NCAA Preseason Top-10

[Alydar]

Not notable enough to be mentioned as an impact player in a hurried top 10 article.

She had oodles of time and things to say about Tara's team.
I'll be happier when actual games replace hurried opinions.

 

[TheFarmFan]

I think you guys are spending more time dissecting the article than she took to write it, times 10. It was one take, and one that, + or - 2-3 rankings spots per team, I think is probably not wrong. UConn is clearly not at the Oregon or Baylor level at this moment, and everything from 3-7 is debatable and depends on injuries, transfer waivers, team gelling, etc. If I had to guess, once aggregated with AP or Coaches poll voting, UConn will settle in the 4-5 range, which is where I'd put them for now until I know more about Westbrook, etc.

Be thankful Geno has something to motivate his players with and move on!

 

[Vowelguy]

It is very 2019 that "I disagree with person X's opinion" is now equal to "X is biased and their information is --dare I say-- fake."

 

[Alydar]

I think you guys are spending more time dissecting the article than she took to write it, times 10. It was one take, and one that, + or - 2-3 rankings spots per team, I think is probably not wrong. UConn is clearly not at the Oregon or Baylor level at this moment, and everything from 3-7 is debatable and depends on injuries, transfer waivers, team gelling, etc. If I had to guess, once aggregated with AP or Coaches poll voting, UConn will settle in the 4-5 range, which is where I'd put them for now until I know more about Westbrook, etc.

Be thankful Geno has something to motivate his players with and move on!

LOL I agree with all but the last 2 words. Move on to what? Watching highlight videos of 13 year old wanna be's dribbling?
Hey, she put her name to it. And this ain't her 1st rodeo. If her boss gave her an hour to write it she should have already had notes. It isn't like a pre-season top 10 article is a novel idea.

 

[LoTrader]

West Coast bias is so annoying isn't it?

Will the power shift in WCBB continue westward in 2019-20?

 

[JonathanXIV]

Will the power shift in WCBB continue westward in 2019-20?

Power shift westward? Only one of the last seven champions has been west of the Mississippi.

 

[oldude]

Power shift westward? Only one of the last seven champions has been west of the Mississippi.

And even that one wasn’t west of the Rockies.

 

[PAC-12HoopFan]

Yes.

However, until a PAC-12 women's team can seal the deal by winning another NCAA title, fans on this board will consistently remind all of us that a PAC-12 women's team has not won a national title since Stanford did so in 1992. UConn's stranglehold on dominance in WBB may be softening, but its current string of consecutive Final Four appearances may be as (or more) impressive as any major sport run (male or female) in D1 collegiate sports history.

 

[JonathanXIV]

Yes.

However, until a PAC-12 women's team can seal the deal by winning another NCAA title, fans on this board will consistently remind all of us that a PAC-12 women's team has not won a national title since Stanford did so in 1992. UConn's stranglehold on dominance in WBB may be softening, but its current string of consecutive Final Four appearances may be as (or more) impressive as any major sport run (male or female) in D1 collegiate sports history.

And done in the most competitive era in WCBB.

 

[JRRRJ]

Or any mention of the youngest player on the gold medal America Cup team. The more I think about it, the more I think ONO is going to be a monster this year.

In evidence, her stats from the FIBA Women's Americup:

 

[oldude]

In evidence, her stats from the FIBA Women's Americup:

View attachment 46940

I like pretty much everything with the exception of 8 fouls in 51 minutes played. I suspect that Geno will be on Liv pretty hard in practice and games about fouling. Right now it’s her Achilles heel.

 

[JRRRJ]

I like pretty much everything with the exception of 8 fouls in 51 minutes played. I suspect that Geno will be on Liv pretty hard in practice and games about fouling. Right now it’s her Achilles heel.

To me, the stat that stands out is that she took a shot every 2.5 minutes of game time. That means that, on at least every 3rd or 4th offensive posession her teammates thought the best thing to do was to give her the ball.

The 7 assists are nice, too. ;^)

 

[mbr33ct]

What strikes me is that it seems like Michelle Smith talks about offseason developments of injured players and incoming freshman, but makes no note of Adebayo, Griffin, or the possibility for Camara to be healthy. She also seems to miss Megan Walker entirely. Especially since she went into such detail about incoming/transfer players for both Stanford and Mississippi State, it just seems like a shot at UConn. The “it’s been three years since UConn won a title” bit seems wildly out of place given the no. 1 team has never won a title. I’d be more understanding of her analysis of UConn if she went through the loss of scoring/rebounding/assists/steals/blocks with the graduation of KLS sand Collier. But, since she makes no mention of it, I say the NCAA should take this article down for the lack of journalistic integrity.

If that thought also goes for the Boneyard...what the heck will we be reading here?

 

[LoTrader]

Power shift westward? Only one of the last seven champions has been west of the Mississippi.

I think an objective person will acknowledge that PAC-12 has made significant progress on the national scene over the past 4 years (a trend). And, now, for the 1st time (ever?) all pre-season polls I've seen, have 3 x PAC-12 teams ranked in the top 10 (one pre-season poll has 4 x PAC-12 Teams in Top 10). This is one reason I believe there are 5-6 teams across the country that have a legitimate chance to win the National Championship this year. It IS that wide open. UCONN is no longer the perennial favorite, and, unlike some here, I don't see any one team in WCBB in the next 3-4 years as the perennial favorite.

 

[southofnorth]

If that thought also goes for the Boneyard...what the heck will we be reading here?

Difference between a discussion board and an organization centered around women’s basketball paying a staff of writers/analysts to produce credible content.

 

[j66kicker]

I think an objective person will acknowledge that PAC-12 has made significant progress on the national scene over the past 4 years (a trend). And, now, for the 1st time (ever?) all pre-season polls I've seen, have 3 x PAC-12 teams ranked in the top 10 (one pre-season poll has 4 x PAC-12 Teams in Top 10). This is one reason I believe there are 5-6 teams across the country that have a legitimate chance to win the National Championship this year. It IS that wide open. UCONN is no longer the perennial favorite, and, unlike some here, I don't see any one team in WCBB in the next 3-4 years as the perennial favorite.

I agree the PAC 12 has made major strides over the last 4 years. Ducks are one of the two PAC 12 teams with a chance to win it all (Tara always has a chance, just hasn't done it in the last 27 years), so they better do it this year because...

I disagree that no one team will be the perennial favorite over the next 3-4 years. When Bueckers gets to UConn and brings Fudd with her the following year, UConn will be the perennial favorite for years to come.

 

[soxfan23]

I think an objective person will acknowledge that PAC-12 has made significant progress on the national scene over the past 4 years (a trend). And, now, for the 1st time (ever?) all pre-season polls I've seen, have 3 x PAC-12 teams ranked in the top 10 (one pre-season poll has 4 x PAC-12 Teams in Top 10). This is one reason I believe there are 5-6 teams across the country that have a legitimate chance to win the National Championship this year. It IS that wide open. UCONN is no longer the perennial favorite, and, unlike some here, I don't see any one team in WCBB in the next 3-4 years as the perennial favorite.

If you don't see UConn as the perennial favorite going forward after this year, you are kidding yourself!

 

[Alydar]

If you don't see UConn as the perennial favorite going forward after this year, you are kidding yourself!

I'll stop kidding myself when Fudd signs.

 

[JonathanXIV]

Not sure four years is a “trend.” More like a blip.

 

[PAC-12HoopFan]

I'll stop kidding myself when Fudd signs.

Speaking of Fudd, any additional recruiting news on which schools are in the lead for her services following her ACL/MCL surgery in May?

How Azzi Fudd’s mother lit her road to recovery

The high school star has continued to rack up accolades while she recovers from an ACL and MCL injury. She'll likely miss most of her junior year.

highposthoops.com

 

[Alydar]

Speaking of Fudd, any additional recruiting news on which schools are in the lead for her services following her ACL/MCL surgery in May?

How Azzi Fudd’s mother lit her road to recovery

The high school star has continued to rack up accolades while she recovers from an ACL and MCL injury. She'll likely miss most of her junior year.

highposthoops.com

I heard "somewhere" that she is deathly afraid of fire and/or mudslides and has ruled out any school in the Golden State.

 

[LoTrader]

If you don't see UConn as the perennial favorite going forward after this year, you are kidding yourself!

Objective?

 

[DallasBUFan]

What about South Carolina, Baylor, Stanford? They all have had top recruiting classes and still enroute to pick up more great talent in the 2020 and 2021 classes.

 

[DefenseBB]

While I believe that Ono might still have the highest ceiling of all the Uconn players, it will not manifest itself this coming season. The fact that she has had a late growth spurt means that she is still not physically developed. When her body catches up to her height it should make her stronger and better able to deal with the rigors of low post play. I see her as more of a late bloomer.

How you can write the embolden as a “fact”, is beyond your skill set (and everyone’s skill set). If anything, the blossoming of past sophomore jumps into National Relevance of Moriah, DT, Pheesa, KLS or the Junior year huge improvement of Gabby. These things happen in Storrs and I am a believer that Ono, despite your view of her limited bulk (her height is more than ample) will be dominant and doesn’t have any behemoths of Kalani Brown or Teaira McCowan who did have a bulk.

Confidence is 85% of the factor when players have skill levels we are talking about (15% falling into timing of good luck, planning etc). The good news is we will know pretty quickly how this confidence has been transformed. Color me a believer (in this case at least!)

 

[DefenseBB]

Will the power shift in WCBB continue westward in 2019-20?

Well the power shift occurred 2 years ago from top to bottom, however the championship hasn’t occurred in 27 years and counting. Could the PAC12 win this year, yes, very possible it could. But we already all agree the PAC12 is the top WCBB conference but it is not a fait accompli for a championship. So take your moment in the sun and relish it, just don’t keep poking the Bear on a UConn site (and with Baylor fans as well-see what I did there? ).

 

[LoTrader]

Well the power shift occurred 2 years ago from top to bottom, however the championship hasn’t occurred in 27 years and counting. Could the PAC12 win this year, yes, very possible it could. But we already all agree the PAC12 is the top WCBB conference but it is not a fait accompli for a championship. So take your moment in the sun and relish it, just don’t keep poking the Bear on a UConn site (and with Baylor fans as well-see what I did there? ).

I think it is a great topic of conversation. Probably should take it to the General Board. Thanks.

 

[willtalk]

How you can write the embolden as a “fact”, is beyond your skill set (and everyone’s skill set). If anything, the blossoming of past sophomore jumps into National Relevance of Moriah, DT, Pheesa, KLS or the Junior year huge improvement of Gabby. These things happen in Storrs and I am a believer that Ono, despite your view of her limited bulk (her height is more than ample) will be dominant and doesn’t have any behemoths of Kalani Brown or Teaira McCowan who did have a bulk.

Confidence is 85% of the factor when players have skill levels we are talking about (15% falling into timing of good luck, planning etc). The good news is we will know pretty quickly how this confidence has been transformed. Color me a believer (in this case at least!)

Read my entire first sentence. I said that her ceiling will not manifest itself this coming season. That is a relatively safe thing to say. Some players mature and peak earlier, while others peak later. I suspect she is one of the later. What I stated has nothing to do with the sophomore leap. It has to do with her physical ceiling. She might not hit her physical ceiling until she turns pro. Late growth spurts usually point in that direction.What I am saying is that she might turn out to be the best of the present crop at Uconn, and is why she was picked for the National Team.

 

[DaBball]

There is no doubt that Liv will gain confidence as the season goes on. A lot of times, for younger post players to excel, they need minutes to gain confidence and experience, and that was something Liv didn't get a ton of last year.

Liv is like a fine wine, and will only get better with time. This year, she will have PLENTY of minutes to get acclimated to becoming a dominant post.

 

[PAC-12HoopFan]

"There is no doubt that Liv will gain confidence as the season goes on. A lot of times, for younger post players to excel, they need minutes to gain confidence and experience, and that was something Liv didn't get a ton of last year. "

As a PAC-12 fan whose favorite teams are Oregon State and Stanford, the upside of ONO is perhaps the characteristic/area of UConn for '19-'20 that worries me the most. Both Williams and Dangerfield are likely Top 10 (or perhaps Top 5) WNBA draft picks when they come out, but they are known quantities whose skill sets are more widely known and on a lot of DVR/video. ONO's emergence is more recent and her ceiling is scary high to those of us who have only seen glimpses of how disruptive to opposing defenses she likely will become. I'm sure she is getting physically stronger with each passing day. As her strength increases, so too does her ability to cover the paint and allow both Dangerfield and Williams (with potentially Westbrook as well) to gamble in the passing lanes.