Preseason All-America Teams

[RSHERMVIKES]

BlueDevils- - - Where was Eliz Williams, the 3x defensive player of the year in the ACC, in 3 30+ losses to UCONN? Right now Kiah Stokes is among the top 2 defensive centers in the USA with her rebounding and blocked shots! She will definitely add an outside shot this off-season making her the best center in the USA!

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

IMHO, the three pre-season All-American teams + Honorable Mention are:

1st Team:
Breanna Stewart F UCONN
KML F UCONN
Mo Jefferson G UCONN (she was the 2nd best PG to Sims this past year!)
Nina Davis F Baylor
Jewel Loyd G ND

2nd Team:
Isabelle Harrison F TN
Alisha Gray G NoCar
Tiffany Mitchell G SoCar
Alaina Coates C SoCar
Kaela Davis G GA Tech

3rd Team:
Samantha Logic G IA
Courtney Walker G TX AM
Brittany Boyd F Cal
Tyler Scaife G Rutgers
Kiah Stokes C UCONN (I think Kiah can be 2nd team)

HM:
Eliz. Williams C Duke
Ariel Massengale G TN
Rashanda Gray F Cal
Sara Hammond F L'ville
Crystal Bradford F Ctrl. Mich.
Lexie Brown G MD

 

[BlueDevils]

BlueDevils- - - Where was Eliz Williams, the 3x defensive player of the year in the ACC, in 3 30+ losses to UCONN? Right now Kiah Stokes is among the top 2 defensive centers in the USA with her rebounding and blocked shots! She will definitely add an outside shot this off-season making her the best center in the USA!

Two of those games she was getting outplayed by the best center in the league, Stephanie Dolson. Kiah is right behind Williams defensively and offensively Liz isn't that' far ahead, but I will also say if Williams add an outside shot she'll be the best center in USA.

 

[BlueDevils]

IMHO, the three pre-season All-American teams + Honorable Mention are:

1st Team:
Breanna Stewart F UCONN
KML F UCONN
Mo Jefferson G UCONN (she was the 2nd best PG to Sims this past year!)
Nina Davis F Baylor
Jewel Loyd G ND

2nd Team:
Isabelle Harrison F TN
Alisha Gray G NoCar
Tiffany Mitchell G SoCar
Alaina Coates C SoCar
Kaela Davis G GA Tech

3rd Team:
Samantha Logic G IA
Courtney Walker G TX AM
Brittany Boyd F Cal
Tyler Scaife G Rutgers
Kiah Stokes C UCONN (I think Kiah can be 2nd team)

HM:
Eliz. Williams C Duke
Ariel Massengale G TN
Rashanda Gray F Cal
Sara Hammond F L'ville
Crystal Bradford F Ctrl. Mich.
Lexie Brown G MD

Boyd is a point guard... And idk if it's just me but I don't think the NCAA will put three players on one team on the 1st team just for the sake of the game. I am a huge Mo fan though.

 

[BlueDevils]

slug25- - right on about Eliz. Williams! Her and Russell at TN are the most over-rated #1's ever! Right now with her limited offensive game, Kiah is way better than either one! And when she adds her 12' to 15' shot this off season she'll make them look sick!

I wouldn't be so quick to come at Russell. From what I heard she was being bothered by a foot injury this past season. I think after this year you can make a fair judgment about her game, but that's just me.

 

[Kibitzer]

Boyd is a point guard... And idk if it's just me but I don't think the NCAA will put three players on one team on the 1st team just for the sake of the game. I am a huge Mo fan though.

ahem

I think you meant Loyd, who plays for ND, whose PG is named Allen.

And the matter of three players from one team, er, program is not for the NCAA to decide but this issue flies in the face of the bias of the folks (mostly jounalists) who do the voting. It is very possible, if not likely, that Moriah will be the best PG in wcbb next season but be denied first team AA recognition because Stewie and Kaleena are almost certain to hog the votes.

I believe that Elizabeth Williams is a fine basketball player who has been dogged by bad luck. She arrived at Duke with lofty expectations (for both her and the team), and since then: has played while injured; played on a team beset by injuries; has been outplayed by Dolson (on the court and in the polls); and has played on a team that for whatever reason has not achieved very much.

 

[Icebear]

Elizabeth Williams is a 3 time ACC defensive player of the year...

And not near as good as Kiah.

 

[RadyLady]

slug25- - right on about Eliz. Williams! Her and Russell at TN are the most over-rated #1's ever! Right now with her limited offensive game, Kiah is way better than either one! And when she adds her 12' to 15' shot this off season she'll make them look sick!

One has to wonder how player development plays into this - these girls are rated at the high School level coming out of high school and as we know, college is a whole different ball game.
Posts take longer to develop again, as we all know. I would venture to say that they earned their #1 raking at the time, garnered a look from Geno (If I remember correctly) and chose to go elsewhere.

Both of them have been plopped into their respective team's starting line-ups from the get-go, hence the spotlight and intense scrutiny. Were they ready? Well, let's give their #1 rankings their due and say "maybe".

I say again that posts take longer to develop, and with teams who have weak offensive proclivities for example, "doing well" and "living up to their #1 ranking" ain't gonna be easy unless you are a special, special player. Rebounding and shot blocking stats show up well in the box score. In game intangibles do not. Enter Kiah. What Kiah does, a lot of what Kiah does in a ball game does not make it into the box score card - Her presence changes the offense of the other team, I have seen her alter so many shots and watch players literally back pedal when they see her coming at them in the paint. She has impressive size and great timing.

Neither of Russel's or Williams' teams have exceeded or even met expectations, I suspect if they had, this would be an entirely different conversation. But given those team's flaws, neither post had a chance of significantly developing their game. I don't need to go into UConn's success except to say that Kiah, especially this past year has been a part of that (UConn's) success.

Is she AA material? I will answer that at the end of her senior season. I will cheer for her, and as she is one of my favorite players, hope that she comes into her own and gains confidence in her scoring.
I will not diss her at every outing as some are apt to do if that outing doesn't meet my expectations. She is UConn, I am UConn, and that's really all that matters. I know what UConn can do.

As to the other two? They can gather all the hardware they can...they are not UConn - it was their choice.

 

[jsloanjr]

IMO, UCONN will have 3 1st team AA this season and 2 2nd team.....104 days to wait..............

 

[BlueDevils]

ahem

I think you meant Loyd, who plays for ND, whose PG is named Allen.

And the matter of three players from one team, er, program is not for the NCAA to decide but this issue flies in the face of the bias of the folks (mostly jounalists) who do the voting. It is very possible, if not likely, that Moriah will be the best PG in wcbb next season but be denied first team AA recognition because Stewie and Kaleena are almost certain to hog the votes.

I believe that Elizabeth Williams is a fine basketball player who has been dogged by bad luck. She arrived at Duke with lofty expectations (for both her and the team), and since then: has played while injured; played on a team beset by injuries; has been outplayed by Dolson (on the court and in the polls); and has played on a team that for whatever reason has not achieved very much.

I was referring to Brittney Boyd.

 

[BlueDevils]

And not near as good as Kiah.

I'm not downplaying Kiah talent, but I can't say someone is better based on future offensive improvement. IF Kiah improves her midrange and low post game she will be the best center in the league no doubt. I'm not an UCONN fan so obviously I'm not going to say her or any other player on any other team is the best at something until I actually see it. KML has PROVED she's the best shooter, Stewart has PROVED she's the best all around player, Mo has PROVED she's the best on ball defender. I understand the excitementUCONN fans have for Kiah because y'all trust she's improving her offensive game, but you can't expect others to be quick to jump the bandwagon until we see it on the floor.
Ps DUKE stole Calhoun away

 

[connboy77]

IMO, UCONN will have 3 1st team AA this season and 2 2nd team.....104 days to wait....

Very optimistic! As much as I think there could be three or four deserving candidates for first team all-american, realistically its not going to happen. I could see two first, 1 second, and 1 third.

 

[Kibitzer]

I was referring to Brittney Boyd.

ahem.

I think you meant Brittany Boyd, the fine guard from California U. She is an excellent player, but I hope you are not suggesting that she is better than either Jefferson or Loyd.

Because she isn't.

 

[hoophuskee]

I'm expecting MoJeff to be at least 2nd team. She has a great chance to be third on the team in scoring until Tuck gets acclimated. even then - we'll be a high scoring team and I expect she'll get near 30 minues per game. Last year she showed an ability to make some fabulous moves getting in the lane an finishing. A year older vs the competition I expect she'll score more and she'll have high number of assists. She has no real "rival" (not meant to be a negative connottation) at her position. The ball will be in her quite a bit so that she'll score and accumaulte a good number of assists.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Usually I'd agree with those posters that believe the powers that be will only name 2 girls from 1 team to an AA team, but IMHO I think UCONN will be an even better team than last year! Before you burn me at the stake. I know they lost 2 greats in Dolson & Hartley, I think Div. I WBB over all will be weaker, and that goes for your usual powers. I think with the 4 freshmen being such good athletes they can play 3 positions each eventually, PG, SG, and Sm. F. This team will be one of the quickest defensive groups UCONN has had and yes they've had some quick ones previously.
So the powers will have to put 3 on the first team or they will look foolish as UCONN will set all sorts of defensive and offensive records for Div. I.
ND, L'ville, Stanford, MD, Duke, Baylor, and others graduated tremendous talent as UCONN did, but look who is still around and the best coaching staff in WCBB will quickly get all the girls going by December. Injuries/sickness is CT biggest opponent! Williams & Tuck being healthy is so important but I feel they'll be ok and add to the powerhouse!

 

[BlueDevils]

ahem.

I think you meant Brittany Boyd, the fine guard from California U. She is an excellent player, but I hope you are not suggesting that she is better than either Jefferson or Loyd.

Because she isn't.

Don't know what led you to believe that I was suggesting she's better. I was simply correcting a poster who stated she was a forward.

 

[RadyLady]

where am I?

 

[MilfordHusky]

Don't forget Kelsey Plum. She was one of the best frosh last year.

 

[tennparker3]

Harrison is a solid post and is about the only one I can accept. I haven't seen Coates play, but every time I checked South Carolina game stats she was a stat filler which really stood out to me considering she was coming off the bench. Haven't heard of Jessica Jackson and haven't heard anyone on multiple sites even mention her name, so I'm going to assume she had a big game against Tenn so you feel she must be dominant (correct me if I'm wrong). As far as Stokes I think Liz has the slight edge both offensively and defensively, but this year I expect a much improved Stokes. Last, but not least Mavunga. I like Mavunga game a lot and she played Liz pretty well twice last year, but there was one game Liz COMPLETELY OUTPLAYED Mavunga with 28 points and 5 blocks that game.

I am slightly offended (but not really) that someone would think I would only judge a player based on their performance versus Tennessee. I have been a WCBB fan for over 20 years now and I follow and watch more teams and games than just Lady Vols. With that said, Jackson averaged 16ppg and 6rpg as a 6'3 freshman on a 19-11 (6-10) team. She had a lot of pressure on her to lead Arkansas as a newcomer yet still performed at a high level. She is a tough matchup because she shoots well from the perimeter (38% last year with 48 3's total) but doesn't give up any aggressiveness by relying on that shot as she led the team in FT attempts and shot 80% on the year. She can attack both back to the basket and in the face up game. She was more impressive to me than Coates up until the later part of the season (she seemed to run out of gas).

She had good showings against the upper echelon of the SEC such as her 23 pts vs. Kentucky, 14 pts and 4 blks vs. SC (in their first meeting which was a 4 point loss), 16 pts. vs. Tennessee, and had other impressive games such as 31 pts vs. Ole Miss, 23 pts. and 10 rebs vs. Florida and 19 pts. and 19 rebs vs. Auburn. As you can tell I'm a fan of hers but I think she is a player a lot of fans outside the SEC would enjoy as well. Definitely a player to watch for the next 3 years.

 

[tennparker3]

I will say this, the people that say Russell is overrated are going to be proved wrong... big time. She was a freshmen with bad feet and an emerging star playing in front of her. Posts take longer to develop than guards at the college level. One season does not define a players worth to the university. She is leaps and bounds better than Izzy was her freshman year so I am hopeful her development will take the same route as Izzy's.

 

[BlueDevils]

I am slightly offended (but not really) that someone would think I would only judge a player based on their performance versus Tennessee. I have been a WCBB fan for over 20 years now and I follow and watch more teams and games than just Lady Vols. With that said, Jackson averaged 16ppg and 6rpg as a 6'3 freshman on a 19-11 (6-10) team. She had a lot of pressure on her to lead Arkansas as a newcomer yet still performed at a high level. She is a tough matchup because she shoots well from the perimeter (38% last year with 48 3's total) but doesn't give up any aggressiveness by relying on that shot as she led the team in FT attempts and shot 80% on the year. She can attack both back to the basket and in the face up game. She was more impressive to me than Coates up until the later part of the season (she seemed to run out of gas).

She had good showings against the upper echelon of the SEC such as her 23 pts vs. Kentucky, 14 pts and 4 blks vs. SC (in their first meeting which was a 4 point loss), 16 pts. vs. Tennessee, and had other impressive games such as 31 pts vs. Ole Miss, 23 pts. and 10 rebs vs. Florida and 19 pts. and 19 rebs vs. Auburn. As you can tell I'm a fan of hers but I think she is a player a lot of fans outside the SEC would enjoy as well. Definitely a player to watch for the next 3 years.

I apologize. I'll make sure to give her a look this year

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Can somebody explain the logic of a pre-season poll?
As far as I know, none of the athletes mentioned have played one second of 2014/2015 NCAA basketball.
At best, pre-season polling is "entertainment", though I imagine what it really does is unnecessarily stack the situation against some very good players. I suspect it inadvertently promotes "group think" amongst voters.

The first part of your third sentence answers your initial question. People like to be entertained.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Preseason polls are done in every single sport. It is an estimate of where teams are, based on what they lost, what they return, and what they are bringing in.

How does it "stack" the situation against very good players? You make it sound as if the preseason poll determines the end-of-the-year polls and honors, without consideration of the entire season in-between.

In-season poll movement is (in theory) based on performance, but movement presupposes a beginning position. That beginning position is the preseason poll. Not this particular poll, of course, but the one taken closer to the start of the season of the voters who actually vote during the season. Start the preseason at #1, keep winning at the pace of whomever is #2 at the time, and you'll likely wind up as #1. Start the season #2 and keep winning at the pace of #1 and you'll likely end up as #2. That's the importance of the preseason poll.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Oh and the year Texas Am won it was mainly because Danielle Adams scoring. I think its safe to say, from your logic, she was a better scorer than Maya Moore no matter what awards Maya has won.

Time to refill that Ritalin Rx. Slow down Hoss.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I looked up Kelsey Plum's stats last night. She averaged 20.9 ppg, almost the same as Diamond. She was 1st Team All-Pac-12. She set the conference record for freshman scoring--more than Wiggins, Appel, Pedersen, N. Ogwumike, C. Ogwumike, or any of the Stanford, USC, or UCLA greats who played as frosh. She doesn't get much press, but she's really good.