Shocking! ESPN's Way Too Early has UConn 7th!

[nwhoopfan]

which probably would be hard to maintain with several very tall, lumbering posts

I think Mitrovic is the only one of the tall posts that might be lumbering. Morris and Aquino are fairly mobile and I expect Brown and Jones to be as well.

 

[HuskyPhan]

2011 they lost NPOY Tina Charles--> Final Four
2012 they lost an all time great in Moore -->Final Four
2015 they lost pillars Dolson and Hartley-->Championship
2017 they lost the top 3 WNBA picks (including Stewart)--> Final Four
2019 they lost 2 DPOY and their only post presence (all 1st round picks)-->Final Four

See a trend?

To quote my favorite Dumb and Dumber line......

So you're saying there's a chance......

 

[SCspur]

It’ll be a battle in the SEC that’s for sure. I would like to see A&M and Miss St schedule a little tougher next year. I hope I get to see a A&M v Baylor matchup next year, that would be fun. I think Vic needs to throw his team in the fire and schedule top 10 teams early. That will definitely help. Something that should give SC an advantage in winning the SEC next year will be the fact that we will play both of these teams at home so it’ll be tougher on them.

I also wouldn’t sleep on Missouri next year either. They lose Cunningham but Hayley Frank and Aijha Blackwell are very good! Add them to Akira Levy and Amber Smith and that’s definitely a top 5 SEC squad.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Sounds about right. We were out rebounded massively by Baylor and a few others. Just look at the height and heft of the top teams- Baylor, Oregon, Maryland and others.

Even with a better ONO, that's one player with height. No one else is there to help her.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

I am not surprised A&M is number 5, I think they could win it al, they have everybody returning and a superstar to lead them. I am surprised MSST is rated above SC, we lost more and have no senior leaders.

Charlie created that list when he thought Kiki was transferring.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

Top 10 Looks close to my earlier prediction. I would flip flop Stanford and OSU. Texas would be in my top 10.

Unless Texas got a new coach, they won't be sniffing the top ten.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

He noted in his writeup Harrigan withdrawing her name.

I see; he's changed it since I first read the write up.

 

[willtalk]

Because it's Scott Rueck, I'll give him some tremendous benefit of the doubt, but I'm really curious to see how his team gels together next year. He has a 5'7" point guard (Slocum), three shooting guards at or below 6' (Goodman at 5'9", Pivec at 5'10" and Tudor at 6'), and then like 5 players at 6'5" or taller. And Slocum in particular likes to push the pace, which probably would be hard to maintain with several very tall, lumbering posts. And IMHO, I thought part of Grymek's problem last season was that her plane of ball movement was not even close to being at the same level as her teammates, so her inside out passes were very diagonal and it was hard to get the ball inside to her off a bounce pass because it'd end up at her knees half the time. I'm not sure why, but somehow Gulich's 6'5" seemed like a much more manageable size to get the ball in and out.

So despite some impressive roster stats It's not obvious to me how these players are all going to fit together, but I'm sure Rueck will figure it out, and it'll be fun to watch.

Interesting because I saw the same thing. It was a real problem for Oregon St. I feel their failure to get the ball to Grymek was a combination of things. To begin with Grymek did not jump but that itself would not have been enough to cause the problem. The main problem was that two of the Beavers primary ball handlers do not throw good lob passes. Their passes to Grymek, as you stated were very diagonal and usually ended up just off of Grymeks fingertips beyond her reach. The fact that they had problems connecting with Grymek also made them hesitate when she did have great position and should have passed.

The reason it worked better with Gulich is also for multiple reasons. To begin with Gulich had better hands and could jump for balls over her head. McWilliams had the ball in her hands more and she was a better passer to the post than Pivek or Slocum. Tudor, who was injured and out this season, threw the best lob pass of any of them. Probably because she shoots such high arching shots while the others are flat shooters. When you shoot high shots you emphasize dropping the ball in the right place, it is similar to a lob pass. She was the best at getting the ball to Gulich. Goodman seemed to be the best this season at making the passes to Grymek. The other guards not only did not trust Grymek but also did not trust themselves to make those passes, so they did not make them in rhythm but seemed to hesitate and that allowed the defense more time to react.

I also think Scott R. has a plan or he would not have recruited or signed so many tall players. He envisions neither Brown or Aquino as centers. In the Jordan Brand Game Brown played at the 3. Aquino is not a post up player either and she will not be played as one. She will either play as a forward or at the high post on offense. That leaves Mitrovic and Morris at center and Jones as a swing center and power forward. On most other teams they would be locked into just the center position. Kennedy Brown chose OSt because she knew that with the other posts there she would not have to play at a post position. Neither Aquino or Brown are better face-up than back to the basket players. They also have enough ball skills to play on the perimeter. And with their height and passing ability, they will have no problem getting the ball into the post players.

If you can imagine and offense with either Brown or Aquino with the ball on either the wing or high post and a team having to defend their shot while at the same time defending a tall post player from getting a pass in position from an equally tall player from the perimeter. They could pass the ball back and forth to each other and the smaller defenders couldn't do much about it. Then if you had Brown at the wing and Aquino at the high post with a 6'7" or 6'9' center posted up that would be a defensive nightmare. Now that might not be feasible on the other end though out a game, but if you needed the last basket to close a quarter or a game it would be indefensible. Or think of a time out defense they could put on the floor with all that length.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

Its an ESPN ranking!!@@!@! Really not something to get too excited or upset about. I feel UCONN will be right in the mix at the end of the season. When ONO learns a hook shot she will be un stoppable under the hoop... with CD, CW and MW Outside, i think we will be ok.

 

[willtalk]

On signing day, McGraw emphasized her 3-point shooting and how important it was to get a shooter with Mabrey graduating. So I think they'll find a way to get her behind the three-point line. But I've always thought she was a 4 in ND's system.

I think Vaughn and Cosgrove will handle the low post duties but Brunelle will have to play the 4 out of necessity. With Patterson at 4, she could possibly have logged some minutes at 3.

A lot more players are making an effort to chose teams where they will be playing positions that reflect where they will be playing at the next level. That is why 6'6" Kennedy Brown chose a post loaded Oregon St. She knows they will not force her into playing in the post out of necessity. Another example is DeCosta at Baylor. Aside from recovering from an early injury, another reason DeCosta did not get much floor time at Baylor is that she was being transitioned to play on the perimeter. On some other post needy teams they would have stuck her at forward because of her rebounding. At Baylor she will play the positions she is more suited to and which give her the best opportunity to succeed at the next level. Some people wondered how they would handle both Smith and Decosta playing at the same position. Well, Smith stayed in the post while Decosta transitioned to the perimeter.

 

[willtalk]

I think Mitrovic is the only one of the tall posts that might be lumbering. Morris and Aquino are fairly mobile and I expect Brown and Jones to be as well.

As to FarmFans concern about Oregon Sts lumbering posts. Oregon is very proud of it's lumbering industry.

 

[bbsamjj]

I don't necessarily think RU needs to be in the Top 25 at all at this point (Though the high number of B10 teams was surprising), but their backcourt next year should be high quality:

Zippy Broughton (was top 30 recruit, got tons of time at end of year, played very well and with poise)
KK Sanders (starting senior PG who redshirted all of last year)
Arella Guirantes (3rd team Big 10)
Noga Pelg Pelg (Israeli who can shoot from half court)
Alexis Morris (Baylor transfer who will be eligible in January)

The frontcourt is big question mark, but if Maori Davenport can make some noise, RU should once again make moves in the B10.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I don't necessarily think RU needs to be in the Top 25 at all at this point (Though the high number of B10 teams was surprising), but their backcourt next year should be high quality:

Zippy Broughton (was top 30 recruit, got tons of time at end of year, played very well and with poise)
KK Sanders (starting senior PG who redshirted all of last year)
Arella Guirantes (3rd team Big 10)
Noga Pelg Pelg (Israeli who can shoot from half court)
Alexis Morris (Baylor transfer who will be eligible in January)

The frontcourt is big question mark, but if Maori Davenport can make some noise, RU should once again make moves in the B10.

So, the lineup will include Zippy, KK, Arella, Noga, and Alexis? Alexis really needs a nickname.

 

[HopJim]

Sounds about right. We were out rebounded massively by Baylor and a few others. Just look at the height and heft of the top teams- Baylor, Oregon, Maryland and others.

Even with a better ONO, that's one player with height. No one else is there to help her.

Have to agree with Fairfield-this ranking appears reasonable based on what we know today. While ND and others have high turnover, they at least have known reinforcements. Predict UConn will as well but that's all guess work. Today, we barely have enough bodies.

 

[jumpstart]

His Top 25 is absolutely correct....for now...as any Top 25 preseason poll would be. The entire field is undefeated until they are not...lol....I am not sure you could even call this an educated guess with the outside forces that will impact each team. You got to place them somewhere in preseason so this will work for now !

 

[PAC-12HoopFan]

"Interesting because I saw the same thing. It was a real problem for Oregon St. I feel their failure to get the ball to Grymek was a combination of things. To begin with Grymek did not jump but that itself would not have been enough to cause the problem. The main problem was that two of the Beavers primary ball handlers do not throw good lob passes. Their passes to Grymek, as you stated were very diagonal and usually ended up just off of Grymeks fingertips beyond her reach. The fact that they had problems connecting with Grymek also made them hesitate when she did have great position and should have passed.

The reason it worked better with Gulich is also for multiple reasons. To begin with Gulich had better hands and could jump for balls over her head. McWilliams had the ball in her hands more and she was a better passer to the post than Pivek or Slocum. Tudor, who was injured and out this season, threw the best lob pass of any of them. Probably because she shoots such high arching shots while the others are flat shooters. When you shoot high shots you emphasize dropping the ball in the right place, it is similar to a lob pass. She was the best at getting the ball to Gulich. Goodman seemed to be the best this season at making the passes to Grymek. The other guards not only did not trust Grymek but also did not trust themselves to make those passes, so they did not make them in rhythm but seemed to hesitate and that allowed the defense more time to react."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What I thought that The FarmFan was conveying in the post about 6'8" graduating senior Grymek is that when the ball was passed inside to her, Grymek was not able to kick the ball back out to her teammates (when needed) to create shots for others. That observation was very true. If Willtalk had ever watched an OSU practice during the past two years, he would have a better idea why OSU's guards had to be near perfect with their entry post passes to Grymek. Slocum and Pivec are the best passers on the OSU squad. Believe me, they tried to get the ball into Grymek into favorable positions and often received turnovers for their efforts when the catch wasn't completed. Tudor's primary role is to shoot the ball, rather than to pass it, so any lob passes that Willtalk may have witnessed are anomalies in the OSU offense.

A tall post needs to be able to hold her position inside while she is getting pounded and pushed on the block. The three incoming freshmen posts (6'9" Mitrovic, 6'6" Brown, and 6'3" Jones) all appear from video to have more of a nasty streak in their games than Grymek has with respect to dealing with physical play. That enhanced degree of aggression will be welcomed in Corvallis.

 

[Ozzie1986]

PAC-12 will continue as top conference, improving top to bottom, even bottom Colorado who struggled after losing top player to injury but nearly beat Stanford. They add New Zealand's 6'4" Charlotte Whittaker at post. Remember that name.

Insane she didn't go to a bigger school. Tough as nails...

 

[tower1]

ORE and Baylor are easy 1 and 2, but I have trouble seeing our Huskies behind TX A&M and Oregon St. I do think they hit the nail on the head (or one nail, anyhow) that ONO's improvement will be a huge key for us.
And ND is 17th! I'm thinking that is a bit low -- though I wouldn't mind it at all...
ESPN: The Worldwide Leader in Sports - ESPN

I can't believe Geno has major problems getting Bigs to come to Uconn the last couple of years.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

We don't even know where all the transfers will end up and who will be eligible to play next season out of those transfers. Not everyone gets the benefit of the Notre Dame rule.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Being disrespected is good for us.

Being 7th isn't disrespecting Uconn. It is pretty realistic based on what you see right now. If Griffin or another pans out in Nov Uconn will move up, if they don't work out--Well?????

 

[BroadwayVa]

I can't believe Geno has major problems getting Bigs to come to Uconn the last couple of years.

Looking at the results of recruiting these past 2 years that would be the assessment (minus ONO)

 

[willtalk]

Pac12hoopfan.
You wrote your response to my post within my post which now does not allow me to copy the post I am responding too.

Yes FarmFan was referring to the Inside out passes that Grymek attempted. I agreed with her as I stated in my initial sentence. What I was primarily responding too was her question as to why they had a hard time getting the ball to Grymek and not that much trouble with Gulich. I stated it was for multiple reasons. One that Grymek didn't or couldn't jump. So this would correspond to your statement that the passes had to be perfect to be completed. Yes if they are the type of passes that the guards usually threw. Lob passes require less of a margin of error much as high arching shots do as opposed to shots with very little arch. The guards might be very good passers but they did not appear to excel at throwing lob passes. Their passes generally had no arch and that allowed little margin for error. Many of the passes just went off Grymeks fingertips. If Grymek could elevate even the slightest she could have caught them. If the guards put more lob into the passes then more would have been completed as well. My saying that they were loath to pass her the ball is a result of that low completion rate.

As to her passing out. You have to get the ball in position first. Most of the time she was still struggling to maintain control. Often she would have a good position and they hesitated to pass her the ball. It was sort of a catch 22 situation.

As to my referring to Tudor throwing the best lob passes- that has nothing to do with the number she threw. Obviously, she would get fewer assists than the primary ball handlers. But just like McWilliams her assist came primarily in the half court sets from passes into the block. Goodman also puts some lob on her passes so she had better results with Grymek as well. I don't need to watch practices to be able to use my two eyes.

You still seem to be on this crusade to find justification to discount any post that I make about the Oregon St. program. A self-appointed mother hen to make sure I do not malign certain players. Saying someone does not throw good lob passes is not maligning that player. No player excels in everything. Now I know that both of them throw good bounce passes. I saw Pevic hit Mattie in the post with three in a row in one game of the playoffs. But as FarmFan said the bounce passes to Grymek usually ended up at her knees. They probably didn't adjust to her higher knees or getting the ball that low made it easier for the defense to tie her up. In general, the chemistry just wasn't good on those post inlet passes. For whatever reason, that was a reality.

I sort of suspect that you were less concerned with what I stated with respect to Slocum than you were about Pivec. To tell you the truth, I did not use names in my initial post because I did not pay that much attention as to which guard was throwing those passes off her fingertips. I do remember that Goodwin had the highest success rate. I doubt those passes into the post will be much of an issue next season. Less to do with aggression than it is because all the incoming posts are able to jump. Plus everyone will have the offseason to practice lob passes.

pivek, Slowcolm, Gremec, Toother. MackWilliams .----- Here are some misspelled names so you can claim I obviously never watch the games or know nothing about Oregon St.

 

[Urshurak]

I would give Stanford a better chance than UConn. Maybe switch their %.

Looking at the results of recruiting these past 2 years that would be the assessment (minus ONO)

I think maybe the "original" plan in Geno's head was he would have 'Z' for another year. Maybe that had something to do with it. Bringing in ONO to develop under 'Z'.

 

[eebmg]

Being 7th isn't disrespecting Uconn. It is pretty realistic based on what you see right now. If Griffin or another pans out in Nov Uconn will move up, if they don't work out--Well?????

I agree that 7th is a realistic preseason ranking but it will not play out that way inside Storrs. They will take offense. I actually thought the 2nd seed in the regional last year was not unreasonable but all the players reacted like they were slapped across the face. I was surprised by their intense feelings so this is how players on the best program ever react and it generally serves them well.