UConn won the title, the coaching carousel stopped turning, and the transfer portal came and went. After a long and eventful offseason, the women’s college basketball season is nearly here and there are an endless number of questions to be answered.
Who is going to rise up in a seemingly wide-open Big 12? Now separated, will Olivia Miles or Hannah Hidalgo have the better seasons? Who fills the stardom void left by Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins? After UConn, is the rest of the Big East any good? Which mid-major team is going to shock and surprise? Can Mikayla Blakes follow up her stellar rookie campaign by leading the nation in scoring? How will transfers like MiLaysia Fulwiley and Ta’Niya Latson work out?
Those questions and the ones below will shape the upcoming season.
Is Sarah Strong ready to be the bus driver for UConn?
Paige Bueckers is gone. And with all due respect to Azzi Fudd, a supremely talented shooter and offensive playmaker, Sarah Strong is now the top player on this team. The question is: As a sophomore, is she ready to lead? And will UConn be at its best when it runs its offense through her? And that doesn’t mean just throwing the ball down to her in the paint to ensure she’s getting post touches; it means potentially making Strong a point-forward.
There’s other players on this roster capable of running an offense and creating shots for others — from KK Arnold to Kayleigh Heckel — but none are as versatile, as talented, or as sharp as Strong. A season ago, she was second to only Bueckers on this UConn team in assists per game. Strong was also just one of four players nationally last season to average at least 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists per game. She was the only freshman to do so, did it in the least amount of minutes per game, and had the highest field goal percentage of all of them – 58 percent.
Last year, Strong had the luxury of flying under Bueckers’ wing. This year, the spotlight and pressure is on her.
What will North Carolina do in the frontcourt?
One could make the argument that the most important player to North Carolina’s resurgence under Courtney Banghart was Alyssa Ustby. Over the past five seasons — as the Tar Heels went to five NCAA Tournaments, two Sweet 16s, and hosted opening weekend games last year as a top 16 seed — Ustby was the leader in minutes played and rebounding, and if there was a stat for hustle and toughness she would have led UNC in that too. Now, in Banghart’s seventh season at the helm, her defensive anchor and do-it-all leader is gone, and with her is the program’s all-time record for rebounds. Also graduated from UNC was reliable post scorer and rim protector Maria Gakdeng, all 6-foot-5 of her.
Simply put, the Tar Heels had holes to fill in the frontcourt. They grabbed 6-foot-2 ACC veteran Nyla Harris from Louisville via the transfer portal, but still have one spot left unsolved. A few options exist:
- Blanca Thomas is a 6-foot-6 sophomore who played 11 minutes per game last season. Of anyone on the roster, she’s most like Gakdeng, but is she ready for a starting role?
- Ciera Toomey is a redshirt sophomore and a 6-foot-4 former five-star recruit. She played about 10 minutes per game last season, but has a skillset that is much more suited for a stretch-four type of role.
- Liza Astakhova is 6-foot-2 and just arrived from Russia. Frankly, not much about her is known. Can the Tar Heels count on her in Year One?
- Move Harris to the five, Indya Nivar to the four, start three guards (probably Reniya Kelly, Lanie Grant and Elina Aarnisalo) and embrace small-ball.
What North Carolina decides to do with its rotation will be something to watch all season long.
Which transfer class works out the best in the ACC?
There was a lot of roster turnover in the ACC this year, as the league returns just eight of 25 all-conference selections.
A handful of teams that missed the NCAA Tournament last year — SMU, Clemson, Miami and Virginia — brought in big transfer portal classes littered with some impressive names. Lieberman Award contender Rachael Rose is at Clemson, FIBA standout Gal Raviv has the keys at Miami, former LSU starter Sa’Myah Smith is ready for a big role at Virginia, and Tyi Skinner looks like the best player on a completely reloaded SMU roster.
Which of those big portal classes works out the best remains to be seen. Elsewhere in the league, some hopeful contenders are going to count on crucial transfers too. Louisville will lean on Laura Ziegler, N.C. State is expecting big things from Khamil Pierre, and Syracuse needs Laila Phelia to be a leader.
Will Gianna Kneepkens be a difference-maker for UCLA?
Last year, one could make the case that the Bruins were a good, but not great, 3-point shooting team. They made about 33 percent of their attempts from behind the arc, good enough for 80th nationally. As the offense ran largely through 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts, just two UCLA players — Londynn Jones and Timea Gardiner — made more than one 3-pointer per game. Jones is gone, now at USC, but the Bruins landed perhaps the best shooter available in the portal in Gianna Kneepkens.
At Utah last season, she ranked ninth nationally in 3-pointers made per game (3.0) and was 28th in shooting percentage from deep with a 44.8 percent mark. That clip was also sixth best nationally among players who attempted at least 6.5 3-pointers per game last season. Kneepkens is an experienced, reliable and consistent 3-point shooter who should give UCLA’s offense a legitimate threat on the perimeter.
The Bruins are also getting Charlisse Leger-Walker healthy. In the 2022-23 season at Washington State, she made 2.3 3-pointers per game. The combination of Kneepkens and Leger-Walker should give UCLA a new wrinkle on offense and prevent defenses from packing the paint on Betts.
How good will USC be without JuJu Watkins?
The Trojans went to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive season back in the spring. Now, they’re about to embark on a season without the reigning National Player of the Year, who is still recovering from an ACL tear.
Still, there’s enough talent on this roster that Lindsay Gottlieb’s team shouldn’t have to worry about missing the NCAA Tournament. Kara Dunn arrives via the transfer portal from Georgia Tech after a career-best and All-ACC season, Londynn Jones joined USC from rival UCLA, and top 2025 recruit Jazzy Davidson should form a formidable tandem with sophomore Kennedy Smith.
Size is a bit of a concern following the graduation of Rayah Marshall, but the Trojans brought in two 6-foot-3 forwards in Dayana Mendes and Gerda Raulušaityte. The former was an All-WCC selection last season at Washington State, while the latter was the MVP of the Lithuanian Women’s Basketball League. Another post, 6-foot-5 Yakiya Milton, joins from Auburn.
USC should find itself in the top four of the Big Ten table this season with a team capable of making the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
What does a Kenny Brooks’ team without Liz Kitley or Georgia Amoore look like?
The last time that Brooks coached a team without a Kitley or Amoore on it was the 2018-19 season at Virginia Tech. That team went 22-12 and 6-10 in ACC play, missing the NCAA Tournament for the final time in Brooks’ tenure in Blacksburg. A season akin to that one this year at Kentucky would surely be a disappointment, but there’s no need to worry Big Blue Nation — this roster is too talented to not go dancing in March.
Three starters from last season’s team that hosted opening weekend NCAA Tournament games return in 6-foot-4 Amelia Hassett, 6-foot-5 Teonni Key and 6-foot-6 Clara Strack. The latter was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year and might be the next Liz Kitley, Key keeps getting better every season and shot north of 50 percent from the floor last season, and Hassett is bonus post depth as a player who can grab tough rebounds and knock down 3-pointers.
Filling Amoore’s shoes to run the offense this season will be Tonie Morgan, who has starred at Georgia Tech for the past three seasons under Nell Fortner. A two-time All-ACC selection, Morgan is coming off a season where she averaged a career-best 5.6 assists per game and shot a career-high 48.9 percent from the floor.
Kenny’s Kentucky will be just fine.
Will any other SEC team seriously challenge South Carolina for SEC supremacy?
A year ago, once the calendar turned into March, the Gamecocks became a war machine and bulldozed their way through the SEC Tournament and March Madness. Vic Schaeffer continued his habit of losing to Dawn Staley in the postseason as South Carolina topped his Texas team in the SEC title game and at the Final Four.
Is anyone else in the conference up to the task this season? Maybe.
On paper, LSU looks the most talented, but the Tigers have lost 17 straight to the Gamecocks. Will Flau’Jae Johnson and her teammates finally break that streak in her senior season?
Kentucky has the size to bang in the paint with a South Carolina team that doesn’t have the same post depth it typically has because of two key injuries to Ashlyn Watkins and Chloe Kitts. In a styles-make-fights sort of matchup, Tennessee could try to make South Carolina run with them in an up-tempo fast-paced game. Could Aaliyah Chavez or Mikayla Blakes put on a cape and superhero their way to a win over the Gamecocks? Could Coach Yo lead Ole Miss to a historic win over South Carolina?
Maybe. Maybe. Maybe. But it’s best to not bet against Dawn Staley. If one of these other SEC teams has a legitimate shot at the king, they best not miss.