B1G game 1: Gophers host Maryland 12-7-25

Donate To GopherHole
MN GBB Fan said:
Everyone who is rabidly pro-Mack should re-read this and really think about what it means.

I also agree on the physicality issue. Now that she's getting so much attention teams will actually have scouting reports on her. She's really not that hard to stop when she plays against people bigger and stronger than her, especially if they bang her up a bit. She avoided it in high school by playing for a small school and leaving her original AAU EYBL team once she hit high school age and the size differential became a problem. It will be shocking to me if she can successfully run the Big10 gauntlet.
Click to expand...
Her physicality may be an issue, maybe not. But they sure could of used her speed and quickness yesterday. Too often our players look like they're playing in slow motion. We could use some quick jumpers too.
 

Roland Brooks said:
She was never money… Lisa Bluder called it Braun is a volume shooter….
Click to expand...
Lots of players can score 20+ points a game, if their coach let's them fire 25 shots a game. Good coaches let the high percentage shooters take open shots. Poor coaches let home town favs jack unlimited shots to keep them happy.
 

Gophers112233 said:
we couldn't get a whistle on the drive.. meanwhile if a maryland player was just slightly bumped it was a foul under the basket.. GG's 5th foul wasn't a foul.. she didn't touch her at all she was just off balance because she was trying to draw the foul and threw herself towards Grace..

and #7 should have fouled out at least 3 times... when she tackled Amaya in the 1st OT.. and then when she went over Amaya's back early in the 2nd OT but somehow they called Amaya for a foul..
Click to expand...
So now we're blaming the refs? How Minnesotan!
 

Gopher Mac said:
Can we please run an offense that features Tori and GG. Please Braun, Battle and Hart should not be featured in our offense.
Click to expand...
TRUTH = You need to understand Minnesota sports. Minnesotians would rather lose with Minnesota players playing, than win with the more talented non-Minnesota players playing. That's a big reason why our sport teams always suck. Thank goodness Dawn P and GG were able to come here from Wisconsin to try to help us out.
 



I figured this would be a fun board to read through after that game. (says sarcastically)

This might be long…

Look, there is not a lot to be said about it. That was a gut punch like no other. Multiple times, they had the game wrapped up…only to lose it. There was A LOT of good in this game. Sadly, there was likely a lot of negative or bad as well.

Let’s start from the top. The Coaching.

I will say this: execution and timeout calling are going to get a lot of (rightfully so) scrutiny. However, I feel for the coaches in the sense is they got burned on both sides of the timeout situation. Earlier in the game, in regulation, had used a timeout maybe sooner than should have, and then didn’t have one to avoid a 5-second inbound call. Then, in the final meltdown, used it my opinion one play too late. I’m guessing that the earlier issue with the 5-second played into waiting, presumably too late to call the timeout in double OT. Both are deserving of questions and issues… but they truly were burned on both ends there.

Point Guard Play. Especially Amaya. Wow. I feel like this game alone shows the utter brilliance and justifiable frustration that comes with Amaya Battle. The game mostly takes poor long twos, not looking to attack the basket, and floating out there. Actually, benched a few times for Glenn to come in. Probably was, with Tori out basically the 3rd quarter, we didn’t have the option to put Amaya on the bench. That also was when we needed Amaya to show senior leadership, and IMO she didn’t. It’s why the 3rd allowed the Terps to claw back and make it nip and tuck. However, then in the biggest moments, Amaya shows she can get to the basket at will and scores the and-1 to get us to overtime. She felt more aggressive, looking to get to the rim from then on and in overtime. But we needed it sooner. And to put a bow on it… Her late turnovers, actually, frankly a lot of her turnovers were lazy, readable passes or the arrant one to end set up the game-winning bucket for Maryland. She did put up double figures for the first time this year and was big on rebounds… but we truly get the full yin and yang and brilliance and utter frustration in this game.

I feel this has been clear for a while, and yesterday was the prime example cementing that Tori McKinney is our best and most valuable player on this team. She is excellent on both sides of the ball. Honestly, as stated, her being out in the 3rdwith illness issues showed how much we needed her. For the people saying Mack fried us or had a good game, she scored technically 6 points with Tori as her defender. She got rolling in the 3rd quarter…when Tori was on the bench or in the Locker room. Even looking at the 6 points, 2 were valid. Her only 3-point make came with a missed moving pick from their post that got Tori off, and then her 1 ft late in the first OT came off Poffenberger body checked Tori on a screen into Mack, and the refs called Tori instead of the correct moving pick again. So to confirm for those Mack lovers… She did have a good game… as long as Tori was on the bench or in the locker room. Also, that missed moving pick was Tori’s 4thfoul, and I stand by her 5th in the collapse was a charge. WBB doesn’t use the charge circle. She was set. Both of those calls are crap.

Frankly, I have little to no issues with Grace or Glenn. Were they ungodly perfect, no. But the heart and hustle and play were there, especially with Grace doing everything she could. Her fouling out, along with Tori took our best two players out IMO. Maybe our two highest basketball IQ’s as well.

Mara Braun showed some of the most fire I have ever seen in her Career yesterday. She wanted it more than anyone. She had big moments, but her shots wouldn’t fall. I feel she rushed the very last one and could have maybe dribbled in a few and gotten a closer look. Mara I'm guessing is feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders. She is not free from critique, but you can see she is trying to get back to better play. She is giving everything she has imo. Whether it’s enough or not is up for debate.

My last few thoughts. I think Nia could have had more minutes. She is athletic. There were a couple of rebounds up for grabs that Maryland got to simply because they could outrun Sophie and Tonga. Nia could have provided more athleticism.

The response from this will tell us a lot about this team. Even the next three could go south if their spirits and energy are broken from this. No one has to agree. But there is a lot of good that was shown in this game. Winning the next three convincingly, and then I feel at Indiana is winnable but won’t be easy. This was an awful feeling, and this response will show if we have any fight left in us imo.
 

W
bball_craz_31 said:
I figured this would be a fun board to read through after that game. (says sarcastically)

This might be long…

Look, there is not a lot to be said about it. That was a gut punch like no other. Multiple times, they had the game wrapped up…only to lose it. There was A LOT of good in this game. Sadly, there was likely a lot of negative or bad as well.

Let’s start from the top. The Coaching.

I will say this: execution and timeout calling are going to get a lot of (rightfully so) scrutiny. However, I feel for the coaches in the sense is they got burned on both sides of the timeout situation. Earlier in the game, in regulation, had used a timeout maybe sooner than should have, and then didn’t have one to avoid a 5-second inbound call. Then, in the final meltdown, used it my opinion one play too late. I’m guessing that the earlier issue with the 5-second played into waiting, presumably too late to call the timeout in double OT. Both are deserving of questions and issues… but they truly were burned on both ends there.

Point Guard Play. Especially Amaya. Wow. I feel like this game alone shows the utter brilliance and justifiable frustration that comes with Amaya Battle. The game mostly takes poor long twos, not looking to attack the basket, and floating out there. Actually, benched a few times for Glenn to come in. Probably was, with Tori out basically the 3rd quarter, we didn’t have the option to put Amaya on the bench. That also was when we needed Amaya to show senior leadership, and IMO she didn’t. It’s why the 3rd allowed the Terps to claw back and make it nip and tuck. However, then in the biggest moments, Amaya shows she can get to the basket at will and scores the and-1 to get us to overtime. She felt more aggressive, looking to get to the rim from then on and in overtime. But we needed it sooner. And to put a bow on it… Her late turnovers, actually, frankly a lot of her turnovers were lazy, readable passes or the arrant one to end set up the game-winning bucket for Maryland. She did put up double figures for the first time this year and was big on rebounds… but we truly get the full yin and yang and brilliance and utter frustration in this game.

I feel this has been clear for a while, and yesterday was the prime example cementing that Tori McKinney is our best and most valuable player on this team. She is excellent on both sides of the ball. Honestly, as stated, her being out in the 3rdwith illness issues showed how much we needed her. For the people saying Mack fried us or had a good game, she scored technically 6 points with Tori as her defender. She got rolling in the 3rd quarter…when Tori was on the bench or in the Locker room. Even looking at the 6 points, 2 were valid. Her only 3-point make came with a missed moving pick from their post that got Tori off, and then her 1 ft late in the first OT came off Poffenberger body checked Tori on a screen into Mack, and the refs called Tori instead of the correct moving pick again. So to confirm for those Mack lovers… She did have a good game… as long as Tori was on the bench or in the locker room. Also, that missed moving pick was Tori’s 4thfoul, and I stand by her 5th in the collapse was a charge. WBB doesn’t use the charge circle. She was set. Both of those calls are crap.

Frankly, I have little to no issues with Grace or Glenn. Were they ungodly perfect, no. But the heart and hustle and play were there, especially with Grace doing everything she could. Her fouling out, along with Tori took our best two players out IMO. Maybe our two highest basketball IQ’s as well.

Mara Braun showed some of the most fire I have ever seen in her Career yesterday. She wanted it more than anyone. She had big moments, but her shots wouldn’t fall. I feel she rushed the very last one and could have maybe dribbled in a few and gotten a closer look. Mara I'm guessing is feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders. She is not free from critique, but you can see she is trying to get back to better play. She is giving everything she has imo. Whether it’s enough or not is up for debate.

My last few thoughts. I think Nia could have had more minutes. She is athletic. There were a couple of rebounds up for grabs that Maryland got to simply because they could outrun Sophie and Tonga. Nia could have provided more athleticism.

The response from this will tell us a lot about this team. Even the next three could go south if their spirits and energy are broken from this. No one has to agree. But there is a lot of good that was shown in this game. Winning the next three convincingly, and then I feel at Indiana is winnable but won’t be easy. This was an awful feeling, and this response will show if we have any fight left in us imo.
Click to expand...
Well stated I do think Glenn needs to play more.
 

bball_craz_31: Agree with you regarding Tori, Grace, and Glenn. They were our 3 best players yesterday. Glenn has been a terrific addition to the team. Regarding Mara, I'd rather see some intelligent play instead of "fire". Shooting 3 for 20 shows a lack of judgement. Some days you just don't have it, and you concentrate on other areas of your game instead. You just don't keep throwing it up. I am not sure I saw the utter brilliance of Battle's game. She made the big play at the end of regulation, yes, and she made her free throws. But a point guard should protect the ball rather than cave under pressure. Seven turnovers is simply too many. The next month will tell the story.
 

Gopher Mac said:
W
Well stated I do think Glenn needs to play more.
Click to expand...
I agree with pretty much everything you said especially playing Nia more. Hart was completely invective and not athletic enough to be on the floor against Maryland. She missed all her bunnies and couldn’t grab a rebound as she has no lift. I get Nia is perhaps raw but get her in there to grab rebounds and disrupt. She seems to always make a positive impact when she’s in. Coach P must have no confidence in her being on the floor for some reason. I hope to see the other girls get some playing time these next three games to build confidence and perhaps earn some minutes in BIG play. Fatigue was certainly a factor in OT with the amount of minutes logged
 




Gopher Ally said:
I agree with pretty much everything you said especially playing Nia more. Hart was completely invective and not athletic enough to be on the floor against Maryland. She missed all her bunnies and couldn’t grab a rebound as she has no lift. I get Nia is perhaps raw but get her in there to grab rebounds and disrupt. She seems to always make a positive impact when she’s in. Coach P must have no confidence in her being on the floor for some reason. I hope to see the other girls get some playing time these next three games to build confidence and perhaps earn some minutes in BIG play. Fatigue was certainly a factor in OT with the amount of minutes logged
Click to expand...
I agree. Nia should be getting more minutes. She's our best athletic jumper. Maryland was out jumping the Gophers all day. If she can't get minutes under these circumstances, I wouldn't blame her at all for considering the portal. Her family could still see her play at St. Thomas.
 

So I was on a plane and following on line, could not watch the broadcast but I did record it. I’m debating whether or not to watch it. Feel like watching it would just cause more trauma. What do others think? Was it an entertaining game other than the maddening frustrating ending? Better to skip it and move on? Usually I watch win or lose but not sure if I can handle it
 

This team is going to have good and bad match-ups. Indiana just became a big game as both don't want to fall to 0-2 especially when Michigan, UCLA, USC, and Washington are on the schedule to follow.

I watched some of USC and Washington and there are no liabilities on the court. Like Maryland they all look like D1, high level players. We have to find a way to get more athletic and finish at the rim. Maryland players got the ball up on the backboard and were much more skilled in ball handling and finishing. MN uses so much energy to get to the rim and then has nothing left for a smooth finish or they rush shots because the lack of athleticism creates contested shots.

Goal is still top 10 in conference and NCAA tournament berth. Losing this game along with Kansas and Alabama won't help.
 



gopherdudepart2 said:
Long past time for Hart to start making the easier shots. Last year, Senior, probably last time playing basketball competitively. Time for her Hart to step up her game. Hart's shooting percentage not good for a player touching the ball that much. Braun has been a poor shooter this year too.
Click to expand...
Sophie Hart should not be allowed to shoot the ball with her right hand. I would love to know her right side of basket v left side splits. Btw, Brauns last second miss carommed to Hart as the light went on. Her put back completely missed the basket. We need to play as much small ball as possible. She tries very hard, but the physical gifts aren’t there.
 


BBJones said:
I agree. Nia should be getting more minutes. She's our best athletic jumper. Maryland was out jumping the Gophers all day. If she can't get minutes under these circumstances, I wouldn't blame her at all for considering the portal. Her family could still see her play at St. Thomas.
Click to expand...
Coach P will play impact players, not hometown fan favs.
 

bball_craz_31 said:
I figured this would be a fun board to read through after that game. (says sarcastically)

This might be long…

Look, there is not a lot to be said about it. That was a gut punch like no other. Multiple times, they had the game wrapped up…only to lose it. There was A LOT of good in this game. Sadly, there was likely a lot of negative or bad as well.

Let’s start from the top. The Coaching.

I will say this: execution and timeout calling are going to get a lot of (rightfully so) scrutiny. However, I feel for the coaches in the sense is they got burned on both sides of the timeout situation. Earlier in the game, in regulation, had used a timeout maybe sooner than should have, and then didn’t have one to avoid a 5-second inbound call. Then, in the final meltdown, used it my opinion one play too late. I’m guessing that the earlier issue with the 5-second played into waiting, presumably too late to call the timeout in double OT. Both are deserving of questions and issues… but they truly were burned on both ends there.

Point Guard Play. Especially Amaya. Wow. I feel like this game alone shows the utter brilliance and justifiable frustration that comes with Amaya Battle. The game mostly takes poor long twos, not looking to attack the basket, and floating out there. Actually, benched a few times for Glenn to come in. Probably was, with Tori out basically the 3rd quarter, we didn’t have the option to put Amaya on the bench. That also was when we needed Amaya to show senior leadership, and IMO she didn’t. It’s why the 3rd allowed the Terps to claw back and make it nip and tuck. However, then in the biggest moments, Amaya shows she can get to the basket at will and scores the and-1 to get us to overtime. She felt more aggressive, looking to get to the rim from then on and in overtime. But we needed it sooner. And to put a bow on it… Her late turnovers, actually, frankly a lot of her turnovers were lazy, readable passes or the arrant one to end set up the game-winning bucket for Maryland. She did put up double figures for the first time this year and was big on rebounds… but we truly get the full yin and yang and brilliance and utter frustration in this game.

I feel this has been clear for a while, and yesterday was the prime example cementing that Tori McKinney is our best and most valuable player on this team. She is excellent on both sides of the ball. Honestly, as stated, her being out in the 3rdwith illness issues showed how much we needed her. For the people saying Mack fried us or had a good game, she scored technically 6 points with Tori as her defender. She got rolling in the 3rd quarter…when Tori was on the bench or in the Locker room. Even looking at the 6 points, 2 were valid. Her only 3-point make came with a missed moving pick from their post that got Tori off, and then her 1 ft late in the first OT came off Poffenberger body checked Tori on a screen into Mack, and the refs called Tori instead of the correct moving pick again. So to confirm for those Mack lovers… She did have a good game… as long as Tori was on the bench or in the locker room. Also, that missed moving pick was Tori’s 4thfoul, and I stand by her 5th in the collapse was a charge. WBB doesn’t use the charge circle. She was set. Both of those calls are crap.

Frankly, I have little to no issues with Grace or Glenn. Were they ungodly perfect, no. But the heart and hustle and play were there, especially with Grace doing everything she could. Her fouling out, along with Tori took our best two players out IMO. Maybe our two highest basketball IQ’s as well.

Mara Braun showed some of the most fire I have ever seen in her Career yesterday. She wanted it more than anyone. She had big moments, but her shots wouldn’t fall. I feel she rushed the very last one and could have maybe dribbled in a few and gotten a closer look. Mara I'm guessing is feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders. She is not free from critique, but you can see she is trying to get back to better play. She is giving everything she has imo. Whether it’s enough or not is up for debate.

My last few thoughts. I think Nia could have had more minutes. She is athletic. There were a couple of rebounds up for grabs that Maryland got to simply because they could outrun Sophie and Tonga. Nia could have provided more athleticism.

The response from this will tell us a lot about this team. Even the next three could go south if their spirits and energy are broken from this. No one has to agree. But there is a lot of good that was shown in this game. Winning the next three convincingly, and then I feel at Indiana is winnable but won’t be easy. This was an awful feeling, and this response will show if we have any fight left in us imo.
Click to expand...
I know in the past I have gone back and forth with you and have not agreed much; but have to say I think you're spot on with this post and I apprecate your insights. I am really curious to see how the team reacts going forward.

Question: Would you say the at Indiana game is a must win for NCAA tourney hopes? I just look at the beginning of BIG play and besides the Northwestern game I am worried we might be trouble. Thoughts?
 

Katogopher said:
So I was on a plane and following on line, could not watch the broadcast but I did record it. I’m debating whether or not to watch it. Feel like watching it would just cause more trauma. What do others think? Was it an entertaining game other than the maddening frustrating ending? Better to skip it and move on? Usually I watch win or lose but not sure if I can handle it
Click to expand...
Would I watch it again? Well, maybe at gun point.
 

bball_craz_31 said:
I figured this would be a fun board to read through after that game. (says sarcastically)

This might be long…

Look, there is not a lot to be said about it. That was a gut punch like no other. Multiple times, they had the game wrapped up…only to lose it. There was A LOT of good in this game. Sadly, there was likely a lot of negative or bad as well.

Let’s start from the top. The Coaching.

I will say this: execution and timeout calling are going to get a lot of (rightfully so) scrutiny. However, I feel for the coaches in the sense is they got burned on both sides of the timeout situation. Earlier in the game, in regulation, had used a timeout maybe sooner than should have, and then didn’t have one to avoid a 5-second inbound call. Then, in the final meltdown, used it my opinion one play too late. I’m guessing that the earlier issue with the 5-second played into waiting, presumably too late to call the timeout in double OT. Both are deserving of questions and issues… but they truly were burned on both ends there.

Point Guard Play. Especially Amaya. Wow. I feel like this game alone shows the utter brilliance and justifiable frustration that comes with Amaya Battle. The game mostly takes poor long twos, not looking to attack the basket, and floating out there. Actually, benched a few times for Glenn to come in. Probably was, with Tori out basically the 3rd quarter, we didn’t have the option to put Amaya on the bench. That also was when we needed Amaya to show senior leadership, and IMO she didn’t. It’s why the 3rd allowed the Terps to claw back and make it nip and tuck. However, then in the biggest moments, Amaya shows she can get to the basket at will and scores the and-1 to get us to overtime. She felt more aggressive, looking to get to the rim from then on and in overtime. But we needed it sooner. And to put a bow on it… Her late turnovers, actually, frankly a lot of her turnovers were lazy, readable passes or the arrant one to end set up the game-winning bucket for Maryland. She did put up double figures for the first time this year and was big on rebounds… but we truly get the full yin and yang and brilliance and utter frustration in this game.

I feel this has been clear for a while, and yesterday was the prime example cementing that Tori McKinney is our best and most valuable player on this team. She is excellent on both sides of the ball. Honestly, as stated, her being out in the 3rdwith illness issues showed how much we needed her. For the people saying Mack fried us or had a good game, she scored technically 6 points with Tori as her defender. She got rolling in the 3rd quarter…when Tori was on the bench or in the Locker room. Even looking at the 6 points, 2 were valid. Her only 3-point make came with a missed moving pick from their post that got Tori off, and then her 1 ft late in the first OT came off Poffenberger body checked Tori on a screen into Mack, and the refs called Tori instead of the correct moving pick again. So to confirm for those Mack lovers… She did have a good game… as long as Tori was on the bench or in the locker room. Also, that missed moving pick was Tori’s 4thfoul, and I stand by her 5th in the collapse was a charge. WBB doesn’t use the charge circle. She was set. Both of those calls are crap.

Frankly, I have little to no issues with Grace or Glenn. Were they ungodly perfect, no. But the heart and hustle and play were there, especially with Grace doing everything she could. Her fouling out, along with Tori took our best two players out IMO. Maybe our two highest basketball IQ’s as well.

Mara Braun showed some of the most fire I have ever seen in her Career yesterday. She wanted it more than anyone. She had big moments, but her shots wouldn’t fall. I feel she rushed the very last one and could have maybe dribbled in a few and gotten a closer look. Mara I'm guessing is feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders. She is not free from critique, but you can see she is trying to get back to better play. She is giving everything she has imo. Whether it’s enough or not is up for debate.

My last few thoughts. I think Nia could have had more minutes. She is athletic. There were a couple of rebounds up for grabs that Maryland got to simply because they could outrun Sophie and Tonga. Nia could have provided more athleticism.

The response from this will tell us a lot about this team. Even the next three could go south if their spirits and energy are broken from this. No one has to agree. But there is a lot of good that was shown in this game. Winning the next three convincingly, and then I feel at Indiana is winnable but won’t be easy. This was an awful feeling, and this response will show if we have any fight left in us imo.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your thoughtful balanced response. Gut punch 4 sure. I won’t repeat your excellent player/ game analysis but would add the lack of veteran leadership down the stretch. Battle, Braun n Hart have to be better when the game is this close and contested. The repeated meltdowns around handling the press were brutal. Now we will see if Dawn can rally the troops and the players can wash/ rinse this game in order to salvage their season. IMHO, we have enough talent to beat great teams .
 

9 games in

Braun has shot about 12 shots a game and GG is at about 9-10. Braun is shooting 31% and GG 49%. Tori is at 10 shots a game and almost 51%. Battle is at 26% on 9 shots a game. Hart is 50% on 9 shots a game.

GG/Tori/and Hart are 51.5% on 29 shots a game.
Braun and Battle are 28.7% on 21 shots a game.

GG has more assists than Braun and Glenn nearly has as many assists as Braun. Braun is good defensively leading the team in blocks and second in steals.

Simply Braun needs to distribute more and pick her spots. I feel Battle has much more feel for when she needs to get to the basketball and FT line.
 

I know we shot more free throws but there were three foul calls I really disliked during the game. The last two fouls on Tori Mckinney, she was set on the last one and offensive player barrelled in to her, and her "4th" foul was a moving screen, clear that Poffenberger hooked her with the leg and checked her. She played hard despite illness. On the rebound the call where Amaya Battle got called for a foul, she faced her because that Maryland player kept climbing over her box out, I felt the Maryland player created the contact not Bartle. I didn't like that play where Martland knocked Battle to the floor, hit her in the head and gooned it up and no fould call. Hope Gophers can rebound from this game and shoot better. All you can do is try to get better. Got to finish better at the rim and steal some conference road wins this year.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
9 games in

Braun has shot about 12 shots a game and GG is at about 9-10. Braun is shooting 31% and GG 49%. Tori is at 10 shots a game and almost 51%. Battle is at 26% on 9 shots a game. Hart is 50% on 9 shots a game.

GG/Tori/and Hart are 51.5% on 29 shots a game.
Braun and Battle are 28.7% on 21 shots a game.

GG has more assists than Braun and Glenn nearly has as many assists as Braun. Braun is good defensively leading the team in blocks and second in steals.

Simply Braun needs to distribute more and pick her spots. I feel Battle has much more feel for when she needs to get to the basketball and FT line.
Click to expand...
Those stats say it all.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom