WVU’s Kellogg Recently Discusses Preseason Polling
October 16, 2023 04:14 PM | Women's Basketball, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Coaches are notorious for word parsing and looking for the smallest things to motivate their players.
A couple of weeks ago, Mark Kellogg got an assist from the 13 other Big 12 women's basketball coaches when the preseason poll and all-league team were announced by the conference.
West Virginia, despite having four starters returning from a 19-win team that made it to the NCAA Tournament, was picked to finish eighth, ahead of just TCU and Texas Tech among traditional teams and the four newbies BYU, Houston, Cincinnati and UCF.
Even more surprisingly, guard JJ Quinerly, a unanimous all-conference choice a year ago, was not a unanimous pick this year, meaning a coach or two did not think she was all-conference worthy.
Kellogg took note and made it a point to let his junior guard know about it, too.
"It's preseason, so in the big picture it doesn't mean a whole lot, but yeah, we talk about it for sure," Kellogg said last week. "JJ got on the first team, but I thought that it was interesting that she was unanimous pick a year ago but was not unanimous preseason.
"So, for JJ, 'Take that for how you would like. Somebody doesn't think you are an all-conference player. I don't need to tell you what to do with it, but here is the information and you roll with it,'" he added.
As for where his team was picked, Kellogg thought based on what he has returning, the Mountaineers could have been picked higher. West Virginia was 7-2 in Big 12 games at the WVU Coliseum and finished last year with a 10-8 conference record, including a season sweep of Baylor, which got two first place votes and was picked second.
WVU also finished the regular season winning its final three games against Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Baylor.
"I think we could have been picked a little higher, based on how they finished last year, and with what we return. Now, new coach so who knows how people look at that one?" Kellogg said. "I thought we were a few spots lower than maybe I would have anticipated, based on the results of a year ago. We had that conversation, and we put it in the back of our brains, and we'll keep moving forward and sure hope we don't finish eighth, which is where we were picked.
"That's not the goal for us," he said.
Quinerly admitted she was a little surprised where the team was picked.
"I think we were all like, 'Forget the polls, we're going to show them that y'all can't count us out of anything,'" she said.
"This is definitely not the first time that we started out the season in polls lower than we finished," senior guard Jayla Hemingway added. "I think it's just how we execute when the lights come on."
Kellogg said he took voting seriously, but he's not sure all the coaches do.
"I'm familiar with some of the teams and the Big 12 is in my footprint. I also studied the rosters because I wanted to make sure I did it right," he explained.
Kellogg believes coaches votes should be made public just like their top 25 ballots are public in some sports. That would make the process more transparent - and much more interesting.
Coach X who votes team Y last would certainly get people's attention.
"Why not? I think there is some gamesmanship that goes on from time to time with these things, so let's just put it out there and see what that does," Kellogg said. "It's not going to happen, and it doesn't in most sports, but at times, I don't know why we don't do it."
Certainly, a public ballot would expose the coaches who don't take preseason voting seriously.
"I wanted to take it serious to make sure I knew … and I asked some of the coaches that have been in the league and seen some of these kids to make sure we're doing our due diligence, because it is important and there is recognition for the student-athletes, and you want to make sure you do it right by them," Kellogg said.
West Virginia is now into its third week of preseason practice with an eye on its season opener against Loyola, Maryland, on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
Kellogg said his team will have two secret scrimmages at undisclosed locations instead of one secret scrimmage and a public charity exhibition game like the men's team does.
He also disclosed there are no new updates on the waiver status of transfers Ainhoa Holzer and Ashala Moseberry. Holzer is a redshirt freshman guard from Martigny, Switzerland, who redshirted last year at Purdue, while Moseberry played at South Plains last year. She is a native of Madison, Wisconsin.
If those two don't receiver their waivers then West Virginia will be down to just 10 available players for the season.
A couple of weeks ago, Mark Kellogg got an assist from the 13 other Big 12 women's basketball coaches when the preseason poll and all-league team were announced by the conference.
West Virginia, despite having four starters returning from a 19-win team that made it to the NCAA Tournament, was picked to finish eighth, ahead of just TCU and Texas Tech among traditional teams and the four newbies BYU, Houston, Cincinnati and UCF.
Even more surprisingly, guard JJ Quinerly, a unanimous all-conference choice a year ago, was not a unanimous pick this year, meaning a coach or two did not think she was all-conference worthy.
Kellogg took note and made it a point to let his junior guard know about it, too.
"It's preseason, so in the big picture it doesn't mean a whole lot, but yeah, we talk about it for sure," Kellogg said last week. "JJ got on the first team, but I thought that it was interesting that she was unanimous pick a year ago but was not unanimous preseason.
"So, for JJ, 'Take that for how you would like. Somebody doesn't think you are an all-conference player. I don't need to tell you what to do with it, but here is the information and you roll with it,'" he added.
As for where his team was picked, Kellogg thought based on what he has returning, the Mountaineers could have been picked higher. West Virginia was 7-2 in Big 12 games at the WVU Coliseum and finished last year with a 10-8 conference record, including a season sweep of Baylor, which got two first place votes and was picked second.
WVU also finished the regular season winning its final three games against Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Baylor.
"I think we could have been picked a little higher, based on how they finished last year, and with what we return. Now, new coach so who knows how people look at that one?" Kellogg said. "I thought we were a few spots lower than maybe I would have anticipated, based on the results of a year ago. We had that conversation, and we put it in the back of our brains, and we'll keep moving forward and sure hope we don't finish eighth, which is where we were picked.
"That's not the goal for us," he said.
Quinerly admitted she was a little surprised where the team was picked.
"I think we were all like, 'Forget the polls, we're going to show them that y'all can't count us out of anything,'" she said.
"This is definitely not the first time that we started out the season in polls lower than we finished," senior guard Jayla Hemingway added. "I think it's just how we execute when the lights come on."
Kellogg said he took voting seriously, but he's not sure all the coaches do.
"I'm familiar with some of the teams and the Big 12 is in my footprint. I also studied the rosters because I wanted to make sure I did it right," he explained.
Kellogg believes coaches votes should be made public just like their top 25 ballots are public in some sports. That would make the process more transparent - and much more interesting.
Coach X who votes team Y last would certainly get people's attention.
"Why not? I think there is some gamesmanship that goes on from time to time with these things, so let's just put it out there and see what that does," Kellogg said. "It's not going to happen, and it doesn't in most sports, but at times, I don't know why we don't do it."
Certainly, a public ballot would expose the coaches who don't take preseason voting seriously.
"I wanted to take it serious to make sure I knew … and I asked some of the coaches that have been in the league and seen some of these kids to make sure we're doing our due diligence, because it is important and there is recognition for the student-athletes, and you want to make sure you do it right by them," Kellogg said.
West Virginia is now into its third week of preseason practice with an eye on its season opener against Loyola, Maryland, on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
Kellogg said his team will have two secret scrimmages at undisclosed locations instead of one secret scrimmage and a public charity exhibition game like the men's team does.
He also disclosed there are no new updates on the waiver status of transfers Ainhoa Holzer and Ashala Moseberry. Holzer is a redshirt freshman guard from Martigny, Switzerland, who redshirted last year at Purdue, while Moseberry played at South Plains last year. She is a native of Madison, Wisconsin.
If those two don't receiver their waivers then West Virginia will be down to just 10 available players for the season.
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