Naismith POY semifinalists

[Plebe]

@TheFarmFan will be pleased to see both Jones and Brink on this list

 

[dabears17]

Good to see two players from Stanford on the list!

 

[TheFarmFan]

@TheFarmFan will be pleased to see both Jones and Brink on this list

Kind of striking that the school with three No. 1 recruits, a No. 2 recruit, and two No. 5 recruits doesn't have a single player on this list. I realize injuries account for part of that, but again, not sure how Geno is is in the running for COY with that kind of talent pool and the W/L they have.

 

[Plebe]

Kind of striking that the school with three No. 1 recruits, a No. 2 recruit, and two No. 5 recruits doesn't have a single player on this list. I realize injuries account for part of that, but again, not sure how Geno is is in the running for COY with that kind of talent pool and the W/L they have.

Yikes, can't just take the win, huh?

Maybe write an indignant letter to The Athletic, where some misguided staff member is perpetuating UConn media bias.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Yikes, can't just take the win, huh?

Maybe write an indignant letter to The Athletic, where some misguided staff member is perpetuating UConn media bias.

Take the win? Tara didn't get a single vote. I'm very confident if you asked Geno, there's no way in hell he'd say he should be in the conversation for COY. There's been a lot of bad luck that has befallen the Huskies this season, for sure, and I'm on record all over the place for suggesting they should be seeded well above their record in light of their potential. But the idea that Geno has in any way coached up the talent pool he recruited is just not demonstrable, so I really don't understand how anyone thinks he'd even be a finalist for COY.

ETA: Geno wasn't even his own conference's coach of the year (a coach whom, I might add, also got no love from the Athletic). I find media bias narratives tiresome and don't generally buy into them, but in this case, I really would love to know what the rationale was for that vote!

 

[Plebe]

Congrats to all 10 of the players who made this semifinalist list. All of them are having outstanding seasons and are very deserving.

I personally would've liked to see Khayla Pointer on this list, but that doesn't detract from how deserving all these players are.

 

[SECbbfan24]

I personally would've liked to see Khayla Pointer on this list, but that doesn't detract from how deserving all these players are.

I don't think she is better than most of those listed but appreciate the kind gesture. She has always been very good but certainly has gotten much more recognition this year than any of her past four years. I think that comes from success as a team. Without that, its difficult to get much recognition. I believe Kim has called out the media many times this year for people not recognizing her enough. She will be sorely missed next year. Her coming back and the addition of Morris have made this season one of the most memorable ones since days the Fowles and Augustus.

 

[triaddukefan]

Two women from Greensboro (basically) .. great to see.

 

[Iluvacc2]

Two women from Greensboro (basically) .. great to see.

Cunane and Kitley?

 

[bballnut90]

Kind of striking that the school with three No. 1 recruits, a No. 2 recruit, and two No. 5 recruits doesn't have a single player on this list. I realize injuries account for part of that, but again, not sure how Geno is is in the running for COY with that kind of talent pool and the W/L they have.

To be fair, Paige definitely makes this list if she didn't miss 2/3 of the season. Do many people consider Geno in the COY race though? He didn't make the Naismith list where Tara did. I don't see anyway Geno is in the mix for COY....UCONN has faced a lot of injury adversity this season, but they just haven't had a strong season. It hasn't been a bad coaching job considering the unpredictability of lineups each night, but it isn't a COY caliber coaching job either. The award looks like it's Mulkey's to lose but worth noting, Naismith has put together a really good list of finalists here. Glad to see people like Jeff Walz, Nicki Collen, and Kim Barnes-Arico get deserved credit too.

 

[triaddukefan]

Cunane and Kitley?

yes

 

[VA Huskie]

I think the game's no longer worth the candle on this one, but my elliptical reference was to this thread about the Athletic's end-of-year awards where one of the staff gave Geno a vote for COY. It struck me as odd given the season that UConn's had and even moreso where (for very good injury-related reasons, as you note) none of the highly-recruited players are at the top of the season-ending awards lists. I sometimes just wonder what the heck these media folks are thinking - equally so with some of the AP poll rankings!

None of the awards or projections will matter when we win the National Championship. Geno did very well in taking the team he had available to where they are now… and where I think they will end up.

 

[cancontent]

I think the game's no longer worth the candle on this one, but my elliptical reference was to this thread about the Athletic's end-of-year awards where one of the staff gave Geno a vote for COY. It struck me as odd given the season that UConn's had and even moreso where (for very good injury-related reasons, as you note) none of the highly-recruited players are at the top of the season-ending awards lists. I sometimes just wonder what the heck these media folks are thinking - equally so with some of the AP poll rankings!

These types of newspaper polls are always going to have the odd homer vote. It's common in every sport. And it's one vote out of several, which further proves that the vote has its flaws.

In the end, The Athletics' poll isn't the national award. The Naismith COY is and Vandeveer is a semi-finalist getting the credit for the team's performance this season.

 

[cancontent]

Very true. And to be clear, I don't particularly think Tara deserves it either (I would put Mulkey front and center and probably tip it to Roberts of Utah in the PAC-12 because she's done a heck of a turnaround in a year's time). I've just generally found the Athletic's coverage is pretty slanted away from the PAC-12 (through neglect/ignorance as much as bias) - note that there was not a single vote for a single PAC-12 coach - and it's unfortunate because there's not a lot of great reporting on WBB.

I didn't interpret your comments as such. Your comment about lack of PAC-12 coverage insight is valid from my view however.

I've heard this perspective with respect to West coast based teams for decades (NBA, NCAA, NHL, etc.). Not sure why it's such an issue nowadays when it's easier to get access to late games via streaming services.

 

[sun]

I'd like to see COY go to Jeff Judkins at BYU.
He probably won't win the NC but he'd benefit from the recognition.
BYU lost the conference tourney championship game but they only lost 3 games all season.
They beat Gonzaga twice but couldn't beat them the 3rd time.

 

[BobbyJ]

Kind of striking that the school with three No. 1 recruits, a No. 2 recruit, and two No. 5 recruits doesn't have a single player on this list. I realize injuries account for part of that, but again, not sure how Geno is is in the running for COY with that kind of talent pool and the W/L they have.

Not surprising to me since the award is based on what they did this year and not what they did in HS. Recruit rankings go out the window once they get to campus. And if Auriemma shouldn't be in the running for COY, why should Staley? She has a preseason #1 team. What did she do to be there? Maintain status quo?

 

[TheFarmFan]

Not surprising to me since the award is based on what they did this year and not what they did in HS. Recruit rankings go out the window once they get to campus. And if Auriemma shouldn't be in the running for COY, why should Staley. She has a preseason #1 team. What did she do to be there? Maintain status quo?

FWIW, I wouldn't put Staley in my top three either. I largely assess COY on the basis of what you do with what you have (though there definitely needs to be some credit for being able to recruit well). In that sense, that's why I lean towards coaches like Mulkey or, as I said, Lynn Roberts at Utah, who I think performed major turnaround jobs with relatively few nationally prominent players. Same reason I'd give it to folks like Adia Barnes, Scott Rueck, and Vic Schaefer in years' past. Each has taken teams that were nothing when they found them and rebuilt them from scratch.

 

[bballnut90]

Not surprising to me since the award is based on what they did this year and not what they did in HS. Recruit rankings go out the window once they get to campus. And if Auriemma shouldn't be in the running for COY, why should Staley? She has a preseason #1 team. What did she do to be there? Maintain status quo?

She's led her team to be the #1 team all season long. She wouldn't be my pick but I'd say that alone is enough to make you a deserved finalist (as Geno often was when UCONN was the #1 team most of the time).

 

[undersized]

FWIW, I wouldn't put Staley in my top three either. I largely assess COY on the basis of what you do with what you have (though there definitely needs to be some credit for being able to recruit well). In that sense, that's why I lean towards coaches like Mulkey or, as I said, Lynn Roberts at Utah, who I think performed major turnaround jobs with relatively few nationally prominent players. Same reason I'd give it to folks like Adia Barnes, Scott Rueck, and Vic Schaefer in years' past. Each has taken teams that were nothing when they found them and rebuilt them from scratch.

Utah finished 6th in the conference with no notable non-conference wins before upsetting an inconsistent Oregon team in the PAC-12 tournament. COY based on what exactly?

 

[TheFarmFan]

Utah finished 6th in the conference before upsetting an inconsistent Oregon team in the tournament. COY based on what exactly?

Roberts took a 5-16 team and turned it into a 20-11 team in a single season with hardly any nationally known players, while also taking her team to the conference finals, coaching her not-even-ESPN-100 recruit Gianna Kneepkens to PAC-12 freshman of the year, and leading Utah to its first NCAA bid in a decade. Seems like a pretty good coaching job if you ask me. I wouldn't put her ahead of Mulkey or Finley, but to me that's an example of good coaching.

 

[undersized]

Roberts took a 5-16 team and turned it into a 20-11 team in a single season with hardly any nationally known players, while also taking her team to the conference finals, coaching her not-even-ESPN-100 recruit Gianna Kneepkens to PAC-12 freshman of the year, and leading Utah to its first NCAA bid in a decade. Seems like a pretty good coaching job if you ask me. I wouldn't put her ahead of Mulkey or Finley, but to me that's an example of good coaching.

My point is, good season?, yes, COY?, no. As you said yourself, there are better candidates.

 

[cancontent]

My point is, good season?, yes, COY?, no. As you said yourself, there are better candidates.

But I think @TheFarmFan's point is that Roberts at least deserved to be in the conversation for what was accomplished. Win COY, no however what Utah accomplished by winning 15 more games than last season is still impressive

 

[Plebe]

Well, I guess it's a high compliment to the Naismith folks that no one wants to even argue about the semifinalist selections, and this thread has become a de facto COY debate thread.

 

[cancontent]

Well, I guess it's a high compliment to the Naismith folks that no one wants to even argue about the semifinalist selections, and this thread has become a de facto COY debate thread.

When you look at the list, where could there be an argument? Maybe an argument for Morrow, but she's being considered for DPOY.

Also, has a list come out for Freshman of the Year? I think there will be more to debate there than other categories.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Well, I guess it's a high compliment to the Naismith folks that no one wants to even argue about the semifinalist selections, and this thread has become a de facto COY debate thread.

LOL. To be fair, other than me and a few SCAR and NC State fans, there aren't a ton of folks around here who are fans of schools with players on that list. And all things considered, it's a hard list to take issue with, other than the absence of Pointer.