Most Excited To See in the 24-25 Season?

[GirlBoo1020]

A crisp fall like morning, still 62 days out from the season tip off, made me think women's basketball can use some positivity. As I have given up on the W, I thought it would be great to share and read what other people are excited about for the upcoming Women's college season.

I'll start with my enemies:
Tennessee: I am really curious and interested to see what Tennessee looks like this coming season. New coach, new players and a legendary program. I think their compete level will tell us a lot about this coach and I am excited to tune in.

Notre Dame: How they integrate Miles and Hildago together in the backcourt will be really fun to watch. I imagine there might be some road bumps given their propensity to take up similar spots on the floor and their shared weakness around outside shooting, but I think we they figure it out it will be electric.


Now that they are taken care of.

I am also excited to see how last years freshman class progresses as sophomores. A lot of of them will have added significant talent to their roster and might not have to carry as heavy a load as they did last year. Juju adding Kiki and new freshman. Hannah with the addition of Miles, other injured players and Koval. Booker with Rori coming back and Phelia for Texas. This could be a double edge sword as they may getter better alongside their team but will their numbers be less flashey and draw less attention with it?


As for UConn, I and just excited and hope to see a fully healthy team for the first time in a very long time. Anything beyond that is gravy.

 

[bballnut90]

South Carolina and specifically how Dawn manages all of the talent and Milaysia Fulwiley specifically is going to be compelling to watch. Does she come off the bench again or is she given more runway this year.

Texas is also loaded and should be a title contender with their talent. Booker/Harmon will be a lethal combo.

Also teams like USC, Notre Dame and UCLA have an influx of talent but none of their coaches have strong track records so watching their seasons unfold will be interesting to watch.

UCONN similarly will look completely different if players are healthy. They will also have motivation to win one for Paige before she goes pro.

Everyone is overlooking LSU but they’re a sleeping giant with Morrow/Flaujae/Mikaylah Williams, plus S’Myah Smith was playing great prior to injury. They’re a strong Final Four threat IMO.

Lastly, I have Iowa State as a team to watch with most of their young roster back.

 

[visitingcock]

Who starts at the 5 spot for South Carolina in November?
Who starts at the 5 spot for South Carolina second semester.

 

[JellyBean]

I am curious to see how teams like Stanford, Texas, Oklahoma, Oregon, and the rest of the new teams that are joining new conferences, do. Arizona. UCLA in the Big Ten. Oregon playing in the Barn or at the Crisler Arena/Center. I can't wait!

 

[packwrap]

Everyone is overlooking LSU but they’re a sleeping giant with Morrow/Flaujae/Mikaylah Williams, plus S’Myah Smith was playing great prior to injury. They’re a strong Final Four threat IMO.

Lastly, I have Iowa State as a team to watch with most of their young roster back.

Agree LSU under the radar. They have the right mix of players this year. Last year Reese/Morrow and Hailey Van Lith/Flaujae sort of stepped on each others feet.

Morrow is the truth, this year will really shine. Flaujae made a huge leap last year and is now an all American candidate. Normally a dynamic duo is enough to make sweet 16, plus LSU is solid both 5 deep and 8 deep.

Am eager to see Iowa St with their duo a year older.

Curious what Juju's usage will look like with a deeper team. I suspect U$C will continue to just run the 'Clark show', letting Juju chase scoring record. They can still win this way and it will draw eyeballs.

 

[bballnut90]

Curious what Juju's usage will look like with a deeper team. I suspect U$C will continue to just run the 'Clark show', letting Juju chase scoring record. They can still win this way and it will draw eyeballs.

I hope they don't but wont be surprised if they do. What's the point of bringing in TVL and and Iriafen if your plan is let Juju take 20+ shots at low efficiency every night?

 

[Dillon77]

@bballnut90
"Also teams like USC, Notre Dame and UCLA have an influx of talent but none of their coaches have strong track records so watching their seasons unfold will be interesting to watch."

What is your definition of a "strong track record?" NCAA Titles? Final Fours? Winning conference championships?

I'll speak for Coach Ivey and Notre Dame who has won a regular-season ACC title in '22-'23 and the ACC Tourney in '23-'24; doing so with injuries to key players along the way in both seasons. Overall, she's 89-32 since taking over. Yes, she's got to crack that Final Four, but a demanding fan base thinks she's getting stronger every season.

 

[bballnut90]

@bballnut90
"Also teams like USC, Notre Dame and UCLA have an influx of talent but none of their coaches have strong track records so watching their seasons unfold will be interesting to watch."

What is your definition of a "strong track record?" NCAA Titles? Final Fours? Winning conference championships?

I'll speak for Coach Ivey and Notre Dame who has won a regular-season ACC title in '22-'23 and the ACC Tourney in '23-'24; doing so with injuries to key players along the way in both seasons. Overall, she's 89-32 since taking over. Yes, she's got to crack that Final Four, but a demanding fan base thinks she's getting stronger every season.

None have proven they can get to a Final Four, although now that I think about it, Gottlieb had a F4 run in 2013. It wasn’t meant as a slight, though reading it back I can see how it was perceived that that way. Out of the 3, in particular I think very highly of Ivey and think she’s likely to get ND to a Final Four in the next couple of years. Gottlieb I’ve never been wowed by but can admit she did an excellent job last year and has USC primed to be a threat going forward. For UCLA in particular, pressure’s on to make the Final Four this year (or next) with all of the talent on their roster.

The comment I made was more so insinuating they haven’t made the next leap yet compared to old standbys like Staley, Geno, Kim and Vic.

 

[Dillon77]

As a Notre Dame fan and alum, I'm most excited about how the Irish will incorporate returning and Injured players, as well as one freshman and two transfers.

• Most of the backcourt discussion has centered on how Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles will co-exist. While one can expect some growing pains, they've been playing together/against each other for months, so I expect they'll be fine. What I'm most excited about is they'll both be playing with Sonia Citron, one of the best all-around guards -- no, players -- in the country. Hidalgo and Citron played well together. Citron and Miles are joined at the brain. "We're always on the same page," said Miles in a recent interview.
• Got to be excited about Kate Koval, ND's first true bona fide center since Jess Shepard. The fact that she's matching up with grad student Maddy Westbeld is really beneficial. In an interview with The Next's Howard Megdal, Ivey says people "will be surprised a passer Koval is (in addition to her scoring)."
• And I'm really intrigued about how both transfers Liatu King and Liza Karlen fit in with the Irish. Karlen can play both frontcourt spots and King is exactly the kind of high-motor, quick small forward who tortured ND the last few seasons.

Outside of the Irish:

• How will UCLA and USC fare in the B1G (or whatever it will be called)? Plus, a lot of the recent leaders in said conference are reloading, such as Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State and Maryland (again). Plus, Michigan State seems to be building up the right way.
• Hope Azzi Fudd and Aubrey Griffin, two oft-injured Huskies, come back healthy and strong. Geno A. and Chris D. have a lot of talent to incorporate, Interested to see how they play/mesh it. But, for this admirer, I just want to see good health for all concerned so they can have the opportunity to play together and mesh.
• So Texas and Oklahoma are now in the SEC? How will that play out with S. Carolina and LSU, both of whom will be very strong?

I'm sure there's a lot more, but two months out, that's good enough.

 

[yhun89]

Give me healthy UCONN any day.

 

[GirlBoo1020]

As a Notre Dame fan and alum, I'm most excited about how the Irish will incorporate returning and Injured players, as well as one freshman and two transfers.

• Most of the backcourt discussion has centered on how Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles will co-exist. While one can expect some growing pains, they've been playing together/against each other for months, so I expect they'll be fine. What I'm most excited about is they'll both be playing with Sonia Citron, one of the best all-around guards -- no, players -- in the country. Hidalgo and Citron played well together. Citron and Miles are joined at the brain.
• Got to be excited about Kate Koval, ND's first true bona fide center since Jess Shepard. The fact that she's matching up with grad student Maddy Westbeld is really beneficial.
• And I'm really intrigued about how both transfers Liatu King and Liza Karlen fit in with the Irish. Karlen can play both frontcourt spots and King is exactly the kind of high-motor, quick small forward who tortured ND the last few seasons.

Outside of the Irish:

• How will UCLA and USC fare in the B1G (or whatever it will be called)? Plus, a lot of the recent leaders in said conference are reloading, such as Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State and Maryland (again). Plus, Michigan State seems to be building up the right way.
• Hope Azzi Fudd and Aubrey Griffin, two oft-injured Huskies, come back healthy and strong. Geno A. and Chris D. have a lot of talent to incorporate, Interested to see how they play/mesh it.
• So Texas and Oklahoma are now in the SEC? How will that play out with S. Carolina and LSU, both of whom will be very strong?

I'm sure there's a lot more, but two months out, that's good enough.

Well, Nika and Paige played together for years and really struggled to mesh offensively for most of this past season so that is why I am interested in seeing the Hidalgo/Miles duo. I never really loved that duo on the floor together either on offense so curious of Niele handles the dual pg combo better. I am really excited about Kate Koval as well.

Agree LSU under the radar. They have the right mix of players this year. Last year Reese/Morrow and Hailey Van Lith/Flaujae sort of stepped on each others feet.
t
Morrow is the truth, this year will really shine. Flaujae made a huge leap last year and is now an all American candidate. Normally a dynamic duo is enough to make sweet 16, plus LSU is solid both 5 deep and 8 deep.

Am eager to see Iowa St with their duo a year older.

Curious what Juju's usage will look like with a deeper team. I suspect U$C will continue to just run the 'Clark show', letting Juju chase scoring record. They can still win this way and it will draw eyeballs.

I feel like LSU got three Hailey Van Lith like player in the guard spot though which has really tampered my excitement for them. I'm not sure their backcourt can carry them further than last year.

As for Juju/USC, I'm not sure they can continue to run the "clark show" and be successful. Clark was always high volume but never as inefficient as Juju and always a better passer. Either Juju's efficiency has to improve significantly or her usage has to come down. I'd imagine the latter will lead to the former and ideally the additional talent will help with both but like others I have my doubts about Gottlieb.

 

[skidroe]

I, too, am looking forward to the upcoming college season and I have a few things I could chat about, but I just can't get over the original post that claimed, "I have given up on the W." This is the most compelling season of WNBA basketball that I have experienced and I've been watching for years. For the first time in a long time, there is a Huskie on every WNBA team. Watching them compete against and play with each other is a dream come true for a true Husky fan. Sometimes there are 3 or 4 Huskies on the floor at the same time! Just last night I got to watch Alliyah and ONO go up against each other in the post as the lowly Mystics upset the number 2 Sun. And that's not even mentioning Caitlin leading the Fever to a playoff spot and all the controversy about Clark and Reese between Swoops and Lieberman. If you've given up on the W this season, you are really missing out.

 

[GirlBoo1020]

I, too, am looking forward to the upcoming college season and I have a few things I could chat about, but I just can't get over the original post that claimed, "I have given up on the W." This is the most compelling season of WNBA basketball that I have experienced and I've been watching for years. For the first time in a long time, there is a Huskie on every WNBA team. Watching them compete against and play with each other is a dream come true for a true Husky fan. Sometimes there are 3 or 4 Huskies on the floor at the same time! Just last night I got to watch Alliyah and ONO go up against each other in the post as the lowly Mystics upset the number 2 Sun. And that's not even mentioning Caitlin leading the Fever to a playoff spot and all the controversy about Clark and Reese between Swoops and Lieberman. If you've given up on the W this season, you are really missing out.

I think there is a WNBA thread you are welcome to talk about the WNBA in but I made this specifically to talk about the upcoming college season. Thank you.

 

[Dillon77]

@GirlBoo1020
"Well, Nika and Paige played together for years and really struggled to mesh offensively for most of this past season so that is why I am interested in seeing the Hidalgo/Miles duo. I never really loved that duo on the floor together either on offense so curious of Niele handles the dual pg combo better. I am really excited about Kate Koval as well."

Coincidentally, Howard Megdal of The Next just interviewed Niele Ivey of Notre Dame on a slew of topics, but this quote in the teaser "e-print" e-mail. It addresses your interest in how she (Coach Ivey) intends to address the Miles/Hidalgo combination:

"And I believe that Olivia, coming back with her experience, she does a great job of facilitating. I think she's going to help, as far as our assist-to-turnover ratio. And I think Hannah (Hidalgo), just having a year under her belt, I think you're going to see a tremendous improvement from her. She had to carry the bulk of the offense and being that primary distributor, and they're going to help each other, Olivia and Hannah. But also having that year under your belt as a point guard, understanding the system, knowing what the ACC looks like, and non-conference, I think that's going to really help her in her decision making this year."

BTW, Coach Ivey also said people will be surprised at just how good a passer Koval is (not to mention her scoring prowess).

Now, let's see how that turns out...

 

[GirlBoo1020]

@GirlBoo1020
"Well, Nika and Paige played together for years and really struggled to mesh offensively for most of this past season so that is why I am interested in seeing the Hidalgo/Miles duo. I never really loved that duo on the floor together either on offense so curious of Niele handles the dual pg combo better."

Coincidentally, Howard Megdal of The Next just interviewed Niele Ivey of Notre Dame on a slew of topics, but this quote in the teaser "e-print" e-mail. It addresses your interest in how she (Coach Ivey) intends to address the Miles/Hidalgo combination:

"And I believe that Olivia, coming back with her experience, she does a great job of facilitating. I think she's going to help, as far as our assist-to-turnover ratio. And I think Hannah (Hidalgo), just having a year under her belt, I think you're going to see a tremendous improvement from her. She had to carry the bulk of the offense and being that primary distributor, and they're going to help each other, Olivia and Hannah. But also having that year under your belt as a point guard, understanding the system, knowing what the ACC looks like, and non-conference, I think that's going to really help her in her decision making this year."

Now, let's see how that turns out...

Yea i mean its interesting. They are both obviously better players Nika which should help. The benefit of having Paige was she can play any position well enough that she could play off the ball but it made her less dimensional and when Nika played off the ball it made our offense less diminsional. Got us to a final four but was frustrating to watch at time.

For Notre Dame the situation is different, in part because both players are better than Nika but, imo at least, neither players are as versatile as Paige. But, offensively, they are both smaller guards who like to create off the dribble and aren't especially good catch and shoot perimeter shooters. I'll be curious how they compliment each other on the floor because I think they'd both benefit from playing with a floor spacer in the backcourt. They will be able to play very fast and also great defensively so a nightmare to face. Just curious on if they frustrate each other a bit in the half court offense the way Nike and Paige (and KK tbh) seemed to last season as they all preferred to play on the ball rather than off. Or does it free one of them up to do different things offensively?

Idk! One of the things I am excited to see. I think they are the best starting backcourt in the country and surely top 2/3 all around.

 

[12au]

Kansas - Sort of a rebuild. Only key returners are Mayberry and Nichols

Kansas State - They return everyone except Gregory

Louisville - Return Cochran, Curry, Russell, Harris

LSU - I expect Flau'jae and Morrow to repeat AA form. Losing Angel is big; it'll being interesting if Smith can return to pre-injury form. Seems like there's a chance Del Rosario makes a jump. I expect Mulkey can turn Wolfenbarger into an effective player; we'll see. It seems like Wilson/Shepard/Gilbert should be able to approximate Hailey Van Lith's production. I feel like Poa will have a greater role. I think the biggest key for them is for Williams to make a jump, which seems possible

Maryland - Another transfer turnstile team. A lot of losses from last year: Alexander, Turner, Briggs, Masonius. Seems like Sellers, McDaniel, and Poffenbarger should be able to hold it together

Michigan - Rebuild, but a lot of highly touted talent

Michigan St - Ayrault/Van Slooten combination is interesting

Minnesota - I expect a jump from them this year--should make tournament, maybe win a game. Battle/Braun is a great backcourt

Mississippi St - Just looked at their roster--it's trending poorly. Turning into transfer turnstile program

NC State - Return outstanding backcourt of James, Rivers, Brooks, plus Hayes

Ohio St - Return Thierry and McMahon. Added Petty, Gray, Jaloni Cambridge. Don't see much of a drop off

Oregon - Return Kyei. Added Muhammad, Kourouma, and Deja Kelly. A rare case where high turnover is a good thing. Last year definitely caused some PTSD. Hard to believe in Graves at this point

Stanford - Tara fled. Seems like a good amount of talent, but no all-world big anymore

TCU - (if they can stay healthy)

Tennessee - They should be more fun to watch this year. Hopefully they play the same pressing style Caldwell used at Marshall

UCF - They return key production from last year. And they now have Gusters (Baylor->LSU->Oklahoma St->UCF)

UCLA - This roster is a throwback to pre-parity WBB. Of course hard to believe Close won't blow it...
Londynn Jones
Rice
Leger-Walker
Jaquez
Barker
Gardiner
Dugalic
Betts

Utah - Lose Pili and Young, but still have a good core (Viera, Kneepkens, Johnson, Wilke, McQueen)

West Virginia - Return everyone but Fields. Added Auburn's Shaw which seems like good fit

 

[JellyBean]

This college WBB season is going to be pretty exciting! I am looking forward to seeing how the freshmen play. Will this incoming group of freshmen come close or exceed the freshmen class of last year? Will the sophomores continue to shine and put their programs on their shoulders again? Will Duke make moves to get into the top five? I can't wait!

 

[Dillon77]

Yea i mean its interesting. They are both obviously better players Nika which should help. The benefit of having Paige was she can play any position well enough that she could play off the ball but it made her less dimensional and when Nika played off the ball it made our offense less diminsional. Got us to a final four but was frustrating to watch at time.

For Notre Dame the situation is different, in part because both players are better than Nika but, imo at least, neither players are as versatile as Paige. But, offensively, they are both smaller guards who like to create off the dribble and aren't especially good catch and shoot perimeter shooters. I'll be curious how they compliment each other on the floor because I think they'd both benefit from playing with a floor spacer in the backcourt. They will be able to play very fast and also great defensively so a nightmare to face. Just curious on if they frustrate each other a bit in the half court offense the way Nike and Paige (and KK tbh) seemed to last season as they all preferred to play on the ball rather than off. Or does it free one of them up to do different things offensively?

Idk! One of the things I am excited to see. I think they are the best starting backcourt in the country and surely top 2/3 all around.

By floor spacer, you're referring to someone that can draw attention from them, right? Either via perimeter shooting, ability to drive to the hoop, set screens/picks?

If so, I brought it up in a subtle fashion but I'll do it in a more straight-forward manner: he beauty -- the excitement -- of ND's backcourt this year isn't Hidalgo and Miles: It's Hidalgo-Miles-Citron. Sonia Citron is a triple threat scorer: catch and shoot from mid- and long range;. she can drive; she can go backdoor; and, she's great in transistion. And, as noted, she and Miles are "aways on the same page."

Citron is 6'1" and, btw, Miles is not a small guard: she's 5'10: with long arms and is a stellar rebounder. Lastly, there's another superb floor spacer for ND: 6'3" Maddy Westbeld who can stroke it with the best of them. Remember those pick and pops she and Hannah executed time and again at Storrs last season?

Bueckers is such a superb player but I thought she was trying to be anything and everything for a team that needed her to be. She was stellar, but I can only imagine how she'll be with Fudd and others with her.

 

[GirlBoo1020]

By floor spacer, you're referring to someone that can draw attention from them, right?

If so, I brought it up in a subtle fashion but I'll do it in a more straight-forward manner: he beauty -- the excitement -- of ND's backcourt this year isn't Hidalgo and Miles: It's Hidalgo-Miles-Citron. Sonia Citron is a triple threat scorer: catch and shoot from mid- and long range;. she can drive; she can go backdoor; and, she's great in transistion. And, as noted, she and Miles are "aways on the same page."

Citron is 6'1" and, btw, Miles is not a small guard: she's 5'10: with long arms and is a stellar rebounder. Lastly, there's another superb floor spacer for ND: 6'3" Maddy Westbeld who can stroke it with the best of them. Remember those pick and pops she and Hannah executed time and again at Storrs last season?

Bueckers is such a superb player but I thought she was trying to be anything and everything for a team that needed her to be. She was stellar, but I can only imagine how she'll be with Fudd and others with her.

I’m well aware of Citron and Westbeld, my point was not that Notre Dame doesn’t have shooters. My point was because neither Hildago nor Miles are shooters they will gravitate to the same spaces in the floor.

 

[triaddukefan]

I'm looking forward to see who wants smoke in 2024-25.

 

[GoUconn7961]

All I want is for everyone to stay healthy. That's it.

 

[jdote33]

Fun thread. As many others have stated, as a UConn fan I'm excited to just see a healthy UConn team. It's the unknown that's just a lot of fun to think about.

Outside of UConn, recently I've been more intrigued by the ACC. I had thought losing the duo in VT and Deja from UNC just makes the conference less fun and competitive. I also thought Notre Dame's talent is just overwhelming for the rest of the schools. But I've kinda gotten excited about the young talent throughout the conference. Obviously Duke has a pretty good freshman class and made it to the sweet 16 last year. I think Louisville will be good and they snagged Imari Berry late who could make an impact. I like North Carolina's young bigs in Toomey and Bianca Thomas. I'm even kinda excited about Virginia Tech after watching them a lot the past two years. I think Caris Baker (the great Vin Baker's daughter) and Carleigh Wenzel will be much better in year 2. Then they also have some freshman that I like. And then lastly I like how the conference has new blood coming in which makes for just some new matchups. For Stanford I forgot they got Tess Heal, and I kinda have always liked Brooke Demetre so I like that she may have an expanded role. I also liked the Mary Ashley Stevenson pick up. It's just a competitive conference though ND is the clear favorite.

 

[Bjbod]

x.com

x.com

Iowa fans not done yet.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I'm curious and anxious to see how South Carolina handles the division of minutes and to see whether the players accept the same roles coming off a championship.

In really interested to see how the other six or so contenders perform against each other. Feels like a wide open season where anyone could miss the F4.

I'm interested to see whether Cardoso turns out to have been the key player for SCar and whether a committee or new individuals can replace her.

SCar weathered a lot of storms simply by Cardoso being "inevitable" as an announcer put it on the glass and around the rim.

I think Southern Cal is the most fascinating program and I think Texas and Notre Dame are mighty interesting as well.

 

[GirlBoo1020]

I'm curious and anxious to see how South Carolina handles the division of minutes and to see whether the players accept the same roles coming off a championship.

In really interested to see how the other six or so contenders perform against each other. Feels like a wide open season where anyone could miss the F4.

I'm interested to see whether Cardoso turns out to have been the key player for SCar and whether a committee or new individuals can replace her.

SCar weathered a lot of storms simply by Cardoso being "inevitable" as an announcer put it on the glass and around the rim.

I think Southern Cal is the most fascinating program and I think Texas and Notre Dame are mighty interesting as well.

I'm curious why you think minutes at South Carolina would be an issue? Everyone seemed happy last year and they won a championship, why would this year be any different?

For South Carolina i am curious about the loss of Cardoso and how it impacts their perimeter play on both sides of the ball most of all. I know they went undefeated with Cardoso last year but it was against a very small UConn team (who I think would have matched up better with South Carolina w/ Cardoso rather than wi/o) and Missouri/Vanderbilt I believe? I'm not sure thats the most meaningful sample size especially as teams were really able to gameplan for South Carolina without Cardoso.