TicketsIt's Big East Media Day for women's basketball! This means the season is only a few short weeks away, and some Cincinnati news is making waves in New York City:
Cincinnati picked last in preseason poll: After last season's 3-13 last-place finish in Big East play, it's no surprise they were picked to finish 16th in the league in today's preseason Big East coaches' poll. The Bearcats are going to have a challenge ahead of them this year to prove they can perform at a higher level. With Shelly Bellman already out for the season due to injury, and the graduation of Angel Morgan and Jill Stephens, Cincinnati will be looking elsewhere to make up a combined 25.1 points per game (Stephens: 12.0 ppg, Morgan: 6.2 ppg, Bellman: 6.9 ppg) and 16.6 rebounds per game (Stephens: 5.3 rpg, Morgan: 7.5 rpg, Bellman: 3.8 rpg). That's a lot of points and rebounds. The good news is the team does have bone fide leadership returning in guard Kahla Roudebush and forward Michelle Jones, and guards Shanasa Sanders and Val Schuster will look to light up the scoreboard after productive freshman seasons a year ago.
You can view the Big East preseason coaches' poll here.
My prediction: With returning experience and the energy head coach Jamelle Elliott is infusing into the program, I'm going to make a fearless prediction: I think the team will more likely finish the season between 12th and 14th as opposed to the last place finish predicted by the league's coaches. Putting a little distance between themselves and last place will give fans reason for enthusiasm and excitement going into next offseason, when Elliott will have a chance to recruit players for the first time as a head coach. She comes to Cincinnati with a reputation as a phenomenal recruiter, and I'm definitely already eager to see the caliber of players she will begin bringing in over the next few years and beyond. Also, if a last-place prediction by people who don't really have a feel for what's going on with the program won't motivate the players, then I'm not sure what will. It's things like this that can really bring a team together with the goal of proving everyone wrong. With the right attitude, who knows what they could accomplish this year?
Roudebush named to preseason all-Big East team: Kahla Roudebush, Cincinnati's top player a year ago, joins the league's top class of players heading into the season after the coaches voted her onto the elite squad.
You can view the entire preseason all-Big East team here.
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