Tell me about the NEW Big Ten | Page 13 | The Boneyard

Tell me about the NEW Big Ten

WBBTakeover said:
I hadn't been overly impressed by UCLA--until today. Yes, they were playing against [one of] the least athletic teams in the conference (coached by someone who should've been pink-slipped a long time ago, but I digress). However, they hit a gear midway through the second quarter that most teams aren't capable of hitting. They're really good! I still see some losses coming their way given how tough the conference is (and where they have mismatch issues), but they are excellent.

Shout out to Kiki Rice!
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Kiki was impressive. On the other hand if you're 6'7", not a string bean, and have mediocre skills, you'll be an All-American. Saw one of those today too.
 
Tough loss this afternoon for MSU at Maryland. Sparty got too far behind late in the first quarter and early in the second quarter. Despite this, MSH still was able to almost come back...in fact they tied the score with just a few minutes left in the game, but just couldn't get over the top and close on a win. With the score tied, the Terps made several good plays on both offense and defense that the Spartans could not answer in the last 2 to 3 minutes of the game. Yeah, say what you want about bad refereeing, but it was here in this game as usual. Stinks for MSU, but that's life in the Big10 and everywhere else too. A big reason for the loss was MSU's Van Slooten. She only scored 4 points and had just 3 rebounds. She was badly troubled by Maryland double teaming her in low post so she was 1 for 9 shooting. Ugh.. She has yet not shown the willingness or ability to shoot the 3, and seldom shoots even the mid-range. Until she shows she can hit jumpers, she is going to be continuously ganged up on down low.

P.S. The 2 announcers for the game where really awful. Their metaphors and similes were brainless, grotesquely overused and abused terms, their knowledge of some rules was lacking, their idea what to say and when to it was off, and their expression of excitement sounded as fake as can be. I could not stand to listen to them and turned the volume/sound completely off for most of the second quarter and all of the second half. Where is the Big10plus getting these clowns?

P.S.S. Still praying, by some miracle, for Agot Makeer to commit to the Spartans.

Besides the potential to sign Makeer still on the table, MSU already has verbal commitment from another skilled guard in 2025. She is No. 33 ranked overall player by ESPN) Jordan Ode (rated 4 star, but missed being a 5 star by just 2 spots). Ode is ranked No. 35 best player overall by Prospects Nation and the 13th highest ranked guard in the Nation. Ode is the No. 1 ranked player overall in Minnesota for 2025. Ode chose MSU over offers from Illinois, Penn State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Maryland, Colorado, Utah, Marquette, Iowa State, Boston College, Creighton, Kansas, Providence, Auburn, and Harvard, among others.

Also MSU has 2 twin sisters committed at point guard and combo-guard for 2025. They are Amy and Anna Terrain. ESPN has Amy Terrain as the No. 89 ranked overall player in the Nation (as per ESPN) who also list her as a 4 star. Prepgirlhoops.com list her as the No. 2 overall player in Wisconsin for 2025. Her identical twin sister, Anna Terrain is also a 4 star by some sources. Prospects Nation has not yet listed her.

Finally, MSU got an early commit from Lilly Williams, a 2026, 6'5" Center-post ranked as high as the No. 20 player overall (and the 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th best post in the Nation depending on the source, also is No 1 ranked player in the state of Michigan). She is rated a 4 star, just missing out by 3 slots from being a 5 star. Besides her being an excellent shot blocker, she is is working on her mid- range game, 3 point shots and on her dunks. During an interview from about a year ago, she says she began working harder on her dunking (sometime prior to this same interview, possibly 2022) when her father offed her 1000 dollars (seriously) if she could perfect her dunking. She said she is (in particular) working to get better on her "throw downs" (so jumping high enough is apparently not the issue). She plans on participating in a dunking contest against boys (presumably in the near future after said interview:, the contest may by now have already occurred). She chose MSU over a huge set of other prestigious offers, including Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin, Providence, Northwestern, Central Michigan, Illinois, Boston College, Dayton, Ball State, and many, many more. Lilly Williams is not yet ranked numerically by Prospects Nation who list her as a 4 star in their elite 150 for 2026.
 
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It's early, but the conversations about Kaylene Smikle's WNBA chances can be had. She's looking like a late first round pick at worst in 2026.
 
Her Hoops Stats Drops Week 7 Big Ten Roundup

Features:
  • A positive update on Minnesota, particularly frosh Tori McKinney;
  • Looking at the few positives for Rutgers, Penn State
  • Ranking Top-ranked players, most of whom come from USC, UCLA, Michigan State and Ohio State


herhoopstats.substack.com

Week 7 Big Ten Roundup: A Time for Appreciation

Two months in, the conference title and player of the year contenders are separating themselves from the bunch.
herhoopstats.substack.com herhoopstats.substack.com
 
newfrontier said:
Tough loss this afternoon for MSU at Maryland. Sparty got too far behind late in the first quarter and early in the second quarter. Despite this, MSH still was able to almost come back...in fact they tied the score with just a few minutes left in the game, but just couldn't get over the top and close on a win. With the score tied, the Terps made several good plays on both offense and defense that the Spartans could not answer in the last 2 to 3 minutes of the game. Yeah, say what you want about bad refereeing, but it was here in this game as usual. Stinks for MSU, but that's life in the Big10 and everywhere else too. A big reason for the loss was MSU's Van Slooten. She only scored 4 points and had just 3 rebounds. She was badly troubled by Maryland double teaming her in low post so she was 1 for 9 shooting. Ugh.. She has yet not shown the willingness or ability to shoot the 3, and seldom shoots even the mid-range. Until she shows she can hit jumpers, she is going to be continuously ganged up on down low.

P.S. The 2 announcers for the game where really awful. Their metaphors and similes were brainless, grotesquely overused and abused terms, their knowledge of some rules was lacking, their idea what to say and when to it was off, and their expression of excitement sounded as fake as can be. I could not stand to listen to them and turned the volume/sound completely off for most of the second quarter and all of the second half. Where is the Big10plus getting these clowns?

P.S.S. Still praying, by some miracle, for Agot Makeer to commit to the Spartans.

Besides the potential to sign Makeer still on the table, MSU already has verbal commitment from another skilled guard in 2025. She is No. 33 ranked overall player by ESPN) Jordan Ode (rated 4 star, but missed being a 5 star by just 2 spots). Ode is ranked No. 35 best player overall by Prospects Nation and the 13th highest ranked guard in the Nation. Ode is the No. 1 ranked player overall in Minnesota for 2025. Ode chose MSU over offers from Illinois, Penn State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Maryland, Colorado, Utah, Marquette, Iowa State, Boston College, Creighton, Kansas, Providence, Auburn, and Harvard, among others.

Also MSU has 2 twin sisters committed at point guard and combo-guard for 2025. They are Amy and Anna Terrain. ESPN has Amy Terrain as the No. 89 ranked overall player in the Nation (as per ESPN) who also list her as a 4 star. Prepgirlhoops.com list her as the No. 2 overall player in Wisconsin for 2025. Her identical twin sister, Anna Terrain is also a 4 star by some sources. Prospects Nation has not yet listed her.

Finally, MSU got an early commit from Lilly Williams, a 2026, 6'5" Center-post ranked as high as the No. 20 player overall (and the 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th best post in the Nation depending on the source, also is No 1 ranked player in the state of Michigan). She is rated a 4 star, just missing out by 3 slots from being a 5 star. Besides her being an excellent shot blocker, she is is working on her mid- range game, 3 point shots and on her dunks. During an interview from about a year ago, she says she began working harder on her dunking (sometime prior to this same interview, possibly 2022) when her father offed her 1000 dollars (seriously) if she could perfect her dunking. She said she is (in particular) working to get better on her "throw downs" (so jumping high enough is apparently not the issue). She plans on participating in a dunking contest against boys (presumably in the near future after said interview:, the contest may by now have already occurred). She chose MSU over a huge set of other prestigious offers, including Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin, Providence, Northwestern, Central Michigan, Illinois, Boston College, Dayton, Ball State, and many, many more. Lilly Williams is not yet ranked numerically by Prospects Nation who list her as a 4 star in their elite 150 for 2026.
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Dunking averages less than ten points per season in all games. Lots of bigs can dunk in practice but very few can do it in a game. Oh, it’s fun in the rare occasions it happens, but it’s more important to spend your time shooting free throws than wasting time practicing you dunk.
 
SA
visitingcock said:
Dunking averages less than ten points per season in all games. Lots of bigs can dunk in practice but very few can do it in a game. Oh, it’s fun in the rare occasions it happens, but it’s more important to spend your time shooting free throws than wasting time practicing you dunk.
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Michigan hung with USC for two quarters the other day, but USC was just too much down the stretch, well too much Juju. I swear she is the Michael Jordan of WBB on getting foul calls. Those of us remember the Jordan days know. You looked at Jordan, it was a whistle. Juju getting that same treatment. USC shot 23 free throw attempts; Juju shot 60% of the attempts. She shot Michigan's total free-throws. SMH
 
newfrontier said:
SA
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Dunking averages less than ten points per season in all games. Lots of bigs can dunk in practice but ery few can do it in a game. Oh, it’s fun in the rare occasions it happens, but it’s more important to spend your time shooting free throws than wasting time practicing you dunk.

Interesting that you think practicing dunking is a waste of time for women. (and what about for men, a waste of time or not as well?). Well, Lilly's father has nearly the opoposite point of view. In an inteview with her, she saystp host that her Dad told her that the surest way for a woman to go to college and get a degree for free was/is to learn to dunk (and do it well of course). Here is a link to the interview.



timeline:
8:03. host brings up when and how he first saw and learned Lilly Williams was at a dunking contest. She was just age 14-15, already competing against boys (the boys?), and does well enough to get to the finals. At the same time/age , she was already receiving scholarship offers to play as some the
the biggest and best schools.
10:40. Lilly describes how her Dad offered her 1000 dollars if she dunked. Her dad was big dunker in college.
13:05. Host and Lilly talk about her exceptional shot block skills.
 
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visitingcock said:
Dunking averages less than ten points per season in all games. Lots of bigs can dunk in practice but very few can do it in a game. Oh, it’s fun in the rare occasions it happens, but it’s more important to spend your time shooting free throws than wasting time practicing you dunk.
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If interested, I responded to your post (this post) above.
 
newfrontier said:
Dunking averages less than ten points per season in all games. Lots of bigs can dunk in practice but ery few can do it in a game. Oh, it’s fun in the rare occasions it happens, but it’s more important to spend your time shooting free throws than wasting time practicing you dunk.


Interesting that you think practicing dunking is a waste of time for women. (and what about for men, a waste of time or not as well?). Well, Lilly's father has nearly the opoposite point of view. In an inteview with her, she saystp host that her Dad told her that the surest way for a woman to go to college and get a degree for free was/is to learn to dunk (and do it well of course). Here is a link to the interview.



timeline:
8:03. host brings up when and how he first saw and learned Lilly Williams was at a dunking contest. She was just age 14-15, already competing against boys (the boys?), and does well enough to get to the finals. At the same time/age , she was already receiving scholarship offers to play as some the
the biggest and best schools.
10:40. Lilly describes how her Dad offered her 1000 dollars if she dunked. Her dad was big dunker in college.
13:05. Host and Lilly talk about her exceptional shot block skills.
Expand ...

www.ncaa.com

Every women’s college basketball player to dunk in a game

Beginning with Georgeann Wells and ending with Francesca Belibi, here is the list of the eight women's college basketball players to dunk in a game.
www.ncaa.com www.ncaa.com

The fact that there have been so few dunks shows how irrelevant it is to the game. We have the only active player, Ashlyn Watkins, who has dunked in a college game. This is her third year playing the game, and she has three dunks.. Two points per year! Six points in a 2-1/2 year career.Next to nothing in importance compared to shooting a high percentage of foul shots.

Now is the dad you pointed out wrong? Not about drawing interest to a high school recruit. It is flashy and does draw interest, but will note, alone, induce a major coach to extend an offer. A practice dunker is showing that she has the ability to be a rebounder and shot blocker which are much more important skills to practice. But other skills are much more important
 
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Minnesota at Wisconsin could be an interesting match up this afternoon. Minnesota hasn't seemed phased with the losses of Braun and Woodson. Will be interesting to see how they defend Williams today.
 
cancontent said:
Minnesota at Wisconsin could be an interesting match up this afternoon. Minnesota hasn't seemed phased with the losses of Braun and Woodson. Will be interesting to see how they defend Williams today.
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Or maybe not so interesting? Terrible 1st quarter for the Badgers (23-4) that they couldn't overcome. Well 4 minutes left but trailing by 14, so let's call it doubtful.
 
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Things not looking good for Carolyn Kieger in Happy Valley. Off to an 0-3 conference start, and could easily be something like 1-8 or 0-9 at the halfway point in conference play. All games against Rutgers (2), Washington, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Purdue are in the back half of the conference schedule. Will be interesting to see if PSU can hang together to make some hay down the conference stretch.
 
BigTenGuy said:
All games against Rutgers (2), Washington, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Purdue are in the back half of the conference schedule.
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Hey, you didn't get the memo? Washington isn't an easy out apparently. Ask Illinois about that.
 
BigTenGuy said:
Things not looking good for Carolyn Kieger in Happy Valley. Off to an 0-3 conference start, and could easily be something like 1-8 or 0-9 at the halfway point in conference play. All games against Rutgers (2), Washington, Northwestern, Wisconsin and Purdue are in the back half of the conference schedule. Will be interesting to see if PSU can hang together to make some hay down the conference stretch.
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She's cooked, IMO. We can start talking about possible replacements. I can't think of any that would be a major upgrade, however.
 


Welp. Haven't followed Rutgers too closely. What could McMiller have done to be benched for this game? I've been under the impression she's a playmaker for the team.
 
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cancontent said:


Welp. Haven't followed Rutgers too closely. What could McMiller have done to be benched for this game? I've been under the impression she's a playmaker for the team.
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I have no idea why McMiller was benched but it doesn't appear to be injury or performance-related. You asked what could she have done and, again, I have no idea but it could be a number of things, including academics or behavior deemed detrimental to the team.
 
DRR25 said:
I have no idea why McMiller was benched but it doesn't appear to be injury or performance-related. You asked what could she have done and, again, I have no idea but it could be a number of things, including academics or behavior deemed detrimental to the team.
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Should have noted it was a rhetorical question but it still caught me off guard. A scan of the Rutgers board gives an impression that it may be the latter.
 
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Washington is running an interesting promo for their game against Wisconsin on Tuesday. It's Girly Pop Night. Among other things, there is a raffle (sorry, students only) with the prize 2 tickets to see Dua Lipa at Climate Pledge Arena. I don't know how much the raffle tickets are, but I'll guarantee it's a lot less than tickets to the concert.
 
My guess is that neither UCLA nor USC will lose a BIG conference game outside of LA. But USC losing tonight at Maryland is perhaps the best chance for that to happen. One of the more interesting BIG games of the season. Tonight on FS1.
 
BigTenGuy said:
My guess is that neither UCLA nor USC will lose a BIG conference game outside of LA. But USC losing tonight at Maryland is perhaps the best chance for that to happen. One of the more interesting BIG games of the season. Tonight on FS1.
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Thanks. I was about to miss that. Should be a good one.
 
BigTenGuy said:
My guess is that neither UCLA nor USC will lose a BIG conference game outside of LA. But USC losing tonight at Maryland is perhaps the best chance for that to happen. One of the more interesting BIG games of the season. Tonight on FS1.
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One wonders how the California players are being affected by fire news...
I just think that no matter how dominant a player or team seem to be, so many variables come into play that going undefeated (except against each other) in a very good conference is unlikely. Even though they will probably be the clear favorite in every other conference game.
 
Okay, here's a bold prediction. Seems like the B1G has had a tendency in recent years for a bunch of teams to get lumped in the middle of the standings. With 18 members now, we might see the biggest log jam in the standings in a conference ever!
 
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