In Reply to: oh yeah. Expecting and counting on that!* posted by barrya on April 13, 2026 at 06:51:59
Muse 6'4"
Betts 6'3"
Gardiner 6'3"
Bilic 6'3"
Karamouzi 5'11"
Aarnisalo 5'10"
Okafor 5'9"
Deas 5'9"
Potential starting line up: Betts, Gardiner, Bilic, Aarnisalo, and ?
Offensively, That's a very strong starting 5. Three players that can post up. A three point shooter, in Gardiner. Bilic it seems like the sky is the limit for her on offense - just based on the fact that she smoked Dugalic and had Jacquez tied at 10 in the 1v1 thing.
So, we're clearly not in the market for small guards.
Re: Gardiner, I wonder if we are going to intentionally not portal someone in over her. Hear me out. My guess is that she could have come back this season. Maybe early in the season. Early in the season there was talk of her timeline. But, I'm guessing that with the Betts' and Dugalic our front court minutes were accounted for. If she came back, either her minutes or Sienna's minutes would have been paltry. And, we needed someone to come back this season. So, my guess is that we don't bring in another high profile big. She did us a solid by taking a redshirt this year.
On a related note. Bilic is really big. At 6'3" she's bigger than 3rd team AA Fournier. And, based on the 1v1 challenge, she's got all kinds of moves. She could be a great do everything 4.
Gotta figure Muse will be a contributor next season. Based on limited evidence, she was getting more mobile toward the end of the season*
So, the big gap to fill is at wing. Getting Carlton, a 6'1" dead-eye shooter would be huge. I'd break the bank for her.
If not her, then I'd be fine with Lee or Civil (I say this knowing full well, that my knowledge of the portal pool is limited to what I've seen and what I've read in articles. I'm sure there are excellent players I've never heard of). Here's Tennessee's blurb on Civil: 2025-26 - FRESHMAN
Led UT in points for the first time in her career with 17 and tied for team lead with eight rebounds at #6/6 LSU.
Notched her first career double-double with a carer-high 21 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds at Oklahoma.
Tied for the team lead with a career-best 10 rebounds and scored eight points in UT’s win over Missouri.HIGH SCHOOL
No. 13 overall player, No. 1 small forward, four-star rating by 247Sports.
No. 19 overall player, No. 6 guard, 4.5-star rating by ProspectsNation.com.
No. 20 overall player, No. 6 guard, five-star rating in espnW 100.
No. 20 overall player by World Exposure Report and ASGR.
McDonald’s All-American (2025).
Florida Gatorade Player of the Year (2025).
At 29%, she wouldn't come in as a good 3pt shooter. But, she can play.
Aside from a top wing, I'd go for filling out the roster with players that are good, but are willing to be role players. If we could get a great 4, that would be willing to play behind Gardiner for a season, that would fantastic. We don't need guards under 6 feet. We could use wings, and bigs with unique talents, that are willing to be developed.
And, as we saw this year, how well this group defends will determine how far we go. There is enough offense here.
I wrote this before I saw we landed the TCU guard. I'm with B2BB. Seems like too many small guards.
*If I was coach, first thing I'd tell Muse is stop running with your arm out. It slows you down. It draws the attention of the other team. She practically plays the game on O with one arm raised. Cut that out. Looking forward to seeing how she progresses next season.