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Message: [QUOTE="Bone Dog, post: 5260472, member: 12088"] I think UCLA has to be in a [B]pre-season[/B] top ten. With the Betts sisters, Gardiner, Dugalic, Jaquez and Rice there’s just too much talent not to include them. All the seniors in the rotation are likely to be drafted, maybe even in the first round. That’s a lot of star power. However, as with every previous season, they have yet to prove that the coaching can get them all the way. Still, Cori has proven she can get a wildly overstocked team to the final four. That has to be respected, at least early on. What’s more, the polls will not be able to resist putting them at the top at various points in the season even if they stumble once or twice. And, who knows, they might not even stumble at all before the tournament next season. I mean, who in the Big10 is likely to beat them in January and February? USC? Iowa? Wisconsin? Nebraska? Heck, even if they play SC or UConn in their OOC schedule, they might win those games, especially if they happen early. Stacked teams tend to look like world beaters early on. The polls can’t ignore that. But they don’t always develop into truly great teams and can peak too soon. A few of the writers and coaches may reflect this in their votes next time around, at least more than they did this season. [/QUOTE]