In about three weeks, the OU womens basketball team will embark on a quest to prove they are the best in the Big 12 once again, or at least try to prove they're not the fifth-best.
For the past six or so seasons now, I've tried to recap games, share photos and links and all of the above about my own favorite Sooners team. Last year was probably the most difficult one, but hey, nowhere to go but up.
We have five count em FIVE freshmen on our roster this year, not to mention our Big 12 preseason newcomer of the year Texas A&M transfer Peyton Little, not to mention we may actually get to finally see Maddie Manning for her first entire season for once. Please stay healthy, Manning (says NFL fantasy football owners nationwide).
Thanks Baj! I'm ready! Time to kick some Hypocrite U a$$!!!
Maybe in football. Probably in men's basketball. Much like last year, I'd say our season's success depends on if Maddie is as good as billed a few years ago when she was our top recruit and if she can stay healthy.
Ill keep track of the team during the year, but nothing really pre the season starting. Are we supposed to be pretty good this year?
Ranger Reese of OVJ country, Patrollin tha hood.
I Survived Drunkytown with OleVet and all I got was this rash!
With a record of 109-23 (.826) and six Big 12 championships in 10 seasons, Stoops has reason to be arrogant. But he is not. He is somewhere between humble and unimpressed.
~ Ivan Maisel
Ill keep track of the team during the year, but nothing really pre the season starting. Are we supposed to be pretty good this year?
While the Big 12 is usually a fairly strong conference, even without those worthless Tigers, Huskers, Beefaloos or Aggs, we are picked fifth, which should be good enough for a first round NCAA exit again if it holds up
But don't take my word for it... let me prep for the season by quoting Sherri over and over!
Originally Posted by Sherri Coale
“Our league is full of great teams and great coaches, and we are young and a bit of a mystery to everyone I am sure...We have to replace a tremendous point guard, a 6-6 shot blocker and the most prolific 3-point shooter in our program’s history and we have to earn our way. I can’t tell you how excited I am about shepherding this group through that process.”
She's in her 19th OU season now. It's been that long. And yet, her hair's still as blonde as ever:
You know who really stink stank skunks at Big 12 basketball? Texas Tech. I know they have Tubby on the men's side now and shouldn't be as sheeeeeety as they were under their previous two buffoons, but Tech is the new Baylor. Crappity crap crap. Football, basketball, you name it, about the only thing they add to the conference these days in proving that there's a western half to Texas and it's not all I-35.
*was ANYONE really surprise when good ol BG popped the big question to her fellow wnba star? ugh~
I was because I thought she had dated a Baylor student for a long time and lo and behold, she was engaged to a Tulsa Shock player. See, I follow womens basketball waaaay too much if I knew stupid personal stuff like that
I was because I thought she had dated a Baylor student for a long time and lo and behold, she was engaged to a Tulsa Shock player. See, I follow womens basketball waaaay too much if I knew stupid personal stuff like that
Well, sometimes you have to upgrade when you make it big. Just ask Carrie Underwood.
the guy coach standing next to Sherri in the coaches pic has that look on his face "ya, I check out all the girls in their undies"
Ranger Reese of OVJ country, Patrollin tha hood.
I Survived Drunkytown with OleVet and all I got was this rash!
With a record of 109-23 (.826) and six Big 12 championships in 10 seasons, Stoops has reason to be arrogant. But he is not. He is somewhere between humble and unimpressed.
~ Ivan Maisel
All right hotshots. I debated going through the grieving process by trolling opposing message boards for meltdown material, but then I decided it would be better to do my first pre-pre-preseason pre-preview here instead... and dag nabbit, if you tear your third knee's ACL, you are NOT getting another preview next year!
I am of course, referring to Jason White... no I'm not...
Maddie Manning, sans two ACLs:
Maddie Manning was our stellar touted recruit of two season ago, who was projected to start on what would have most assuredly been another Final Four Baylor-killer squad... until an ACL tear in an October intrasquad scrimmage.
And then, in what surely will be a moody, mystic "What if I told you" 30 for 30 soundbyte someday, Maddie had to go and tear her other knee's ACL last year.
So, while listed as a reshirt sophomore this year, I am NOT going to count last year's 6 piddly squat scrimmage-equivalent non-conference games as a season.
She is a 6'2" guard from a vastly overrated cornfield in the middle of a Iowa's greatest metroplex, Ankeny.
She started three games last season (which I remind you, NCAA clearance waiver deciding committee, do NOT count toward her four years of eligibility) showing promise in the ball thievery, elderly assistance and scoring categories. And, because she's a Sherri Coale Sooner through and through, her turnovers outnumbered two of those categories. Boomer freakin' Sooner baby. Check out her SS.com profile here.
badger seasonal projection: Surefire starter. Who the hell needs ACLs when all you have to do is stand still to shoot 3s
There's a lot of n00bs to make it through on this team so I'll try to do another tomorrow.
We have a ton of n00bs to get to... continuing on...
Vionise Pierre-Louis is 6'4"
With a name as cool as that, it almost seems unfortunate that she's probably going to become "VPL" very quickly to TV announcers that don't dare try to pronounce her name correctly (her parents are native Haitians).
SS.com did a profile on Vionise here. She is from Boca Raton, just like Howard Schnellenger's FAU. FAU offered her a scholarship after she was born. The infant future-star baby-giggled in the coach's faces. FAU sucks.
She is the latest addition to the Sooner torn ACL club, but fortunately, will be medically cleared to rejoin basketball fun in October... hey, that's this month!
In high school, she averages 22.1 points and 13.2 rebounds. Coincidentally enough, those are also the total points and rebounds averaged in all of her high school games. I guess that's a benefit to being 6'4" (full disclosure: only 5'2" and therefore glare at everyone not cursed with shortness by default).
HS highlight reel here:
baj's seasonal projection: Assuming that ACL troubles are behind her, I see a lot of one-handed ball handling en route to a lot of off-the-glass easy closeup shots. Seriously, that youtube video makes her look a lot like a budding CP3 (sans the misses to up the rebound stats, heh). Can we please put a moratorium on ACL tears?
We have a ton of n00bs to get to... continuing on...
Vionise Pierre-Louis is 6'4"
With a name as cool as that, it almost seems unfortunate that she's probably going to become "VPL" very quickly to TV announcers that don't dare try to pronounce her name correctly (her parents are native Haitians).
SS.com did a profile on Vionise here. She is from Boca Raton, just like Howard Schnellenger's FAU. FAU offered her a scholarship after she was born. The infant future-star baby-giggled in the coach's faces. FAU sucks.
She is the latest addition to the Sooner torn ACL club, but fortunately, will be medically cleared to rejoin basketball fun in October... hey, that's this month!
In high school, she averages 22.1 points and 13.2 rebounds. Coincidentally enough, those are also the total points and rebounds averaged in all of her high school games. I guess that's a benefit to being 6'4" (full disclosure: only 5'2" and therefore glare at everyone not cursed with shortness by default).
HS highlight reel here:
baj's seasonal projection: Assuming that ACL troubles are behind her, I see a lot of one-handed ball handling en route to a lot of off-the-glass easy closeup shots. Seriously, that youtube video makes her look a lot like a budding CP3 (sans the misses to up the rebound stats, heh). Can we please put a moratorium on ACL tears?
I believe I read where Sherri referred to Vionese as Vivi so that would be much easier to to roll off the tongue by the announcers!
Let me introduce you to every male SF.com's future girlfriend that you will be begging me to post more pics of all season...
Peyton Little
As you can see, Peyton was very depressed and sad to be dressed in Texas A&M Aggie grab. The collie worshiping, hospital orderly cheer boys, the fake army vs the old army and the new army and endless ball squeezing... it was too much. So now, Peyton is a Sooner:
And doesn't she look happy to be in Norman instead of Aggieland!
The 5'11" guard from Abeline, Texas played sparingly for the stupid aggies last year, averaging 15 minutes, 4.5 points and 1.2 rebounds. Her 25 of 98 3-point shooting is a very un-Sooner .255, but since OU players shoot 3s, expect those numbers to climb immediately upon setting foot on campus.
Her uncle is former Sooners hoopster David Little. Read his (OSU buzzer beater!) story here. Her father went to Tech and her other uncle went to Baylor... and look! Everyone's glaring now that I mentioned those two abysmal programs, so moving on!
baj's seasonal projection: She sat out last season, as per NCAA transfer rules. I have high hopes, as she was a highly touted recruit out of high school and just seemed to run into rotten aggie luck in College Station. I really suspect that Gioya Carter and Nicole Kornet will start at guard based on previous play, BUT... who knows what she looks like in practice?
And now... Peyton Little takes the ice bucket challenge with Sherri Coale and Kornet (with ice bucket dumping cameos by Trevor and the football team):
Was jersey #40 taken? Or 30? Or 15? It would have been wonderful to say Love-something all season, but alas, not meant to be. I know nothing else about tennis so if you do here's her SS.com bio.
She's a 5'8" guard from Bishop McGuinness in OKC that has played four years of OU tennis. She qualifies for one more year of another sport under NCAA rules and she chose basketball. Cool.
baj's seasonal projection: We'll probably see her in the non-conference early stuff in the closing minutes a la those volleyball players on loan a few seasons ago. I have nothing really clever to add to this, because tennis player turned basketball player kind of speaks for itself. I'd really love it if there's some trick shot thing she could work up with Fraschilla involving a tennis racket for youtube???