Dawn Staley and South Carolina picked up right where they left off: No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll.

The defending national champion Gamecocks were the unanimous choice of the 30-member national media panel in the preseason poll released Tuesday. It’s the third consecutive season South Carolina is the preseason favorite.

“This is where we wanted to be and envisioned for our program,” Staley said. “I got to give it to our players. We constantly get some of the best players in the country. They put us in this position as they work extremely hard. I don’t know if they come in and say i want to be the No. 1 team in the country, but they do say they want to be national champions. This is a step to being a national champion.”

Stanford, Texas, Iowa and Tennessee round out the top five teams in the preseason poll. It is Iowa’s best ranking since 1994 when the Hawkeyes were also fourth in midseason.

“It makes no difference in March what we’re ranked in October, but certainly I want my team to have confidence and be proud of what they’ve accomplished. Iowa is on the map,” coach Lisa Bluder said. “We’ll celebrate it and then forgot about it.”

South Carolina went wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team last season and have been the top team for 20 straight weeks. Only UConn (four times) and Baylor (once) have had longer streaks at No. 1 since the 1994-95 season when the Top 25 became a writers’ poll.

The Huskies are ranked No. 6, the first time since 2006 that they weren’t in the first five in the preseason poll. Louisville, Iowa State, Notre Dame and N.C. State finish off the top 10.

HOLD THAT TIGER

Princeton has its first preseason ranking, coming in at No. 24.

The Tigers were ranked for the final two weeks of last season and return four starters from the team that pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament, upending Kentucky in the first round before falling to Indiana by a point in the next game.

“It’s great for our program and for the Ivy League and putting some respect on what we’ve done in the past,” coach Carla Berube said. “I think it’s tremendous for our team and for us to live up to the standards we’ve set, we’ve got lofty goals. To be ranked in the preseason means a lot, but there’s a lot of work to be done.”

Berube has upped the Tigers schedule to challenge them with games at Texas and at UConn, her alma mater.

“We’ve learned that if you have a tough non-conference schedule it can get you ready for the Ivy League and beyond that,” she said.

CORNHUSKER RUN

There are high expectations in the state of Nebraska. No. 21 Creighton has its first preseason ranking while No. 22 Nebraska was its first ranking since 2015. It’s the first time in the history of the poll that both teams have been ranked in the same week.

“It’s good to have Creighton and Nebraska in Top 25. It’s good for the state,” Creighton coach Jim Flanery said.

The Bluejays are coming off a great season when they advanced to the first Elite Eight in school history by knocking off No. 2 seed Iowa at home in the second round and Iowa State in the regional semifinals. Expectations are high this year.

“It says to our players that they put the program in a better position than we’ve ever been in,” Flanery said. “That’s good for them. I think they deserve it. They worked to get us to this point. I don’t think it changes their approach.”

TIP-INS

No. 13 Virginia Tech has its best ranking since the final poll of 1999 when the school was also 13th. … No. 23 South Dakota State is ranked in the preseason for the first time in school history.

CONFERENCE WATCH

The Big Ten is tops in the nation with six ranked teams. Joining No. 4 Iowa are No. 11 Indiana, No. 14 Ohio State, No. 17 Maryland, No. 22 Nebraska and No. 25 Michigan.

The ACC has five teams in the poll, including three in the top 10. Joining Louisville, Notre Dame and N.C. State are No. 12 North Carolina and No. 13 Virginia Tech.

The Big 12 has four programs ranked, led by No. 3 Texas and No. 8 Iowa State. No. 15 Oklahoma and No. 18 Baylor are also ranked.

The SEC and Pac-12 each have three teams in the poll. No. 16 LSU joins top-ranked South Carolina and No. 5 Tennessee for the SEC. No. 19 Arizona and No. 20 Oregon join No. 2 Stanford for the Pac-12.

No. 21 Creighton and UConn represent the Big East while No. 24 Princeton is the lone school from the Ivy League and No. 23 South Dakota State the only Summit League team in the rankings.

THE TOP 25

1. South Carolina (30 first-place votes)

2. Stanford

3. Texas

4. Iowa

5. Tennessee

6. UConn

7. Louisville

8. Iowa St.

9. Notre Dame

10. NC State

11. Indiana

12. North Carolina

13. Virginia Tech

14. Ohio St.

15. Oklahoma

16. LSU

17. Maryland

18. Baylor

19. Arizona

20. Oregon

21. Creighton

22. Nebraska

23. South Dakota St.

24. Princeton

25. Michigan

Read More

South-suburban basketball is rich in history. When it comes to high school basketball in Illinois, it’s difficult to top the combination of the culture, success and tradition in the south suburbs.

Some of the biggest basketball names, colorful coaches, storied gyms and powerful programs have highlighted the sport for more than 100 years.

Thornton, Thornridge, Thornwood, Bloom, Homewood-Flossmoor and Hillcrest have combined for 15 appearances in the state championship game in the last 90 years.

The list of legends — Lou Boudreau, Jerry Colangelo, Quinn Buckner, Lloyd Batts, Wes Mason, 1972 Thornridge, Mike Flaherty, Tracy Webster, Brandon Cole, the old SICA East, Antwaan Randle El, Julian Wright, Eddy Curry and Tyler Ulis among them — is all but endless.

Basketball in the south suburbs remains extremely relevant today, but there has been an exodus of talent to the city in the last decade.

The coaching jobs in the south suburbs are some of the highest-profile ones in high school basketball. But with that profile comes arguably the most pressure and highest expectations from their fan bases of any jobs in the state. Still, the jobs are coveted.

Much like it previously did with Chicago Catholic League coaching jobs, the City/Suburban Hoops Report set out to identify which high school basketball coaching job is viewed as the best in the south suburbs.

Identifying the exact geographical area of the south suburbs is never easy. For the purpose of this poll, the proverbial line used was U.S. Highway 45 — basically the corridor extending from Sandburg in Orland Park south to Lincoln-Way East in Frankfort.

Schools such as Bolingbrook, the Joliets, Lockport and others were too southwest suburban to be included in the traditional south suburbs.

Coaches throughout the south suburbs, past and present, and others with strong ties to south-suburban basketball were polled. They were told to consider several factors in ranking the best basketball coaching jobs, including winning and tradition; location and access to players; salary/pay for coaches and teachers; and facilities and resources.

Those surveyed were asked to rank the top five coaching jobs, based on the aforementioned criteria. All together, 18 individuals submitted votes. First-place votes received 10 points, second-place votes eight points, third-place votes seven points, fourth-place votes five points and fifth-place votes three points.

Interesting results from the voting

When it came to the best job in the south suburbs, it wasn’t even close: Homewood-Flossmoor was the runaway winner. The H-F job received 15 of the 18 first-place votes.

The only other jobs to receive a first-place vote were Hillcrest with two and Thornton with one.

H-F was listed on every ballot, and Hillcrest was listed on 17 of the 18. Those two jobs were by far the most mentioned.

The final results:

1. Homewood-Flossmoor (173)

2. Hillcrest (118)

3. Bloom (81)

4. Thornton (70)

5. Lincoln-Way East (57)

6. Marian Catholic (46)

7. Rich (23)

8. Thornwood (13)

9. Crete-Monee (8)

10. Kankakee (3)

Here are a few of the off-the-record quotes from those who were surveyed:

Homewood-Flossmoor

H-F is the best job and it’s not even close. Great athletes, facilities, money and academics. … The template there is set: academics, athletics and the environment are just so good. … A lot of discipline is in place at H-F. … In the south suburbs, that tight community is a big help there. … There is a lot of great to offset some wild expectations or parents and some people there. They have to remember it’s still high school. … The facilities are top-notch. The talent pool is there. And the feeder program with Junior Vikings is in place. … Cream of the crop of jobs in the south suburbs. … Probably the best facilities in northern Illinois and maybe the entire state. … Just a great job. Might be one of the best jobs in the entire state. … HF has everything you need to be successful: the school is very good, the community is solid and the facilities are excellent. … The talent pool is deep and the district pays well. … You don’t need to go outside the district to build a team. Just have to keep them home. … Only drawback of the job is the incredible demands of the parents.

Hillcrest

There is some pretty good support from the administration. They support and back you there. … Hillcrest has a strong, diehard fan base. … Underrated facilities that people don’t realize. … Ton of tradition and a ton of winning. … Talent pool always seems to reload there. … I like how they are positioned very well in Class 3A, and they have had two coaches over the past 30 years that have lent stability and tradition of excellence. … New facilities there are a big plus in competing with other schools. … Talent galore in that area. … The new fieldhouse helps that program. … With the conference it plays in being so weak, Hillcrest will always be a top four seed in the sectional field. … I don’t think the pressure there is quite as over-the-top as some of the other jobs in the south suburbs. But maybe it’s because they’ve just won so much.

Bloom

Large talent pool. In fact, an underrated talent pool overall. … Great tradition, though probably the most demanding fan base. … Local talent is very good. … Two buildings creates a problem in building a program and that can be a downside. … Traditional powerhouse. But the facilities aren’t great and the stability of the administration is a question. … They really love their basketball there. Bloom will take some hits by people, but I think it’s an underrated job in the south suburbs. … Fan base is a big plus and a big negative. Can it be both?

Thornton

Maybe it’s not the job it obviously once was, but it’s still a pretty good one. … Tradition is excellent. … It’s Thornton basketball. There aren’t many better basketball names in the state. It’s a job that oozes prestige, and there aren’t many jobs with a bigger name recognition in the entire state. …The type of athlete is very intriguing in their district. … Great competition gym, but the other facilities within the school are a question mark. … Great gym.

Lincoln-Way East

I think this job and program are a sleeping giant. … It’s like H-F in ways. The combination of talent in the area, the facilities and the teacher/coach salaries are very good. … It’s been a solid program, but it could easily make the jump to elite if all the area kids stayed in the district. … So much potential at Lincoln-Way East. And they get sent to the weaker sectional every year, away from the south suburbs’ other top programs. … Good mix of players. … Sleeper of a job. You can win big there. … Pretty well-paid school district in comparison to a lot of others in south suburbs.

Marian Catholic

The fact it’s a private school option in an area where there aren’t many private school basketball opportunities in that immediate area is a big advantage. … Facilities are very good, and the school environment is excellent in building a culture. … Cost of education, along with other very competitive programs locally and in the city, make the job a challenge. … No program has made bigger strides in the past decade or two than Marian Catholic, which is a credit to Mike Taylor. The fact Marian is in this conversation says something when you consider where that job was years ago. No one would touch that job 20 years ago.

Rich

There is always talent in that area, so with that amount of kids it’s an attractive job. … The combination of three schools creates both an opportunity and a challenge. Building a culture within the school and the athletic program will be the key to building this program. … 3,000 students allows for finding players. … The potential is there to be a major player in Class 4A. … The talent pool in that area makes this job very interesting now. … The new fieldhouse takes it to a new level. … So many kids and athletes now in the school and within that district with them combining the schools. So much potential. … If it can get the program going and get the Dipper back to prominence? Then I’m not so sure if it couldn’t be the second best job in the south suburbs behind H-F.

Kankakee

The town is sports crazy and very supportive, while the administration is sports conscious and supportive. … A new fieldhouse that will rival H-F’s is being built.

Read More

Will the Chicago Bulls go over 41.5 wins this season?

The Chicago Bulls are coming off one of the more surprising stories in the 2021-2022 season. They finished 6th in the East with a 46-36 record and surpassed their win total of 43.5. The NBA season starts Tuesday, but the Bulls will open their season Wednesday on the road against the Miami Heat. It is important for the Bulls to get off to a good start with the East being better from top to bottom. Can the Chicago Bulls exceed their win total in consecutive years? Let’s break it all down and get the answer to that question.

The win total for the Chicago Bulls at Fanduel right now is 41.5. This is two games off of their opening win total last year. They are +600 to win the Central Division, +2500 to win the Eastern Conference, and +6500 to win the NBA Championship. Last season was full of high highs and low lows for this team. They started out on fire winning 27 of their first 40 games led by MVP candidate DeMar DeRozan. The hot start was soon cooled due to the numerous injuries to key players.

Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, and Patrick Williams all suffered injuries throughout the season and were in and out of the lineup. Lonzo went down in January and failed to return with some knee issues that he is currently still dealing with. Caruso only played 41 games due to suffering back-to-back injuries during the season. Patrick Williams was also sidelined with a near season-ending injury after only 17 games in the regular season before returning in the playoffs where he did not quite have his legs under him.

We all know that continuity and chemistry are key factors in a winning NBA team. The Chicago Bulls failed to have either of these with players being in and out of the lineup due to injuries. This caused them to fall from the first overall seed in the east to 6th while finishing 19-23 after the Lonzo injury.

During the Lonzo and Caruso injuries, the Bulls lacked on-ball defenders as well as playmaking. That was bad for a team who desperately needed both of those things last year with what they had on the roster. This caused the Bulls to finish 22nd overall in defensive rating and 5th in turnovers. With Lonzo set to miss extended time, it will be important for the Bulls to find some playmaking and defense at the guard position.

A bright spot from last year during all the chaos was the play of rookie Ayo Dosunmu. Ayo played extremely well in his role shooting 37.6 percent from beyond the arc while being one of the primary ball handlers on the court. His superb play landed him on the 2nd team All-Rookie team and gave him the confidence to be able to win the starting job while Lonzo recovers. He will have a reliable vet to lean on in Goran Dragic who was signed this summer. Dragic should help out with some backcourt depth and more importantly some shooting.

It is no secret that the Chicago Bulls go as far as their two all-star guards can take them. Zach Lavine inked a max contract over the summer which locks him up for the foreseeable future. This should motivate him to be more reliable on the defensive end where the Bulls need him most. DeMar is not going to repeat what he did last year but to be truthful, I don’t think the Bulls want or need him to. Last year was one of, if not the best in DeMar’s career.

Asking him to repeat that at his age, with the talent that you have on this roster is a lot to ask. I can make an argument that if he has another career year, it implies this Chicago Bulls roster has underachieved. DeMar should be the second option behind Lavine while allowing these younger guys to bloom and perform at a higher level than last season.

Among those young guys who need to play at a higher level is 2020 lottery pick Patrick Williams. There has been a lot of praise for this young man but we have yet to see it put on display consistently. Health is the primary concern, as it is for this entire Chicago Bulls roster. Williams has the tools to be the two-way wing all NBA teams want and need. Is he ready to step up and show everyone why? It remains to be seen, but if the Bulls want a shot at getting back into the playoffs, he is an important part of that.

The Chicago Bulls also added another potential two-way wing in Dalen Terry who should see some valuable minutes this year. His defense and playmaking will be needed to help guard some of the dynamic wings in the East. Although that is a lot to ask of a young player, I think Terry has what it takes to defend at a high level.

Another player who is in a prove-it year is Coby White. It was a surprise to me when Coby did not win the starting job over Ayo this off-season. I think Coby has a higher floor than Ayo overall as a point guard in this system. He has been in the system longer, is a better shooter, and playmaker. Maybe Billy Donovan wants his skill set off of his bench with the second unit, but I think this is a fascinating year for White. His shooting has to be a little more consistent, and if he can become a better defender anchoring that second unit, I think the sky is the limit for this Chicago Bulls bench.

Offensively, I think the Chicago Bulls will be just fine. They finished 13th in offensive rating last year and shot the ball extremely well from inside the three. They do need to take and make more threes this season if they want to be more of a threat. In three-pointers made and attempted, they finished bottom three in each category. Getting a healthy Caruso and Williams back, added to the Dragic signing, should increase those metrics. An under-the-radar addition to this team is the signing of Andre Drummond. The Bulls finished 28th in rebounding last year, and Drummond will definitely help solve that issue.

The win total right now is right where it should be in my opinion. There are a few more questions than answers for this Bulls team as currently constructed. This is not to say the Bulls will not come out and win games, but without Lonzo, I think there is a cap on how good they can be. The depth is there, but none of it is proven or consistent.

Last year the Bulls went 1-14 against the East’s top 4 seeds which shows when they stepped up in class, they did not have enough. As good as they are with Lavine and DeRozan on the wing, I question some of the pieces around them.

I would not touch the win total because of how improved and deep the East is. I think the better wager to make on the Chicago Bulls is for them to make the play in tournament. The top 5-6 teams in the East I think are pretty much locked in, so a 7-10 finish for the Bulls seems realistic. The odds are currently at -110 at Fanduel which is pretty fair, but be sure to shop around for a bigger payout if you agree with the breakdown.

Read More