D-III Voters reading our blog?

I am not 100% certain, but it does appear that a large percentage of voters for Women's DIII News have been reading our blog and have done their research on the 2007-2008 Lady Petrels Hoops team. The first two major preseason top 25 polls left the Petrels out, but after my criticism of the other polls, the Women’s DIII News poll gave our Ladies the #20 preseason ranking. I believe they were scared of being criticized like the other publications and knew that they had to do their research and make a true preseason top 25 poll. Now, you know how I feel about preseason rankings, but our Ladies are deserving of this and I am confident they will not let these voters down. #20 is only the beginning...#1 is the goal!

WOMEN'S DIII NEWS 2007-2008 PRESEASON TOP 25 POLL
# TEAM 2006-07 record
1. Capital 20-7
2. New York University 27-4
3. Washington University (Mo.) 25-6
4. Bowdoin College 29-2
5. Kean 27-4
6. DePauw 31-3
7. Calvin 28-3
8. Wisconsin-Eau Claire 19-9
9. University of Southern Maine 27-3
10. Illinois Wesleyan 22-6
11. Messiah 26-3
12. Hope College 24-4
13. Millikin 20-6
14. Luther College 24-5
15. Emmanuel College 29-2
16. Mary Washington 31-3
17. Wilmington 25-5
18. St. Benedict 22-6
19. Scranton 27-3
20. Oglethorpe 21-8
21. George Fox 19-7
22. Randolph-Macon 26-5
23. Puget Sound 24-7
24. Manchester 21-7
25. Carroll 22-5

Preseason Polls are in and OU's on the Outside

The 2007-2008 Preseason polls from D3hoops.com and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) agree that OU will not begin the season as one of the top 25 teams in the nation. However, OU did receive votes in both polls and is currently ranked 36th in the D3hoops.com poll and 34th in the WBCA poll. I must admit that I think the Lady Petrels are deserving of a preseason top 25 ranking, but does it really matter? Being in the preseason top 25 does not guarantee a 20 win season; in fact it doesn't even guarantee a single win. With the little media exposure that D-III athletics actually receives, there is no way to determine who the top teams are in the nation. Unlike D-I, freshmen and newcomers are absolute mysteries to opposing coaches. If any coach in the SCAC actually knew something of the OU freshmen class from 2005-2006, they would have never picked the Lady Petrels to finish last in the conference, they probably wouldn't have picked them second either but they surely wouldn't have been picked last. If you take a look at the final D3hoops.com poll from the 2006-2007 season and compare it to the 2007-2008 preseason poll, you will find that there are only four teams in the preseason poll that were NOT in the final poll last season. The latest top 25 poll seems to be more of a recap of last season, not actual expectations of the year to come. Basically, I think it's a shame that the Lady Petrels are not a preseason top 25 team, but come January, if they play up to their potential they will be amongst the ranked teams in the nation. Additionally, I'm sure that a ranking in the final poll in March will be more prized than a preseason top 25 nod.

OU's growing Apathy a concern to researchers

"We have sports teams?," commented a 5th year junior at Oglethorpe when I asked him about his expectations of the Lady Petrels this coming hoops season. Surprisingly this was not the first such response I received last Wednesday when I went back to the campus of Oglethorpe University in a quest to gather student insight on their expectations of the 2007-2008 Lady Petrels hoops squad. Disguised as a Japanese Maple, I planted myself outside of the Emerson Student Center and bombarded unsuspecting OU students with questions concerning the Lady Petrels. After 6 hours of incredibly unnecessary covert journalism I was shocked to discover that the majority of students I interviewed were more surprised to find out that OU had sports teams than the fact that they were talking to a tree. That's right, it didn't even begin to phase these students that they were talking to a frickin' Japanese Maple! As I drove home, disappointed with my day's research, I began to reflect upon my wonderful days at OU. I remembered being at almost every single sporting event I could attend. Me and my cronies made several road trips to support our fellow students in their athletic competitions. It was a fun era at OU. Students made absolute fools of themselves at every sporting event. Life was great, Lake Lanier was full, and home games on Friday nights in January and February were what we lived for. Have you ever cheered so hard and fanatically that after a win the players come and thank you and assist the EMT in starting your intravenous drip because you've given everything you have as a fan? Well I've been there and it's awesome! Why can't the good 'ole days return to OU? I want to see Dorough Fieldhouse packed all season long. I've had enough of the apathy around campus, it's time to get out and support your school, your fellow students, and the concession stand (conveniently located in Dorough Fieldhouse). Let's bring the energy back to OU. The Dorough Delinquents need to return, and return in force. I'll see you this season!

What should we expect this season?

With the Lady Petrels first regular season game less than a month away, you have to ask the question; is this team ready to make a run at the D-III National Championship? I know the season has not yet begun, and two straight years of making the national tourney does not guarantee a third straight appearance, but the fact that the Lady Petrels are bringing back their core players for a third straight season and Corbett is returning from injury makes me believe that that we will be adding some hardware to our trophy case come March, assuming the lock hasn't rusted over from lack of use. I'm probably getting ahead of myself but I truly believe these girls will provide OU with some much needed excitement this March. DePauw's Lady's took home the National Championship last year, our Lady's took down DePauw at Dorough last season. If they can find that level of intensity and determination that they had versus DePauw last January and apply themselves to that level of play all season long, they will be the team to beat around the SCAC and come March, around the country. What do you think, am I full of it, or do the Lady Petrels have a legit shot at a National Championship? What will it take for them to win the SCAC? What will you consider a successful season? I want to hear from you. Post your comments.