University of North Texas Athletics
Green Gang: So The Preseason Poll Means What?
10/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Return to Play
By Steven Bartolotta, October 20, 2009, 2:29 p.m.
Today the SBC announced the preseason coaches poll for the upcoming women's basketball season. I thought I'd take an unscientific approach to figuring out how the voting went. I'm going to guess that the way every team was picked to finish in the poll this season, was picked no more than one spot away from the way they ended last season.
Example, FIU was last in the East last season, they will be either fifth or sixth in the poll....and what do you know, I'm right.
The preseason polls are nothing more than an exercise of the coaches looking at the way things ended up last season and putting it on paper. For North Texas, the women were picked to finish in a tie for fourth with UNO. No surprise, Coach Stephens wasn't shocked either. Coming off of last season, that's about where the expectations should be.
Let me remind everyone about the accuracy of coaches polls from our talk about it during football camp. The lesson is these types of polls are right about 30 percent of the time, if that.
So for Shanice Stephens and Co. what does that mean going forward? Well a couple of things. With a slew of newcomers, nobody knows what to expect out of this group because nobody has seen them play together.
Being picked fourth means North Texas isn't on anyone's radar either. Coach Stephens thinks that can change in a hurry this season. But to do that the road still goes first through UALR on the West side and ultimately Middle Tennessee.
How well this group meshes and adapts to the system will tell the ultimate tale of the 2009-10 basketball season. Is Niqky Hughes as good as advertised? How well will the newcomers play? Can Brittney James emerge as the team leader in her senior season?
Stephens cleaned house this past season and has a roster of players that fit her style, system, and mentality. If you don't think that's important when building a roster, go ask Bill Parcells what he thinks about coaching guys that aren't his own. That's not an excuse, that's a coaching fact of life for every program.
The overall make up of this team is as different as I've ever seen it, and this is just after watching one practice. There is teaching, high intensity, chatter, and a lot, I mean a lot of player accountability. I'll be blunt, last season sometimes practice seemed like Coach Stephens was trying to push a mule up a mountain. It wasn't going to work.
This year's group has potential, the dirty little word in sports because that just means you haven't done it yet. In basketball the turnaround process can be quick, very quick sometimes. In the Sun Belt West division, the only known entity is UALR. They should be the favorite. After that, it's a crap shoot if you ask me.
Anyone can jump up and take that second spot, and a few breaks, potentially challenge UALR. Remember Middle Tennessee hasn't been a juggernaught for long. They were the Mean Green not that long ago. No better, no worse. It can happen, and it can happen fast.
Shanice was not satisfied at all with being picked to finish in a tie for fourth. That's average, and she doesn't settle for average. With her, it's the old Ricky Bobby line of "if you're not finishing first, you might as well be last." The talk is about championships and anything less, well, just don't say anything at all.
North Texas has been tabbed as fourth in the West, not pleasing to anyone, but looking to be above the averages by the end of the season is the only poll that matters.
