PP: Everyone Returning for Gophers

[Ignatius L Hoops]

Women’s basketball: Everyone returning for Lindsay Whalen’s Gophers

Gadiva Hubbard and Laura Bagwell Katalinich will be super seniors next season.

www.twincities.com

So, Lindsay Whalen is getting the band back together.

The Gophers women’s basketball coach learned Wednesday that seniors Gadiva Hubbard and Laura Bagwell Katalinich will use their NCAA pandemic waivers for an extra year of eligibility in 2021-22.


That means the entire roster from this season is returning.

“I like the fact that our whole roster’s coming back, and that’s going to be a lot of continuity, you know?” Whalen said

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

whalenfan noted this first on the B1G notes thread.

 

[Katogopher]

Happy to hear this, LBK and Diva will be good experienced players to help mentor. Can’t wait to see this roster with a full off season and new pieces coming in. Still hoping to see a “big” transfer in and provide depth to the interior defense. Is it too early to guess the starting line up?

 

[GringaGopher]

Would be great to have everyone stay healthy next season. I think this answers part of the inevitable team " culture " ?. Hope Whalen and company make a big jump next season .

 

[Boomtime]

I don't follow the ladies. Is "everyone back" a good thing?

 

[Waffle]

Well it's nice to know everyone is getting along!

With everyone coming back, would they even have room to take a transfer if a good big is available? Not sure if the article addressed that, wasn't able to read it.

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

Well it's nice to know everyone is getting along!

With everyone coming back, would they even have room to take a transfer if a good big is available? Not sure if the article addressed that, wasn't able to read it.

The article says that the returnees and recruits will add up to Whalen's 15 scholarship limit.

I'm assuming Coyle has limited scholarships to 15 and there will be no transfers exceeding the limit. (But that's just MY guess.)

 

[whalenfan]

Diva and LBK wont count against the 15 scholarship limit this year so they could still add a transfer if the school allowed it.

 

[tripledouble]

If "everyone" truly means everyone, seems to me that this is a good sign that Whalen is building a positive culture within the program. On an only somewhat related note, it will be interesting to see how many players from Maryland enter the transfer portal. That team is loaded with talent. They seem to have good chemistry, but Frese has certainly lost her share of players to transfer over the years. Back to the Gophers, I'm hoping that one or a couple of the younger players assumes a leadership role. A lot of this depends on personality (and performance), but it seems this team could really use a leader as it gets more experienced. A transfer post player is still on my wish list.

 

[ISUnorth]

This is going to be an interesting spring/summer. Lots of gals entering the transfer portal but it is complicated by the whole extra year thing, seniors having to decide whether to graduate and move on or play another year, and budget considerations. NCAA granting an extra year doesn't guarantee the coaches or schools have to offer another year (I think) so anyone coming back, like for the Gophers here, would seem to be a positive for players, coach and team.

 

[thatjanelpick]

What do we know about 6-3 redshirt junior Mikayla Haghes, a Minneapolis native who is transferring from Clemson?

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

Tourney notebook: Park Center star's Florida decision part of search for new experience

Park Center' Mikayla Hayes, a 6-1 junior center, said her decision to commit to Florida was about her desire to carve her own path

www.startribune.com

Back in March of 2016:

Much has been made of the inability of University of Minnesota women’s basketball coach Marlene Stollings to attract the best recruits in Minnesota. But Park Center’ Mikayla Hayes, a 6-1 junior center, said her decision to commit to Florida was about her desire to carve her own path in basketball and not a reflection on the Gophers’ program.

“I did get some interest from [Minnesota], but since my mom went to the U of M, I kind of wanted to do something different,” Hayes said.

Hayes’ mother, Dana Joubert-Hayes, played for Minnesota from 1989 through 1992.

“I know a lot of the players from here are staying around the Big Ten, and I wanted to play against new people and have a whole different experience,” Hayes said. “That’s why Florida seemed like the perfect place for me.”

 

[thatjanelpick]

Well, having been at both Florida and Clemson, maybe she's ready for some non-"different experiences?" (I see she was a three-star recruit, so not sure she's a game-changer but post depth would be good.)

 

[whalenfan]

If they add a transfer its gotta be a good one imo. Hayes would just be another depth big and we got plenty of them. She averaged under 3 pts and 3 rebs a game this year.

 

[BBJones]

If everyone does indeed come back, they'll have 15 players on their roster. As Whalenfan indicates, any transfers better be good (or better than good). They don't need any more depth. It will be interesting to see if Lindsey can keep everybody happy, as probably 4-5 players will hardly ever see the court.