a little surprised by spread of preseason poll...

[krak-r-jacks]

guess that shows just how much respect AJ continues to have around the league (which is no surprise). i didn't think voting would be so overwhelming for jacks this year when coyotes only lost one player and put 1 on first team, and two on second team---with MW making first team for jacks. would believe voters new AJ lost Gabby for a good chunk of year, too (thinking that may influence them to some degree). jmo, but, i believe seekamp will have a great shot at being "player of the year" in the Summit (if she stays healthy). i am very impressed with the work AW is doing in coyote-land.

sure looking forward to hear reports on how the pg position is unfolding for the jacks. hard to believe it won't be long now! GoJacks!

[jackdaniel]

Re: a little surprised by spread of preseason poll...

Chyna Stevens could be a beast this year judging solely by the 1st practice video. She practices hard, and looked really good on defense. Good video, everyone a little rusty yet, but putting in a lot of work. Six weeks from now, they should be ready for the season, as hard as they are working. Should be a fun year.

[SanDakotaState]

Re: a little surprised by spread of preseason poll...

The loss of Polly Harrington is huge. She was a force down low and was one of the main reasons why the knocked the Jacks out in Sioux Falls. It seems in recent memory that SDSU doesn't get a lot players chosen for all-league because the depth of the team. No one has outstanding stats. IMO that's why SDSU rarely loses conference games. The defense never knows who to focus on. AJ seems pretty high on this team despite the loss of Boever. I'm not surprised by the margin of 1st place votes the Jacks got. Like what bison fans say about their football team, we don't rebuild, we reload.

[OldHare]

Re: a little surprised by spread of preseason poll...

I remember when the best SG, Jill Young
had to move to he PG and made the Jacks a good team. Just think what may happen when a PG has to take over the position. The upset at the Summit Tourney might not skew the hopes of the yotes to think they have displaced the Jacks. Williams may have brought some talent to the game, but she has not displaced the Jacks from the top. The yotes will still be wannabees at the end of the season. As we look at the upcoming season Cyhnna did not get much playing time early in the season and we still have more freshman with equal or more upside this year. It should be an entertaining season for the women

[jackdaniel]

Re: a little surprised by spread of preseason poll...

From the standpoint of recruiting: my impressions are that the good ,elite recruits aren't going to put their name down to teams that constantly are in "rebuilding mode". They're not going to want to waste their efforts for little gain.
They will however to good programs that year after year have a winning tradition. That means consistency in winning your conference, going to the NCAA's, and according to some programs like ND, who we play next year, the expectation of winning it all, a National championship. Running a good program means you have the tools (players) to be successful and to be able to year after year to "reload".
AJ has done an excellent job in maintaining the program at this level and is ready to step up a notch or two .Going backwards is not an option, that's going back to square one. It's all about progression. Look at Geno Auriema (sp?) and UConn and where he's at now, all the culmination of hard work and program building. Everyone's after the same players, and you have to have something to offer them for their hard work, or they'll go elsewhere.

[SF_Rabbit_Fan]

Re: a little surprised by spread of preseason poll...

I remember when the best SG, Jill Young
had to move to he PG and made the Jacks a good team. Just think what may happen when a PG has to take over the position. The upset at the Summit Tourney might not skew the hopes of the yotes to think they have displaced the Jacks. Williams may have brought some talent to the game, but she has not displaced the Jacks from the top. The yotes will still be wannabees at the end of the season. As we look at the upcoming season Cyhnna did not get much playing time early in the season and we still have more freshman with equal or more upside this year. It should be an entertaining season for the women

All it takes is one game in March and SDSU is the wannabees. We're good, and will likely win the regular season conference title. Unfortunately, that only means a good seed once the tournament starts. From what I can remember, we have had at least one scare every year since joining the Summit. Although we've won all but 1 conference tournament, it hasn't been easy despite our regular season dominance.

[bigticket1]

Re: a little surprised by spread of preseason poll...

The loss of Polly Harrington is huge. She was a force down low and was one of the main reasons why the knocked the Jacks out in Sioux Falls. It seems in recent memory that SDSU doesn't get a lot players chosen for all-league because the depth of the team. No one has outstanding stats. IMO that's why SDSU rarely loses conference games. The defense never knows who to focus on. AJ seems pretty high on this team despite the loss of Boever. I'm not surprised by the margin of 1st place votes the Jacks got. Like what bison fans say about their football team, we don't rebuild, we reload.

Harrington was a big part of the disaster in Sioux Falls but the Yotes continued to pound us down low with McCloud and Loeffler even when she was on the bench. The Jacks seemed to improve this in the WNIT run , but post defense will still be key against the Yotes (and other teams with big posts) this season.

[jackmd]

Re: a little surprised by spread of preseason poll...

Harrington was a big part of the disaster in Sioux Falls but the Yotes continued to pound us down low with McCloud and Loeffler even when she was on the bench. The Jacks seemed to improve this in the WNIT run , but post defense will still be key against the Yotes (and other teams with big posts) this season.

Biggest difference I saw in the tourney loss was attitude. The coyotes played like they had nothing to lose and everything to gain because they did. The Jacks looked tight and played tight. Amy Williams is a big reason for the attitude change at USD. She has her players convinced that they can win.

USD has closed the gap in women's basketball and this season will be the most important one in the DI era in vermillion. Expectations are much higher than they have ever been, will be interesting to see how they respond. If USD has a big year with a brand new facility on the way they will become even a greater factor.

[jackdaniel]

Re: a little surprised by spread of preseason poll...

I didn't think the bye did any good and it may of helped the Yotes get that fire early in the semi-final game. They had just barely beaten Western Illinois on a last few seconds shot by RC while trailing, after that game, their nerves were pretty well settled. We came in too tight and they made us pay.

[OldHare]

Re: a little surprised by spread of preseason poll...

All it takes is one game in March and SDSU is the wannabees. We're good, and will likely win the regular season conference title. Unfortunately, that only means a good seed once the tournament starts. From what I can remember, we have had at least one scare every year since joining the Summit. Although we've won all but 1 conference tournament, it hasn't been easy despite our regular season dominance.

The Jacks have been #3 seed twice and they have dominated the league otherwise. Remember that the Jacks have a target on their back every game in the Summit. http://www.gomastodons.com/news/2014...006143455.aspx Go to the 2:10 mark. Amy Williams is not telling her team that the bison are the hurdle and Parkinson is not telling the Jags they want to be as good as WIU. The Jacks are the gold standard for the women teams in the Summit. The teams do not lack for desire when it comes to getting a game that they beat the Jacks. Meanwhile AJ is working to improve the game each year. He did a good job with the freshmen last year and the freshmen mistakes were ironed out by the end of the season. I would anticipate another batch of players to molded into the team production again this year. I believe that USD(a talented group) will not send the Jackrabbits home this season.

[jackdaniel]

Re: a little surprised by spread of preseason poll...

The Jacks have been #3 seed twice and they have dominated the league otherwise. Remember that the Jacks have a target on their back every game in the Summit. http://www.gomastodons.com/news/2014...006143455.aspx Go to the 2:10 mark. Amy Williams is not telling her team that the bison are the hurdle and Parkinson is not telling the Jags they want to be as good as WIU. The Jacks are the gold standard for the women teams in the Summit. The teams do not lack for desire when it comes to getting a game that they beat the Jacks. Meanwhile AJ is working to improve the game each year. He did a good job with the freshmen last year and the freshmen mistakes were ironed out by the end of the season. I would anticipate another batch of players to molded into the team production again this year. I believe that USD(a talented group) will not send the Jackrabbits home this season.

When I think of talented players in Summit League
history, Kevi Luper of Oral Roberts comes to mind. Her team and ORU could never make it out of Sioux falls without a defeat, the closest loss being the OT Championship game they lost. Would they have ever made it to the NCAA Tournament had they stayed in the Summit for Kevi's last year? I don't know.
Another player you might wonder about is Ashley Luke of WIU. Amanda Hyde of IPFW never got to the tournament either. I guess it all comes down to the last 3 games in the Summit League Tourney and how well your team plays then.

[rabidrabbit]

Re: a little surprised by spread of preseason poll...

It will be interesting this season if the Jacks can get that good enough rating to be an at-large, if needed. If Jacks can get a 12, or even better, a 11 or 7 seed (only would happen if 30-2 to the NCAA's)

Do need the Summit, as a whole to do better, like it did last year in the OOC. Some other team, besides the Jacks needs to get some W's vs P5 top 50 programs. Getting 2 or 3 teams below 100 RPI would help lots. As would not having any team above 300.

[SanDakotaState]

Re: a little surprised by spread of preseason poll...

This years ooc conference schedule isn't near as tough as last season but yet still one of the toughest in the Summit. Last year the Jacks had a 9-7 ooc record with couple of dud games that SDSU should have won (UALR, FGCU) and stole a game against Penn State. I can see SDSU finishing with a 9-3 ooc record with the loses coming from Depaul, Marist, and Middle Tennessee. Creighton and GB are toss up games but I think the Jacks pull them out because of the home confinements of Frost. If SDSU can knock of Depaul or MT and handle their business in the Summit like last season, there could be a small glimmer of hope of getting an at-large. I would just rather have the Jacks win the Summit regular and tournament titles like years past.

[rabidrabbit]

Re: a little surprised by spread of preseason poll...

SanDakotaState makes the case that the Summit is back to a 16 game cycle rather than last year's 14 game cycle. That means less OOC games to measure by or get a different RPI. That will be true across the Summit. Means that all the Summit schools will need to do more with their less OOC's, and once into league place we're pretty well set to head toward the medium of the Summit RPI relative to other leagues.

BTW, ORU was horrible in WBB in the first post Kevi year (last year). I anticipate that the Eagle'll won't be soaring into their return to the Summit. IE, they'll be a RPI drag this season.

[mitchellrabbit]

Re: a little surprised by spread of preseason poll...

This years ooc conference schedule isn't near as tough as last season but yet still one of the toughest in the Summit. Last year the Jacks had a 9-7 ooc record with couple of dud games that SDSU should have won (UALR, FGCU) and stole a game against Penn State. I can see SDSU finishing with a 9-3 ooc record with the loses coming from Depaul, Marist, and Middle Tennessee. Creighton and GB are toss up games but I think the Jacks pull them out because of the home confinements of Frost. If SDSU can knock of Depaul or MT and handle their business in the Summit like last season, there could be a small glimmer of hope of getting an at-large. I would just rather have the Jacks win the Summit regular and tournament titles like years past.

Middle Tn is at Frost, correct? I think we win that one.