Voepel and Smith forecast major award winners

[pap49cba]

COY: Muffet

POY: Griner

FOY: Loyd/Graves

1st Team AA: Sims, Griner, Diggins, Ogwumike and Thomas/EDD

LINK

 

[MilfordHusky]

Nope. Hawkins is outscoring Thomas by 18.8 to 17.4 and outshooting her by .577 to .446. That's a low percentage for an inside player. Thomas leads in rebounds by 10.4 to 9.6. To date, I don't see Thomas as a top 10 player this year, but Hawkins is.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I think Griner and Ogwumike are locks. One can make a case to exclude Diggins, Sims, and/or maybe EDD in favor of KML, Hawkins, or maybe someone else.

 

[Kibitzer]

Here on The Boneyard, the recent consensus seemed to be that Griner, Ogwumike and our Kaleena are locks. Then solid support for EDD. Thomas was hardly mentioned (she had a tough game against UConn/Faris) and sentiment was split between Diggins and Sims. So (unscientifically, to be sure) The Boneyard AA team appeared to comprise Griner, Ogwumike, KML, EDD, and either Sims or Diggins, but not both. Some may argue the case for Sims or Diggins or object to oversight of both Thomas and Hawkins. Certainly all great players.

I suggest we all hold off until remaining games/tournaments are concluded, then decide.

No pretenders will be considered

 

[MilfordHusky]

I agree with Kib that any vote is premature at this point, though many of us have expressed opinions on play to date. The official votes occur after conference tourneys. So, for example, if Hawkins is a monster and the Terps run the table, while Skylar struggles in 2 losses to UConn, I can see the former over the latter.

Does someone know definitively which AA teams, if any, are position based?

 

[HuskyNan]

I think Griner and Ogwumike are locks. One can make a case to exclude Diggins, Sims, and/or maybe EDD in favor of KML, Hawkins, or maybe someone else.

There's no way Diggins isn't a first team AA, IMO. In fact, I predict she'll be the runner up for National POY. She's made a team that was looking at a rebuilding year into one of the favorites for the National Championship. Please, no one quote me stats - I already know them. I also know what I see with my own eyes. No one knows better than a UConn fan that stats don't tell the whole picture on how great a player is and we have our own Kelly Faris as proof of that.

 

[MilfordHusky]

There's no way Diggins isn't a first team AA, IMO. In fact, I predict she'll be the runner up for National POY. She's made a team that was looking at a rebuilding year into one of the favorites for the National Championship. Please, no one quote me stats - I already know them. I also know what I see with my own eyes. No one knows better than a UConn fan that stats don't tell the whole picture on how great a player is and we have our own Kelly Faris as proof of that.

Skylar adds a key ingredient that has helped them beat us 5 times--confidence. I give her props for that. She has helped her team be much better than most of us thought. I also like her assists, steals, FT percentage, and floater and pull-up jumper. But on my AA team, I look for a respectable FG percentage. She's getting there, but she was mediocre at the midway mark. I'm trying hard not to subtract for diva points.

She may well be #2 in POY voting, but it will be due to not just her play, but also the ESPN 3 to watch, the ND PR machine, and the social media phenomenon. I'd put Chiney ahead of her in a heartbeat. Probably KML and possibly EDD as well.

 

[pap49cba]

Whether we like it or not no one expected ND to be this good after losing 3 starters. Muffet and Diggins will get all of the credit.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Whether we like it or not no one expected ND to be this good after losing 3 starters. Muffet and Diggins will get all of the credit.

I give all the credit to Jewell Loyd.

 

[pap49cba]

I give all the credit to Jewell Loyd.

True, but Voepel picked her as FOY.

 

[pinotbear]

Changing gears a bit, I was pretty disappointed in Voepel's article about the Baylor game. She really seemed to gloss over BG's flagrant, and the subsequent no-call. I don't believe she gave them as much attention as they warranted, not only in how the game was played, but the implication if BG had been tossed, nor what the "no-call" implies as far as preferential or cowardly treatment by the officials. Basically, I think, just as the officials "blinked", Mechelle blinked. She had an opportunity to talk about how physical play can escalate, what is acceptable and what is not, whether or not star status or national TV affects officiating - and, she completely passed. Gutless.

 

[pap49cba]

Changing gears a bit, I was pretty disappointed in Voepel's article about the Baylor game. She really seemed to gloss over BG's flagrant, and the subsequent no-call. I don't believe she gave them as much attention as they warranted, not only in how the game was played, but the implication if BG had been tossed, nor what the "no-call" implies as far as preferential or cowardly treatment by the officials. Basically, I think, just as the officials "blinked", Mechelle blinked. She had an opportunity to talk about how physical play can escalate, what is acceptable and what is not, whether or not star status or national TV affects officiating - and, she completely passed. Gutless.

She's a Big 12 lover and mouthpiece.

 

[Icebear]

Changing gears a bit, I was pretty disappointed in Voepel's article about the Baylor game. She really seemed to gloss over BG's flagrant, and the subsequent no-call. I don't believe she gave them as much attention as they warranted, not only in how the game was played, but the implication if BG had been tossed, nor what the "no-call" implies as far as preferential or cowardly treatment by the officials. Basically, I think, just as the officials "blinked", Mechelle blinked. She had an opportunity to talk about how physical play can escalate, what is acceptable and what is not, whether or not star status or national TV affects officiating - and, she completely passed. Gutless.

Griner, also, should have been called for a foul on KML's basket to start the game knocking her to the ground for what should have been an and 1. No way they were going to call a foul on Griner less than 30 secs. Into the game.

 

[pinotbear]

There was an opportunity here to comment on a lot of important (and chronic) issues in the women's game. How often does the acknowledged best player in WCBB get called for a flagrant? How often does that same player commit an act that has the national broadcasters (who see a lot of high-profile games) pleading for a foul, and nothing is called? (much less, just minutes after being called for the aforementioned flagrant). Has it ever happened? What does that say about the player, the coaching, the officiating? Poor officiating, physical play, the influence of TV, coaching enabling, and BG's intimidating history are all long-term, chronic national story lines in WCBB - and, Voepel blinked. Normally, I'm very supportive of her work, but I think, in this case, she was thinking like the officials "If I go there, I'll regret it - I just gotta put up with it for another 6 weeks, and the issue will be off the table".

 

[Icebear]

There was an opportunity here to comment on a lot of important (and chronic) issues in the women's game. How often does the acknowledged best player in WCBB get called for a flagrant? How often does that same player commit an act that has the national broadcasters (who see a lot of high-profile games) pleading for a foul, and nothing is called? (much less, just minutes after being called for the aforementioned flagrant). Has it ever happened? What does that say about the player, the coaching, the officiating? Poor officiating, physical play, the influence of TV, coaching enabling, and BG's intimidating history are all long-term, chronic national story lines in WCBB - and, Voepel blinked. Normally, I'm very supportive of her work, but I think, in this case, she was thinking like the officials "If I go there, I'll regret it - I just gotta put up with it for another 6 weeks, and the issue will be off the table".

All true.