ACC Preview: North Carolina Tarheels

Preview:  North Carolina Tarheels

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Last Season:   20-13 and 11 –7 in league play

The Coaches:  

Courtney Banghart is the Head Coach entering her 6^th season at North Carolina after 12 years as Head Coach at Princeton.

Joanne Aluka-White is in her 6^th season.

Adrian Walters is in his 5^th season.

Cory McNeill is in his first season.  

Katherine Bixby is in her first season.  

 

Losses:  

Paulina Paris who averaged 6 ppg.

Deja Kelly who averaged 16 ppg and transferred to Oregon.

Seven others transferred out and they combined for 11 ppg.  

 

Additions: 

Lanie Grant, 5-10 Frosh Guard.  Ranked # 59.

Grace Townsend, 5-5 Grad Student Guard a transfer from Richmond

Jordan Zubich, 5-11 Frosh Guard.  Ranked # 69. 

Lexi Donarski, 6-0 Grad Student Wing a transfer from Iowa State.  Last season at Iowa State Lexi averaged 10 ppg and made 74 threes at 34%.

Blanca Thomas, 6-5 Frosh Post.  Ranked # 32.

 

Schedule:

UConn, Kentucky and Florida highlight the non conference schedule. 

 

The Team:  

Alyssa Ustby, 6-1 Grad Student Forward who averaged 12 points and 9 rebounds. 

Laila Hull, 6-1 Redshirt Frosh Wing who sat out last year recovering from a HS injury.  Hull was the Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year.  Her Dad is the Head Football Coach at Delaware State.

Maria Gakdeng, 6-3 Sr Post who averaged  9 points and 6 rebounds.  

Reniya Kelly, 5-7 Soph Guard who averaged 4 ppg.

Kayla McPherson, 5-8 Redshirt JR Guard who has hardly played due to injuries.  However in one game in November last season she was 4 of 7 from Three. 

Trayanna Crisp, 5-8 JR Guard a transfer from ASU

Sydney Barker, 5-7 Soph Guard who entered as a Walk on now on scholarships.  Played little last season.

Ciera Toomey, 6-4 Redshirt Frosh Post who was out last season recovering from a HS injury.  

Indya Nivar, 5-10 Jr Guard who averaged 6 points and 4 rebounds.  As a Frosh at Stanford Nivar averaged 3 ppg.  

 

Prediction:

Preseason rank # 17.    I don’t get why so high, but we shall see.  To me they lost a lot .   I’ve been wrong before.  

 

2025 Recruiting:  

Nyla Brooks, 6-2 Wing from VA, ranked # 17.

Tailyah Hendersen, 6-1 Wing from AZ, ranked # 21.

Taissa Queiroz, 5-11 Wing from CA, ranked # 76. 

ACC Previews: NC State Wolfpack

 

Preview:   North Carolina State Wolfpack

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Last Season:   31-7 and 13 –5 in league play

The Coaches:  

Head Coach Wes Moore is in his 11th season at NC State and has 800  wins in his 34 year head coaching career.

Associate Head Coach Nikki West is in her 5^th season.

Brittany Morris is in her 4^th season.

Ashley Williams is in her3nd season.  Williams played at NC State.

Houston Francher is in his 2^nd season as an Assistant however has also been Director of Operations.

 

Losses: 

Three players transferred who averaged in total less than 2 ppg. 

River Baldwin, who averaged 10 points and 7 rebounds.

Mimi Collins, who averaged 10 points and 6 rebounds.  

 

Additions:

 Lorena Awou, 6-5 Frosh Post from IL

Zamareya Jones, 5-7 Frosh Point Guard from NC, ranked # 17.

Devyn Quigley, 5-11 Frosh Wing from NJ, ranked # 47.  Devyn averaged 32 ppg in her Sr year in HS.

Tilda Trygger, 6-6 Frosh Post from Sweden,  Tilda played on Swedish National teams and on a team in Spain.

Caitlin Weimar, 6-4 Grad Student Post who transferred from Boston University where she averaged 18 points 10 rebounds and 3 blocks per game. 

 

Schedule:

South Carolina, LSU or Washington, Ole Miss are the highlights.  

 

The Team:  

Aziaha James, 5-8 SR Guard who averaged 17 ppg, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.  James made 75 Threes at 34%.

Madison Hayes, 6-0 Grad Student Guard who averaged 10 points and 7 rebounds.  Hayes made 56 Threes at 40%. 

Saniya Rivers, 6-1 Sr Wing who averaged 12 points 6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.

Zoe Brooks, 5-10 Soph Guard who averaged 9 points 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

Laci Steele, 5-11 Soph Wing averaged 3 ppg.  Laci was ranked # 56 out of HS.

Mallory Collier, 6-3 Soph Post who averaged 6 minutes per game.  Collier was ranked # 55 out of HS.

Maddie Cox, 6-2 Soph Forward who averaged 9 minutes last season however was ranked # 71 out of HS.

Lizzie Williamson, 6-5 Grad Student Post who played just 5 minutes a game in 19 games.  Lizzie transferred from Southern Utah 2 seasons ago where she averaged 10 points and 10 rebounds.

 

 Prediction:

Preseason NC State Ranks is  nationally.   The team returns as much as almost any in the nation plus great recruits as Frosh.  A very strong team.

 

2025 Recruiting:  None yet

 

ACC Preview: Miami Hurricanes

 

Preview:   Miami

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Last Season:   19-12 and 8 –10 in league play

The Coaches:  

Tricia Cullop is in her first year as the Head Coach.  Cullop was the Head Coach at Toledo for the past 16 seasons.  In her last three years her teams won 85 games. 

Fitzroy Anthony is in his 10^th year at Miami and is the Associate Head Coach.

Jessie Ivey is in her first year at Miami after 4 years at Toledo.

Danielle Page is in her first year at Miami after 6 seasons at Toledo.

Murriel Page, no relation, is in her first year at Miami after 2 seasons at Mississippi State. 

 

Losses:   

Head Coach Katie Meier retired after 19 seasons and the Head Coach at Miami.  

All these to transfer:

Ally Stedman, 2ppg.

Kyla Oldarce, 5 ppg and 4 rebounds.

Latasha Lattimore, 5 ppg.

Lazaria Spearman, 6 points and 6 rebounds per game.

Lashae Dwyer, 7 ppg.

Ja’Leah  Williams 4 ppg.

Shayeann Day-Wilson, 12 ppg and 3.5 assist per game. 

 

 Additions: 

Aurora Almon, 6-4 Redshirt Frosh Post.

Ahnay Adams, 5-6 Frosh Guard.

Darrione Rogers, 5-11 Grad Student Wing a transfer from Mississippi State where she averaged 8 ppg.

Daniela Abies, 6-0 Jr  Wing transfer from Wichita State where she averaged 13 ppg and almost 10 rebounds per game. 

Natalija Marshall, 6-5 Grad Student Post a transfer from Norte Dame where she averaged 5 points and almost 4 rebounds.  

Simone Pelish, 6-0 Frosh Guard from NY State.  A 4 star recruit.  

Leah Harmon, 5-6 Frosh Guard from NJ.  

Cameron Williams, 6-3 Grad Student Forward a transfer from Michigan.  Last season Williams average 7 points and 4 rebounds.

Sophia Zulich, 5-11 Wing Grad Student transfer from Denver where she Missed the last THREE seasons with injuries.                                   

 

Schedule:

Florida, Vanderbilt are the highlights

 

The Team: 

Jasmyne Roberts, 5-10 Sr Guard who averaged 11 ppg.

Lemyah Hylton, 5-11 Jr Guard who averaged 6 ppg.

Haley Cavinder, 5-6 Grad Student Guard who didn’t play at TCU  At Miami the year before she averaged 12 ppg. 

Hanna Cavinder, 5-6 Grad Student Guard who averaged 4 ppg the previous season. 

 

Prediction:

Only two players who played for Miami last season plus the Cavinders, of social media fame, who played the year before.   6 Grad students on the team.   We shall see how they mesh but it appears to be a rebuilding year. 

 

2025 Recruiting:  

Natalie Wetzel, 6-3 Wing Forward from PA, ranked # 79.

Soma Okolo, 6-1 Wing from TX.

Meredith Tippner, 5-10 Guard from PA, ranked # 93.

Camille Williams, 5-11 Guard from TX, ranked # 57.

 

ACC Preview: Louisville Cardinals

Preview:   Louisville Cardinals

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Last Season:  They were 24-10 and 12-6 in league play

The Coaches:  

Jeff Walz is the long time Head Coach with 465 wins averaging 27 wins per season.  He has coached Louisville to 12 Sweet 16s.  Also to to 8 Final 8s, 4 Final 4s and twice to the Final game.  

Stephanie Norman is in her 18^th year at Louisville and the long time Associate Head Coach. 

Jonneshia Pineda is in her 6^th year as an Assistant. 

Shay Robinson is in his 3^rd year 

Amanda Butler is in her first year after 6 years at Clemson as their Head Coach.

 

Losses:   

Eylia Love averaged 4 ppg and two others averaged less than 2 ppg.  All three have transferred from Louisville. 

Nina Richards who averaged 7 ppg.

Sydney Taylor who averaged 11 ppg.

Kiki Jefferson who averaged 12 ppg.

 

 Additions: 

 Izela Arenas, 5-9 Frosh Guard from SoCal, the daughter of long time NBA player Gilbert Arenas.  Ranked # 88. 

Reagan Bender, 5-9 Frosh Guard from Louisville.  Bender scored 1,818 points and made 212 threes in HS.

Imari Berry, 5-9 Frosh Guard from Tennessee ranked # 19. McD All American.

Anaya Hardy, 6-3 Frosh Forward from Detroit.       

Isla Juffermans, 6-4 Frosh, Forward/Post from Australia.  Named MVP of Asian U 18 tournament in 2022.  

MacKenly Randolph, 6-0 Frosh Forward from SoCal ranked # 23.  McD All American.

Tajianna Roberts, 5-10 Frosh Guard from San Diego ranked # 24.  

 

Schedule:

UCLA in Paris!, Kentucky, Colorado, Oklahoma and UConn.

 

The Team: 

Nyla Harris, 6-2 Forward who averaged 10 points and 6 rebounds last season. 

Jayda Curry, 5-6 Grad Student Guard who averaged 9 ppg and made 45 threes at 39%.

Olivia Cochran, 6-3 Grad Student Forward who averaged 11 points and 6 rebounds.  

Eseosa Imafidon, 6-5 Redshirt Frosh Post who redshirted last season.

Ifif Istanbulluoglu, 6-3 Soph Forward who averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds. 

Ja’Leah Williams, 6-0 Grad Student Guard who averaged 5 ppg. 

Merissah Russell, 6-0 Grad Student Guard who averaged 5 ppg.

 

Prediction:       

Great coach, great recruiting with three top 25 players coming in and solid returnees.    

 

2025 Recruiting:  

None yet.