Ranking the freshmen class so far

[GamecockFam]

I haven't watched enough LSU and Arkansas games to form an opinion on who is better. Williams seemed to come in "pro ready" on offense. She looked like the best player on the team during stretches of their big games. Fulwiley is still very raw and learning how to work her bag of tricks at the college level but I think it's pretty obvious that she'll be an absolute nightmare once she puts it all together. I think it will take an off-season of work to fine tune, so I doubt Fulwiley wins any national freshman of the year honors. With that said, I think she will have a very interesting college career that has potential to transcend the game (like Clark and Reece) outside of WBB circles in a way that don't see happening with Williams and Scott.

 

[visitingcock]

I can’t believe the venom being spewed regarding Mikayla. She is a freshman starter for the defending champion who has added experienced talent. That alone shows how good she is. However, she is also producing for that team. She showed up more than solidly against the two high level teams she has faced.

I think some of it homerism for other freshmen and some is just anti-Kimism

I think Zoe Brooks is looking good for NC State.

 

[triaddukefan]

hater. lol

I had a possible unpopular opinion, but I will keep it to myself (though I might talk about it back home)

Yep. Fulwiley is a part of the #2 bench in ALL of D1 ball in terms of scoring. I want her to be SEC FOTY as much as anybody, but this SC team plays true team ball and nobody really forces the issue. The excellent player from Bowling Green said it best when she said anybody 1-8 for SC is capable of putting 20 points on you on any given night.

But let's talk about the ACC before Triad blows a gasket.

Well there are only 4 ACC freshman worth talking about so.....

 

[ISUnorth]

Lets not turn this into a (expletive deleted) $EC thread. . Tired of them (expletive deleted)

Merry Christmas to All

We could talk about the six gals from the Big 12 on the ESPN top freshman list!

Okay, just kidding since there are like maybe only three or four other Big 12 fans here other than me.

 

[triaddukefan]

We could talk about the six gals from the Big 12 on the ESPN top freshman list!

Okay, just kidding since there are like maybe only three or four other Big 12 fans here other than me.

Haven't seen yall play this year, interested in seeing Brown and Crooks.

 

[ISUnorth]

Haven't seen yall play this year, interested in seeing Brown and Crooks.

And you won't see them unless you subscribe to ESPN+. Cyclones are wearing their Harry Potter invisibility cloak the rest of the season, their only national broadcast game was versus Iowa. The game at Texas will be Longhorn Network that only Texas fans subscribe to so that could be a good game no one will see.

 

[triaddukefan]

And you won't see them unless you subscribe to ESPN+. Cyclones are wearing their Harry Potter invisibility cloak the rest of the season, their only national broadcast game was versus Iowa. The game at Texas will be Longhorn Network that only Texas fans subscribe to so that could be a good game no one will see.

Well i am a ESPN+ subscriber, and I also get the Ribeye Network as well.

 

[visitingcock]

Well i am a ESPN+ subscriber, and I also get the Ribeye Network as well.

You mean the "Only Beef Brisket is Real BBQ Network?"

 

[ISUnorth]

The two Cyclones on the list had great Big 12 conference debuts on the road at Okie State.

Addy Brown 20 points 9 rebounds 5 assists (5 TO on the bad side but still a great game)
Audi Crooks 21 points 7 rebounds

 

[triaddukefan]

You mean the "Only Beef Brisket is Real BBQ Network?"

I got some brisket the other day, finally got around to eating it yesterday.... a bit too much salt, but imma finish it off for lunch tomorrow.

 

[LoTrader]

This is an outstanding freshman class. I have Madison Booker on the top of the list thus far in the season. With Harmon out for Texas, Madison Booker played the point for Texas. This kid is a star already. So competent and skilled. Can get her shot off from anywhere and knows how to create space before she lets it go. Has a pro body already.

 

[JellyBean]

And you won't see them unless you subscribe to ESPN+. Cyclones are wearing their Harry Potter invisibility cloak the rest of the season, their only national broadcast game was versus Iowa. The game at Texas will be Longhorn Network that only Texas fans subscribe to so that could be a good game no one will see.

That is a bummer that Iowa State won't get much national coverage. I like the Cyclones and huge fan of Coach Fennelly. I love his coaching philosophy and style and I really love what he is doing with Audi, which is just letting her play. Playing through mistakes & successes.

 

[Darwin]

One of the most impactful freshmen classes in recent memory. Ranking based on quality of play from scoring, to assists, to defense, to rebounding.

1. Juju Watkins (USC)
2. Hannah Hidalgo (ND)
3. Madison Booker (Texas)
4. Malaysia Fulwiley (SC)
5. Taliah Scott (Arkansas)
6. Zoe Brooks (NC ST)
7. Ashlynn Shade (UCONN)
8. Addy Brown (Iowa St)
9. KK Arnold (UCONN)
10. Mikaylah Williams (LSU)
11. Stailee Heard (Ok St)
12. Oluchi Okananwa (Duke)
13. S'Mya Nichols (Kansas)
14. Audi Cooks (Iowa St)
15. Kailey Woolston (BYU)

Williams from LSU is top 3

 

[triaddukefan]

One of the most impactful freshmen classes in recent memory. Ranking based on quality of play from scoring, to assists, to defense, to rebounding.

1. Juju Watkins (USC)
2. Hannah Hidalgo (ND)
3. Madison Booker (Texas)
4. Malaysia Fulwiley (SC)
5. Taliah Scott (Arkansas)
6. Zoe Brooks (NC ST)
7. Ashlynn Shade (UCONN)
8. Addy Brown (Iowa St)
9. KK Arnold (UCONN)
10. Mikaylah Williams (LSU)
11. Stailee Heard (Ok St)
12. Oluchi Okananwa (Duke)
13. S'Mya Nichols (Kansas)
14. Audi Cooks (Iowa St)
15. Kailey Woolston (BYU)

That can't be in order. Just can't

 

[DefenseBB]

Ok, so last year I used the NBA "Efficiency game score" calculations to assess the POY candidates to get a relative impact vs. others and that calculation proved quite accurate. Reese was #1(34.7), Caitlin was #2 (30.7), Siegrist was #3 (30.6). So with that as the back drop, I just did the assessment of the 17 freshman at the start of the conference schedule part of the season. Keep in mind that some of these players were going against some very weak teams so their stats are inflated (sorry Mikaylah Williams) but still the numbers and ranking give us a better glimpse as who is most impactful for their teams. As I noted to a fellow BY colleague, Ashlynn Shades contribution is more "myth" than actual value as she is a nice story but the fact she is well below KK (11.7 to 8.8) shows her true value. For further comparison, the POY leader is Caitlin Clark with an Efficiency of 32.2. Paige is 11th at 22.6 and Aaliyah is 12th at 22.3

		Name	School	Effic	GP	Min	FG%	3FG%	FT%	Reb	Asst	A-TO	Pts
1​	Fr	Hildago	ND	30.4	11	33.4	50.7%	38.8%	80.4%	6.3	6.2	1.659	24.5
2​	Fr	Watkins	USC	27.5	10	31.7	46.9%	45.5%	77.6%	7.3	3.7	0.925	26.8
3​	Fr	Brown, A	Iowa St	21.6	12	34.2	51.9%	37.3%	70.8%	9.0	5.8	1.725	14.5
4​	Fr	Heard, Stailee	Ok State	19.4	12	32.6	59.3%	36.7%	66.7%	6.2	1.9	1.438	15.1
5​	Fr	Crooks	Iowa St	19.0	12	21.4	67.2%	75.0%	60.3%	6.0	0.8	0.455	16.5
6​	Fr	Williams	LSU	18.1	14	29.1	52.0%	45.5%	91.4%	4.6	2.8	1.258	17.1
7​	Fr	Kitts	SC	16.0	12	19.0	52.7%	0.0%	66.7%	7.2	1.8	0.000	10.8
8​	Fr	Potts,Natalie	Nebraska	14.6	13	23.5	61.3%	27.3%	84.4%	5.2	0.7	0.000	11.3
9​	Fr	Woolston, Kailey	BYU	14.5	14	35.0	51.1%	49.4%	81.3%	3.5	2.6	0.000	14.6
10​	Fr	Booker	Texas	14.4	14	24.9	42.3%	23.7%	76.9%	4.5	4.4	2.138	12.6
11​	Fr	Scott	Arkansas	14.4	15	36.1	42.6%	31.5%	82.2%	3.5	1.5	0.418	23.0
12​	Fr	Fulwiley	SC	14.3	12	19.0	47.4%	31.8%	70.0%	3.5	2.9	1.458	12.1
13​	Fr	Brooks	NC State	13.9	13	27.6	43.4%	25.9%	70.5%	4.8	4.2	1.618	10.0
14​	Fr	Nichols	Kansas	12.2	12	27.7	46.9%	40.6%	75.5%	2.7	2.8	1.100	13.3
15​	Fr	Arnold	Uconn	11.7	13	26.1	52.4%	40.0%	64.7%	2.2	3.2	0.000	8.9
16​	Fr	Okananwa	Duke	10.4	13	21.0	50.0%	41.4%	78.9%	1.5	2.4	1.824	9.9
17​	Fr	Shade	UConn	8.8	12	22.8	52.3%	34.0%	100.0%	1.8	1.3	0.000	9.5

 

[DefenseBB]

Ok, so as one of our more didactic colleagues pointed out, Chloe Kitts, while listed in the HoopGurlz 2023 class did enroll early at SC and is classified as a sophomore so....my bad....

 

[CL82]

Ok, so as one of our more didactic colleagues pointed out, Chloe Kitts, while listed in the HoopGurlz 2023 class did enroll early at SC and is classified as a sophomore so....my bad....

Didactic or pedantic?

 

[DefenseBB]

Didactic or pedantic?

Didactic as I don't think our colleague was trying to be "annoying" per se' (which is what being pedantic would have connotated), just pointing out an issue on Kitts. Plus I want to give him the benefit of the doubt though he may have been pedantic!

While researching this data, I did notice that Duke, who had the #6 ranked class only had their #27 person placed on the list, whereas their #3 Donovan, #29 Thomas and #62 are no where to be found and given their stats, something seems to be amiss. What say you @triaddukefan, lover of the Blue Devilness-what's going on that this squad is not contributing more?

 

[Dillon77]

Here's an article by Michael Voepel of ESPNw on Hannah Hidalgo, primarily based on talks with Hidalgo and Niele Ivey, who compares Hidalgo to Skylar Diggins. You might recall that Diggins was Ivey's first recruiting (as in, "sign her") assignment for Muffet McGraw, when she joined the ND coaching staff.

The Irish are on ACC network tonight against Pitt and ESPN2 vs. N. Carolina on Sunday afternoon (5 p.m. ET, I believe).

'She's picked it up so fast': Hannah Hidalgo already is Notre Dame's next star guard

The nation's No. 3 scorer and steals leader, freshman Hannah Hidalgo is her own star. But it's hard not to compare her to another Notre Dame legend.

www.espn.com

 

[DefenseBB]

Despite the injuries to Miles and Citron, ND is still a very talented team so Hannah has a lot to work with and is making the most of it. Whether the other talented players "up" their game to keep ND competitive against the better teams is yet to be seen.

Watkins, on the other hand, does not have as talented a cast surrounding her and is also stymied by a limited coaching staff-yes, I am throwing shade at Ms. Gottlieb and her less than stellar offensive schemes.

The ray of hope for ND is Citron makes it back and ND will be better, I see no ray of hope for USC as what you see is what you get.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I feel like it's Juju Watkins and Hidalgo with Williams lurking for best freshman, but I know very little about the Iowa State player.

 

[DefenseBB]

I feel like it's Juju Watkins and Hidalgo with Williams lurking for best freshman, but I know very little about the Iowa State player.

The problem Williams has is she is the 3rd option on this LSU team whereas with ISU and Ok State, those players are the top options. Plus, let's be honest, LSU has to now play tougher opponents even in a weak SEC conference than they did with their 103 ranked OOC schedule that allowed Williams to beat up poor opponents. Add in the fact Reese was out for 4 of those games allowing Williams to have the ball more. She's back, Morrow is more comfortable and don't forget about Van Lith who will want the ball more. Williams is a really nice player but she will not be in the top 5 by year end.

I did notice that the Big 12 has 6 of the freshmen listed. SEC has 3 (Kitts is a soph), ACC has 2, Big Ten has 1 and PAC 12 has 1.

 

[Hester42]

The problem Williams has is she is the 3rd option on this LSU team whereas with ISU and Ok State, those players are the top options. Plus, let's be honest, LSU has to now play tougher opponents even in a weak SEC conference than they did with their 103 ranked OOC schedule that allowed Williams to beat up poor opponents. Add in the fact Reese was out for 4 of those games allowing Williams to have the ball more. She's back, Morrow is more comfortable and don't forget about Van Lith who will want the ball more. Williams is a really nice player but she will not be in the top 5 by year end.

I did notice that the Big 12 has 6 of the freshmen listed. SEC has 3 (Kitts is a soph), ACC has 2, Big Ten has 1 and PAC 12 has 1.

Gonna disagree with you. I guess we will see, but Williams performance vs Colorado and VT show me she will likely to continue to stick out in those high profile games and is capable of being that go to player even with all the talent on that roster. I actually think Williams will be more efficient than Hailey Van Lith when SEC play is all said and done. And let’s be honest, LSU does not have a bench so Williams and that starting 5 is gonna essentially play a lot all of SEC play. More so than they would like, which could cause issues for LSU down the road.

But to me, when evaluating these freshmen, gonna need to see more than who scores the most. How efficient are some? Are they rebounding the ball? Assist to turnover ratio? How are they impacting the game on the defensive end. All of that will work itself out down the road. But it’s apparent who the top 5-10 freshmen at this point. Conference play will start to separate those even more.

 

[LoTrader]

I feel like it's Juju Watkins and Hidalgo with Williams lurking for best freshman, but I know very little about the Iowa State player.

Other than Hidalgo, the freshman I am most impressed with is at Texas: Madison Booker. She has the size of Watkins, but reminds me of a Magic Johnson PG with Larry Bird game.

 

[Dillon77]

Other than Hidalgo, the freshman I am most impressed with is at Texas: Madison Booker. She has the size of Watkins, but reminds me of a Magic Johnson PG with Larry Bird game.

I wonder if Magic and Larry have ever discussed if they'd morph themselves.

Booker is a strong combination of multiple traits. She might get worn down playing all those roles as the season goes on, but I suspect it will only make her better and she matures and gets stronger in her career -- here and in the pro's.