B1G Game 1: Gophers Host Nebraska (12-6-21)

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Ignatius L Hoops said:
Minutes Played (starters bolded):
Sconiers didn't even get a look tonight

37 Scalia
33 Hubbard (2 points)
30 Sissoko
27 Winters
18 Micheaux (8 points, 4 rebounds and 3 fouls)
17 Smith
12 Helgren (0 shots, 4 rebounds and 2 turnovers)
11 Mershon
6 LBK
6 Strande
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when Bailey checked in when we were up 4 in the 4th.. I said welp there goes the game and our lead.. who did Sam H attack right away Bailey.. Bailey fouled Bella giving her 2 ft's.. then picked up an offensive foul in a blink of an eye..

not sure why we didn't go to Mershon there she was a key piece in our defense in the 1st quarter and 2nd quarter.. but didn't touch the floor in the 2nd.. she knows Nebraska the best.. not sure why coach goes to Bailey in BIG spots.. or why she still starts.. :unsure::cautious:
 

Gophers112233 said:
when Bailey checked in when we were up 4 in the 4th.. I said welp there goes the game and our lead.. who did Sam H attack right away Bailey.. Bailey fouled Bella giving her 2 ft's.. then picked up an offensive foul in a blink of an eye..

not sure why we didn't go to Mershon there she was a key piece in our defense in the 1st quarter and 2nd quarter.. but didn't touch the floor in the 2nd.. she knows Nebraska the best.. not sure why coach goes to Bailey in BIG spots.. or why she still starts.. :unsure::cautious:
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That is a 100% accurate take on the game.
 


Gophers112233 said:
when Bailey checked in when we were up 4 in the 4th.. I said welp there goes the game and our lead.. who did Sam H attack right away Bailey.. Bailey fouled Bella giving her 2 ft's.. then picked up an offensive foul in a blink of an eye..

not sure why we didn't go to Mershon there she was a key piece in our defense in the 1st quarter and 2nd quarter.. but didn't touch the floor in the 2nd.. she knows Nebraska the best.. not sure why coach goes to Bailey in BIG spots.. or why she still starts.. :unsure::cautious:
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Was thinking the same thing. Why put Bailey in? I figured Rose would get the start...
 

GringaGopher said:
I have nothing to " get over ". Many of us wish she had a better W/L record. You still have not answered my ? about why you watch a team with such a poor coach ? I am an admitted " homer " and cheer for all MN teams. I have noticed over the past 6 plus years on GH that some posters seem to post many more negative posts than they do positive and this behavior is extreme on the mens FB/BB forums. I enjoy this forum because many of those posters don't show up the women forums. Glad you are rooting for Whalen to put together a strong program as am I . She has the highest ranked recruited team in program history and no doubt she will need to show significant improvement with these upcoming teams.
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Seems the team needs discipline on defense and in ball handling plus some bigs who are fast and can jump.
 


It wasn't just Helgren. Nobody wanted Haiby at crunch time (it looks even worse this morning):


 



Most frustrating thing for a coach (not to mention the players themselves)is when you have 2 players who absolutely know better, both blow it mentally at the same time. Guarantee both of them were kicking themselves as they realized "Crap, we both just messed up Rule 1 on a run-out, stop the ball. WTF was I thinking by not stepping up?". They both know better and both brain-farted.
 



gwbbfan82 said:
Was thinking the same thing. Why put Bailey in? I figured Rose would get the start...
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My question is, why was she recruited in the first place? She's hardly contributing, is here for this year only, and is taking playing time away from the younger players. Sconiers had some promising moments last year, and now she's not seeing the court. I expect we'll see a few transfers after the season.
 

Chico Gopher said:
Most frustrating thing for a coach (not to mention the players themselves)is when you have 2 players who absolutely know better, both blow it mentally at the same time. Guarantee both of them were kicking themselves as they realized "Crap, we both just messed up Rule 1 on a run-out, stop the ball. WTF was I thinking by not stepping up?". They both know better and both brain-farted.
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agree stop ball first.. mis-communication, always stop the ball.. but it happened.. We got some good looks to tie the game up late and they didnt go in.. got to keep fighting, thats all they can do right now.
 

BBJones said:
My question is, why was she recruited in the first place? She's hardly contributing, is here for this year only, and is taking playing time away from the younger players. Sconiers had some promising moments last year, and now she's not seeing the court. I expect we'll see a few transfers after the season.
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Is it possible that it’s just good PR? Hometown girl that wants to come home? Not sure how that all works. Obviously can’t teach height, so maybe the potential upside (of which we’re not seeing) outweighed the downside at the time?
 

I agree with the post that Mershon perhaps should have been in at the end of the game. I haven’t watched it back but during the game I remember thinking that Mershon was pretty disruptive in the first half when the Gophers made their run, Nebraska seemed comfortable attacking Bailey all night. This team cannot seem to get over that hump. You get the feeling if they could pull off an upset that perhaps their confidence would increase but for whatever reason they sometimes cannot get out of their own way. You would hope after 3 years (for some of the starters) that these issues would subside. Moving forward I hope Kadi can have similar games in the future where she is under control yet aggressive. I also can’t wait to see how much Micheaux develops. I hope Powell can comeback Sunday, they really missed her.
 



I liked the suggestion that a few have made about maybe mixing in some zone defense from time to time, and more on the ball pressure. The only way to disrupt the dribble drives and easy layup's is to have more on the ball pressure coming up the court. Way to easy for Nebraska to get odd-man or extra 3 on 1 to 4 on 3 type plays, Haidy is a really good player, to bad she plays for the Huskers instead of the Gophers.
 

The team is not well coached hopefully that improves. There is a great recruiting class coming in but that does not guarantee wins they need to be coached up… Whalen so far reminds me of Penny Hardaway and Memphis on the men’s side..
 

Katogopher said:
I agree with the post that Mershon perhaps should have been in at the end of the game. I haven’t watched it back but during the game I remember thinking that Mershon was pretty disruptive in the first half when the Gophers made their run, Nebraska seemed comfortable attacking Bailey all night. This team cannot seem to get over that hump. You get the feeling if they could pull off an upset that perhaps their confidence would increase but for whatever reason they sometimes cannot get out of their own way. You would hope after 3 years (for some of the starters) that these issues would subside. Moving forward I hope Kadi can have similar games in the future where she is under control yet aggressive. I also can’t wait to see how much Micheaux develops. I hope Powell can comeback Sunday, they really missed her.
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Agreed. Some observations after seeing the team play in person this season. Smith and Hubbard were too stationary and when they did drive to the basket they were out of control. Sara was amazing but having to play the point and score big points left her gassed a few times. Micheaux has such a huge upside she needs more PT. She did get into early foul trouble and will need to learn not to lower her shoulder when she makes her post moves . Like many of you it's hard to understand why Bailey gets all those minutes ? Overall, our offense was out of sync without Powell @ the point so hope she gets back soon.
 

GringaGopher said:
Agreed. Some observations after seeing the team play in person this season. Smith and Hubbard were too stationary and when they did drive to the basket they were out of control. Sara was amazing but having to play the point and score big points left her gassed a few times. Micheaux has such a huge upside she needs more PT. She did get into early foul trouble and will need to learn not to lower her shoulder when she makes her post moves . Like many of you it's hard to understand why Bailey gets all those minutes ? Overall, our offense was out of sync without Powell @ the point so hope she gets back soon.
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From her bio on the Gopher website. Doesn't scream starter...also, only played 7 games last season. And she often looks like she is somewhat "rusty" in her play.

2020-21: SENIOR SEASON (at Kansas)
Played in the first seven games of the before opting out the remainder of the year ... scored 14 points, pulled down 39 rebounds and blocked seven shots in those seven games.

2019-20: JUNIOR SEASON (at Kansas)
Named to the Academic All-Big 12 Women’s Basketball Team … started 24 games… averaged 5.3 rebounds per game … averaged 25.9 minutes per game … led KU in blocks 6 times … swatted more than three blocks in a game twice and had 29 blocks on the season … went 4-4 on field goals vs Indiana State (11/7) ... scored 108 points on the season, averaging 4.5 for the year … posted a .605 shooting percentage from the field.

2018-19: SOPHOMORE SEASON (at Kansas)
Earned Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors … appeared in all 31 games, starting 29 as a sophomore … averaged 23.2 minutes per game … netted 87 points, averaging 2.8 per game … KU’s leading rebounder with 180 rebounds, averaging 5.8 per game … tallied a team-best 25 blocks ... registered a career-high 10 points against Oral Roberts (11/13) … swatted away a career-high five blocks against Kansas City (11/7) … grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds at Texas Tech (1/9) … recorded nine or more rebounds on six occasions … surpassed the total number of rebounds from her rookie campaign (74) just 12 games into the 2018-19 season.

2017-18: FRESHMAN SEASON (at Kansas)
Named to the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team … played in 28 games with 19 starts … averaged 15.0 minutes per game … totaled 34 points, 74 rebounds, 16 blocks, 13 assists and two steals in her rookie season … scored a season-high eight points against TCU (12/31) … grabbed a season-best eight rebounds on two separate occasions … swatted away three shots against Nebraska (12/16).

High School
Prepped at Edina High School under Matt Nilsen … Ranked No. 89 overall by Blue Star Report out of high school … Earned all-conference honors at the conclusion of the 2015 and 2016 seasons
 

GringaGopher said:
Agreed. Some observations after seeing the team play in person this season. Smith and Hubbard were too stationary and when they did drive to the basket they were out of control. Sara was amazing but having to play the point and score big points left her gassed a few times. Micheaux has such a huge upside she needs more PT. She did get into early foul trouble and will need to learn not to lower her shoulder when she makes her post moves . Like many of you it's hard to understand why Bailey gets all those minutes ? Overall, our offense was out of sync without Powell @ the point so hope she gets back soon.
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Smith and Hubbard are too slow for the pace of these games, plus lack of length. Smith is not a scorer and Hubbard is hot or cold. I would like to see more Strande minutes. She gets up and down the court well and is a good shooter. Defense seems good as well.
 

MOGopher said:
Smith and Hubbard are too slow for the pace of these games, plus lack of length. Smith is not a scorer and Hubbard is hot or cold. I would like to see more Strande minutes. She gets up and down the court well and is a good shooter. Defense seems good as well.
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I have wanted Strande to get more minutes too but I have a hard time blaming the coaches not playing her more in the last game because she was fumbling the ball pretty badly but I hope she gets at least about the same number of minutes going forward.

Smith seems to be slowly getting better. She is adapting slower to the speed of the game than some but I agree she is more of a defender ball handler right now and not a scorer and not a particularly good rebounder for a guard like Jasmine is.
 

Ragnor said:
I have wanted Strande to get more minutes too but I have a hard time blaming the coaches not playing her more in the last game because she was fumbling the ball pretty badly but I hope she gets at least about the same number of minutes going forward.

Smith seems to be slowly getting better. She is adapting slower to the speed of the game than some but I agree she is more of a defender ball handler right now and not a scorer and not a particularly good rebounder for a guard like Jasmine is.
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I'm sure if Strande had played 700+ minutes by now, like Smith, she would be a contributor on both ends. Players need floor time to develop and feel comfortable (that's typically what non-conference games are about). Powell and Scalia struggled when they first got minutes, heck they still struggle. Plus, coming off the bench is much more of a challenge for many reasons.
 

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