Media Picks Vandy Women To Finish Last

[MikeADore]

Hate to say it, but it's a very reasonable assumption under the circumstances.

1. South Carolina
2. Tennessee
3. Texas A&M
4. Kentucky
5. Georgia
6. Arkansas
7. LSU
8. Ole Miss
9. Mississippi State
10. Alabama
11. Missouri
12. Florida
13. Auburn
14. Vanderbilt

[VandyWhit]

Honestly, it was great to have years when we would have well-deserved high pre-season rankings, and I'm sue that all of us share my hope that we'll return to that sooner rather than later. But it definitely gives us the right to claim the "no respect" position as well as the reality that we can't fall lower than expectations, so I'm not upset about the low ranking. I just hope that our finish in the SEC this year will not look the same.

[Doubledore]

Due to Covid allowances, there are quite a few players returning that normally would have graduated. That will prop up several teams that otherwise would have been down a bit this year. This will make it harder on VU this year but those players will be gone next year. If coach gets more out of her players and the freshmen pan out, I think VU could finish 10-11, but unless some teams suffer major injuries, it might prove difficult to finish above that mark.

[VandyWhit]

Due to Covid allowances, there are quite a few players returning that normally would have graduated. That will prop up several teams that otherwise would have been down a bit this year. This will make it harder on VU this year but those players will be gone next year. If coach gets more out of her players and the freshmen pan out, I think VU could finish 10-11, but unless some teams suffer major injuries, it might prove difficult to finish above that mark.

That's a great point. I wonder if anybody has compiled a comprehensive list of those players? Do we have any that fall into that group? I'm thinking that Autumn Newby would have if she hadn't transferred, but I could be wrong about that.

[MikeADore]

Chelsie Hall was also a senior last year. As you know, she's using her extra year of eligibility at Louisville while Newby is doing so at LSU.

[Doubledore]

Chelsie Hall was also a senior last year. As you know, she's using her extra year of eligibility at Louisville while Newby is doing so at LSU.

Whit, GA and LSU stick out in my mind as benefiting from the extension but there are others. Correct- bc of our transfers, we did not really benefit any.

[VandyWhit]

Chelsie Hall was also a senior last year. As you know, she's using her extra year of eligibility at Louisville while Newby is doing so at LSU.

IIRC, Newby "opted out" before the season began and didn't play, while Chelsie did play. Did all players basically get an additional season whether they played or not? Or are there differences between people who officially opted out and those who didn't? And does our truncated season make a difference? It doesn't matter in regard to Hall and Newby since they've moved on, but do our returning players get an extra year of eligibility? (If nobody knows, I'll resort to googline but hopefully somebody else paid more attention to the details than I did.)

[HuskyT]

Seeing as how this thread is about predictions. I want to give mine. First the tenacity of this year's team will take some teams by surprise. They will have some near wins where they lose it at the end. That's part of the learning process. They will also have 2 surprise victories that no one sees coming. They will not finish last in the conference. If you attend the games you will be full out able to celebrate and cheer for the fight of the team. Their effort will sometimes go unrewarded this year but seeds will be planted that will show fruit in 3 years.

[MikeADore]

IIRC, Newby "opted out" before the season began and didn't play, while Chelsie did play. Did all players basically get an additional season whether they played or not? Or are there differences between people who officially opted out and those who didn't? And does our truncated season make a difference? It doesn't matter in regard to Hall and Newby since they've moved on, but do our returning players get an extra year of eligibility? (If nobody knows, I'll resort to googline but hopefully somebody else paid more attention to the details than I did.)

Yeah, in terms of eligibility, it's like last year never happened. If they want it, all the players get an extra year of eligibility even if they played a full season. It seems most are not taking the extra year but some are.

Seeing as how this thread is about predictions. I want to give mine. First the tenacity of this year's team will take some teams by surprise. They will have some near wins where they lose it at the end. That's part of the learning process. They will also have 2 surprise victories that no one sees coming. They will not finish last in the conference. If you attend the games you will be full out able to celebrate and cheer for the fight of the team. Their effort will sometimes go unrewarded this year but seeds will be planted that will show fruit in 3 years.

I'm liking your attitude, my friend. I hope you stick around with us.

[MikeADore]

Just a quick addition, Whit: I'm thinking this year's seniors, Cambridge and Alexander are not planning to stick around for an extra year. Coach Ralph is signing three freshman for next year's team, and, right now, there is only one opening (created by the transfer of Emily Bowman). That tells me Cambridge and Alexander are planning to move on after this year. Both probably already had a medical redshirt year coming even without the covid situation, but it doesn't seem they'll take it.

[HuskyT]

IIRC, Newby "opted out" before the season began and didn't play, while Chelsie did play. Did all players basically get an additional season whether they played or not? Or are there differences between people who officially opted out and those who didn't? And does our truncated season make a difference? It doesn't matter in regard to Hall and Newby since they've moved on, but do our returning players get an extra year of eligibility? (If nobody knows, I'll resort to googline but hopefully somebody else paid more attention to the details than I did.)

Yeah, in terms of eligibility, it's like last year never happened. If they want it, all the players get an extra year of eligibility even if they played a full season. It seems most are not taking the extra year but some are.

Seeing as how this thread is about predictions. I want to give mine. First the tenacity of this year's team will take some teams by surprise. They will have some near wins where they lose it at the end. That's part of the learning process. They will also have 2 surprise victories that no one sees coming. They will not finish last in the conference. If you attend the games you will be full out able to celebrate and cheer for the fight of the team. Their effort will sometimes go unrewarded this year but seeds will be planted that will show fruit in 3 years.

I'm liking your attitude, my friend. I hope you stick around with us.

I just know you guys have got to be something special or Shea would not be here. It's my opinion that you have hired the top young coach in America. I know She's in the learning process of all the extra duties of being a head coach, but you will not find a better practice coach or in game strategist south of Storrs, CT. Look for the improvement of your players from the beginning of the season until the end of the season. I assure you you will be pleasantly surprised.

[MikeADore]

Chelsie Hall was also a senior last year. As you know, she's using her extra year of eligibility at Louisville while Newby is doing so at LSU.

Whit, GA and LSU stick out in my mind as benefiting from the extension but there are others. Correct- bc of our transfers, we did not really benefit any.

I think you hit the nail on the head with Georgia and LSU, Doubledore. I do think the most significant player returning for the extra year is Georgia's Jenna Staiti. It appears she hoped to make the jump to the WNBA after her senior year, but when the feedback she got from the league was not what she hoped for, she decided to return to Athens as a sixth-year senior. There must have been a redshirt year in there somewhere. Anyway, she's 6-4 and a physical presence in the paint, and she can score.

While we're on the subject of the Bulldogs, hats off to Joni Taylor for the job she has done. They really came on last season and have almost all the significant pieces of that team returning. Also, they just added ESPN's #3 player, Janiah Barker, to next year's class. It has taken a few years since the departure of Andy Landers, but Taylor has slowly made her mark and raised the program to the point they could challenge SC for league supremacy in a couple of years.

I feel coach Ralph could (and will) follow a similar path at Vandy. There won't be any quick fixes, but I think the fix is coming.