All Things 2013-2014 Gopher Womens Season Thread

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ecoperson said:
I am now believing that the Gophers need new blood at the top but I applaud you for helping to remind folks the actual story. People tend to have selective memories and think Oldfield actually had anything to do with the recruitment or success of Whalen and McCarville. Oldfield DID change the culture from the oppressive Littlejohn era in 2001-02. The players started to have fun and the offense picked up dramatically in a 22-8 season. After Oldfield bailed, Borton added the much needed defensive acumen and the team flourished and made it to the Sweet Sixteen with a 25-6 record. Finally, the team made it to the Final Four despite losing Whalen to injury near the middle of the Big Ten season. In all, Borton made it to the tournament 6 out of her first 7 years before falling off dramatically. Whether it was the mass exodus and ensuing scramble for players, poor recruiting, or poor player development, the mojo just wasn't/isn't working anymore. I just hate that people point to Oldfield as the reason for the Gophers success. She played a part but a MUCH smaller one than the chemistry and talent of two players named Whalen and McCarville. Oldfield only recruited two nice players to add to the mix in Shannon Bolden and Shannon Schonrock and another in Hannah Garry. All three were Minnesotans so it was not much of a stretch to get them.
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Pretty good recap. Bolden and Schonrock were big pieces of that team however.

I'm now going with 90% Borton is gone.
 

This is another opportunity for Norwood Teague to turn Gopher sports around.
 

Gopherguy0723 said:
Broback definitely quit. Podominick concentrated on the shot put. She may have quit.
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The "exodus" happened in stages which is what made it so painful. It was a team split between 6 or 7 seniors that Borton seemed quite loyal to and a group of underclassmen with some talent. First, Lacey and Davis announced they were transferring. Davis was a little guard who hadn't done much. Lacey was a center/forward with talent. Then several days later it was announced Jamie Broback wouldn't be back. Whether she actually quit or Borton showed her the door I can't remember. I know at the time there was talk about Broback having problems and she had been suspended earlier that year. I think within a day Liz announced she was quitting so she could pursue her dream of making the Olympic team in the shot put. Several days after that, Natasha Williams, another big with talent announced she was transferring. Only Lacey did much after leaving having a pretty good career at Arizona or Arizona State. It came out later Borton called Davis, Lacey, and Williams "selfish" in a meeting when they wanted more playing time.

I can remember how relieved everyone was when Emily Fox, Borton's prize recruit that year, stayed with the Gophers. Also, Leslie Knight who hadn't done much came out of no where to have a great senior year when she finally got a chance to play. Didn't really blame Borton at the time and I still don't for all of that turmoil. I think Broback really poisoned the atmosphere. Podomonick and Williams just bailed. Davis and Lacey were selfish. But it really did start the slow spiral downward and destroyed much of the spirit of that great Final Four year. Inconsistent play, seniors having poor years, and recruiting misses are what I blame Borton for. Her teams more and more came to resemble Tubby's in that the players just didn't seem to play loose and have fun.
 

Well I think the WNIT is the final nail in the coffin for Borton. Question for you: Do you think Teague would have the guts to fire Borton and hire a male coach? I'm not saying he shouldn't, I think he should hire the best candidate period. But get ready for the whining and complaining in the papers of sexism if it happens. Anyway, just a thought I had on the way in...
 

Sparlimb said:
Well I think the WNIT is the final nail in the coffin for Borton. Question for you: Do you think Teague would have the guts to fire Borton and hire a male coach? I'm not saying he shouldn't, I think he should hire the best candidate period. But get ready for the whining and complaining in the papers of sexism if it happens. Anyway, just a thought I had on the way in...
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Lindsey, with Bolden and Roysland as assts.:rolleyes:
 


I know Whalen has been mentioned, but I'm not sure she's done with her WNBA career. Will be interesting to see if the job opens up if she's ready to take the reigns. I wouldn't be surprised if she wants one more year of playing before getting the job.
 

Sparlimb said:
Well I think the WNIT is the final nail in the coffin for Borton. Question for you: Do you think Teague would have the guts to fire Borton and hire a male coach? I'm not saying he shouldn't, I think he should hire the best candidate period. But get ready for the whining and complaining in the papers of sexism if it happens. Anyway, just a thought I had on the way in...
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To me, the final straw is the back page of today's Star Tribune sports section - the all-metro girl's team. There's enough talent on that team to get the Gophers back to the Final Four, but not a one of them is attending Minnesota. It made me slightly ill to read through it. Marquette is getting fat from the girls' talent produced in this state. It's embarrassing and demoralizing.
 

Bad Gopher said:
To me, the final straw is the back page of today's Star Tribune sports section - the all-metro girl's team. There's enough talent on that team to get the Gophers back to the Final Four, but not a one of them is attending Minnesota. It made me slightly ill to read through it. Marquette is getting fat from the girls' talent produced in this state. It's embarrassing and demoralizing.
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Not a big fan of High School Basketball but saw that too and had the same thought.
 

Can someone remember that comment Borton made a few years back. Something about she didn't want to recruit stars because of attitude or something like that?
 



Bad Gopher said:
To me, the final straw is the back page of today's Star Tribune sports section - the all-metro girl's team. There's enough talent on that team to get the Gophers back to the Final Four, but not a one of them is attending Minnesota. It made me slightly ill to read through it. Marquette is getting fat from the girls' talent produced in this state. It's embarrassing and demoralizing.
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Could not agree more with this statement; it is incredibly discouraging to see the continual mass exodus of highly talented local players. Coley is a great talent and it's disappointing to miss on players like that. I know they have a pretty talented incoming class for next season, including Wagner who is exceptional, but the U of M consistently loses out on much of the top metro talent. I believe they need to hire not only a great x's and o's coach, but one that has the charisma necessary to connect with the young kids and keep them in-state.
 


As someone who followed MN girls basketball quite a bit in those times, I think it is important to note that Lindsey Whalen was not even the best player in her own conference (that would have been Susan King, a Parade All American who attended Stanford). Lindsey was a good hs player - but was not able to crack the NorthTartan AAU team roster that included players such as Randy Wirt, Susan King, Mauri Horton. (All headed to major BCS college programs)

Janel was far from the top rated recruit in WI. In fact, the top post would have been Misty Bass Mims, a current WNBA player who attended Duke.

Both Lindsey and Janel were somewhat under the radar recruits. I believe Lindsey only had one other D1 offer of BCS style (Iowa State) and I don't believe Janel had any.

This is not to diminish in any way, shape of form, their contributions to the Gophers and the tremendous players they ultimately became. But the fact is they were not highly rated and/or recruited high school players which certainly helped MN recruit them to be Gophers.
 

Is the first round WNIT game against UWGB going to be televised?
I'd like to watch this game...
 




Carlie Wagner with 53 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds in the state quarterfinals.
 


Friday night at 6:00 PM in the 1st Class 2A semi final(tip time is more like 6:15 PM)
 

With the 53 points she broke her own state record, her team won 100-68 over Peqout Lakes and the 100 points was also a state record as was the 168 points the 2 teams combined for and her team set the record for 3 pointers made with 13. Wagner shot 17-34 from the floor, 6-16 from 3pt, 13-15 on free throws and added 6 steals to the 7 assists and 6 rebounds. Her team will play next at 6pm on Friday.
 

Tonight could be the end of Borton.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Gophers&src=hash">#Gophers</a> women trail Green Bay 33-23 at halftime. Banham has 14 pts on 6-11 FGs. Rest of team 4-22. Red Wing's Buck has 13 pts on 4-6 FG</p>— Marcus R. Fuller (@GophersNow) <a href="https://twitter.com/GophersNow/statuses/446447508194357248">March 20, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 



Goldy Gopher said:
Tonight could be the end of Borton.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Gophers&src=hash">#Gophers</a> women trail Green Bay 33-23 at halftime. Banham has 14 pts on 6-11 FGs. Rest of team 4-22. Red Wing's Buck has 13 pts on 4-6 FG</p>— Marcus R. Fuller (@GophersNow) <a href="https://twitter.com/GophersNow/statuses/446447508194357248">March 20, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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She'll be canned at season end regardless.
 


Goldy Gopher said:
Tonight could be the end of Borton.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Gophers&src=hash">#Gophers</a> women trail Green Bay 33-23 at halftime. Banham has 14 pts on 6-11 FGs. Rest of team 4-22. Red Wing's Buck has 13 pts on 4-6 FG</p>— Marcus R. Fuller (@GophersNow) <a href="https://twitter.com/GophersNow/statuses/446447508194357248">March 20, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Well Borton bought herself a few more days with that big win
 

Nice Comeback Win Ladies

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Gophers&src=hash">#Gophers</a> women trail Green Bay 33-23 at halftime. Banham has 14 pts on 6-11 FGs. Rest of team 4-22. Red Wing's Buck has 13 pts on 4-6 FG</p>— Marcus R. Fuller (@GophersNow) <a href="https://twitter.com/GophersNow/statuses/446447508194357248">March 20, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Lady Gophers win 62-60!
 

I have a question. what are the names of Carlie Wagner's parents? I taught in New Richland-Hartland from 1968-78, and may have had blood lines in my Math classes. That was before I went to Med School.
 

Dr.Don said:
I have a question. what are the names of Carlie Wagner's parents? I taught in New Richland-Hartland from 1968-78, and may have had blood lines in my Math classes. That was before I went to Med School.
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Darren and Jane (after a quick search).
 


station19 said:
We don't have a civic center.

We open a new high school next year though. Gymnasium is 1,000 seats smaller than the present one.......sad.
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Played several section games in the Alex HS gym. Hit two free throws in OT to clinch an upset of Osakis that sent us to the semifinals. I enjoyed the atmosphere.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Played several section games in the Alex HS gym. Hit two free throws in OT to clinch an upset of Osakis that sent us to the semifinals. I enjoyed the atmosphere.
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You probably never noticed but all the way up by the ceiling on both ends of the court and all the way back behind the bleachers there are a bunch of wooden panels. At one time they were window/skylights.

Well one spring day it snowed so we had baseball practice in there, as we often did.(The bleachers were moved back so we had plenty of room). During batting practice we managed to knock out a few of the windows. The coaches had stepped out so of course we didn't stop. I think we took out 7 or 8 of those windows.

They decided not to replace them with glass.

They were not happy with us.

That Gym used to be packed during the 60's and 70's, Seats 2,500+. Kind of sad to spend 65 Mill for a new school and build a gym that seats 1,000 less.

Edit: Btw they're naming the new school Alexandria Area High School. How effing small town rural does that sound. Pathetic.
 

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