Higher Post: United States of Hannah
...and got awful Drafty in Dallas
Congregation, please stand up….
…because we can all use a stretch! Get that blood moving!
Hello friends! Yes, it’s been a little bit since the last post. That was intentionally unintentional. Come March, I get quite busy … but then I take a much needed break. However, the break was going to be about a month - but, you know, life. It sometimes decides to switch up the game plan. All is good. I just got busy. However, it’s the offseason, what could possibly happen? Turns out a lot!
In this edition:
Bracketology Confirmation: It’s getting Drafty in Dallas!
Musical Hot Seats: Coaches jumpin’ on that Carousel!
(Still) Keeping Up With The Hannahs: Wait, it’s now The United States of Hannah?
We Got Next: There is a lot of Hoopsin’ going on!
Pregame - We Need You!
“Church of Bracketology - The Substack” is growing! Or at least, it wants to! There is so much to cover and many things we want to do around the sanctuary, but we need more folks. If you have some fun uplifting and informative things to say in the world of college hoops (men’s and women’s) we would love to talk to you. Please drop us a line if interested!
WNBA & (M)NBA Draft: Suddenly, its breezy in Dallas
The offseason has been ripe with stories. Here are some highlights:
Double 1s for Triple D!
For some crazy reason, the City of Dallas was able to pull in both #1 picks in the pro drafts, despite neither team being the statistical front-runners for that pick (insert conspiracy story here). And, both picks were the obvious #1s with UConn’s Paige Bueckers going to the Wings and Duke’s Cooper Flagg going to the Mavericks. Suddenly, Dallas is the rodeo for young hoopsters.
The Wind Beneath Their Wings: Currently, as the W is approaching the season halftime, Paige is tearing it up and on her way to the Rookie of the Year award. Not that the casual fan is watching since we are (apparently) still concerned about Caitlin Clark’s body language and non-existent beef with Angel Reese (for another day).
Let Your Coop Flagg Fly: You won’t need to wait until the season starts to get a glimpse at Coop. The Maine Event will make his debut in the NBA Summer League rookie showcase in Vegas early next month. See his new look Mavs pair up against the Lakers, Spurs, Hornets, and 76ers. (July 10-20)
The draft is where dreams are made … and crushed all at once:
Draft Night (or as we at the Church call it: Bracketology Confirmation) is a fun time for us as we get to see the dreams of young hoopsters come to fruition. It’s exciting to watch players like Duke’s Khaman Maluach drawn to tears as he takes the stage to don the Blazers cap as the 11th pick (he was actually traded to Memphis in pre-draft trade). Or players like Iowa’s Kate Martin and UConn’s Kaitlyn Chen get unexpectedly picked late in the W’s draft when they were only in the audience to support their #1 picked teammates (2024’s Caitlin Clark and 2025’s Paige Bueckers respectively.)
Where it can be crushing is to see mens players get too many bad voices in their heads telling them to leave school early and jump in the draft and not get selected. St John’s R.J. Luis jr. being a perfect example. Luis left UMass after one year to play for Rick Pitino at St. John’s, seeing his stock rise high this past season, even being awarded the Big East’s Player of the Year.
At the end of this season, after some falling out with Coach Pitino, he declared for the draft - and - jumped in the transfer portal (options, right?) only to surprisingly stay in the draft and then not get picked. Many players take this dual path but most of them are just testing the waters and learning the process to prep them for later. They have many avenues (coaches, scouts, etc.) where they can get the insider info they need to see where they might get picked. It’s one thing to think you will get picked high and don’t. It’s another thing to not get picked at all. Now, college eligibility is exhausted and the hope is the undrafted get invites to camp with no guarantees of making it, G-league or overseas. Now with NIL being so lucrative, the option of going pro early just for the money isn’t always the best option. (As of this posting, Luis jr. has signed a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz. There are no guarantees with a two-way, but it does give him a chance to prove he belongs.)
Meanwhile, in The W, the opposite is true. The W’s draft rule is that a player must be at least 22 years old during the calendar year of the draft, and have graduated from a 4-year college (or be within 3 months of graduation. This keeps players in school as it prohibits them from leaving early.
However, with only 13 teams (expanding to 15 in 2026) and roster caps at 12 per team, there are only 156 total roster spots in the league, as opposed to 450 in the men’s. The men’s also has the G-league where players can be ‘stashed’ for later use. The W does not have such a development league. There are as many women’s D1 college teams as there are mens, so you do the math. It is simply impossible to get the ‘R.J. Luis chance’ to play.
Going back to Kaitlyn Chen for a moment, she was picked with one of the last picks in the draft (picked 30 by Golden State, out of 36 total) so it was unlikely she would make the opening day roster. Just hearing her name was the dream come true for Kaitlyn. The Valkyries, an expansion team going into their first season, had 3 picks (1 in each round) and by opening day, none of their picks were on the opening day roster. They had all been cut. Is that bad management? No. It’s just that hard to make a roster.
Is it hopeless for a player like Chen? No. She got in the door and showed she can contribute. There will be injuries and then teams can sign players to fill those roster spots (which is how she was able to join GS last week) but once those injured players rejoin the roster, someone has to go.
There is a new CBA in progress and word is that expanding the roster is something that is on the table. And it needs to happen for this league to really grow. There is just too much talent out there and they will start to syphon off if international programs invest in the fast growing game.
Coaching Carousel: Spins Round Round Like a Record, baby.
Keep your hands inside the car at all times!
As usual, there were many high profile changes at the coaching level - nothing as big as John Calipari going from Kentucky to Arkansas like last season, but still some game changers:
There’s a new devil in the ACC: NC State rolls the dice on the always winning but tainted Will Wade to replace Kevin Keats. Keats was one year removed from a surprising Final Four run, but was just not consistent enough. Now that so many NCAA recruiting rules have been lifted, a guy like Wade is not as much of a risk.
Hoosier Replacement?: West Virginia coach Darian DeVries replaces embattled coach Mike Woodson as he ‘stepped down’. DeVries was only at WVU for one season before jumping, but he has a lot of promise. That said, the entire roster jumped in the portal, so let’s hope the fanbase will give the time for him to adjust his office chair before
kickingbuying him out.Where there’s a ‘Will’, there’s a new ‘Will’: “Where do you see yourself in 5 years” is the question they need to start asking Buzz Williams in job interviews. Williams has moved from College Station to College Park to replace Kevin Willard after moving to Villanova in one of the worst kept secrets spreading around the carousel. This move has accidentally highlighted Buzz Williams’ ‘Always keep them wanting more' career plan as he has strategically moved on after 5-6 seasons at any school (Marquette - 6; Virginia Tech - 5; Texas A&M - 6). He leaves before he has a chance to get stale and therefore is always a wanted commodity for a rebuild. Not a bad plan, really.
The Basketball Gods are full of Irony: VCU’s Ryan Odom moves over to Virginia as the full replacement for Tony Bennett, who left just before the season started. It is a perfect pick as Odom, son of legendary Wake Forest coach Dave Odom, basically grew up in the ACC. Also, he is already in Virginia, so it’s an easy move. But, the best part is that Odom started his coaching career at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, otherwise known as UMBC. This is the same UMBC that made history as the first #16 to ever beat a #1 seed. That #1, yes, Tony Bennett’s Virginia Cavaliers. To paraphrase Darth Vader, “When I left you I was but the learner. Now I am the master".
Oh, NCAA Recruiting Violations are still a thing?: Lastly, Fordham replaced coach Keith Urgo with Mike Magpayo after Urgo was busted by the NCAA after a series of recruiting violations, including taking recruits to Knicks/Nets games and having photoshoots in Times Square. Seriously? This is just the NCAA’s way of saying “see we do enforce the rules! - Psst, what are the rules??” This is really UMass Women’s Tennis all over again. If you are recruiting a smaller school like Fordham, you are not allowed to show potential recruits the highlights of the BIG CITY you are coming to?? This is crazy. I just hope NC State gets busted when Will Wade gets caught taking his recruits to Duke games.
(Still) Keeping up with the Hannahs
Two of my favorite players are not only incredibly fun to watch…but are both named Hannah! I dedicate this section to them. We try and keep up with them during a pivotal…offseason!
I’ll be honest, I was going to end this segment after the season. My goal here was to highlight both Hannah Stuelke (Senior/Forward/Iowa) and Hannah Hidalgo (Junior/Guard/Notre Dame) because they are both fun and were (at the time) under the radar. What I didn’t expect is how much watching them would be such a highlight of my season. I circled these games on my calendar and they brought me great basketball joy through out the season and made me an even bigger fan of the Hannahs that I was before.
The feedback I got from this segment showed me that people felt the same way. I hoped if I could make new fans of either Hannah from folks who didn’t know them previously, the season was won. And that is exactly what happened and that brings me joy.
I will save the post season wrap up for a later edition of the Higher Post, because today I really want to focus on something amazing happening right now!
The United States of Hannah - Take the court tonight!
Both Hannahs have made the roster for Team USA for the Americup 2025 tourney in Chile, literally tipping off today!! During the fun season I never got to see the Hannahs play each other. I even joked how it would kill me if both teams ended up in the same region of the NCAA Tournament, as was predicted a couple of times by Charlie Creme, ESPN’s resident WBB bracketologist.
That said, this is way better! Because they are ON THE SAME TEAM playing for the real home team! I am so excited for this, I have to sign up for another streamer (curses!)
And, Hannahs aside, this team is really fun and loaded with the talent we are going to see on future draft nights, including: Madison Booker (Texas), Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt), Audi Crooks (Iowa State), Flau’jae Johnson (LSU), Kennedy Smith (USC), Grace VanSlooten (Michigan State), Joyce Edwards (South Carolina), Gianna Kneepkens (UCLA), Raegan Beers (Oklahoma) and Hannah Hidalgo’s former Notre Dame teammate Olivia Miles (TCU) who was projected to go #2 in this year’s WNBA Draft, but chose to, not only stay in school, but also transfer to TCU, the team that knocked the Irish out of the NCAA tourney. Sadly, Miles and Hidalgo have since had a falling out, but I’m excited to see them as teammates just one last time. Take it in while you can.
All games will be accessible for viewing through FIBA’s streamer Courtside1891. And, nope, it’s not free unfortunately, but its only $5 for live and on-demand access for the whole tourney…ok, I’m in.
Here is the schedule for group play (Times EST):
Saturday 6/28 - USA vs. Chile, 8:20p
Sunday 6/29 - USA vs. Columbia, 8:10p
Monday 6/30 - USA vs. Puerto Rico, 8:10p
Weds 7/2 - USA vs. Mexico, 2:10p
We Got Next: Games to watch this week! (all times EST)
While the NCAA is out for the summer, there is still a whole bunch of hoopsin’ going on! Not just the WNBA, but also 3X3 tourneys, and NBA Summer Leagues firing up next week. Here are some of the highlights:
WNBA Regular Season:
Washington Mystics at Dallas Wings (Saturday, 8p, WNBA League Pass)
The battle of the top 3 rookies who are literally leading the race for Rookie of the Year: Paige Bueckers against Sonia Citron (my pick) and Kiki Iriafen. Last time ended with a Citron 3 for the win. Don’t leave Soni open!!!
New York Liberty at Atlanta Dream (Sunday, 3p, ESPN3/WNBA League Pass)
In NYC, while Progressives have been winning the politics, the Libs are struggling without two key players. Stewie and Sabs want to defend the title, but Allisha Gray has a different Dream.
Seattle Storm at Golden State Valkyries (Sunday, 8:30p, WNBA League Pass)
The Valks may be an upstart team, but they are playing a fun game that is just getting better and better. They took the Liberty to the wire at “Ballhalla” and look to weather the Storm. Kate “Money” Martin is becoming a star and always worth the watch. See, this is what happens when you get a chance. EXPAND THE ROSTERS!
Indiana Fever at Minnesota Lynx (Tuesday, 7p, Prime Video)
There is a lot more to this team than Caitlin Clark, who is sitting out with an injury. See them take on the league leading Lynx for the Commissioners Cup Final. Note: the last couple of seasons, the runner up in the CC has won the title.
NBA Summer League:
The Summer League is cool because it’s the first chance to see the newly drafted rookies as well as some other invitees that might not make the final roster.
California Classic Summer League - Chase Center, San Francisco
Saturday 7/5:
San Antonio Spurs at Miami Heat (4:30p, NBAtv)
Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors (6:30p ESPN2)
Sunday 7/6:
Los Angeles Lakers at Miami Heat (4:30p, NBAtv)
San Antonio Spurs at Golden State Warriors (6:40p, NBAtv)
Tuesday 7/8:
Miami Heat at Golden State Warriors (7p, ESPN+)
Los Angeles Lakers at San Antonio Spurs (10p, ESPN)
Final Seconds
Excited to be back. Tons of hoops and fun stuff going on. Get out there and root for your USA Hannahs!
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Also, feel free to join the conversation - just keep it upbeat!
Always live One Shining Moment at a time. Never be boring.