All Things Paige Bueckers Recruitment Thread - Videos, Analysis, Tid-Bits, Articles

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GMac39 said:
She was never going to consider the U under Stollings. Now she has scheduled a visit and is interested. That’s a huge step forward in my view. Not sure that timing has anything to do with it. It’s because it’s Whalen that it’s happening.
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I would say that’s a pretty good opinion, but to say “never” is a bit extreme. We’ve heard about Bueckers going to Gophers games and hanging out with the team in the locker room, so I would say there was always a glimmer of hope. But for me, it’s not a Stollings vs Whalen thing. I agree that Whalen probably gives the program a better chance at securing Bueckers. It’s more of a Whalen vs whoever else we could have had. Since my top choice was Niele Ivey, it’s a Whalen vs Ivey thing for me. I’m going to be redundant here but I guess I have to. I believe Notre Dame is Buecker’s top choice right now. They won the latest championship against all odds. ND’s shine as a program has gone way up while UConn has lost some of theirs. The NCAA even set aside their stringent rules so a ND player could compete on national television in Dancing with the Stars. Brunelle, who seems to be Bueckers’ best friend in basketball, has committed to ND. Everything is smelling like ND lately. What the Gophers could have done was hire Ivey, and that would have been an impressive hire in a different way than Whalen’s. Here we have a prominent assistant coach who most could make the argument is a big part of ND’s success, an assistant coach at an elite level with tons of experience and most deserving of a head coaching job. We hire her, we take away a bit of that ND shine away for Bueckers and put it on the Gophers. Hire Ivey and it looks like the Gophers are taking women’s basketball seriously instead of taking the usual easy route in these hires. In my opinion, Whalen was the easy route again. No experience, not into the job 100% from the start, but it doesn’t matter since everybody loves Whalen. But does Bueckers blindly love Whalen as a coach enough to put her basketball career on the line? She obviously takes her basketball career very seriously, so I’m guessing not. Like I said, I hope I’m wrong because I believe there is nothing more important than Bueckers for the near term success of the Gophers. If Whalen doesn’t land Bueckers, there’s going to be much disappointment and a lot of second guessing. Good luck to everyone.
 

Shades said:
I would say that’s a pretty good opinion, but to say “never” is a bit extreme. We’ve heard about Bueckers going to Gophers games and hanging out with the team in the locker room, so I would say there was always a glimmer of hope. But for me, it’s not a Stollings vs Whalen thing. I agree that Whalen probably gives the program a better chance at securing Bueckers. It’s more of a Whalen vs whoever else we could have had. Since my top choice was Niele Ivey, it’s a Whalen vs Ivey thing for me. I’m going to be redundant here but I guess I have to. I believe Notre Dame is Buecker’s top choice right now. They won the latest championship against all odds. ND’s shine as a program has gone way up while UConn has lost some of theirs. The NCAA even set aside their stringent rules so a ND player could compete on national television in Dancing with the Stars. Brunelle, who seems to be Bueckers’ best friend in basketball, has committed to ND. Everything is smelling like ND lately. What the Gophers could have done was hire Ivey, and that would have been an impressive hire in a different way than Whalen’s. Here we have a prominent assistant coach who most could make the argument is a big part of ND’s success, an assistant coach at an elite level with tons of experience and most deserving of a head coaching job. We hire her, we take away a bit of that ND shine away for Bueckers and put it on the Gophers. Hire Ivey and it looks like the Gophers are taking women’s basketball seriously instead of taking the usual easy route in these hires. In my opinion, Whalen was the easy route again. No experience, not into the job 100% from the start, but it doesn’t matter since everybody loves Whalen. But does Bueckers blindly love Whalen as a coach enough to put her basketball career on the line? She obviously takes her basketball career very seriously, so I’m guessing not. Like I said, I hope I’m wrong because I believe there is nothing more important than Bueckers for the near term success of the Gophers. If Whalen doesn’t land Bueckers, there’s going to be much disappointment and a lot of second guessing. Good luck to everyone.
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Again with this? You have no evidence that Ivey was even interested in the job. And if Bueckers is interested in Notre Dame, why would hiring an assistant from there make her want to stay home? She can't bring the program here with her. Your logic is akin to saying that if we would have hired Jeff Capel instead of Pitino a few years ago, we would've had Tyus Jones, Gary Trent, and Tre Jones all come here instead of going to Duke. It's silly.
 

Some strange logic coming from Shades, I think. If Notre Dame is currently on top of Bueckers' list (and that's a big if), I doubt that she would switch her allegiance to the U if Coyle had hired Ivey. I would doubt that Bueckers would make a decision to sign somewhere because of an assistant coach. I thought Ivey would have been a viable candidate, but only if Whalen was not available. And we don't know if Ivey would have been interested. We also don't know why she hasn't previously landed a head coaching job. And if Whalen was not available and Ivey was the coach, then there would have been some of the same concerns people have re: Whalen's lack of coaching experience, except in Ivey's case it would be lack of head coaching experience. And as far as Notre Dame's recruitment of Bueckers, I think I remember reading that Muffitt McGraw herself has visited one or more times. In recruiting a top recruit like Bueckers, most good coaches know that they need to get out and personally recruit those athletes instead of leaving that to an assistant. I would hope/presume that Whalen is doing the same. (Bueckers noted that she and Whalen have already talked.) And not all assistants in top programs make great head coaches. Wasn't Bobbie Kelsey a top assistant at Stanford when she was hired at Wisconsin? And to say Coyle took the easy route in hiring Whalen? Time will tell whether this was a good hire or not, but I'll still stand by my opinion, and the opinion of many, that this hire was a "no brainer".
 

Multiple media sources and people in the coaching world confirmed Ivey did come to Minnesota and interview. All signs pointed to if Whalen turned down the job, It was Ivey's for the taking. Now lets get real. If anyone has followed the Bueckers recruiting history, I think its safe to say it will be one of three schools. Notre Dame, UConn, or Gophers. I do feel Bueckers has a strong relationship with Ivey but I agree I don't know if that would of meant she came here if Ivey hired. I also might not be very popular with this opinion but I also don't feel Bueckers is make it or break it for whalen. I remember everyone thought the program couldn't recover when they lost Coffey or Dahlman who were all-americans. I wouldn't say either of those had better careers than say Banham or Wagner who were not all-americans. Yes we want to get bueckers. she is a big talent but I don't feel its time to burn the program to the ground if she picks UConn or notre dame. Maybe we should give whalen and the assistants time to actually try to recruit. per the video, they can contact in September, maybe whalen possibly playing in the WNBA finals at that time might be impressive to bueckers.
 

bball_craz_26 said:
Multiple media sources and people in the coaching world confirmed Ivey did come to Minnesota and interview. All signs pointed to if Whalen turned down the job, It was Ivey's for the taking. Now lets get real. If anyone has followed the Bueckers recruiting history, I think its safe to say it will be one of three schools. Notre Dame, UConn, or Gophers. I do feel Bueckers has a strong relationship with Ivey but I agree I don't know if that would of meant she came here if Ivey hired. I also might not be very popular with this opinion but I also don't feel Bueckers is make it or break it for whalen. I remember everyone thought the program couldn't recover when they lost Coffey or Dahlman who were all-americans. I wouldn't say either of those had better careers than say Banham or Wagner who were not all-americans. Yes we want to get bueckers. she is a big talent but I don't feel its time to burn the program to the ground if she picks UConn or notre dame. Maybe we should give whalen and the assistants time to actually try to recruit. per the video, they can contact in September, maybe whalen possibly playing in the WNBA finals at that time might be impressive to bueckers.
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I would agree that signing Bueckers is not a make-it-or-break-it kind of thing for Whalen, but it would provide an opportunity to take the program quickly to a whole different level. Not only would they be gaining the services of an incredible player but the real key is what that would do for the recruiting of other players. There is a pretty good chance that Azzi Fudd would follow Bueckers to Minnesota (they are close friends and Fudd has family here) and perhaps another national-team level player would come, as well. The possibility of playing for Whalen and contending for a Big Ten title/Final Four would cause every elite Minnesota player to consider the Gophers as a primary option because they will want to be part of that.
 


Well said, bball and GMac. I agree that getting Bueckers won't be "make or break" for Whalen, but could help her bring the program to a top-tier level very quickly. And I do think there's a good chance that other top-tier players would follow Bueckers' lead, and she have a formidable cast surrounding her. And I was in the camp that really wanted the Gophers to get Coffey and Dahlman. I viewed those players as players who could help the Gophers get to the top or near the top of the BIG. Looking back at their careers, I'm convinced that Coffey would have done that. Unfortunately, Dahlman's college career was marred with injuries.
 

Also, I don't see the argument that Bueckers will somehow be putting her career on the line by having Lindsay as a coach. Good God, if it comes down to a choice between Whalen and a college coach as far as knowing what it takes to be a successful pro, I'm going with the one who has won numerous WNBA championships, been an All-Star, been an Olympian, and has also played overseas. Oh, ya, and been coached by Cheryl Reeve.
 


I hope that the new look Gophers can not only score, but play good team defense. Will they be able to land a quality center?
 






Brunnelle just committed to Notre Dame. I hope there not too good of friends.
 






Oh crap. My “both” must have auto-corrected to “bother”. That’s what I get. :(
 


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Paige Bueckers is ranked the No. 5 (No. 4 PG) best player nationally by espnW - http://www.espn.com/high-school/girls-basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/225154/paige-bueckers

It will be huge for the Gophers program if she decides to stay home - definitely would be a signature get of the Whalen Era! Picture Cummings, Staples, Scalia, Pitts (lone senior by then), and Bueckers. That is a pretty good start to a nice roster.

Currently, eight players are juniors and seniors. We'll see how recruiting under Whalen heats up. Lots to be excited about in the next two recruiting cycles. It all boils down to recruiting.

If she is that good, she does not need to follow the flock to ND, UConn, or other places. She can play in front of her family and friends. Whalen stayed home, and and was drafted No. 4 overall by the Connecticut Sun in 2004.

She can learn from one of the best proven PGs in the country at Point Guard U.
 

It’s weird being rated 5th overall and only 4th overall as a PG. It must be the year of the PG.
 

Shades said:
It’s weird being rated 5th overall and only 4th overall as a PG. It must be the year of the PG.
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Then, it may be a reflection of basketball trend to a three or four guard system. I really don't know for sure.
 

Here’s Blue Star Media with an updated evaluation of Paige Bueckers
https://www.bluestarmedia.org/one-last-look-at-the-usa-u17-finalists/

Paige Bueckers– 2020 – 5-11 – Guard – St. Louis Park, Minnesota – One of the more consistent top performers at the trials…Makes plays off both skills and instincts…Mixes her attack between penetration and an effective pull up…Off the drive delivered some lethal interior passes as the bigs came her way…Changes direction at full speed in transition…Keeps her dribble off the hesitation exploiting defenders reactions…Slender build doesn’t inhibit her in traffic or finishing around the rim…Protects the ball going up…Active defender…Takes chances at time but sees the ball from the weakside and anticipates well…Has the natural knack and intuitive game that you can’t coach
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https://prospectsnation.com/story/paige-turning-next-chapter

Also this from three weeks ago:

On the recruiting front Bueckers has made a lot of progress as well. The five-star rated guard made visits to Maryland, Minnesota and Notre Dame in October and Connecticut in November.

“I feel like I’m narrowing it down,” Bueckers said of her recruitment process. “So I think it won’t take long to complete the process and make a decision. I definitely still want to go visit some schools and just compare them.”
 



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