McKenna Johnson's Playing Time

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MaroonMagic said:
I don't mean to be harsh, but things really took a turn for the worse when she subbed in. She came in with a 28-19 lead and subbed out at 28-25.

That was the turning point of the game. Ideally, the rest of the team would have been able to right the ship and turn the momentum around in the second half, but it just didn't happen.
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she checked in.. and Oregon went on a 5-0 run.. then subbed out.. and Oregon added 5 more to that run..

today she was a -6 in a minute.
 

The ladies looked slow today? I wasn’t that impressed with Oregon overall, but we didn’t take advantage of a team we could have beaten, this waiting until there are 5 minutes left in the game to turn it on is frustrating. This may have been the most aggravating game of the year?
 

Gophers112233 said:
she checked in.. and Oregon went on a 5-0 run.. then subbed out.. and Oregon added 5 more to that run..

today she was a -6 in a minute.
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There was a lot of trouble overall against Oregon's full court trap. Lot of slow lazy passes. Both shots for the 5 pts were not on Johnson's defender. All it takes is a 2 pt shot a turnover and 3 pt shot and there you are. After GG checked back in Battle and GG had turnovers shortly after as well. GG and Battle had 9 TO in the first half I believe.

She did get the ball once far out with 8 or 9 seconds left in the shot clock and no movement like from all players until got to Battle with 2 seconds before shot clock violation. Would have been a chance for her maybe drive and get a shot. Playing 1 min would be difficult.

It wasn't just a point on Johnson(and no I am not related as think one mentioned) it is finding a little more depth and providing few minutes to help starters out and go from 38-40 minutes down to 32-35 minutes. Coach P said herself on the radio after the game that we looked flat footed. Is it fatigue? Johnson was mentioned before because she has shown to put up points in short minutes and has a promising shot which seemed like could have used at times when others are cold(which happens). This team wore down last year in the big 10 before the NIT, and we all just hoping it doesn't happen again this year as we still got a shot to make the NCAA tournament. If the team makes the tournament, you never know what can happen. We play each team tough.

Oregon had 8 players play over 14 minutes in today's game a 2 others had 4 minutes. They seemed to be the less fatigued team most of the game besides the long 3 ending the first quarter and first 5 minutes of the 2nd quarter.

Let's just all hope we can finish strong! Rah!
 


drewhaus7 said:
There was a lot of trouble overall against Oregon's full court trap. Lot of slow lazy passes. Both shots for the 5 pts were not on Johnson's defender. All it takes is a 2 pt shot a turnover and 3 pt shot and there you are. After GG checked back in Battle and GG had turnovers shortly after as well. GG and Battle had 9 TO in the first half I believe.

She did get the ball once far out with 8 or 9 seconds left in the shot clock and no movement like from all players until got to Battle with 2 seconds before shot clock violation. Would have been a chance for her maybe drive and get a shot. Playing 1 min would be difficult.

It wasn't just a point on Johnson(and no I am not related as think one mentioned) it is finding a little more depth and providing few minutes to help starters out and go from 38-40 minutes down to 32-35 minutes. Coach P said herself on the radio after the game that we looked flat footed. Is it fatigue? Johnson was mentioned before because she has shown to put up points in short minutes and has a promising shot which seemed like could have used at times when others are cold(which happens). This team wore down last year in the big 10 before the NIT, and we all just hoping it doesn't happen again this year as we still got a shot to make the NCAA tournament. If the team makes the tournament, you never know what can happen. We play each team tough.

Oregon had 8 players play over 14 minutes in today's game a 2 others had 4 minutes. They seemed to be the less fatigued team most of the game besides the long 3 ending the first quarter and first 5 minutes of the 2nd quarter.

Let's just all hope we can finish strong! Rah!
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we were up 10 when Kenna checked in.. and was up 3 when she checked out in a minute..

right now she just can't be on the floor.. she's now a -22 in her last 4 games..
 


According to box score Klick appears to have passed Johnson on the depth chart as she played 6 minutes and Johnson didn't get in against Purdue unless there is an injury I don't know about.
 

Really with Rose, Battle, and McKinney in some foul trouble the game dictated another ball handler enter the game with the ball pressure exerted by Purdue. They didn't need another scoring threat. At least that is how I interpreted it.
 

Well, it isn't hard to tell how much and which players aren't satisfied with their current roles. The transfer portal window will be open on March 25-April 23 for women's basketball. You can bet that players these days keep the cell numbers for every coach they turned down the first time just in case.
 

EaganGopher22 said:
Really with Rose, Battle, and McKinney in some foul trouble the game dictated another ball handler enter the game with the ball pressure exerted by Purdue. They didn't need another scoring threat. At least that is how I interpreted it.
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I would bet a lot money that this was the case. Subbed based on positional needs.
 



EaganGopher22 said:
Really with Rose, Battle, and McKinney in some foul trouble the game dictated another ball handler enter the game with the ball pressure exerted by Purdue. They didn't need another scoring threat. At least that is how I interpreted it.
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Thanks for clarifying for me.
 

99Gopher said:
Well, it isn't hard to tell how much and which players aren't satisfied with their current roles. The transfer portal window will be open on March 25-April 23 for women's basketball. You can bet that players these days keep the cell numbers for every coach they turned down the first time just in case.
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Look if certain players can’t or won’t take to the coaches philosophy then they should go somewhere else. If you have watched Coach P enough then you can understand why some don’t play. You had better learn to play some semblance of defense. You had better learn how to function in the offense or you won’t see the floor. As it should be! She’s the coach, and she has a way she wants the game played. She’s pretty good at what she does. I have watched her since her days at Mich Tech, she has worked under great coaches and she has a very good basketball mind.
 

Outsider said:
Look if certain players can’t or won’t take to the coaches philosophy then they should go somewhere else. If you have watched Coach P enough then you can understand why some don’t play. You had better learn to play some semblance of defense. You had better learn how to function in the offense or you won’t see the floor. As it should be! She’s the coach, and she has a way she wants the game played. She’s pretty good at what she does. I have watched her since her days at Mich Tech, she has worked under great coaches and she has a very good basketball mind.
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I don't question Coach P's acumen as an in-game coach and her right to have the players play her style of basketball. However, she may also need to evolve her style when it comes to roster management. You better have a really good sense of every recruits mentality and how it fits your team. (I'm not saying McKenna is leaving, but let's say for argument's sake she is) McKenna was the No. 60 ranked recruit in the 2024 ESPN top 100 rankings for her class (she has options) and if you miss on a recruit at that level you're only further in the hole as MN doesn't have the NIL to pull a comparable player from the portal. At the same time you can't rely on the fact that another MN player will want to return home. If you manage players the same way you did 5-10 yrs ago that would be a mistake. Let's hope McKenna wants to learn and be coached, but would I be surprised if she looked at her options, Nope.
 




Another outstanding coaching performance by Dawn Plitzaweit!!! This isn't South Dakota nor is it Northern Kentucky. This is the Big Ten. WERE it not for the soft preseason schedule she may be looking for another job where she can better prepare a lesser team for her defensive proclivity. She is continually being out coached by opposing coaches like Michigan, Iowa, Oregon and now Washington. Her offense is too much dribbling and not enough motion.
 

Dawn Plitzuweit is a great coach. She knows what she is doing. We would not be discussing any post season if Whalen was still trying to coach here. and most the players would be gone by now.
 

CoachJD said:
Dawn Plitzuweit is a great coach. She knows what she is doing. We would not be discussing any post season if Whalen was still trying to coach here. and most the players would be gone by now.
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I know she had dealt with injuries; but, she has not proven anything yet at MN. She has been out coached a lot this year. The BIG is no joke.
 

samloupete said:
Another outstanding coaching performance by Dawn Plitzaweit!!! This isn't South Dakota nor is it Northern Kentucky. This is the Big Ten. WERE it not for the soft preseason schedule she may be looking for another job where she can better prepare a lesser team for her defensive proclivity. She is continually being out coached by opposing coaches like Michigan, Iowa, Oregon and now Washington. Her offense is too much dribbling and not enough motion.
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I have a feeling the Wisconsin job will come open this year. I wonder if she bolts for that job to be even closer to home.
 

99Gopher said:
I don't question Coach P's acumen as an in-game coach and her right to have the players play her style of basketball. However, she may also need to evolve her style when it comes to roster management. You better have a really good sense of every recruits mentality and how it fits your team. (I'm not saying McKenna is leaving, but let's say for argument's sake she is) McKenna was the No. 60 ranked recruit in the 2024 ESPN top 100 rankings for her class (she has options) and if you miss on a recruit at that level you're only further in the hole as MN doesn't have the NIL to pull a comparable player from the portal. At the same time you can't rely on the fact that another MN player will want to return home. If you manage players the same way you did 5-10 yrs ago that would be a mistake. Let's hope McKenna wants to learn and be coached, but would I be surprised if she looked at her options, Nope.
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Minnesota has four players from the Transfer Portal who are better players than Johnson is right now. Your high school ranking doesn't mean much once you step onto the college court. You have to earn your position all over. The lack of NIL money and Minnesota's record will make it extremely difficult to land an Impact Player. Minnesota can land the same type of players from the Transfer Portal that they have but it will be difficult to take the next step up.
 

walleye said:
Minnesota has four players from the Transfer Portal who are better players than Johnson is right now. Your high school ranking doesn't mean much once you step onto the college court. You have to earn your position all over.
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Exactly. If you look retroactively back at the rankings from the class of 2022, there are several notable players in the Big Ten who were ranked behind Mara (28th), Amaya (39th), and Mallory (55th) when they were coming in, but (unfortunately) perform better today than some of these Gophers. I think some of this is down to less than ideal coaching in their freshman year, but some of it is also just random and players develop differently. And a reminder that Mary Ashley Stevenson and Grace, who were both strong contenders for Big Ten Freshman of the Year, were ranked 97th and 98th respectively coming out of high school. Tori never made these lists, which was obviously a huge oversight seeing how she plays now!

Couple that with the fact that there are several highly ranked players on this team who have years of experience built upon the talent they started out with, and it makes sense why even a talented freshman would get less playing time.
 

samloupete said:
Another outstanding coaching performance by Dawn Plitzaweit!!! This isn't South Dakota nor is it Northern Kentucky. This is the Big Ten. WERE it not for the soft preseason schedule she may be looking for another job where she can better prepare a lesser team for her defensive proclivity. She is continually being out coached by opposing coaches like Michigan, Iowa, Oregon and now Washington. Her offense is too much dribbling and not enough motion.
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The dribbling, when not driving to the basket, is likely the players going off script. Not what coach wants.
 

samloupete said:
Another outstanding coaching performance by Dawn Plitzaweit!!! This isn't South Dakota nor is it Northern Kentucky. This is the Big Ten.
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How did she, at South Dakota, ever beat Iowa State, Missouri, Ohio State, Creighton, South Dakota State, Ole Miss, and Baylor, or was that the flukiest run ever?
 

99Gopher said:
I don't question Coach P's acumen as an in-game coach and her right to have the players play her style of basketball. However, she may also need to evolve her style when it comes to roster management. You better have a really good sense of every recruits mentality and how it fits your team. (I'm not saying McKenna is leaving, but let's say for argument's sake she is) McKenna was the No. 60 ranked recruit in the 2024 ESPN top 100 rankings for her class (she has options) and if you miss on a recruit at that level you're only further in the hole as MN doesn't have the NIL to pull a comparable player from the portal. At the same time you can't rely on the fact that another MN player will want to return home. If you manage players the same way you did 5-10 yrs ago that would be a mistake. Let's hope McKenna wants to learn and be coached, but would I be surprised if she looked at her options, Nope.
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My feeling is that if Johnson decides to transfer, it will be because she does not believe she is capable of becoming the type of player that coach Dawn P prefers to have on the floor, or decides she doesn't want to be that type of player and wants to go to a program that will allow her to concentrate on getting her shots and not concern herself as much with being a solid defender and working with-in the parameters of the team offense. If that is the case, I would not take her leaving as a big loss. It would be interesting to see if she can transfer up, down, or across in that case. The interesting thing about sports is that sometimes really good players aren't a good fit and under-perform while other players who don't seem as talented, have the skills that perfectly mesh with the team they're on and they end of being great for their team.

That being said, I gotta believe, because she is so young, that she is capable of developing into a more than just a 3-point shooting threat and become a solid all-around player. If this team continues to grow and develop as much as it has in the past year, she would have a chance to be a regular, contributing member (maybe even by next season) of a team with more realistic expectations of being an NCAA tournament team.

Regarding my last thought, I've been of the opinion that the idea of the Gophers being an NCAA team this season was a very long shot, even with Braun and Woodson. Once they went down, I just starting enjoying the games and watching for growth and progress with no expectations of a tournament appearance this season. As I expected from a club at the level the Gophers are at right now, they've been both fun and frustrating to watch. I see signs, but our team isn't quite there yet.
 

I am not convinced that even with Braun and Woodson that this is a top 5 Big Ten team. Plitzaweit lack of offense acumen would greatly limit their potential effectiveness. As for players going off script, when Plitzaweit calls a play Battle immediately goes into her one on one scenario trying to get to the basket which is difficult when Rose is in the game and her defensive player is sagging back plugging up the middle. That's something a good coach should recognize.
 



Gopheritnow said:
Battle is a good basketball player and a poor point guard. And, yes you can be both at the same time.
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I agree that Battle is a good basketball player. I also think that she is a good point guard. The problem is that the team often needs her to be a scorer because they are not getting much scoring from the rest of the team. There are not many point guards that can be scoring machines and assist machines in the same game. She also makes some good defensive plays and grabs many rebounds for a player her size. I wish the gophers were in a position where Battle could be an assist machine and someone who controls the tempo of the game.
 

walleye said:
I agree that Battle is a good basketball player. I also think that she is a good point guard. The problem is that the team often needs her to be a scorer because they are not getting much scoring from the rest of the team. There are not many point guards that can be scoring machines and assist machines in the same game. She also makes some good defensive plays and grabs many rebounds for a player her size. I wish the gophers were in a position where Battle could be an assist machine and someone who controls the tempo of the game.
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I agree! When Braun returns perhaps some pressure can be taken off Battle.
 

Case closed...4-9 riding the starters lots of minutes down the stretch. Struggled shooting, especially down the stretch. Last game here MSU bench 29 pts. Gophers 4. Lack of developing the bench in the weak non conference games took its toll.
 

drewhaus7 said:
Case closed...4-9 riding the starters lots of minutes down the stretch. Struggled shooting, especially down the stretch. Last game here MSU bench 29 pts. Gophers 4. Lack of developing the bench in the weak non conference games took its toll.
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In all fairness... Michigan State bench can't score like this another game all season... we are always just the lucky team that nobodies have their career highs against. It's never the stars that beat them.
 

drewhaus7 said:
Case closed...4-9 riding the starters lots of minutes down the stretch. Struggled shooting, especially down the stretch. Last game here MSU bench 29 pts. Gophers 4. Lack of developing the bench in the weak non conference games took its toll.
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Was thinking the same thing. Had plenty of time to get development in that horrendous non conference. Coach P and staff has not proved anything.
 

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