The Guru Report: The 2023-24 Season Begins With a Historic Launch in Paris Monday Afternoon as No. 6 South Carolina meets No. 10 Notre Dame

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

 

PHILADELPHIA — When the competition of 2022-23 signed off seven months ago in a glorious finish in Dallas, Texas, one of the most consequential seasons in the modern history of the women collegiate game went striding into the history books.

 

LSU won its first NCAA title, it’s coach Kim Mulkey having taken over the Tigers returning to her home state two seasons earlier, mounted her fourth trophy alongside the three she won at Baylor, and just short of ten million viewers watched the afternoon game on national broadcast network ABC.

 

Coach Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks with their talented senior Aliyah Boston had dominated the road to Dallas from the opening tip until being upset in the national semifinals by Iowa and its star Caitlin Clark, who was the consensus player of the year, though Angel Reese, the one who led her team over the Hawkeyes in the title game, was herself anything but shabby.

 

Missing from the Women’s Final Four for the first time in 15 seasons, cut down in the Sweet 16 by Ohio State after suffering a slew of injuries, including one to its star Paige Bueckers, who never got to suit up, was the University of Connecticut, the heavyweight with a record 11 championships besides a few near misses.

 

Locally, Villanova’s senior Maddy Siegrist ripped apart every program and area scoring record that existed on the way to leading the nation, while she also gained all-America status, in leading the Wildcats into their best Associated Press ranking at 10^th and a trip to the Sweet 16.

 

She was taken third in the WNBA draft by the Dallas Wings and lasted through the summer season as her new team finished fourth in the standings and advanced to the semifinals.

 

Drexel’s Keishana Washington was not far behind Siegrist in scoring accomplishments, for a long time holding second in the NCAA before finishing third in the nation and second in Dragons history.

 

Lots more happened but here’s the thing.

 

As great as all that contributed, the one that opens Monday afternoon (1 p.m., ESPN) in Paris, France, the home of next summer’s Olympics, with AP preseason-ranked No. 6 South Carolina facing No. 10 Notre Dame, just might be the season that puts the sport in permanent orbit in the stratosphere.

 

The Aflac Oui-Play event is the first NCAA regular season women’s basketball game to be played in the City of Lights.

 

There once was a time that the first few weeks of November was for tipping toes in the water.

 

Not anymore.

 

Soon after the game in France is concluded, several other games will feature teams, ranked, and unranked, quickly diving into the deep end of the pool.

 

In Las Vegas, No. 21 Southern Cal, returning to the time the Trojans were among the nation’s best, will face No. 7 Ohio State, a Big Ten title contender, at 2 p.m. (TNT, TruTV, MAX), before LSU, the preseason No. 1 team, faces No. 20 Colorado at 7:30 on the same networks.

 

USC contains the nation’s top recruit in JuJu Watkins along with three former Ivy League stars, including former Penn sensation Kayla Padilla, playing their graduate seasons with the Trojans.

 

On Thursday in the Ally Tipoff in Charlotte, N.C., No. 8 Virginia Tech, the favorite in the Atlantic Coast Conference, meets No. 3 Iowa at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.

 

LSU, living off the portal that helped when Reese arrived, but more so with gaining double double star Aneesah Morrow and Louisville’s gem in Hailey Van Lith, usurped the preseason honors headed for UConn, finally healthy again with Bueckers, the national player of the year as a freshman.

 

With time lost by Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, and Ice Brady in recent seasons, the Huskies parted with every daunting streak record, including a long run dominating two conference affiliations until Villanova at Connecticut ended the run two seasons ago.

 

However, Geno Auriemma’s group, ranked second, is about to claim one mark that may never be broken.

 

Currently tied with No. 11 Tennessee off the preseason poll, which established the mark under the late legend Pat Summitt and her successor in Holly Warlick, even if the Huskies were (unlikely as it is) to lose both games this week hosting Dayton Wednesday in the season opener and at NC State on Sunday, they are high enough at No. 2 that when the next vote is released next Monday, they will have been ranked 566 straight weeks.

 

That began with the preseason vote of 1993-94 at 19^th, the lowest in the entire run, and would translate to 30 full seasons plus the first two weeks of the current one.

 

A total of 122 players have contributed to that run.

 

Another notable mark could swing Auriemma’s way. After Pat Summitt stepped down from Tennessee and eventually lost her courageous battle against dementia, both Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer and the Huskies coach went on to pass her all-time women’s win record, with VanDerveer leading the way.

 

But if Stanford, which after long time resident status as a top 10, top 5 program is picked 15^th, plays that level, Auriemma, trailing VanDerveer as the season starts by six wins, 1186 to 1180, could easily catch her total and then the two would likely flip flop until someone finally decides to move to their next life’s chapter.

 

While on the subject of the PAC-12, just like the demise of big newspaper chains, such as the Knight-Ridder one that owned The Inquirer and Daily News once seemed a bad fantasy, the announced member defections over the last two seasons that will total 10 at their exit next summer would come after what may be the league’s greatest season. 

 

The AP preseason vote had six PAC-12 schools: UCLA (4), Utah (5), Stanford (15), Colorado (16), Southern Cal (21), and Washington State (24).

 

In ESPN’s Charlie Crème’s early NCAA mock bracket construction, those schools plus Washington, Arizona, and Oregon State were listed, though perhaps Oregon could make a comeback and also be in the chase.

 

 This time of the year brings the formal start of the latest on the coaching carousel with familiar and new faces in different places filling vacancies left by predecessors.

 

Among notables at the start of the new season, former Villanova star Stephanie Gaitley takes returns to the collegiate ranks, taking over at Fairleigh Dickson, with an opening game Monday, 7:30 p.m., at No. 3 Iowa (B1G+).

 

Gaitley’s hire was part of a whole domino of moves that saw her former assistant Angelika Szumillo at Fordham create the FDU vacancy, leaving as head coach for Iona, replacing Billie Chambers, hired at Xavier.

 

Fordham, meanwhile, filled a year-long vacancy, hiring Northeastern’s head coach Bridgette Mitchell.      

 

Longtime Marist coach Brian Giorgis retired, succeeded by equally longtime aide Erin Doughty.

 

One hire in a tragic note was Tasha Butts, selected last summer, but recently succumbed to her fight against cancer.

 

Elsewhere former West Virginia and South Dakota coach Dawn Plitzuweit replaced Hall of Famer Lindsay Whalen at Minnesota; Katrina Merriweather left Memphis to go to Cincinnati, which begins this season in the Big 12, along with BYU, Houston, and UCF.

 

Pittsburgh hired Tory Verdi from Massachusetts, replaced by his associated head coach Mike Leflar, a nativeof Horsham, who was an assistant at Penn when Kelly Greenberg coached the Quakers.

 

Longtime Michigan State coach Suzy Merchant stepped down for health reasons and was replaced by Robyn Fralick, who was at Bowling Green.

 

She was succeeded there by one of Dawn Staley’s assistants, Fred Chmiel, who was on her staff here at Temple and also was an assistant at Penn State.

 

Jim Crowley left Providence and returned to St. Bonaventure, where he had previously been a head coach.

 

Mark Campbell, a former assistant at Oregon who helped gain Sabrina Ionescu among other prominent talent to the Ducks, left his head coaching job at Sacramento State to take over at TCU in the Big 12 and has gained an upgraded roster through the portal.

 

Meanwhile, in the postseason, there will be a new tournament run by the NCAA called the Women’s Basketball Invitational with a field of 32.

 

Three former coaches, Giorgis recently retired from Marist, Ceal Barry at Colorado, and Marsha Sharp at Texas Tech will be part of the committee running the event.

 

The WNIT expects to continue, at last report when asked during the summer the field size, the hope was for 48 teams.

 

Another key part of the season off the court will be the negotiation of a new TV rights deal by the NCAA.

 

While ESPN owned by Disney as is ABC, had been the main operative, there has been increased coverage at other places, with CBS, and FOX showing games on their linear networks besides their streaming channels.

 

This is all a result of part of the evaluation by an independent committee in the wake of the differentials cited during the CoVid bubble format that declared the women’s TV deal was vastly undervalued in its present contract.

 

Locally, though Segrist and Washington are gone, though Segrist will be working behind the scenes this winter in a newly created position supporting the women’s program at Villanova, this could be a more competitive year in the Big Five and regionally.

 

The Wildcats will still be good, picked fourth in the Big East, while Drexel could pull some surprises. Saint Joseph’s, continuing its comeback to better days is picked second in the Atlantic Ten, La Salle is picked 11^th but could be much better.

 

Temple, enduring with just eight players much of last season, is much stronger with a full roster, while Penn is picked at fourth behind Princeton, Columbia, and Harvard, having to revamp the attack after Padilla’s departure.

 

Princeton, the only Ivy to earn an AP ranking and go as an at-large team to the NCAA, has a power-packed non-conference schedule with Duquesne, picked fourth in the A-10; Ohio Valley favorite Middle Tennessee, AP-ranked UCLA, Big Ten contender Indiana, Villanova and Rutgers as opponents.

 

Penn State, if she has recovered from past injuries, has a major gain off the portal in Ashley Owusu, with Maryland one of her previous stops.

 

Rider in the MAAC, and Lehigh and Lafayette in the Patriot League are all hopeful of doing better than their picks by the coaches in the two leagues.

 

The local slate is heavy right from the jump Monday, beginning with Temple hosting Delaware State at 4 p.m. before the men play in the Liacouras Center.

 

The Owls continue at home this week hosting Georgetown at 7 p.m. on Thursday, and Bucknell at 7 p.m. on Saturday. All home games are on ESPN+ as are a slew of road games.

 

Princeton, in a conference with likewise ESPN deals similar to Temple in the American Athletic Conference, hosts Duquesne Monday at 7 p.m., and Sunday at C-USA favorite Middle Tennessee at 2 p.m.

 

La Salle opens Monday at 7 p.m. at Coppin State in Baltimore, America East favorite Maine visits on Thursday at 4:30 p.m., and American U. is also at Tom Gola to face the Explorers Saturday at noon, home games on ESPN+.

 

Saint Joseph’s opens at home Tuesday hosting Rider at 7, and visits Yale Saturday at noon in New Haven, both games on ESPN+.

 

Drexel opens at home Wednesday at 6 p.m. hosting MEAC contender Norfolk State on FloHoop, the uniform retirement ceremony occurring before the opening tip. The Dragons visits Delaware State at 5 p.m. Friday.

 

Villanova won’t be home until the 19^th hosting Temple in a Big Five game, the Wildcats opening in the Northwest of the United States playing West Coast Conference contender Portland Friday night on ESPN+ at 9 p.m. and then Sunday at Oregon State at 4 p.m. on the PAC-12 Plus channel, which is streamed by the university.

 

Penn State on Monday opens at 6 p.m. at home hosting Bucknell on the B1G+ subscription network, which will also air the Navy game which tips off at 5 p.m., while Kansas visits Monday next week at 6 p.m. on the main B1G network.

 

Rutgers hosts Monmouth Monday at 7 p.m. on B1G+, and the same channel is also used this week for Wagner of the Northeast Conference at 7 on Thursday, and Auburn of the SEC visits Sunday at 5 p.m.

 

Lehigh Monday at 5 p.m. hosts East Stroudsburg on ESPN+ while Lafayette on 7 p.m. on Tuesday visits Syracuse, the game on the ACCNX subcription channel.

 

USA Wins Preseason Game at No. 11 Tennessee 95-59

 

The collection of WNBA players for the USA Basketball Autumn combination of two exhibition games at Tennessee and Duke and training came in Atlanta saw the Americans win 95-69, highlighted by WNBA Phoneix star Brittany Griner, who hadn’t been with the nationals since the 21 Olympics due to her detainment by the Russians overseas.

 

Griner wasn’t available to the media afterwards but got a big reaction from the crowd in Knoxville when introduced during the starting lineups.

 

“I was very proud of the fans and the reception that they gave all the players,” said Tennessee coach Kellie Harper. “Our players don’t forget very much, so I know they knew where those players played in college.

 

“Brittney obviously got a big ovation and I think people know her story. I actually talked to people that said they were coming specifically to see her and to watch her play. They have become fans throughout her challenges in the last year or so. I was really happy for that team to feel that from our fans.”

 

Griner had 11 points.

 

Longtime pro and former Uconn great Diana Taurasi, who also plays for WNBA Phoenix, was once the scourge to Knoxville nation during her collegiate days with the Huskies but it was all pleasantries Sunday night in the game at the Thompson Bolling at Food City Arena.

 

Taurasi had visit Tennessee’s practice and chatted up Harper’s team.

 

“She’s the ultimate pro and it’s impressive,” Harper said. “She’s savy, she gets it, she’s a great leader. It was great. It was cordial. She hugged me. I have nothing but great things to say about her.”

 

Noting the Americans had just been together a few days, former La Salle star Cheryl Reeve, also the WNBA Minnesota coach, said, “Playing team basketball, 29 assists on 39 field goals, 34 fast break points, just playing off our defense. Continuing what we started over in Sydney at the World Cup.”

 

Said former Rutgers star and WNBA New York member Betnijah Laney about Tennessee, “I think just their confidence. They didn’t come out and back down. They knew who they were going against, and they gave us their all. It took us a little bit of time to get adjusted, but we eventually found our way.”

 

Tennessee’s fifth-year star Rickea Jackson scored a game-high 15 points, while Laney, the daughter of former Cheyney star Yolanda Laney, had 14 points, shooting 6-for-8 from the field.  

 

Jackie Young of the two-time WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces had 13 points and six assists, while Philly’s Kaheah Copper, a former Rutgers star on WNBA Chicago, had 12 points. 

 

USA goes on to camp in Atlanta and visits Duke Sunday at noon in Durham, N.C., the game airing on the ACCNX subscription channel, while at 8 p.m. the replay will be on the main ACC network.

 

Tennessee opens its season Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. against Florida A&M coached by former Lady Vols star Bridgette Jordan.