Michelle Smith Pac-12 women's basketball mailbag - Jan. 26, 2023
The first mailbag of the 2023 season is upon us! Thank you to those who sent questions.
Who is your early favorite for Sixth Player of the Year?
At this point, it has to be Oregon State freshman Raegan Beers, who is averaging 14.4 points (second on the team) and a team-leading 8.6 rebounds off the bench and has been named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week three times already this season. Beers certainly has to be considered starter-adjacent considering that she’s playing about 24 minutes a game, but she has just one start in 19 games, which proves that Beavers’ coach Scott Rueck likes what happens when Beers comes in off the bench.
Who has done the best coaching job this season?
So far, my vote would go to USC’s Lindsay Gottlieb. Gottlieb has a team with eight new players, and a lot of talent, but that doesn’t always equal success. Perhaps her best coaching move was bringing in veteran coach Beth Burns as associate head coach to take over the program in the early season as she gave birth to her daughter Reese. Burns established an expectation about defense and when Gottlieb returned she already had some pieces nicely falling into place, including senior transfers Kadi Sissoko and Destiny Littleton and sophomore Rayah Marshall. Because of all of their unknowns, the Trojans were picked to finish ninth in the Conference standings, but truth be told, I’ve had them as a dark horse all along. Not that I called an upset over second-ranked Stanford, but I wasn’t completely surprised either. USC is a team that no one is going to want to play for the rest of the season and short of a huge stumble, they are looking NCAA Tournament worthy.
Who is the shooter most feared in the Conference by opposing teams?
The numbers indicate that would be Stanford senior Hannah Jump, who leads the Pac-12 in 3-pointers with 66 (26 in conference play), though her shooting percentage has slipped against Conference teams. Yet, Jump can do a lot of damage. Just ask Colorado coach JR Payne, who called jump the “best shooter in the country.” Jump proved Payne’s point on Sunday with a 21-point game against the Buffs that included five 3-pointers. Jump has 10 games this season with at least four treys.
Do you see an opportunity for a team to upset Stanford at Maples?
Opportunities are getting short. The Cardinal has only four home games left in the regular season against Oregon State, Oregon, USC and UCLA.
Judging by records alone, UCLA would have the best opportunity. USC has already knocked off the Cardinal once this season and frankly it’s hard to see that happening twice. Oregon and Oregon State have struggled to win consistently since the Conference season started, but both have the talent to pull off an upset and with Stanford not traveling to the Oregon schools this season, it’s not out of the realm.
Who are your candidates for Freshman of the Year?
There are three standouts at the moment - UCLA’s Kiki Rice, Oregon’s Grace VanSlooten and Oregon State’s Raegan Beers.
VanSlooten has the best scoring numbers by a slight margin over Beers, while Beers has better rebounding numbers. Rice, at this point, is on the team with the best record, has scored in double digits in 10 of UCLA’s last 13 games, and has had to take a leading role at times with Charisma Osborne in and out of the lineup. And Beers probably needs OSU rally in the second half of the season to make her case.
Right now, it’s Rice.
Which team is under the radar nationally?
The answer to this may seem a bit strange considering that they are nationally ranked, but I think Arizona is flying under the proverbial radar this season. The Wildcats are tied for fifth in the Pac-12 at 5-3 and holding at No. 19 in the AP poll after coming off a big win over Arizona State, trying to regain momentum after getting swept by Utah and Colorado the previous weekend. Arizona’s signature non-league win came in December against then-No. 18 Baylor and they also knocked off then-No. 18 Oregon in January. But there are plenty of opportunities to get another. Following a home weekend against the Washington schools, the Wildcats close the conference schedule with UCLA and USC on the road, Stanford, Cal, Utah, Colorado at home and at Oregon and Oregon State.