NC State Women’s Basketball Will Open Season Ranked 5th Nationally

In probably the easiest prediction in the world, the women’s basketball team will open as a top-5 ranked team nationally. ACC predictions will be released soon, but the early assumption is the conference will be a two horse race again between State and Louisville.

Additional Ammo

Not only did Moore go out and find stud players, but he has them with three years of eligibility remaining… which is CRAZY.

Madison Hayes was the first pickup. SEC All-Freshman team, the 6-foot guard played significant minutes for Miss State. Formerly the #7 Guard in ESPNs 2020 class, she averaged close to 5 pts, 5 rebs and 1 ast a game. While the numbers don’t jump off the page, her speed and toughness allowed her to excel on the defensive side. Think of her as a taller, younger version of Crutchfield.

Diamond Johnson was the other major transfer for State. B10 All-Freshman team and 2nd Team All-B10, Johnson was a force for Rutgers last season. Averaging nearly 18 points and 4 rebounds, she left high school as the 6th best recruit in the Nation. Moore feel in love with her ability to push the ball and stretch defenses. Think of her as a score-first Perez.

Both made All-Freshman teams in solid, Power 5 conferences. They both were highly ranked out of high school and succeeded at the college level. Both will be with State for years and allow for perfect transitioning out of current seniors.

Moore hit a gold mine with these two.

Projected Starting Lineup

Two big additions to an already loaded starting lineup that could look like this in about a month;

Perez | Johnson | Brown-Turner | Boyd | Cunane

Perez the cool handed guard that gained more and more confidence throughout the year to take charge offensively. Johnson could start the season on the bench for Crutchfield, but her skills are enormous. Wouldn’t mind seeing Crutchfield actually have a bench role, coming in for big time defensive sparks. Brown-Turner has elevated her game both collegiately and for the national team. Would love to see her consistently get double-double range. Boyd will be a starter this year. Take what she did in lesser minutes to full games and she could have an absolutely amazing breakout season. Then Cunane, the queen of the court, you know what she’s capable of.

Oh and their coach? Only the reigning National Coach of the Year.

Get ready WPN…this could finally be the year.