My Top 15 Teams Next Season

[donalddoowop]

Yes, you just can't lose three first-team AA's and assume that you deserve to begin the season ranked #1. Doesn't work that way. I'll go with #7 or #8 and see how the team develops. No way that Connecticut will begin ranked first in anyone's Top 25 in October.

I really hope that Coach Geno enjoys the next season, and really gets invigorated by the need for actual coaching during the game. He hasn't needed to do that for the past three years!

Geno had to do a lot of coaching the last three years. It was the coaching staff that had to stay on the players to keep playing hard regardless of the score. They had to determine what players were prepared to play at critical times in games. As for preseason rankings, Sports Illustrated had UCONN ranked second behind South Carolina at the beginning of the past season. Preseason rankings don't mean much, imo.

 

[Kibitzer]

UConn remains #1 until beaten.

This spot on comment ends this discussion for me. Until November. Or December. Or January. Or. . . Who knows?

 

[VA Huskie]

She has played with 1.5 arms for most of her time at ND after suffering shoulder injuries in the non-conference schedule both years. I give her credit - no one would have blamed her for shutting it down after the 2nd injury and preserving another year of eligibility, but she knew the team was screwed without her and fought through it.

I am looking forward to seeing her 100% next year. Unfortunately, spending the summer rehabbing won't allow her to work on her game and add the 15 ft. and in jumper that would round her offensive game out. We might not really see her best until her senior year.

Might her lack of a 15 ft shot be related to the shoulder injury? Or is it her non shooting shoulder?

 

[UcMiami]

BaylorProf - I think your of Jones filling a Sims like role as a scoring PG is the most likely - a DT jr so to speak. And I think Chou can be not 'changed' but 'adjusted' to being a combo type guard as well in the mold of what Jones was doing last year. I think you will certainly miss Johnson, but if both of your guards can both score and distribute some, it could actually be one of your best teams ever. Johnson's year long refusal to look for her shot limited the threats posed last year.

 

[triaddukefan]

BaylorProf - I think your of Jones filling a Sims like role as a scoring PG is the most likely - a DT jr so to speak. And I think Chou can be not 'changed' but 'adjusted' to being a combo type guard as well in the mold of what Jones was doing last year. I think you will certainly miss Johnson, but if both of your guards can both score and distribute some, it could actually be one of your best teams ever. Johnson's year long refusal to look for her shot limited the threats posed last year.

Jones ran the point for Duke for the last 5-6 weeks of her freshman season and averaged over 6 assists per game. She was the Tournament MVP as well. If Baylor is smart.... they will just let her run the point all season.

 

[Swishball]

Agree with the above posts. For as good as Niya Johnson was as a distributor, against the top teams they would never be able hide her lack of shooting. Top teams could just cheat off her defensively and dare her to shoot which she couldn't do. Moriah adjusted after Stanford and developed her shot, something Johnson never did.

I think Baylor will be ultimately better off with Jones at the point come tourney time. I think she'll emerge as a top 5 point this year and the improved shooting and spacing with her at the 1 and another shooter at the 2 will make Baylor one of the teams to beat.

Also Lauren Cox size, rim protection, and outside shot at the PF enables them to at times allow the undersized Nina Davis to be an interior scorer on offense but defend similarly sized opposing small forwards. I think they're Uconn's biggest competition this season.

 

[triaddukefan]

Agree with the above posts. For as good as Niya Johnson was as a distributor, against the top teams they would never be able hide her lack of shooting. Top teams could just cheat off her defensively and dare her to shoot which she couldn't do. Moriah adjusted after Stanford and developed her shot, something Johnson never did.

I think Baylor will be ultimately better off with Jones at the point come tourney time. I think she'll emerge as a top 5 point this year and the improved shooting and spacing with her at the 1 and another shooter at the 2 will make Baylor one of the teams to beat.

Also Lauren Cox size, rim protection, and outside shot at the PF enables them to at times allow the undersized Nina Davis to be an interior scorer on offense but defend similarly sized opposing small forwards. I think they're Uconn's biggest competition this season.

I think she's the top PG next year..... although most would say Allen from ND is #1.

 

[stwainfan]

The Baylor and Texas games should be good. I think both teams should be top ten teams.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

You have to wonder about TN? Which team was the real deal? The one that played the regular season and showed no guts, no team work, no hustle, & no coaching, or the one that played 4 games in the Tournament like they knew what they were doing.
IMHO the regular season was the real Lady Vols team/coaches.
If they didn't play the Tournament style ball back during the season it doesn't speak highly of their character, to tank 30 games and all of a sudden they grow some talent and play aggressive BB which they were capable of playing ALL season!
Someone said they were trying to get Holly fired during the season.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

I don't care where UCONN starts the season in the polls. It's not where you start it's where you finish!
UCONN will be in the top 4 after Conference Tournament time.
The Coaching Staff will have all the bugs worked out and playing "HUSKIES BALL" by Tourney time!
No one else will be playing defense at the level UCONN will! And that gives them a shot vs anyone!
I'm so sick of the Muffett McGraw, Kim Mulkey, etal are such great coaches! Ask yourself, if The Muffett was such an outstanding coach why doesn't her teams play all out, kill or be killed, no matter what the score is on offense or defense for the full 40 minutes like UCONN does? UCONN is the only school that plays that hard that long in Div. I because of Geno & his staff!
If ND did they'd have more than the one Championship that UCONN gave them in 2001!
ND has been measured in Final Fours and they've come up lacking each and every time, To TX A&M, Baylor, and UCONN twice!
And with Kim Mulkey, how do you win only one Championship with the most dominating player, B. Griner, during those years.
Never count UCONN out!

 

[easttexastrash]

You have to wonder about TN? Which team was the real deal? The one that played the regular season and showed no guts, no team work, no hustle, & no coaching, or the one that played 4 games in the Tournament like they knew what they were doing.
IMHO the regular season was the real Lady Vols team/coaches.
If they didn't play the Tournament style ball back during the season it doesn't speak highly of their character, to tank 30 games and all of a sudden they grow some talent and play aggressive BB which they were capable of playing ALL season!
Someone said they were trying to get Holly fired during the season.

I really don't like to see the "character" of these young women called into question. Unless you know them personally are you really able to judge their character? I would say that your attempt to judge their character says more about your character than anything any of us knows of theirs.

I say that they must have high character to have made it through a rough season and continue to work to reach their best play when it counted most. Give these young women the respect they deserve.

 

[Vowelguy]

I don't care where UCONN starts the season in the polls. It's not where you start it's where you finish!
UCONN will be in the top 4 after Conference Tournament time.
The Coaching Staff will have all the bugs worked out and playing "HUSKIES BALL" by Tourney time!
No one else will be playing defense at the level UCONN will! And that gives them a shot vs anyone!
I'm so sick of the Muffett McGraw, Kim Mulkey, etal are such great coaches! Ask yourself, if The Muffett was such an outstanding coach why doesn't her teams play all out, kill or be killed, no matter what the score is on offense or defense for the full 40 minutes like UCONN does? UCONN is the only school that plays that hard that long in Div. I because of Geno & his staff!
If ND did they'd have more than the one Championship that UCONN gave them in 2001!
ND has been measured in Final Fours and they've come up lacking each and every time, To TX A&M, Baylor, and UCONN twice!
And with Kim Mulkey, how do you win only one Championship with the most dominating player, B. Griner, during those years.
Never count UCONN out!

Not cool.

 

[CocoHusky]

I don't care where UCONN starts the season in the polls.

The maybe you should have skipped right by this thread.

I'm so sick of the Muffett McGraw, Kim Mulkey, etal are such great coaches! Ask yourself, if The Muffett was such an outstanding coach why doesn't her teams play all out, kill or be killed, no matter what the score is on offense or defense for the full 40 minutes like UCONN does?

In the last three NCAA seasons ND has lost two games total to teams not named UCONN, somewhere along the line I would think ND sold out for 40 minutes and killed somebody, No ?

If ND did they'd have more than the one Championship that UCONN gave them in 2001!

Really surprising that the coaching staff that you praise so highly would be so charitable as to give a championship away. FYI UCONN played ND three times during the season you reference. @ND, with both teams healthy ND won handily (92-76) @Uconn, UCONN won barely 78-76. @FF a close game was expected regardless of injuries.

ND has been measured in Final Fours and they've come up lacking each and every time, To TX A&M, Baylor, and UCONN twice!

It is actually thrice in past 4 years but who is counting right?

And with Kim Mulkey, how do you win only one Championship with the most dominating player, B. Griner, during those years.

Same way Kim won a Championship without B. Griner when UCONN was going 4 consecutive years without a Championship.

 

[stwainfan]

In my opinion for Tennessee. The best players are 1 DeShields 2 Russell 3 Cooper 4 Nared.

 

[hoophuskee]

I'm with genoista. the team to beat is ND. Allen is a premiere pg. Turner is terrific. They have great shooting and other good handlers at the guard positions that can also shoot. They've got a terrific recruiting class. What did they lose and they already were top 3 in which their offense was tough. I expect their defense to be much tougher.

 

[easttexastrash]

I'm with genoista. the team to beat is ND. Allen is a premiere pg. Turner is terrific. They have great shooting and other good handlers at the guard positions that can also shoot. They've got a terrific recruiting class. What did they lose and they already were top 3 in which their offense was tough. I expect their defense to be much tougher.

I agree. Their guard play is going to be terrific and they are going to be so deep at guard that they will be able to bring players off the bench and lose very little.

However, Baylor will probably be a better offensive team with Jones at the point and I think she will prove to be the best PG in the nation. And Cox is going to add a dimension to the offense in the same fashion that Tuck and Dolson added for UCONN for so many years, which was the ability to shoot out to the three point line.

Baylor will also be much better from the three point line with legitimate threats in Jones, Wallace, Chou, Prince and Landrum.

And Brown and Mompremier will be so much better now that they have a year under their belts. They will be the best post tandem in the nation, IMO.

 

[hoophuskee]

I agree. Their guard play is going to be terrific and they are going to be so deep at guard that they will be able to bring players off the bench and lose very little.

However, Baylor will probably be a better offensive team with Jones at the point and I think she will prove to be the best PG in the nation. And Cox is going to add a dimension to the offense in the same fashion that Tuck and Dolson added for UCONN for so many years, which was the ability to shoot out to the three point line.

Baylor will also be much better from the three point line with legitimate threats in Jones, Wallace, Chou, Prince and Landrum.

And Brown and Mompremier will be so much better now that they have a year under their belts. They will be the best post tandem in the nation, IMO.

I'm not sold on Baylor until I see them - and I will get that chance, right? What I mean by "sold" is being a beast like I think ND is. I think this season is ND's to win. Jones will probably be a very quality pg which means you have questionable sg's and imo a questionable guard bench. The season could "wear" on just one real good guard. Is Prince real good? I know Wallace was terrific shooting the ball- - but then again what about her defense? More teams are using the 3-ball which means a lot of your size is nothing more than redundant -- almost like old- school basketball. Teams need some old school but Baylor has too much of it - some of your bigs imo are going to wilt. Not enough minutes.

I'm just not so sure Jones can be "be best pg in Amercia" in ALL clutch games in NCAA's after being the pg in only 1 year in which you may have to rely quite a bit on freshmen such as Cox and Chou. IS Wallace also going to be like that Scyraucse guard that knocked down everything for a stretch? What about Prince? IS she that good or just a decent filler? But all four are BIG questions come NCAA tourney time imo. I absolutely think they can win a title- I just happen to believe ND has the stronger team to start the season with less questions. Baylor can certainly win it all.

 

[easttexastrash]

I'm not sold on Baylor until I see them - and I will get that chance, right? What I mean by "sold" is being a beast like I think ND is. I think this season is ND's to win. Jones will probably be a very quality pg which means you have questionable sg's and imo a questionable guard bench. The season could "wear" on just one real good guard. Is Prince real good? I know Wallace was terrific shooting the ball- - but then again what about her defense? More teams are using the 3-ball which means a lot of your size is nothing more than redundant -- almost like old- school basketball. Teams need some old school but Baylor has too much of it - some of your bigs imo are going to wilt. Not enough minutes.

I'm just not so sure Jones can be "be best pg in Amercia" in ALL clutch games in NCAA's after being the pg in only 1 year in which you may have to rely quite a bit on freshmen such as Cox and Chou. IS Wallace also going to be like that Scyraucse guard that knocked down everything for a stretch? What about Prince? IS she that good or just a decent filler? But all four are BIG questions come NCAA tourney time imo. I absolutely think they can win a title- I just happen to believe ND has the stronger team to start the season with less questions. Baylor can certainly win it all.

Like I said, ND is the team to beat.

 

[connboy77]

Like I said, ND is the team to beat.

I might be in the minority, but I disagree. Baylor if they can solve their point guard problems is the team to beat. As I believe you posted they are very deep at almost every position with quality players.

 

[Tonyc]

All this talk about depth. Geno has done pretty good without alot of depth. With depth comes playtime and that can hurt team chemistry if everybody has to play. Its nice to have great recruiting classes but there need to be enough minutes for everybody to play. For Example Baylor with their 3 bigs and Cox coming in as the third big where are her minutes? ND has a lot of players in a lot of positions where is their playtime. Minutes are very important for top players. IMO ballhandllers at every postion are important. ND and Baylor are loaded and most likely will be ranked preseason as one and two in the polls. Don't forget neither made the FF this past season. Its going to be a different season in WCBB coming up.

 

[hoophuskee]

Like I said, ND is the team to beat.

sorry -- though you used the word 'however.' I don't know why then you felt a need to bring up Baylor if you agreed when I spoke of ND as the team to beat. Anyhow, Baylor will be tough team to beat. they were seconds away from FF last year and this year they'll be just as tough if not tougher.

 

[hoophuskee]

I might be in the minority, but I disagree. Baylor if they can solve their point guard problems is the team to beat. As I believe you posted they are very deep at almost every position with quality players.

Who said they could solve their pg problems? that's a pretty big "if" which is why ND is the team to beat. And don't you think Baylor isn't that strong at sg if they move Jones to the pg? IMO guard play is most important and they only have one real real good guard. that leaves them vulnerable to a small extent. What is ND vulnerable at other than injury? Maybe the pf spot. IMO the guard spot is more crucial.

 

[Fightin Choke]

Who said they could solve their pg problems? that's a pretty big "if" which is why ND is the team to beat. And don't you think Baylor isn't that strong at sg if they move Jones to the pg? IMO guard play is most important and they only have one real real good guard. that leaves them vulnerable to a small extent. What is ND vulnerable at other than injury? Maybe the pf spot. IMO the guard spot is more crucial.

Notre Dame lacks post depth, and their only good post player (Turner) won't be ready for basketball activities until the fall, so strength might be an issue and she won't be able to develop her game over the summer. The other true posts are Kristina Nelson (redshirt junior) and Diamond Thompson (senior). Nelson has played some minutes but she cannot stay out of foul trouble, has questionable hands, and is slow. She is a big body though, and she's not afraid to use it, and she actually has a good shooting touch around the basket. Thompson has never played many minutes and that trend will most likely extend to her final year. I cannot remember Turner being in the game at the same time as either player, as all need to play near the basket so there are spacing issues. As a result, the 4 (KathrynWestbeld) usually plays at the top of the key and passes more often than she shoots. She can drive well and has a reliable shot from the elbow, but does not have 3-pt range. Her backup last season was the undersized but tough Hannah Huffman, but this year it may be freshman Erin Boley, who has the height and build of a smallish 4 but has range to the arc. The starting guards will probably be Lindsay Allen (senior) at the point and Marina Mabrey (sophomore) and Arike Ogunbowale (sophomore) at the wings, with Ali Patberg (redshirt freshman) backing up all three guard positions, Jackie Young (freshman) backing up the wings, and Mychal Johnson (junior) as a defensive specialist at the 2. With the (graduate) transfer of Taya Reimer, Notre Dame only has 11 players on the roster for next season, so hopefully they will be healthy.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

I agree with Tonyc! Geno and staff digs deeper into players "whole" game and personal life than The Muffet or Kim Mulkey!
Geno and CD want kids that aren't concerned about playing time or personal stats much more than the 2 coaches listed above or other big name coaches. Team chemistry is EVERYTHING to GENO & CD! Even pushy parents are a factor!
That may be a small part of those coaches check list but it's a major GET for Geno & CD! The players on the present roster are asked about these recruits if they know them and if the players think they'll fit into UCONN's scheme of things! If the players disagree the recruit will not be pursued.
That's why a while ago I ? Cox going to Baylor after she stated she didn't want to go to a school loaded with bigs to lower her playing time. Baylor is loaded with young Big players. All talented and there are only so many minutes to go around!
I get heat every time I say this but I really don't think these other coaches are that particular about mental stuff, give them talent and they'll gobble those girls up! I really believe Geno & CD are the most thorough coaches in Division I and it shows year after year after year by the types of PEOPLE they bring in! Not everyone is cut out to be a Husky BB player!

 

[hoophuskee]

Notre Dame lacks post depth, and their only good post player (Turner) won't be ready for basketball activities until the fall, so strength might be an issue and she won't be able to develop her game over the summer. The other true posts are Kristina Nelson (redshirt junior) and Diamond Thompson (senior). Nelson has played some minutes but she cannot stay out of foul trouble, has questionable hands, and is slow. She is a big body though, and she's not afraid to use it, and she actually has a good shooting touch around the basket. Thompson has never played many minutes and that trend will most likely extend to her final year. I cannot remember Turner being in the game at the same time as either player, as all need to play near the basket so there are spacing issues. As a result, the 4 (KathrynWestbeld) usually plays at the top of the key and passes more often than she shoots. She can drive well and has a reliable shot from the elbow, but does not have 3-pt range. Her backup last season was the undersized but tough Hannah Huffman, but this year it may be freshman Erin Boley, who has the height and build of a smallish 4 but has range to the arc. The starting guards will probably be Lindsay Allen (senior) at the point and Marina Mabrey (sophomore) and Arike Ogunbowale (sophomore) at the wings, with Ali Patberg (redshirt freshman) backing up all three guard positions, Jackie Young (freshman) backing up the wings, and Mychal Johnson (junior) as a defensive specialist at the 2. With the (graduate) transfer of Taya Reimer, Notre Dame only has 11 players on the roster for next season, so hopefully they will be healthy.

years ago when UConn wasn't as strong and tennessee had parker there was talk that our depth would wear them down. never happened. you should know first-hand a few years ago muffett spoke how she tried to get to UConn's bench when they had only 6 players, she never could. it is much better to have talent than depth.

in regards to turner- if you think she'll be such a detriment to your team next year- UConn will take this detrimental top-ten 1st team all-american off your hands for next year.
in regards to boley-- if you're not very happy that she can be an adequate pf, UConn will be happy to take this detrimentally woefully small pf off your hands for next year and three additional years.

I feel your pain. Poor ND having to struggle with player's like Turner and Boley next year at the 4/5 positions.

you know I'm just having fun with you. your team next year is a powerhouse.