Over the next month or so I'll preview the other top teams in the country - and try to project what the Stanford Cardinal will be up against in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
The top team in the pre-season rankings is - to the surprise of no one - the UConn Huskies. Next season they'll be loaded and tough to beat.
Basically, all their starters from last season return. Plus, they have a dynamite freshman class coming in and a powerful grad transfer in Dorka Juhasz, a 6'-5" veteran post player from Ohio State (Pecs, Hungary.)
Azzi Fudd is a 5'-11" freshman guard and a five star recruit rated #1 in the country (Arlington, VA.)
Caroline Ducharme is a 6'-2" freshman guard and a five star recruit rated #5 in the nation (Milton, Mass.)
Amari DeBerry is a 6'-5" freshman post player and a five star recruit rated #15 in the nation (Williamsville, N.Y.)
Saylor Poffenbarger is a 6'-2" freshman guard and a four star recruit rated #30 in the nation (Middletown, Md.)
Their sophomores were also a top-rated recruiting class in 2020:
Paige Bueckers is a 5'-11" sophomore guard and was the number one ranked recruit in the nation (Hopkins, Minn.) In 2021, as a freshman she was named the AP Player of the Year, first string All American, and the Wooden Award winner.
Piath Gabriel is a 6'-5" sophomore post player (Manchester, N.H.)
Aaliyah Edwards is a 6'-3" sophomore post player (Kingston, Ontario, Canada.)
Nika Mull is a 5'-10" sophomore guard (Zagreb, Croatia.)
Mir McLean is a 5'-11" sophomore guard (Baltimore, Md.)
Their sole junior player is Ashley Griffin a 6'-1"forward (Ossining, N.Y.)
Their three seniors are:
Christyn Williams is a 5'-11" guard (Little Rock, Ark.)
Evina Westbrook is a 6'-0" guard (Salem, Ore.)
Olivia Nelson-Ododa is a 6'-5" post player (Winder, Ga.)
Obviously, the Huskies will be a very powerful team next season. Their first team will be practicing every day against their second team, which will probably be the fourth or fifth best team in the country. Most of their games will be total blowouts, however they have scheduled several preseason games against high-powered teams like Tennessee, North Carolina State, Georgia Tech, and Louisville.
Look for a starting lineup that looks something like this:
Christyn Williams a 5'-11" senior guard
Azzi Fudd a 5'-11" freshman point guard
Paige Bueckers a 5'-11" sophomore shooting guard
Dorka Juhasz a 6'-5" grad transfer post player
Amari DeBerry a 6'-5" freshman power forward
Stanford will have their work cut out to defeat this group, but they can and will.
GO CARDINAL!!
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