SEC 21-22

[Vowelguy]

Last year it was SC, TAMU, GA, TN, Ark, KY, AL, LSU, MSSt, MO, MS, FL, Van, Aub

What will it be this coming year??
1) SC
2) GA ?
3) TAMU ?
4) Tenn ?
5-10) jumble of Ark, Ky, AL, LSU, MsSt, Ms
11-14) Mo, Fl, Aub, Van

 

[GoChips20]

Last year it was SC, TAMU, GA, TN, Ark, KY, AL, LSU, MSSt, MO, MS, FL, Van, Aub

What will it be this coming year??
1) SC
2) GA ?
3) TAMU ?
4) Tenn ?
5-10) jumble of Ark, Ky, AL, LSU, MsSt, Ms
11-14) Mo, Fl, Aub, Van

SC

everyone else

 

[SECbbfan24]

Nikki is gone so I’m pleased already

 

[GamecockFam]

Lots of conference talent graduated, so with the exception of a few teams I think the race is wide open. This will probably be a building year as a conference. Hopefully some newcomers will emerge as playmakers and make it a fun conference schedule.

 

[Dwilliams02]

LSU#4 or 5.

 

[dws3665]

SC
KY/UGA
TAMU/Tenn/Ark/LSU/Mizzou/MS State/OM
UF
Bama
AU/Vandy

 

[SECbbfan24]

LSU#4 or 5.

Kim has her work cut out for her. That said, despite last year being a disaster, they showed they are capable (beating A&M and Georgia). They played in a lot of close games in many of their losses.

Comes down to generating more offense (which can be accomplished a number of ways). Nikki was a good defensive minded coach but she had zero clue how to run a offense, spacing and developing rhythm for her shooters. They didn’t even look to push the ball in fast breaks last year and tried to drain the shot clock every game. Adding Moon automatically is an upgrade and should help but if kids like Shematsi, Payne and maybe some of newcomers can contribute, they could end up much better than many expect. It’s going to be a rebuild but Kim will get way more out of them than Fargas would. Pointer, Moon and Aifuwa is a strong core.

Top 5 or 6 in the SEC with a NCAAT win will be way more than anything Nikki accomplished the last 7 years.

 

[Dwilliams02]

Tennessee gonna be interesting. They lost a sniper in Re.... Now can Burrell take it up a notch and be that leader. Same with Jordan H...

They're gonna crack the top 5... But will they have any identity.

 

[ochoopsfan]

Vandy.
Best coach in the SEC!!

 

[SimpleDawg]

6-10.

Only confident in beating Alabama, Florida, Vanderbilt, and Auburn. Could be at the level of A&M, or below the level of Missouri. Anastasia, Rickea, and Myah are the cream of the crop, I could really take or leave the rest.

 

[GCKSFN4L]

1. SC- easily the best team and everyone comes back
2. GA- a really good team and many of veterans came back for a shot at a SEC championship
3/4- UK/UT - Rhyne Howard had a disappointing season, I'm sure she's going to try to go out with a bang.
Tennessee had some good games and played surprisingly well at times, I think they should still be a top team in the conference even with losing Davis.

5. Ole Miss- Coach Yo is building something special and her team was starting to play some good ball towards the end of the season. I think Shakira and company can really surprise some teams next year.

6/7- Arkansas/Mississippi State- Neighbors always seems to impress with his teams, there's no Dungee but there's still some shooters on that team.
As for MSU I think it really depends on how much those who have stayed have bought into McCray as the coach. She has some good talent and a year removed from a roster filled with players who wanted to play for another coach initially, hopefully the turnover has ironed out some things for the team.

8. A&M- could be up a spot or two but I think losing 4 seniors puts them back some.

9. LSU- Great coach and some good talent but a lot of off-season changes makes me believe that this first year won't be that great.

10-14 - Everybody else, Bama and Missouri keep their coaches but I'm not so confident about their teams.
Vandy, Florida and Auburn all get new coaches and I have no expectations. If I had to pick maybe Florida would be last with Lavender Briggs leaving and the coach stepping down last minute.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Early guess:

South Carolina

UGA, Kentucky, Tennessee

Arkansas, Mississippi State, texas A&M, LSU, Ole Miss

missouri, Alabama,

Auburn, Florida, Vanderbilt

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I remain relatively high on Miss State and think they easily could be in the second group.

 

[SECbbfan24]

I remain relatively high on Miss State and think they easily could be in the second group.

Depends if they want to attempt to play defense and hustle this year. Last years product was jaw dropping, and not in a good way. I get it can be struggle adjusting to a new coaches system but there isnt a excuse to not hustle or try.

 

[HuskyFan1125]

Not really sure how this season works out for everyone after South Carolina. I think the Gamecocks will be #1 in the league. I will however add a stipulation that I am intrigued to see how Staley meshes all that talent. 11 McDonalds AAs is a lot. Some are going to have to check their ego's at the door as it will only work if they do it as a team and that's not saying they have egos. Just a basketball generalization. I think they will be ok but I am super intrigued to see how she makes it all work.


Kentucky needs two things IMO (a) run the offense through Howard and (b) hit shots. Howard could be the #1 draft pick and should be preseason. She needs to be involved in every facet of their offense. That's not saying she needs to score 30. Use her as a pick and pop, a screener, pick and roll. whatever but she needs to be moving constantly and involved. Too many times I saw them not even pass her the ball and I always felt Patterson was off with the team (could be wrong just an observation). Kentucky desperately needs post players and when using Howard as a facilitator they have to hit their shots.

Tennessee should be ok but I am intrigued to see how they are without Davis. She kept them afloat in several games. It will be Burrell and ??????

I love Coach Yo and what she is doing at Ole Miss and think they will continue to trend up. She brings back Austin and the freshman of the year last season and made it to the WNIT finals. They also added Lashonda Monk (East Carolina) who was a defensive nightmare for AAC teams. I expect her to land a big recruit or 2 to add to her mix.

Georgia returns Staiti and Que Morrison which is big for them and they add Jillian Hollingshead. Replacing Gabby Connelly will be their biggest question mark as she was a good scorer for them and a capable 3pt shooter.

Mississippi State will be another interesting team to keep an eye on as they return some great players (Myah Taylor, Jessika Carter, and Rickea Jackson) and add the Hayes sisters so its going to be good or a mess. Jury is still out. We will have to wait and see what is put on the floor. The talent was there last year but something seemed amiss. Our Bulldog fans on the board can speak better to what all was going on with the team.

After that I dont know.....

TAMU--Loses a lot and not having Zaay Green or Alexis Morris return (plus the loss of their entire front court).
Auburn--Im anxious to see what Johnnie Harris puts on the floor
Missouri--should be better than they are. Aijha Blackwell should be their everything but she needs help.
Arkansas-Does bring back Amber Ramirez who is a 43% three point shooter and speed with Davis and Daniels. They add Sasha Goforth and Jersey Wolfenbarger so they may surprise some people.
Alabama--always seem to do .500 and better than I guess so who knows with them.
Florida--should be better with Briggs returning but will be bottom half
Vandy---its gonna be a tough season for Shea
LSU--finally! Cant wait to see Mulkey. LSU was 9-13 and 6-8 conference last season. Mulkey's first season at Baylor she was 21-9 and 9-9. LSU has a bit more on the roster with Pointer, Aifuwa, Cherry plus Ursin and Gusters (who has work to do but Mulkey does well with post players). I can see her besting the bottom teams and pulling a surprise upset or 2.


How long before the season starts?

 

[jumpstart]

Dawn has enough quality players to just keep running them out. This is not a team (UCONN will have the same luxury) that will suffer with bench players coming in. That will make it easier to just keep fresh players in the game. If these girls are getting equal time and winning big....I don't see a problem with girls transferring out. Playing and winning matters even if you are not always on the court.

 

[GCKSFN4L]

Dawn has enough quality players to just keep running them out. This is not a team (UCONN will have the same luxury) that will suffer with bench players coming in. That will make it easier to just keep fresh players in the game. If these girls are getting equal time and winning big....I don't see a problem with girls transferring out. Playing and winning matters even if you are not always on the court.

This is how I feel about the team as well. Dawn is very open to her players about minutes and expectations when recruiting and makes it clear to her players. I don't suspect any ego problems from any existing players, considering we already had highly recruited players such as Amihere, Littleton and Russell playing reduced minutes than expected and still stayed despite an great incoming freshman class and a free pass to transfer elsewhere was available.

I think the added depth helps with playing time, they'll likely run more teams out the gym earlier than last season, allowing for more opportunities for the bench to play and improve. I wouldn't be surprised if we see minutes distribution similar to the Americup, where it's pretty balanced overall in less competitive games and then a more tight rotation for the bigger games.I doubt we'll see anyone averaging 30+ minutes a game like last season.

 

[cancontent]

Dawn has enough quality players to just keep running them out. This is not a team (UCONN will have the same luxury) that will suffer with bench players coming in. That will make it easier to just keep fresh players in the game. If these girls are getting equal time and winning big....I don't see a problem with girls transferring out. Playing and winning matters even if you are not always on the court.

I get your point, but I would cringe if that's the case. For one, this could be a very special roster over the next couple of years. I'm really keen on seeing how things play out.

Second, it would have me wondering whether they've stopped buying into what Coach Staley told them was the plan. Sometimes you lose the long term vision because it's tough and the grass on the other side looks tempting.

I recall hearing Coach Staley talking about Harrigan's initial plan to transfer in a podcast. If my recollection is correct, Harrigan was almost out the door without talking to her about the situation. Fortunately Harrigan's AAU coach was a bridge between the two and they worked things out. Glad she did as I thought her senior season was very strong from what I got to see.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I have a hard time understanding how having more talent is a negative and how transfers are that big a deal if they happen. How often does a stable program lose one of their better talents?

Not very.

did adding Gray and Davis to a core that won the previous two SEC titles hurt South Carolina in their title season?

This past season South Carolina had a starter play 30 minutes in the semifinal and contribute 0 pts and 1 rebound without stretching the floor in a single game, but it's going to be bad to add Cardoso? Love Beal but much the same criticism. Littleton giving up minutes to top 15 freshman? Having a true backup point?

I don't get this stuff in general.

sure chemistry can be an issue for teams at times but freshmen don't generally run the show on established teams.

 

[Jmsdawg]

Not really sure how this season works out for everyone after South Carolina. I think the Gamecocks will be #1 in the league. I will however add a stipulation that I am intrigued to see how Staley meshes all that talent. 11 McDonalds AAs is a lot. Some are going to have to check their ego's at the door as it will only work if they do it as a team and that's not saying they have egos. Just a basketball generalization. I think they will be ok but I am super intrigued to see how she makes it all work.


Kentucky needs two things IMO (a) run the offense through Howard and (b) hit shots. Howard could be the #1 draft pick and should be preseason. She needs to be involved in every facet of their offense. That's not saying she needs to score 30. Use her as a pick and pop, a screener, pick and roll. whatever but she needs to be moving constantly and involved. Too many times I saw them not even pass her the ball and I always felt Patterson was off with the team (could be wrong just an observation). Kentucky desperately needs post players and when using Howard as a facilitator they have to hit their shots.

Tennessee should be ok but I am intrigued to see how they are without Davis. She kept them afloat in several games. It will be Burrell and ??????

I love Coach Yo and what she is doing at Ole Miss and think they will continue to trend up. She brings back Austin and the freshman of the year last season and made it to the WNIT finals. They also added Lashonda Monk (East Carolina) who was a defensive nightmare for AAC teams. I expect her to land a big recruit or 2 to add to her mix.

Georgia returns Staiti and Que Morrison which is big for them and they add Jillian Hollingshead. Replacing Gabby Connelly will be their biggest question mark as she was a good scorer for them and a capable 3pt shooter.

Mississippi State will be another interesting team to keep an eye on as they return some great players (Myah Taylor, Jessika Carter, and Rickea Jackson) and add the Hayes sisters so its going to be good or a mess. Jury is still out. We will have to wait and see what is put on the floor. The talent was there last year but something seemed amiss. Our Bulldog fans on the board can speak better to what all was going on with the team.

After that I dont know.....

TAMU--Loses a lot and not having Zaay Green or Alexis Morris return (plus the loss of their entire front court).
Auburn--Im anxious to see what Johnnie Harris puts on the floor
Missouri--should be better than they are. Aijha Blackwell should be their everything but she needs help.
Arkansas-Does bring back Amber Ramirez who is a 43% three point shooter and speed with Davis and Daniels. They add Sasha Goforth and Jersey Wolfenbarger so they may surprise some people.
Alabama--always seem to do .500 and better than I guess so who knows with them.
Florida--should be better with Briggs returning but will be bottom half
Vandy---its gonna be a tough season for Shea
LSU--finally! Cant wait to see Mulkey. LSU was 9-13 and 6-8 conference last season. Mulkey's first season at Baylor she was 21-9 and 9-9. LSU has a bit more on the roster with Pointer, Aifuwa, Cherry plus Ursin and Gusters (who has work to do but Mulkey does well with post players). I can see her besting the bottom teams and pulling a surprise upset or 2.


How long before the season starts?

I have no confidence in our coach. Hope I am wrong and she pulls it together this season. Prediction - we have winning season (win more than we lose) andmake the big dance this season, however I believe our elite days are over unless we can hire and elite coach. MSU realist will continue to offer excuses for Nikki.

 

[Dwilliams02]

I have no confidence in our coach. Hope I am wrong and she pulls it together this season. Prediction - we have winning season (win more than we lose) andmake the big dance this season, however I believe our elite days are over unless we can hire and elite coach. MSU realist will continue to offer excuses for Nikki.

I think y'all will improve.

 

[SimpleDawg]

I have no confidence in our coach. Hope I am wrong and she pulls it together this season. Prediction - we have winning season (win more than we lose) andmake the big dance this season, however I believe our elite days are over unless we can hire and elite coach. MSU realist will continue to offer excuses for Nikki.

On a roster standpoint, you can reason that Rickea and Anastasia is some kind of duo that is making our team watchable to other SEC fans. Adding Myah Taylor and Alasia Hayes are at least players that other teams would like to have. I think Jessika Carter is who she is at this point tho, and she can easily go down this year and fade into irrelevance as last year was a bit of a disappointment for her when it should've been her breakout.

Still, besides just the glitter of Rickea and Anastasia........ there's are still problems that weren't addressed this offseason. Defense, turnovers, rebounding, and especially size which we don't have. Also Anastasia's 3 point shooting is terrible, and her 49% overall is mostly because of the turnstile bodies guarding the paint in the conference USA.

I expect 6-10. A really strong SEC with Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Ole Miss, and Arkansas all with really good rosters. LSU and A&M aren't that impressive on a roster standpoint, but they have a national title winning coach....... but if we lose those 2 there's not many other wins left.

Our 6 wins ideally would be 2 against Missouri, and 1 each against Vandy, Florida, Alabama, and Auburn. Lose to any of them and it's gonna be a struggle to stay above .500

 

[Gamecockfan77]

On a roster standpoint, you can reason that Rickea and Anastasia is some kind of duo that is making our team watchable to other SEC fans. Adding Myah Taylor and Alasia Hayes are at least players that other teams would like to have. I think Jessika Carter is who she is at this point tho, and she can easily go down this year and fade into irrelevance as last year was a bit of a disappointment for her when it should've been her breakout.

Still, besides just the glitter of Rickea and Anastasia........ there's are still problems that weren't addressed this offseason. Defense, turnovers, rebounding, and especially size which we don't have. Also Anastasia's 3 point shooting is terrible, and her 49% overall is mostly because of the turnstile bodies guarding the paint in the conference USA.

I expect 6-10. A really strong SEC with Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Ole Miss, and Arkansas all with really good rosters. LSU and A&M aren't that impressive on a roster standpoint, but they have a national title winning coach....... but if we lose those 2 there's not many other wins left.

Our 6 wins ideally would be 2 against Missouri, and 1 each against Vandy, Florida, Alabama, and Auburn. Lose to any of them and it's gonna be a struggle to stay above .500

I'll bet you 100 bucks you win more than 6.

 

[stwainfan]

 

[militarydog]

I'll bet you 100 bucks you win more than 6.

Although I’m a MSU I try to be realistic regarding our season outlook. If Coach Schaefer had stayed it would not have been unheard of that the same players would not have still left after the season, even A Matharu. He had players leave every season. However the key is that he had consistently won in the SEC, especially the SEC Tournament.
I’m not overly optimistic but Coach McCray-Penson did have a big jump in his second season at Old Dominion. She also brought in some very good defensive guards for the pressure she likes to play. The biggest issue I still see is the lack of a three point threat. That is going to clog the middle for R Jackson, A Hayes, and J Carter.
The thing that surprises me most on this board is the optimism that fans of other schools have that MSU will be better next season. Could someone please expand on the reason(s) for your outlook?