Chasing The Huskies

THE DAY after she led Tennessee to its second straight national title, a 64--48 win over Stanford on April 8, Candace Parker switched jerseys. The Naismith Award winner—who redshirted as a freshman and will graduate next month—was taken first overall in the WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks after forgoing her senior season. The loss of Parker and four other starters means that the Lady Vols will be hard-pressed to three-peat. It also means that the Maya Moore era in women's college hoops will commence a year earlier than expected. The UConn sophomore-to-be heads a deep returning cast for the Huskies, who made it to the Final Four this spring. "All the pieces of that puzzle are back together," says LSU coach Van Chancellor. "It's scary." Here's an early look at next year's top five:

1. Connecticut (36--2 in 2007--08) Geno Auriemma will have the nation's most dynamic player in Moore, a 6-foot forward from Lawrenceville, Ga. A first-team All-America as a freshman, Moore (17.8 points per game) is joined by three returning starters. Now comes the really frightening part: UConn brings in a top-five freshman class fronted by Naismith prep player of the year Elena Delle Donne, a 6'5" distaff Dirk Nowitzki--type from Greenville, Del.

2. Stanford (35--4) The national finalists lose only one starter, but it's an All-America:shooting guard Candice Wiggins. The Cardinal will be solid inside, and if it can find a go-to scorer, a return to the title game is possible.

3. Duke (25--10) The Blue Devils have 11 of their top 12 scorers back, including 6'5" center Chante Black (14.1 points) and shooting guard Abby Waner (49 three-pointers).

4. Oklahoma (22--9) Underachievers the past two seasons, the Sooners bring back every significant player, led by three-time All-America center Courtney Paris (18.6 points).

5. Rutgers (27--7) Gone are a pair of WNBA first-round picks, Matee Avajon and Essence Carson, but the Scarlet Knights still have center Kia Vaughn and guard Epiphanny Prince. Among the five McDonald's All-Americans that coach C. Vivian Stringer just signed is 5'9" point guard Nikki Speed, who will run the offense—and carry on the Rutgers tradition of wonderfully named players.