Paulie's Top Ten in NCAA WBB -- Wednesday Cardinal Couple

GETTING OUT THE DARTBOARD AND CRYSTAL BALL...PAULIE PRESENTS HIS NCAA WBB TOP 10


Yeah, everyone else is getting in the act of presenting their NCAA Women's Basketball Top 10...so I sat down last night...looked at the schools and developed this highly unofficial but socially relevant CARDINAL COUPLE WBB TOP 10. My esteemed co-host and smarter than thou columnist Worldwide was not consulted on this...maybe we'll do a podcast on it down the road where he can pick it apart and dissect it with the precision of a surgeon at the table. 

Besides...it ain't where you start...it's where you finish.

1. Connecticut

Really stretching here, right? Geno gets Breanna Stewart, Kaleena Mosqueda Lewis and Moriah Jefferson back, has depth this year with talented frosh Gabby Williams, Kia Nurse and Sadie Edwards...and plays in the laughable AAC. 

Go ahead and reserve a tee time at the Tampa Bay Country Club...spaghetti sauce king. 

2. Notre Dame

You have to credit Ms. McGraw...she always comes up with outta sight guards. Jewell Loyd and Lindsay Allen will build their own legacy in the shadow of Touchdown Jesus and Taya Reimer and Brianna Turner will bolster the paint. The Irish may take a few lumps in the power-packed ACC...but the queen of avant-garde fashion statements and catcher's crouch on the sidelines can book a flight to USF's campus.

3. Texas A&M

One of many strong teams in the $EC...Gary Blair's Aggies also feature a tough-as-nails backcourt in the Courtney's 
(Walker and Williams). Add a experienced juco guard in Shlonte Allen and impressive 6'5" freshman Khaalia Hillsman and the A&M gals look to be a tough task for their conference foes. 

4. North Carolina

Yes, Diamond DeShields is gone. It matters not. Sylvia Hatchell returns Allisha Gray, Stephanie Mavunga and Xylina McDaniel to run the show. They may be the leading candidate to hang a conference loss on the Irish and could very well end up taking Tobacco Road south across the Florida-Georgia line. 

5. Maryland

The Terps have left the ACC building, friends and landed in the so-so Big Ten. This will bode well for Jeff Walz's ex-boss and having Lauren Mincy, Lexie Brown and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough has to make Brenda Frese smile each morning. Add solid contributor Brionna Jones and these Turtles have a legit shot to crawl down to Florida and hang out with the Manatees. 


6. South Carolina

Dawn Staley has several superstars back in Tiffany Mitchell, Alaina Coates and Aleighsa Welch...plus #1 recruit A'ja Wilson and powerful Jatarie White. Will they defend their $EC title? Possibly...but Staley has yet to prove she can win the big ones...bowing out in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen last year. They'll have their hands full with A&M, Tennessee, Kentucky, LSU and Georgia. 

7. California

This looks like the year "da Bears" finally climb over Stanford in the PAC-12. We absolutely love the duo of Reshanda Gray and Brittany Boyd. Their toughest test of the season could be a non-conference tilt against Louisville (in their house). Lindsey Gottlieb has been to the dance and these Bears might just climb over the mountain again in search of warmer Florida weather.


8. Texas

We like the work Karen Aston has done in the Longhorn state the past two years and with Nneka Enemkpali, Imani McGee-Stafford and Brady Sanders back...this reclamation project looks to be completed. Add Celina Rodrigo and Empress Davenport (another candidate for Worldwide's All-Name squad) and a doable Big 12 conference and UT might be serving up steaks in a seafood town come Final Four time

9. Louisville

I do hesitate sticking the Cards in here...but the more I look at who is back (Bria Smith, Jude Schimmel, Sara Hammond, Shawnta Dyer, Sherrone Vails, Cortnee Walton, Megan Deines and Emmonnie Henderson) plus who is coming in (Myshia Hines-Allen, Mariya Moore, Syd Brackemyre, Arianna Freeman and Arica Carter)...it does appear the "mad scientist" has a lot of talented lab assistants to pillage and plunder the countryside. Games against Cal and UK will reveal more before these Birds fly over ACC skies. 

10. DePaul

My buddy Doug Bruno gets back four starters. He has dual point guards in Brittany Hrynko and Chanise Jenkins. He has lights-out three point gunner Megan Rogowski. He'll have a testing pre-conference schedule that includes Texas A&M, Notre Dame and Connecticut...but once he sails into the Big East...we see him repeating as the conference champ. 
Raise your glass and toast, Doug!  

Ok...there you have it. 

I know I left a few popular and trendy picks out of here in Tennessee, Duke, Baylor, UK and Stanford. Let's just toss them in the 11-15 slots...in that order. If you want to extend this out to a top 25...feel free to do so. 

The Cards tip off against IUPUI a mere nine days away in Indy. Number 9. A jersey number that has never occupied the back of a UofL WBB player.

paulie
...
..
.