Top 5 returning players at each position

[Willie E.Gold]

Kitija Laksa (South FL.)is the sleeper.Led Nation in Free Throw Percentage(96.5)and only missed Four attempts the entire season. Only Player in NCAA Division 1 to record two 40-point games and scored at least 30 points in 5 games and at least 20 points in 18 games. Scored 41 against Ohio St. last year. Set an NCAA single game record of 11 -consecutive Three's against Southern University.Conn.is very aware of her. She is WNBA caliber right now.

 

[Charliebball]

Kitija Laksa (South FL.)is the sleeper.Led Nation in Free Throw Percentage(96.5)and only missed Four attempts the entire season. Only Player in NCAA Division 1 to record two 40-point games and scored at least 30 points in 5 games and at least 20 points in 18 games. Scored 41 against Ohio St. last year. Set an NCAA single game record of 11 -consecutive Three's against Southern University.Conn.is very aware of her. She is WNBA caliber right now.

she's a nice but streaky lower percentage shooter...............399 from two, .382 from three..............compare that to KLS.........530 from two and .475 from three..........Laksa was needed to supply the majority of the points for SF...............if Geno gave KLS such responsibility she would average 30 points a game...........

 

[bballnut90]

This is all fine and probably correct. But if you actually want to win - give me Mabrey over Chennedy Carter any day.

Agreed. Love Mabrey...she's a gamer.

 

[bballnut90]

I'm sorry but I can't respect the double standard that you are using. Pheesa gets the shaft for one year's performance which was still better in my opinion to the compariso group you are using just because she didn't have the insane numbers she had the year before that even Geno says was just outside the realm. But then you'll make all these other decisions about other players value and position based on other years of performance and projections for next year.

It's just inconsistent.

The rankings are based off of how good I think the player will be this upcoming season. I'm assuming everyone on this list will be healthy and playing a full season. Collier was healthy and played a full season last year, yet I thought her play regressed. That's the most recent body of work I have from her, and I don't see any indication that she'll make huge improvements this upcoming season other than that she wont have to share time and shots with Stevens inside.

Holmes only played half the year and was behind the curve the entire time. Since she'll likely play a full season and be in better shape, I'm guessing she'll return to her freshman year level of impact. She's the only one on the list whose value I'm basing on two years ago besides Slocum who was out all last year.

 

[Undercovervol]

Holmes is an impressive player. She’s extremely quick for her size and plays with confidence. Since Ariel Atkins had such an impressive freshman year in the WNBA, I’ve begun to question Karen Aston’s coaching—clearly Atkins should’ve been taking more shots and been more dominant in college. But maybe a player like Holmes can prove me wrong.

The rankings are based off of how good I think the player will be this upcoming season. I'm assuming everyone on this list will be healthy and playing a full season. Collier was healthy and played a full season last year, yet I thought her play regressed. That's the most recent body of work I have from her, and I don't see any indication that she'll make huge improvements this upcoming season other than that she wont have to share time and shots with Stevens inside.

Holmes only played half the year and was behind the curve the entire time. Since she'll likely play a full season and be in better shape, I'm guessing she'll return to her freshman year level of impact. She's the only one on the list whose value I'm basing on two years ago besides Slocum who was out all last year.

 

[Undercovervol]

Please point to the "repeated criticism" of Shepard in this thread.

Fair, can’t do it for this thread haha.

 

[Charliebball]

The rankings are based off of how good I think the player will be this upcoming season. I'm assuming everyone on this list will be healthy and playing a full season. Collier was healthy and played a full season last year, yet I thought her play regressed. That's the most recent body of work I have from her, and I don't see any indication that she'll make huge improvements this upcoming season other than that she wont have to share time and shots with Stevens inside.

Holmes only played half the year and was behind the curve the entire time. Since she'll likely play a full season and be in better shape, I'm guessing she'll return to her freshman year level of impact. She's the only one on the list whose value I'm basing on two years ago besides Slocum who was out all last year.

Holmes has all the talent in the world but she'd be hard pressed to have a season like Collier had two years ago...............as Geno has said in the past, that was one of the finest one year performances he'd ever seen..............last year she was just plain good.........I expect her to make a jump at least half way back to that historic season in her senior campaign...........

 

[bballnut90]

Holmes has all the talent in the world but she'd be hard pressed to have a season like Collier had two years ago.....as Geno has said in the past, that was one of the finest one year performances he'd ever seen....last year she was just plain good....I expect her to make a jump at least half way back to that historic season in her senior campaign......

Not comparing Holmes to Collier in any way...Collier is a much more polished player. I don't see Holmes having a 2017 Collier type of year. If Collier can recreate that type of season, she'll be the top PF IMO.

 

[Charliebball]

Not comparing Holmes to Collier in any way...Collier is a much more polished player. I don't see Holmes having a 2017 Collier type of year. If Collier can recreate that type of season, she'll be the top PF IMO.

frankly Holmes may have more innate talent but Pheesa has come much closer to reaching her full potential...........I'm sure that her coaches have something to do with that.........

 

[BlueDevils]

I have a hard time taking this list serious. Collier 3rd best Pf? Where is Marina Mabrey? Who in the hell is Pivec, and why is she ranked ahead of Tyasha Harris? Is Destiny Solocum really the best point guard coming into this season? Joyner Holmes a top five center? I guess...

I can't wait for the UCONN/Tennessee game this season. Tennesee fans are very annoying.

 

[BlueDevils]

I have no idea who Reinna Davis is. I'd put Leaonna Odom on that SF list before a player Ive never heard of. But of course Im a bit biased.

Very similar players. Reinna Davis operates a lot more at the wing than Odom but she isn't afraid to battle with the bigs for rebounds. She's good.

NOT better than Leonna Odom though. I got a good laugh at the OP trying to sneak her as a top 5 SF.

 

[Grad1990]

...Collier's regression in 2018 may have been due to Stevens emerging as a post presence...

Interesting exercise.

Implicit in your argument is that teams would choose Gustafson or Shepard before Collier. That is a tough argument to make.

For exactly the idea that Stevens disrupted UConn and Collier last year...I often wondered if UConn would have been a better team without Stevens. I don't think Stevens made UConn a more balanced team. IMO, just the opposite.

Collier is one of the best skilled players in WCBB and is un-guardable by anyone in WCBB. She is a pro-ready player who will go in the top 5 and very likely start next year for a pro-team.

Collier is very likely a unanimous pick AA this year...one of maybe only two or three.

Chennedy Carter had a terrific year. Crystal Dangerfield is quicker, faster, more fundamentally sound, is surrounded by much more talented players (so she doesn't need to do as much), would go top 5 in this year's draft and start as PG for most any pro team that drafts her.

KLS is this year's best player. Ionescu may get it because of politics and because she is surrounded by players not as good as her (I don't want to take anything away from her...she is a terrific talent and great for Oregon). KLS is a future all-pro...as is Collier and probably Dangerfield.

Off topic....UConn is a better team this year than last, mainly because they have Walker (who is going to have the UConn sophomore leap) and because Stevens is gone (not so disruptive to Collier inside). UConn is missing size, but they will make up for it with raw athleticism, strength, quickness and talent.

No team in the country has a chance against them if they're "on".

 

[PAC-12HoopFan]

This will be a breakout year for Pivec, not having to play PG for OSU, and, having 2 solid PGs at OSU. Having to run the point for a year did nothing but improve Pivec's game. By end of year, everyone across the country will know Mikayla Pivec.

Agreed. Pivec adjusted her game to fit what her OSU team needed last year with Destiny Slocum sitting out a season following her transfer from Maryland. Pivec averaged 11.1 points, a PAC-12 guard-leading 7.1 boards, and 5.0 assists per game during '17-'18 playing the point guard position.

There was apparently only one other women's D1 player last season who averaged at least 11/7/5 points/rebounds/assists per game last season. And it was not Sabrina Ionescu. We know her well on this forum and now follow her development in the WNBA. Her name is Gabby Williams. Gabby produced 11.2/7.4/5.3 averages last season. I couldn't find any other female player in D1 at any position to accomplish those stats other than Williams and Pivec.

 

[Ron and Vida]

Just a little over a month until the season starts...thought I'd bring this up in hopes of sparking some discussion. Obviously there will be players who you can argue are a different position than what's listed (ex. C vs. PF) but wanted to see everyone's thoughts. Here's my list, players are in order too:

PG:
Destiny Slocum, Oregon State
Chennedy Carter, Texas A&M
Crystal Dangerfield, Connecticut
Mikayla Pivec, Oregon State
Tyasha Harris, South Carolina

SG:
Sabrina Ionescu, Oregon
Arike Ogunbowale, Notre Dame
Asia Durr, Louisville
Kaila Charles, Maryland
Tynice Martin, West Virginia

SF:
KLS, UCONN
Sophie Cunningham, Missouri
Jackie Young, Notre Dame
Satou Sabally, Oregon
Rennia Davis, Tennessee

PF:
Megan Gustafson, Iowa
Jessica Shepard, Notre Dame
Napheesa Collier, UCONN
Lauren Cox, Baylor
Ruthy Hebard, Oregon

C:
Tiera McCowan, Mississippi State
Kalani Brown, Baylor
Brianna Turner, Notre Dame
Kristine Anigwe, Cal
Joyner Holmes, Texas (if back in freshman form)


Some notably missing players include:

Marina Mabrey-she'd likely be a top 5 SG, but she's out of position at PG and struggles against small quick guards. Isn't a top 5 PG in my book even though she's a top 25 player.

Danni Williams and Anriel Howard-both could easily could climb up this list, playing different roles for their new teams may allow them to shine.

Chloe Jackson-good player on a bad team. Let's see how she plays on a very good team.

Arica Carter-really solid PG for Louisville..stats don't jump out at you but she's very solid on both ends of the floor.

Kiana Williams-came on strong to finish the year for Stanford. Could be their go to player this season.

Megan Walker, Erin Boley, Evina Westbrook, Chasity Patterson, Sidney Cooks are all former top 5 recruits who should be positioned well to make larger impacts this upcoming season. Walker and Boley are likely starters, Westbrook likely takes on a bigger offensive role, Patterson should be a rotation player, and Cooks may be the go to player for the Spartans.

Good idea. Will be fun to see how it works out

 

[Shades]

This is all fine and probably correct. But if you actually want to win - give me Mabrey over Chennedy Carter any day.

If a trade like that was possible in college ball, there’d be like a whiplash effect. McGraw wouldn’t want Carter?

 

[Only1coj]

I have a hard time taking this list serious. Collier 3rd best Pf? Where is Marina Mabrey? Who in the hell is Pivec, and why is she ranked ahead of Tyasha Harris? Is Destiny Solocum really the best point guard coming into this season? Joyner Holmes a top five center? I guess...

I can't wait for the UCONN/Tennessee game this season. Tennesee fans are very annoying.

Yea.. we feel the same way about you Dookies..
BTW.. UT and UCONN don’t play until 2019-2020..

 

[triaddukefan]

Yea.. we feel the same way about you Dookies..
BTW.. UT and UCONN don’t play until 2019-2020..

 

[DEpup]

The rankings are based off of how good I think the player will be this upcoming season. I'm assuming everyone on this list will be healthy and playing a full season. Collier was healthy and played a full season last year, yet I thought her play regressed. That's the most recent body of work I have from her, and I don't see any indication that she'll make huge improvements this upcoming season other than that she wont have to share time and shots with Stevens inside.

Holmes only played half the year and was behind the curve the entire time. Since she'll likely play a full season and be in better shape, I'm guessing she'll return to her freshman year level of impact. She's the only one on the list whose value I'm basing on two years ago besides Slocum who was out all last year.

I completely disagree with your selective criteria on ranking. You continue to bad mouth and undervalue a college player who just made it to the last cut offs of the national team. I'm not sure why you are even on this board....

 

[DEpup]

Interesting exercise.

Implicit in your argument is that teams would choose Gustafson or Shepard before Collier. That is a tough argument to make.

For exactly the idea that Stevens disrupted UConn and Collier last year...I often wondered if UConn would have been a better team without Stevens. I don't think Stevens made UConn a more balanced team. IMO, just the opposite.

Collier is one of the best skilled players in WCBB and is un-guardable by anyone in WCBB. She is a pro-ready player who will go in the top 5 and very likely start next year for a pro-team.

Collier is very likely a unanimous pick AA this year...one of maybe only two or three.

Chennedy Carter had a terrific year. Crystal Dangerfield is quicker, faster, more fundamentally sound, is surrounded by much more talented players (so she doesn't need to do as much), would go top 5 in this year's draft and start as PG for most any pro team that drafts her.

KLS is this year's best player. Ionescu may get it because of politics and because she is surrounded by players not as good as her (I don't want to take anything away from her...she is a terrific talent and great for Oregon). KLS is a future all-pro...as is Collier and probably Dangerfield.

Off topic....UConn is a better team this year than last, mainly because they have Walker (who is going to have the UConn sophomore leap) and because Stevens is gone (not so disruptive to Collier inside). UConn is missing size, but they will make up for it with raw athleticism, strength, quickness and talent.

No team in the country has a chance against them if they're "on".

Amen!

 

[Fightin Choke]

I completely disagree with your selective criteria on ranking. You continue to bad mouth and undervalue a college player who just made it to the last cut offs of the national team. I'm not sure why you are even on this board....

Yikes! bballnut has been here for years and he's doing what one of the mods subtitled him for -- he's crafting a discussion topic. I do not see where he bad-mouthed Pheesa. Could you point out where you feel he did that? As for undervaluing, that's where the discussion part comes in. I certainly hope that bballnut does not wonder why he is on this board (as you question above) as the board is richer when posters like him create topics for women's basketball fans to discuss here on the Boneyard. You actually praised the topic he presented earlier in this thread: "Thanks for doing this. It has created a lot of good discussion."

As for the Blue Devil fan that seemed to accuse bballnut of Lady Vol bias (BlueDevils), bballnut is very critical of the present state of LV basketball. It seems to me that he goes out of his way to appear NOT to favor Tennessee. Rennia Davis is the only LV he placed in his 25 slots, which is hardly a homer move.

 

[willtalk]

Agreed. Pivec adjusted her game to fit what her OSU team needed last year with Destiny Slocum sitting out a season following her transfer from Maryland. Pivec averaged 11.1 points, a PAC-12 guard-leading 7.1 boards, and 5.0 assists per game during '17-'18 playing the point guard position.

There was apparently only one other women's D1 player last season who averaged at least 11/7/5 points/rebounds/assists per game last season. And it was not Sabrina Ionescu. We know her well on this forum and now follow her development in the WNBA. Her name is Gabby Williams. Gabby produced 11.2/7.4/5.3 averages last season. I couldn't find any other female player in D1 at any position to accomplish those stats other than Williams and Pivec.

Pivec was an interesting player to follow last season. Playing as a point for the first time since Jr High was not an easy adjustment for a player with her skill and mind set. While she had a good game against ND early in the year, she digressed soon after. During most of the season her point guard play was the teams obvious weakness. However by the end of the year and during the playoffs, her play was fairly solid. I tend to believe that if she had to play the point this season she would do a good job. I think her problem was not so much her skill set but her off guard mentality. She would often attempt to do to much putting herself into some difficult situations. She reminded me of Sims play in the WNBA.

Statistics don't impress me much. She definitely has a nose for the ball and that helps her in her rebounding. However some of that is because she usually leaves her defensive assignment early on shots to crash the boards. With Gulish taking a lot of shots and drawing defenders there were a lot of O boards to be had as well. Also with a team that shot a lot of three pointers at a + 40 % clip there were a lot of assists to be had as well. I doubt she will match those numbers this coming season, except perhaps points per game, which might well increase. He minuets per game, as will for some other former starters, probably will decrease this season.

Unlike " Lotraders" perspective, I do not see Pivecs game taking off this coming season. The addition of Slocum skill set will impact Pivec the most. It will make her skill set more expendable. She will have to return to playing more off the ball, and some players games are more productive with the ball in their hands. The team has just too many other options from players who each bring their own individual but different skill sets to the floor. With Slocums addition one of the 3 other starters at guard will have to be a reserve. Then you add a more experienced Goodman ( who shot the three at a 46% clip) and the freshman Simmons who many people are also high on and you have many capable guards to chose from. It will depend on which combination will serve the coaches vision the best. More than likely they will just employ a bigger rotation which should mean less minutes for everyone.

 

[Orangutan]

If a trade like that was possible in college ball, there’d be like a whiplash effect. McGraw wouldn’t want Carter?

Hey, I don't know, you'd have to ask her.

I don't think Carter would make this ND team as presently constructed better. There aren't enough balls in the world for Carter and Ogunbowale in the same backcourt!

I just don't think having your point guard shoot as much as she does is how you beat the best teams consistently. I would say that maybe it would be different if she had more talent around her. But the talent she did have around her (Williams & Howard) fled to greener pastures. That may be completely unrelated to Carter. But from the outside looking in it doesn't speak positively to her impact on team chemistry.

 

[Charliebball]

Hey, I don't know, you'd have to ask her.

I don't think Carter would make this ND team as presently constructed better. There aren't enough balls in the world for Carter and Ogunbowale in the same backcourt!

I just looked up Carter's shooting stats.........pretty pedestrian except for the scoring average (22.7) .443 from two and .383 from three...........

 

[bballnut90]

Interesting exercise.

Implicit in your argument is that teams would choose Gustafson or Shepard before Collier. That is a tough argument to make.

For exactly the idea that Stevens disrupted UConn and Collier last year...I often wondered if UConn would have been a better team without Stevens. I don't think Stevens made UConn a more balanced team. IMO, just the opposite.

Collier is one of the best skilled players in WCBB and is un-guardable by anyone in WCBB. She is a pro-ready player who will go in the top 5 and very likely start next year for a pro-team.

Collier is very likely a unanimous pick AA this year...one of maybe only two or three.

Chennedy Carter had a terrific year. Crystal Dangerfield is quicker, faster, more fundamentally sound, is surrounded by much more talented players (so she doesn't need to do as much), would go top 5 in this year's draft and start as PG for most any pro team that drafts her.

KLS is this year's best player. Ionescu may get it because of politics and because she is surrounded by players not as good as her (I don't want to take anything away from her...she is a terrific talent and great for Oregon). KLS is a future all-pro...as is Collier and probably Dangerfield.

Off topic....UConn is a better team this year than last, mainly because they have Walker (who is going to have the UConn sophomore leap) and because Stevens is gone (not so disruptive to Collier inside). UConn is missing size, but they will make up for it with raw athleticism, strength, quickness and talent.

No team in the country has a chance against them if they're "on".

Stevens at UCONN was an interesting result. She definitely wasn't a cancer to the team, but I agree that her presence on the roster didn't necessarily make UCONN any better. She was immensely important during their 3 biggest games (vs. ND, Final Four vs. ND, and @ Texas). You could make a strong argument that UCONN likely beats Notre Dame in the semis if Geno started Stevens at the beginning of the 2nd half after she was the start of the 2nd quarter. I think most believe that Collier's reduced numbers were a faction of sharing time with Stevens, we'll get a clearer picture if that was the reasoning as the season unfolds.

Dangerfield is a good PG, but no GM would pick her top 5 if she was draft eligible. Nor would she be a starting PG on any pro team right now. Carter is absolutely a better scorer and playmaker than Dangerfield, although I think Crystal is less flawed as a PG than Chennedy.

KLS is a great player...as are Ionescu, Kalani Brown and Teaira McCowan. Not to mention Collier, Jess Shepard, Arike Ogunbowale, Asia Durr, etc. I think going into this year, POY is really wide open. Whoever wins POY likely wins because they've had the best season. I'll be surprised if politics come into play at all.

And your last point--I still think UCONN is going to be the clear #2 favorite to win it all after ND, but I'm not on the bandwagon that they'll be better than last year. I wouldn't be shocked if they do win it all or even run the table, where last year I was shocked that they didn't run the table. Walker's improvement is essential, as is the impact of the incoming freshman. Also interested to see how Collier does without Stevens inside. Should be a very competitive season ahead.

 

[bballnut90]

I completely disagree with your selective criteria on ranking. You continue to bad mouth and undervalue a college player who just made it to the last cut offs of the national team. I'm not sure why you are even on this board....

Yikes...guess I struck a chord there. Not sure where I badmouthed Collier, but feel free to ignore my posts if they upset you.

 

[bballnut90]

If a trade like that was possible in college ball, there’d be like a whiplash effect. McGraw wouldn’t want Carter?

I wouldn't make that trade....Mabrey knows Muffet's system and did a very respectable job manning the PG spot for much of the year. She has her weaknesses at the position, but is a good passer, a crafty scorer plus she is just tough as nails.

From the outside it appears that Carter didn't mesh as well with her teammates and sometimes played heroball, taking 30+ shots per game against good teams in conference play. Her ability to create and score are remarkable, especially for someone so young. If she has improved PG skills and court awareness, she could be an All-American this year.

 

[nwhoopfan]

KLS is this year's best player. Ionescu may get it because of politics and because she is surrounded by players not as good as her (I don't want to take anything away from her...she is a terrific talent and great for Oregon). KLS is a future all-pro

Ionescu isn't a future all-pro? Not sure what that has to be do with selection for college POY anyway. Both are great players, either one might earn the award this season. I'm not sure what politics you're referring to that would favor Ionescu over Samuelson. Anyway to me Ionescu does more things on a basketball court than Samuelson does. Katie Lou is a better shooter from distance. Other than that, what does she do better than Sabrina?

 

[Charliebball]

Ionescu isn't a future all-pro? Not sure what that has to be do with selection for college POY anyway. Both are great players, either one might earn the award this season. I'm not sure what politics you're referring to that would favor Ionescu over Samuelson. Anyway to me Ionescu does more things on a basketball court than Samuelson does. Katie Lou is a better shooter from distance. Other than that, what does she do better than Sabrina?

better sense of humor?...........

 

[SCGamecock]

Very similar players. Reinna Davis operates a lot more at the wing than Odom but she isn't afraid to battle with the bigs for rebounds. She's good.

NOT better than Leonna Odom though. I got a good laugh at the OP trying to sneak her as a top 5 SF.

I’m a big fan of both (about as big as one could be for players on rival teams) and I agree that both are very similar... they play the same position just a little differently. Like you said, Davis plays more on the wing... but the most impressive thing about Davis is that she’s a terrific athlete and will battle you for rebounds. She’s a great defender too. Defensively, she works well with Westbrook in the backcourt.

I’m not convinced that Davis is flat out better than Odom though. I’ve watched plenty of Duke games and while I do think Odom can improve defensively (Davis easily wins here)... what I’ve noticed is that Odom often lacks intensity and killer instinct. Odom plays more inside but can definitely play on the perimeter... she’s one of the most versatile players currently in WCBB and I don’t think she’s even scratched the surface of what she can really do offensively. I think she’s that good, but JPM has to find a way to get that killer out. Davis has the killer for sure.

 

[Alydar]

As for the Blue Devil fan that seemed to accuse bballnut of Lady Vol bias (BlueDevils), bballnut is very critical of the present state of LV basketball. It seems to me that he goes out of his way to appear NOT to favor Tennessee. Rennia Davis is the only LV he placed in his 25 slots, which is hardly a homer move.

bballnut is an excellent poster but, like a lot of LV fans (and others), rates players on what they do with ball in their hands and ignores what they do without the ball. I watch quite a bit of Tenn and thought last year's freshman class had a lot of talent and played with a lot of energy. Davis has the athleticism to fit into Tenn's pressure defense style, however, like a lot of recent LV players, when she doesn't have the ball she tends to stand around watching whomever does have it. Tenn does run some 2 man plays but for the most part their offense is based on the person with the ball beating the person guarding them. It works well against most teams but not against equally talented and well-coached opposition. Because of that style Davis may never progress beyond what we saw last year.