Now that our new coach is settled in? They made an impressive run and then cooled a bit late but certainly the change gives me optimism for the future.
We had a great season, especially considering Coach inherited a program in disarray. Also, we had a postseason injury to one of our top players. Looking at the players returning and the talent coming in, I expect this year's team to be even better. Whether or not that translates into more wins remains to be seen, because outside of South Carolina, the SEC appeared a little bit down to me this past season. I expect it to be stronger top to bottom this coming season.
We lost several players that were not high impact players and picked up several who could be... and the core of the team is back, besides Kiki. Talent, depth, and size are all better. From a roster standpoint there is no way we should be anything but an NCAA Tournament team. The staff changes are interesting as well. 2 new assistant coaches and a new assistant for Kelly directly as well. Curios to see what changes we could see in style of play. Kelly is very much a defensive minded coach so I think we will still be very aggressive and fast. Having players like Deans, Correa, and Kyle give us much more offensive firepower. I think we could be significantly better at times when we need to slow the game down and focus more on the half court. Predictions... MVG: Zippy Broughton Most Improved: Taliyah Wyche Newcomer of the Year: Leilani Correa Most Pleasant Surprise: Frieda Buhner Would like to see a schedule before making a total wins prediction, but 24 wins and 2nd Round of the NCAAs should be the goal/benchmark. It would represent another small step forward record wise and tie for the most wins ever for the program... it is entirely possible to exceed that number. Tennessee and South Carolina are loaded LSU will be right behind them. Kentucky got decimated. UGA will be undergoing a lot of changes as will Texas A&M. Ole Miss lost Austin. I think we should be around Top 5 in conference.
Good job in the portal and like the coaching hires she made. No idea in terms of performance, as lost some good players and not sure how remaining will mesh. Also, can’t tell how other teams improved in recruiting. LSU is killing it on recruiting front, which is not a surprise when you pay up for a championship level coach.
Just an ill-informed opinion based on the too few games I watch. More so than the men, the women at times have to overcome obsticles which seems to favor ranked teams - in other words - selective physicality. They will have to do more to than enough to win the game and disappoint the network and conference.
The expectation should be to have improvement, not take a step backward. I fully expect them to be in contention for a Top 4 spot in the SEC standings.
