The Way Too Early ESPN Top 25 | Page 2 | The Boneyard

The Way Too Early ESPN Top 25

I think UCONN next year could do what SC did this year. Hear me out:

Yes-We lose CD and Megan, but what we gain is Anna, Olivia, Aubrey, and CW being a year older, is huge. IMO-I know Christyn had a tough season, but she was still the best basketball player on our team. IF she can blossom the way I think she can, I think she could be a 1st team AA next season.

The wildcard here is Evina. I think she will be the alpha and this will be her team from day 1.

Throw in what we can get from the freshman and I think that by seaon's end, nobody will want to play us.
 
shiverz45 said:
Actually I thought Mississippi State would be somewhere in the top 5. They lose only one player and add 2 McDonald's All American. They are two deep at every position. Rickea Jackson will be an All American this year.
Expand ...

Miss St is no question a top 10 but 3 may be too high for me right now. Vic has worked with far less talent and gotten them extremely far. Their freshmen and Carter (sophomore) were big stars for them this past year. I expect them to be really really good next year, especially adding Sidney Cooks, Madison Hayes and their youngsters getting another full offseason to develop.

I felt they were too raw this past year and so much youth and inexperience led to some chemistry and growing pains.

These polls are always worthless anyways. IMO next season is very open, a lot of great teams and talented squads could win it all. Just another fun thing to talk about. Looking forward to next year already.
 
bballnut90 said:
Lol, valid but I think they actually have a solid claim to preseason #1 with their freshman trio returning along with Henderson, Saxton and Grissett.

Stanford looks loaded too, even without Carrington. I think there's a drop off after these 2.

Mississippi State at 3 is high IMO but I wouldn't count them out. Jackson is gonna be a star and they return a ton of talent. Vic's roster is crazy deep though which often times doesn't lead to great chemistry.

UCONN at 4 looks good. I think they're underestimating Maryland at 10 though. I'd have them around 7-8.
Expand ...

I think they put Maryland at 10 b/c of the Austin transfer in addition to the losses of the senior class. With Austin, I think Maryland would’ve easily been in the top 5. But the off-season will be interesting and more telling of the top 25!
 
MSUFan2003 said:
This list makes me ready for the season to begin. I miss it already.
Expand ...
Same! ... still wish it was some way that they could play out this year’s ncaa tournament but I know it’s no possible way.
 
.-.
LowkeyX said:
I think they put Maryland at 10 b/c of the Austin transfer in addition to the losses of the senior class. With Austin, I think Maryland would’ve easily been in the top 5. But the off-season will be interesting and more telling of the top 25!
Expand ...

Agreed. I had them at 3 with Austin. I still think theyll be quite good even without her. Owusu/Miller/Mikesell is a good trio and they bring in transfer Mimi Collins and #2 recruit Angel Reese.
 
LowkeyX said:
I think they put Maryland at 10 b/c of the Austin transfer in addition to the losses of the senior class. With Austin, I think Maryland would’ve easily been in the top 5. But the off-season will be interesting and more telling of the top 25!
Expand ...
Maryland's top 8 players are pretty solid. They have no one beyond that. Brenda also have NEVER signed a graduate transfer. This is her chance to try and sign a quality backup post player.
 
bballnut90 said:
Agreed. I had them at 3 with Austin. I still think theyll be quite good even without her. Owusu/Miller/Mikesell is a good trio and they bring in transfer Mimi Collins and #2 recruit Angel Reese.
Expand ...
Agreed! the Mimi Collins transfer couldn’t have come at a better time. & Yes that’s my projected starting 5 next season, Miller’s improvement will be key

TerpWomenFan said:
Maryland's top 8 players are pretty solid. They have no one beyond that. Brenda also have NEVER signed a graduate transfer. This is her chance to try and sign a quality backup post player.
Expand ...
Yes think she needs to bring in at least 2 grad transfers or maybe some international talent in the post.
 
TerpWomenFan said:
Maryland's top 8 players are pretty solid. They have no one beyond that. Brenda also have NEVER signed a graduate transfer. This is her chance to try and sign a quality backup post player.
Expand ...

Kim Mulkey use to be that way until some of her recent good experiences with it. It has been a big benefit for her the last two years. I would if I was Brenda. At least for more quality depth.
 
Fairfield Fan said:
"...along with rising junior Elizabeth Balogun (8.1 PPG). Balogun transferred from Georgia Tech and got a waiver to play this past season. She is the top rebounder (4.6 RPG) returning for the Cardinals."

Balogun gets a waiver, but Evina Westbrook doesn't. Rhyme and reason? UConn is just too good, so deny their waivers, no matter what?
Expand ...


Dude-I don't think you can underestimate what kind of abuse those kids at Ga Tech went though. And who cares about the Westbrook waiver at this point. It's almost better that she didn't get it, considering how this season ended.
 
ucbart said:
I think UCONN next year could do what SC did this year. Hear me out:

Yes-We lose CD and Megan, but what we gain is Anna, Olivia, Aubrey, and CW being a year older, is huge. IMO-I know Christyn had a tough season, but she was still the best basketball player on our team. IF she can blossom the way I think she can, I think she could be a 1st team AA next season.

The wildcard here is Evina. I think she will be the alpha and this will be her team from day 1.

Throw in what we can get from the freshman and I think that by season's end, nobody will want to play us.
Expand ...
If Christyn had one tough season your perspective might have some validity, but her Freshman season was nothing to write home about either. What, other than your opinion has she shown since playing in college that would validate her being labeled the best player on the team?

As to first-team AA next season. She might want to try to shoot for honorable mention first. Once a player's rep is no longer there, it becomes harder to make it on merit. Her high school rep has pretty much disappeared and it would take a huge season to elevate her to AA status.
 
.-.
EricLA said:
Meh. I don't have any issue with the rankings. Lots of games to be played next season and plenty of time for teams to move up or down. We play Oregon, Baylor and SC next season. Take care of business and we move up. Lose, and we won't.
Expand ...
No other team can say that! Thank you!
 
willtalk said:
If Christyn had one tough season your perspective might have some validity, but her Freshman season was nothing to write home about either. What, other than your opinion has she shown since playing in college that would validate her being labeled the best player on the team?
Expand ...

I don't believe CW was the best player on this year's team, and she didn't have a great year, but she was much better as a freshman than you are remembering. She shot 50%, 37% from three, and had 86 assists to 52 turnovers.

Compare that to Zia Cooke, lauded for her freshman season. Cook shot 38.6%, 36% from three, and had 61 assists to 58 turnovers.
 
I am not sure if we play Baylor and Maryland next year. We probably owe Baylor a home game. I know Oregon and SC play in the Battle for Atlas tournament in the Bahamas.
 
shiverz45 said:
I am not sure if we play Baylor and Maryland next year. We probably owe Baylor a home game. I know Oregon and SC plays in the Battle for Atlas tournament in the Bahamas.
Expand ...
Is that a pre-determined tournament or is it a bracket?
 
DaBball said:
Is that a pre-determined tournament or is it a bracket?
Expand ...
This will be the first year for the women. The men tournament was bracket formatted. So the women will probably be as well.
 
.-.
Dana Evans said today that she is considering leaving for the WNBA. (She will turn 22 on August 1.)

I thought ESPN had us ranked too high even before this news broke, because of the uncertainty at the 4/5 spots. Obviously, if Evans leaves all bets are off.
 
Kaizen said:
ESPN just announces that any UConn's NC has players including DT, Tina, Maya and Stewart should not be counted. That will make UConn's NC to only 2 instead of 11.
Expand ...

Please provide link or are you just looking for outraged replies?
 
Crossover said:
He is making a joke. Chill
Expand ...
I'm chill. AC set to 72. It's the number of people that replied to his comment that made me ask for the link. ESPN isn't a friend to UConn or women's basketball.
 
shiverz45 said:
I am not sure if we play Baylor and Maryland next year. We probably owe Baylor a home game. I know Oregon and SC play in the Battle for Atlas tournament in the Bahamas.
Expand ...
Yep SC plays MD at home, to return the home and away series since MD played SC at home last season.
 
.-.
militarydog said:
I’m replying as a Mississippi State fan so understand it is from a fan’s perspective. However I’ll try to be as objective as possible. Overall I think there is an argument to be made for MSU to be preseason top five. Honestly I think three is high. Regardless pending any transfers their only loss is J Danberry. She is an incredibly gifted player but there are several other players capable of stepping into her position and role.
As far as star power R Jackson returns as a sophomore after having a very good freshman season. A year in the system and weight room should really help her improve. She is also an alpha. S Cooks and A Matharu also have the ability to take over games. Matharu also has the alpha mentality.
S Cooks, M Hayes, and D Gaston are the newcomers. Cooks should push for a big role. Hayes also has potential to contribute this coming season.
There are still lots of questions such as a starting five and key backups separating themselves from the rest. This past season saw games where a player may play 30 minutes one game then few or none the next game. Coach Schaefer says this team has yet to have an alpha dog emerge that will enforce practice habits and other off the court habits. There are no issues or bad attitudes but just no killers yet. That segways into the fact that the rising seniors are probably solid role players at best and the youngest players are the most talented. Will everyone accept their roles for the betterment of the team?
I don’t know enough about what the other teams at the top lose, gain, and/or have returning to decide how it compares. The one I probably know the most about is South Carolina. They have great talent returning in the starters and backups. They also have a great coach. However I am a big fan of T Harris and M Herbert-Harrigan. Both are very talented and alpha dogs. While I think there are some good players that can fill their role I’m not sure if anyone can play right away like those two.
Expand ...
Victoria Saxon and Lele Grissett are MAJOR alpha dogs....make no mistake that South Carolina is No. 1 for a solid reason. I would venture to say they will be even better next year, with a year from all the freshmen under their collective belts. They add Littleton and Amihere has another off season to get adjusted to playing after her surgery.....
 
EasyEd said:
I'm chill. AC set to 72. It's the number of people that replied to his comment that made me ask for the link. ESPN isn't a friend to UConn or women's basketball.
Expand ...
For years, ESPN has been one of the few sports channels that reported on women's basketball. For every story some disagree with, there have been R Lobo and Geno interviews, UConn appearances on various TV shows (especially Golic's morning show), and coverage of games across the US. Without ESPN, not sure what coverage women's basketball would have.
 
EasyEd said:
I'm chill. AC set to 72. It's the number of people that replied to his comment that made me ask for the link. ESPN isn't a friend to UConn or women's basketball.
Expand ...

Just curious, why do you think that ESPN is not a friend to women's basketball? Lots of prime time regular season games, live Selection Monday in prime time, and of course the NCAA tournament in prime time and prime weekend spots.

ESPN is the only national platform that even acknowledges the existence of WBB.
 
ESPN has to fill there broadcasting hours with something. Their site shuts down info about NCAAW basketball after the championships. Last fall just before the season began, their articles were still about the prior final four. If they were true proponents of the women's game they would talk more about off season transfers, rule changes, recruiting, etc. Their greatest CBB basketball player unfairly made women compete with men. They should have had the same bracket for women. Also, they could have included Ray Allen on the men's side. Yeah, they cover women's basketball, but they would probably preempt that coverage if a big poker match was being played.
 
I think ESPN needs to revisit this list in the summer after the NCAA votes on the transfer rule. A lot of transfers have happened since then, which has elevated a lot of teams.
 
Chloe Bibby entered the transfer portal yesterday. How many others will transfer with a new coach coming in?
 
.-.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
167,988
Messages
4,548,458
Members
10,431
Latest member
TeganK


Top Bottom