Recent content by walleye

Hopefully, she drove a hard bargain for NIL and startup funds. If you don't get good support coming in, you aren't going to get much later.

We will know when a Gopher program is elite when people quit waiting for the Messiah from Menahga or Superman or Superwoman from Spicer and are excited to get a blue chip player from Podunk USA or the bowels of a big city.

Congratulations to Braun and McKinney. It is a great honor and hopefully a fantastic experience. I do worry about Braun overdoing the basketball because of her foot. I have wondered if that 3 x 3 experience before might have been too much stress on a young, developing body and contributed to...

It is hard to compare eras, but. . . . Two, three-time All Big Ten first teamers, and two 2-3 time All-Americans, and two career WNBA players, etc. vs no Big Ten first teamers and no likely or no sure-fire WNBA potential. (I do cross my fingers for Battle).

Could be. I view Merkle as equivalent to Hart; each with somewhat different skill sets. I don't think we have an equivalent replacement for Battle. However, the Gophers should have a stronger, deeper bench. So, whether the Gophers deserve a higher ranking depends on the Battle replacement...

An average of Merchant's and Creme's rankings might be more realistic.

Impressive coaching staff. A wealth of knowledge and experience. I am optimistic that they can convey this information and help players develop. However, I am pessimistic that this is not enough to attract and develop elite talent without a lot of NIL money.

Braun is a great 3-point shooter when she is wide open; however, she is not a good 3-point shooter with someone in her face and she is not good at creating her space.

Agree. But, some go to play for teams that have winning records and a chance at championships and tournaments. The Gopher women BB program is now in a great position where a transfer or recruit will likely play on a winning team and in the NCAA Tournament.

I am surprised there haven't been more injuries and I expect to see more injuries in the future. The athletes are pushing their bodies to the max and taking more risks. It is more important than ever to have great team depth.

Robinson's version of the story sounded like he was protecting his athletes and nipped the problem in the bud. Coyle and the University probably couldn't release what they knew and maybe it was worse than Robinson's story. It is also possible that Robinson rubbed Coyle the wrong way and it was...

Larson and May should not plan on getting much sleep in the next year. They have an immense job ahead of them. I am not sure that the problems can be solved by hard work alone.

The test of this hire is currently on. The transfer portal for women's hockey is open for the next two weeks, although players have longer if their coach leaves. Currently, no Gophers are listed in the portal but about four Minnesota D-1 teams have players listed. If May can keep the best...

With a name like Larson in MinneSooota, the Gophers shouldn't go wrong.

Minnesota athletics has been run by influential and/or rich alumni for a long time. As long as I can remember, which is a very long time, there has been a power group that says, "You have to hire a M-man or M-woman as a coach or even athletic director." The Gophers exclude many good people...