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Jlcarter
Joined: 03 Jul 2013 Posts: 461
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Posted: 05/15/16 9:24 am ::: Team to beat next year |
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With UConn losing the big three to WNBA. Who will be the team to beat this next season?
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StraightFrom40216
Joined: 02 Nov 2015 Posts: 36
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Posted: 05/15/16 11:07 am ::: |
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My head says Notre Dame or South Carolina. My heart says Louisville. Anybody but UConn, please.
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NoDakSt
Joined: 26 Oct 2005 Posts: 4929
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Posted: 05/15/16 12:20 pm ::: |
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I'm liking on Baylor but my heart would love SoDakSt or SoDak or some school to do it.
Must admit, for the first time in a while, and even this early out, I'm excited for the upcoming basketball season.
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Hoops9092
Joined: 04 Nov 2008 Posts: 1639
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Posted: 05/15/16 1:09 pm ::: |
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South Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Tennessee, UConn
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Oldfandepot2
Joined: 05 Jul 2013 Posts: 996 Location: Northeast
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Posted: 05/15/16 2:41 pm ::: |
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There was a familiar refrain last year that once the UCONN trinity graduated then they would be brought back to the pack and I believe that is what we will see, with anyone from the many teams who can compete for and win the NC.
I just wish I could see the teams on the left coast more for their performance was a surprise to many including myself in the Tourney but probably not to those who were privileged to watch them on a regular bases.
_________________ Cave Canem!
We must listen to each other no matter how much it hurts. Bishop Desmond Tutu.
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summertime blues
Joined: 16 Apr 2013 Posts: 7863 Location: Shenandoah Valley
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Posted: 05/15/16 3:11 pm ::: |
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Notre Dame, Baylor, South Carolina, UConn.
Tennessee, Texas, Syracuse.
Everybody else.
_________________ Don't take life so serious. It ain't nohows permanent.
It takes 3 years to build a team and 7 to build a program.--Conventional Wisdom
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pilight
Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 67058 Location: Where the action is
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Posted: 05/15/16 3:12 pm ::: |
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It's still UConn
_________________ I'm a lonely frog
I ain't got a home
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Jlcarter
Joined: 03 Jul 2013 Posts: 461
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Posted: 05/15/16 3:20 pm ::: |
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Maryland is going to be a interesting team. They have one of the most talented teams.
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Durantula
Joined: 30 Mar 2013 Posts: 5223
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Posted: 05/15/16 8:39 pm ::: |
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UConn, Notre Dame, and Ohio State are the three I am high on going into next year.
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ArtBest23
Joined: 02 Jul 2013 Posts: 14550
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Posted: 05/15/16 10:01 pm ::: |
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I think Notre Dame and Baylor are 1 and 1A in no particular order.
The interesting thing is how they contrast. Baylor is bigger and deeper at center. Notre Dame is stronger, more explosive, and deeper at guard.
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taropatch
Joined: 24 Feb 2009 Posts: 814 Location: Kau Rubbish Dump
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Posted: 05/16/16 3:45 am ::: |
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The Irish and Baylor should be the teams to beat. We'll see how the additions of Davis and Gray to the South Carolina lineup affect team chemistry.
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SCGamecock
Joined: 31 May 2015 Posts: 54
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Posted: 05/16/16 6:56 am ::: |
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taropatch wrote: |
The Irish and Baylor should be the teams to beat. We'll see how the additions of Davis and Gray to the South Carolina lineup affect team chemistry. |
I agree here. I'm a SC fan and I need to see the team play before I get expectations that are too unreasonable. The team will have lots of talent next year but chemistry and Dawn being able to push the right buttons will be key. A major deficiency the past few years has been our guard play, well now Dawn has a potentially great backcourt in Gray and Cuevas, with Davis playing both as a small forward and wing. We've never had a player like Kaela Davis, her versatility will be huge for us and we'll play her anywhere from the 2-4 positions next season. I know lots of people don't like Cuevas but I think she'll surprise many with her improved play next season. With Sessions gone now (and playing 25 minutes per game without scoring), Cuevas will get the reps she need to play through the fire. Tyasha Harris, a highly praised point guard, will also join the team next year and will get solid playing time. Either way, this will be Wilson's team next season. She's expected to play like a NPOY candidate next season and she will be our star but she will have more weapons around her next year (unlike previous years where she just had Mitchell) which should relax teams from sagging in the paint.
I still think Baylor and Notre Dame are 1A and 1B next season. Notre Dame has an impressive assortment of guards. They get Patberg back and I think frosh Jackie Young is a star in the making. Erin Boley will be a big asset to that team as well. Baylor's roster is impressive as well and they have quite the collection of player over 6'0". They have low post bigs and bigs that can play low but also move away from the basket... if Mulkey figures out how to use all of that versatility (she likely will) Baylor will be a tough out for anybody.
My preseason top 5:
1A. Notre Dame
1B. Baylor
2. UCONN - (will Katie Lou be as effective after her foot injury and teams keying on her next season. She's the primary scoring threat for them next season.. she won't be able to sit on the wings and wait for opportunities like she could with Stewart/Tuck/Jefferson being opposing team's focus)
3. South Carolina - if SC's guard play improves with the new additions then you can flip them with UCONN. SC having even decent to good guard play makes their post players more effective. Surround Wilson with good players to get her the ball and relieve pressure and she will FLOURISH.
4. Maryland - they brought in a dynamite freshmen class, but I'm most looking forward to their rising sophomores and juniors to take a big leap. Maryland has a lot of talent in their upcoming freshmen and sophomore classes.. they'll be a force for the next few seasons and they'll reload with how Frese recruits. I expect SWK and Brionna Jones to have big senior seasons. Walker-Kimbrough will be one of the best shooting guards in the country next year.
5. Ohio State - the buckeyes have a really good freshmen class coming in with McCoy being the star, but they also have some transfers from last year that are poised to make big impacts. Look out for them. Mitchell is still there, so they'll score.. but if McGuff can find a defense they'll be a much improved team.
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FollowtheCardinalRule
Joined: 12 Oct 2011 Posts: 5153 Location: Denver
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Posted: 05/16/16 8:47 am ::: |
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It's tricky to pick a top team for next season--because most of the top teams have some sort of questions--or are unproven. For instance, Maryland looks good, but the loss of Brene Moseley is fairly significant for them--I don't doubt that SWK and Jones will be brilliant--but..y'know I'm not sold on them.
The Ohio State University has a lot of good players coming in, but I'm not entirely convinced that replacing Alston and Craft is a done deal--or that it will be an easy transition. The Buckeyes got trounced in big games last year (see, UConn.) I'm still kind of waiting for Ohio State to elevate to the "elite" level. That tournament loss to Tennessee certainly stings, but the return of Mitchell means that there's reason for optimism in Columbus.
Hannah Huffman's tenacity on the court will certainly be missed for the Irish--and the graduation of a Mabrey certainly will be interesting to see what the dynamic is here. I'm still struggling to figure out how the Cardinal snapped Notre Dame's streak of consecutive Final Fours outside of insane shooting.
Baylor may have a lot of great posts, but their guard play is certainly going to dictate how well they do this season. In their loss to Oregon State, the guards shot horribly. In the loss to Oklahoma State without Johnson, Baylor shot 30% from the floor. I think that Baylor really has to answer some questions about who is going to be the leader in charge of marshaling the ball next year--which can make or break a season.
Stanford proved that they have the talent, but the consistency is certainly lacking.
I think that the Top 10 is going to be interesting, because you have the continued excellence of South Dakota State--who return nearly everyone from last season's squad that had a lot of moxie, you have the emergence of Monique Billings at UCLA as a star-in-the-making, then you have the usual suspects who are trying to break back into the top tier. Then you have the break-out teams from last year (Washington, Syracuse) who are going for an encore.
If I'd have to rank the teams right now? I think I'd agree with this order...
1. Notre Dame
2. UConn (KLS + Danger + Butler + Gabby = success?)
3. Baylor (PG ?'s)
4. Merry-Land (SWK + Jones deadly duo. Moseley will be missed.)
5. South Carolina (Transfer ?'s.)
6. Ohio State University (crowded post area, will Doss become Mitchell's running mate?)
7. Texas
8. UCLA
9. Stanford
10. Louisville
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Nixtreefan
Joined: 14 Nov 2012 Posts: 2539
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Posted: 05/16/16 9:24 am ::: |
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FollowtheCardinalRule wrote: |
It's tricky to pick a top team for next season--because most of the top teams have some sort of questions--or are unproven. For instance, Maryland looks good, but the loss of Brene Moseley is fairly significant for them--I don't doubt that SWK and Jones will be brilliant--but..y'know I'm not sold on them.
The Ohio State University has a lot of good players coming in, but I'm not entirely convinced that replacing Alston and Craft is a done deal--or that it will be an easy transition. The Buckeyes got trounced in big games last year (see, UConn.) I'm still kind of waiting for Ohio State to elevate to the "elite" level. That tournament loss to Tennessee certainly stings, but the return of Mitchell means that there's reason for optimism in Columbus.
Hannah Huffman's tenacity on the court will certainly be missed for the Irish--and the graduation of a Mabrey certainly will be interesting to see what the dynamic is here. I'm still struggling to figure out how the Cardinal snapped Notre Dame's streak of consecutive Final Fours outside of insane shooting.
Baylor may have a lot of great posts, but their guard play is certainly going to dictate how well they do this season. In their loss to Oregon State, the guards shot horribly. In the loss to Oklahoma State without Johnson, Baylor shot 30% from the floor. I think that Baylor really has to answer some questions about who is going to be the leader in charge of marshaling the ball next year--which can make or break a season.
Stanford proved that they have the talent, but the consistency is certainly lacking.
I think that the Top 10 is going to be interesting, because you have the continued excellence of South Dakota State--who return nearly everyone from last season's squad that had a lot of moxie, you have the emergence of Monique Billings at UCLA as a star-in-the-making, then you have the usual suspects who are trying to break back into the top tier. Then you have the break-out teams from last year (Washington, Syracuse) who are going for an encore.
If I'd have to rank the teams right now? I think I'd agree with this order...
1. Notre Dame
2. UConn (KLS + Danger + Butler + Gabby = success?)
3. Baylor (PG ?'s)
4. Merry-Land (SWK + Jones deadly duo. Moseley will be missed.)
5. South Carolina (Transfer ?'s.)
6. Ohio State University (crowded post area, will Doss become Mitchell's running mate?)
7. Texas
8. UCLA
9. Stanford
10. Louisville |
Wow you all not watching the playoffs. Can't remember there being so many great games with more passing and team basketball as there has been this year. Certainly can't complain about the guys games being one on one anymore, they are out there trying to emulate the Spurs, its great.
Now some of these college teams need to do the same. With all the bitching about Uconn last year, I hope some of these coaches realized they need to teach team ball to be successful and get the smart players to do it.
Not a bad lineup Card, I like it. I think we will still surprise some people, Tara tends to do that. If she can get McCall to play better D and learn to pass the ball we could be really good with Kaylee Johnson improving, Samuelsons overall savvy and efficiency and some jumps from our freshmen. Kailee Johnson could also help if she comes back wanting to mix it up a little she has the length at 6' 4" plus to really help.
We beat ND as Tara recognized their weaknesses, shut down Turner in the first, then McCall forgot which way she liked to turn in the 2nd and pressured their guards who don't like that too much. Then we exposed their D. Don't see any help coming in the paint for them that will change things and if teams use Taras model ND could have some tough games next year. SC has same problem, they don't like to work hard on D. Baylor could be a one man show if Jones runs the point, which will be easy to scout against, Kims problem will be getting them to play together, thats where they will miss Johnson. I really liked Maryland last year, but then they just lost it and tanked.
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ClayK
Joined: 11 Oct 2005 Posts: 11193
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Posted: 05/16/16 9:28 am ::: |
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It's interesting that no one is mentioning Final Four participant Washington.
The Huskies lost Talia Walton but return everyone else plus a very solid recruiting class -- including jet quick guard Aarion McDonald and athletic post Gigi Garcia (coming off an ACL).
I'm not claiming Washington will go back to the Final Four, but it would seem they deserve a mention here or there.
_________________ Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Svāhā
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Nixtreefan
Joined: 14 Nov 2012 Posts: 2539
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Posted: 05/16/16 9:34 am ::: |
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ClayK wrote: |
It's interesting that no one is mentioning Final Four participant Washington.
The Huskies lost Talia Walton but return everyone else plus a very solid recruiting class -- including jet quick guard Aarion McDonald and athletic post Gigi Garcia (coming off an ACL).
I'm not claiming Washington will go back to the Final Four, but it would seem they deserve a mention here or there. |
Walton was huge for WA, they have noone to fill her shoes.
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ClayK
Joined: 11 Oct 2005 Posts: 11193
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Posted: 05/16/16 12:23 pm ::: |
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It seems that every good team lost some quality players -- and as mentioned, Washington's incoming class is pretty good.
_________________ Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Svāhā
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Phil
Joined: 22 Oct 2011 Posts: 1275
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Posted: 05/16/16 1:38 pm ::: |
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ClayK wrote: |
It's interesting that no one is mentioning Final Four participant Washington.
The Huskies lost Talia Walton but return everyone else plus a very solid recruiting class -- including jet quick guard Aarion McDonald and athletic post Gigi Garcia (coming off an ACL).
I'm not claiming Washington will go back to the Final Four, but it would seem they deserve a mention here or there. |
I think some feel that Washington caught lightning in a bottle, and may not be able to repeat that. I agree that the loss of Walton is a big deal, but Plum is returning and they do deserve to be in the discussion.
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NoDakSt
Joined: 26 Oct 2005 Posts: 4929
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Posted: 05/16/16 2:05 pm ::: |
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Granted they lost by 60 points in regional semifinals but Mississippi State should factor in as well.
* Return an all-conference player in Vivians.
* Return top 7 contributors, two deep experience at each position around Vivians
* Beat Tennessee twice, narrow losses to So. Carolina
* OK State transfer Ro Johnson is eligible and can spell the 1-2 position and was a 40% shooter from beyond arc her final year in Stillwater
* Much will depend on McCowan's conditioning coming off foot surgery. Not certain how much this will impact her development longterm upside but she has the ability to be a rim protector and eventually a scoring option if not a go to player.
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ArtBest23
Joined: 02 Jul 2013 Posts: 14550
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Posted: 05/16/16 3:09 pm ::: |
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In the discussion of what?
The topic read "team to beat next year", not top 10 or 15 or 25. Maybe I'm mistaken but I read that to mean legitimate NC candidates, as in who is your pick to win it all. Does anyone really put Wash or Miss St as their favorite to win the championship? If they're on the list I guess it's not a short list.
Wash lost eleven games last year. People might fairly consider their tourney run a fluke. They may get an early chance to silence the doubters by winning the pre season NIT, which includes Notre Dame in the field.
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patsweetpat
Joined: 14 Jul 2010 Posts: 2313 Location: Culver City, CA
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Posted: 05/16/16 3:13 pm ::: Re: Team to beat next year |
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Jlcarter wrote: |
With UConn losing the big three to WNBA. Who will be the team to beat this next season? |
I still say UConn. Until someone actively, definitively makes it somebody other than UConn, to my mind, it'll be UConn.
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ClayK
Joined: 11 Oct 2005 Posts: 11193
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Posted: 05/16/16 3:51 pm ::: |
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UCLA lost nine games, Stanford lost eight, Louisville lost eight ... and they were mentioned. And Texas lost three starters.
Do I think Washington has a significant chance to win the national title next year? No. But if we're throwing those other names out there, how about a Final Four team that returns four starters?
_________________ Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Svāhā
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LitePal
Joined: 08 Sep 2005 Posts: 613
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Posted: 05/16/16 3:53 pm ::: |
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If Washington gets Ionescu, even as a freshman, they are perhaps the cream of the Pac 12 crop. Neighbors has generated at least as much interest as Rueck recently. Romeo should be big the following year and if the recruiting buzz is still with the program, UW could turn out to be more than just the West Coast Huskies.
A lot of unanswered questions about the program, i.e. was it a fluke, Walton's graduation, etc. but right now, they have the most momentum of any team in their conference.
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Jlcarter
Joined: 03 Jul 2013 Posts: 461
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Posted: 05/16/16 6:56 pm ::: |
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I think Tennessee should be one of the best teams. Cooper I think she have a real good year. With Russell and DeShields I expect real good year.
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NoDakSt
Joined: 26 Oct 2005 Posts: 4929
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Posted: 05/16/16 8:04 pm ::: |
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LitePal wrote: |
If Washington gets Ionescu, even as a freshman, they are perhaps the cream of the Pac 12 crop. Neighbors has generated at least as much interest as Rueck recently. Romeo should be big the following year and if the recruiting buzz is still with the program, UW could turn out to be more than just the West Coast Huskies.
A lot of unanswered questions about the program, i.e. was it a fluke, Walton's graduation, etc. but right now, they have the most momentum of any team in their conference. |
UW is petitioning NCAA for Romeo to be eligible immediately.
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