Too early 2018-19 Rankings | The Boneyard

Too early 2018-19 Rankings

Vowelguy

Vowelguy

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I normally wait for the season to end, but that as far as I'm concerned that has happened ...
  1. Notre Dame - Return 4 of 5 starters + add 3 injured players + 2 top 20 HS recruits
  2. UConn - Big losses of GW & KN but return 4 of 6
  3. Oregon - Ionescu & Hebard return. Lose Bando but add transfer Boley.
  4. Baylor - Lose Kristy Wallace & Cohen but Brown, Cox, Morris back + THREE top 5 HS
  5. Louisville - Lose Hines-Allen but rest back.
Will need some time to think about the rest
 
Jere Longman wrote about "parity" today, and he's right. But a two-tiered parity. The very best teams are separated from the rest: these five: Notre Dame, Baylor, Connecticut, Oregon, Louisville, Texas. They're all recruiting the best players, and they're beating most everyone else most games. UConn for a couple of years now has not had the greatest recruiting time. Walker disappointed, and I'm sure she would agree. The other three recruits this year, one of which departed, were likewise not up to their rankings. So, too, for the non-Dangerfield recruits a year ago.

Will Crystal and ONO save reverse the trouble in the FF, and compensate for Kia's and Gabby's departure? Will Azure remain? Clearly, we will go into next season without a bench, or with a bench that can only contribute with a major advance in the off-season.

On the other hand, the other top five will arrive with some major talent. The proof of the pudding in terms of parity is what's happened the past couple of years.

We're not guaranteed another romp to the Final Four, and we're not going to be a 3:1 favorite for the championship next year either.

Times have changed.
 
Maybe too soon after the pain but next year should be very interesting. The biggest sadness for me is the seeming deterioration of the AAC. Maybe I am wrong but it looks weaker than previous years.
 
One thing remains the same, however: the chronic failure of Tennessee to return to the top tier.

For the second tier, Oregon State has arrived, as has UCLA. And the shocking strength of the no-name teams is also a revelation this year.
 
.-.
EricLA said:
I'd put UCONN 3rd behind ND and Baylor. The rest I agree with FWIW. I think what we lose is significantly more than Baylor, but it's pretty much JMO. I think you nailed the top 5...
  1. ND
  2. Baylor
  3. UCONN
  4. Oregon
  5. Louisville
Expand ...
ND and Baylor will be powerhouses. I know people are counting on Z to stay, but depending on which team might be interested , it might make more sense to go to the league. She is certainly a top 5 pick right now. If that happens UConn would drop to 7 or 8 on this ranking list.
 
Fairfield Fan said:
One thing remains the same, however: the chronic failure of Tennessee to return to the top tier.

For the second tier, Oregon State has arrived, as has UCLA. And the shocking strength of the no-name teams is also a revelation this year.
Expand ...

UCLA? They lose almost everyobe
 
Fairfield Fan said:
Jere Longman wrote about "parity" today, and he's right. But a two-tiered parity. The very best teams are separated from the rest: these five: Notre Dame, Baylor, Connecticut, Oregon, Louisville, Texas. They're all recruiting the best players, and they're beating most everyone else most games. UConn for a couple of years now has not had the greatest recruiting time. Walker disappointed, and I'm sure she would agree. The other three recruits this year, one of which departed, were likewise not up to their rankings. So, too, for the non-Dangerfield recruits a year ago.

Will Crystal and ONO save reverse the trouble in the FF, and compensate for Kia's and Gabby's departure? Will Azure remain? Clearly, we will go into next season without a bench, or with a bench that can only contribute with a major advance in the off-season.

On the other hand, the other top five will arrive with some major talent. The proof of the pudding in terms of parity is what's happened the past couple of years.

We're not guaranteed another romp to the Final Four, and we're not going to be a 3:1 favorite for the championship next year either.

Times have changed.
Expand ...

Texas loses its 2 best players. I don’t see them better
 
I'd love to see UConn out of the top five rankings to start the season.........takes the pressure off a bit.............next year's team will be the first in quite awhile not to be favored to win the NC and I view that as a good thing...........if AZ stays and Walker improves the additional of CW and ONO should make for a very competitive team that might surprise some folks in the end........if the new transfer rules are approved you may see a lot of movement throughout WBB (if the players have a 3.0 or better GPA)
 
scubadog said:
ND and Baylor will be powerhouses. I know people are counting on Z to stay, but depending on which team might be interested , it might make more sense to go to the league. She is certainly a top 5 pick right now. If that happens UConn would drop to 7 or 8 on this ranking list.
Expand ...

I think Z saw how far she has to go and has yet to learn. And she needs to work on her shooting.
She still may go but I think it would be a mistake.
 
vowelguy said:
Texas loses its 2 best players. I don’t see them better
Expand ...

They get Charli Collier and Sedona Prince. I was tremendously impressed by Prince in the McDonalds game. A real powerhouse. Texas got Rellah Booth and Chasity Patterson last year as well.
 
.-.
Uconn-
Dangerfield
Williams
Samuelson
Collier
Stevens

Baylor-
Morris
Landrum
Richards
Cox
Brown

ND-
Mabrey
Ogunbowale
Young
Turner
Shepherd

Texas-
Sutton
Higgs
Holmes
Boothe
White

Oregon-
Cazorla
Ionescu
Sabally
Boley
Hebard
 
vowelguy said:
I think Z saw how far she has to go and has yet to learn. And she needs to work on her shooting.
She still may go but I think it would be a mistake.
Expand ...
Yeah, but she can work on her shooting while on a wnba roster just as well. She is healthy with a lot of talent. Why risk injury during an extra year in college ?
 
scubadog said:
ND and Baylor will be powerhouses. I know people are counting on Z to stay, but depending on which team might be interested , it might make more sense to go to the league. She is certainly a top 5 pick right now. If that happens UConn would drop to 7 or 8 on this ranking list.
Expand ...
By what date would Z (and Pheesa) have to declare for the draft? Threads like this aren't valuable until after that day.
 
scubadog said:
Yeah, but she can work on her shooting while on a wnba roster just as well. She is healthy with a lot of talent. Why risk injury during an extra year in college ?
Expand ...
It’s not just her shooting. Her overall understanding could be improved.

It is much harder to learn things in the pros because there’s not the teaching or margin for error that exists in college.
 
vowelguy said:
It’s not just her shooting. Her overall understanding could be improved.

It is much harder to learn things in the pros because there’s not the teaching or margin for error that exists in college.
Expand ...
So you are saying that another year against AAC teams will teach her more ?
 
Centerstream said:
By what date would Z (and Pheesa) have to declare for the draft? Threads like this aren't valuable until after that day.
Expand ...
Not sure of the date but I think it is very soon like within 10 days.
 
.-.
1. Notre Dame-this will be one of Notre Dame's most talented rosters ever. The starting 5 will likely be 4 seniors (Turner, Shepard, Ogunbowale, Mabrey) and 1 junior (Young). If they can stay healthy, they'll be very very good. And if they have injuries, they'll still be very very good knowing Muffet. Adding in Turner means Shepard can move to the high post which brings a whole new dimension to the roster.

2. UCONN-another stacked roster for UCONN comes in. A starting 5 of Stevens, Collier, KLS, Walker and Dangerfield give them AA threats at every position. Add in the #1 recruit to spot the guards and the #5 recruit to spot the posts and you have arguably the most dangerous team in the country. The biggest question mark will be on the defensive side now that Nurse and Williams are gone. Can they beat

3. Oregon-I still think they're a year away from being a title favorite, but a Final Four should be the expectation next year. Everyone but Bando returns, plus they bring in an exceptional shooter in Erin Boley. The trio of Sabally, Ionescu and Hebard will give opposing coaches nightmares.

4. Baylor-Kalani Brown will be a POY favorite next year and Cox should be an All American. Those two alone should make Baylor a title threat. Their major loss is outstanding PG Kristy Wallace but they have a nice freshman PG in Morris. They bring in a monster class that will require a lot of juggling by Mulkey to keep everyone happy (see Texas this year). Baylor has been a notorious underachiever for 6 straight years now....can they finally break the Final Four curse in Brown's last year?

5. Louisville-Asia Durr is back along with her entire team sans Hines-Allen. The frontcourt will be fine with Fuerhing and Shook. Their trio of guards (Jones/Carter/Evans) have huge upside and could make Louisville a contender if they can consistently finish shots like they did in the semifinals. This season was by far the best coaching job of Walz's career, I'm curious to see if he can keep it up.

6. Mississippi State-I might be overhyping them, but what they lose in talent they make up for in exceptional coaching...and they have Teaira McCowan, who might be the best big girl in the country next season. They have 2 strong guards back in Danbury and Holmes, and I'd also look for Bibby to step in as a starter. They need someone to emerge as a perimeter scoring threat who can get their own shot, but I don't see Mississippi State completely falling out of the mix.

7. Texas-On paper this team is the 2nd most talented in the country after UCONN. 7 top 10 kids plus Prince who was #12. They have a ton of question marks though. How will Sutton or Patterson step up at PG and replace McCarty? Will Boothe be back? Can Holmes return to freshman form after a tough sophomore year? How does Karen distribute front court minutes? I expect Texas to be streaky like they've been the last several years. When they play well, they are capable of beating anyone, but when they play lazy, they can lose to some bad teams.

8. Maryland-they were a better team this year than I expected. For all the flack she gets, Brenda is actually a pretty good coach. Everyone is back besides Confroy, and they bring in the #3 recruit in Shakira Austin who should stabilize the frontcourt. Kaila Charles is VERY good.

9. Oregon State-I think Rueck is one of the best coaches in the country and he has Slocum on the team and a top 10 recruit coming in. They also return everyone but Gulich from this year's team. I'd look for them to give Oregon a run for their money in the PAC.

10. Texas A&M-they lose Hillsman which is significant but they return Howard, Williams and Carter.


Teams in potential free fall include:

Tennessee-they sign another top 5 class but they lose their 2 best players and have Holly coaching. That's scary.

South Carolina-they were a pretty bad team without Wilson last year and she'll be gone. The lack of perimeter shooting and consistent play is a big red flag.

Duke-they lose their top 2 players and I don't see anyone waiting in the wings to make up the massive void left by Brown/Greenwell.

Ohio State-if they finish in the top half of the Big Ten, I'll be impressed. McGuff just wasted 4 years with Kelsey Mitchell (and 2 with Mavunga/Harper).....they likely plummet out of the national picture.

UCLA-no Final Fours for their #1 recruiting class, they still haven't talent but I don't expect to see them in any Final Four discussions next year.
 
scubadog said:
So you are saying that another year against AAC teams will teach her more ?
Expand ...

Uhh perhaps you’ve heard of this thing called practice with the UConn coaching staff?
 
vowelguy said:
It’s not just her shooting. Her overall understanding could be improved.

It is much harder to learn things in the pros because there’s not the teaching or margin for error that exists in college.
Expand ...
Agree - as Rebecca said last night, her game improved dramatically in the course of this season. Another summer of getting stronger and another year under Geno will do wonders for her overall game. She's nowhere near where she can be. The WNBA is season is so compressed there's not really time for much teaching. If she were a man, I'd say go 100%. But the money isn't comparable. So the question really is - does she want to play in the WNBA and go overseas in the fall?
 
vowelguy said:
Uhh perhaps you’ve heard of this thing called practice with the UConn coaching staff?
Expand ...
So, the risk of getting hurt in hard UConn practices to play a perfect game against AAC is worth it ? I hope she stays , but I have my very serious doubts. I hope I'm wrong for our sakes.
 
I see Syracuse taking another step forward.

Mangakahia/Salgues
Cooper/Young
Drummond/Sissoko
Strautmane/Engstler
Finklea-Guity/Tabdi

Not sure about all of the other guards they have but Engstler and the French recruits they have are very good.
 
scubadog said:
So, the risk of getting hurt in hard UConn practices to play a perfect game against AAC is worth it ? I hope she stays , but I have my very serious doubts. I hope I'm wrong for our sakes.
Expand ...

If that’s your opinion of playing at UConn , you must wonder why anyone chooses to go there in the first place.
 
.-.
Cheddie said:
Agree - as Rebecca said last night, her game improved dramatically in the course of this season. Another summer of getting stronger and another year under Geno will do wonders for her overall game. She's nowhere near whershe can be. The WNBA is season is so compressed there's not really time for much teaching. If she were a man, I'd say go 100%. But the money isn't comparable. So the question really is - does she want to play in the WNBA and go overseas in the fall?
Expand ...
I wish I had the opportunity to ask Rebecca how many 6'6" players are better than she is right now going into the draft ? I mean , getting stronger in the weight room and shooting 500 jump shots a day can be worked on .
 
Will be interesting to see how Turner fits into the ND offense. She isn’t as versatile as Westbeld or Shepard
 
vowelguy said:
If that’s your opinion of playing at UConn , you must wonder why anyone chooses to go there in the first place.
Expand ...
Just not true. I'm looking at one isolated situation. We can continue to look at everything thru rose colored glasses or at least open our eyes to other possibilities.
 
.-.
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