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Pre Season Top 10

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CamrnCrz1974 said:
They were a middle of the pack team in the Big 12 before Davis' injury.
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That doesn't mean that it didn't take them time to readjust. You cannot lose your top scorer and All Big 12 First Team player without it impacting your team. They could have been much stronger at the end of the year than they were.

Not only did they beat Delaware, they only lost to Tennessee by 11, without Davis. Tennessee was in the top 10 most of the season so that is not a bad loss. They get Goodrich back, and hopefully Davis, plus a group of strong young players. I think they will be 10 next year, but who knows.

PLUS, I saw Bonnie Henrickson at the Final Four and she said "hello" and "go Baylor." ;)
 
easttexastrash said:
That doesn't mean that it didn't take them time to readjust. You cannot lose your top scorer and All Big 12 First Team player without it impacting your team. They could have been much stronger at the end of the year than they were.

Not only did they beat Delaware, they only lost to Tennessee by 11, without Davis. Tennessee was in the top 10 most of the season so that is not a bad loss. They get Goodrich back, and hopefully Davis, plus a group of strong young players. I think they will be 10 next year, but who knows.
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Except for the fact that you are using a sample of three games from the NCAA Tournament as a basis to overcome the entire season, most of which was played with Davis. Every team can get hot. By the same token, people are crucifying Delaware for one bad game.

If you want a cautionary tale about not overrating the NCAA Tournament and performances there, see Joe Alexander.

They could be a top ten team. They could also be out of the top 25.
 
CamrnCrz1974 said:
Except for the fact that you are using a sample of three games from the NCAA Tournament as a basis to overcome the entire season, most of which was played with Davis. Every team can get hot. By the same token, people are crucifying Delaware for one bad game.

If you want a cautionary tale about not overrating the NCAA Tournament and performances there, see Joe Alexander.

They could be a top ten team. They could also be out of the top 25.
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Kansas will have Angel Goodrich and probably Carolyn Davis next year. IMO, they will be to 10 and may finish 2nd or 3rd in the Big 12. I guess only time will tell.
 
CamrnCrz1974 said:
Except for the fact that you are using a sample of three games from the NCAA Tournament as a basis to overcome the entire season, most of which was played with Davis. Every team can get hot. By the same token, people are crucifying Delaware for one bad game.

If you want a cautionary tale about not overrating the NCAA Tournament and performances there, see Joe Alexander.

They could be a top ten team. They could also be out of the top 25.
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True on Kansas. I've wondered if I've rated them too highly given their regular season performance. But you don't tend to hear a lot about women's teams getting hot and making a run -- usually because the gap between teams is so large that it doesnt matter. Maybe they were underperforming though and the Davis injury woke them up?

I disagree on DE. If they're not judged on that game, what are they to be judged on? The 20 wins they had against truly crappy teams? They played few quality programs, so the game against KS carries more weight.
 
vowelguy said:
True on Kansas. I've wondered if I've rated them too highly given their regular season performance. But you don't tend to hear a lot about women's teams getting hot and making a run -- usually because the gap between teams is so large that it doesnt matter. Maybe they were underperforming though and the Davis injury woke them up?

I disagree on DE. If they're not judged on that game, what are they to be judged on? The 20 wins they had against truly crappy teams? They played few quality programs, so the game against KS carries more weight.
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i tend to agree. after all, pre season polls are just that - preseason polls. Tennessee was ranked #2 preseason last year IIRC, and for a good reason. they were a senior heavy team filled with HS AA's on the roster. many expected Baugh, Johnson, Stricklen, and Manning to lead them to the NC game. all they were missing was an elite PG, which they apparently landed in Massengale.

Flash forward to the end of the regular season - 8 losses, and time spent ranked outside the top 10. by the end of the year, they proved they were indeed a top 8 team, but no better than that. so based on Kansas' run thru the NCAA's, and who they bring back next year, why not preseason rank them about 10? they certainly gelled by the end of the year. they gave Tennessee a good game leading at half and falling by 11. and they lose no seniors to graduation while adding some depth to the roster.

my point is that preseason polls don't try to predict where teams will end up in April. only where they are before the season even starts. all we can do is look at who comes back for teams, who they lose, and where they ended the season the previous year.
 
easttexastrash said:
Kansas will have Angel Goodrich and probably Carolyn Davis next year. IMO, they will be to 10 and may finish 2nd or 3rd in the Big 12. I guess only time will tell.
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But that is my point. For most of the year, they had both players and underachieved. Three games in March does not change that...yet.
 
Duke's best team since Harding/Currie/Bales et al years. Although Duke has had future pros on seemingly every roster in recent memory. Big picture, they've done remarkably well the past decade or so. I like Williams a lot. Gray can be special if she decides to be. Can't ask for much more from Liston and Peters.

I still like Notre Dame a lot, because they will have a dominant perimeter and point guard. Achonwa seemed to emerge last season. Will they miss Jonathan Tsipis on the bench? Having Diggins run the offense makes coaching a lot easier.

Kentucky has a lot of parts if they can make them all fit. They've always been a seemingly more guard oriented team. How will Stallworth work in the mix?

Delaware will be in the Top 10 heading into the NCAA Tournament. Delle Donne is good enough to beat a lot of teams when she gets rolling.

One team not listed that I think has a chance to have a strong year is Nebraska. They return about everybody and had two stars that led the way.

Texas A&M also intrigues me. Can Kelsey Bone become a consistent, dominant player for them? She's got the size and the tools.

Stanford seems vulnerable to me, but will still be good. On paper this Stanford team returns less than any I can remember in a while.
 
Outside Shot said:
I still like Notre Dame a lot, because they will have a dominant perimeter and point guard. Achonwa seemed to emerge last season. Will they miss Jonathan Tsipis on the bench? Having Diggins run the offense makes coaching a lot easier.
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I still think Notre Dame will struggle in the post. Losing Malina Howard to Maryland really hurts in this regard. Muffet's teams are always well coached, compete hard, and usually overachieve relative to seed and expectations in the NCAA Tournament, but I see the Irish struggling early.
 
Wonkster said:
I'm now a lifelong Jeri Ryan fan - she didn't know anything about Star Drek before she got the part, which to me is a sign of extraterrestrial intelligence no matter what planet she's from.
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She has the added notoriety of having her divorce become a pivotal event in Barack Obama's rapid rise...
 
CamrnCrz1974 said:
I still think Notre Dame will struggle in the post. Losing Malina Howard to Maryland really hurts in this regard. Muffet's teams are always well coached, compete hard, and usually overachieve relative to seed and expectations in the NCAA Tournament, but I see the Irish struggling early.
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Yes. From UConn's point of view, Howard's choosing Maryland over ND almost makes up for the class of 2005 fiasco.
 
Hasn't anyone noticed that this ranking is seriously dated ??? and may not reflect anyone's opinion at this time.

Remember that last pugnacious thread in which everyone promised to carefully read the material (maybe not, but it was discussed and implied).

The SI article notes Griner's Gold medal Olympic experience as a contributing factor in her improved performance this upcoming season. Huh?

It also omits the emergence of a certain Ms Tuck on a team that I've heard of, who will among other things, be a defensive buzz-saw.

I'm sure everyone will be happy to know that I will be leaving for China tomorrow afternoon and may be absent w/o leave from the board for three months!

I for one will sincerely miss our amiable discussions

Cheers
Michael
 
msf22b said:
Hasn't anyone noticed that this ranking is seriously dated ??? and may not reflect anyone's opinion at this time.

Remember that last pugnacious thread in which everyone promised to carefully read the material (maybe not, but it was discussed and implied).

The SI article notes Griner's Gold medal Olympic experience as a contributing factor in her improved performance this upcoming season. Huh?

It also omits the emergence of a certain Ms Tuck on a team that I've heard of, who will among other things, be a defensive buzz-saw.

I'm sure everyone will be happy to know that I will be leaving for China tomorrow afternoon and may be absent w/o leave from the board for three months!

I for one will sincerely miss our amiable discussions

Cheers
Michael
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The first post in the renewal of this thread

"any updated thoughts?"

So, I would guess that EVERYONE knew this was from an older article.

Have a safe trip.
 
I'd go with:

1. Baylor
2. UConn
3. Duke
4. Kentucky
5. Notre Dame
6. Stanford
7. Louisville
8. Maryland
9. Penn State
10. Cal
11. West Virginia
12. Tennessee
13. Kansas
14. Delaware
15. Vanderbilt
16. Nebraska
17. Georgia
18. Texas A&M
19. Gonzaga
20. Rutgers

ND and Stanford lost a lot but I respect them far more than a Maryland for 4 reasons 1. Muffett 2. Skylar 3. Tara 4. Chiney. Those programs know how to win. I'll never buy the Maryland hype again after their pathetic performance against ND in the Elite 8. People say Baylor and UConn will be 1a and 1b and I agree. I also think Duke and Kentucky will be 2a and 2b. If Kentucky can find some consistency I like who they have back. They impressed me in the Elite 8. Penn State and Cal should be ready to make jumps into the top 10 after strong NCAA showings. Agree, Delaware a top 15 team but they have a lot to prove after the Kansas game.
 
Outside Shot said:
Duke's best team since Harding/Currie/Bales et al years. Although Duke has had future pros on seemingly every roster in recent memory. Big picture, they've done remarkably well the past decade or so. I like Williams a lot. Gray can be special if she decides to be. Can't ask for much more from Liston and Peters.

I still like Notre Dame a lot, because they will have a dominant perimeter and point guard. Achonwa seemed to emerge last season. Will they miss Jonathan Tsipis on the bench? Having Diggins run the offense makes coaching a lot easier.

Kentucky has a lot of parts if they can make them all fit. They've always been a seemingly more guard oriented team. How will Stallworth work in the mix?

Delaware will be in the Top 10 heading into the NCAA Tournament. Delle Donne is good enough to beat a lot of teams when she gets rolling.

One team not listed that I think has a chance to have a strong year is Nebraska. They return about everybody and had two stars that led the way.

Texas A&M also intrigues me. Can Kelsey Bone become a consistent, dominant player for them? She's got the size and the tools.

Stanford seems vulnerable to me, but will still be good. On paper this Stanford team returns less than any I can remember in a while.
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Obviously losing Nneka is huge, but we add 3 frosh; and we get Camp, Green and Ruef back after injuries. We will be quicker and a better outside shooting team. Also look for Chiney to have break out year, like she did in h.s after Nneka graduated. Playing Baylor in HI in Nov. will be interesting. Cal will be a big challenge as I'm not sure we'll have the size to handle their bigs.
 
Personally I have an issue with Deleware in the top 10. EDD is an obvious talent but no matter how you slice it, she is just one player. They play a cupcake schedule lose to UMD by double digits and then get a high seed in the NCAA and lose to a mediocre team. This may sound like I'm talking about last year but I'm speaking of the upcoming season.
 
vowelguy said:
Del too high for me. After the KS game, a lot to prove about just how good they are.
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Kansas gets Davis back this year and I believe they are headed for top 10 status. They also have one of the best point guards in the nation in Angel Goodrich.
 
ericsandiego said:
I find little to argue with about that, but given that Kansas returns all their 5 starters, and is essentially the same starting team who ran Delaware off the court, i'd put them at 10 ahead of Delaware. other than that, tho, a solid list that coincides with what a lot of us on the BY were probably thinking. when was the last time Tennessee started the year outside the top 10? i'm not sure they will be down at 18 like one of the intrepid BY'ers thought, but i'd say 14 or so...
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I agree, Eric. How can Kansas have kicked DE's butt and be ranked behind them?
 
easttexastrash said:
Kansas gets Davis back this year and I believe they are headed for top 10 status. They also have one of the best point guards in the nation in Angel Goodrich.
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ETT, who do you see in your conference giving Baylor their toughest game(s)?
 
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