Pac 12 Preview: Washington

 Pac 12 Preview:  Washington

Last Year:   19-15 overall and 7-11 in league play.    Also the Huskies made it to the Final 4 of the WNIT.

Coaches:

Coach Langley

Tina Langley is in her 3^nd year Head Coach after 6 great seasons at Rice and before that 7
seasons as an Assistant at Maryland.    She was 126-61 at Rice.   Langley has two Masters Degrees.  

Katie Faulkner is in her 3^nd year coming from  Oregon State where she was an Assistant for 5 years.   Faulkner played at Montana where she was an outstanding player.   She will also be the Recruiting Coordinator.  

LaTara King is in her 3^nd year coming from Rice with Langley, having coached there the past 3 seasons and before that at Boston College.  

Nolan Wilson is in his 2^nd year at Washington first as assistant.

Bobby Wilson is in his first year as an Assistant and his 2^nd year with the Huskies. 

Losses:  

Assistant Dan Tacheny after three seasons.

Emma Grothaus averaged 4 points and graduated.

Haley Van Dyke averaged 9 points and 5 rebounds and graduated.  

Darcy Rees averaged 3 points and 2 rebounds and graduated.

Trinity Oliver averaged 5 points and 4 rebounds and graduated. 

Alexis Griggsby didn’t play last season.  She transferred to Pepperdine

Tyiona Watkins averaged 2 points and graduated. 

Additions:  

Olivia Anderson, 6-6 Post from WA, was ranked top 60 at one point

Ari Long 6-0 Guard/Wing from SoCal, ranked # 46

Chloe Briggs 5-11 Guard from SoCal, ranked # 93

Sayvia Sellers, 5-7 PG from Alaska, ranked # 28

Schedule:  

Louisville their toughest by far non conference game.  Washington plays only at home vs Oregon and Oregon State and only at USC and UCLA.

The Returning Team: 

Tergan Brown, 5-10 Soph Wing  Averaged 2 points however she was  Ranked # 79 out of HS.

Elle Ladine, 5-11 Soph Guard averaged 6 points.

Hannah Stines,  5-10 Soph Guard averaged 7 points. 

Dalayah Daniels

Dalayah Daniels 6-2 Jr Wing Transferred from Cal.  Last season at Washington Daniels
averaged 11 points and 7 rebounds.   

Shalya Gilmore 6-1 Soph Forward played just 33 minutes.

Lauren Schwartz, 5-11 5^th year Sr Wing who transferred from Rice.   Last season with Washington she averaged 9 ppg.

Nia Lowery is a 5-9 Redshirt Jr who didn’t play last season.

Jayda Noble, 5-11 Jr Guard averaged 4 points and 5 rebounds.

Predictions:  

Pressure on Anderson as no one over 6-2.  However Daniels and Schwartz are strong players and Ladine and Stines are going to be top players. Also a fine recruiting class.  A team on the rise, soon.   

2024 Recruiting:    

Annika Soltau, 6-4 Post from Germany  A top recruit

Devin Coppinger, 5-10 CG from WA ranked # 35

Pac 12 Preview: Utah

 

Pac 12 Preview:  Utah

Last Season:  

27-5 overall and 15-3 in Pac 12 play and The Pac 12 Champion in the Pac 12 Tournament and the co-Champ in League play.

The Coaches:

Lynne Roberts is in her 9th year after moving from the University of Pacific, UOP.  Roberts was

Coach Roberts

Head Coach at UOP for 9 seasons, being named Conference Coach of the Year twice in the last three years.  Before UOP Roberts was Head Coach at Chico State for 4 seasons.   

Gavin Peterson is in his 9th year after 2 seasons with Roberts at UOP.  Peterson has been an assistant in the West since 2002 and an Associate Head Coach for 6 of those seasons.

Jerise Freeman is in her 3nd season at Utah.  Freeman was an Assistant at Oklahoma State the past 4 years.  

Jordan Sullivan is in her 2nd year at Utah.   Sullivan is a former Montana player who was an Assistant at Montana the past 5 seasons.   

Losses:

Teya Sidberry, averaged 4 points a game and transferred to Boston College.   However she is the all time leading scorer in Utah HS history.

Payton McFarland, graduated after just playing in 13 games while recovering from a serious injury.   With a covid year she is now at Houston.

Kelsey Rees, graduated after averaged 3 points and 3 rebounds.   Again a covid year for Rees and she is now at Oregon State.

Additions:

Daniela Falcon Hernandez 6-2 Wing/ Forward from Spain

Reese Ross 6-1 Forward from SD Not ranked

Alyssa Blanck 6-2 Soph Forward who transferred from BYU.   Blanck didn’t play last season.

Matyson Wilke 5-10 Soph Guard who transferred from Wisconsin.  Wilke averaged 12 points making 61 threes at 35%.

Nene Sow, 6-8 Jr Post who transferred from Northeastern Oklahoma, and originally from Belgium.  Sow sat out last season.  The year before at NE Oklahoma she averaged 3 points and 5 rebounds.

Samantha Crispe 6-2 Soph Forward who transferred from Boston University.   Crispe averaged 5 points and 4 rebounds at BU last season.

The Schedule:   

Baylor, South Carolina and BYU are the tough games.   Utah plays Stanford and Cal only at home and ASU and Arizona on the road. 

The Returning Team:

Jenna Johnson 6-2 Jr Forward averaged 12 points and 5 rebounds. 

Kneepkens

Gianna Kneepkens 5-11 Jr Guard averaged 15 points and 5 rebounds and made 71 threes at 42%.

Alissa Pili 6-2 Sr Post who averaged 21 points and 6 rebounds.

Kennady McQueen, 5-10 Jr Guard averaged 9 points and made 59 threes at 36%.

Isabel Palmer is a 5-9 Sr Guard who transferred from Texas where as a Frosh she averaged 3 points.   Palmer was born in the US but moved to Australia with her family at the age of 4 months.  She averaged 8 ppg.

Lani White, 5-11 Soph Guard averaged 3 points. 

Dasia Young, 5-11 Sr Wing averaged 6 points and 3 rebounds last season.

Ines Vieira, 5-6 Jr  Guard from Portugal.   She averaged 3 points.  

Predictions:  

With 5 starters returning who averaged 8, 9, 12, 15 and 21 ppg and only backup losses this is a top team.  Utah is picked to win the conference and ranked # 5 in the nation to start the season.  

2024 Recruiting: 

Kylie Ray 5-8 PG from SoCal, not ranked

Brooke Walker 5-8 PG from KS Ranked # 69

Pac 12 Preview: Southern Cal

 

Pac 12 Preview:  Southern Cal

Last Season: 21-10 overall and 11-7 in Pac 12 play.  

The Coaches: 

Lindsay Gottlieb is in her 3^nd, after two years in the NBA and 8 years as the Head Coach at Cal

Coach Gottlieb

where she won 67% of her games.

Beth Burns is in her 2nd year at USC after coaching at Louisville.   Beth was once at Stanford.  Beth is the Associate Head Coach.

Wendale Farrow is in his 3nd year after 5 years at Cal, three with Gottlieb.

Courtney Jaco is in her first year after being Director of player Development.   She was a great player at USC and once an intern at Stanford.

Willnett Crockett is in her first year at USC.   Willnett is a UConn grad, 2006 and played for UConn and the LA Sparks.  She coached at Temple for 13 years.   

Losses:

Nneka Enemkpali Assistant after 3 years. 

Destiny Littleton  averaged 14 ppg and graduated.

Okako Adika averaged 7 points and 5 rebounds and graduated.

Kadi Sissoko averaged 15 points and 6 rebounds and graduated.

Rokia Doumbia averaged 3 points, and graduated.

Alyson Miura 3 points and graduated.. 

Madison Campbell  was injured last season and graduated. 

Bella Perkins averaged 4 points and transferred to Pitt.

Additions:

Juju Watkins, 6-2 Frosh Guard from LA ranked # 1

Juju Watkins

Malia Samuels, 5-6 Frosh Guard from Seattle Ranked # 49

Dominique Onu, 5-10 Redshirt Soph Guard transfer from UCLA.  Onu averaged 4 points per game as a Frosh at UCLA.

Kaitlyn Davis 6-2 Wing Grad transfer from Columbia where she averaged 13 points and 8 rebounds last season.

McKenzie Forbes, 6-0 Grad Transfer Guard from Folsom who transferred from Harvard after playing first at Cal.   Forbes averaged 14 ppg last season at Harvard. 

Roxane Makolo 5-10 Guard Grad transfer from TCU.  Last season she averaged 6 ppg.

Kayla Padilla 5-9 Guard Grad transfer from Penn where she lead the league in scoring at 18 ppg plus made 81 threes.  

The Schedule: 

The Trojans play Ohio State, Florida Gulf Coast and Penn State non conference.   Interesting their last 5 non conference games are all in the LA area against LA area teams.   The Trojans play at Stanford and Cal only and host only Washington and Washington State.  

The Returning Team:   

India Otto is a 5-9 Grad student Guard who played just 15 minutes.

Clarice Akunwafo, 6-6 Jr Post who averaged 2 points and 3 rebounds.

Rayah Marshall, 6-4 Jr Forward who averaged 13 points and 11 rebounds.   

Aaliyah Gayles, 5-9 Redshirt Frosh Point Guard, NV who Ranked # 8   Badly injured and redshirted  last season.

Taylor Rigby 6-1 Redshirt Soph  Guard transferred from Oregon after averaged 4 points.

Kayla Williams 5-7 Sr Guard who averaged 5 points.

Predictions:    

Mostly a new team although new players Forbes, Padilla and of course Watkins are solid.    Strong Post in Marshall But Rigby and Gayles need big comebacks.   Picked 6^th in the Pac 12 Poll.  

2024 Recruiting Commits:  

Rian Forestier 5-11 CG from TX,  ranked # 51.   Avery Howell, 6-0 Wing from ID, Ranked # 23.  Laura Williams 6-2 Forward from VA ranked # 88.  

Pac 12 Preview: UCLA

 

Pac 12 Preview:  UCLA 

Last Season:  UCLA was 27-10 last season and 11-7 in conference play.    They won 2 NCAA games before losing to South Carolina. 

The Coaches:  Cori Close is in her 13^th season as the Head Coach.  Close is averaging 20 wins

Coach Close

per year.    She went to HS in the San Jose area.

Shannon Perry-LaBeauf is in her 13^th year plus she coached at Duke for 5 seasons.  

Tony Newnan like the others is in his 13th season.  

Tasha Brown is in her 6th season at UCLA.   

Son Matsuura is the new member of the coaching staff elevated from Video Coordinator.  

Losses:

Brynn Masikewich, 6-3  Forward from Canada who averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds after not playing the previous year.  Brynn transferred to DePaul

Gina Conti averaged 6 points and 3 assists and graduated. 

Additions:

Amanda Muse, 6-4 Post from NorCal ranked # 38.

Lauren Betts, 6-7 Soph Post transfer from Stanford.  Last season Lauren averaged 6 points and 3 rebounds.  

The Schedule:   

UCLA will play UConn in a tournament, Arkansas, Florida State and Ohio State.  Pre season rankings, UConn is 2, Ohio State is 6, Florida State is 15.   In league play UCLA will host only Washington and Washington State and only travel to Stanford and Cal.  

The Returning Team:

Charisma Osborne

Charisma Osborne, 5-9  5^th year Grad student Guard who averaged 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.  

Kiki Rice 5-11 Soph Point Guard ranked # 2 out of HS averaged 11 ppg.

Gabriela Jaquez 5-11 Soph  Forward ranked # 19 out of HS averaged 6 points and 3 rebounds.

Londynn Jones, 5-4 Soph  PG Ranked # 23  out of HS averaged 8 ppg

Christeen Iwuala, 6-2 Soph Post averaged 3 points and 3 rebounds.

Lina Sontag, 6-3 Soph Post from Germany averaged 5 points and 4 rebounds.

Isobel Anstey, 6-4 Redshirt Jr Post from Australia.  Last season Anstey played just 18 minutes with injuries

Angelia Dugalic, 6-4 Redshirt Jr Post a transfer from Oregon.   Angelia missed the season with an injury

Emily Bessoir, 6-4 Redshirt Jr Post from Germany, who averaged 9 points and 6 rebounds  

Camryn Brown, 5-11 5^th year Grad student Guard who averaged 3 points and 3 rebounds.  

Prediction:

Three outstanding Guards in Osborne, Rice and Jones.   Then the 6 Post players, who will get the time?  Can two play at the same time or Jaquez at a wing.   Lots of very good to great players.   A candidate for not just a league title but a Final 4.

2024 Recruiting:  

Erlina Aarnisalo 5-10 SG from Finland, Avary Cain 6-1 CG from SoCal, ranked # 24 and Kendall Dudley 6-1 Wing from DC, ranked # 14.