Signings 2022 Class




I'm assuming Whalenfan is right.

Aminata Zie started her college career at Stony Brook.


STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Excitement and nerves overcame 19-year-old Aminata Zie as she arrived in New York City in August 2019. Sight unseen, she had traveled to the Empire State to enroll at Stony Brook University and play basketball.

It marked the third country she has called home in her young life.

"I was so impressed," Zie recalled. "Everything moved so fast."

Born in Western Africa, Zie spent only the first year or two of her life there before she and her family relocated to the city of La Courneuve, outside of Paris.

Zie, now a sophomore business major, first was introduced to basketball at age 13, when she tried out for and later joined the women's basketball team at La'Cournevue Basketball Club in France.

"I always wanted to dance, or be on a dance team, but my parents didn't want me to. So they thought basketball would be good for me," Zie said. "From the first time I started playing I just fell in love with it."

It isn't easy to relocate to a country alone at a young age to attend a university never previously visited, but Zie indicated that she has adjusted since arriving last summer.

Her older sister, Kadidia, lives in the Bronx with her children, which has helped the transition.

"My mom chose Stony Brook for me because it was close enough to my sister. I like the city and everything, so it was a good choice," Zie said. "I just love the atmosphere. The campus is nice. And I love how it's close to the city so I can feel close to my sister."

 



It looks like she played at Western Nebraska CC last season.
It looks like she played at Western Nebraska CC last season.
https://wnccathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2021-22/bios/zie_ami_b03f

Yep, what caught my eye the most are 2 things:
1. Disqualified from 4 games last year (assuming that means she fouled out 4 times and nothing else)
2. she started in almost all games and only played just under 20 minutes a game so she scored and rebounded awful well for those minutes!
 

Today is the last day to sign Freshman for next season if the coaches plan to do so.

With these 2 new additions we will have what I think we need at minimum for next year and I suspect we might only have 12 on the roster by fall.
 

Today is the last day to sign Freshman for next season if the coaches plan to do so.

With these 2 new additions we will have what I think we need at minimum for next year and I suspect we might only have 12 on the roster by fall.

It's the final day for the NLI; but teams can still add unsigned Freshmen during the summer.
 




It's the final day for the NLI; but teams can still add unsigned Freshmen during the summer.
Interesting, does "add unsigned Freshmen during the summer" mean they can enroll without the hullabaloo of the NLI promise/commitment? If so, when they enroll they get their scholarship?
 

Interesting, does "add unsigned Freshmen during the summer" mean they can enroll without the hullabaloo of the NLI promise/commitment? If so, when they enroll they get their scholarship?


I should've written "unsigned high school Seniors" (incoming Freshmen).

When do college coaches stop recruiting?​

While many college coaches have no problem filling their roster during the fall months, recruiting doesn’t always go as planned. Some college coaches are left with open roster spots that they must continue to recruit for through the summer. Here are the main reasons why college coaches may find themselves rushing to fill last-minute roster openings.

  1. Some programs simply aren’t done filling their upcoming rookie class. Despite their efforts, the recruiting process is competitive and college coaches aren’t able to convince every athlete they recruit to commit to their program.
  2. Committing to a college is a big decision and sometimes athletes change their minds. When an athlete decommits, it leaves college coaches scrambling to fill the open spot.
  3. In some cases, current roster holders transfer to play for another program, whether it be for athletic, academic or financial reasons. This creates a last-minute opportunity for a recruit to earn a roster spot.
  4. When a program experiences a coaching change, they occasionally lose both current roster holders and committed recruits. The new coach is often faced with the challenge of filling these open roster spots. This is especially common in winter and spring sports.
NCSA works with college coaches across the country to match unsigned seniors with programs that still have roster availability. If you’re not part of the NCSA network yet, it’s not too late to join and get recruited.
 

https://wnccathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2021-22/bios/zie_ami_b03f

Yep, what caught my eye the most are 2 things:
1. Disqualified from 4 games last year (assuming that means she fouled out 4 times and nothing else)
2. she started in almost all games and only played just under 20 minutes a game so she scored and rebounded awful well for those minutes!
A quick look at their teams gamelog, they won alot of them by 20-40 pts, went to the juco final 4. They also had the top ranked guard in juco and she also played about 20 mins a game. Who knows how she adjusts to big ten play but the minutes are probably because they blew most teams out.
 
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Nice post moves and footwork. Looks unstoppable at that level. Also finding the open shooter on the kick out.
 






this just kind of seems like a big reach... kind of like we didn't get a post in the portal so we went to the JUCO level.. will be interesting to see how this pans out.. but right now this signing imho doesn't move the needle at all..
 

I think in many cases if you are a Green Bay or a SDSU, they go after a kid like this because they fit their system, stats arent necessarily at the top of the wish list.
So the question will be are we getting players to fit our system or are we just getting players? Time will tell if this revamped gopher team will come together for some W's
 

I think in many cases if you are a Green Bay or a SDSU, they go after a kid like this because they fit their system, stats arent necessarily at the top of the wish list.
So the question will be are we getting players to fit our system or are we just getting players? Time will tell if this revamped gopher team will come together for some W's
Well...we don't have a system.
 


this just kind of seems like a big reach... kind of like we didn't get a post in the portal so we went to the JUCO level.. will be interesting to see how this pans out.. but right now this signing imho doesn't move the needle at all..
I understand your hesitency based on her injury shortened 9 game season at Stony Brook where she came off the bench. It was less than impressive but what she did last year at Nebraska was impressive, especially efficient. If you look at her footwork around the basket in the video posted by Whalenfan, see above, I think she looks impressive under pressure and in traffic around the basket. We can use that.

 

I understand your hesitency based on her injury shortened 9 game season at Stony Brook where she came off the bench. It was less than impressive but what she did last year at Nebraska was impressive, especially efficient. If you look at her footwork around the basket in the video posted by Whalenfan, see above, I think she looks impressive under pressure and in traffic around the basket. We can use that.

Yeah I just don't know how she will translate from a JUCO school in Western Nebraska to the B1G.. it's a whole different kind of game and level of physicality .. her footwork around the basket does look impressive, but remember 6'2 at JUCO and 6'2 at the big ten is completely different.. I hope it works but this kind of seems like, the Gophers strike out with P5 posts so then ended up at the JUCO level of the portal..
 


Yeah I just don't know how she will translate from a JUCO school in Western Nebraska to the B1G.. it's a whole different kind of game and level of physicality .. her footwork around the basket does look impressive, but remember 6'2 at JUCO and 6'2 at the big ten is completely different.. I hope it works but this kind of seems like, the Gophers strike out with P5 posts so then ended up at the JUCO level of the portal..
Plenty of JUCO players end up contributors in D1. I’m not saying we should expect monster numbers right away from Zie, but she fills a need and looks like she can contribute. She’s an international student and that seems to be a fairly common route for international students at some point. I notice it pretty regularly following some West Coast teams. I think the posters expecting the McD All-American transfers have pretty wild expectations on here and calling anything but those unrealistic. It’s almost as if some don’t see that Paige Bueckers has transferred here we shouldn’t field a program anymore… I’m more looking forward we have a good student ready to be a Gopher.
 


Colorado and Ole Miss were also recruiting her so its not like shes some unknown prospect. We'll see how her skills translate to this level but its not like they took some d3 player here.
First 2 plays on the highlight film showed an ability to be strong with the ball when people were digging on her in the paint. Obviously a different level of defensive digging at the Big Ten level, but I was kinda impressed with the way she maintained good control of the ball and managed to get a good shot.

Hoping that she's one of those players who adapts and improves to the level of competition she's dealing with. She looks like she might have another level in her.
 





Total speculation but I noticed a grad transfer from Cleveland State liked Lindsay’s tweet and Lindsay follows her. 🤷🏻‍♀️
 





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