2024 TRANSFER TRACKER

[LV4L]

The playing field is even. I am certain that the pre-season rankings will not hold at the start of the 2024-2025 season.

Danny White despite having remarkable success across the board seems to have find some unworldly good fortune, hiring Coach Caldwell and giving her not only her best roster ever before the portal but in addition having the elite resources available through NIL to secure the top SEC portal class in a month was an outstanding move.

Four P5 commits with starter experience is unheard of. Tennessee hired one of the best young women basketball coaches in the country and the program with arguably the greatest tradition of all-time has been buzzing since the beginning of the off-season.

With the Vol Club signings the new era
of WBB has arrived in Knoxville.

Film breakdown coming! Game analysis of Alyssa Latham, Lazaria Spearman, Ruby Whitehorn, and Samara Spencer today.

Great post... thanks

 

[Kenja]

The NCAA should be shut down. Period.

People keep referring to the NCAA like its some separate entity from the schools. It's literally the schools themselves. it's rules got in the way of maximizing money for the football powers. They wanted a money laundering distributer like the NCAA basketball tournaments is. No complaints there. The CFP's are the result. There will always be some bureaucracy to distribute the money. Whatever its called. But all that money ripped away the veneer of "student athletes" and "amateurism". They could have found plenty of kids and their parents who don't believe $100,000+ in tuition over 4 years is exploitation. But they decided to get their revenue out of these kids by becoming a minor league for the NFL and NBA. The NBA "one and done" rule is an abomination.

They'll kill the golden goose because college football especially is a regional sport. The NFL model will not work. No matter how much the conferences cannibalize each other.

Rutgers vs USC on a Friday night for example. Competing against high school football. And then will come the shedding of schools that don't draw tv eyeballs.

 

[creekdipper]

You have to be Mr.Caldwell

The hungry is real.

 

[House|RockyTop]

Great post... thanks

Facts.
GBO.

 

[Rooster1]

I’m looking forward to our games next season. Should be some good ones between UT and South Carolina.

South Carolina gonna be brining a different look without a big center in the middle for the first time in a long time.

Gonna unleash Fulwiley on the perimeter and try to get it up and down quicker?

Fulwiley is going to play much more this season. She wants to start, I don’t know how CDS doesn’t start her unless she convinces her that being the 6th man of the year with starter minutes is a worthy sophomore pursuit for someone with her talents. I know Staley would ideally like to start Hall in her senior season, but likely Hall will be the 6th man in this situation as Fulwiley is almost certainly going to be the leading scorer on the team.

If Fulwiley does start, that means SC is going to a 3 guard lineup since both Raven and Pao Pao will be starters as well. When those three were on the court at the same time last season SC played up tempo fast break style BB, which is likely again this coming season, esp with KC now gone. Against UT I would expect one of the fastest paced games of the year with both squads running at full speed. It will be highly entertaining to watch.

 

[Peas29]

Nothing wrong with that actually, that’s probably where I would have them if I made a poll.

And it would make absolutely no sense just like last season

 

[DarkPhoenix]

And it would make absolutely no sense just like last season

It does make sense,any team can win with luck like people say ln here, injuries happen to top players to give an easier path, and the refs help out a certain team as well. Hopefully none of those things happen again this year.

 

[Rooster1]

It does make sense,any team can win with luck like people say ln here, injuries happen to top players to give an easier path, and the refs help out a certain team as well. Hopefully none of those things happen again this year.

For it to make sense from a logical point of view, you would have to be saying there are five other teams with a better roster/staff combo than SC currently has. There are ten McDonald's All Americans on the current roster. The staff has 3 NC's. You could choose to place them 6th in a preseason poll, but you would not be using logic, rather you would be using emotion.

 

[House|RockyTop]

For it to make sense from a logical point of view, you would have to be saying there are five other teams with a better roster/staff combo than SC currently has. There are ten McDonald's All Americans on the current roster.

High School awards/accolades are watered down.

How many AAs were on Iowa’s roster? NC State? Utah?

Aneesah Morrow LSU’s best or 2nd best player this past season out of HS was not an AA.

Arguably the best newcomer
Alyssa Latham alongside Georgia Amoore in the SEC this season was not an AA.

All this talk about HS AAs, talent, super teams, etc tells me folks are quick to forget what happened with LSU last off-season.

The best thing that happened for SC this past season was they stayed healthy. Several teams including Tennessee did not. Tennessee on the court proved SC was very much beatable with their AA roster.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

For it to make sense from a logical point of view, you would have to be saying there are five other teams with a better roster/staff combo than SC currently has. There are ten McDonald's All Americans on the current roster. The staff has 3 NC's. You could choose to place them 6th in a preseason poll, but you would not be using logic, rather you would be using emotion.

My top 5 would be this, and I think they are better as of now, and I’m using logic actually.
1.USC
2.UCLA
3.Notre Dame
4.UCONN
5.Texas

 

[chuckiepoo]

My top 5 would be this, and I think they are better as of now, and I’m using logic actually.
1.USC
2.UCLA
3.Notre Dame
4.UCONN
5.Texas

So you’ve got Sakerlina no better then 6?

 

[DarkPhoenix]

So you’ve got Sakerlina no better then 6?

I’m assuming Rori Harmon is healthy but if not I could put Sc 5th.

 

[House|RockyTop]

Games film analysis on schedule today: Miami vs North Carolina, Miami vs Syracuse, Syracuse vs Alabama, Syracuse vs UCONN, Arkansas vs Alabama, Virginia Tech #7 vs Clemson 2022-2023.

The 2024-2025 portal class that Coach Caldwell, Coach Lazo, and Coach Tubner signed this off-season could become one of the best not only in the SEC but WBB in the portal era.

The quality of the four P5 signees under CKC solidified the LVs roster.

Keeping Kaniya Boyd and Talaysia Cooper two redshirt 2024 signees was huge.

From the film analysis, Ruby Whitehorn as a freshman was dynamic in their 2022-2023 win over Top #10 Virginia Tech.

Ruby made athletic plays as just a freshman against Coach Brooks VT team and F Soule that UT needed during the Sweet 16 game a few years ago.

Whitehorn, Talaysia Cooper, Lazaria Spearman, and Alyssa Latham are the athletic players that UT has needed to add around Puckett, Darby, Wells, and Spear since losing Jordan Horston.

They are players that fit the Jordan Horston mold of athleticism.

Speaking of Latham, in the Miami vs Syracuse game she guarded 6’6 Oldacre and 6’4 Spearman.

Latham looks and plays bigger than her listed height. She dominated Alabama to the point they had to take Barker off of her and the success she had against ND was impressive.

Spearman might be underrated to start the season but watching UT play teams like Ole Miss, Texas A&M, LSU, Vandy, Auburn, and Texas will make fans appreciate Spearman once SEC play starts.

Spearman can matchup with Scott at OM, Smith at LSU, Feagin/Watkins at SC, and any forward/center at Texas.

Samara Spencer has always been the best athlete on Arkansas’s team as the PG.

She was surrounded by shooters. Scott was more of a scorer and shooter than athlete.

At UT, Spencer will be surrounded by more talent with less pressure to score and have to breakdown the defense in one on one situations to create offense.

Spencer, Spear, Darby, Puckett, and Wells will benefit tremendously from this transfer portal class.

With the film I’ve watched, UT has improved as a team. Staying healthy, building chemistry in the off-season, and the non-conference schedule are the key factors to winning a lot of games and finding a spot in the Top 25. Tennessee could climb the rankings this season.

With a strong start, this Tennessee would be on pace to end the 2024-2025 season as a Top 3 SEC team after finishing 2023-2024 as a Top 5 SEC team beating Oklahoma and Alabama.

 

[superfly]

I’m assuming Rori Harmon is healthy but if not I could put Sc 5th.

We were No. 6 last year before we went undefeated and won the national championship. You might want to rethink that one....lol....We only lost Cardosa and added Dauda.....but 5 teams got better than us? Wow...I will even say it backwards...woW.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

We were No. 6 last year before we went undefeated and won the national championship. You might want to rethink that one....lol....We only lost Cardosa and added Dauda.....but 5 teams got better than us? Wow...I will even say it backwards...woW.

The ranked number 1 team doesn’t mean u will win, and I already gave my reasons a team could win, and that applies to last year as well.

 

[Rooster1]

We were No. 6 last year before we went undefeated and won the national championship. You might want to rethink that one....lol....We only lost Cardosa and added Dauda.....but 5 teams got better than us? Wow...I will even say it backwards...woW.

You forgot to mention SC also added Joyce Edwards........

 

[House|RockyTop]

I’m going to watch a few more games today.. the same theme continues to stand out. Defense, athleticism, rebounding, and ball handling has been significantly upgraded via the four P5 signees Spencer, Latham, Spearman, annd Whitehorn and the 2024 redshirt signees Kaniya Boyd and former McD AA Talaysia Cooper.

Note: Ruby Whitehorn former McD AA freshman performance against #7 Virginia Tech a few years ago was elite!
GBO.

 

[xtpsrh08123]

My top 5 would be this, and I think they are better as of now, and I’m using logic actually.
1.USC
2.UCLA
3.Notre Dame
4.UCONN
5.Texas

Why are people putting UCONN ahead of SC lol...like its baffling SC drilled them by 30 without Cardoso and the EXACT same team is returning plus more lol . So weird to see these awkward rankings.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

Why are people putting UCONN ahead of SC lol...like it’s baffling SC drilled them by 30 without Cardoso and the EXACT same team is returning plus more lol . So weird to see these awkward rankings.

last year doesn’t mean anything, and UCONN had injuries. But my reasoning is they both have talented rosters but UCONN has the best player, for me when u walk on the court with the best player on the floor, that holds a lot of weight with me. Everyone has their own way of thinking.

 

[chuckiepoo]

last year doesn’t mean anything, and UCONN had injuries. But my reasoning is they both have talented rosters but UCONN has the best player, for me when u walk on the court with the best player on the floor, that holds a lot of weight with me. Everyone has their own way of thinking.

Not sure Paige is completely back.

 

[VolBalls33]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. However, that opinion can be roasted or laughed at. Not having SC as a top 5 team preseason is almost criminal to actually voice that opinion.

 

[brittannica]

Not sure Paige is completely back.

If that’s true then yikes for everyone. The fact that she was playing the four last season and was so effective was very impressive. I’ll also admit that I’m perhaps biased because I really admire how she’s persevered through her injuries.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. However, that opinion can be roasted or laughed at. Not having SC as a top 5 team preseason is almost criminal to actually voice that opinion.

Who would u take off my list?

 

[VolBalls33]

Definitely a problem with hitting. Couldn't deliver in the clutch game after game.

Big name players didn't come through like they did last season. This was the year
UT should have gone deep in the WS. We'll never have the pitching again like this year.

Who would u take off my list?

SC went undefeated and won the title, the question should be why isn't SC on your list to begin with?

 

[DarkPhoenix]

SC went undefeated and won the title, the question should be why isn't SC on your list to begin with?

They won last year and I gave my reasons why I think they won. Last year has nothing to do with this year, Was Kiki on USC last year? Was Rori Harmon healthy and playing for Texas, was Layla Phelia on Texas, Was Janiah Barker on UCLA. I didn’t list everyone but u get what I’m saying, last year has nothing to do with this year.