tripledouble
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2016
- Messages
- 854
- Reaction score
- 292
- Points
- 63
gopherdude, your mention of the UCLA and K-State regionals brings back memories that I'll never forget. The crowds at those games were as emotional and boisterous as any crowds I've ever seen. The UCLA game was the game when Whalen returned after missing a lot of games with a broken arm or hand. The crowd gave her a wild welcome upon her returned and she carried the team on her back with a 30-plus point performance. The game two days later against a very good K-State team lead by Nicole Ohlde and Kendra Wecker was a blowout. Gophers dominated and McCarville owned Ohlde in the paint.
In watching the Minnesota girls high school tourney this week, the tv crew has panned to the banner of Whalen hanging from the rafters. She forever changed Minnesota girls basketball, whether she intended to or not.
I, like you, feel strongly that Whalen will transform the Gopher women's program into a national power. It's not going to happen overnight, but it's going to happen.
As for Bueckers, she has the rare opportunity to go to college anywhere she wants. I'm hoping that she'll decide to stay in Minnesota, where she can build her own legacy. She'll certainly have opportunities to win national titles at UConn or Notre Dame, but she'll just be part of another championship team at those schools; her legacy compared to and somewhat diminished by the championship teams before and after. Playing and winning a title for her homestate team would put her at a Whalenesque level.
In watching the Minnesota girls high school tourney this week, the tv crew has panned to the banner of Whalen hanging from the rafters. She forever changed Minnesota girls basketball, whether she intended to or not.
I, like you, feel strongly that Whalen will transform the Gopher women's program into a national power. It's not going to happen overnight, but it's going to happen.
As for Bueckers, she has the rare opportunity to go to college anywhere she wants. I'm hoping that she'll decide to stay in Minnesota, where she can build her own legacy. She'll certainly have opportunities to win national titles at UConn or Notre Dame, but she'll just be part of another championship team at those schools; her legacy compared to and somewhat diminished by the championship teams before and after. Playing and winning a title for her homestate team would put her at a Whalenesque level.