Charlie Creme's Way-Too-Early Top 25

[hookshot]

Not unreasonable, for an initial stab, although ND has as many question marks as ourselves. Not unreasonable for Uconn to be given no or little credit for players who have never played yet (at this level). I think the real question that causes caution in pre-rankng Uconn is what will the real Azzi Fudd look like when she is stood back up. Is she physically back to where she once was, and has /will her game evolve to handle the dynamics of play beyond converting (at her usual 40 %) on wide open looks

 

[reelfan]

Charlie roll the dice.

 

[Bone Dog]

I get SC as #1. But Texas and ND don't belong at #2 and #3. Maybe LSU and UCLA... maybe. But UConn belongs somewhere in that scrum for the top 3.

This question of ranking recruiting classes is peculiar and not very meaningful.

• UConn's is obviously high up there with #1, 4, and 18 -- and Morgan should probably be ranked closer to Allie.
• Gottlieb at USC has signed a bunch of kids from the top 100 -- 6 altogether -- but only Smith and Heckel look like potential starters, and she needs those. Also, I have to wonder how long she'll be able to hang on to all those kids.
• SC's class looks second only to UConn's with Edwards, McDaniel and Tac.
• Duke has a solid freshmen class with Fournier, Roberson and Cotton.
• tOSU signed Cambridge, but it drops off after that.
• Texas looks good with Carlton and Lee and Preston.
• UCLA picked up Dudley and Cain
• Stanford's class looks unimpressive

I imagine a lot of the top teams will be hitting the portal hard.

 

[Zanzman]

He probably drafted this list before today's game, and maybe even before Strong's announcement.

Strong is mentioned in the article

 

[Bjbod]

Clark leaves and Iowa falls off the cliff.

Wow, what a hateful group based on emojis. They will be well down talent/experience wise, but the culture will live on.
I think they'll make the tournament next year, 2025-26 will be Top 20 again.

 

[David54]

From reading the article seems he rated them 4 th because he’s unsure how azzi Aubrey ,and Caroline will recover from injury. That seem reasonable. SC was ranked 6 th preseason right.
I still don’t get why it seems so many on the board seem so sure Jana will be a standout.

 

[Charliebball]

From reading the article seems he rated them 4 th because he’s unsure how azzi Aubrey ,and Caroline will recover from injury. That seem reasonable. SC was ranked 6 th preseason right.
I still don’t get why it seems so many on the board seem so sure Jana will be a standout.

If you've seen Jana play internationally, you'd have seen a very athletic and skilled 6'4" player with serious two-way potential........there are no guarantees that she will be a star from the get-go, but I'd say if she's healthy, she'll be a solid contributor at both ends of the court......add Ayanna who will hopefully return in good health and start to show the kind of player we all thought she'd be, an improving Ice and Ms. Strong who may be as skilled as any front court player in the country and that should be a pretty formidable group......

 

[hoopsfan22]

Wow, what a hateful group based on emojis. They will be well down talent/experience wise, but the culture will live on.
I think they'll make the tournament next year, 2025-26 will be Top 20 again.

I wouldn't worry about it some people can be jerks. Iowa did better than UConn the last couple of seasons, and now they have made a name for themselves and will attract some top recruits.

 

[asuwish]

He didn't mention a few players, but I think Dukes incoming class has two very talented bigs and I think they will be better then people think.

 

[uconnfan68]

The only thing he’s right about is that it’s way too early.

 

[oldhusky]

ESPN has not altered its ranking yet, but they will shortly.

When they update their individual and class rankings I think Morgan should move up some, and Allie has been listed by Prospect Nation as 6-1, so it will be interesting to see if ESPN keeps her at 5-10, and I am also hoping to see Kellis move up some in the 2025 class ranks, and hope to see Gandy make the list at her height listed elsewhere as 6-6.

I hope she gets to play some AAU ball, get more exposure and see how the experts rank her in the class now.

 

[ME Husky Fan]

Clark leaves and Iowa falls off the cliff.

And so goes Bluder. No disrespect mind you but it’s like Arizona a few years back when they had McDOnald and they were anointing the coach out there and then…..

 

[Sluconn Husky]

When they update their individual and class rankings I think Morgan should move up some, and Allie has been listed by Prospect Nation as 6-1, so it will be interesting to see if ESPN keeps her at 5-10, and I am also hoping to see Kellis move up some in the 2025 class ranks, and hope to see Gandy make the list at her height listed elsewhere as 6-6.

I hope she gets to play some AAU ball, get more exposure and see how the experts rank her in the class now.

Ziebell is clearly several inches shorter than Cheli. If Cheli is 6-2 than Ziebell being 5-10ish seems right.

Would seem proper for Fisher to move up based on her performance last week.

 

[bballnut90]

South Carolina is the clear cut #1 if they don’t lose anyone to the portal. The quality of depth they have is just ridiculous. They have a very realistic shot at going undefeated in back to back seasons next year, and they're going to have another insane roster the following year.

Aside from SC, it’s a pretty open field. Texas has a great roster on paper and returns Harmon and brings in top recruits. UCONN has questions about health and post play, but on paper they're as good as anymore. Notre Dame also has a talented roster but they too have questions about post play and will need to figure out chemistry with Miles/Hidalgo both in the backcourt. LSU might have the best trio in the nation in Morrow/Johnson/Williams, but the rest of their roster has question marks. UCLA should be good, USC too as they build on Juju's great freshman year. Oregon State has a great roster coming back provided they don't lose more players to the portal. Other programs like Stanford, Ohio State, and NC State lose a lot but have stars returning. And then there are some up and coming programs looking to build on their season and get to the next level like Oklahoma, Iowa State and Duke.


It's an open field, lots of portal movement is bound to happen and it should shape up for an interesting offseason. I don't think anyone this year would've predicted that South Carolina would become a top 3 point shooting team and go undefeated after graduating 5 starters. No one would've predicted that LSU/UCONN would be 3 seeds in the tournament, or that NC State would make the Final Four. It's going to be a fun season and November can't get here soon enough.

 

[bballnut90]

And so goes Bluder. No disrespect mind you but it’s like Arizona a few years back when they had McDOnald and they were anointing the coach out there and then…..

Very different coaches and scenarios. Arizona was a flash in the pan that got hot and went on an unexpected tournament run in 2021 and has fallen back to mediocrity since then. Bluder has consistently had Iowa as a strong program for more than 2 decades despite rarely landing any high profile players. She's a much more proven coach than Barnes ever was and will likely have Iowa back as a solid program again even if there's a notable drop off next year. They develop talent well and build teams that have great chemistry.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Very different coaches and scenarios. Arizona was a flash in the pan that got hot and went on an unexpected tournament run in 2021 and has fallen back to mediocrity since then. Bluder has consistently had Iowa as a strong program for more than 2 decades despite rarely landing any high profile players. She's a much more proven coach than Barnes ever was and will likely have Iowa back as a solid program again even if there's a notable drop off next year. They develop talent well and build teams that have great chemistry.

The PAC 12 infusion into big10 really obscures things, but my guess is that Iowa would have been a postseason team in existing league next year. Just a hunch.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I feel like Texas went absolutely under the radar this year and adds as many notable pieces as anyone.

Should be a very intriguing year in the SEC as LSU will be good even if they don't have a big portal and Oklahoma apparently will return everyone as well.

 

[Founday21]

Ahh Charlie Crème didn’t waste any time! It’s only Vol. 1. Early motivation!

 

[hoopsnloops32]

South Carolina is the clear cut #1 if they don’t lose anyone to the portal. The quality of depth they have is just ridiculous. They have a very realistic shot at going undefeated in back to back seasons next year, and they're going to have another insane roster the following year.

Aside from SC, it’s a pretty open field. Texas has a great roster on paper and returns Harmon and brings in top recruits. UCONN has questions about health and post play, but on paper they're as good as anymore. Notre Dame also has a talented roster but they too have questions about post play and will need to figure out chemistry with Miles/Hidalgo both in the backcourt. LSU might have the best trio in the nation in Morrow/Johnson/Williams, but the rest of their roster has question marks. UCLA should be good, USC too as they build on Juju's great freshman year. Oregon State has a great roster coming back provided they don't lose more players to the portal. Other programs like Stanford, Ohio State, and NC State lose a lot but have stars returning. And then there are some up and coming programs looking to build on their season and get to the next level like Oklahoma, Iowa State and Duke.


It's an open field, lots of portal movement is bound to happen and it should shape up for an interesting offseason. I don't think anyone this year would've predicted that South Carolina would become a top 3 point shooting team and go undefeated after graduating 5 starters. No one would've predicted that LSU/UCONN would be 3 seeds in the tournament, or that NC State would make the Final Four. It's going to be a fun season and November can't get here soon enough.

To your point above it’s very much not an open field next year with South Carolina likely going undefeated back to back lol

 

[Sluconn Husky]

To your point above it’s very much not an open field next year with South Carolina likely going undefeated back to back lol

South Caolina should've lost to Tennessee. Careful about counting chickens.

 

[sno-cat]

You got it wrong again!

 

[UCTitleTown]

Staley has mastered the transfer portal like Hurley has, plus she's getting great recruits. It's going to be tough to unseat South Carolina as the top program in WCBB.

 

[Chet71]

Clark leaves and Iowa falls off the cliff.

I know plenty of posters on the Iowa board who were disappointed that Clark didn’t draw recruits to Iowa as they hoped

 

[LwrcasefaN]

And so goes Bluder. No disrespect mind you but it’s like Arizona a few years back when they had McDOnald and they were anointing the coach out there and then…..

Forgot about that. I didn't mean any disrespect. Just read the list and was wowed. Can't remember the last time a team that played for the championship was then projected outside the top 25 the next year.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

I know plenty of posters on the Iowa board who were disappointed that Clark didn’t draw recruits to Iowa as they hoped

Maybe that's coming, but who knows.