TENN'S SENIOR CLASS

[hoopfan515]

I'll admit when Pat signed up this # 1 ranked Senior class 4 years ago, I was very worried.
Thought for sure they'd be headed to at least a few Final Fours and more. Now I'm not so sure if they'll make at least 1 Final Four. I expect them to still make it this year, but it won't be easy or a sure thing.

If they were to win a Championship this year, all would be forgiven in Knoxville. Would they dare ever be called or considered Underachievers. Wasn't there also a # 1 ranked and recruited class at Iowa with Bridgeport's Nadine Diamond that never made it to a Final Four. But I think that class was hit hard with injuries. Tangela Smith finally showed off her talent in the WNBA.

 

[alexrgct]

The problem is that these class rankings don't emphasize how big a deal it is to get the mythical "six star" players. Glory Johnson was a top-five national player coming out of high school, but she wasn't Maya Moore. If I get Maya and you get three other top 10-15 ranked players, your class will be ranked ahead of mine, but whose class would you rather have? That's what I thought.

As it turned out, that 2008 class for Tennessee had a ton of talent, but no game changing kinds of players. You can win an NC without such a player (see TAMU last year), but it's a lot easier when you've got them.

 

[Tonyc]

The problem with TN was they had all those AAs out of HS and they all played the same positions. No good guards and no point guard.