A closer look at LCH Pac-10 poll
Here’s a closer look at the Pac-10 preseason rankings and why LCH voted the our poll the way we did.
- Stanford. There looks to be a huge gap between the Cardinal and everybody else. Who’s going to compete with the Cardinal inside, who is going to be able to win if they can’t? I wouldn’t be surprised by at least 16 conference wins.
- UCLA. A surprise choice? I don’t think so. The difference between the Bruins and Cal and ASU is overall experience. And Jasmine Dixon will make an interesting addition come the holidays. Nikki Caldwell is building something here. But this No. 2 spot is where the biggest battle is going to take place.
- Arizona State. The Sun Devils and Cal are probably interchangeable here. Both have many new faces. ASU gets a slight edge because their experience is more balanced inside and out. Still, this is a new day for ASU and Charli Turner Thorne.
- Cal is so young, with six freshmen, and while Alexis Gray-Lawson, Natasha Vital and Lauren Greif are a formidable, experienced backcourt trio, the lack of experience in the paint is a big concern, especially if Rama N’diaye isn’t ready to go right away.
- USC. The Women of Troy should end up at the back end of this top-half glut as Michael Cooper gets a feel for his team and tries to figure out how to replace Camille LeNoir in the backcourt. Whether Jacki Gemelos can play and contribute will be a factor.
- Oregon State. The Beavers also have a lot of new faces and they will likely have a great non-conference record, but this seems to be about the right spot for LaVonda Wagner’s team.
- Oregon. Paul Westhead’s fast-break system is going to surprise enough people to give the Ducks a little momentum.
- Washington State. The coaches voted them No. 6 on faith and a nice backcourt with sophomores April Cook and Jazmine Perkins. And Katie Madison, the Idaho transfer is a nice addition. But I need proof. Still, the Cougars could be a surprise, the best case a top of the bottom half finish.
- Arizona. So much turnover on the roster here. Even a talent like Ify Ibekwe can’t compensate for that.
- Washington. Tia Jackson’s make-or-break season may have an unhappy ending for the Huskies. There’s not enough talent here to make a big move.
5 responses so far
I really don’t know if Tia Jackson is a good coach or not, but the transition from Daugherty to Jackson was not handled very well. Daugherty had a good recruiting class of five freshmen coming in, but they weren’t a good match with Jackson’s style of coaching. I don’t know whose fault that is, whether Jackson is just unreasonable or the kids weren’t prepared for such a dramatic shift, but she lost most of that class. Despite that, I’m not sure I believe that WSU will really be much better than UW. The addition of Regina Rogers should give the Huskies a rebounding and scoring presence on the low block, taking some of the pressure off the backcourt, which had to carry the team last year. Neither team is going anywhere near the postseason this year; they’ll both be in the bottom half of the Pac-10.
As for the Cardinal, I’d be a little surprised at only 16 wins in conference. 18 wins is certainly achievable, and 17 has been pretty normal for them the last few years. Short of a flu epidemic, nobody in conference is going to beat them in Palo Alto, and nobody’s going to be favored to beat them on the road. Cal and ASU have lost too many key parts from last year, and USC and UCLA aren’t there yet. I am glad to see Nikki Caldwell down at UCLA, though; I really didn’t like Kathy Olivier’s program.
Do none of Cal’s 6-3 freshman have a chance to step in quickly for Hampton and Walker down low?
I don’t think Tia Jackson has been much of a improvement over Daugherty, I think she is on borrowed time and this will be her last season at UDub.
Can any of Cal’s low post freshman players step in quickly and replace Hampton & Walker, that is the key question.I don’t see it happening but we’ll know early when they match up against Baylor on Nov 22.
Pac 10 this year is all about Stanford, I would not be surprise to see them run the table and finish 18-0 in conference but they could have as many as 4 losses out of conference
Stanford’s only question mark is how well JJ Hones plays returning from her 2nd ACL surgery in two years!
ASU’s key question mark is who will play the PG position, with Dymond Simon redshirting this season, she leaves a void at that position.ASU’s lost 5 players from last year’s team but really the only key loss besides Simon was Bri January,all the others are easily replaceable especially in the low post.ASU’s new players who could have a impact are incoming freshman Deja Mann, Mann is a very good shooter who could be one of the top freshman in the Pac 10 this season.
Tenaya Watson led Central Arizpna to a undefeated season last year winning the Nat JC championship.Watson scored 30 pts in the championship game when she was voted MVP of tournament.CAC defeated undefeated Jefferson College who were led by Nat JC POY Danielle Adams who will be attending Texas A&M.
UCLA returns some veteran players but these same players have not proven they can win in the Pac 10, maybe they can turn it around this year but that is a huge question mark for me. I just don’t see them doing it, I see them doing the same thing they do every year, lose to teams they should easily beat!
I’m not doubting the ability of Cal’s freshman to step in quickly, but I almost always doubt the ability of freshman post players to cope with experienced quality posts. With Appel, Pederson, Ogwumike, and their own 6-3 freshman post in Tinkle, Stanford’s got enough post depth to overwhelm most teams in the country.
Stanford has 8 players 6-2 or taller, they certainly have depth in the low post but really
how many of them are going to be in the rotation, minutes are going to be hard to come
by.I still say Stanford weakness will be in the backcourt not the frontcourt!
Stanford has a demanding schedule playing teams like Rutgers in NJ, you know they are
looking for some revenge, they also play Duke, Tenn and UConn, those are tough games!