Who do you have? My list was compiled based on the biggest impact to their teams while sitting.
Cameron Brink/Stanford
Taylor Soule/Boston College
Tamari Key/Tennessee
Olivia Nelson-Ododa/Uconn
I would have had Boston on this list, but they have the depth at her position to have her sit.
It’s ironic reading your post because I was thinking in parallel terms. Without Paige, UConn is obviously not the same team. So, I was thinking of other top teams and how would the loss of their top player impact their fortunes. Here are my four:
SC- While they can adequately replace Boston with Cardoso and/or myriad of combinations of their deep roster, SC would not be the same team without the likely national player of the year.
Stanford - Cameron Brink is essential to their success, but they have depth at her position. Without Haley Jones, Stanford would flounder as she plays so many roles, particularly ball handling at crunch time. Her only area that needs to improve is her outside shot.
Iowa- Without Caitlin Clark, Iowa is just an average team. While Clark’s shooting is down this year (too many forced attempts) her rebounding is up & she is playing better defense. While she doesn’t have all of Beucker’s attributes, she assumes more responsibility for the team’s success.
ND - Maybe a surprise here, but Olivia Miles is the real deal. Her court vision is outstanding and when in transition, she’s a threat to make a beautiful pass for an assist or take it to the hole. While Citron has made an impact, ND wouldn’t have made the progress this year without Miles.
In summary, I still think that UConn losing Paige for however long impacts her team more than any other in the country, especially considering the expectations for the team.
