B1G Game 2: Gophers @ Northwestern (12/14/20)

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This is gonna be a long year, was hoping to see improvement with pieces coming back but very toothless defense. They haven’t looked like they should be on the same court the last 3 games. Maybe they can scrimmage some local D II or D III teams over break but I’m afraid they would get beat
 


They need practice, do they have mens practice players this year or did that have to get taken away with covid? This team needs time in the court together.
 

Sissoko needs to play closer to the basket on offense she struggles the farther she gets away from the hoop.
 

Powell and Sissoko are very talented but it feels like they are both pressing . Their teammates are standing around watching them dribble or drive and our off the ball movement is way too stagnant. With the talent level in the Big you can see this team has not had enough time playing together.
 


We finished with 21 turnovers. That makes three of the last four games versus Northwestern that we've had 21 turnovers (the other game we had 14).
 

FG 37.1 %
3PT 9-32

No matter how much practice you have or haven’t had it’s unacceptable plus letting them shoot 54%.
 

GringaGopher said:
Powell and Sissoko are very talented but it feels like they are both pressing . Their teammates are standing around watching them dribble or drive and our off the ball movement is way too stagnant. With the talent level in the Big you can see this team has not had enough time playing together.
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I've noticed one thing is when Jazz passes the other players are waiting for the ball rather then going to the ball and a lot of opponets are just stepping in the passing lane and stealing it that way.. the players have to come to the ball when Jazz passes it, can't just stand there and wait for it..
 

man this was UGLY.. no flow to the offense at all.. just a lot of standing around.. launching 3's.. 32 3 pointers taken today, we took 60 shots.. this is like a Stolling offense, I thought we were done with launching 3's when we got rid of her..

hopefully the 9 days will help..

ps, Mara please don't back out of your verbal commitment..
 



Yeah, no silver lining on this one. The inability to get the ball inside the zone was brutal. They have to figure out if they some ways to get people flashing to the high post and along the baseline.
 


Get Sissoko near the basket use her length to get rebounds and putbacks. Down by the basket so she can post up and make quick decisive moves. If she dribbles more than three times bad things start to happen.
 

Only 1 game the next 3 weeks, alot of the issues should be easily correctable. So many of the turnovers are just self inflicted and alot of the defensive problems look like lack of practice time and fatigue to me, our help defense is nonexistent right now.
 




Veronica Burton: "We talked about how Minnesota doesn't always start the game off strong. It was a huge focus for us..."
 
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12.14 Postgame Quotes - University of Minnesota Athletics

12.14 Postgame Quotes
gophersports.com gophersports.com

"I felt like shootaround went well"

Lindsay Whalen,
Minnesota Head Coach Opening Statement…
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“Obviously a really tough one for us. We have some time here to practice, but obviously we all have to be better.”

On the team’s slow start…
“I’ll have to watch it, honestly. I felt like shootaround went well; I liked our last three days of practice. I don’t know, I’ll have to go back and see it, to be honest with you. It snowballed pretty quick for us.”

On the debut of Laura Bagwell Katalinich…
“Well considering she’s had a few practices now in the last while, she worked hard. It’s her first game with us, so we’ll have to watch the video but I thought she gave effort. It was the first time everyone on the team had played with her. I appreciated her effort and some of the things she brought to us out there.”

On having greater frustration offensively or defensively…
“At the moment both. [Northwestern] is a group that’s been together for quite a while now, and it shows. When you say there were only four baskets without an assist, that’s moving the ball, sharing it and knowing where everyone is going to be. Hats off to them for that. First possession of the game I think we turned it over. I think the first two or three minutes we had three or four turnovers. Starting with me, we have to figure out what we need to do to make sure we come out and are able to have success and go from there.”

On what she can do as a coach to make sure the team remains confident…
“I told them that everyone on this team that we have needs to look at ways to help improve themselves to help the team, and that always starts with me. There’s nothing really magical I can tell them other than we have to better, which starts with me. The biggest thing I told them was to stick together. We’re all we have; we’re all the only people we can really see on and off the court. We’re in this thing together, this bubble or Tier‐1; we’re the only people we can be around so we have to stick together because we’re all we have. I said we just have to keep working to get better. That’s the only thing I’ve ever known to improve when things are down.”

Kadi Sissoko,
Minnesota Forward

On the frustration of slow starts…
“It’s really frustrating but I know that all my teammates are going to work out every day to make better plays at the beginning of games.”

On Northwestern’s defense…
“Obviously it was really hard to play against them because they are a really good team and they had a lot of length and all that. They had a couple steals, so it was tough but we just need to work on that at practice a little more
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Rickman55 said:
What? What does the shoot around have to do with playing a game? These answers give me the impression they have no clue.
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Shootaround is essentially just another practice so were they focused and locked in? Did they have good energy? Stuff like that is probably whats shes talking about.
 

Lindsay quite obviously knows basketball. But, that does not automatically mean she can coach basketball. I have not watched much so I’m just asking...
Is the lack of discipline last year and this any indication the players are not listening to her? Enjoying their experience?
 

60's Guy said:
Lindsay quite obviously knows basketball. But, that does not automatically mean she can coach basketball. I have not watched much so I’m just asking...
Is the lack of discipline last year and this any indication the players are not listening to her? Enjoying their experience?
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This league is so competitive, that you need a mix of upperclassman with youth, so they can show them the way, we had that last year. The reality is we haven't recovered from losing Pitts, who being a good player, was also a mentor and leader to the younger kids. We faded at the end last year, but were just good enough with 4 seniors playing to keep up. We have had so many key turnovers from key young players this year that they would be forced to clean it up or sit if we had experienced bench players, we dont..
Coaching basketball isn't just coaching in games - that is a small %,, it is recruiting your type of player for your style of play and putting those players in a position to succeed. Whalen will have success, but this group either learns and grows or it starts to break down - this is where coaches earn their pay..
 

Is Whalen gonna still be coach next year? I'd lean no
 

Maybe the coaching staff should review Bo Ryan’s coaching.
 

rowdaboat said:
Is Whalen gonna still be coach next year? I'd lean no
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the U isn't really in a place to pay a buyout right now...

second I'm not sure you could judge her on this season it's kind of been all over the place..

third she is getting TWO very good recruiting classes the next two seasons.
 

rowdaboat said:
Is Whalen gonna still be coach next year? I'd lean no
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What gives you the idea she will not be coaching @ MN ? Have you reviewed the records of National championship teams coaches their first 3 years ? You will find a # of big names who had similar starts. Patience....
 

That was a terrible display of any kind of basketball at the B1G level. Whalen needs help and lots of it.
 

Able to watch the game...DVR. I know the ladies are trying hard. Not going to throw salt on an open wound. They will get things figured out. Hang in there, ladies. Keep working hard. Shots will fall.
 


Gopher highlights (yes, there were some offensive ones...defensive...not so much). Anyway, to me, as I usually say, we should be playing Sissoko, Powell, Smith, Hubbard and Scalia with Sconiers coming off the bench. They appear to be the only players ready to battle in the B1G. I'm hoping Strande can emerge. Well I'm hoping for others to; but as they say, hope is not a plan.

That starting five has most of our points, 58 turnovers, 44 assists and 18 steals.
 

Ignatius L Hoops said:

Gopher highlights (yes, there were some offensive ones...defensive...not so much). Anyway, to me, as I usually say, we should be playing Sissoko, Powell, Smith, Hubbard and Scalia with Sconiers coming off the bench. They appear to be the only players ready to battle in the B1G. I'm hoping Strande can emerge. Well I'm hoping for others to; but as they say, hope is not a plan.

That starting five has most of our points, 58 turnovers, 44 assists and 18 steals.
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I like your starting line up. Smith seems calm in her minutes. I do like Sconiers but maybe coming off the bench might limited her foul trouble.
 


No one wants to play defense. Everyone wants to run-and-gun. They are not capable of playing at that speed. Bring Cheryl Reeve in for a week to teach defense. They don't believe Lindsey. Maybe they will believe someone else.

Please don't let Scalia drink out of Kalscheur's water bottle. She is not setting up, squaring to the basket, and taking enough time. Maybe, she should come off the bench.

Sconiers is just throwing the ball up. In high school, she probably got three rebounds before the ball went in because she was bigger than her competition. She needs to take her time before going up to the basket. She is strong enough that players will have a hard time ripping the ball from her hands without fouling. She could get to the free throw line a lot.

Sissoko has some great offensive moves and shots. She needs more time in the weight room because her opponents rip the ball out of her hands easily.

Powell is a good shooter and wants to score. She turns the ball over too much. Maybe, she should be a shooting guard. They need someone at point guard who makes few mistakes, can control the flow of the game, and can make her teammates better. Maybe, Smith can become the point guard.

Need Hubbard to be a leader and show poise for the young team.

Someone else needs to step up.
 

My thoughts:
Whalen will be a good coach. She has shown the ability to coach on the court as a player and it will eventually translate to the sideline coach as well. She wants to win, she is a winner. Her recruiting this last year has improved so much. I can’t wait to watch all these Minnesota products at the next level. I plan on making a yearly trip with my HS kids to watch these Kids that they have either watched in HS or played against. I strongly believe that contributed to the success in the early 2000s. However defense is a problem. Are any the assistants big defensive coaches? Defense can make up for bad shooting nights. It’s seems like an easy concept but kids need to buy into that too. Defense needs to be a mentality. That in itself may take longer then Whalen has been here, remember Stollings teams played zero defense.

These games have been rough. Very rough and I have not been pleased. I’m not trying to make excuses but I’m trying to remain optimistic.
 

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