Clay Kallam Picks ND to Win It All This Year

#1
Putbacks

Putbacks

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#1
Writing for Slam magazine, Kallam picks the Lady Vols 3rd behind Notre Dame and Connecticut, with Notre Dame projected to win it all. To me, Connecticut appears to be the favorite with all it has returning.

Also, Stanford appears misplaced behind Penn St. and Dayton. Stanford should be fine with Orrange at the point, Ogwumike inside, several shooters, and at least 7 players on the roster listed at 6-3 or taller.

Link:

SLAM ONLINE | » Women’s NCAA Preview
 
#4
#4
If we can get to Nashville will be a great environment for our team. We would have a shot with a lot of Vol fans in the arena.
 
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#5
#5
Orange Maniac said:
ND won't be close this year. I see them falling a bit after losing Diggins.
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Diggins, of course, will be a loss. To me, Diggins main value was as a team leader. She wasn't as great a player as she seemed to be. Perhaps her lack of star power in the WNBA points this out.

But don't underestimate the returning players and new recruits. Much of Diggins and the teams success last year had to do with McBride, Anchowa and Loyd. Plus the incoming freshmen lead by Reimer could be a force. Also, their coaching is top notch.

It would have been better for Tennessee's chances if the NCAA finals were held in Nashville three years from now instead of this season.
 
#6
#6
I'm not saying ND will fall off the map. They are one of the premier teams in women's BB, but I don't see them making it to the final four. I see elite 8 for them but they could sneak into the final four. UCONN has the best player in the game right now in my opinion, but I think UT could make some noise if Simmons keeps her head on straight. I expect UCONN to take it all myself unless Mercedes comes in and is ready for college ball. I suspect she will need time to develop but we can hope she is a quick study.
 
#7
#7
Muffett McGraw is, in my opinion, the best coach in the game. She beats UT and Ct. with less talent--that is great coaching. That's not to say that she doesn't have talent--Diggins was super and they have a lot of other good players--but in terms of talent they are a notch below Ct. and even us, but we saw what ND did to us last year. Simple post picks all day for layups and we could defend it.
 
#9
#9
armchair said:
Muffett McGraw is, in my opinion, the best coach in the game. She beats UT and Ct. with less talent--that is great coaching. That's not to say that she doesn't have talent--Diggins was super and they have a lot of other good players--but in terms of talent they are a notch below Ct. and even us, but we saw what ND did to us last year. Simple post picks all day for layups and we could defend it.
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She is a good coach but I don't think she is the best coach out there. If she was her record wouldn't be like 3 & 20 against us or something close to that. She really only started beating UT and UCONN with Diggins. She is in the top 5 or so. I'm ready for some BB and it's just around the corner. GO LADY VOLS!!
 
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#10
#10
armchair said:
Muffett McGraw is, in my opinion, the best coach in the game. She beats UT and Ct. with less talent--that is great coaching. That's not to say that she doesn't have talent--Diggins was super and they have a lot of other good players--but in terms of talent they are a notch below Ct. and even us, but we saw what ND did to us last year. Simple post picks all day for layups and we could defend it.
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If she isn't the best, Muffett is right up there. In the past, she's done well with lesser talent. Now, she's getting excellent players, so I expect her to do even better. Holly is no match for Muffett. We'll see if Tennessee's talent can overcome the coaching weakness.
 
#11
#11
Convoluted said:
If she isn't the best, Muffett is right up there. In the past, she's done well with lesser talent. Now, she's getting excellent players, so I expect her to do even better. Holly is no match for Muffett. We'll see if Tennessee's talent can overcome the coaching weakness.
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I'm glad people know exactly how strong of a coach Holly is with only one year at the helm. Muffett has the experience as HC, I'll give you that, but the book has not been written on Holly yet. I like what I've seen so far. She will only get better as time goes along and she gets more comfortable in her role. Recruiting is going to even out in the years to come, so coaching is going to become more important down the road. I think we will be O.K. It's going to be interesting to find out.
 
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#12
#12
This just in...

It's great to be a TENNESSEE VOL, and a LADYVOL is even BETTER!

all others are just fodder.

gule
 
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#13
#13
gule said:
This just in...

It's great to be a TENNESSEE VOL, and a LADYVOL is even BETTER!

all others are just fodder.

gule
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well said :hi:

I'm damn ready for the mighty Lady Vols to take the court and kick some butt :clapping:

and where are you hiding at Sly ?
 
#14
#14
This has been the LOOONGESST off/pre-season/waiting fer some TN. bball, UCONN sucks period of ALL TIME!!!!

START THE DAMN SEASON NOW!!!!!
 
#15
#15
gule said:
This has been the LOOONGESST off/pre-season/waiting fer some TN. bball, UCONN sucks period of ALL TIME!!!!

START THE DAMN SEASON NOW!!!!!
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it has for sure, but there is a exhibition game on Nov 4th i think
 
#16
#16
Diggins was much more than 1/5th of the team. I expect they'll be an elite 8 but no greater.
 
#18
#18
Smallvol#1 said:
Mule, not to be off topic, but can you tell me why the Lady Vols are only playing one exhibition game this year? Thanks.
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I've looked around and can't find a reason ,after a short google search,to be honest i have no idea and didn't realize it till i seen your post

if somebody else knows,please post as to why please,it could be an attempt at keeping the players healthy ,but that is just a guess on my part
 
#19
#19
and welcome to VolNation.com Smallvol#1,it is all ways good to have a Lady Vols fan on board :hi:
 
#21
#21
armchair said:
Muffett McGraw is, in my opinion, the best coach in the game. She beats UT and Ct. with less talent--that is great coaching. That's not to say that she doesn't have talent--Diggins was super and they have a lot of other good players--but in terms of talent they are a notch below Ct. and even us, but we saw what ND did to us last year. Simple post picks all day for layups and we could defend it.
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McGraw is certainly a top tier coach, but she falls short of being the "best" coach in WCBB. While ND has pretty much owned UConn for the last 2 years (except when it counted) their record is 11-30 against UConn. Prior to that her record vs UConn was a dismal 5-27. Her personal coaching stats also fall short when compared to Auriemma. 1 NC vs 8 and 5 FF vs 14. She has won 714 games in 31 years compared to Auriemma's 834 wins in
28 years.
 
#22
#22
brassie said:
McGraw is certainly a top tier coach, but she falls short of being the "best" coach in WCBB. While ND has pretty much owned UConn for the last 2 years (except when it counted) their record is 11-30 against UConn. Prior to that her record vs UConn was a dismal 5-27. Her personal coaching stats also fall short when compared to Auriemma. 1 NC vs 8 and 5 FF vs 14. She has won 714 games in 31 years compared to Auriemma's 834 wins in
28 years.
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of Geno's CT. teams. In recent years ND's talent has got stronger and McGraw has beaten Geno. Geno and McGraw are the two best coaches in the game. Geno is like PS except he knows how to coach team offense.
 
#23
#23
Geno is a lot like Darth Vader, too, except Vader knows how to recruit ethically.
 
#24
#24
Geno recruits like many of the men coaches have done for years and similar to even more football coaches. Recently it was reported that only 8 percent of the UCONN men's players had graduated over a five year period.

I do believe that recently his success has allowed him to stay within the lines more. And time will tell if the best players continue to come to UConn when they are in a second tier conference.

And I definitely believe he is an excellent coach and motivator of his team.
 
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