Preseason Basketball Favorites

Okay, so C and R are in a bit of a lull, a daze, if you will. Still partway shell shocked from Stanford’s final four loss, and half-way dreaming of November yet hoping for warm weather soon so we can plant our tomatoes.

So imagine our surprise and, well, excitement, when we saw a preseason women’s college basketball ranking! Bold and brave move by Charlie Creme, ESPN specialist. He predicts the top 25 teams for next season.

C and R get down to business. We instantly scan for the Stanford “S”. There we are, number five. He mentions the “new order” trio of Nneka, Chiney and Toni (Ogwumikes and Kokenis). Yes, C and R agree, but what about the other two spots? He gives us a glimpse by flashing a freshmen’s name, Amber Orrange. (And no, that is not another one of our  infamous typos, it is really how her last name is spelled, thank you very much, which is a cruel trick to play on us typing challenged, and oh, my spell check is going to hate me for the next four years).

So, anyhoo, fifth. Now that’s out of the way, lets take a peekie-weekie at who or whom he has in first. Baylor!? Didn’t Texas A & M prove them to be defeatable? And speaking of the reigning champs Texas A & M, he has them fourth, one above Stanford, and UConn, hee hee sixth, one below Stanford. Hee hee again, proving UConn was very Maya-Moore-heavy last year. Okay, okay, we’re feelin’ ya dog, to quote the young people, but who is second and third? Tennessee and Notre Dame. Okay, we’ll give you Notre Dame who made it to the championship game and still has Skylar Diggins coming back, but Tennessee!? Tennessee, the same team that lost in the elite eight? Tennessee, the team that just lost Kelly Cain and freshmen Lauren Avant? Second?

Wait, what was that about two players leaving Pat Summit’s program? Mechelle Voepel reports red-shirted Kelley Cain will forego her final season of eligibility at UT. She is set to get her degree this spring and her knee is just not up to going another year. MV always says the freshman is leaving because “things didn't click this season in Knoxville.” Hmmm, seems like it will be hard for Tennessee to stay in the top three. (Incidentally, Mechelle also agrees with Baylor as the early number one team for next year, darn it).

Well, it was fun to daydream about women’s basketball, even if only fleetingly. Who’s in you preseason top ten?