Your Very Early Prediction on how the SEC botton two-thirds of the womens teams will end in March

[stllvf]

A take away from a quick review of the rosters of SEC teams is how many, like the Lady Vols have wholesale new players. My opinion is that SC, Texas, Vandy, LSU + Miss are the top five teams.

Ark, Alabama, Auburn , Florida, Georgia, Ky, Miss State, Missouri, Okla Tennessee, and Texas A&M eleven teams seeking, IMO to finish above .500 in the conference.

I predict based only on how bad Ark was last year and the records of their transfers again will not win a game.


any of you more attuned board members have thoughts?

 

[And1]

I don't see Ole Miss in that top tier, just don't see it based on their roster. I think Ky will be better than Ole Miss and possibly Tenn. I think Tx A&M will also be better than in recent years, even though their coach is mediocre.

 

[OrangeBeachVol]

Seems it would be hard to accurately predict the LV's before they play with basically an all new team.

 

[Rooster1]

A take away from a quick review of the rosters of SEC teams is how many, like the Lady Vols have wholesale new players. My opinion is that SC, Texas, Vandy, LSU + Miss are the top five teams.

Ark, Alabama, Auburn , Florida, Georgia, Ky, Miss State, Missouri, Okla Tennessee, and Texas A&M eleven teams seeking, IMO to finish above .500 in the conference.

I predict based only on how bad Ark was last year and the records of their transfers again will not win a game.


any of you more attuned board members have thoughts?

If anyone takes a moment and studies the roster Ky has for this upcoming season they will see a squad that will definately be top 5 in the conference this year, maybe as high as 3rd.

 

[stllvf]

Rooster I revisited and stand corrected Ky has a very deep and talented roster!

 

[Dak1219]

A take away from a quick review of the rosters of SEC teams is how many, like the Lady Vols have wholesale new players. My opinion is that SC, Texas, Vandy, LSU + Miss are the top five teams.

Ark, Alabama, Auburn , Florida, Georgia, Ky, Miss State, Missouri, Okla Tennessee, and Texas A&M eleven teams seeking, IMO to finish above .500 in the conference.

I predict based only on how bad Ark was last year and the records of their transfers again will not win a game.


any of you more attuned board members have thoughts?

I think Kentucky is definitely tough. I see Arkansas, Mississippi State, Alabama, Georgia, and possibly Florida as the Bottom five based on roster makeup, and three of them have new coaching staffs that will have to navigate the SEC for the first time with new teams. Auburn has a little talent and a lot of Athleticism, but they probably won't be above 10th or 11th in the league. Joanie Taylor brought in some decent talent in Kaylin Gilbert, Essence Cody, Kaniya Boyd, and a really good freshman in Jayda Porter, which you would think would put them up there around that 500 mark, but Joanie has to be the worst coach in the SEC, so you never know. Kellie and Missouri have put together a good roster centered around Grace Slaughter (who is showing up on the Draft boards), but they are going to be dependent on young post players that will be key for them. Their 3 point shooting will be exceptional this year and they have added very quick get to the rim in a hurry type guards to balance them out. Figure anywhere from 7-10th in the league and making the NCAA tournament, putting Kellie in a class of her own by leading 5 D-1 schools to the NCAA tournament. I would put Tennessee, Ole Miss and Oklahoma right there in that same area 6-10. They all lost a ton of talent, but have been able to restock the shelves per se and have formidable coaches. My top five right now, in no particular order, are Kentucky, Vandy, LSU, South Carolina, and Texas, based on roster talent and coaching experience. Just my thoughts after looking at all of the full rosters available. LSU still hasn't posted their final roster, but they're going to be tough with Mikayla Williams, Grace Knox, Milaysia Fulwiley and that point guard they brought in from Iowa State plus a really good supporting cast.

 

[gule]

I think Kentucky is definitely tough. I see Arkansas, Mississippi State, Alabama, Georgia, and possibly Florida as the Bottom five based on roster makeup, and three of them have new coaching staffs that will have to navigate the SEC for the first time with new teams. Auburn has a little talent and a lot of Athleticism, but they probably won't be above 10th or 11th in the league. Joanie Taylor brought in some decent talent in Kaylin Gilbert, Essence Cody, Kaniya Boyd, and a really good freshman in Jayda Porter, which you would think would put them up there around that 500 mark, but Joanie has to be the worst coach in the SEC, so you never know. Kellie and Missouri have put together a good roster centered around Grace Slaughter (who is showing up on the Draft boards), but they are going to be dependent on young post players that will be key for them. Their 3 point shooting will be exceptional this year and they have added very quick get to the rim in a hurry type guards to balance them out. Figure anywhere from 7-10th in the league and making the NCAA tournament, putting Kellie in a class of her own by leading 5 D-1 schools to the NCAA tournament. I would put Tennessee, Ole Miss and Oklahoma right there in that same area 6-10. They all lost a ton of talent, but have been able to restock the shelves per se and have formidable coaches. My top five right now, in no particular order, are Kentucky, Vandy, LSU, South Carolina, and Texas, based on roster talent and coaching experience. Just my thoughts after looking at all of the full rosters available. LSU still hasn't posted their final roster, but they're going to be tough with Mikayla Williams, Grace Knox, Milaysia Fulwiley and that point guard they brought in from Iowa State plus a really good supporting cast.

you forget about the Russian destroyer that ole Kimster added to her hit squad?

 

[chuckiepoo]

I think Kentucky is definitely tough. I see Arkansas, Mississippi State, Alabama, Georgia, and possibly Florida as the Bottom five based on roster makeup, and three of them have new coaching staffs that will have to navigate the SEC for the first time with new teams. Auburn has a little talent and a lot of Athleticism, but they probably won't be above 10th or 11th in the league. Joanie Taylor brought in some decent talent in Kaylin Gilbert, Essence Cody, Kaniya Boyd, and a really good freshman in Jayda Porter, which you would think would put them up there around that 500 mark, but Joanie has to be the worst coach in the SEC, so you never know. Kellie and Missouri have put together a good roster centered around Grace Slaughter (who is showing up on the Draft boards), but they are going to be dependent on young post players that will be key for them. Their 3 point shooting will be exceptional this year and they have added very quick get to the rim in a hurry type guards to balance them out. Figure anywhere from 7-10th in the league and making the NCAA tournament, putting Kellie in a class of her own by leading 5 D-1 schools to the NCAA tournament. I would put Tennessee, Ole Miss and Oklahoma right there in that same area 6-10. They all lost a ton of talent, but have been able to restock the shelves per se and have formidable coaches. My top five right now, in no particular order, are Kentucky, Vandy, LSU, South Carolina, and Texas, based on roster talent and coaching experience. Just my thoughts after looking at all of the full rosters available. LSU still hasn't posted their final roster, but they're going to be tough with Mikayla Williams, Grace Knox, Milaysia Fulwiley and that point guard they brought in from Iowa State plus a really good supporting cast.

Joni Taylor - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

…spell check joanie… she’s only coached in the SEC the past 9 years…

 

[Rooster1]

Push me to the wall, I predict this finish in conf for top teams in the SEC:

SC (Obviously I am a homer here but the most talent in the conference, by a good bit if I’m not mistaken)
LSU (Dangerous team based upon talent and coaching, could win the SEC this year, certainly in play)
Vand (excellent coach, just enough talent to compliment the best player in conference)
KY (loaded with talent, proven coach)
Texas (too young, even with Booker and great coach to place higher atm)
OM ( until proven otherwise, they usually play to this level)
UT ( wildcard team, could finish higher but prob not lower with the players they brought in, can beat anyone on a given night)

 

[Dak1219]

Joni Taylor - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

…spell check joanie… she’s only coached in the SEC the past 9 years…

That is how irrelevant she actually is and wayyyyy overpaid for the results she has had

 

[3stripeslegend]

Kentucky will not be anything special. They get beat every year in the SEC including this past season by the worse UT team I’ve ever seen and the same group of 3 fans will claim they are going to be a top 5 team next season. They put together one of the worst portal classes of any SEC team. The freshmen I watched in the AA HS games heading to KY had me wondering how they were selected to those games. To their credit though, the AA HS games were abysmal overall.
Same for Vanderbilt. Nothing special about them. I’ll give Ole Miss a better chance at being in the Top 5 than Kentucky and Vanderbilt but I’m not sold on them either. The three safest teams are South Carolina, Texas, and LSU.
Anything after 1-3 is up for grabs.

 

[Rooster1]

I think Kentucky is definitely tough. I see Arkansas, Mississippi State, Alabama, Georgia, and possibly Florida as the Bottom five based on roster makeup, and three of them have new coaching staffs that will have to navigate the SEC for the first time with new teams. Auburn has a little talent and a lot of Athleticism, but they probably won't be above 10th or 11th in the league. Joanie Taylor brought in some decent talent in Kaylin Gilbert, Essence Cody, Kaniya Boyd, and a really good freshman in Jayda Porter, which you would think would put them up there around that 500 mark, but Joanie has to be the worst coach in the SEC, so you never know. Kellie and Missouri have put together a good roster centered around Grace Slaughter (who is showing up on the Draft boards), but they are going to be dependent on young post players that will be key for them. Their 3 point shooting will be exceptional this year and they have added very quick get to the rim in a hurry type guards to balance them out. Figure anywhere from 7-10th in the league and making the NCAA tournament, putting Kellie in a class of her own by leading 5 D-1 schools to the NCAA tournament. I would put Tennessee, Ole Miss and Oklahoma right there in that same area 6-10. They all lost a ton of talent, but have been able to restock the shelves per se and have formidable coaches. My top five right now, in no particular order, are Kentucky, Vandy, LSU, South Carolina, and Texas, based on roster talent and coaching experience. Just my thoughts after looking at all of the full rosters available. LSU still hasn't posted their final roster, but they're going to be tough with Mikayla Williams, Grace Knox, Milaysia Fulwiley and that point guard they brought in from Iowa State plus a really good supporting cast.

Agree with this. A few final thoughts on some teams. For LSU, the film on that Russian post player is impressive, if she acclimates to NCAA WBB quickly they will be formidable imo, they trot out three superstar guards to go along with all the others. I have had a few second thoughts on Texas since I have studied them more, the Australian girl is a big time player and the two 5 star freshman should hit the ground running. Booker is a supreme talent. Vic will likely get that team into the top 3 ahead of Vandy and KY. He always finds a way. I think KY will end up ahead of Vandy, so give Ky 4th and Vandy 5th. I’m sticking with UT for 6th place, followed by OM then OK, but as many have said already, those three are likely interchangeable for 6-8 depending on how all of their new players mesh.

It should be an exciting season to watch and very competitive. There will be surprise teams such as Vandy last season and some that disappoint. We will discover how things unfold during the season but I could see as many as 9-10 teams making the tourney from the SEC, certainly 8.

 

[Rooster1]

Kentucky will not be anything special. They get beat every year in the SEC including this past season by the worse UT team I’ve ever seen and the same group of 3 fans will claim they are going to be a top 5 team next season. They put together one of the worst portal classes of any SEC team. The freshmen I watched in the AA HS games heading to KY had me wondering how they were selected to those games. To their credit though, the AA HS games were abysmal overall.
Same for Vanderbilt. Nothing special about them. I’ll give Ole Miss a better chance at being in the Top 5 than Kentucky and Vanderbilt but I’m not sold on them either. The three safest teams are South Carolina, Texas, and LSU.
Anything after 1-3 is up for grabs.

Ky brought in two 5 star McDonald AA freshman, the player from Slovenia who was a first round WNBA pick and O’Neil from Florida. In what world is that one of the worst classes/additions in the conference?

 

[Dak1219]

you forget about the Russian destroyer that ole Kimster added to her hit squad?

I don't know anything about that player, or even her name. I will look her up. One thing I do know is that all Kim has ever needed to be very successful and win championships is 1 exceptional point guard, 1 exceptional wing and one exceptional Post plus a good supporting cast. She has always been in the winning column with that type of lineup and has won a couple 3-4 championships with that type of team.

 

[Dak1219]

Kentucky will not be anything special. They get beat every year in the SEC including this past season by the worse UT team I’ve ever seen and the same group of 3 fans will claim they are going to be a top 5 team next season. They put together one of the worst portal classes of any SEC team. The freshmen I watched in the AA HS games heading to KY had me wondering how they were selected to those games. To their credit though, the AA HS games were abysmal overall.
Same for Vanderbilt. Nothing special about them. I’ll give Ole Miss a better chance at being in the Top 5 than Kentucky and Vanderbilt but I’m not sold on them either. The three safest teams are South Carolina, Texas, and LSU.
Anything after 1-3 is up for grabs.

Vanderbilt is going to have one of the best backcourts in the SEC. I don't know of anyone outside of maybe LSU that has guards that can play with them. Blakes averaged 27 as a sophomore and Galvan averaged 13.5 and almost 6 assists as a freshman. You obviously don't know what special looks like. When you get 40+ points and 10+ assists from your two starting guards, that is pretty special. That is over 50 points per game that just those two were responsible for last year and each averaged almost 3 steals per game so they play both ends.

 

[KTrain]

Vanderbilt is going to have one of the best backcourts in the SEC. I don't know of anyone outside of maybe LSU that has guards that can play with them. Blakes averaged 27 as a sophomore and Galvan averaged 13.5 and almost 6 assists as a freshman. You obviously don't know what special looks like. When you get 40+ points and 10+ assists from your two starting guards, that is pretty special. That is over 50 points per game that just those two were responsible for last year and each averaged almost 3 steals per game so they play both ends.

All this & about every lay-up Blakes puts up, ends up being AND1. I dont know if any body keeps a record on the non-traditional 3s but when Blakes shoots the refs are on the edge of their seats to blow a whistle and protect her. I'm sure she led the league in Non traditional 3s she has it down to a fine art.

 

[lvocd]

All this & about every lay-up Blakes puts up, ends up being AND1. I dont know if any body keeps a record on the non-traditional 3s but when Blakes shoots the refs are on the edge of their seats to blow a whistle and protect her. I'm sure she led the league in Non traditional 3s she has it down to a fine art.

To my eye, there hasn’t ever been player in women’s basketball history more consistently effective with the driving scoop shot than Blakes. the only thing that ever slows her down is a RARE game when her focus is a little off. In other words, typically the only player who can guard Blakes well is … Blakes, on a rare off day. She’s too quick and too good at changing directions to be able to double-team her to keep someone on that outside arm to prevent the extension of the “scoop arm,” too. Ugh. I wish we had two of her. Not that I think our quickest players are THAT far off from Blakes in most skills, but I’ll be pleasantly surprised if anyone can score as well on that scoop shot as she does.

 

[glv98]

’m sticking with UT for 6th place, followed by OM then OK, but as many have said already, those three are likely interchangeable for 6-8 depending on how all of their new players mesh.

If that is indeed the LV's finish, and I think 6th is absolute best case scenario for this roster, then the program will not have made one iota of progress toward actually contending in the three years CKC has been here. And that's even allowing for a tougher league then when Harper was consistently finishing third. Anyone else disappointed in this?

 

[BruisedOrange]

[...] Kellie and Missouri have put together a good roster centered around Grace Slaughter (who is showing up on the Draft boards), but they are going to be dependent on young post players that will be key for them.

Depending on how Kellie deploys them, their experiences this season should further inform the debate over whether it is wise in this era to pursue commitments from HS post players, or better to bring in seasoned, more physically matured bigs from the portal.

 

[Volfaninfl2]

If that is indeed the LV's finish, and I think 6th is absolute best case scenario for this roster, then the program will not have made one iota of progress toward actually contending in the three years CKC has been here. And that's even allowing for a tougher league then when Harper was consistently finishing third. Anyone else disappointed in this?

When last year’s LV team set records for the worst LV team EVER, progress is no longer in the conversation, amount of major regression is. The fact that the Coach lost the entire team of highly ranked players is just (unbelievably) extra.

 

[Volfaninfl2]

View attachment 857091
Depending on how Kellie deploys them, their experiences this season should further inform the debate over whether it is wise in this era to pursue commitments from HS post players, or better to bring in seasoned, more physically matured bigs from the portal.

Depending on if they all stay, the decision to get post players as freshmen may look very “wise” in the future.

 

[Volfan2012]

Tennessee needs to split with Kentucky. We also need to win at Texas A&M that is three huge games on the schedule in determining where the team finishes in the league. Road games at Vanderbilt, Texas, and Kentucky look like losses. LSU and Sc same.
Wins should be Auburn, Arkansas, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Miss St, and Missouri. Ole Miss, Kentucky and Oklahoma at home are 50/50 games. You win all those and the A&M game that is 11 SEC wins could also only come out on the dark side to 6 or 7 SEC wins somewhere in the middle 9.

Upside 11 Conference wins.
Downside 6 SEC wins.

11 could get you a top five league finish cause you would have tiebreakers over Ole Miss, Oklahoma, and possibly Kentucky.
9 probably 7th
6 around 9 or 10

All this talk about being a strong offensive rebounding team and the personnel looking more like a weak offensive rebounding team is probably the biggest determining factor of how many we'll win in the league. Very seldom see a team lose that can out rebound their opponents offensively and win turnovers. Caldwell talks a lot about how were going to be a really strong offensive rebounding team. I just don't see the players to get that done.

 

[lvocd]

I’m not even going to bother to begin even thinking about how the Lady Vols will stack up against the rest of the SEC until after we’ve played UCLA. KK Bransford and Sienna Betts will be good measuring sticks for where we stand early on against really good competition. Tennessee will play a couple of historically solid mid-majors before them, so after Nov. 22 we’ll all have better-informed ideas about how much potential our roster has.

 

[glv98]

All this talk about being a strong offensive rebounding team and the personnel looking more like a weak offensive rebounding team is probably the biggest determining factor of how many we'll win in the league. Very seldom see a team lose that can out rebound their opponents offensively and win turnovers. Caldwell talks a lot about how were going to be a really strong offensive rebounding team. I just don't see the players to get that done.

Is she really saying that? Oh my!

Just looking at Missouri’s post height and everyone else’s rosters its hard to see our roster dominating anybody’s O boards. Or really even competing on them.

We just have to hope folks around here are right when they say height is greatly overrated and heart and hustle and lots of hard work will make up any such discrepancy.

Counterintuitive and plain old dumb as that sounds, we have to pray they’re right.

 

[lvocd]

I want to see what level of leapers we have and their ability to box out effectively before saying much about our rebounding potential. I’m one of those who believe players who can get off the floor can make up for a couple inches of height they lack. Well, as long as their taller opponents don’t have the unusually long arms. Even if a 6”7” post couldn’t jump a half inch in the air, if her arms are super long and she’s fairly well coordinated, those players are a problem.