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Pac-12 women's basketball notes: CU Buffs women's basketball picked eighth in preseason polls

pat rooney, daily camera, boulder, colo.
·4 min read

Oct. 26—SAN FRANCISCO — The consensus is in regarding the outlook for the Colorado women's basketball team.

Neither the Pac-12 Conference coaches, nor the media members who cover the league, believe the Buffaloes will repeat their success from a year ago. The preseason coaches and media polls were released on Tuesday to kick off the league's women's basketball media day, and the Buffs were picked eighth in both polls.

CU went 22-9 and 9-7 in the Pac-12, finishing fifth in the conference — after getting picked seventh in both preseason polls a year ago — while earning the program's first bid to the NCAA Tournament since 2013. The Buffs suffered a first-round loss against Creighton but lost three senior starters, including Mya Hollingshed, a two-time first team All-Pac-12 selection.

"I don't really pay attention to (the polls) because I feel like the Pac-12 is really anybody's conference no matter (where) you're ranked one through 12th," CU guard Jaylyn Sherrod said. "Last year we finished fifth and we were picked (seventh). It fluctuates throughout the season and it can be anyone's game at any time."

Stanford collected all 28 first-place votes in the media poll to easily outdistance No. 2 Arizona in points, 336-291. Oregon finished third in the media poll followed by UCLA, Utah, Oregon State, Washington State, CU, USC, Washington, California and Arizona State.

The coaches poll essentially was the same with one slight difference, as Oregon (101 points) edged USC (100) for second. Stanford received 11 first-place votes in the coaches poll, though Utah received one first-place vote from legendary Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer, as coaches cannot vote for their own squad.

"I always think you have something to prove until you're a national contender multiple years in a row," CU head coach JR Payne said. "Building a program in a conference like this is really hard. Especially if you're committed to doing it the right way, trying to get players that will last and stick. It's been a lot of work to get to this point, but we definitely feel we're better than eighth in this league and we're excited to have an opportunity to prove that."

New home

Former CU forward Peanut Tuitele is spending her extra season of eligibility granted by the NCAA for the 2020-21 year at California, which is about three hours from her hometown of Chico, Calif.

Golden Bears coach Charmin Smith said Tuitele has fit in well, and she hopes a player who began her CU career with a 12-18 record and ended it with an NCAA Tournament appearance can help set the stage for similar growth in Berkeley.

"It was a great addition for our team," Smith said. "Peanut, first off, she's just a phenomenal leader and a great teammate. This team absolutely loves her. The coaching staff loves her. When she's on the court, she's a talker. She helps people be in the right spot. She's extremely intelligent and has high basketball IQ.

"Just watching Colorado's growth and they had some struggles in Peanut's early seasons. And then they end up in the NCAA Tournament. That's the same type of growth we want for our program. We think Peanut can be a big part of getting us to the postseason."

Portal thoughts

Arizona coach Adia Barnes said losing a young player via the transfer portal to a league rival — as the Wildcats did with CU newcomer Aaronette Vonleh — isn't any more disappointing than losing any other transfer. It simply is another aspect of the modern game.

"I don't worry about that stuff. You've just got to coach what you have, and that's the way it is," Barnes said. "If your players aren't playing, you're going to lose somebody. That's just the way it is."

Barnes added, "That's a hard balance. You invest in these freshmen. You recruit them from eighth grade, ninth grade, and they don't play their first year, they leave. That's hard. But the transfer portal is the way it is."

Vonleh played sparingly for UA last year as a freshman, averaging 4.1 points and 1.6 rebounds in 17 games.

Notable

All-tournament passes for the Pac-12 women's basketball tournament in Las Vegas went on sale on Tuesday at Pac-12.com/tickets. All-tourney passes for the men's tournament go on sale on Wednesday at 11 a.m. MT...How BuffZone's Brian Howell voted in the preseason women's basketball media poll: Stanford, Arizona, UCLA, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Oregon State, Washington State, USC, Washington, Cal, Arizona State...Stanford's Haley Jones was the only Pac-12 player named to the five-player AP preseason All-American team released on Tuesday. Jones' Stanford teammate, Cameron Brink, received honorable mention honors, as did Arizona's Jade Loville — a transfer from rival Arizona State.