The only way to bump 'wood up is if they get their PG back from ACL before CCS at full speed. Until then they may not even be top 20.
She tore it early last season right? Is she not expected to be back by the start of this season? Typical return time from ACL seems to be 6-8 months
Steve Kerr just said it takes a year to come back from an ACL tear for a NBA player, I would be shocked if Una plays before January. I believe she hurt herself in late December. She's easily their best player. But not a top 10 team. Could maybe sneak into CCS open because CCS is just not as strong as it was in years past.
She's a young woman... not a full grown man.. increases success rate and decreases healing time typically
https://www.healthychildren.org/Eng...ncies/sports-injuries/Pages/ACL-Injuries.aspx
In the CCS it will still be Mitty, Pinewood and then a Grand Canyon gap until we get to the next team which is probably Menlo this year. But to think they aren't a CCS open team blows my mind LOL.
So the strength of schedule and the number of wins against really good teams before the playoffs would mean nothing compared to 3 wins in the NCS. What you imply is that the teams in the NCS are better than any other three teams that might be on anyone else's schedule. Someone could be undefeated and win Nike but winning the NCS will trump that.
Yes, we know the stars on SJND, BOD and even know who will be Pinewood's leaders this year. But the question is who will step up this year and really show out for Mitty? Without Hunter Hernandez, we need to see some huge improvement and leadership from Hiraki in my opinion. She will need to really increase her role and look to score in the double digits this season to be effective. The two 6 footers that transferred last season into Mitty will need to be focal points of the offense this year as well. I have seen Olivia Williams over the summer and she is ready to become a star. With her size and all around skill, she has high D1 potential. I haven't seen Langi enough to comment. Maybe someone with a lot more knowledge on Mitty can break down some of their upcoming stars and who might really step up this season in the limelight.
Langi will most likely be the focal point of the offense. She too has high D1 potential. Besides her, williams and senior Hiraki, there is a group of 4 or 5 mid D1 or D2 talent kids. Jr Katie Springs who is 6'-1"/6'-2" and the most athletic build of the bunch could be poised for a breakout season. A sophomore PG from their JV team last year (dont know how to spell her name) could possibly be a big part of the rotation as well. Throw in another returning senior guard, a couple 3/4 junior swing(wo)men, and a couple other underclassmen with next level potential and this year might be a smaller drop off than people are expecting.
Thanks for the post OnBall, I love to see some actual break downs of why and who instead of just some general postings that they will or won't do well. I forgot about Katie Springs, she will definitely be in the mix this year as well. With those 3 six footers, will be interesting to see who steps up and emerges as their leader and star player moving forward.
I think at this point, we are just breaking down the top Norcal teams. I agree with Clay that the gap between the top teams and the next tier isn't as great as it has been in years past. That is what will make thi syear very interesting. You are definitely right, the teams with the best returning all-norcal players usually will give us indication of who will succeed in the upcoming season. We will see how it plays out. Would you like to post your rankings for top 5 or 10 Norcal Teams?
I don't think rankings are necessarily a prediction of who will win the last game of the season. At least not at this point. Preseason rankings generally are meaningless speculation.. look at college football/ basketball.. things look dramatically different by the time playoffs roll around. It gives us something to talk about.. that's half the fun about sports. SJND and BOD were both in my top 5. Are they your top 2 teams?
