Throughout the season, we've offered a comment box to you, the readers, to let us know what stories you wanted to see on the site.
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| Coach Mark French and the Big West champion Gauchos are 20-4 this season. |
And with a month and a half remaining before we crown the 2002-03 national champion, this much is clear: The majority of you think UC Santa Barbara is one of the country's most underrated teams, Houston junior Chandi Jones is one of the nation's most underrated players and Rutgers' rookie Cappie Pondexter is one of the most underrated freshmen.
And we tend to agree with you. (Bet you didn't think anyone really read all those notes you sent, eh?)
So this week, the Dish is dedicated to getting the word out about these three:
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
User comment: Throw some love at the UCSB Gauchos! After knocking off Purdue early in the season, then taking a break from the weak Big West conference to beat Illinois on their home court and play No. 4 LSU to three overtimes (on their home court, too!), they deserve some attention! Let everybody else know what us Gaucho fans already know: these girls can play basketball! -- Ginger Ammon, Fremont, Calif.
Why you should know about them: UCSB dominates the Big West every season and has reached the NCAA Tournament for six straight years. The Gauchos went undefeated in conference play last season for the third time in four years, and have suffered just one league loss this season. This is a program that has produced three WNBA players in Erin Buescher, Stacy Clinesmith and Kayte Christensen, yet seems to reload every year. This season, the Gauchos have beaten Purdue, BYU, Southern Cal and Illinois, and only lost to LSU in Baton Rouge after three overtimes.
Eye-opening stats: UCSB already has clinched its eighth consecutive outright Big West regular-season title, as well as its eighth straight season with at least 20 wins (a Big West record). Last season, UCSB won an unprecedented sixth straight Big West tournament title. The Gauchos haven't lost back-to-back games since November 2001.
The bottom line: Coach Mark French (400-plus coaching victories) has dedicated his life to the game, making it better and building a program that very well might be the second-best team on the West Coast this season. His Gauchos are playing extremely tough defense -- only five foes have shot better than .400 this season, and eight opponents have been held below 20 points in a half -- and can be expected to ruffle some feathers in the NCAA Tournament.
Houston's Chandi Jones
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| Jones |
User comment: I believe it is a major oversight on your part that you have not included Houston's Chandi Jones on ESPN.com's Wade Watch. She currently leads the nation in scoring at 27.4 ppg. In addition, she is averaging 7.8 rpg, 3.4 spg, 2.4 asp and 0.9 bpg. I believe playing in C-USA hurts Chandi in the eyes of the national media when they consider their list(s) of the top players in the county. However, when you take a closer look at what Chandi has done, it is clear that she deserves to be mentioned with the nation's best. -- Brian Kershon, Santa Clara, Calif.
Why you should know about her: As mentioned above, Jones is the country's leading scorer (27.4 ppg; she also averages 7.9 rebounds and 3.5 steals), ranking ahead of more well known players such as Kelly Mazzante and LaToya Thomas (both of whom were Kodak All-Americans last season). Jones also was a huge part of Houston's run to last season's run to the WNIT final (lost to Oregon). ESPN analyst Nancy Lieberman said Jones, "has a full-court game" and "comes up big when the game is on the line. Some players get their points when the game is already decided, but Jones scores her points when the game means something."
Eye-opening stats: Despite having an entire season left at Houston, Jones is only 77 points away from becoming the program's all-time leading scorer. She has scored in double-figures in every game of her college career (79). Jones also is fastest player in C-USA history to reach the 1,000-point plateau (46 games). She was the nation's highest-scoring freshman in 2000-01, despite missing the final nine games of the season after she tore her ACL.
The bottom line: The 5-foot-10 guard/forward is one of the nation's best, and should at least be included among the candidates for the national player-of-the-year awards. But Houston has lost five of its last eight games, is 13-12 overall and 4-8 in conference play and not going to get an invite to the Big Dance ... which means that unless the Lady Cougars win the league's automatic bid -- and at this point Houston still hasn't secured a berth to the C-USA tournament -- Jones' season will be over after Houston's regular-season finale on March 2.
Rutgers' Cappie Pondexter
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| Pondexter |
User comment: To see this young woman play is worth the price of admission. Her quickness and vertical jump are something to see. Her smooth delivery and hang time often leave the crowd breathless. Although she has an excellent supporting cast, she is leading Rutgers back to the NCAAs. -- Ann C. Hill, Lansdowne, Pa.
Why you should know about her: The 5-foot-9 sophomore guard has scored double-digits in 15 consecutive games, including a 31-point performance on 12-for-19 shooting from the field and a 4-for-7 effort from 3-point range against Georgetown on Feb. 22. Pondexter has started all 24 games for the Scarlet Knights, and leads Rutgers in points (17.9) and assists (5.0) while ranking tied for second in rebounds (5.1). In two games last week, Pondexter totaled 52 points, 16 rebounds, 12 assists and just two turnovers. No wonder she's one of just two rookies to be nominated for the Nancy Lieberman Step-Up award, which is given annually to the best point guard in the nation.
Eye-opening stat: Pondexter was just named the Big East rookie of the week for the third time in a row -- and for the fifth time overall this season, a new Rutgers record after eclipsing Tasha Pointer's four selections during the 1997-98 season. Her three consecutive nods ties the Big East record, held by players such as Svetlana Abrosimova and Ruth Riley. Pondexter, who is a sophomore academically, also ranks among the Big East's top 10 in scoring, assists, field-goal percentage and free-throw percentage.
The bottom line: The Dish didn't include Pondexter on its list of top freshmen last time out. That was probably an oversight. C. Vivian Stringer is a great coach, and this program is rich with tradition. But this also is a team that went 9-20 last season (Stringer's worst record since arriving at Rutgers) but is now 19-5 overall, 11-0 at home and closing in on its first 20-win season since 2000-01. More importantly, Rutgers is on the verge of locking up the second seed in the Big East tournament. And one has to figure that Pondexter, who practiced with the team last season but did not participate in games due to NCAA initial eligibility standards, is a big reason for Rutgers' return to elite status -- and the Big Dance.
