jefferson was; didn't say who would be better.

As for Chong, I stand by my comment. I don't believe she starts on a title contender without significant improvement. It took two games for Geno to replace her with a freshmen last year.

 

[CocoHusky]

Ummmm, that was a Forward's ball handling, not a guard's. Not that she might not play the 2 on occasion, but it won't be for her ball handling. KML played the 2 spot some last year, but you had Jefferson to handle the ball.

This is a guard's handling.

Ummm, did you really think I was comparing MoJeff ball handling to KLS or guard to Forward? If KLS does play the SG position as we both seem to think she might even "occasionally" it will be because she has the skill set to do so- ball handling is included in that skill set.

 

[triaddukefan]

seems like a good time to bump this thread

 

[bballnut90]

Time to edit, with UCONN back in the mix:

1. South Carolina-Some pieces have to fall into place, but Dawn is loading up on talent in South Carolina. They'll have an unbelievably talented quartet in Davis, Gray, Coates and Wilson. Davis and Gray and shoot and take the ball off the dribble, Wilson is a prototypical 4, and Coates a prototypical center. A lot will depend on how the new players blend and how Cuevas and handle point guard duties, but from a talent and experience stand point, USC is #1.

2. Notre Dame-They will be LOADED in 2016-17. They will have all three posts who were in the rotation this year, Lindsey Allen as a senior, their loaded 2015 class and at least 2 top 10 kids from 2016. Everyone is back but Mabrey and Cable. Turner could be a POY candidate if she develops more offensively. This team could be Notre Dame's best yet.

3. Connecticut-If I had betting money on 2016-17 right now, it'd be on the Huskies simply because of Geno and the talent they have coming in. The only reason they aren't #1 on my list is we haven't seen how effective Butler, KLS, or Collier will be at the collegiate level. They have Nurse and Tuck who are proven commodities and Tuck could be a POY candidate her senior year. The hardest player to replace will be Jefferson, as she will graduate Connecticut as possibly the school's best point guard ever. Dangerfield will come in and should be dynamite, but it is worth noting UCONN has never won a title with a freshman point guard so I'm not sure if she'll start or be the primary point. Stewart's production, length and inside-outside capabilities will be sorely missed, but with KLS and Collier, UCONN will still have a formidable front court.

4. Baylor-Another team that will be absolutely stacked. Nina Davis, Alexis Jones, pretty much all of their guards/wings excluding Niya Johnson should be back for 2016-17. Not to mention, their 2 talented incoming freshmen will have a year of experience under their belts and should be able to make a big impact for Baylor.

5. Tennessee-If they land Mavunga as some speculate, Tennessee will be higher on this list. They have a slew of good guards who will need to improve scoring ability over the next two years to make Tennessee dynamic. They have DeShields, another POY candidate in 2017, and Russell who is an x-factor but could develop into an outstanding post presence by her junior season. If they add in Mavunga, Tennessee could have the nation's best front court with Russell/Mavunga/DeShields. Add in Jasmine Jones and Jaime Nared in the front court, and a backcourt rotation of Te'a Cooper, Carter and Reynolds and you have a really dangerous team.

6. Duke-On 2nd thought, I can't put Duke above Tennessee, even with the Lexi Brown transfer. Duke has consistently underachieved, but they will have one of their best rosters in a while. Brown is great but I'm not sure she will really elevate Duke when Duke has the likes of Salvadores and Lambert on board. An experienced front court of Greenwell, Stevens and Chidom will give Duke one of its best frontcourts since the days of Black and Bales.

7. Ohio State-Kelsey Mitchell is outstanding and will carry the team, but she'll have ample support compared to this season with the transfer of Calhoun and fewer players with ACL injuries.

8. Texas-So much talent coming in, and there's a good chance they'll land a couple other great players in 2016, but still have a ways to go.

 

[triaddukefan]

6. Duke-On 2nd thought, I can't put Duke above Tennessee, even with the Lexi Brown transfer. Duke has consistently underachieved, but they will have one of their best rosters in a while. Brown is great but I'm not sure she will really elevate Duke when Duke has the likes of Salvadores and Lambert on board. An experienced front court of Greenwell, Stevens and Chidom will give Duke one of its best frontcourts since the days of Black and Bales.
o.

And TN hasnt ?

 

[bballnut90]

And TN hasnt ?

I never claimed they haven't....but I think Tennessee will have a better team in 2017 than Duke will.

 

[triaddukefan]

I never claimed they haven't....but I think Tennessee will have a better team in 2017 than Duke will.

Meh.... I disagree...... but we will see.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Louisville?

 

[Kibitzer]

Ecclesiastes 9:11:

"The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong."​

Ring Lardner:

" . . . but that's where the smart money goes."​

Having read the entire thread, I have come to two conclusions:

1. Expectations for new players of SC, ND, etc., are very high but more modest for those coming to UConn; and,

2. Ring Lardner was right.
​

Add my belief in Geno and my signature quote (about the heart of a champion), sooooooo. . .

I continue to like our chances.

​

 

[snsservices]

The 2017 class is loaded...... So that class will be very important

 

[Wally East]

Ecclesiastes 9:11:

"The race is not to the swift​

​

Obviously written by a non-runner because the race sure doesn't go to the slow

 

[NickyNewark]

​

Obviously written by a non-runner because the race sure doesn't go to the slow

Rabbit and the hair...nor the battle to the weak ?

 

[Wally East]

Rabbit and the hair...nor the battle to the weak ?

The tortoise and the hare -- another tale written by a non-runner.