The UConn Women will begin their quest for a fourth consecutive national title this month. What better time to get the A Dime Back staff together, including our podcast producer Alex, to make some super well-informed predictions about the upcoming season. We did a similar exercise last year, and recently previewed the men’s season as well.
Best Quality
Peter Bard: Basketball ability. This is a joke, sort of, but it’s true. They’re just better than everyone else.
Tyler Wilkinson: Overwhelming talent. Specifically Stewart.
Meghan Bard: Being better than everyone else. Especially Stewie.
Russ Steinberg: The points. This team is going to score all of the points.
Alex Cohen: Being amazing in every way.
Worst Quality
Russ: Only being able to play together for one more year.
Other than that? It will be interesting to see how Geno manages the frontcourt. The A Dime Back email thread has discussed this a lot: Natalie Butler is the only true center on the team and she just had to sit for an entire year because she’s a transfer. We’ll see some interesting combinations this season, with Butler, Stewie, Morgan Tuck, Gabby Williams and freshman De’Janae Boykin.
Meghan: Front court depth is a little weak. There’s really only one true center, but the team has wings for days, and against the smaller teams they face in the AAC, it’s not going to be much of an issue.
Also, the fans have gotten kinda lame and very spoiled. Shape up, folks.
Tyler: Certainty at the center position. Stewart’s general awesomeness will allow Geno to play with a lot of different lineups, but they’ll have to count on Morgan Tuck to stay healthy and Natalie Butler to rebound and defend at a level similar to Kiah Stokes from a year ago.
Alex: Being amazing in every way.
Peter: I don’t have any concerns. There’s been talk about frontcourt depth, but Stewart and Tuck are returning, adding KLS and Butler, so there shouldn’t be any issues up front. There are plenty of ballhandlers and shooters, there’s more than enough rebounding, etc.
Ideal Starting Lineup
Meghan: MoJeff, Nurse, KLS, Stewie, Tuck (though Butler for KLS or Williams for KLS is also going to happen a lot and be great). Note: Collier is not a starter yet. Though she seems like a very nice person and a very good basketball player and will likely be an important player.
Peter: I’m a traditionalist, so I’d go Jefferson, Nurse, Stewart, Tuck, and Butler.
Alex: Stewie/Tuck/MoJeff/Lou Samuelson (I learned she likes to be called Lou…seriously)/Nurse.
Tyler: Jefferson, Nurse, Samuelson, Stewart, Tuck.
Russ: Can I put Napheesa Collier five times? No? OK:
G Mo-Jeff
G Kia Nurse
G/F KLS
F Stewie
F Tuck
Team Likely to Lose by Less Than 15 Points
Alex: [ed. note: Alex just submitted this pic from the movie “Commando.”]
Russ: South Carolina on the road. If you think for a second that Notre Dame is going to come into Gampel and lose by less than 15, you’re wrong.
Tyler: South Carolina, in Columbia on February 8th.
Meghan: Probably South Carolina, but they’re not actually likely to lose by less than 15, they’re just more likely than everyone else to lose by less than 15. So the chances of it happening are like 1% instead of .000000001%.
Peter: Hopefully Maryland. A prime-time, Monday night game at MSG against a major conference opponent would be a great showcase for a sport that is constantly bombarded with criticism about a lack of parity.
What team will UConn beat in the National Championship game?
Peter: Let’s go old-school here and guess Tennessee.
Russ: Tennessee because I want that to happen.
Alex: [ed. note: Alex just submitted this pic from the movie “True Lies.”]
Meghan: Because I love watching the National Championship with my buddy (and Notre Dame alum) Tubes, I say Notre Dame. He gets so salty. It’s hilarious and great fun for me.
Tyler: UConn plays Notre Dame (Gampel) and Maryland (MSG) this season. I don’t foresee them losing either game but it wouldn’t surprise me to see a rematch in Indianapolis (which is such a stupid place for the Final Four). I’ll embrace history repeating and say Notre Dame.
First and Second Team All-Americans
Alex: Stewie and MoJeff first team. Tuck and Nurse second team.
Tyler: First: Stewart and Jefferson. Second: toyed with putting Tuck here but I’ll say no one.
Meghan: First: Stewie, MoJeff. Second: Tuck, Nurse.
Russ: Stewie and Mo-Jeff on the first team. Morgan Tuck second team.
Peter: Stewart, Jefferson and Tuck on the first team, Nurse second.
Breakout Player
Russ: Courtney Ekmark. She’s healthy, has a year of experience under her belt and she’s really really good at basketball. She’ll catch fire in an early-season guarantee game and hit four or five threes and never look back.
Tyler: I think it’s Butler. Having to sit out her transfer year I think dulled some of the fan enthusiasm about her, but she averaged a double-double at Georgetown in 2014. She probably won’t get the usage necessary to match that this season but she’ll have a few big games and some big moments.
Meghan: Gotta go with KLS, who may turn out to be the best shooter UConn’s ever had (and after KML that’s saying A LOT), though shout out to Butler, who I expect to come on strong once she shakes off the rust. Girl’s got game.
Peter: Natalie Butler.
Alex: Lou.
Where Will Stewie Rank on the “Best All-Time” List?
Alex: It’s hard to say. I think she makes the all time starting 5, but the obvious intention of the question is to compare her to Maya and Diana. Instead of ducking the question like I want to, I’ll say just ahead of Maya, just behind Diana.
Russ: First. In a program that prides itself on championships, she’ll be the one with four of them. And four Final Four MOP titles. This is Stewie’s world and it’s extremely rude of all of us to even live in it.
Tyler: I hate this question because I have no idea what the answer is. Stewart won’t reach Maya Moore’s scoring numbers. But she’ll get closer than anyone else has. She’ll also climb into the top five in rebounds and top three in blocks this season. Of course, this is UConn, so it all comes down to trophies. If Stewart succeeds in winning a fourth consecutive national championship, how do you not give her the top spot? For me, it comes down to this: Diana Taurasi is the most amazing women’s player I’ve ever seen and I’m not sure any statistical factor can overcome that in my mind. Official guess: 1. Taurasi 2. Stewart 3. Moore
Peter: #2.
Meghan: This is so tough for me, because she probably will finish with four National Championships (please, I do not want to wear a Duke jersey ever, but especially not at Gampel). That has never happened before in the history of college basketball. She probably won’t pass Maya on the scoring sheet. But Diana Taurasi is the greatest women’s basketball player I’ve ever seen. We have history. Gotta go with my girl DT, then Stewie, then Maya. Though how ridiculously spoiled are we that we get to have the conversation about which of our three players is the greatest women’s college basketball players ever?
How Many Points Will KLS Actually Average?
Meghan: I’m going to say 12. I think she will get plenty of minutes, and she has a ridiculous three-point stroke. She’s also an incredible free-throw shooter. Not that they’ll play in like any close games, but that’s a nice thing to have. But she’s not going to get enough shots to get any higher than 12 a game with all the insane talent on this team.
P.S. I love that some of you thought that ridiculous 20+ points per game number was serious. You’re all so cute.
Peter: 8.8.
Alex: 11.
Russ: 11.5. Only reason it’s not higher is because so many different players can score and we can’t realistically say the team to score more than like 120-130 per game.
Tyler: We’re having a lot of fun with this question because — as you may have seen — Meghan predicted Samuelson to be basically the greatest player ever. Possibly as retribution for me insisting that we include those estimates in player preview pieces to generate reader controversy. It worked (suckers)! I think KLS will be very good and very soon but this team is too talented and too deep for her to get the shot attempts she’ll need to put up huge numbers. I’ll say 10.6 ppg with at least one 30+ point performance.
Stef Dolson Award: Team’s Greatest Badass
Russ: I’m going to hop on the KLS bandwagon right now while I can still get a seat and not move for the next four years.
Tyler: Gabby Williams.
Meghan: #MoJeff4Eva. Seriously, I love that girl so much. She is the most fun to watch.
Alex: Geno.
Peter: Morgan Tuck.
Great and/or Crazy Thing Geno Says Before the Tournament
Peter: “It’s not my fault that no one else is as good at this as I am. What am I supposed to do? Not try as hard? Do you know how much they’re paying me?”
Russ: “I’ve always loved Jim Calhoun. We’re great friends.”
Meghan: “Why do you keep asking me what I do with all my rings? Go ask Muffet. Oh, she only has one? Huh. How about that.”
Alex: “What? Did some jock steal this Colin McEnroe’s lunch money? What a hard-on.”
Tyler: Geno will disparage South Carolina coach Dawn Staley by insisting she ain’t shit compared to 90’s era Lobo.
Wild Card! Make Literally Any Other Prediction
Meghan: STEWIE WILL DUNK GODDAMNIT STEWIE DO ITTTTT!
Peter: Stewie goes off and drops 50 on South Carolina.
Alex: MoJeff makes an honest to Geno run at the Naismith award.
Tyler: Not exactly going out on a limb here, but Moriah Jefferson will pass Taurasi (648) to become UConn’s all-time assist leader. Bonus: she’ll also finish second in steals to Nykesha Sales.
Russ: At some point this season, I will stand back-to-back with Rebecca Lobo.
@Russ_Steinberg Not at the game. Can’t wait for our B2B!
— Rebecca Lobo (@RebeccaLobo) September 29, 2015
