SEC 2020-2021 early look/predictions

[SCspur]

The only spot we hold an obvious advantage in is Small Forward. Jackson over whoever their Small Forward is Beal or Saxton. It's ludicrous not to give us that one.

The other spots can only be decided during the year. It's hard to tell based on Mississippi State and South Carolina both promoting two players that haven't played as much as they should up until this point.

Beal is our Small Forward. Jackson was better offensively but Beal is definitely better defensively. Beal also made it tough for Jackson in Greenville, while also picking up a double double herself. We’ll get to see more battles in the future but I don’t think either one has an advantage over the other at this point.

 

[SimpleDawg]

Beal is our Small Forward. Jackson was better offensively but Beal is definitely better defensively. Beal also made it tough for Jackson in Greenville, while also picking up a double double herself. We’ll get to see more battles in the future but I don’t think either one has an advantage over the other at this point.

Based on that reasoning, I could say Taylor > or = Henderson based on her defense being better.

You're essentially giving SC a 5 out of 5 advantage, homerist.

 

[SCspur]

Based on that reasoning, I could say Taylor > or = Henderson based on her defense being better.

You're essentially giving SC a 5 out of 5 advantage, homerist.

Henderson plays great defense. Lol how am I a homerist? The results tell it all...

 

[bballnut90]

I could see it but my theory with Kentucky is they don't have to lean on Howard completely this coming year. Chastity Patterson came into her own down the stretch last year. She averaged over 11 points a game. The. experience and confidence she got changed her as a player. Edwards is going to be a big impact for them, she can play. Add in Treasure Hunt on the wing who is a dynamic scorer and creator, I think they look very different next year, much less predictable. They now have way better options to score outside of Howard. Their 4 star freshmen last year (who didn't play due to injury), Deasia Merrill is now back and should be another solid body to lean on.

My concern with Arkansas is they can live and die by the outside shooting and that doesn't seem like a consistent recipe for success. I think they finish high up in the standings.

All valid points. Kentucky will be one to watch. I think Arkansas's success ultimately comes down to Dungee and if she returns back to sophomore form. If she does, they're a lot more potent. I also think Slocum could really be electric in the system and thrive in a less rigid offense.

 

[bballnut90]

Beal is our Small Forward. Jackson was better offensively but Beal is definitely better defensively. Beal also made it tough for Jackson in Greenville, while also picking up a double double herself. We’ll get to see more battles in the future but I don’t think either one has an advantage over the other at this point.

Jackson is clearly a better player than Beale at this point.

 

[SECbbfan24]

Beal is our Small Forward. Jackson was better offensively but Beal is definitely better defensively. Beal also made it tough for Jackson in Greenville, while also picking up a double double herself. We’ll get to see more battles in the future but I don’t think either one has an advantage over the other at this point.

I would take Jackson over Beal but that doesn’t mean Beal isn’t great. I think Rickea would benefit significantly from graining some more muscle in the offseason

 

[militarydog]

I would take Jackson over Beal but that doesn’t mean Beal isn’t great. I think Rickea would benefit significantly from graining some more muscle in the offseason

Last season Coach Schaefer said R Jackson one of if not the best back to the basket players on the team. I wonder if after another year in the weight room Coach McCray-Penson considers playing her more at the four.

 

[bballnut90]

Based on that reasoning, I could say Taylor > or = Henderson based on her defense being better.

You're essentially giving SC a 5 out of 5 advantage, homerist.

I don't see how either Taylor or Henderson gets an edge on the other. Henderson is clearly a better scorer than Taylor but Taylor has proven she can run the show and play efficiently unlike Destanni. Destanni's role was to bring scoring and energy off the bench, so she could be a stronger decision maker while she's running the show, but at this point I don't think anyone objectively can say one has the edge over the other right now.

My take is:

Taylor = Henderson...outlined above

Cooke > Matharu...Matharu was excellent in limited minutes but Cooke is the clear choice headed into next year

Beale < Jackson....no brainer

Saxton/Amihere = Cooks...haven't seen enough of Cooks but she had decent numbers at Michigan State. I think Saxton/Amihere will fill in well at the 4. Hard to give one team a clear edge IMO.

Boston > Carter...no brainer. Carter is good but the gap between the 2 is enormous.

So 2-1 for SC with 2 ties. The gap between Boston and anyone she goes up against is a huge difference maker.

Most important though is that SC has a far more proven coach and players who know her system and coaching style. Mississippi State doesn't, which further puts them behind SC IMO. SC is a legitimate title threat, Mississippi State a potential final four threat. Both should finish top 2 in the SEC and hopefully we get a great matchup during the regular season again.

 

[SECbbfan24]

Last season Coach Schaefer said R Jackson one of if not the best back to the basket players on the team. I wonder if after another year in the weight room Coach McCray-Penson considers playing her more at the four.

Rickea is perfect at the 3 but she has the size to post up near the basket. She isn’t an ideal 4 but can move there at times briefly. As I said, bulking up a little more would help transform her game. She is very tall and lengthy

 

[bballnut90]

Last season Coach Schaefer said R Jackson one of if not the best back to the basket players on the team. I wonder if after another year in the weight room Coach McCray-Penson considers playing her more at the four.

I think she's perfectly suited for the 3 if she continues to improve her perimeter shot. She is best attacking the basket and from mid range. Her game reminds me of Sheryl Swoopes. Would rather see her continue to develop on the perimeter than focus on battling more inside.

 

[SCspur]

Jackson is clearly a better player than Beale at this point.

It’s Beal and I have a different opinion. Like I said Jackson is better offensively and Beal is better defensively so I consider them equal rather than one being better than the other. In head to head matchup I felt like each of them got the better of the other in each game. Jackson in Columbia and Beal in Greenville. Saying Jackson is clearly better is saying she has the most complete game which is far from the case.

 

[bballnut90]

It’s Beal and I have a different opinion. Like I said Jackson is better offensively and Beal is better defensively so I consider them equal rather than one being better than the other. In head to head matchup I felt like each of them got the better of the other in each game. Jackson in Columbia and Beal in Greenville. Saying Jackson is clearly better is saying she has the most complete game which is far from the case.

That's like saying Mikayla Pivec is equal to Sabrina Ionescu since Pivec is a better defender while Sabrina is better offensively.

Literally anyone who isnt a massive SC homer would say Jackson is clearly the better player.

 

[SCspur]

That's like saying Mikayla Pivec is equal to Sabrina Ionescu since Pivec is a better defender while Sabrina is better offensively.

Literally anyone who isnt a massive SC homer would say Jackson is clearly the better player.

When you say Jackson is clearly better I have a right to disagree. Your comparing freshman to seniors is crazy when they literally just started their careers. I believe Jackson is better offensively but not better overall. You can say she’s a better offensive player but not “clearly” a better player.

 

[jumpstart]

That's like saying Mikayla Pivec is equal to Sabrina Ionescu since Pivec is a better defender while Sabrina is better offensively.

Literally anyone who isnt a massive SC homer would say Jackson is clearly the better player.

The "better player" is subjective because of what each player "needed" to bring to the team. Miss. St. "needed" Jackson to score but South Carolina did not "need" Beal to score so they relied on her defense. Those are the parts of the equation that gets lost when uninformed, side bar evaluators try to say who is the better player. They both played the part they were asked to play and so using the comparison about offense vs defense as a measuring stick is idiotic at best....and totally dishonest.

 

[SimpleDawg]

The "better player" is subjective because of what each player "needed" to bring to the team. Miss. St. "needed" Jackson to score but South Carolina did not "need" Beal to score so they relied on her defense. Those are the parts of the equation that gets lost when uninformed, side bar evaluators try to say who is the better player. They both played the part they were asked to play and so using the comparison about offense vs defense as a measuring stick is idiotic at best....and totally dishonest.

No idea what games you think we needed Rickea to score. Maybe Auburn, and Kentucky. Most of the other games, Mississippi State is as balanced as South Carolina is, and would've won the games we had won with Matharu in Rickea's place.

Of course you can't take Rickea out of the games otherwise it's a different team. Just like you can't take Boston out of the games for SC either.

Wasn't it a collective effort that nearly upset SC in Columbia? Everybody contributed in that game, including the entire Mississippi State 2nd team.

 

[militarydog]

The "better player" is subjective because of what each player "needed" to bring to the team. Miss. St. "needed" Jackson to score but South Carolina did not "need" Beal to score so they relied on her defense. Those are the parts of the equation that gets lost when uninformed, side bar evaluators try to say who is the better player. They both played the part they were asked to play and so using the comparison about offense vs defense as a measuring stick is idiotic at best....and totally dishonest.

I literally laughed out loud.

Let’s review: It’s subjective but if you don’t agree with me you are uninformed, idiotic, and dishonest.

Well done.

 

[SCGamecock]

Based on that reasoning, I could say Taylor > or = Henderson based on her defense being better.

You're essentially giving SC a 5 out of 5 advantage, homerist.

I’ll try not to be a homer

PG - Henderson v Taylor... Taylor seems like a game manger to me but she will get a chance to do more under Nikki.

I don't see how either Taylor or Henderson gets an edge on the other. Henderson is clearly a better scorer than Taylor but Taylor has proven she can run the show and play efficiently unlike Destanni. Destanni's role was to bring scoring and energy off the bench, so she could be a stronger decision maker while she's running the show, but at this point I don't think anyone objectively can say one has the edge over the other right now.

My take is:

Taylor = Henderson...outlined above

Cooke > Matharu...Matharu was excellent in limited minutes but Cooke is the clear choice headed into next year

Beale < Jackson....no brainer

Saxton/Amihere = Cooks...haven't seen enough of Cooks but she had decent numbers at Michigan State. I think Saxton/Amihere will fill in well at the 4. Hard to give one team a clear edge IMO.

Boston > Carter...no brainer. Carter is good but the gap between the 2 is enormous.

So 2-1 for SC with 2 ties. The gap between Boston and anyone she goes up against is a huge difference maker.

Most important though is that SC has a far more proven coach and players who know her system and coaching style. Mississippi State doesn't, which further puts them behind SC IMO. SC is a legitimate title threat, Mississippi State a potential final four threat. Both should finish top 2 in the SEC and hopefully we get a great matchup during the regular season again.

Basically this.

Anybody saying Taylor is better than Henderson is homering, just like anybody saying Beal is better than Jackson.

Taylor has shown us she can manage a game. Destanni has shown us she can score, especially from deep. Both have the opportunity the next few seasons to show us the complete package. Jury is still out. I can’t even give Taylor an edge over Destanni defensively because Henderson is a good defender. I’m willing to call this a wash, but we’ll know who’s better very soon.

Jackson vs. Beal is intriguing. I think Jackson has SEC POY potential next season (she’ll have plenty of competition playing in a league with Howard, Boston and Cooke). Beal is an exceptional defender already and has the body to be a serious mismatch on offense (bully ball). As she develops her offense will match her defense, but she isn’t consistent as a scorer from the wing. Do I think she’ll get there? Yes. Jackson is so good on offense already and gives you just enough defensively that you really have to gameplan for her. Jackson wins right now.

Cooke v Matharu - Cooke. Both are good from deep. Cooke has improved her shot choice tremendously. What separates Cooke from other guards is her freakish athletic ability and her ability to hit shots in the lane after contact. She has that extra gear that the really elite ballers have.

Boston v Carter - Boston. Easily. One just won the Lisa Leslie award for nation’s best center... as a freshman. One is also not really a center, but she does a great job filling that role.

Saxton/Amihere v Cooks - a wash right now. Cooks looked like a top 3 player in her class to me out of high school. Not sure where she is now because I haven’t seen her recently. Saxton is good at what she does but doesn’t have a super high ceiling IMO, we’ll see. She’s tough and gritty, you want players like her on your bench. Amihere IMO has the highest ceiling of all three (and possibly of all SCs freshmen). She was #1 in her class at one point but was hampered by injury. Amihere has shown glimpses of how good she can be throughout SCs season but she’s horribly inconsistent. She can slash to the rim, handle the ball and shoot the three. She just needs more time to develop. I’m calling this a wash right now.

2 for SC. 1 for State. 2 evens.

 

[SimpleDawg]

@SCGamecock

It wasn't me who said Taylor > Henderson. I don't actually have a choice between the 2. I guess we know that Henderson has a more varied scoring arsenal, but Taylor has 63 steals vs Henderson's 39, so that's one area you can look at. Also Taylor wins assists easily (151 vs 93), and has less turnovers though not a lot between the two there.

Again, I'm not arguing whose better, but I think that stat (creating more opportunities for her teammates) can offset the scoring average stat (5.6 vs 8.6). Taylor plays slightly more minutes though (25.6 vs 23.4). Again, I feel like this is one where the Mississippi State fans say Taylor and the South Carolina fans say Henderson. You can actually make a case for either easily. I don't think there's a clear separation.

I agree with you on Cooke's burst and athleticism, I'm definitely impressed with her on that and think that sets her apart. Though, the thing separating Matharu is how easily and effortlessly she scores. She has the natural scoring skills, with pickpocket hands. Just a very deft, finessed player. Her 9.9 minutes is the reason her stats aren't as high. Again, for this one I say Cooke for now, but once they both have equal minutes... we'll see if you can make a different type of case.

No arguments on anything else for now.

 

[bballnut90]

@SCGamecock

It wasn't me who said Taylor > Henderson. I don't actually have a choice between the 2. I guess we know that Henderson has a more varied scoring arsenal, but Taylor has 63 steals vs Henderson's 39, so that's one area you can look at. Also Taylor wins assists easily (151 vs 93), and has less turnovers though not a lot between the two there.

Again, I'm not arguing whose better, but I think that stat (creating more opportunities for her teammates) can offset the scoring average stat (5.6 vs 8.6). Taylor plays slightly more minutes though (25.6 vs 23.4). Again, I feel like this is one where the Mississippi State fans say Taylor and the South Carolina fans say Henderson. You can actually make a case for either easily. I don't think there's a clear separation.

I agree with you on Cooke's burst and athleticism, I'm definitely impressed with her on that and think that sets her apart. Though, the thing separating Matharu is how easily and effortlessly she scores. She has the natural scoring skills, with pickpocket hands. Just a very deft, finessed player. Her 9.9 minutes is the reason her stats aren't as high. Again, for this one I say Cooke for now, but once they both have equal minutes... we'll see if you can make a different type of case.

No arguments on anything else for now.

Matharu was a really phenomenal scorer in her limited playing time. I could never figure out how Vic was using her.....limited minutes much of the season, then tore it up against SC in limited minutes which earned her more playing time the next two games, then back to the bench for a while before unleashing her again at the end of the season. When she played, she produced. In the 13 games that she played 10+ minutes she scored double figures in 10 of them. She averaged 28 ppg per 40 minutes of play and honestly looked electric when she was on the court. No idea why she didn't get more minutes throughout SEC play. Have to give the edge to Cooke right now since Zia was a proven commodity all year but Matharu is going to be one to watch.

In regards to Taylor/Henderson, another name to look out for is Mingo-Young who is a more capable scorer and playmaker than Taylor. I imagine Vic was planning to use these two similarly to how he used Holmes/William, as he effectively had 2 very capable and solid point guards who brought different elements to the table.

 

[SCGamecock]

@SCGamecock

It wasn't me who said Taylor > Henderson. I don't actually have a choice between the 2. I guess we know that Henderson has a more varied scoring arsenal, but Taylor has 63 steals vs Henderson's 39, so that's one area you can look at. Also Taylor wins assists easily (151 vs 93), and has less turnovers though not a lot between the two there.

Again, I'm not arguing whose better, but I think that stat (creating more opportunities for her teammates) can offset the scoring average stat (5.6 vs 8.6). Taylor plays slightly more minutes though (25.6 vs 23.4). Again, I feel like this is one where the Mississippi State fans say Taylor and the South Carolina fans say Henderson. You can actually make a case for either easily. I don't think there's a clear separation.

I agree with you on Cooke's burst and athleticism, I'm definitely impressed with her on that and think that sets her apart. Though, the thing separating Matharu is how easily and effortlessly she scores. She has the natural scoring skills, with pickpocket hands. Just a very deft, finessed player. Her 9.9 minutes is the reason her stats aren't as high. Again, for this one I say Cooke for now, but once they both have equal minutes... we'll see if you can make a different type of case.

No arguments on anything else for now.

Matharu was honestly a major recruiting find for State. I watch her play and I’m confused how she wasn’t more heavily recruited by other powers. She definitely has a shooters mentality and she can really light you up if you’re not pressuring her. She’s probably already the best pure shooter on your roster (although I think you all are going to love Madison Hayes). I think Matharu has room to grow offensively as far as attacking the basket... she’s a smaller guard and slight though so I don’t think she’s ever going to be thought of as a slasher. But her shooting is good enough that she can just live on the perimeter to be honest.

 

[stwainfan]

What kind of impact will Marta Suarez have this year?

 

[jumpstart]

No idea what games you think we needed Rickea to score. Maybe Auburn, and Kentucky. Most of the other games, Mississippi State is as balanced as South Carolina is, and would've won the games we had won with Matharu in Rickea's place.

Of course you can't take Rickea out of the games otherwise it's a different team. Just like you can't take Boston out of the games for SC either.

Wasn't it a collective effort that nearly upset SC in Columbia? Everybody contributed in that game, including the entire Mississippi State 2nd team.

You were not comparing Boston to Jackson.....you were comparing her to Beal...Jackson has a scoring and defensive role while Beal has a defensive role and scoring is an option less used....and Miss St is not as balanced as South Carolina. I have no dog in this fight and I couldn't care less about who is better but you make claims based on things that have no real reliable stance.....Miss St has a very good team but they are not on the South Carolina level as of now.

 

[DefenseBB]

The simple joke of this is the discussion like MSU is SC’s equal, they AREN’T. No one but an MSU fan would think that in paper MSU=SC. SC is a preseason favorite to win it all, MSU will be lucky to be in the top 8. There is a big gap from the top 3 to the next 5. I will be impressed if MSU makes it to the Elite 8 next year and almost as impressed if they make it to the SEC Final.
I blame @SECbbfan24 for this lunacy that if LSU actually had a good coach, more diverse discussion could occur instead of a probable 8th place finish or worse next year!

 

[dws3665]

Clearly we need to rename the thread: MSU vs SC throwdown.

 

[SECbbfan24]

I blame @SECbbfan24 for this lunacy that if LSU actually had a good coach, more diverse discussion could occur instead of a probable 8th place finish or worse next year!

Pokey Chatman brought in some great great talents over the years. Unfortunately we have not had players like the caliber of Sylvia Fowles or Seimone Augustus in a long time.



I was tempted to post the Sylvia Fowles highlights vs UCONN in the 2007 regional final but I don't want to get in trouble