Thoughts/Analysis on the ACC heading into 2025-26 | Page 3 | The Boneyard
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Thoughts/Analysis on the ACC heading into 2025-26

Rooster C. said:
Virginia is next.

Overall Virginia had some slight improvement over the previous year. They were unranked going in to the season and finished it unranked as well. Their season came to an end in the ACC tournament where they defeated Pitt and then lost to Cal in the next round by 17. Amaka Aguagua-Hamilton has done a fairly good job at Virginia so far especially considering where they were when she took over. Her overall win pct is .667 and .352 in conference. That doesn't sound great for an in conference record but she has improved each year of the 3 years she's been there from (15 - 15/ 4 -14) year one to (16 -16/ 7 - 11) year two to (17 - 15/ 8 - 10) last year. Where do they go this year ? Is more improvement in conference play possible ? Perhaps.

What was lost : The biggest loss is obviously the 2 starters L. Lattimore (Gr. 6'4" F 14.3ppg) to Ole Miss and E. Noyan from Sweden (Jr. 6'3" F 5.7ppg) to Indiana. Also lost was reserves T. Lauterbach (6'7" C 2.7ppg) to graduation and C. Valenti-Paea from Australia (Gr. 5'9" G) to the portal (Grand Canyon) as well as P. Dunbar (So. 5'11" G) transferred to Providence.

What returns: Coach Aguagua-Hamilton is in good shape with her 3 returning starters : Leading scorer K. Johnson( Jr. 5'7" G 17.9ppg), P. Clark (Sr. 5'8" G 10.3ppg), and O. McGhee (Jr. 6'2" G 7.7ppg). Also back is first player off the bench B. Hurd (So. 6'2" F 9.4ppg). And that's it - 4 returning players.

Incoming transfers : 8 players. They are R. Dias Dos Santos (rs Sr. 5'9" G 2.6ppg) from rival FSU via Brazil, J. Brown (Gr. 5'11" G 5.7ppg) from NW, C. Weimar (Gr. 6'4" F 18.7ppg) from NC ST(sort of), R. Levy (Gr. 6'3" G/F 7.1ppg) from S.Fla./Israel, D. Arigabu (Gr. 6'4" F 3.0ppg) from W.V./Germany, T. Amanze (Sr. 6'4" F 6.0ppg) from Princeton/Nigeria, S. Smith (rs Jr. 6'2" F 6.6ppg) from LSU, and A. Ring (So. 6'5" F 3.7ppg) from UCF/Australia. Quite the TALL international group !

Incoming freshmen: #94 G. White (5'10" G).

Clearly Aguagua-Hamilton's best recruiting year was her first with two ranked players/starters in #24 K. Johnson and #45 O. McGhee. Adding #21 ranked P. Clark to the roster 2 years ago from AZ and #38 L.Lattimore from the portal last year from Miami. Last year's recruit #99 B. Hurd has been an important addition. Unfortunately as she's continued to improve her record slightly each year her recruiting has gone the other direction. Two players ranked #24 and #45 to one player ranked #99 to this year also with one player ranked #94. If she can't reverse that trend in 2026 - and all signs point to it being unlikely - she will have to live and die with the portal.

And speaking of the portal I confess I don't understand what she's going after this year - 6 players that play the power forward/center position ?! And 6 players who will not be returning after the season ends?! While she'll probably be okay this year with a solid core of 4 players/3 starters returning and maybe even next year if everything goes just right - after that she'll start to run in to trouble. It's difficult enough combining 8 incoming players but when they're from 6 different cultures and 6 of them will be fighting for minutes at essentially the same position? A LOT can go wrong over the course of a season.

My best guess is we'll see returning starters K. Johnson and P. Clark in the back court along with J. Brown from NW. Dos Santos will come in off the bench along with Hurd seeing extensive minutes again as "6th man" but they are one injury away from being in serious trouble in the back court. Last year Virginia ran with 2 front court players in Lattimore and Noyan with Lauterbach off the bench. With those 3 gone I'd expect a similar line up this year. Most likely it will be some combo of Amanze/Levy/Smith with Arigbadu and Ring seeing limited minutes.

If this team gels early enough they could improve once again. The returning core is solid and experienced and K. Johnson is a special talent. Smith has a lot of untapped upside and Levy and Amanze are decent players with lots of experience. I didn't mention Weimar because her best year was 2 years ago at Boston U. She has been injured since then and hasn't played against this level of competition yet so she's a complete unknown/wild card. But unless she's THE dominant big early on I can't see where she gets any playing time. I think fewer bigs and more guards/wings would have been more helpful and also more players who weren't just one year rentals. I think that would have added more stability to the program. They will be competitive this year no doubt but it's difficult to see them making any kind of a leap forward when at best they will have pretty much the same team as last year. As with many ACC teams this coming year a handful of games will decide their fate. Consistency and progression will be key. I would expect a similar finish to last season somewhere between 8th and 12th.
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Regarding Lattimore, after seeing her play during the recent GloblJam event, I'll be studying her performance at Ole Miss more closely. Her play last season was the closest to the potential that was seen in her during her high school days. Hopefully it translates well in the SEC this season.
 
Rooster C. said:
We've looked at 10 teams up to this point - only 8 more to go !! Lol

Stanford is up next.
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And we appreciate the effort and detail you've put into every one!!!
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Rooster C. said:
Virginia is next.

Overall Virginia had some slight improvement over the previous year. They were unranked going in to the season and finished it unranked as well. Their season came to an end in the ACC tournament where they defeated Pitt and then lost to Cal in the next round by 17. Amaka Aguagua-Hamilton has done a fairly good job at Virginia so far especially considering where they were when she took over. Her overall win pct is .667 and .352 in conference. That doesn't sound great for an in conference record but she has improved each year of the 3 years she's been there from (15 - 15/ 4 -14) year one to (16 -16/ 7 - 11) year two to (17 - 15/ 8 - 10) last year. Where do they go this year ? Is more improvement in conference play possible ? Perhaps.

What was lost : The biggest loss is obviously the 2 starters L. Lattimore (Gr. 6'4" F 14.3ppg) to Ole Miss and E. Noyan from Sweden (Jr. 6'3" F 5.7ppg) to Indiana. Also lost was reserves T. Lauterbach (6'7" C 2.7ppg) to graduation and C. Valenti-Paea from Australia (Gr. 5'9" G) to the portal (Grand Canyon) as well as P. Dunbar (So. 5'11" G) transferred to Providence.

What returns: Coach Aguagua-Hamilton is in good shape with her 3 returning starters : Leading scorer K. Johnson( Jr. 5'7" G 17.9ppg), P. Clark (Sr. 5'8" G 10.3ppg), and O. McGhee (Jr. 6'2" G 7.7ppg). Also back is first player off the bench B. Hurd (So. 6'2" F 9.4ppg). And that's it - 4 returning players.

Incoming transfers : 8 players. They are R. Dias Dos Santos (rs Sr. 5'9" G 2.6ppg) from rival FSU via Brazil, J. Brown (Gr. 5'11" G 5.7ppg) from NW, C. Weimar (Gr. 6'4" F 18.7ppg) from NC ST(sort of), R. Levy (Gr. 6'3" G/F 7.1ppg) from S.Fla./Israel, D. Arigabu (Gr. 6'4" F 3.0ppg) from W.V./Germany, T. Amanze (Sr. 6'4" F 6.0ppg) from Princeton/Nigeria, S. Smith (rs Jr. 6'2" F 6.6ppg) from LSU, and A. Ring (So. 6'5" F 3.7ppg) from UCF/Australia. Quite the TALL international group !

Incoming freshmen: #94 G. White (5'10" G).

Clearly Aguagua-Hamilton's best recruiting year was her first with two ranked players/starters in #24 K. Johnson and #45 O. McGhee. Adding #21 ranked P. Clark to the roster 2 years ago from AZ and #38 L.Lattimore from the portal last year from Miami. Last year's recruit #99 B. Hurd has been an important addition. Unfortunately as she's continued to improve her record slightly each year her recruiting has gone the other direction. Two players ranked #24 and #45 to one player ranked #99 to this year also with one player ranked #94. If she can't reverse that trend in 2026 - and all signs point to it being unlikely - she will have to live and die with the portal.

And speaking of the portal I confess I don't understand what she's going after this year - 6 players that play the power forward/center position ?! And 6 players who will not be returning after the season ends?! While she'll probably be okay this year with a solid core of 4 players/3 starters returning and maybe even next year if everything goes just right - after that she'll start to run in to trouble. It's difficult enough combining 8 incoming players but when they're from 6 different cultures and 6 of them will be fighting for minutes at essentially the same position? A LOT can go wrong over the course of a season.

My best guess is we'll see returning starters K. Johnson and P. Clark in the back court along with J. Brown from NW. Dos Santos will come in off the bench along with Hurd seeing extensive minutes again as "6th man" but they are one injury away from being in serious trouble in the back court. Last year Virginia ran with 2 front court players in Lattimore and Noyan with Lauterbach off the bench. With those 3 gone I'd expect a similar line up this year. Most likely it will be some combo of Amanze/Levy/Smith with Arigbadu and Ring seeing limited minutes.

If this team gels early enough they could improve once again. The returning core is solid and experienced and K. Johnson is a special talent. Smith has a lot of untapped upside and Levy and Amanze are decent players with lots of experience. I didn't mention Weimar because her best year was 2 years ago at Boston U. She has been injured since then and hasn't played against this level of competition yet so she's a complete unknown/wild card. But unless she's THE dominant big early on I can't see where she gets any playing time. I think fewer bigs and more guards/wings would have been more helpful and also more players who weren't just one year rentals. I think that would have added more stability to the program. They will be competitive this year no doubt but it's difficult to see them making any kind of a leap forward when at best they will have pretty much the same team as last year. As with many ACC teams this coming year a handful of games will decide their fate. Consistency and progression will be key. I would expect a similar finish to last season somewhere between 8th and 12th.
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Rooster, great analysis once again. Thanks for doing this. I agree Virginia will be interesting to watch develop (or not). My thought as to why Coach Aguagua-Hamilton brought in the six "bigs" is because of the questions/concerns that each of them have. Said differently, each is an insurance package against the others. A risky gambit for sure.

If Weimer can somehow bounce back from hip surgery (a huge "if"), I think she will be sharing the post duties with Amanze and to a lesser degree Smith. Right after Weimer, Ring is the next biggest wild card in the post. If she can make a sophomore leap, watch out. At 6-5, she is the future so I suspect she will get a lot of minutes.

Interesting that in Amanze, Weimer, Smith and Arigbadu are all back-to-the-basket players. Between the four of them they only attempted four threes in 270 games. With a guard oriented offense, one would reasonably expect that to continue.

Romi Levy is not a post player by any stretch of the imagination. Although tall, she is extremely thin (think Dewanna Bonner) and shied away from contact her two years at USF. She is a slasher who likes to shoot jump shots and the three when open. A very, streaky player who didn't shoot well the entirety of last season.

You are right that there is a LOT to gel in Charlottesville. If everything falls into place, a .500 record in conference could happen - and would certainly be impressive.
 
I doubt Weimar will see significant playing time. But if she does it will be a pleasant surprise.

I’m also very curious about Romi. She’s quick for 6’3” and if she can sustain her energy level she can change games.
 
cancontent said:
Regarding Lattimore, after seeing her play during the recent GloblJam event, I'll be studying her performance at Ole Miss more closely. Her play last season was the closest to the potential that was seen in her during her high school days. Hopefully it translates well in the SEC this season.
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I recall a year ago when someone on here was asking for some insight on Lattimore and I sang her praises mentioning her ability to block shots, run the floor, score and rebound inside, and was developing a nice 3 pt shot. It put that person's mind at ease a bit but someone else on here responded by stating that she had never lived up to her hs ranking and was a very average player. Well I think we found out as she was in heavy demand when she hit the portal with her 14.3ppg and 8.2 boards/game. She was ranked in the top 20 players in the portal according to espn.
 
YKCornelius said:
Rooster, great analysis once again. Thanks for doing this. I agree Virginia will be interesting to watch develop (or not). My thought as to why Coach Aguagua-Hamilton brought in the six "bigs" is because of the questions/concerns that each of them have. Said differently, each is an insurance package against the others. A risky gambit for sure.

If Weimer can somehow bounce back from hip surgery (a huge "if"), I think she will be sharing the post duties with Amanze and to a lesser degree Smith. Right after Weimer, Ring is the next biggest wild card in the post. If she can make a sophomore leap, watch out. At 6-5, she is the future so I suspect she will get a lot of minutes.

Interesting that in Amanze, Weimer, Smith and Arigbadu are all back-to-the-basket players. Between the four of them they only attempted four threes in 270 games. With a guard oriented offense, one would reasonably expect that to continue.

Romi Levy is not a post player by any stretch of the imagination. Although tall, she is extremely thin (think Dewanna Bonner) and shied away from contact her two years at USF. She is a slasher who likes to shoot jump shots and the three when open. A very, streaky player who didn't shoot well the entirety of last season.

You are right that there is a LOT to gel in Charlottesville. If everything falls into place, a .500 record in conference could happen - and would certainly be impressive.
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Very nice assessment of all their post players. While I agree Levy (at 6'3") is not "really" a post player that's also true of many of the 6'2" forwards in wbb at the college level - and quite a few that ARE true post players. There's something to be said for having a player of her size who can stretch the floor/ shoot over smaller defenders, especially when paired with another post player who is handling that task. Last season Virginia went with two (Lattimore/Noyan) and I believe she'll go with two again. I'm not sure with so many possible combinations she has the time to figure out who those 2 players are until later in the season. Playing "russian roulette" usually doesn't result with anybody being happy. I still think she has too many post players.
 
Rooster C. said:
I recall a year ago when someone on here was asking for some insight on Lattimore and I sang her praises mentioning her ability to block shots, run the floor, score and rebound inside, and was developing a nice 3 pt shot. It put that person's mind at ease a bit but someone else on here responded by stating that she had never lived up to her hs ranking and was a very average player. Well I think we found out as she was in heavy demand when she hit the portal with her 14.3ppg and 8.2 boards/game. She was ranked in the top 20 players in the portal according to espn.
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All this is true, however she has also attended 3 different programs until it started to click like it did last season. Demand in the portal for her is one thing, however we've also seen these moves fail to work out as a player may hope. Her friend Day-Wilson's time at LSU is a good example.

The concern is that she'll regress in her final season when there's chatter about her being a potential late draft pick in 2026. I've seen Lattimore come up the ranks and the hype machine her team created for her and Day-Wilson. She has an opportunity to establish herself further if things go well.

She finally had a season that showed her potential consistently throughout a season. If things fail to work out at Ole Miss after making the progress she has, it would be disappointing.
 
cancontent said:
All this is true, however she has also attended 3 different programs until it started to click like it did last season. Demand in the portal for her is one thing, however we've also seen these moves fail to work out as a player may hope. Her friend Day-Wilson's time at LSU is a good example.

The concern is that she'll regress in her final season when there's chatter about her being a potential late draft pick in 2026. I've seen Lattimore come up the ranks and the hype machine her team created for her and Day-Wilson. She has an opportunity to establish herself further if things go well.

She finally had a season that showed her potential consistently throughout a season. If things fail to work out at Ole Miss after making the progress she has, it would be disappointing.
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I mostly agree. If not for things blowing up at Syracuse just before arriving there with Day-Wilson things would probably have gone very differently. That team was loaded. Her freshman year at Texas was mediocre but most freshmen really struggle and with the unexpected situation happening at Syracuse I'll give her a pass although I am surprised her choice would be the school where the former Syracuse coach is now located. Her first year at Miami as a sophomore was progressing by leaps and bounds and when paired with Z. Spearman (now at TN) they were a powerful tandem. Sadly she tore her ACL early in the season and that was the end of that. When she returned the next year she slowly worked her way back in to playing ahape and was really coming on strong at the end - the tandem with Spearman was working again. I think Miami was expected to be in the tournament (C.Creme had them in and not as a play-in either) but I think there were some forces working against them and they were snubbed (although winning a couple more games down the stretch would certainly have helped). I think Lattimore would have shown her skills in the tournament but that opportunity never came. With Meier's retirement (which is tied in to being snubbed by the committee) She left along with most everybody else. I think she would have stayed along with most of the team had Meier remained. So why she left after a year at Virginia I can only speculate that she wanted more national attention and so a chance to improve her WNBA stock along with it. A 6'4" player isn't what it used to be and you see more and more players her height not sticking on WNBA teams unless they are really special. Leauge expansion will help but she'll have to be far more dominant than she's shown. She will definitely help Ole Miss this year but beyond that .....there's always Europe!
 
Stanford is now up.

Last year was probably a disappointment to Stanford fans but considering a head coaching change, the departure of now WNBA players Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen, and also playing in a new conference, I think is was a pretty solid showing overall. Long time assistant's Kate Paye had a full plate of challenges for her first season at the helm to be sure. There were bumps in the road and if not for a key injury down the stretch probably would have continued with their NCAA appearances. They began the season ranked around #30 and finished it unranked as they ended the season at 16 - 15 overall and 8 - 10 in their first year in the ACC. In the final 6 regular season games things were really coming together nicely but losing in the first round of the ACC tournament by 17 points to Clemson followed by a home court loss in the first round of the WBIT to Portland was not a good ending to the season. Paye had a .516 win pct. overall and a .444 win pct. in conference games. She will have to improve on that record if they hope to get back to the "big dance" again this coming year. It will be difficult.

What was lost: Stanford lost 2 starters E. Bosogna (6'2" F 12.2ppg) and B. Demetre (6'3" F 10.0ppg). What may hurt more is the loss of 2 other players to the portal : J. Harriel (rs Sr. 5'10" G 5.1ppg) to ACC opponent SMU and T. Heal (Sr. 5'10" G 8.0ppg) to KSU.

What remains: Quite a bit, including 3 returning starters S. "Nunu" Agara (Jr. 6.2" F 15.8ppg)their leading scorer, C. Clardy (Jr. 5'9" G 10.2ppg) and T. LePolo (5'7" PG 2.6ppg). Also returning is a lot of good bench depth : C. Ogden (Jr. 6'1" F 5.9ppg), M.A. Stevenson (Jr. 6'2" F 4.4ppg), S. Ijiwoye (So. 5'6" G 3.4ppg), K. Umeh (So. 6'4" C 3.1ppg), H. Peterson (So. 6'3" F), S. Papadaki (Sr. from Greece 5'11" G) and L. Green (Sr. 5'8" G).

Incoming Transfers: NONE

Incoming Freshmen: Five players consisting of #8 H. Swain (5'10" PG), #12 L. Somfai (6'4" F), #21 A. Eschmeyer (6'5" F), #85 N. Ezike (6'2" F), and nearly ranked C. Amborn (6'2" W).

Typical of Stanford you don't see many incoming/outgoing transfers and that continues although we're starting to see some cracks forming. And with the #3 ranked incoming class there was really no need to acquire transfers since combined with their returning players they have a full compliment of 15 on the roster.

So the starting 5 are yet to be determined although the back court will most likely consist of returnees Clardy and LePolo along with key reserve Ogden. I expect to see a lot of freshman Swain and reserve Ijiwoye as well. So those 5 will make up Stanford's back court this year and next with only LePolo moving on after this season. There's only room for three more players to be added from the 2026 class and it makes sense for it to be guards (#99 J. Wheeler at this writing although #100 E. Ngenda is a finalist for them as well). I don't see Papadaki or Green getting any playing time.

In the front court - and I use that term somewhat loosely here as Stanford tends to get "post players" who function more like wings and shoot beyond the arc as well as in the paint frequently - will be anchored by Agara - their leading scorer - and some combination of incoming freshmen Somfai and Eschmeyer along with reserves Stevenson, Umeh, and Peterson. Freshmen Ezike and Amborn will most likely not play much if at all.

So not that much of a fall off with enough "bigs" to make up for the loss of Bosogna and Demetre ........in theory. Ogden or Stevenson may be able to up their scoring output as a replacement for Bosogna's loss but it may prove harder to replace Demetre's scoring and experience. Earlier I stated it was more of a challenge to replace outgoing production from Harriel and Heal (and to some extent Bosogna as well) and that's for a very good reason. They were all very good 3 point shooters. Some wins were solely due to one of them "going off" from beyond the arc. This has been a staple of Stanford's for awhile now - both above average 3 point shooting and above average ft shooting compared to most teams in their conference. I'm not certain how much of a difference there will be year over year but I expect some drop off.

Stanford and coach Paye are well established roster wise for the next several years and beyond. Her recruiting has seen to that. Retaining your starters and core reserves (for the most part) helps establish continuity and players are all familiar with your system and what's expected of them. Having said that I see several problems. First off, they had a losing conference record and finished only 1 game above .500 and that was with 4 more experienced players on the roster than they will have this year. Yes, freshmen Swain and Somfai or Eschmeyer could prove to be amazing and change everything but they also could struggle as freshmen often do and result in a slight step backward. Yes, other reserve players could make that leap to the next level but that also doesn't happen to every player and if they were good enough already they would have been starting rather than Bosogna and Demetre. Coaches like to start Seniors and some Juniors with underclassmen being starters only when they're exceptional. Secondly, their upcoming non-conference schedule is challenging. Last year they lost at Indiana and LSU along with a bad loss to Ohio State at what was nearly a home court for them (SF). This year they play TN and Wash. at home as well as Oregon in SF. They also play at Gonzaga and travel to Vegas to play FGCU. They may go 2 - 3 in those games. Either way there are other important factors working against Stanford. I expect it to be a very exciting and challenging year ahead with opportunities to improve over the course of the season. I also doubt that they'll be much better than last year and more likely will have a slightly worse record but I wouldn't be discouraged considering how bright the future looks. If everything goes well they will be on the bubble again with an 8th or 9th place finish in the conference but more likely about 10th to 12th place finish at year's end.
 
Rooster C. said:
Stanford is now up.

Last year was probably a disappointment to Stanford fans but considering a head coaching change, the departure of now WNBA players Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen, and also playing in a new conference, I think is was a pretty solid showing overall. Long time assistant's Kate Paye had a full plate of challenges for her first season at the helm to be sure. There were bumps in the road and if not for a key injury down the stretch probably would have continued with their NCAA appearances. They began the season ranked around #30 and finished it unranked as they ended the season at 16 - 15 overall and 8 - 10 in their first year in the ACC. In the final 6 regular season games things were really coming together nicely but losing in the first round of the ACC tournament by 17 points to Clemson followed by a home court loss in the first round of the WBIT to Portland was not a good ending to the season. Paye had a .516 win pct. overall and a .444 win pct. in conference games. She will have to improve on that record if they hope to get back to the "big dance" again this coming year. It will be difficult.

What was lost: Stanford lost 2 starters E. Bosogna (6'2" F 12.2ppg) and B. Demetre (6'3" F 10.0ppg). What may hurt more is the loss of 2 other players to the portal : J. Harriel (rs Sr. 5'10" G 5.1ppg) to ACC opponent SMU and T. Heal (Sr. 5'10" G 8.0ppg) to KSU.

What remains: Quite a bit, including 3 returning starters S. "Nunu" Agara (Jr. 6.2" F 15.8ppg)their leading scorer, C. Clardy (Jr. 5'9" G 10.2ppg) and T. LePolo (5'7" PG 2.6ppg). Also returning is a lot of good bench depth : C. Ogden (Jr. 6'1" F 5.9ppg), M.A. Stevenson (Jr. 6'2" F 4.4ppg), S. Ijiwoye (So. 5'6" G 3.4ppg), K. Umeh (So. 6'4" C 3.1ppg), H. Peterson (So. 6'3" F), S. Papadaki (Sr. from Greece 5'11" G) and L. Green (Sr. 5'8" G).

Incoming Transfers: NONE

Incoming Freshmen: Five players consisting of #8 H. Swain (5'10" PG), #12 L. Somfai (6'4" F), #21 A. Eschmeyer (6'5" F), #85 N. Ezike (6'2" F), and nearly ranked C. Amborn (6'2" W).

Typical of Stanford you don't see many incoming/outgoing transfers and that continues although we're starting to see some cracks forming. And with the #3 ranked incoming class there was really no need to acquire transfers since combined with their returning players they have a full compliment of 15 on the roster.

So the starting 5 are yet to be determined although the back court will most likely consist of returnees Clardy and LePolo along with key reserve Ogden. I expect to see a lot of freshman Swain and reserve Ijiwoye as well. So those 5 will make up Stanford's back court this year and next with only LePolo moving on after this season. There's only room for three more players to be added from the 2026 class and it makes sense for it to be guards (#99 J. Wheeler at this writing although #100 E. Ngenda is a finalist for them as well). I don't see Papadaki or Green getting any playing time.

In the front court - and I use that term somewhat loosely here as Stanford tends to get "post players" who function more like wings and shoot beyond the arc as well as in the paint frequently - will be anchored by Agara - their leading scorer - and some combination of incoming freshmen Somfai and Eschmeyer along with reserves Stevenson, Umeh, and Peterson. Freshmen Ezike and Amborn will most likely not play much if at all.

So not that much of a fall off with enough "bigs" to make up for the loss of Bosogna and Demetre ........in theory. Ogden or Stevenson may be able to up their scoring output as a replacement for Bosogna's loss but it may prove harder to replace Demetre's scoring and experience. Earlier I stated it was more of a challenge to replace outgoing production from Harriel and Heal (and to some extent Bosogna as well) and that's for a very good reason. They were all very good 3 point shooters. Some wins were solely due to one of them "going off" from beyond the arc. This has been a staple of Stanford's for awhile now - both above average 3 point shooting and above average ft shooting compared to most teams in their conference. I'm not certain how much of a difference there will be year over year but I expect some drop off.

Stanford and coach Paye are well established roster wise for the next several years and beyond. Her recruiting has seen to that. Retaining your starters and core reserves (for the most part) helps establish continuity and players are all familiar with your system and what's expected of them. Having said that I see several problems. First off, they had a losing conference record and finished only 1 game above .500 and that was with 4 more experienced players on the roster than they will have this year. Yes, freshmen Swain and Somfai or Eschmeyer could prove to be amazing and change everything but they also could struggle as freshmen often do and result in a slight step backward. Yes, other reserve players could make that leap to the next level but that also doesn't happen to every player and if they were good enough already they would have been starting rather than Bosogna and Demetre. Coaches like to start Seniors and some Juniors with underclassmen being starters only when they're exceptional. Secondly, their upcoming non-conference schedule is challenging. Last year they lost at Indiana and LSU along with a bad loss to Ohio State at what was nearly a home court for them (SF). This year they play TN and Wash. at home as well as Oregon in SF. They also play at Gonzaga and travel to Vegas to play FGCU. They may go 2 - 3 in those games. Either way there are other important factors working against Stanford. I expect it to be a very exciting and challenging year ahead with opportunities to improve over the course of the season. I also doubt that they'll be much better than last year and more likely will have a slightly worse record but I wouldn't be discouraged considering how bright the future looks. If everything goes well they will be on the bubble again with an 8th or 9th place finish in the conference but more likely about 10th to 12th place finish at year's end.
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Thanks for the write-up! Our talent is going to be considerably better than last season, among other things because we now have multiple true post players who can post up inside (plus a healthier Umeh). What killed us last season was that Agara is naturally a shooting forward who can play post, and so she had to because Demetre was not great inside, Bosgana was a W, and Mary Ashley Stevenson and Courtney Ogden are just not tall and athletic enough to match up against the other team's big. Umeh was our only true 5 and she was injured much of the season and so even when healthy, her conditioning really limited her minutes. Agara will now be able to play back in position with Umeh + Eschmeyer and Somfai all spelling at the 5.

I think we bring in much more talent than we lose, plus all our returning players are a year wiser, so I would expect the product on court to improve - if it doesn't, then it's a worrying sign about our coaching staff. I'm not quite sure what we'll do with Lepolo, but setting that question aside, the tandem of Swain + Chlardy in the back court will allow us to push in transition and and Nunu, Somfai and Eschmeyer are all fast posts. I'm excited to see that lineup and I think we will be able to play 5-out much more effectively now that we have more post players who can still shoot the three ball.
 
Rooster C. said:
Stanford is now up.

Last year was probably a disappointment to Stanford fans but considering a head coaching change, the departure of now WNBA players Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen, and also playing in a new conference, I think is was a pretty solid showing overall. Long time assistant's Kate Paye had a full plate of challenges for her first season at the helm to be sure. There were bumps in the road and if not for a key injury down the stretch probably would have continued with their NCAA appearances. They began the season ranked around #30 and finished it unranked as they ended the season at 16 - 15 overall and 8 - 10 in their first year in the ACC. In the final 6 regular season games things were really coming together nicely but losing in the first round of the ACC tournament by 17 points to Clemson followed by a home court loss in the first round of the WBIT to Portland was not a good ending to the season. Paye had a .516 win pct. overall and a .444 win pct. in conference games. She will have to improve on that record if they hope to get back to the "big dance" again this coming year. It will be difficult.

What was lost: Stanford lost 2 starters E. Bosogna (6'2" F 12.2ppg) and B. Demetre (6'3" F 10.0ppg). What may hurt more is the loss of 2 other players to the portal : J. Harriel (rs Sr. 5'10" G 5.1ppg) to ACC opponent SMU and T. Heal (Sr. 5'10" G 8.0ppg) to KSU.

What remains: Quite a bit, including 3 returning starters S. "Nunu" Agara (Jr. 6.2" F 15.8ppg)their leading scorer, C. Clardy (Jr. 5'9" G 10.2ppg) and T. LePolo (5'7" PG 2.6ppg). Also returning is a lot of good bench depth : C. Ogden (Jr. 6'1" F 5.9ppg), M.A. Stevenson (Jr. 6'2" F 4.4ppg), S. Ijiwoye (So. 5'6" G 3.4ppg), K. Umeh (So. 6'4" C 3.1ppg), H. Peterson (So. 6'3" F), S. Papadaki (Sr. from Greece 5'11" G) and L. Green (Sr. 5'8" G).

Incoming Transfers: NONE

Incoming Freshmen: Five players consisting of #8 H. Swain (5'10" PG), #12 L. Somfai (6'4" F), #21 A. Eschmeyer (6'5" F), #85 N. Ezike (6'2" F), and nearly ranked C. Amborn (6'2" W).

Typical of Stanford you don't see many incoming/outgoing transfers and that continues although we're starting to see some cracks forming. And with the #3 ranked incoming class there was really no need to acquire transfers since combined with their returning players they have a full compliment of 15 on the roster.

So the starting 5 are yet to be determined although the back court will most likely consist of returnees Clardy and LePolo along with key reserve Ogden. I expect to see a lot of freshman Swain and reserve Ijiwoye as well. So those 5 will make up Stanford's back court this year and next with only LePolo moving on after this season. There's only room for three more players to be added from the 2026 class and it makes sense for it to be guards (#99 J. Wheeler at this writing although #100 E. Ngenda is a finalist for them as well). I don't see Papadaki or Green getting any playing time.

In the front court - and I use that term somewhat loosely here as Stanford tends to get "post players" who function more like wings and shoot beyond the arc as well as in the paint frequently - will be anchored by Agara - their leading scorer - and some combination of incoming freshmen Somfai and Eschmeyer along with reserves Stevenson, Umeh, and Peterson. Freshmen Ezike and Amborn will most likely not play much if at all.

So not that much of a fall off with enough "bigs" to make up for the loss of Bosogna and Demetre ........in theory. Ogden or Stevenson may be able to up their scoring output as a replacement for Bosogna's loss but it may prove harder to replace Demetre's scoring and experience. Earlier I stated it was more of a challenge to replace outgoing production from Harriel and Heal (and to some extent Bosogna as well) and that's for a very good reason. They were all very good 3 point shooters. Some wins were solely due to one of them "going off" from beyond the arc. This has been a staple of Stanford's for awhile now - both above average 3 point shooting and above average ft shooting compared to most teams in their conference. I'm not certain how much of a difference there will be year over year but I expect some drop off.

Stanford and coach Paye are well established roster wise for the next several years and beyond. Her recruiting has seen to that. Retaining your starters and core reserves (for the most part) helps establish continuity and players are all familiar with your system and what's expected of them. Having said that I see several problems. First off, they had a losing conference record and finished only 1 game above .500 and that was with 4 more experienced players on the roster than they will have this year. Yes, freshmen Swain and Somfai or Eschmeyer could prove to be amazing and change everything but they also could struggle as freshmen often do and result in a slight step backward. Yes, other reserve players could make that leap to the next level but that also doesn't happen to every player and if they were good enough already they would have been starting rather than Bosogna and Demetre. Coaches like to start Seniors and some Juniors with underclassmen being starters only when they're exceptional. Secondly, their upcoming non-conference schedule is challenging. Last year they lost at Indiana and LSU along with a bad loss to Ohio State at what was nearly a home court for them (SF). This year they play TN and Wash. at home as well as Oregon in SF. They also play at Gonzaga and travel to Vegas to play FGCU. They may go 2 - 3 in those games. Either way there are other important factors working against Stanford. I expect it to be a very exciting and challenging year ahead with opportunities to improve over the course of the season. I also doubt that they'll be much better than last year and more likely will have a slightly worse record but I wouldn't be discouraged considering how bright the future looks. If everything goes well they will be on the bubble again with an 8th or 9th place finish in the conference but more likely about 10th to 12th place finish at year's end.
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Rooster, great analysis once again. To me, the Cardinal's season last year reflected a confluence of events that they simply weren't prepared for. Make no mistake, they had to sleep in the bed they made.

The first event was the move to the ACC and all of the x-country travel that comes with it. I contend that due to Tara's scheduling of the ten previous seasons - where she seemingly avoided games east of the Rockies like the plague - the coaching staff, trainers and therefore the players were not ready for the demands of travel to ACC locations. In Tara's last five seasons, Stanford played six regular season games east of the Rockies (losing three), and in her last two years a grand total of ZERO. No wonder they were 2-8 in ACC away games last year, with most of the games not close (whereas the two wins were very close - single possession).

Second was the departure of Tara - which felt more like an abdication following Stanford's alignment to the ACC. Yeah, it's tough coming in behind a legend, but doubly tough if you are left with hybrid offense that hinges on the success of your experienced bigs taking an abundance of threes.

Third was the departure of All-American Iriafen to USC. Having your superstar leave the program to chase NIL dollars had to be a shock to the entire program. Everybody had to rethink their roles pretty quick.

That said, this is Stanford - the Harvard/Duke of the west coast. With all that brain power applied to the task of managing x-country travel, one should expect better results in conference this year. As you pointed out, the incoming freshmen are a talented bunch so it all comes down to how well Coach Paye can integrate them into the team. With very few seniors on the team, IMO it would be a mistake for Coach Paye to rely too heavily on her experienced returnees. Give the newbies the room to make mistakes and grow.

As I pointed out in the Bold Take thread, I'm expecting Stanford to make the NCAA tournament this year. Given the rebuilding that many ACC teams have to undertake this season, I think ending the conference between 6th and 8th is most likely for the Cardinal. If the freshman show up big, I believe they could surprise folks and earn a bye in the tournament.

I will be very interested to read where the other coaches and the media project them to be heading into the season.

Love your analysis - can't wait for the next one!
 
Rooster C. said:
Stanford is now up.

Last year was probably a disappointment to Stanford fans but considering a head coaching change, the departure of now WNBA players Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen, and also playing in a new conference, I think is was a pretty solid showing overall. Long time assistant's Kate Paye had a full plate of challenges for her first season at the helm to be sure. There were bumps in the road and if not for a key injury down the stretch probably would have continued with their NCAA appearances. They began the season ranked around #30 and finished it unranked as they ended the season at 16 - 15 overall and 8 - 10 in their first year in the ACC. In the final 6 regular season games things were really coming together nicely but losing in the first round of the ACC tournament by 17 points to Clemson followed by a home court loss in the first round of the WBIT to Portland was not a good ending to the season. Paye had a .516 win pct. overall and a .444 win pct. in conference games. She will have to improve on that record if they hope to get back to the "big dance" again this coming year. It will be difficult.

What was lost: Stanford lost 2 starters E. Bosogna (6'2" F 12.2ppg) and B. Demetre (6'3" F 10.0ppg). What may hurt more is the loss of 2 other players to the portal : J. Harriel (rs Sr. 5'10" G 5.1ppg) to ACC opponent SMU and T. Heal (Sr. 5'10" G 8.0ppg) to KSU.

What remains: Quite a bit, including 3 returning starters S. "Nunu" Agara (Jr. 6.2" F 15.8ppg)their leading scorer, C. Clardy (Jr. 5'9" G 10.2ppg) and T. LePolo (5'7" PG 2.6ppg). Also returning is a lot of good bench depth : C. Ogden (Jr. 6'1" F 5.9ppg), M.A. Stevenson (Jr. 6'2" F 4.4ppg), S. Ijiwoye (So. 5'6" G 3.4ppg), K. Umeh (So. 6'4" C 3.1ppg), H. Peterson (So. 6'3" F), S. Papadaki (Sr. from Greece 5'11" G) and L. Green (Sr. 5'8" G).

Incoming Transfers: NONE

Incoming Freshmen: Five players consisting of #8 H. Swain (5'10" PG), #12 L. Somfai (6'4" F), #21 A. Eschmeyer (6'5" F), #85 N. Ezike (6'2" F), and nearly ranked C. Amborn (6'2" W).

Typical of Stanford you don't see many incoming/outgoing transfers and that continues although we're starting to see some cracks forming. And with the #3 ranked incoming class there was really no need to acquire transfers since combined with their returning players they have a full compliment of 15 on the roster.

So the starting 5 are yet to be determined although the back court will most likely consist of returnees Clardy and LePolo along with key reserve Ogden. I expect to see a lot of freshman Swain and reserve Ijiwoye as well. So those 5 will make up Stanford's back court this year and next with only LePolo moving on after this season. There's only room for three more players to be added from the 2026 class and it makes sense for it to be guards (#99 J. Wheeler at this writing although #100 E. Ngenda is a finalist for them as well). I don't see Papadaki or Green getting any playing time.

In the front court - and I use that term somewhat loosely here as Stanford tends to get "post players" who function more like wings and shoot beyond the arc as well as in the paint frequently - will be anchored by Agara - their leading scorer - and some combination of incoming freshmen Somfai and Eschmeyer along with reserves Stevenson, Umeh, and Peterson. Freshmen Ezike and Amborn will most likely not play much if at all.

So not that much of a fall off with enough "bigs" to make up for the loss of Bosogna and Demetre ........in theory. Ogden or Stevenson may be able to up their scoring output as a replacement for Bosogna's loss but it may prove harder to replace Demetre's scoring and experience. Earlier I stated it was more of a challenge to replace outgoing production from Harriel and Heal (and to some extent Bosogna as well) and that's for a very good reason. They were all very good 3 point shooters. Some wins were solely due to one of them "going off" from beyond the arc. This has been a staple of Stanford's for awhile now - both above average 3 point shooting and above average ft shooting compared to most teams in their conference. I'm not certain how much of a difference there will be year over year but I expect some drop off.

Stanford and coach Paye are well established roster wise for the next several years and beyond. Her recruiting has seen to that. Retaining your starters and core reserves (for the most part) helps establish continuity and players are all familiar with your system and what's expected of them. Having said that I see several problems. First off, they had a losing conference record and finished only 1 game above .500 and that was with 4 more experienced players on the roster than they will have this year. Yes, freshmen Swain and Somfai or Eschmeyer could prove to be amazing and change everything but they also could struggle as freshmen often do and result in a slight step backward. Yes, other reserve players could make that leap to the next level but that also doesn't happen to every player and if they were good enough already they would have been starting rather than Bosogna and Demetre. Coaches like to start Seniors and some Juniors with underclassmen being starters only when they're exceptional. Secondly, their upcoming non-conference schedule is challenging. Last year they lost at Indiana and LSU along with a bad loss to Ohio State at what was nearly a home court for them (SF). This year they play TN and Wash. at home as well as Oregon in SF. They also play at Gonzaga and travel to Vegas to play FGCU. They may go 2 - 3 in those games. Either way there are other important factors working against Stanford. I expect it to be a very exciting and challenging year ahead with opportunities to improve over the course of the season. I also doubt that they'll be much better than last year and more likely will have a slightly worse record but I wouldn't be discouraged considering how bright the future looks. If everything goes well they will be on the bubble again with an 8th or 9th place finish in the conference but more likely about 10th to 12th place finish at year's end.
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Excellent and thorough analysis. Thank you.

I’m not as optimistic as @TheFarmFan but I am optimistic. I don’t think the loss of Demetre is as devastating as it might appear on paper. I also expect even greater things from Nunu, though I don’t believe she is really 6’2”. I followed her at Hopkins and unless she’s grown since getting to Stanford I’d put her at 6’1 at most. But even with that, she is a really dynamic post presence.

I can also see why Somfai chose Stanford. She is likely to be a rotation player from day 1 there, maybe even a starter before long. This lineup is really set up well for her. If she can adjust to the pace of D1 WBB quickly, she will be a force.
 
TheFarmFan said:
Thanks for the write-up! Our talent is going to be considerably better than last season, among other things because we now have multiple true post players who can post up inside (plus a healthier Umeh). What killed us last season was that Agara is naturally a shooting forward who can play post, and so she had to because Demetre was not great inside, Bosgana was a W, and Mary Ashley Stevenson and Courtney Ogden are just not tall and athletic enough to match up against the other team's big. Umeh was our only true 5 and she was injured much of the season and so even when healthy, her conditioning really limited her minutes. Agara will now be able to play back in position with Umeh + Eschmeyer and Somfai all spelling at the 5.

I think we bring in much more talent than we lose, plus all our returning players are a year wiser, so I would expect the product on court to improve - if it doesn't, then it's a worrying sign about our coaching staff. I'm not quite sure what we'll do with Lepolo, but setting that question aside, the tandem of Swain + Chlardy in the back court will allow us to push in transition and and Nunu, Somfai and Eschmeyer are all fast posts. I'm excited to see that lineup and I think we will be able to play 5-out much more effectively now that we have more post players who can still shoot the three ball.
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Thanks! I was hoping you'd weigh in on Stanford. I was also wondering about LePolo. While I agree overall regarding talent it does take time to develop and multiple years of strength and conditioning make a huge difference. I do agree that they'll be a better team than last year but their biggest obstacle to real success in conference play remains as I'll discuss later once I've finished with the individual team analysis.
 
Boston College you're up.

Boston College began the season unranked and finished it the same way. HC Joanna Bernabei-McNamee finished her 7th year going 16 - 18 overall and 6 - 12 in the ACC. Her overall win pct over her 7 years is .505 and .353 in conference. They did get an invite to the WBIT where they lost in the 1st round to Villanova . While BC didn't lose everbody they certainly came close. You usually don't see this kind of exodus unless there's a coaching change.

What was lost : 13 players! 2 graduated, including the 2nd leading scorer D. Waggoner (13.3ppg) and K. Jackson (4.4ppg).
Transfers in to the portal : Leading scorer T. Todd (Sr. 6'0" G 13.7ppg) to Ohio St., T. Sidberry (Sr. 6'1" F 12.5ppg) to Texas, A. Daley (Gr. 6'0" G 8.6ppg) to ??, S. Samuel (Gr. 6'1" G 6.3ppg) to ACC GT, K. Ivey (Gr. 5'8" G 5.6ppg) to Rutgers, N.Ndiaye (Jr. 6'1" F 4.4ppg) also to Rutgers, T. Greene (So. 6'3" G 4.4ppg) to ACC FSU, K. Lezama (Sr. 5'11" G 2.6ppg) to Hampton, J. Thompson (Jr. 5'8" G 2.2ppg) to Liberty, D. Mukeba Kasanda (So. 6'5" C 1.7ppg) also to ACC GT, and L. Krasovek (6'3" F 1.3ppg) to Purdue Ft. Wayne. Whew!!

What remains : 2 players Starter A. Tomlinson (So. 5'5" PG 2.2ppg) and reserve A. Mcgee (Sr. 5'10" G ) who was injured and did not play last year. In 2023-24 she averaged 1.4ppg. Not much but at least there's the starting PG to run the offense.

Incoming Transfers : 6 players K. Edmonds (rs So. 6'2" F 8.4ppg) from Houston, an Australian from Butler L. Carmody (So. 5'11" G 6.6ppg), K. Henderson (rs Jr. 5'6" G ) from Ohio St., E. Houpt (5'6" G 4.88ppg) from San Diego St., T. McDaniel (Gr. 5'9" G 14.0ppg) from Georgetown College, and E. LoPinto (Gr. 5'4" G) who is actually from BC but has been on the Lacrosse team over her career. Apparently she played hs basketball.

Incoming freshmen: #76 A. Anderson (5'11" G), J. Grier (5'8" G), K. Hall (6'3" F), and a 2nd anomaly K. Rolph (6'2" F) who is listed with a 6.7ppg from Wm & Mary but is also listed as a Freshman on the roster ?!

Wow, this is going to be an absolutely awful year for BC. There's just no way around it. I have no insight as to why all of her players hit the portal. They did not have a great season last year but they were very competitive. They won at Virginia by 15, won at Miami, clobbered Syracuse by 41, drubbed Clemson by 29, lost at Cal by 9 and at Stanford by 5, beat SMU and VT at home. They finished the conference losing the last regular season game at Syracuse by 25 - the turned around and beat them in the 1st round of the ACC tourney followed by a 7 point loss in the 2nd round to NC. They finished 12 - 5 at home and 3 - 10 on the road and obviously that's where the biggest problem was. I understand (expect) a few of the better players on a below average team to leave when very good schools come calling ( Todd to OH. ST. and Sidberry to TX) but this mass exodus smacks of something more. But since that's what happened let's take a look at the team for this year....

Back court : Tomlinson for sure, Carmody probable as starters. From there it's returning McGee, Houpt, Henderson, and McDaniel and the 2 freshmen Anderson and Grier. My money is on Anderson and whoever else is up in the air. That will give her 4 guards plus 5 reserves (counting the Lacrosse player) sahe can use in rotation. As bad as that is, there are only a few experienced guards over 5'6" in height. In the front court there are only 3 players : Edmonds (6'2") who will start and freshman Hall (6'3") along with mystery player Rolph (6'2").

Next to Wes Moore, Bernabei-McNamee is probably one of the better evaluators of "hidden" talent (or whoever does their scouting). Either that or she's great at developing talent. She usually only gets about one top 100 player/year and they are usually #70 or higher. Most are unranked. Yet year after year she ends up losing a player or two to "better" teams once that talent has blossomed. However, this is asking too much from any coach to do in a single year. Even with the turnover in GT and Miami and to a lesser degree at SMU I just can't see this team finishing anywhere other than dead last (18th).
 
Rooster C. said:
Boston College you're up.

Boston College began the season unranked and finished it the same way. HC Joanna Bernabei-McNamee finished her 7th year going 16 - 18 overall and 6 - 12 in the ACC. Her overall win pct over her 7 years is .505 and .353 in conference. They did get an invite to the WBIT where they lost in the 1st round to Villanova . While BC didn't lose everbody they certainly came close. You usually don't see this kind of exodus unless there's a coaching change.

What was lost : 13 players! 2 graduated, including the 2nd leading scorer D. Waggoner (13.3ppg) and K. Jackson (4.4ppg).
Transfers in to the portal : Leading scorer T. Todd (Sr. 6'0" G 13.7ppg) to Ohio St., T. Sidberry (Sr. 6'1" F 12.5ppg) to Texas, A. Daley (Gr. 6'0" G 8.6ppg) to ??, S. Samuel (Gr. 6'1" G 6.3ppg) to ACC GT, K. Ivey (Gr. 5'8" G 5.6ppg) to Rutgers, N.Ndiaye (Jr. 6'1" F 4.4ppg) also to Rutgers, T. Greene (So. 6'3" G 4.4ppg) to ACC FSU, K. Lezama (Sr. 5'11" G 2.6ppg) to Hampton, J. Thompson (Jr. 5'8" G 2.2ppg) to Liberty, D. Mukeba Kasanda (So. 6'5" C 1.7ppg) also to ACC GT, and L. Krasovek (6'3" F 1.3ppg) to Purdue Ft. Wayne. Whew!!

What remains : 2 players Starter A. Tomlinson (So. 5'5" PG 2.2ppg) and reserve A. Mcgee (Sr. 5'10" G ) who was injured and did not play last year. In 2023-24 she averaged 1.4ppg. Not much but at least there's the starting PG to run the offense.

Incoming Transfers : 6 players K. Edmonds (rs So. 6'2" F 8.4ppg) from Houston, an Australian from Butler L. Carmody (So. 5'11" G 6.6ppg), K. Henderson (rs Jr. 5'6" G ) from Ohio St., E. Houpt (5'6" G 4.88ppg) from San Diego St., T. McDaniel (Gr. 5'9" G 14.0ppg) from Georgetown College, and E. LoPinto (Gr. 5'4" G) who is actually from BC but has been on the Lacrosse team over her career. Apparently she played hs basketball.

Incoming freshmen: #76 A. Anderson (5'11" G), J. Grier (5'8" G), K. Hall (6'3" F), and a 2nd anomaly K. Rolph (6'2" F) who is listed with a 6.7ppg from Wm & Mary but is also listed as a Freshman on the roster ?!

Wow, this is going to be an absolutely awful year for BC. There's just no way around it. I have no insight as to why all of her players hit the portal. They did not have a great season last year but they were very competitive. They won at Virginia by 15, won at Miami, clobbered Syracuse by 41, drubbed Clemson by 29, lost at Cal by 9 and at Stanford by 5, beat SMU and VT at home. They finished the conference losing the last regular season game at Syracuse by 25 - the turned around and beat them in the 1st round of the ACC tourney followed by a 7 point loss in the 2nd round to NC. They finished 12 - 5 at home and 3 - 10 on the road and obviously that's where the biggest problem was. I understand (expect) a few of the better players on a below average team to leave when very good schools come calling ( Todd to OH. ST. and Sidberry to TX) but this mass exodus smacks of something more. But since that's what happened let's take a look at the team for this year....

Back court : Tomlinson for sure, Carmody probable as starters. From there it's returning McGee, Houpt, Henderson, and McDaniel and the 2 freshmen Anderson and Grier. My money is on Anderson and whoever else is up in the air. That will give her 4 guards plus 5 reserves (counting the Lacrosse player) sahe can use in rotation. As bad as that is, there are only a few experienced guards over 5'6" in height. In the front court there are only 3 players : Edmonds (6'2") who will start and freshman Hall (6'3") along with mystery player Rolph (6'2").

Next to Wes Moore, Bernabei-McNamee is probably one of the better evaluators of "hidden" talent (or whoever does their scouting). Either that or she's great at developing talent. She usually only gets about one top 100 player/year and they are usually #70 or higher. Most are unranked. Yet year after year she ends up losing a player or two to "better" teams once that talent has blossomed. However, this is asking too much from any coach to do in a single year. Even with the turnover in GT and Miami and to a lesser degree at SMU I just can't see this team finishing anywhere other than dead last (18th).
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My local team. I definitely will get out to a few games this season but it sounds like it will be another rough one. Thanks for the insight. Really appreciated.
 
jdote33 said:
My local team. I definitely will get out to a few games this season but it sounds like it will be another rough one. Thanks for the insight. Really appreciated.
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Glad to hear you're going to continue your support of the local team. I'm curious if you have any thoughts on why the players left en masse ?
 
Rooster C. said:
I will be giving some thoughts on each team in the ACC just for fun. Any comments from those interested will be appreciated.
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Rooster C, when you have a moment, head over to inside Carolina and see where the poster known as Carolina151, plagiarized your post. They're notorious for using this board, and X, and will claim according to my sources..... Anyways, check it out
 
Panthers said:
Rooster C, when you have a moment, head over to inside Carolina and see where the poster known as Carolina151, plagiarized your post. They're notorious for using this board, and X, and will claim according to my sources..... Anyways, check it out
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Thanks for the heads up. I greatly dislike lazy posters who pilfer other's work and call it their own. I went over there but I'd have to join the NC board to find their posts which I'm not inclined to do. If I had I would have reported them to whoever manages their boards. However I'll just have to live with(out) it. I honestly can't imagine anything I posted could have been of any real value to a NC fan or something they weren't already aware of. Looking forward to having them "lift" my overall synopsis/predictions for the ACC this coming year.
 
Rooster C. said:
Thanks for the heads up. I greatly dislike lazy posters who pilfer other's work and call it their own. I went over there but I'd have to join the NC board to find their posts which I'm not inclined to do. If I had I would have reported them to whoever manages their boards. However I'll just have to live with(out) it. I honestly can't imagine anything I posted could have been of any real value to a NC fan or something they weren't already aware of. Looking forward to having them "lift" my overall synopsis/predictions for the ACC this coming year.
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Disagree. The level of detail probably exceeded their own knowledge by a country mile/kilometre. If they're lifting your work, they're not willing to do the actual research is how I see it.
 
Rooster C. said:
Boston College you're up.

Boston College began the season unranked and finished it the same way. HC Joanna Bernabei-McNamee finished her 7th year going 16 - 18 overall and 6 - 12 in the ACC. Her overall win pct over her 7 years is .505 and .353 in conference. They did get an invite to the WBIT where they lost in the 1st round to Villanova . While BC didn't lose everbody they certainly came close. You usually don't see this kind of exodus unless there's a coaching change.

What was lost : 13 players! 2 graduated, including the 2nd leading scorer D. Waggoner (13.3ppg) and K. Jackson (4.4ppg).
Transfers in to the portal : Leading scorer T. Todd (Sr. 6'0" G 13.7ppg) to Ohio St., T. Sidberry (Sr. 6'1" F 12.5ppg) to Texas, A. Daley (Gr. 6'0" G 8.6ppg) to ??, S. Samuel (Gr. 6'1" G 6.3ppg) to ACC GT, K. Ivey (Gr. 5'8" G 5.6ppg) to Rutgers, N.Ndiaye (Jr. 6'1" F 4.4ppg) also to Rutgers, T. Greene (So. 6'3" G 4.4ppg) to ACC FSU, K. Lezama (Sr. 5'11" G 2.6ppg) to Hampton, J. Thompson (Jr. 5'8" G 2.2ppg) to Liberty, D. Mukeba Kasanda (So. 6'5" C 1.7ppg) also to ACC GT, and L. Krasovek (6'3" F 1.3ppg) to Purdue Ft. Wayne. Whew!!

What remains : 2 players Starter A. Tomlinson (So. 5'5" PG 2.2ppg) and reserve A. Mcgee (Sr. 5'10" G ) who was injured and did not play last year. In 2023-24 she averaged 1.4ppg. Not much but at least there's the starting PG to run the offense.

Incoming Transfers : 6 players K. Edmonds (rs So. 6'2" F 8.4ppg) from Houston, an Australian from Butler L. Carmody (So. 5'11" G 6.6ppg), K. Henderson (rs Jr. 5'6" G ) from Ohio St., E. Houpt (5'6" G 4.88ppg) from San Diego St., T. McDaniel (Gr. 5'9" G 14.0ppg) from Georgetown College, and E. LoPinto (Gr. 5'4" G) who is actually from BC but has been on the Lacrosse team over her career. Apparently she played hs basketball.

Incoming freshmen: #76 A. Anderson (5'11" G), J. Grier (5'8" G), K. Hall (6'3" F), and a 2nd anomaly K. Rolph (6'2" F) who is listed with a 6.7ppg from Wm & Mary but is also listed as a Freshman on the roster ?!

Wow, this is going to be an absolutely awful year for BC. There's just no way around it. I have no insight as to why all of her players hit the portal. They did not have a great season last year but they were very competitive. They won at Virginia by 15, won at Miami, clobbered Syracuse by 41, drubbed Clemson by 29, lost at Cal by 9 and at Stanford by 5, beat SMU and VT at home. They finished the conference losing the last regular season game at Syracuse by 25 - the turned around and beat them in the 1st round of the ACC tourney followed by a 7 point loss in the 2nd round to NC. They finished 12 - 5 at home and 3 - 10 on the road and obviously that's where the biggest problem was. I understand (expect) a few of the better players on a below average team to leave when very good schools come calling ( Todd to OH. ST. and Sidberry to TX) but this mass exodus smacks of something more. But since that's what happened let's take a look at the team for this year....

Back court : Tomlinson for sure, Carmody probable as starters. From there it's returning McGee, Houpt, Henderson, and McDaniel and the 2 freshmen Anderson and Grier. My money is on Anderson and whoever else is up in the air. That will give her 4 guards plus 5 reserves (counting the Lacrosse player) sahe can use in rotation. As bad as that is, there are only a few experienced guards over 5'6" in height. In the front court there are only 3 players : Edmonds (6'2") who will start and freshman Hall (6'3") along with mystery player Rolph (6'2").

Next to Wes Moore, Bernabei-McNamee is probably one of the better evaluators of "hidden" talent (or whoever does their scouting). Either that or she's great at developing talent. She usually only gets about one top 100 player/year and they are usually #70 or higher. Most are unranked. Yet year after year she ends up losing a player or two to "better" teams once that talent has blossomed. However, this is asking too much from any coach to do in a single year. Even with the turnover in GT and Miami and to a lesser degree at SMU I just can't see this team finishing anywhere other than dead last (18th).
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Rooster, great analysis again. Much thanks.

I completely agree with the notion that something is not quite right in Beantown. I have looked at the comings and goings for BC over the last four seasons, and what happened last year is, to be kind, perplexing. There has to be a back story to the exodus.

It would be interesting to understand the timing of when the BC players entered the portal and when they committed to their new programs. If the time between those two actions is short, it would suggest that the players were simply chasing NIL dollars. On the other hand, if the time between the two actions is not short, then it suggests that perhaps the acquiring team was bringing them on as back-ups. In either case, with the possible exception of Todd going to the Buckeyes, I don't think a single outgoing transfer increased their prospects towards playing professionally by leaving the program.

I'm sensing that Coach Bernabei-McNamee is going to focus this year on developing the freshman and younger players, and that is why she took on so many smaller, perimeter shooting transfers.

I agree with you that this season will be a struggle. I think bottom three is their destiny.

Keep 'em coming!
 
Syracuse was ranked at around #40 preseason and ended it unranked. It was an up and down season for them as they finished at 12 - 18 overall and 6 - 12 in the ACC. Over her 3 years at Syracuse coach Felisha Legette-Jack has a win pct. of .589 with a .519 win pct in conference. This last year was her worst and the first with less than 20 wins and with a losing record.

So let's take a look at how they stack up for the coming season.

What was lost : All of the starters save one. Gone is #1 scorer G. Woolley (6'0" G 16.0ppg) and K. Wood (6'3" F 11.6ppg) the #3 scorer to graduation. Also gone are D. Camp (5'8" G 4.3ppg), S. Wilson (6'0" F 4.5ppg), and L. McNabb (5'7" G) also to graduation. The other big loss after Woolley and Wood was I. Verajao (6'4" C 6.8ppg) from Brazil who has also moved on.

What remains : Some good news here as most of the reserves saw a fair amount of time on the court a year ago. This includes S. Hawkins (So. 6'2" W 4.2ppg), J. Thompson (Sr. 6'3" F 3.3ppg), O. Schmitt (So. 5'5" G 1.7ppg), and A. Velez (Jr. 5'7" G 2.6ppg). Also back are reserves M. Potts (So. 6'0" G 3.0ppg) and K. Scott (So. 6'1" F 4.8ppg). So if nothing else they'll have a pretty deep bench.

Incoming transfers: Shockingly this was one of the few teams without any out going transfers. Biggest amongst the new faces will be L. Phelia (Gr. 6'0" G 6.1ppg) out of Texas. O. Akinbolawa (Sr. 6'5" C 3.4ppg) from Auburn, D. Darius (Gr. 5'10" G 2.5ppg) from USC, and A. Almon (So. 6'4" F 1.3 ppg) from ACC Miami arrive as well.

Incoming Freshmen : 4 players make up this years' class. #60 J. Cooper (6'1" W), C. Nelson (5'8" G), J. Fitzgerald (6'1" F) and I. Uche (6'3" C).


This year will be a challenge no doubt. The loss of a special player like Dyaisha Fair was clearly felt. Syracuse began the conference season going 1 - 7 over their first 8 games and that was with many experienced starters. This coming year won't be any easier other than maybe BC and GT.

The back court has returning starter Burrows and her 39.6% from three. Joining her will definitely be Phelia and probably reserve Hawkins. After that it will be a lot of players getting minutes between returning reserves Schmitt, Velez, Scott, and Potts as well as newcomer Darius and freshman Cooper. The front court will consist of reserve Thompson backed up by incoming transfers Akinbolawa and Almon. I don't expect the other 3 freshmen to see much playing time.

This will be another difficult season upcoming for Syracuse. They do have their 2nd leading scorer back and I expect Legette-Jack will give Phelia the green light so we should see a return to the kind of numbers she put up during her time at Michigan and perhaps better. That was nearly 17 ppg. Having said that Woolley was putting up 16ppg so not as significant as it seems. It was not surprising they lost to MD at home last year but they were competitive. But losing by 14 at home to St. Joseph's and 3 at home to U. Albany were not good losses. Those are decent teams but at home you have to win those if you're going anywhere at the end of the season. They lost to Creighton by 27 (neutral court) and to a mediocre Texas A&M on the road. They lost to SMU at home and were destroyed at BC by 41 pts! To finish the year they lost in the 1st round of the ACC tournament to BC. There are problems here beyond the loss (or addition of) a single great player. Better recruiting would be a good starting point. They don't lose too much next year so there's a solid core to build upon IF she can get some good recruits in the 2026 class. Of course that's assuming the rest stay put after this season ends. I look for Syracuse to be in the bottom portion of the conference probably around 12th at best and more likely below that.
 

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