Players starting out better/worse than expected

[bballnut90]

Which players are better than you expected to be this season and who did you think would have a better start than they've had thus far?

Better than expected:
-Taliah Scott, Baylor, monster performances so far including a huge showing against Duke. Looks like an All American right now.
-Azzi Fudd, UCONN, she's 3/3 in producing at a high level in big games this season. Also assist numbers are significantly higher than they've been at any point in her career.
-Raven Johnson, South Carolina, she looks more like the 2023-24 version of herself and is doing a good job of hunting shots while distributing for others.
-Marta Suarez, TCU, monster game today in a win over NC State. I didn't expect her to be a 15+ PPG scorer for TCU this season.
-Talaysia Cooper, Tennessee, looks like a true All American candidate early on
-Mila Holloway, Michigan, great numbers to begin the year
-Tilda Trygger, NC State, smooth 3pt shot and solid production offensively in 3 marquee games



Underwhelming so far:
-Serah Williams, UCONN, her impact so far is a lot less than I expected it to be
-Jadyn Donovan, Duke, doesn't appear to have improved at all offensively. Former top 5 recruit who was ranked ahead of Madison Booker and Hannah Hidalgo.
-Kennedy Smith, USC, has really struggled offensively
-Emilee Skinner, Duke, top 5 recruit and has really struggled in both games to start the year

 

[GoChips20]

I think Jazzy Davidson has somewhat underwhelmed so far. She’s in a difficult position, but I expected more.

 

[bballnut90]

I think Jazzy Davidson has somewhat underwhelmed so far. She’s in a difficult position, but I expected more.

She hasn't shot well but is excellent defensively and has shown great court vision. Also, 21 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 5 blocks in a win over NC State is very impressive. She likely is a step down from legendary freshmen seasons we saw from players like Sarah Strong, Juju Watkins, Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers but I think she's going to have a great season.

 

[GoChips20]

She hasn't shot well but is excellent defensively and has shown great court vision. Also, 21 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 5 blocks in a win over NC State is very impressive. She likely is a step down from legendary freshmen seasons we saw from players like Sarah Strong, Juju Watkins, Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers but I think she's going to have a great season.

Good points. Certainly some recency bias impacting her as a #1 recruit with the majority of the last 5 or 6 top recruits being college All-Americans.

 

[triaddukefan]

Underwhelming so far:
-Serah Williams, UCONN, her impact so far is a lot less than I expected it to be
-Jadyn Donovan, Duke, doesn't appear to have improved at all offensively. Former top 5 recruit who was ranked ahead of Madison Booker and Hannah Hidalgo.
-Kennedy Smith, USC, has really struggled offensively
-Emilee Skinner, Duke, top 5 recruit and has really struggled in both games to start the year

Sample size is too small. Started the year out injured... played two games.... didn't play today (assume it was injury related) Lets check back after Valentine's Day.

 

[Bone Dog]

Marta Suarez, absolutely. I just watched the TCU-NC St game. What a transformation!

 

[TerpWomenFan]

For the Terps, underwhelming is Garzon. She is shooting the 3 far worse than her 40% career average. Still a small sample size.

Super big surprise for the Terps is the play of Addi Mack. She could be this season Anessa Morrow. An unranked player who has played way beyond expectations.

 

[GoChips20]

Marta Suarez has improved tremendously since she left Tennessee, but I’m not surprised by her production based on her last two years as a 12 ppg scorer at Cal.

 

[GoChips20]

Few others to add:

Better than expected:

• Christeen Iwuala, Ole Miss, has gone from a career backup to the leading scorer on a team with Cotie McMahon and several other bigger names. Averaging 2.5x more points than any previous season.
• Aaliyah Crump has really stood out at Texas as has Zakiyah Johnson at LSU. Aaliyah Chavez has better scoring stats, but those two are major contributors on already loaded rosters.
• Donovan Hunter at TCU is off to a blistering shooting start with career bests in every stat.
• OK St hasn’t played anyone with a pulse, but Micah Gray and Haleigh Timmer have looked really good through 5 games.
• Chazadi “Chit Chat” Wright has been brilliant at Iowa. The 96% true shooting isn’t sustainable but she looks comfortable and in control.
• Laura Ziegler, Louisville, got 18 rebounds against UConn and looks to have transitioned seamlessly to the ACC from St Joseph’s.
• Florida is not very good, but LivMcGill sure is. 26ppg, 6 boards, 7 assists through 4 games.
• Cass Prosper and KK Bransford at ND have both put up nice numbers early, but weren’t great against Michigan. We’ll see if it holds.

Not great starts:

• Khamil Pierre has struggled at NC State. Several poor shooting games with assists down/turnovers up. In fairness, it’s an adjustment to go from playing alongside a #1 option like Blakes to becoming one.
• Doesn’t seem like Pierre’s transfer has done Mikayla Blakes any early favors either. Shooting %s in all 3 areas well below her freshman season, albeit on small sample size.
• She’s not a big name, but Kim Caldwell spoke very highly of Jersey Wolfenbarger in the preseason and she’s averaging less than 1 point per game.

 

[cancontent]

Few others to add:

Better than expected:

• Christeen Iwuala, Ole Miss, has gone from a career backup to the leading scorer on a team with Cotie McMahon and several other bigger names. Averaging 2.5x more points than any previous season.
• Aaliyah Crump has really stood out at Texas as has Zakiyah Johnson at LSU. Aaliyah Chavez has better scoring stats, but those two are major contributors on already loaded rosters.
• Donovan Hunter at TCU is off to a blistering shooting start with career bests in every stat.
• OK St hasn’t played anyone with a pulse, but Micah Gray and Haleigh Timmer have looked really good through 5 games.
• Chazadi “Chit Chat” Wright has been brilliant at Iowa. The 96% true shooting isn’t sustainable but she looks comfortable and in control.
• Laura Ziegler, Louisville, got 18 rebounds against UConn and looks to have transitioned seamlessly to the ACC from St Joseph’s.
• Florida is not very good, but LivMcGill sure is. 26ppg, 6 boards, 7 assists through 4 games.
• Cass Prosper and KK Bransford at ND have both put up nice numbers early, but weren’t great against Michigan. We’ll see if it holds.

Not great starts:

• Khamil Pierre has struggled at NC State. Several poor shooting games with assists down/turnovers up. In fairness, it’s an adjustment to go from playing alongside a #1 option like Blakes to becoming one.
• Doesn’t seem like Pierre’s transfer has done Mikayla Blakes any early favors either. Shooting %s in all 3 areas well below her freshman season, albeit on small sample size.
• She’s not a big name, but Kim Caldwell spoke very highly of Jersey Wolfenbarger in the preseason and she’s averaging less than 1 point per game.

To piggy-back on your Ole Miss observation, Lattimore could be considered not off to a great start when you compare her stats against Iwuala (ex. 17.3 ppg vs 8.3 ppg). Considering she's listed on the pre-season McLain watch list, I had expected her to start off stronger than she has.

 

[DefenseBB]

To piggy-back on your Ole Miss observation, Lattimore could be considered not off to a great start when you compare her stats against Iwuala (ex. 17.3 ppg vs 8.3 ppg). Considering she's listed on the pre-season McLain watch list, I had expected her to start off stronger than she has.

Lattimore? She of her 4th school in 4 years? Texas, Miami, Virginia and now Ole Miss? I have NEVER been of the opinion she would be a good player. Seems to lack a work ethic to be coached and fit in. Not sure landing at Ole Miss will aid in her development. Coach Yo is a bit of a misnomer if you ask me, the next game I see her actually do some coaching will be the first. She can flat out "sell her program to transfers" but development and a cohesive offensive scheme? I have yet to see either of those.

 

[cancontent]

Lattimore? She of her 4th school in 4 years? Texas, Miami, Virginia and now Ole Miss? I have NEVER been of the opinion she would be a good player. Seems to lack a work ethic to be coached and fit in. Not sure landing at Ole Miss will aid in her development. Coach Yo is a bit of a misnomer if you ask me, the next game I see her actually do some coaching will be the first. She can flat out "sell her program to transfers" but development and a cohesive offensive scheme? I have yet to see either of those.

I'm not the one who put her on the pre-season watch list. I took it as an indication some in the media thought she's made some progress during the off-season however.

Personally, she was better off staying at Virginia as that's where she's made the most progress as a player. Most of us from Canada who know of her expected her to land at Ole Miss last season once Hillsman was hired and were surprised it didn't happen.

And it's 4th in 5 years as she spent two seasons in Miami and is using a medical redshirt this year.

 

[bballnut90]

To piggy-back on your Ole Miss observation, Lattimore could be considered not off to a great start when you compare her stats against Iwuala (ex. 17.3 ppg vs 8.3 ppg). Considering she's listed on the pre-season McLain watch list, I had expected her to start off stronger than she has.

I saw the Ole Miss stats but didn’t put much stock in them considering they’ve won 3 cupcakes with the average final score being 88-45. I don’t think we’ll get a clear idea of who they are as a team until conference play.

 

[cancontent]

I saw the Ole Miss stats but didn’t put much stock in them considering they’ve won 3 cupcakes with the average final score being 88-45. I don’t think we’ll get a clear idea of who they are as a team until conference play.

Fair, but to see someone who wasn't expected to do as much have twice the scoring production, against the same competition, is a surprise to me.

 

[jake0414]

Zania Socka-Nguemen averages a double-double: 15.5 points on 73% shooting and 10.5 rebounds for Indiana. She got limited minutes last season at UCLA playing behind Lauren Betts. Indiana’s offense allows Socka-Nguemen to use her athleticism to score in the post and rebound. She and UNC’s Elina Aarnisalo are doing the best among the four UCLA freshman transfers and arguably more impactful for their new teams than Londynn Jones at USC or Janiah Barker at Tennessee.

 

[Geew1992]

Which players are better than you expected to be this season and who did you think would have a better start than they've had thus far?

Better than expected:
-Taliah Scott, Baylor, monster performances so far including a huge showing against Duke. Looks like an All American right now.
-Azzi Fudd, UCONN, she's 3/3 in producing at a high level in big games this season. Also assist numbers are significantly higher than they've been at any point in her career.
-Raven Johnson, South Carolina, she looks more like the 2023-24 version of herself and is doing a good job of hunting shots while distributing for others.
-Marta Suarez, TCU, monster game today in a win over NC State. I didn't expect her to be a 15+ PPG scorer for TCU this season.
-Talaysia Cooper, Tennessee, looks like a true All American candidate early on
-Mila Holloway, Michigan, great numbers to begin the year
-Tilda Trygger, NC State, smooth 3pt shot and solid production offensively in 3 marquee games



Underwhelming so far:
-Serah Williams, UCONN, her impact so far is a lot less than I expected it to be
-Jadyn Donovan, Duke, doesn't appear to have improved at all offensively. Former top 5 recruit who was ranked ahead of Madison Booker and Hannah Hidalgo.
-Kennedy Smith, USC, has really struggled offensively
-Emilee Skinner, Duke, top 5 recruit and has really struggled in both games to start the year

Was Smith good offensively in high school? In the games that I have seen her play, not a big sample size, I wasn't impressed with her offensively. Now defensive is a different story

 

[WBBTakeover]

Which players are better than you expected to be this season and who did you think would have a better start than they've had thus far?

Better than expected:
-Taliah Scott, Baylor, monster performances so far including a huge showing against Duke. Looks like an All American right now.
-Azzi Fudd, UCONN, she's 3/3 in producing at a high level in big games this season. Also assist numbers are significantly higher than they've been at any point in her career.
-Raven Johnson, South Carolina, she looks more like the 2023-24 version of herself and is doing a good job of hunting shots while distributing for others.
-Marta Suarez, TCU, monster game today in a win over NC State. I didn't expect her to be a 15+ PPG scorer for TCU this season.
-Talaysia Cooper, Tennessee, looks like a true All American candidate early on
-Mila Holloway, Michigan, great numbers to begin the year
-Tilda Trygger, NC State, smooth 3pt shot and solid production offensively in 3 marquee games



Underwhelming so far:
-Serah Williams, UCONN, her impact so far is a lot less than I expected it to be
-Jadyn Donovan, Duke, doesn't appear to have improved at all offensively. Former top 5 recruit who was ranked ahead of Madison Booker and Hannah Hidalgo.
-Kennedy Smith, USC, has really struggled offensively
-Emilee Skinner, Duke, top 5 recruit and has really struggled in both games to start the year

I think it's totally fair to have Jadyn on this list, but Emilee? She's a freshman.

 

[WBBTakeover]

I'll add a couple of names to the discussion:

Better than expected: Kilah Freelon of Virginia Tech. It's super early, but she's averaging 15 ppg and 12.3 rpg on 61% shooting. It's not even her numbers that make her impressive. She's athletic and can run and jump better than anyone Virginia Tech has had at forward in at least three seasons. She has helped turn the Hokies from the least athletic ACC team in 2024-25 to a team that should give a lot of teams fits with their much improved athleticism in 2025-26.

Underwhelming so far: Ashlon Jackson of Duke. I'm hurt. Ashlon is supposed to be first-team All-ACC and in contention for All-American status. She's also considered a first round WNBA draft pick. 11 ppg on 35% shooting is AWFUL given the expectations, sorry. I've seen Ashlon go on heaters in one game and then stink up the joint at the most inopportune time, so this isn't anything completely new. I was just hoping to see a corner turned given what this program has lost from a guard standpoint (Reigan Richardson and Oluchi Okananwa).

 

[nwhoopfan]

Chazadi “Chit Chat” Wright has been brilliant at Iowa. The 96% true shooting isn’t sustainable but she looks comfortable and in control.

I'd seen her name in the box scores, didn't really know anything about her. Watched some of their game yesterday, I was really impressed with her.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Donovan Hunter at TCU is off to a blistering shooting start with career bests in every stat.

She was on a pretty loaded team as a Fr., had her moments and showed plenty of potential. Pretty loaded team as a soph too, with lots of new parts. She kinda got lost in the shuffle, but she was a starter most of the season.

 

[bballnut90]

I think it's totally fair to have Jadyn on this list, but Emilee? She's a freshman.

I didn't realize she's been injured. 2 games so far though: 3-15 FG, 0-3 3pt, 0-3 FT, 5 assists and 10 TO. Has a decent amount of hype being the #4 recruit in the country.