Recruiting

2019 Gopher commitment: Grace Cumming, Des Moines 6-3 post. (She tweeted it, as did Raoul)
 

2019 Gopher commitment: Grace Cumming, Des Moines 6-3 post. (She tweeted it, as did Raoul)

Her others considering list includes Michigan, Utah, Iowa State, Indiana and Washington. Not sure which had offered her but a pretty competitive list.
 


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Couple more Gopher offers:

Bree Salenbien (2021) 6'2'' center from MI
Jocelyn Tate (2021) 5'9'' wing from OH
 


Her others considering list includes Michigan, Utah, Iowa State, Indiana and Washington. Not sure which had offered her but a pretty competitive list.

We know her family. All offered, plus a couple Ivy schools.
 

Sighs, unlike the men's team, the women's team is going nowhere fast. The recruiting has not been what was expected when they hired Stollings. There seems to be no momentum at all. Time for a change...again.
 



Sighs, unlike the men's team, the women's team is going nowhere fast. The recruiting has not been what was expected when they hired Stollings. There seems to be no momentum at all. Time for a change...again.

You are correct. I just do not see much progress and am glad Stollings only has 1 year left on her contract.
 



You are correct. I just do not see much progress and am glad Stollings only has 1 year left on her contract.

IMO, the problem with Stollings recruiting is she's trying to recruit fast/athletic/4 stars players...but she can't get them consistently. So then she misses out on talented players even though it doesn't fit her system. Maybe she should just focus on talented players she can get and win/build something before going after players she can't get?
 



IMO, the problem with Stollings recruiting is she's trying to recruit fast/athletic/4 stars players...but she can't get them consistently. So then she misses out on talented players even though it doesn't fit her system. Maybe she should just focus on talented players she can get and win/build something before going after players she can't get?

Yeah, I could have sworn Stollings had doubts about Zahui when she first arrived.
 


I wouldn't get too carried away with thinking Stollings had her doubts about Zahui . It's true that Zahui didn't start the first two games (although she still had double doubles in each (20 pts and 12 reb in the first and 24 and 15 in the second).

In the preseason, Stollings expressed concern about Amanda's conditioning on a team that was built around Rachel and running. A running Kayla Hirt started the first game and posted 21 points and 7 rebounds. Kayla's second game wasn't as good (6 and 5). So (finely conditioned athlete or not), Amanda took over the starting spot and, following Rachel's injury, pretty much took over the team.
 

I wouldn't get too carried away with thinking Stollings had her doubts about Zahui . It's true that Zahui didn't start the first two games (although she still had double doubles in each (20 pts and 12 reb in the first and 24 and 15 in the second).

In the preseason, Stollings expressed concern about Amanda's conditioning on a team that was built around Rachel and running. A running Kayla Hirt started the first game and posted 21 points and 7 rebounds. Kayla's second game wasn't as good (6 and 5). So (finely conditioned athlete or not), Amanda took over the starting spot and, following Rachel's injury, pretty much took over the team.

I'm still going to go ahead and count it as the first of many terrible decisions.
 

Count what? What exactly was the first terrible decision? By the way, have you seen Amanda lately? She is in WAY better condition now that she is playing for pro coaches than she was in college.
 

Has to be somewhat tough on coach McGillan who is trying to instill a tough, aggressive defensive mindset when all he has to work with are 4 guards unless he will be pressing all over the floor.
 

Has to be somewhat tough on coach McGillan who is trying to instill a tough, aggressive defensive mindset when all he has to work with are 4 guards unless he will be pressing all over the floor.

Although I think it helps that, last season, the guards seemed eager to play an aggressive trapping defense rather than that always chasing match-up zone. Half the fun of the early games will be to see if McGillan is making a difference.
 



Can stollings actually recruit a post player? it’s sad when you’re a P5 school and recruit like a mid major.
 


I'm looking at the roster and noticing that when Wagner and Fernstrom are gone after this year, it leaves us with only one Minnesota player (a transfer-back) in Bell. How many Minnesota players are coming in next year?

Unless we have a load coming in, gone are the days of being Minnesota-heavy of just a couple years ago. I already know Ignatius will say something like "I'm okay with the lack of Minnesota players", but I hope he's alone on an island with that viewpoint. When you're not recruiting close to elite talent, like we haven't been (Pitts the highest rated?), having that Minnesota pride helps. Playing for home helps.
 

To recap commits so far, there is zero from MN.

2018:
-Delaynie Byrne-Colorado
-Jaidah Stewart-Missouri
-Leslia Finau-California

2019:
-Grace Cumming-Iowa

Also to restate, the only MN kids that I know the gophers have offered is Bueckers (sophomore in HS this year) and Destiny Oberg from Holy Angels (Junior in HS this year)




I'm looking at the roster and noticing that when Wagner and Fernstrom are gone after this year, it leaves us with only one Minnesota player (a transfer-back) in Bell. How many Minnesota players are coming in next year?

Unless we have a load coming in, gone are the days of being Minnesota-heavy of just a couple years ago. I already know Ignatius will say something like "I'm okay with the lack of Minnesota players", but I hope he's alone on an island with that viewpoint. When you're not recruiting close to elite talent, like we haven't been (Pitts the highest rated?), having that Minnesota pride helps. Playing for home helps.
 

To recap commits so far, there is zero from MN.

2018:
-Delaynie Byrne-Colorado
-Jaidah Stewart-Missouri
-Leslia Finau-California

2019:
-Grace Cumming-Iowa

Also to restate, the only MN kids that I know the gophers have offered is Bueckers (sophomore in HS this year) and Destiny Oberg from Holy Angels (Junior in HS this year)

Kenzie Kramer of St Michael-Albertville (2020) has also been offered. UM has tried to make inroads here but most of the top players are wary of the program. The talent pool in 2019 is fairly weak. 2020 is deep. One of the issues is the revolving door of assistants. Relationships get built and then they are gone.
 

Kenzie Kramer of St Michael-Albertville (2020) has also been offered. UM has tried to make inroads here but most of the top players are wary of the program. The talent pool in 2019 is fairly weak. 2020 is deep. One of the issues is the revolving door of assistants. Relationships get built and then they are gone.

Exactly and that again reflects on a lack of leadership at the top. Hope we get a change of head coach for 18-19'.
 

Michigan has 1 player from Michigan on their roster, Indiana has 2 players from Indiana, Maryland 1 player from Maryland. My point is, this isn't that uncommon not to have a lot of players from a home state. It is cyclical. Ohio St and Mi St have 4 each. Kids start playing AAU all over the country in middle school and get exposure nationally, which makes it not such a slam dunk to keep kids in state.
 

Michigan has 1 player from Michigan on their roster, Indiana has 2 players from Indiana, Maryland 1 player from Maryland. My point is, this isn't that uncommon not to have a lot of players from a home state. It is cyclical. Ohio St and Mi St have 4 each. Kids start playing AAU all over the country in middle school and get exposure nationally, which makes it not such a slam dunk to keep kids in state.

Kids know a lot about the programs in their own state better, warts and all. They (and their parents) are more open-minded about other schools because they have no history and aren't aware of past issues. The Gophers need to do a much better job of connecting with kids earlier. There are some great kids on the 2022 and 2021 classes, for example, that already have nice officers from big programs yet they haven't heard from their hometown school yet. In fairness, however, I do know of one 2022 that has been offered by UM and a 2021 that is actively being pursued.
 




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