THE AP PUNDITS HAVE DONE IT AGAIN!! BUT NOTHING THEY PRINT WILL DIMINISH THE GLOW OF WHAT'S GOING ON IN MAPLES PAVILION!!

The latest AP All American team is so predictable and myopic it came close to spoiling my morning. How many PAC12 players made the team? How many Stanford players? If you guessed zero for both questions - you were right. Did they include the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament? Nope. Of course not. Haley Jones plays so many thousands of miles away from the center of everything that her games start at 11PM and end at 1AM. Who watches?  The PAC12 is somewhere out west of the Rockies. No one who counts thinks about them. 

You can probably guess the first five.

Paige Bueckers    UConn

Aliyah Boston      South Carolina

Caitlin Clark        Iowa

NaLyssa Smith      Baylor

Rhyne Howard    Kentucky

Someone once said, "It isn't where you start - it's where you finish that counts." 

Lexie Hull will lock down Paige Bueckers in Minneapolis, out work her, out hustle her, out score her and out play her. The eastern pundits will say, "Hmmm."

Haley Jones will outperform Rhyne Howard in every statistical category this season and lead Stanford to another Championship. The eastern pundits will say, "Hmmm."

Ashton Prechtel will frustrate, out score, and out play Aliyah Boston in Columbia and Minneapolis. The eastern pundits will say, "Hmmm."

NaLyssa Smith will be overshadowed in every respect all season long by Cameron Brink. The eastern pundits will say, "Hmmm."

Caitlin Clark will continue to do half the shooting and half the scoring for an Iowa team that will go nowhere. If shooting is what counts she probably belongs on the All American team.

Many times in this space I've reminded all of us that the eastern sports media types won't give us the respect we deserve. We have to continue to outperform their favored teams and their chosen players - until it becomes obvious to everyone that the PAC12 is America's best conference and has the best players. Then the AP will no longer be able to invoke their near-sighted eastern fantasies.    

The other AP update this week ranks the 2022 recruiting classes. Would you believe that the PAC12 has six of the top ten classes. 

1. Oregon Ducks

2. UCLA Bruins 

3. Oregon State Beavers

4. UConn Huskies

5. Stanford Cardinal

6. Arizona Wildcats

7. Minnesota Golden Gophers

8. Duke Blue Devils

9. Louisville Cardinals

10. Washington Huskies

 See what I mean when I say the magnetic poles of the women's NCAA basketball world are reversing? Many of the best female collegiate basketball players are turning down the eastern schools and coming west to the PAC12. What does the AP headline for the article say? "UConn Huskies trail three PAC12 teams." They don't say, "Out of the five power conferences the PAC12 has six of the top ten recruiting classes for 2022. The ACC has two, the Big 10 has one, and the mid-major Big East conference has one. 

If Kiki Rice (#2 recruit for 2022) is listening, "Come to the top team in the top conference, Kiki. Stanford is listed as one of the top five universities in the world by every rating agency - and happens to also have one of the best women's basketball programs in the country. Join Lauren Betts (#1 recruit for 2022) and Talana Lepolo (#70 recruit for 2022) and help us stay at the top of the NCAA women's basketball world. 

LET'S GO CARDINAL!! ONE WEEK TO GO TO THE OPENING TIP!!   

SOUTH CAROLINA FULLY EXPECTS TO WIN THE WHOLE SHEBANG THIS SEASON.

COOKE   HENDERSON BOSTON  CARDOSO   BEAL

On December 21 we play the South Carolina Gamecocks. Our preseason schedule is obviously designed to build our preparedness incrementally for this major collision. In a previous blog I made reference to the emotional hangover still lingering in Columbia, South Carolina after our last second one point win in last season's Final Four showdown in San Antonio. You can imagine what their home field advantage will be like - 15,000 fans screaming at the top of their lungs for two hours in Colonial Life Arena - hanging on every up and down of the action. 

For the 2021/2022 season the Gamecocks are ranked #1 in the land - and we're #3. This pre-Christmas matchup in their building is being thought of by many as a preview of another Final Four blockbuster.

South Carolina returns their starting five, plus a 6'-7" sophomore transfer from Syracuse, Kamilla Cardoso. Dawn Staley feels confident that this stout talented Brazilian is the piece that was missing last year. This year she's planning to win a second national championship in April in Minneapolis.

In addition, the Gamecocks have once again added the #1 recruiting class in the nation by signing three of the top five recruits. So, more size and more depth. Sounds like a great recipe for NCAA Tournament success. Especially since we lost our floor leader, Kiana Williams, who Tara referred to as our "Key."

Doesn't sound good, does it?

Well, I'm sorry Dawn, because we're going to beat you in Columbia and in Minneapolis. I may be mistaken, but I foresee Kiana getting replaced by Haley Jones and Lexie Hull at point guard. I foresee Ashton Prechtel holding down Aliyah Boston to 10 or 12 and Cameron Brink thoroughly frustrating Kamilla Cardoso without fouling. Zia Cooke is going to get stifled by a stiff dose of Lexie Hull with help from everyone around the screens. Brea Beal will again be snuffed by Haley Jones, and Destanni Henderson by Anna Wilson. 

We'll get off to a strong start this time and hit our usual fifteen threes. The score will probably be close for two quarters, then in the second half we'll pull away as the fact of our greater team cohesiveness, preparation, intelligence, strength, and chemistry takes over.  

GO STANFORD!! ISN'T THIS SEASON GOING TO BE FUN!!   

      

IS THE SPIRIT OF PAT SUMMIT ALIVE AND WELL ON ROCKY TOP?

What would it take for Pat's garish orange program to regain its accustomed place at the pinnacle of women's basketball? 

Their tens of thousands of hardcore fans wonder every day - where are the Lady Vols currently in their inevitable return to the top of the women's basketball rankings?

They'll know soon. On December 18th the Stanford Cardinal roll in to test the Vols in Knoxville with their 15,000 fans drenched in orange packed to the rafters in Thompson Bolling Arena screaming their hearts out for VICTORY!!

Kelly Harper is rebuilding, but finding its no easy task. In March her team was sent packing from the NCAA Women's Tournament in the second round. The kids from Michigan were too tough and beat them by 15. The teams in that field of 64 are so much better than they used to be. And recruiting in Knoxville is harder than it was when the Vols were on top.

It's been a coon's age since the Lady Vols landed a five star recruit ranked in the top ten. Kelly is a great person and a terrific coach, but you need more than that these days to sign a potential superstar - the coach needs a glittering resume too! 

Once in a while you come across a recruit like Jennifer Azzi, who is willing to come and help turn a lagging program around. Jennifer was upset about being overlooked by the Vols, after starring in high school just down the road from Knoxville, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. So, when Tara called Jennifer and said she'd just left Ohio State and taken the job at Stanford to build a powerhouse out west - building something with a great lady out in Palo Alto - sounded good to her. And Tara's program came roaring to life! Katy Steding and Trisha Stevens said yes. Then, Julie Zeilstra and Val Whiting said yes. You know the rest of the story.  

Sort of like Adia telling Aari she was leaving Washington and going down to Arizona for her first Head Coaching job to build a program in the desert - it sounded good. Let's build something, together! 

Kelly was hoping Rennia Davis would become her Aari McDonald, but Rennia was just too inconsistent. So, she's still looking. 

This season, The Lady Vols are ranked #2 in the SEC and #15 in the nation. They signed a 6'-0" graduate transfer from Troy University named Alexus Dye who is a player that will be a challenge for Lexie to deal with. I doubt Kelly's kids are ready to go toe-to-toe with the Cardinal, but lord they'll try! Look for a starting lineup that looks like this:

Alexis Dye       6'-0"    Grad    Forward

Rae Burrell       6'-1"    Sr.       Guard

Tamari Key       6'-6"    Jr.       Center

Marta Suarez     6'-2"    So.      Forward

Jordan Horston  6'-2"    Jr.        Guard 

This will be a great test for both teams! And it will be perfect preparation for the battle that lies ahead the next week in Columbia, South Carolina.   

GO STANFORD!! LET'S MAKE THIS THE BEST ROAD TRIP IN YEARS!! 

 

THESE TORTOISES CAN OUTRUN MOST HARES! IF YOU DON'T FEEL LIKE RUNNIN - DON'T PLAY'EM!

On Saturday November 27 we play Maryland in the Thanksgiving                           Tournament in The Bahamas. They have all their starters back from last season, when they led the nation in scoring with an average of 91 points per game. They ended the season ranked #9 after losing to the Longhorns in the Sweet Sixteen. I recounted Vic Schaefer's brilliant defensive strategy in a previous blog piece. Texas held Maryland to 61 points - thirty points below their season average. In the NCAA 2021 preseason rankings Stanford is #3 and Maryland is #4.  

In the Big 10 Tournament in March, they thoroughly dismantled Iowa in every respect. In World War II the Poles actually used their cavalry to try and stop Hitler's Wehrmacht and their Blitzkrieg warfare. I was reminded of that mismatch in the first five minutes of the Big Ten Championship game. Iowa was missing and Maryland was rebounding, which led to a three or four person fast break, and either a layup or a wide-open three pointer off the break. They hit their first nine shots. Iowa looked like the Polish cavalry. By the time their defense got down the floor - Maryland had scored and was running back on defense. Sort of the reverse of the tortoise and the hare.

The score at the end of 90 seconds was 13 to 5 and by the end of the first quarter it was 30 to 18 and it got worse from there.

My point here is that Brenda has got these girls revved up to a fever pitch and they love running and winning big. For the Terrapins the shot clock is irrelevant. They run and shoot fast - there aren't many passes. Everybody can shoot and everyone can dribble drive and they aren't shy about either. Who needs passing?

So, how do we stop this herd of blitzturtles? 

Defense, defense, defense - rebound, rebound, rebound and then, we  outrun'em and outshoot'em. If we go into this game with tired legs from our battle with South Florida the day before - we'll look like Iowa and get shellacked. We have to be loaded with energy, quickness, and speed. Nobody drives our lane to an uncontested layup. No Terrapin gets an open three ever. Chloe Bibby hit three out of four in the first four minutes with no one near her. Mimi Collins hit two out of three against no defense.

You've got to be totally ready for this bunch of gunners from the opening tip. We'll probably see a starting lineup like this:

Ashley Owusu      6'-0"    Jr.     Strong, nimble point guard.

Diamond Miller    6'-3"   Jr.     Quick, agile leaper.

Chloe Bibby          6'-1"  Grad  Lethal shooter.

Katie Benzan         5'-6"  Grad Top 3 Pt. % shooter in Div 1 @ 50%.

Mimi Collins         6'-3"   Jr.     Shooter. Rebounder.     

Another important opportunity to show the WBB world that we're the defending NCAA champions. 

GO CARDINAL! WE CAN DO THIS!