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Message: [QUOTE="Bone Dog, post: 5070824, member: 12088"] I've had some time to think more about this interesting topic, especially after the various FIBA tournaments. And here's who I think will (and won't) make a splash among the freshmen bigs. 1. [B]Sarah Strong and Joyce Edwards[/B]. They'll be pressed to crack the rotation at their respective schools, but they are too talented not to find their way onto the court soon enough. Their skills and strength are clear, and their coaches will know how to get the best from them. 2. [B]Kate Koval[/B]. She doesn't have quite the same logjam to get through, so she'll get more of a chance to shine. 3. [B]Toby Fournier[/B]. With the possible loss of Roberson for the season, Toby has an easy path to the starting lineup. But she won't get much help. It's mainly going to come from Delaney Thomas, who impresses me. But there isn't much depth behind those two with the departure of Kennedy Brown. 4. [B]Jana El Alfy[/B]. She's technically a freshman but there's not much to judge her on beyond last year's impressive FIBA tournament. A lot rides on how well she recovers from a season ending injury. In the best case, her size, strength and skills could make her the star of the class. 5. [B]Justice Carlton[/B]. She may not get enough minutes given how deep Vic's roster looks to be. 6. [B]Blanca Thomas and Ciera Toomey[/B]. Given how thin the UNC front court is likely to be, these two will probably get a lot of minutes next to Gakdeng. Lots of question marks about each of them, but also some good skills. They'll get a chance to find their confidence level in the D1 game. 7. [B]Ava Heiden[/B]. Her only competition for the spot next to Hannah Stuelke is Addison O'Grady, so I think she'll get her chance to make a mark. 8. [B]Morgan Cheli[/B]. At 6'2" she counts as a big, though her ball skills and BB IQ suggest more of a guard role. She's probably the quickest player on this list, and the scrappiest. But if she's willing and able to mix it up in the paint, she may get a chance to shine, too. Looking over this list, I'm struck by the irony for a few teams that they lost starters to graduation or injury, and this has their fans anxious. But for the new bigs, it spells opportunity. And no team offers more opportunity to freshman bigs this season than UConn -- and the nervous chatter on the UConn side of the BY is clear evidence of this. [/QUOTE]

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