Will She Stay or Will She Go? (Poll)

[SCspur]

There is a lot of talent in Virginia, Dawn does a good job keeping players home, I’m sure she could do the same for UVA. She will have some good guards next year at South Carolina but not a lot of post depth, not sure they will be top 4 in the SEC next year. I think she could have UVA up and rolling by the 2019-2020 season.

Seriously?? what 4 teams would you place above them? I think we will have some pretty good forwards next year.

LaDazhia Williams, LeLe Grissett were freshmen and Herbert-Harrigan a sophomore. Jennings will be a Senior and Victoria Saxton comes in as a highly ranked forward.

 

[SCspur]

if you're not then Aja should give back that NPOY she's about to get....

Define down? I think we will be in the latter part of the top 10. UCONN, ND, Baylor, Oregon, Oregon St and MAYBE Louisville return talent and should be very good. Those are the only teams I could see being better then us at least to start the season.

 

[Charliebball]

Define down? I think we will be in the latter part of the top 10. UCONN, ND, Baylor, Oregon, Oregon St and MAYBE Louisville return talent and should be very good. Those are the only teams I could see being better then us at least to start the season.

time will tell................really depends on how well your returning guards can shoot and what kind of improved play you get from Grissett and Herbert- Harrigan.........certainly don't think SC is a lock to win the SEC although Miss State and Tenn also lose important players and definitely not a serious contender to win it all..............lots of teams are going to be missing stars including UConn who will probably not be as strong as they are this year either........

 

[bballnut90]

Define down? I think we will be in the latter part of the top 10. UCONN, ND, Baylor, Oregon, Oregon St and MAYBE Louisville return talent and should be very good. Those are the only teams I could see being better then us at least to start the season.

I think they’re solidly going to be in the 12-20 range. Off hand, I think UCONN, Baylor, Texas, Oregon, Oregon State, Notre Dame, Stanford, Mississippi State, Louisville and A&M will all have better teams next year than SC. Possibly more teams.

Let’s face it...without Wilson they looked flat out bad this year. They will not have a shortage for PGs (Bianca, Henderson, Harris, and Cooper), but the lack of good perimeter shooting and front court leaves a lot to be desired.

Jennings is good but hasn’t shown to be a player you can build an offense around. Herbert-Harrigan had some nice moments but was inconsistent this year. Grissett and Williams were underwhelming as freshmen IMO. Saxton was the #50 recruit...not sure I’d expect a big impact from her in year 1. Potential is there, but I’m not convinced this group of forwards will be a strong point for SC.

Perimeter shooting was a major struggle for SC this year, as many players had no confidence shooting from beyond 12-15 feet. Cooper may help in this area but wasn’t a good 3pt shooter at Tennessee. I don’t know enough about Henderson’s shooting ability...but this could be a big weakness again for SC.

They may be better than I predict, but I don’t think the cupboard is nearly as full as it has been the last 5 years. As a result, SC falls out of the title picture for a year (or more).

 

[MSSportsGuy]

There is no doubt SC will be down but I'm not sure they fall far. Rather than a top 5 to 10 ranking I expect more of a 11 to 15 run. I could be wrong an no doubt my own squad will be adjusting to life back on Earth next season. Dawn is a winner and will have her team ready.

I don't think she leaves for UVA. She's built a program from scratch, they draw large crowds and she's won a NC. Dawn has the full support of the administration and honestly the ACC is a tougher conference to climb the ladder towards the top than the current SEC.

 

[DaddyChoc]

It baffles me why UVA is not more successful. They are located right in the middle of fertile recruiting ground. Are they not committed to having a winning program?

ask Megan Walker

 

[HuskylnSC]

with the number 9 and 50 players coming in and no dominant player on the current team. Depending on money, she goes

 

[HuskylnSC]

when the time comes would Dawn take the UConn job if offered?

Wash your mouth out!

 

[SCspur]

I think they’re solidly going to be in the 12-20 range. Off hand, I think UCONN, Baylor, Texas, Oregon, Oregon State, Notre Dame, Stanford, Mississippi State, Louisville and A&M will all have better teams next year than SC. Possibly more teams.

Let’s face it...without Wilson they looked flat out bad this year. They will not have a shortage for PGs (Bianca, Henderson, Harris, and Cooper), but the lack of good perimeter shooting and front court leaves a lot to be desired.

Jennings is good but hasn’t shown to be a player you can build an offense around. Herbert-Harrigan had some nice moments but was inconsistent this year. Grissett and Williams were underwhelming as freshmen IMO. Saxton was the #50 recruit...not sure I’d expect a big impact from her in year 1. Potential is there, but I’m not convinced this group of forwards will be a strong point for SC.

Perimeter shooting was a major struggle for SC this year, as many players had no confidence shooting from beyond 12-15 feet. Cooper may help in this area but wasn’t a good 3pt shooter at Tennessee. I don’t know enough about Henderson’s shooting ability...but this could be a big weakness again for SC.

They may be better than I predict, but I don’t think the cupboard is nearly as full as it has been the last 5 years. As a result, SC falls out of the title picture for a year (or more).

Well clearly you haven't watched them as much as I have but whatever. You think Miss St will have a better team then SC?? That's really insulting considering we lose 1 starter and they lose 4. Albeit it's Wilson but they lose Vivians, William, Schaefer and Johnson. Who do they have that can replace that production?

I agree UCONN, ND, Baylor, Louisville, Oregon and Oregon st will be better atleast to start the year. A&M will be very good as well but it depends on how they mesh as a team and if Carter will involve her teammates more. I can guarantee you shooting will be better next year. Bianca Jackson led SEC freshman in 3 pt shooting percentage(yes she shot better then Carter), you don't expect her to improve? 3pt shooting isn't Harris' strength but she led the SEC in assists and was the only player to reach over 200 assists this season and no other player was close. She will be a AA pg in her junior season. Cuevas-Moore will gain respect behind the arc and Cooper as well. Henderson shot better then 40% bta in High school so she will be a threat as well.

Williams was underwhelming yes but to think she won't improve is like saying Kushkituah won't be improved and she was BY FAR the most overrated player Tenn had considering she was a McDAA. Grissett came on later in the year and had very good moments in games and looked like she belong she also had a double double of 22 points and 10 rebounds agaisnt candy when Wilson and HH was hurt. She has a TON of potential. Herbert Harrigan has more upside then any other Forward in the SEC next year IMHO. Yes she was very inconsistent but she was just a sophomore and her good moments outweighed her bad. She torched everyone in the SEC tournament and was named all tourney in her sophomore season. Not to mention she gave Jaime Nared and Victoria Vivians all they wanted offensively and defensively. If she expands her shot out to 3pt range and works more on her ball handling she'll be impossible to stop! Jennings in herast couple games showed me that she can be solid enough to be a contributor in her senior season. She was inconsistent but showed flashes of being a solid post.

The best thing about this team next year will be the multiple rotations Dawn will be able to play. She could play 3 point guards at once, a traditional lineup of 3 guards and 2 forwards, a bigger lineup of 3 forwards and 2 guards or 4 guards and 1 post. That'll be tough for a lot of teams to defend. Of course I don't expect any non-SC fans to think we will be better. Hell no one really expected us to make the elite 8 and pretty much wrote us off when we lost to Miss St. I expect this team to prove doubters wrong just like they did this year.

 

[Adios]

There is no doubt SC will be down but I'm not sure they fall far. Rather than a top 5 to 10 ranking I expect more of a 11 to 15 run. I could be wrong an no doubt my own squad will be adjusting to life back on Earth next season. Dawn is a winner and will have her team ready.

I don't think she leaves for UVA. She's built a program from scratch, they draw large crowds and she's won a NC. Dawn has the full support of the administration and honestly the ACC is a tougher conference to climb the ladder towards the top than the current SEC.

SC's huge crowds are a reason enough to stay.

 

[sharris952]

I think they’re solidly going to be in the 12-20 range. Off hand, I think UCONN, Baylor, Texas, Oregon, Oregon State, Notre Dame, Stanford, Mississippi State, Louisville and A&M will all have better teams next year than SC. Possibly more teams.

Let’s face it...without Wilson they looked flat out bad this year. They will not have a shortage for PGs (Bianca, Henderson, Harris, and Cooper), but the lack of good perimeter shooting and front court leaves a lot to be desired.

Jennings is good but hasn’t shown to be a player you can build an offense around. Herbert-Harrigan had some nice moments but was inconsistent this year. Grissett and Williams were underwhelming as freshmen IMO. Saxton was the #50 recruit...not sure I’d expect a big impact from her in year 1. Potential is there, but I’m not convinced this group of forwards will be a strong point for SC.

Perimeter shooting was a major struggle for SC this year, as many players had no confidence shooting from beyond 12-15 feet. Cooper may help in this area but wasn’t a good 3pt shooter at Tennessee. I don’t know enough about Henderson’s shooting ability...but this could be a big weakness again for SC.

They may be better than I predict, but I don’t think the cupboard is nearly as full as it has been the last 5 years. As a result, SC falls out of the title picture for a year (or more).

I think the incoming class will mesh nicely to keep SC moving forward. Destiny Henderson is not only the best point guard coming out of High School, but also the Saxton that you speak of was C0-Player of the year in the All Georgia team and she tied that award with Olivia Nelson-Ododa. Also SC has obtained more success with those players than UT has had with some of their overrated McDonalds AA. See Herbert Herrrigan who on two consecutive weeks outplayed her Tennessee counterparts. She was ranked 76. Also see Aleischa Welch, also ranked in the seventys. Also Bianca Jackson, was ranked in the late 40's but outshot her AA counterparts from Tenn. I think Dawn either knows how to recognize talent or develop them so that they can always compete with the Tennessees of the World. See 4 straight regular season titles and now 4 straight SEC tourney titles. They will be just fine.

 

[Ukonnfan]

As i was watching SC pregame and game, seemed like somthing was “off” with Dawn and her team. I hope its nothing at all.

 

[EricLA]

I think they’re solidly going to be in the 12-20 range. Off hand, I think UCONN, Baylor, Texas, Oregon, Oregon State, Notre Dame, Stanford, Mississippi State, Louisville and A&M will all have better teams next year than SC. Possibly more teams.

Let’s face it...without Wilson they looked flat out bad this year. They will not have a shortage for PGs (Bianca, Henderson, Harris, and Cooper), but the lack of good perimeter shooting and front court leaves a lot to be desired.

Jennings is good but hasn’t shown to be a player you can build an offense around. Herbert-Harrigan had some nice moments but was inconsistent this year. Grissett and Williams were underwhelming as freshmen IMO. Saxton was the #50 recruit...not sure I’d expect a big impact from her in year 1. Potential is there, but I’m not convinced this group of forwards will be a strong point for SC.

Perimeter shooting was a major struggle for SC this year, as many players had no confidence shooting from beyond 12-15 feet. Cooper may help in this area but wasn’t a good 3pt shooter at Tennessee. I don’t know enough about Henderson’s shooting ability...but this could be a big weakness again for SC.

They may be better than I predict, but I don’t think the cupboard is nearly as full as it has been the last 5 years. As a result, SC falls out of the title picture for a year (or more).

I was going to post a bunch of comments, but you pretty much said mostly what I was going to say. I do think it's important to note that Harris (who seems to have had an "average" season), was a star coming off the bench for Team USA this past summer. Frankly I expected huge things from her this year.

Cooper is a former top recruit from Tennessee and Henderson is a legit top 10 kid, Jackson had some nice moments this year (I think she's more of a wing)...

Point being they seem to be strong at the guard position, but weaker at the forward/center spots. I think you are right - 10-15. I'm curious that you don't think Tenn will be better than SC next season - Tenn beat SC twice without Wilson, but Tenn loses Russell and Nared - their 2 leading scorers, most consistent, and best players.

I do think Davis will be really good for Tenn, and Westbrook and Hayes should also start, as well as Meme Jackson, but after that (and off the bench)... JUCO transfer Green? Harris? Kushkutuah? One of the freshmen coming in? Lots of question marks - more for off the bench. I also think Tenn should be in the 10-15 range, but should probably start the season in the 15-20 range given what they lose. However I expect them to be higher by end of season... We will see for sure...

Back to the OP - Dawn stays. I think there's a greater chance that Tonya becomes the next HC at UVA than Dawn, and I don't think Tonya is that serious a contender unless their top choices turn them down...

Side note - why has UVA not been able to be competitive? They were strong in the 90's under Ryan, but for the last 12 or so years she was there, they were pretty awful. They ended 20-13 this season under Boyle, but other than that have been a disappointment for the most part. What "could" a new coach realistically achieve there given the lack of success that Boyle especially had?

 

[Charliebball]

I think they’re solidly going to be in the 12-20 range. Off hand, I think UCONN, Baylor, Texas, Oregon, Oregon State, Notre Dame, Stanford, Mississippi State, Louisville and A&M will all have better teams next year than SC. Possibly more teams.

They may be better than I predict, but I don’t think the cupboard is nearly as full as it has been the last 5 years. As a result, SC falls out of the title picture for a year (or more).

nobody likes Texas or Maryland next year? they have a few decent players coming back and a couple of new recruits that aren't too bad either............

 

[VA Huskie]

Back to the OP - Dawn stays. UVA missed their chance for her when she was at Temple. And what’s wrong with UVA? I think Boyle’s strong defensive orientation kept some recruits away. I think that status of her contract certainly hurt for this year’s and last year’s recruits. I’m sure the academic standards at UVA don’t make it easy (although schools like Duke and Stanford seem to overcome that). But I do think the University is committed to women’s BB. In fact, they’re commitment to a broad spectrum of sports is pretty impressive. From men’s BB to lesser sports like tennis, baseball, soccer and rowing. Football and women’s BB have been the only outliers. I think they have the right guy for football. Let’s see if they do the same for our hoopsters. Personally I still want Shea, but there are a number of other good possibilities out there. Don’t know enough about Tonya, as a coach or as a recruiter, to make a judgement as to whether she’s a good fit.

 

[bballnut90]

nobody likes Texas or Maryland next year? they have a few decent players coming back and a couple of new recruits that aren't too bad either..

I listed Texas. Maryland should also be improved...Charles is very good.

 

[bballnut90]

Well clearly you haven't watched them as much as I have but whatever. You think Miss St will have a better team then SC?? That's really insulting considering we lose 1 starter and they lose 4. Albeit it's Wilson but they lose Vivians, William, Schaefer and Johnson. Who do they have that can replace that production?

I agree UCONN, ND, Baylor, Louisville, Oregon and Oregon st will be better atleast to start the year. A&M will be very good as well but it depends on how they mesh as a team and if Carter will involve her teammates more. I can guarantee you shooting will be better next year. Bianca Jackson led SEC freshman in 3 pt shooting percentage(yes she shot better then Carter), you don't expect her to improve? 3pt shooting isn't Harris' strength but she led the SEC in assists and was the only player to reach over 200 assists this season and no other player was close. She will be a AA pg in her junior season. Cuevas-Moore will gain respect behind the arc and Cooper as well. Henderson shot better then 40% bta in High school so she will be a threat as well.

Williams was underwhelming yes but to think she won't improve is like saying Kushkituah won't be improved and she was BY FAR the most overrated player Tenn had considering she was a McDAA. Grissett came on later in the year and had very good moments in games and looked like she belong she also had a double double of 22 points and 10 rebounds agaisnt candy when Wilson and HH was hurt. She has a TON of potential. Herbert Harrigan has more upside then any other Forward in the SEC next year IMHO. Yes she was very inconsistent but she was just a sophomore and her good moments outweighed her bad. She torched everyone in the SEC tournament and was named all tourney in her sophomore season. Not to mention she gave Jaime Nared and Victoria Vivians all they wanted offensively and defensively. If she expands her shot out to 3pt range and works more on her ball handling she'll be impossible to stop! Jennings in herast couple games showed me that she can be solid enough to be a contributor in her senior season. She was inconsistent but showed flashes of being a solid post.

The best thing about this team next year will be the multiple rotations Dawn will be able to play. She could play 3 point guards at once, a traditional lineup of 3 guards and 2 forwards, a bigger lineup of 3 forwards and 2 guards or 4 guards and 1 post. That'll be tough for a lot of teams to defend. Of course I don't expect any non-SC fans to think we will be better. Hell no one really expected us to make the elite 8 and pretty much wrote us off when we lost to Miss St. I expect this team to prove doubters wrong just like they did this year.

I'm glad you're optimistic about your team. I think it's a stretch to expect big improvements from players who weren't contributors this year or for shooting percentages to get a lot better. UCONN left perimeter players wide open and SC guards were afraid to shoot. I'd expect more of that tactic from opposing teams. Players like Cuevas-Moore and Jackson can hit open shots, but I think SC will need to average a lot more than 4 triples per game next year since they don't have a player like Wilson inside.

Realistically, I think players like Grissett and Williams could improve to the level of a player like Herbert Harrigan did this year. Production will go up, but there will be bouts of inconsistent play. It's normal as players are still adjusting to higher level of competition. I don't think MHH has as much upside as you do, but we can agree to disagree there. She will need to be more consistent and emerge as a steady presence for SC to be a top 10 team.

As far as Mississippi State...they have McCowan coming back who is far better than anyone on SC. McCowan who could be a NPOY candidate and is by far the best front court player in the SEC. They also have an outstanding PG in Holmes returning, and Schaefer seems build better offensive teams than Dawn. Mississippi State was supposed to take a step back this year and dominated the SEC.

And as far as expectations for SC, in my preseason ranking I had SC at #2 or #3....I honestly thought other players outside of Wilson would contribute more than they did for the Gamecocks. Dawn is a solid coach and I think SC will be a respectable team next year, but I'd expect them to be around a 4 seed in the tournament next year.

 

[bballnut90]

I was going to post a bunch of comments, but you pretty much said mostly what I was going to say. I do think it's important to note that Harris (who seems to have had an "average" season), was a star coming off the bench for Team USA this past summer. Frankly I expected huge things from her this year.

Cooper is a former top recruit from Tennessee and Henderson is a legit top 10 kid, Jackson had some nice moments this year (I think she's more of a wing)...

Point being they seem to be strong at the guard position, but weaker at the forward/center spots. I think you are right - 10-15. I'm curious that you don't think Tenn will be better than SC next season - Tenn beat SC twice without Wilson, but Tenn loses Russell and Nared - their 2 leading scorers, most consistent, and best players.

I do think Davis will be really good for Tenn, and Westbrook and Hayes should also start, as well as Meme Jackson, but after that (and off the bench)... JUCO transfer Green? Harris? Kushkutuah? One of the freshmen coming in? Lots of question marks - more for off the bench. I also think Tenn should be in the 10-15 range, but should probably start the season in the 15-20 range given what they lose. However I expect them to be higher by end of season... We will see for sure...

Back to the OP - Dawn stays. I think there's a greater chance that Tonya becomes the next HC at UVA than Dawn, and I don't think Tonya is that serious a contender unless their top choices turn them down...

Side note - why has UVA not been able to be competitive? They were strong in the 90's under Ryan, but for the last 12 or so years she was there, they were pretty awful. They ended 20-13 this season under Boyle, but other than that have been a disappointment for the most part. What "could" a new coach realistically achieve there given the lack of success that Boyle especially had?

Dawn may have an overload of talent in the backcourt next year. Harris likely mans the PG spot, and then you have 3 other guars 5-6 to 5-8 who are all talented players that should compete for another starting spot (Henderson/Cooper/Cuevas-Moore). If they go with a small 3 guard lineup, they'll really give up a lot in size.

I'm still unsure about Tennessee. Honestly, on paper they should be okay but it comes down to coaching, and Holly is just dreadful. Both of our freshmen PGs struggled this year, and guards haven't improved under Holly so I'm nervous that Westbrook/Hayes will follow a similar course. Davis a stud and Jackson has made some strides (although she can struggle with consistency), but the front court is dreadfully inexperienced. We have Amira Collins who a lot of Tennessee fans are hoping is a top 10 type of kid rather than the #69 recruit she was labeled by Hoopgurlz, Harris who I dont think will ever see meaningful minutes at Tennessee, KK who is raw and very limited in game experience, and Cheridene Green who had some nice moments, but also could disappear and isn't a talented enough player to anchor the front court. None of the players were top recruits, and it'll be the first time in my life that Tennessee doesn't have an imposing frontcourt player to anchor the team. I like some of the incoming recruits, but again, expecting them to make a big impact is wishful thinking. I think we'll be in the 15-20 range. If we had a better coach, we could easily be top 10. Knowing Holly though, I wont be shocked if we are on the outside of the top 25 looking in.

Something to consider is that if Wilson played both games and beat us in both games, we would've been 22-9 entering the tournament with our best wins being over Texas, Texas A&M, and Georgia. Likely drop to a 5 or possibly 6 seed IMO....which would've been more accurate considering our quality of play. Factor in we lose by far our 2 best players and the players we have coming in are not projected to be close to the same caliber talent wise, and it's a scary time to be a Tennessee fan.

 

[SCspur]

I'm glad you're optimistic about your team. I think it's a stretch to expect big improvements from players who weren't contributors this year or for shooting percentages to get a lot better. UCONN left perimeter players wide open and SC guards were afraid to shoot. I'd expect more of that tactic from opposing teams. Players like Cuevas-Moore and Jackson can hit open shots, but I think SC will need to average a lot more than 4 triples per game next year since they don't have a player like Wilson inside.

Realistically, I think players like Grissett and Williams could improve to the level of a player like Herbert Harrigan did this year. Production will go up, but there will be bouts of inconsistent play. It's normal as players are still adjusting to higher level of competition. I don't think MHH has as much upside as you do, but we can agree to disagree there. She will need to be more consistent and emerge as a steady presence for SC to be a top 10 team.

As far as Mississippi State...they have McCowan coming back who is far better than anyone on SC. McCowan who could be a NPOY candidate and is by far the best front court player in the SEC. They also have an outstanding PG in Holmes returning, and Schaefer seems build better offensive teams than Dawn. Mississippi State was supposed to take a step back this year and dominated the SEC.

And as far as expectations for SC, in my preseason ranking I had SC at #2 or #3....I honestly thought other players outside of Wilson would contribute more than they did for the Gamecocks. Dawn is a solid coach and I think SC will be a respectable team next year, but I'd expect them to be around a 4 seed in the tournament next year.

Of course you don't especially after she took Tenn to the woodshed twice. She was top 10 on bpg in the SEC and shot 45% in the postseason I see plenty of upside.

 

[bballnut90]

Of course you don't especially after she took Tenn to the woodshed twice. She was top 10 on bpg in the SEC and shot 45% in the postseason I see plenty of upside.

No doubt she performed well in 2 of the Tennessee games. And the Mississippi State game in the SEC championship. Outside of that, against top teams (if you consider Tennessee a top team, which I think is quite a stretch), she went:

Mississippi State Game one-0 points, 4 blocks, 3 fouls, 2 rebounds, 13 minutes
UCONN Game one-3 points, 2 rebounds, 13 minutes
Notre Dame-2 points, 2 turnovers, 1 rebound, 8 minutes
Duke-8 points, 1 rebound, 14 minutes
Texas A&M-0 points, 3 rebounds, 7 minutes
Tennessee game one-6 points, 2 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 17 minutes
Buffalo-6 points, 6 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 19 minutes
UCONN-2 points, 3 boards, played 14 minutes

She had some nice showings toward the end of the season, but I don't see her turning into a front court player who is a top performer in the conference. I think she can evolve into a nice role player for Dawn, but I guess we'll see what happens. Feel free to call me out if I'm wrong with my prediction this time next year.