***OFFICIAL MINNESOTA VS UCLA SWEET 16 IN-GAME THREAD!!!***

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That was a pointless 3 pointer by UCLA. game was over. didn't need to hit that. Run the clock out.
 

Everyone knew what the outcome was already when this matchup was announced, they just don't have the raw talent to compete with teams like Uconn, UCLA or South Carolina.
 








WayOfTheGopher said:
Everyone knew what the outcome was already when this matchup was announced, they just don't have the raw talent to compete with teams like Uconn, UCLA or South Carolina.
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No one does. The four 1 seeds are far and away the best teams. The Gophers could play with the other 4, 3, and a couple of the 2 seeds. The talent level discrepancy is crazy at the 1 seed level.

UCONN has the 2 best players in the country on their team. Who can compete against them when they have Sarah Strong, a future WNBA MVP, and Azzi Fudd, a future WNBA all-star?
 



Disappointed in the loss but what a great season. Hopefully this group will look back on the past couple of seasons as a start of building a good solid foundation for the program. Hope this run inspires other players to consider Minnesota as a great destination.
 


GopherGrit said:
Fully admit I haven't watched a second of Gopher WBB before this game, and I know nothing about women's game.

That said....

how is #31 a Big Ten player?? She looks like she can't even jump and doesn't try to. And she's on their amazonian future WNBA star center??

What am I missing?
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If you haven't watched the team before now we don't care about your opinion.
 

wbbaddict said:
If you haven't watched the team before now we don't care about your opinion.
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Yes you do, otherwise you wouldn't have posted.

Good job bringing my post back up to the top when it was done and moved on.
 




GopherGrit said:
Fully admit I haven't watched a second of Gopher WBB before this game, and I know nothing about women's game.

That said....

how is #31 a Big Ten player?? She looks like she can't even jump and doesn't try to. And she's on their amazonian future WNBA star center??

What am I missing?
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If you haven't watched the team before now you're opinion is worthless.
 

wbbaddict said:
If you haven't watched the team before now you're opinion is worthless.
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It's worth so little to you, that you had to post about it TWICE. :rolleyes:

Good job bringing my post back up to the top when it was done and moved on.
 

WayOfTheGopher said:
Everyone knew what the outcome was already when this matchup was announced, they just don't have the raw talent to compete with teams like Uconn, UCLA or South Carolina.
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A 6'7" All-American and five other players 6'3" and over is too much size to overcome; not to mention their guards. But already looking forward to see what sort of a team Dawn has next year. Thanks to the Gophers for he most fun season in a long time.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Dawn really made the transition from Lindsey seamless and because of it this program is really in a great place. Future is bright.
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Yes.

This is the season that needs to inspire girls like Bueckers, Olson, Crump, and Greenway to stay home.

Get Mya Wilson.

Then, in a couple of years you get Chloe Johnson.

Christian, Kussow, Oehrlein, Wilson, Ramlall, and Johnson running the show is a hell of a backcourt and forward rotation in 2028. Find a center, and now you're gunning for the Elite 8 maybe Final Four.
 

GopherGrit said:
It's worth so little to you, that you had to post about it TWICE. :rolleyes:

Good job bringing my post back up to the top when it was done and moved on.
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That was repeated accidentally. I think most fans would agree with my post.
 

wbbaddict said:
That was repeated accidentally. I think most fans would agree with my post.
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Gotcha, so you meant to post only once not twice.

1 and 2 are both greater than zero, as in zero inch vertical.
 


DietCokeFan said:
So excited for the future of Gopher basketball! I have a feeling we could be even better next year!
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Going to be huge to find the right PG and Center next year. They are really going to miss Battle and Hart. With that said the gophers bench has some huge upside next year what is super exciting.
 

Mulligan said:
A 6'7" All-American and five other players 6'3" and over is too much size to overcome; not to mention their guards. But already looking forward to see what sort of a team Dawn has next year. Thanks to the Gophers for he most fun season in a long time.
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Do you think better “teams” can beat better talent? I do, unfortunately I think UCLA might cover both sides this year.
If the Gophers are ever going to go much deeper in the tournament their “team” play needs to be better. I don’t think the Gophers will ever have the best talent in the tournament.
 

gophersoa said:
Do you think better “teams” can beat better talent? I do, unfortunately I think UCLA might cover both sides this year.
If the Gophers are ever going to go much deeper in the tournament their “team” play needs to be better. I don’t think the Gophers will ever have the best talent in the tournament.
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I believe the gophers were the only team in the tournament that had all 5 starters average double digits this year. Not sure how much more team we can get.
 

gophersoa said:
Do you think better “teams” can beat better talent? I do, unfortunately I think UCLA might cover both sides this year.
If the Gophers are ever going to go much deeper in the tournament their “team” play needs to be better. I don’t think the Gophers will ever have the best talent in the tournament.
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Ya, I do since I saw it happen recently at The Barn. However, your point is meaningless since an elite program like UCLA is also really well coached and is also a "team." Doesn't mean we're lacking as a "team." Sometimes your "team" is simply not as good as their "team."
 

Huge difference in talent between these two teams but that doesn't diminish what the Gophers accomplished this season. Loved this group of players and I'm convinced that the future is bright for this program.
 

Fun season to watch our Gophers! Saw some real growth from some of our team as the year progressed. Hart became a more consistent threat in the post. Braun finally came back and did what we hoped she could do by the end of the season. Battle proved to be one of the better all-around players we've had over the past 20 years. Tori made some huge strides as a sophomore, despite dealing with health issues. I think we have some pretty solid bench options coming back.

I think I mentioned earlier this season that, if everything goes right, this team can compete with top 10 teams, and even if everything is not going great, the Gophers are a top 50 team. I think our team proved that this season. Looking forward to how the incoming freshmen might contribute next season, not to mention seeing what kind of transfer additions coach P can come up with.

Not going to try and speculate on who the coaching staff should target, since they know 1,000 times more than me who and what they're specifically looking for in terms of physical/mental ability and the other intangibles they want.
 

I never coached basketball, but I coached a lot of baseball. I soon realized that I always had a better record when I had better players, ergo a better coach?

Dawn P. got as much out of this squad as anyone could have. She convinced the ladies to play hard defense and share the ball. But what she really accomplished is to convince the players you can play hard AND have fun at the same time. This not only made them more resilient and enjoyable to watch, but will also sway some prospects that are might be on the fence.

The UCLA game reminded me of a tourney game we once played. The opposition had 3 D1 players. Our starting pitcher was an outfielder cut from the high school team. I told them before the game: just go out and play. When the game is over we will look at the scoreboard and see how we did? We lost by 6 to a team that could have beaten us by 3 times that. Made them play the whole game. Sometimes victories are not always on the scoreboard, but the satisfaction can be internal. Life is not always about the “score", it can often be about the effort, and the experience!

The comments by Hart and McKinney after the game is really all one needs to know about what the players feel about Dawn as a coach, and their experience this year.
 

My hope is that local girls realize that if they stay home, they can win and win big. The attendance and the atmosphere at the barn was one of the top 2-3 in the country for the tournament. The women's basketball talent in this state is unreal.
 

While it would be ideal for all the great MN talent to stay home, the elephant in the room is our lack of NIL to make it happen. We aren't broke, but we're probably living check to check.
 

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