Seniors this year

[SCspur]

Wow! Florida State loses a ton!! Ohio State loses a lot of talent and a big-time scorer. UCLA loses the #1 recruiting class. How will South Carolina fare without Wilson--top 10, top 20? Mississippi State loses a lot in William and Vivians. Do any of these have the equivalent of Williams and Nelson-Ododa coming in? I doubt it.

While SC loses Wilson we return Cuevas-Moore and get Cooper eligible along with a solid class of McDAA Destanni Henderson and Supreme Athlete Victaria Saxton. I can see us being a run and gun type team and apply pressure now with better guard play and depth. In addition to that our entire starting 5 next year will be upperclassmen. SC will have an elite PG, strong guards, and better then average post play. I expect us to fly under the radar and shock some people.

As for Wilson's replacement, SC won't have one but a good start will be a more confident Herbert Harrigan. If she can continue to play the way she has in the SEC tourney I don't really see a huge drop off.

 

[cbraarj]

At the risk of irritating Triad, I dare say JPM has a .794 winning percentage and is holding the program in the top 20. Heck, even her predecessor Gail G only had a .800 winning percentage at Duke and then failed miserably in Texas. This is not quite the same as Tennessee but both programs would be hard pressed to fire either. Lest we forget, Gail was there’s for 15 years and prior to her Duke stewardship, they were mediocre at best. The ACC is simply a different league now with 15 teams than back when Gail was there. Lastly, I offer that ALL programs suffer when an iconic coach leaves and their faithful demand that same prior success however unlikely it is to be retained. No need to look farther than the UConn Men’s board to see how it is...JPM is far better than Ollie could ever hope to be as is Holly. Be careful what you wish for...

Ollie did win a NC as a HC. Has JPM made a FF?

 

[Ozzie1986]

Ucla and Mississippi state are going to suck.

Baylor(even with the loss of Wallace) and Oregon are going to be very very good.

 

[DefenseBB]

Ollie did win a NC as a HC. Has JPM made a FF?

No, JPM has not won a NC nor made a final four, but neither did her predecessor. Kudos to KO for winning in his 2nd year with kids who committed to Calhoun. It’s been a disaster ever since. She has never won less than 20 games in 11 season, and the next lowest was 23.
She is 273-71 .789% vs. Ollie in his 6th and most likely last year at 14-17 and 127-78 .620%.
So yes, Ollie has a title and most likely a pink slip...

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Don't forget Stevens could leave too.


Stevens could make herself eligible for next month’s WNBA draft. There is a strong sense within the UConn program that she will return next season, but recently she said she hasn’t made any decision yet.


“I haven’t really put a lot of thought into it so I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Stevens said. “I never came into the season saying I was going to leave or I was going to stay, so I’m kind of focused on the present and enjoying what we have here right now.”

 

[triaddukefan]

No, JPM has not won a NC nor made a final four, but neither did her predecessor. Kudos to KO for winning in his 2nd year with kids who committed to Calhoun. It’s been a disaster ever since. She has never won less than 20 games in 11 season, and the next lowest was 23.
She is 273-71 .789% vs. Ollie in his 6th and most likely last year at 14-17 and 127-78 .620%.
So yes, Ollie has a title and most likely a pink slip...

McCallie has made a Final Four............ and made it to the championship game.............................. at Michigan State

 

[SCGamecock]

SC has no replacement for Wilson. We will drop but not to the middle of the pack. We’re just not a middle of the pack team in the SEC. We beat most SEC teams on our worst nights based off of talent and coaching alone... and even with Wilson’s departure we’ll still have better overall talent than nearly every SEC team not named Tennessee.

That said, what makes SC intriguing for next season is that we’ll have no superstar on roster... so we’ll sneak up on teams with team ball. Most people will game plan us by taking away Ty... but Ty will be on a team with no less than 3 other point guards and a wing (Jackson) that’s comfortable running offense as well (because she’s doing it now on occasion). SC will be a team of guards next season and at first that worried me but now not so much... it’ll be a different look, one reminiscent of Dawn’s early tournament teams at SC.. teams that weren’t uber talented but were fun to watch.

 

[triaddukefan]

1) You missed Duke, which loses Lexie Brown, Rebecca Greenwell, Erin Mathias, and Bego Faz Davalos.

Imma need to have a couple of boxes of Kleenex's handy for when they walk off the court for the last time in a Duke uniform

 

[cbraarj]

No, JPM has not won a NC nor made a final four, but neither did her predecessor. Kudos to KO for winning in his 2nd year with kids who committed to Calhoun. It’s been a disaster ever since. She has never won less than 20 games in 11 season, and the next lowest was 23.
She is 273-71 .789% vs. Ollie in his 6th and most likely last year at 14-17 and 127-78 .620%.
So yes, Ollie has a title and most likely a pink slip...

Duke lost to Purdue in 1999 NC game. Lost to Maryland in 2006 NC game. Went 2 years with Alana Beard to FF. Gail is a better coach than JPM which includes 4 FF app!

 

[cbraarj]

McCallie has made a Final Four.. and made it to the championship game..... at Michigan State

GG brought the Blue Devils to 4 and 2 NC games 1999 & 2006!

 

[DefenseBB]

Duke lost to Purdue in 1999 NC game. Lost to Maryland in 2006 NC game. Went 2 years with Alana Beard to FF. Gail is a better coach than JPM which includes 4 FF app!

cbraarf-My point was exactly that, following a legend is tough, however JPM has done a far better job than either Ollie/Holly (that's kind of funny saying it). The problem with Gail is she failed miserably down in Texas. In 5 years she made the second round 1 time, her record was 102-64 or .614 while at Duke, Gail was 396-99 or .800; that's a stark difference. Plus, she alienated so many HS coaches, she has not really been considered college HC material, that and her rather public divorce have pushed her into commentating and WNBA assistant roles. I doubt she will ever be a HC again.

Again, my premise is the fan base will always be disappointed with the followers of the legend. Name the legend, then try to name the truly successful follower. It almost never happens. JPM has done a credible job, not great but she is still pulling in top talent and winning. Holly is still pulling in top talent and winning, albeit not as much as she probably should given that talent but I don't see the school firing her. Ollie on the other hand is struggling to get talent, to keep kids healthy, to coach kids up, get kids to play hard for 40 min and to stay out of NCAA investigations not a good resume to keep your job AND that is with an NC.

I do appreciate the dialogue. Thanks-DefenseBB

 

[Bigpetunia]

This thread, and the many accurate and thoughtful comments contained therein, offers pretty overwhelming testimony for how difficult a task it is to remain at the top in this sport for a long period...and, therefore, what an amazing accomplishment has been achieved by Geno & Co. Of course, success breeds success, making it easier for folks like Geno (and others) to keep attracting the top-tier players, but even those who manage to get to the top level are so vulnerable to devastating losses through graduation that long-maintaining the lofty status they labored so hard to achieve is terribly difficult if not virtually impossible. Of the lists presented here, I am particularly impressed with how decimating a blow will be dealt to Texas, though certainly the same fate will befall others. Still, this is just one additional feature that makes college sports so much more interesting than pro ball. A change in fortunes, one way or the other, may be just around the corner...for everyone!

 

[nwhoopfan]

Again, my premise is the fan base will always be disappointed with the followers of the legend. Name the legend, then try to name the truly successful follower.

Totally agree with your point. Since men's coaches have been mentioned in this thread, the best exception to the rule I can think of is Bill Self replacing Roy Williams at Kansas. Pretty seamless. Wins the Big 12 EVERY year, has a Championship and one other title game appearance.

Some coaches have had their reputations tarnished or ruined, but if you just look at wins and losses and post season success...Rick Pitino did well following Denny Crum at Louisville. Sean Miller hasn't gotten to the Final 4, but in every other way has done about as well as could be expected following Lute Olson at Arizona (there were 2 years of interim coaches, but Miller is officially the next head coach after Olson).

On a smaller scale, Lisa Fortier has kept things rolling at Gonzaga similarly to Kelly Graves.

 

[Vowelguy]

Sean Miller hasn't gotten to the Final 4, but in every other way has done about as well as could be expected following Lute Olson at Arizona

Thanks to some FBI tapes we know how Sean Miller has been able to do well.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Thanks to some FBI tapes we know how Sean Miller has been able to do well.

ESPN has gotten ripped apart for their reporting regarding that. In fact we don't actually know what is on those FBI tapes.

 

[Vowelguy]

ESPN has gotten ripped apart for their reporting regarding that. In fact we don't actually know what is on those FBI tapes.

Ripped by whom, other than AZ fans?

 

[nwhoopfan]

Ripped by whom, other than AZ fans?

Journalism isn't what it used to be. Get the story out their first, check facts later (or not at all).

 

[ed4ourgirls]

UConn takes a major hit with the loss of Gabby and Kia. Everyone expects/hopes
that Williams and Nelson-Ododa will eventually become major contributors but not
during their freshman year.

If Stevens leaves too, that would be a crippling blow - but I think it unlikely.
If Ezi comes that would be a major addition - but I think that unlikely too.

I would be surprised if UConn is ranked No. 1 in the 2018/19 preseason poll.

 

[Vowelguy]

UConn takes a major hit with the loss of Gabby and Kia. Everyone expects/hopes
that Williams and Nelson-Ododa will eventually become major contributors but not
during their freshman year.

If Stevens leaves too, that would be a crippling blow - but I think it unlikely.
If Ezi comes that would be a major addition - but I think that unlikely too.

I would be surprised if UConn is ranked No. 1 in the 2018/19 preseason poll.

If UConn wins the NC, it is preseason #1.

 

[CBus13]

For Texas, aren't the Caron-Goudreaus twins? This season, one has dark hair, the other blonde...

They are twins, but one transferred to Texas immediately and redshirted. The other transferred to Florida Gulf Coast and then to Texas, so she's a Senior and her sister is a redshirt Junior.

 

[mudcat]

I would think so. Not sure what LSU loses, but they played tough the 2nd half of the year playing almost all the top teams in the SEC tough.

I'd be curious to hear from our Tenn, SC, or Mizzou fans (I think we have at least 1 Missou fan on the board) what they think. The SEC regular season final standings looked thus:
View attachment 29202

IMHO Miss State takes a huge drop. Probably to around the middle of the pack of the SEC next year. No matter what SC fans say, losing Wilson will drop them down in the league ... BUT IMHO, their "other" players are better than I thought and they do add Cooper next season and a couple of pretty good freshmen. And given how much everyone else is losing, how much do they really drop?

Georgia does lose 2 starters and one was their leading scorer. Not sure about aTm or LSU. Any other team poised for a big jump?

Tennessee I love talking about cuz some of their fans are delirious if the don't think losing Russell and Nared is going to have a huge impact. Their top 2 scorers, and really there is no one to "replace" them. Davis is not big enough to really play center (at least I don't think she is), and Kushkutuah has been no great shakes this year. Not sure next year's freshman Collins is any better. Greene is supposed to be decent, and Tenn has certainly shown they can rely on freshmen.

Starters of Davis, Hayes, Westbrook, Jackson and then who?

MS St has Vic (sort of how Oregon has Rueck). They have PROGRAMS and will never be far off the pace. In the SEC I pick GA, MS St and SC in no particular order.