r/NCAAW • u/bytes24 • Apr 07 '24
2024-2025 Top 25 Casual/Offseason
Considering how NCAA WBB deprived we are currently, here's the ESPN preseason poll first look.
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u/Immediate_Cash_6925 North Carolina Tar Heels • Connec… Apr 07 '24
We are No. 4?? Wow that’s surprising I thought we would be higher with Strong and all the injured players returning
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u/Maleficent_Method973 Connecticut Huskies Apr 07 '24
our posts are young and inexperienced. we also don’t know how the injured players will come back, and if the freshmen live up to the hype. i think it’s reasonable
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u/Immediate_Cash_6925 North Carolina Tar Heels • Connec… Apr 07 '24
It’s definitely reasonable, but just suprised ND is infront of us. I hope El Alfy will lead us next year, Brady is too small ngl and Strong can play other positions which is smarter because she is only 6’2
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u/DokkanProductions Stanford Cardinal Apr 07 '24
ND beat Uconn by double digits on their home floor. It's not unreasonable .
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u/Immediate_Cash_6925 North Carolina Tar Heels • Connec… Apr 07 '24
Agreed it’s not unreasonable but that game was also the turning point for us, we played awful and lost. Now, hopefully 6 injured players return and 3 new star recruits play well, we’re a different team.
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u/reforminded Connecticut Huskies Apr 08 '24
In an interview, Geno said El Alfy is the best player he has ever coached in his entire career.
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u/Immediate_Cash_6925 North Carolina Tar Heels • Connec… Apr 08 '24
She looks so good, hopefully she turns out to be.
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Apr 07 '24
I mean we started as 6 this season. Who cares about early polls lol
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u/Immediate_Cash_6925 North Carolina Tar Heels • Connec… Apr 07 '24
Agreed. Congrats on the win today, taking over the national championship dynasty 🤣
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u/Party_Project_2857 USC Trojans • Texas Longhorns Apr 07 '24
Look above you. 4 is good.
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u/Immediate_Cash_6925 North Carolina Tar Heels • Connec… Apr 07 '24
I read the other teams descriptions and now I realize why. I beg Texas to have their best year in the SEC next year.
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u/Party_Project_2857 USC Trojans • Texas Longhorns Apr 07 '24
Texas has a great run without their best player most of the year. Certainly you can understand that as a UConn fan.
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u/Immediate_Cash_6925 North Carolina Tar Heels • Connec… Apr 07 '24
They looked impressive this year, I wish Harmon never got injured because they could’ve gotten far far to the championship. But, next year they will certainly be a team to watch with great guard play and now expected great center play.
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u/speedracer13 South Carolina Gamecocks Apr 07 '24
I feel like UConn is just as strong as us next year if they are healthy. That's an elite roster.
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u/bytes24 Apr 07 '24
It's interesting that both SC and UConn's sucess could be heavily influenced by the production of a 6'5 RS Sophomore whose number is #24 and hasn't played a collegiate game yet. I believe besides Adhel Tac and El Alfy, both teams' next tallest player (who receives significant minutes) will be only 6'3. But I know there are other frontcourt players on both teams who player taller than their size.
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u/Loathor South Carolina Gamecocks • Sava… Apr 08 '24
Tac is going to be a RS Freshman. She joined the team early in January from HS. Getting a jump start on being around the program is bound to be a plus, but she's also coming off a serious injury, so who knows what she is capable of yet.
She will definitely be the tallest player on our roster (barring a transfer...), but I can also see us running Watkins, Kitts, and/or Feagin as the starters in the post (especially with another year of work in the gym).
Watkins has the athletic ability to make her a nightmare for anyone to stop on the offensive end while also being able to defend nearly every player the other team throws at her. Kitts showed this year that she has the ability to be a starter on a team of talented players and should only get better with more work under her belt. Feagin could be the key to the rotation as she can sub in for either Kitts and Watkins with little to no drop off in ability.
It's going to be fun to see how it all works out in the end, but everyone should get the chance to show they belong on the court... or at least the first or second option off the bench. Good problem to have.
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u/bytes24 Apr 08 '24
Thanks for the correction.
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u/Loathor South Carolina Gamecocks • Sava… Apr 08 '24
Nah, you're good. It gets wonky when they decide to enter school early. Kitts did the same last year, but she wasn't injured, so she actually saw significant playing time in her "freshman" semester. That time was key to her being an early starter this year, so, hopefully, it repeats with Tac next season.
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u/Immediate_Cash_6925 North Carolina Tar Heels • Connec… Apr 07 '24
Guard-wise definitely, but I think with Aaliyah gone there is a huge gap from us next year and this season forward/center wise. El Alfy will need to step up coming off that injury.
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Apr 08 '24
We're missing your height, though!
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u/speedracer13 South Carolina Gamecocks Apr 08 '24
We aren't very tall next year. If Tac recovers from her injury, we'll have her as an option. Other than her, it's basically Feagin at 6'3" and everyone else is a tweener at forward.
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u/bytes24 Apr 07 '24
I was a little surprised as well. They lose Nika but I think KK should be able to bring most of that defensive energy along with a higher offensive capability (not to mention just speed in general). But losing the AA Aaliyah Edwards could be a major blow. Idk, I think on paper next year's team looks much improved.
But looking at the top 3 and what they have/are bringing in, I think it's certainly arguable to put UConn at #4. We shall see.
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u/Loathor South Carolina Gamecocks • Sava… Apr 08 '24
I don't think there is a problem with being optimistic about UConn's ability to put talent on the court. I think keeping them on the court has been the Achilles Heel of the program the past several years. The talent that was sitting on UConn's bench against Iowa is on par with anything SC or Texas or ND can field. They are still UConn... the only way things change is if Geno decides to step down (super unlikely until Bueckers leaves, IMO).
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u/Pure_Pea2361 UConn Huskies Apr 09 '24
The players in question are Jana and Azzi. Jana hasn’t played super high competition yet but she looks promising. If she can deliver against posts we’re set. Azzi ruined her knee less than three weeks into the season. I personally thought we should be 3 but I can understand why. (UCONN fan but I don’t have a flair lol)
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u/OrangeSean South Carolina Gamecocks Apr 07 '24
I think that entire top 5 are legit national title contenders. The portal could add a few more to that list by the time the season starts.
Can’t it already be November again?
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u/mechanicalejay Apr 07 '24
Glad to see iowa state at 10 thats a good damn team, if they stay healthy
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u/Jek-TonoPorkins Iowa Hawkeyes Apr 07 '24
I know we are losing most of the team but I very much doubt they dropped to unranked.
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u/Immediate_Cash_6925 North Carolina Tar Heels • Connec… Apr 07 '24
It kinda has to happen, I mean if you just lost Caitlin you’d still be considerably ranked. But, you lose Caitlin Kate Sharon Molly and Gabby. That was once your starting lineup I think. Caitlin carried a group of 3-stars to here and now I think we can’t see how good they are until the season comes.
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u/Jek-TonoPorkins Iowa Hawkeyes Apr 07 '24
Maryland last year is a decent comparison. Started 17th, ended 7th, lost Diamond to the draft and a handful of other Seniors, started 14th the next season.
I understand they are going to drop, but 24+ spots seems insane.
Doesn't really matter though. Preseason rankings don't mean much.
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Apr 08 '24
I don't think it is a burn to see us drop out. Caitlin's making up 50% of our offense shows a ton of uncertainty along with losing Gabbie and Kate. At the same time, how much attention did the underclassmen give to the leadership of those seniors. What lessons were learned?
I agree preseason rankings don't matter, especially this early. Oregon State very well could lose their players because of the significant step down in competition they will face. Nebraska's head coach facing the scandalous lawsuit could really burn them too.
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u/Immediate_Cash_6925 North Carolina Tar Heels • Connec… Apr 08 '24
Not insane when you lose basically tons of your scoring. Your best 4 guards who produced tons of assists and scoring. The polls are for next season, not how you made the national championship this season.
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u/Moose_Muse_2021 Virginia Cavaliers Apr 08 '24
Yeah, I realize next year with be a MAJOR re-building year to Iowa, but not even a "Other Teams Considered" for the Top 25? Man, that's cold!
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u/SteveBartmanIncident Iowa Hawkeyes • Oregon Ducks Apr 07 '24
I've seen this show recently, after Sabrina left. I hope it goes better for Iowa.
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Apr 08 '24
We have solid recruits committed.
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u/SteveBartmanIncident Iowa Hawkeyes • Oregon Ducks Apr 08 '24
So did Oregon. We just lost to one of them. It's a new world with transfer free agency
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u/TheWriterJosh Iowa Hawkeyes Apr 08 '24
Difference is the coach. Kids only played for Oregon bc of the asst coach who left.
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Apr 08 '24
I think Iowa's coaching staff is pretty solidified and proven they compete with the best with only 1 5 star. What would happen if they have more.
PaoPao leaving really hurt Oregon.
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u/lemons21 Nebraska Cornhuskers Apr 08 '24
I get your point, but Caitlin Clark was so good she elevated Iowa in ways I don’t think just your typical 5 star can. She had to be a generational talent to get Iowa to that stage.
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Apr 08 '24
I agree, which is why I added the more part. Iowa had only one other top 50 recruit in Hannah, who was playing out of her position of comfort, in a position she has a clear disadvantage, and a sophomore. If the recruits hold, the next 3 years will bring in some solid talent.
We will also see how much the players on the bench learned from those seniors in the mean time.
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u/BirkTheBrick Iowa Hawkeyes Apr 07 '24
I can definitely see it next year, we’re losing a lot of talent and not gaining a ton (assuming we don’t get any crazy transfers of course). 2025 will bring another potential good run of players though with Addie Deal and Journey Houston already committed.
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u/Jek-TonoPorkins Iowa Hawkeyes Apr 07 '24
I think we have the 9th ranked recruiting class, but we will be a really young team. A lot of the Big 10 is going to still be solid and getting teams from the PAC. I don't think it takes long for them to drop out of the rankings, I just don't believe it will happen in the preseason. Time will tell.
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u/BirkTheBrick Iowa Hawkeyes Apr 07 '24
Yeah for sure don't get me wrong we do have some good recruits comin next year but I don't see them making a huge impact quite yet. With them getting some experience under their belt and then highly ranked Addie and Journey, plus probably more, coming in I think 2025 and beyond will be significantly better.
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Apr 08 '24
We have 4 top 100 players coming in. I hope the underclassmen had been learning from the seniors too. Obviously not a national contender, but we will see what can be done.
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u/BirkTheBrick Iowa Hawkeyes Apr 08 '24
Yeah I mean I think Hannah and Sydney have really learned and developed a lot but I don't see them being able to super effectively lead such a young team quite yet. I think they have potential but I just wouldn't be surprised to see them unranked. I think they'll have pretty big potential 2025 and beyond though especially with those 4 getting more experience and bringing in Addie and Journey.
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Apr 08 '24
I have hope. More than I can say for the men. More growing pains. I at least know the women can get it done and Lisa has demonstrated she can handle a 5 star guard well.
Addie and Jorney are only Verbals right now. With the whole Kadyn Proctor crap in football, I'm not assuming anything until they are on the roster playing.
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u/bytes24 Apr 07 '24
And it's not just losing CC's on paper production. Now the opposing team's game plan becomes much less predictable and all the defensive attention CC brings will be diverted/spread out.
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u/TheWriterJosh Iowa Hawkeyes Apr 08 '24
Iowa has no PG. Lots of other good pieces and some rly fun new recruits but they need a PG from the portal to run the offense. They should def be unranked til then.
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u/snark85-__- Apr 08 '24
I’m with you. Also, I don’t know if my head nor heart can take a “rebuilding year” for yet another sport.
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Apr 08 '24
It's way too early for this. For reasons like this: are all of the Oregon State players going to stay when they are no longer part of a power conference? What about the lawsuit currently facing Nebraska's head coach with the sex scandal involving a former player? Time will tell on some of these.
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u/isit65outsideor NCAA Apr 08 '24
Nebraska coach just signed an extension. They don’t appear worried about it at all.
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Apr 08 '24
They wouldn't be the first school to do something incredibly stupid after some major thing comes to light.
See university of Iowa's racism stuff where they name Brian Ferentz, yet they give him the dumbest contract where the team has to score a certain number of points for him to keep his job. He should have been let go before then.
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u/tigernike1 Illinois Fighting Illini Apr 07 '24
What? We’re (kinda) ranked?
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u/GriffinOfThoth Notre Dame Fighting Irish Apr 07 '24
Not surprising! I think the surprise was this year being as bad as it was (which, with a WBIT championship, wound up being not so bad)
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u/lemons21 Nebraska Cornhuskers Apr 07 '24
Top 25 Nebraska! Feels like a lot of assuming that Britt Prince is going to immediately hit, but at the very least Nebraska probably has the best front court in the B1G with Markowski and Potts. Just need Nissley and Weidner to come back healthy and they could live up to top 25.
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u/choclatechip45 Connecticut Huskies Apr 07 '24
Im fine with number 4 a lot of question marks who will be healthy next year. But I feel pretty good about our incoming freshman. Kk and Ash with one year under of them. Aaliyah will be missed.
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u/Immediate_Cash_6925 North Carolina Tar Heels • Connec… Apr 08 '24
Muhl will be missed loads, along with Edwards. But, if El Alfy returns healthy she can help us loads. Geno has said tons of nice things about her. She is also 6’5, very tall.
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u/choclatechip45 Connecticut Huskies Apr 08 '24
I’ll miss Muhl but I feel like we are okay with guards with KK being the starting point guard. Cheli and Ziebell are both guards. Cheli is one of those big guards Geno’s likes and could be a point forward. I feel like the front court is more of a question mark due to inexperience. I’m very excited to see Jana play. She reminds me a bit of Stewie from what we saw of her last summer.
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u/AgentEucalyptus Washington State Cougars Apr 07 '24
Mickey Mouse waits for nothing lol, damn that was quick. So many good teams on that list, I think the sport is going to be ok. With Freshman being so dominant this season next will be interesting to see if Sophomore Slumps happen or Sophomore Stardom.
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u/Dry-Strawberry-9189 NC State Wolfpack • ACC Apr 07 '24
I’m so excited to see what Aziaha James does for the Wolfpack next season! And Zoe Brooks was incredible for us this season, so I’m sure with even more development, she’ll be a great force. Plus I have a lot of faith in Maddie Cox and Laci Steele!! Let’s go NC State!!
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u/jthomas694 South Carolina Gamecocks • Ohio Sta… Apr 07 '24
Dawn hasn’t gone back to back yet. That’s the next accomplishment
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u/bytes24 Apr 07 '24
It's wild that they could (and maybe should) have the last 5 (including the COVID season).
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u/Plus-Advisor1637 Apr 07 '24
Stanford is way too high imo
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u/DokkanProductions Stanford Cardinal Apr 08 '24
They are projecting players to have a big jump like Kiki Iriafen did. If that happens Stanford is easily one of the top teams. But if not they could struggle to be ranked…
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u/Belongs-InTheTrash Notre Dame Fighting Irish Apr 07 '24
Obviously I’m really excited for next year, ranked #3 is very optimistic but I do think our starting 5 if healthy will be among the stronger ones in the country. The team should be really fun to watch.
I understand the Miles/Hidalgo chemistry concerns, but I’ve said repeatedly that I think they can make it work because they have different strengths. They both ultimately want to be winners and will be able to work together to help further the team goals.
The big concern again is depth. With Bransford hitting the portal today, numbers are getting kinda low. We honestly need like 3 players in the portal just to have enough players on the roster for me not to stress about numbers given what’s happened the past couple seasons.
If we can pick up a real needle-mover in the portal, awesome, but any role players who can give meaningful minutes would be great. I know people were kinda hard on Anna DeWolfe but I think she was an underrated contributor to this year’s team and if we could get a couple players who could contribute at least that much, that would reassure me. Poffenbarger or Van Slooten would be fantastic.
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u/DokkanProductions Stanford Cardinal Apr 08 '24
This isn’t based on any inside info but I just have a very weird feeling that GVS transfer to ND.
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Apr 08 '24
I hope there is an obnoxious Iowa fan in every single Iowa State thread being as annoying as u/loyalsons4evertrue was in every single Iowa thread all year. Dude posted every minute at times.
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u/DiligentQuiet Apr 08 '24
If someone is going to rise to the occasion, they better work on the offseason conditioning.
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u/Gotthatmojo007 Apr 08 '24
I think a healthy Uconn will give SC a run for their money. I'm interested to see how the #1 recrurit will transition under Geno's guidance.
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u/bytes24 Apr 07 '24
Btw, sorry if this is a duplicate post, I got a notification that this (and a 2nd attempt) where deleted because it failed a reddit filter (presumably due to the ESPN link?).
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Apr 08 '24
It’s crazy to think…almost 10 years ago, Dawn Staley & South Carolina won their first SEC Tournament title beating us 70-55. 10 years ago we were the reigning SEC tournament champs & a 1 Seed in the NCAA tournament. Hopefully we can get back to that level, not 1990s good but better.
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u/mcr6 UCLA Bruins • USC Trojans Apr 07 '24
Where’s Iowa?
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u/OneReindeer4111 Apr 07 '24
Probably because all of their starters including Molly is going to be gone after this weekend, except Hannah Stuelke. So...Basically Iowa is gonna reboot next year. I think it will be some time before Iowa is good again. They will need to recruit a similar player like Caitlin Clark to lead them in the future. However, I think this game today was Iowa's last chance to win the national championship. I don't think they will get that opportunity again in our lifetimes. Just a feeling. Caitlin Clark was that one player that helped lead Iowa this far twice two years in a row and she will be greatly missed for Iowa.
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u/OutrageousItem5887 South Carolina Gamecocks Apr 08 '24
We lost all our starters, plus our 1st off the bench. See what happened to the Cocks :)
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u/MinnyAntTowers Apr 08 '24
Well that’s the difference between being a team full of 5* recruits vs not. Iowa wasn’t before and while their recruiting may improve from the exposure of the team and proven fan base, it’s hard to see them getting back to this level. You need a lot of 5*s to make up for losing one CC
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u/OutrageousItem5887 South Carolina Gamecocks Apr 08 '24
Listen. Iowa killed it. Incredible sorry. I was just joking. Mad respect for what Iowa, CC, and the team accomplished. I just the fan base stays with the team!
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u/MinnyAntTowers Apr 08 '24
I’m not offended, just pointing out why I don’t see Iowa recovering in even close to the same way as SC. Totally different levels
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u/SueYouInEngland Iowa Hawkeyes Apr 08 '24
Sure, though people said the same thing following the 2019 season.
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u/Immediate_Cash_6925 North Carolina Tar Heels • Connec… Apr 08 '24
It’s a lot harder tho, SC had a bench full of 5 stars and an amazing recruiting class coming in but Iowa doesn’t have a single 5 star returning and a PG who barely got time this season looking to lead them while having low experience.
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u/Party_Project_2857 USC Trojans • Texas Longhorns Apr 07 '24
This was they best shot at it for a while. Next year is probably Bruins best shot and 2 years is Trojans.
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u/mcr6 UCLA Bruins • USC Trojans Apr 07 '24 edited Apr 07 '24
I got downvoted to shreds by the Iowa mob when I said they weren’t gonna be ranked and then they proceeded to use the Affolter and Stulkey carrrying the team argument
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u/Party_Project_2857 USC Trojans • Texas Longhorns Apr 07 '24
Stulkey was the beneficiary of having an amazing teammate who draws her player off her and dishes right in her Breadbasket for the easy layup. She's going to see what it's like not having a defender magnet like Clark around best year. Betts is going to feast on her.
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u/BirkTheBrick Iowa Hawkeyes Apr 08 '24
I do agree but Hannah's game definitely did improve over time with the 1-on-1 post-up, and she's a pretty good defensive player for how short she is (as a center). I think the huge thing is she only became a center this year to fill the need for the team, and there's a good chance she'll move back to forward next year with Addi or Ava at center. Could definitely give her even more confidence going back to battling people her size lol
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u/Immediate_Cash_6925 North Carolina Tar Heels • Connec… Apr 07 '24
Losing your top 4 guards is hard, they won’t recover at first but hopefully they can play well next season.
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u/iWontTry Vanderbilt Commodores • Maryland Terrapi Apr 08 '24
Vanderbilt will surprise this list in the 24-25 season. Mark my MF words.
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u/ChiefHR Baylor Bears Apr 08 '24
All things considered I’m Okay with this list. I’ll give more thorough analysis later this week during our weekly conference call.
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u/Carolina296864 South Carolina Gamecocks Apr 08 '24
I know she is from there, but does Stuelke finish her career at Iowa?
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u/WackyBones510 South Carolina Gamecocks Apr 08 '24
I’d prob knock Texas down a few spots purely because of the conference move. More travel and a lot of teams they haven’t played before that are plenty capable of a random upset.
Edit: maybe more so Stanford though.
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u/Horned4Life Apr 09 '24
Vic Schaefer’s been a head coach in the SEC for 8 years. Assistant in the sec for 15. The SEC is not gonna catch him off guard
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u/WackyBones510 South Carolina Gamecocks Apr 09 '24
It’s not an indictment of the team but realignment impacts teams in all sports of all skill and experience levels.
Def would have made Stanford more of the focus of my comment if I had just scrolled down more before firing off a take though. USC and UCLA in the top 10 too and USC has a lot of turnover.
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u/AP-FUTChemist Houston Cougars • Indiana Hoosiers Apr 07 '24
Top 10 Iowa State is insane