WBB Quick Hits on Each Team: a detailed list of player ins/outs of the program is listed below:
- Carolina: North Carolina: most versatile and athletic team in the CB era. Need FR production, growth from Blanca and Ciera to move to above a S16 team. Should host again and be a Top 15 team the entire season. Brings in 2 Top 25 recruits, an early enrolle with international experience, a starter at F (Louisville) for 88 games, and a PG with international experience who started part of the year at UCLA.
- Boston College: this might be one of the worst programs in the country. They were bad last year- they will be 10x worse this year. Like Joanne’s final season in Chestnut Hill. 11 transfers out, no above avg players brought in.
- Cal: could be a long season out West. Little to no depth again, with a lot of unproven players. Loses 5 of the 6 players they played last year. Adds an NAIA player, one Top 100 recruit, and a few G5 transfers to replace productions.
- Clemson: much improved; will be a tough, gritty, fringe Top 25 team. Poppie is a great coach. Brings in 5 transfers that avg at least 9 ppg at their previous stops and 2 Top 100 recruits.
- Duke: returns core of Fournier, Jackson, Donovan, Thomas, Mair. Needs Skinner to contribute immediately; Robertson to provide legit post, and Nelson to resort to pre-injury form to have a chance to make the jump from a S16/E8 team to FF. Not sure they replaced the offensive production of Richardson and Okwana- could be another stout defensive team that hammers you every time down the court to win. Potential for more, “rock fights” as CB refers to our match-ups. Top 3 team in the ACC, Top 15 team this year.
- FSU: loses Latson to SC, Timpson to WNBA, and OMG. Adds several P4 transfers with limited production. 0 top recruits.
- GT: completely new team and new HC. Lost 4 of the top 6 scorers. Replaced with mid-major transfers and P5s with little to no production. Major rebuilding year.
- Louisville: loses 4 starters- 1 to us
....Added 1 top 100 recruit; P4 player who avg 10ppg, and a MM transfer who avg a ton at St. Joes. I expect them to have a similar year to last year- 10-12 losses. Could struggle in the post. If everything goes right, in a weaker ACC, they could be a fringe top 25-35 NET team. - Miami: completely new team. If they put the pieces together- could be a Top 20 team– but it is going to take time. Glad we play them in January as opposed to late in the season. Brings in 4 Top 100 recruits; 6 transfers that averaged double figures at their previous stops.
- Notre Dame: Plain and simple….this is not a good team. I have no clue what the heck Niele Ivey was doing in the portal. They will only have 10 active players- which includes Tehrani (.8ppg); Jensen (.3 ppg). They got Hidalgo, added Iyanna Moore from Vandy, and returns average players in Bransford and Prosper. After that- the best player? Either Duke’s 3rd string PG from last year or a kid from Loyola who was out all of last year and averaged 8 ppg the previous year. Their 9-game NC schedule features a forced game vs Ole Miss, USC, and Uconn. This is probably a .500 team in the league and one who could threaten to miss the NCAAT. If anything happens to Hidalgo- it becomes one of the worst P4 teams in the country.
- Pitt is Pitt: brings in 2 top 100 players, a MM transfer, and a host of unranked and unknown true FR. Another long year.
- SMU: completely new team. Enter ex-Arizona coach Adia Barnes. She will bring with her a few Arizona players (including ex-Tar Heel Paulina Paris), a host of MM transfers, and a couple P5 transfers– highlighted by an Arizona State and UT-Martin kid averaging 15 and 16 points respectively. Could have enough athletes on the team to finish right below middle of the conf.
- Stanford: HC refuses to use the portal. Lost 3 of Top 4 players from a .500 year last year. Brings in 3 Top 20 recruits and a couple unranked players. Lacks depth, but if FR provide immediate production could be a nice progression year from last year.
- Syracuse: Brings in Laila Phelia who was a stand-out player for Michigan 2 years ago, a Top 100 recruit. Everyone else in the portal with little to no P5 production; 3 unranked FR. Lost Wooley and Wood from last year. Another below average season.
- UVA: UVA is interesting and could be a wildcard team to make a lot of noise this year. They return some talented guards and have really loaded up on posts. State transfer Weimar (who was out all last year) had a monster career at Boston University. LSU starter Smith avg 6/6. A couple bigs in other transfers. Could be the biggest team in the conference next year– I assume they will play two traditional bigs. Could struggle to shoot from deep aside from Johnson and teams will likely pack it in.
- VT: loses 3 best players from last year and replaces with a transfer from NW and Purdue. Adds 2 FR ranked in the 75-100 range. Probably similar or a little worse than their middle-of-the-pack finish last year. Side note- I really hate the Hokies.
- WF: they are WF. They’re going to finish in the bottom 3 in the league. They are bringing in 5 true FR- unranked and international players. Their best transfers are from Cal Poly and Elon- and avg 12 or 13 points there. They lost their top 6 players from last season due to transfers and graduation. I wish we drew them twice in the league like State has the luxury of.
- State: loses their big 3 in James, Rivers, and Hayes. Loses 60% of their 3-point shooting- only 1 returning player with >11 makes last year. Added dismissed Vandy player Pierre who is elite. Added a UCONN transfer who avg 1ppg last 2 years. Added two FR ranked #65 and #68. Not sure they added to replace what was lost– every talked about James and Rivers– I thought Hayes was their most important player and elite W; I don't see an elite wing on the roster this year. Four of Jones, Pierre, Trigger, and Brooks should be above average and be a top 5 finish; but after that- it has to be some growth of returners Cox, Quigley, Awou, Collier, etc- a couple of which have done nothing in multiple years.
