Recruiting

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bball_craz_26 said:
Gophers get a commit from JUCO forward Daja Woodard. Guessing her and Sconiers expected to compete for post position after Taiye graduates.

also thinking this is a Coach Carly connection as her top 5 out of high school was Louisville, Michigan State, Maryland, Ohio State and Mississippi State.

listed height ranges between 6’1-6’3. Add that to 6’2 Sconiers, 6’2 Sissoko 6’4 Hedman and gophers might actually be able to play two posts next year
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I didn't notice this Jan. 1 post about JUCO forward Daja Woodard. They will definitely have some height and talent for next season in addition to RS FR 6' 2" F/C Barbora Tomancova, and RS JR 5' 9" G Godiva Hubbard:

2018 Daja Woodard - LeFore Cty, Eight Mile AL (Jones Cty JC) - W, 6' 1", 3-Star, 90.
2018 Kadi Sissoko - Ropazu, Paris FR (Syracuse) - G, 6' 2", 5-Star, 98.
2019 Jasmine Powell - Country Day, Detroit MI - PG, 5' 6", 4-Star, 94.
2019 Klarke Sconiers - Chris The King, Middle Village NY - P, 6' 3", 3-Star, 90.
2019 Grace Cumming - Theodore Roosevelt, Des Moines IA - P, 6' 3", 3-Star 88.
2019 Justice Ross - East HS, Des Moines IA - W, 6' 0", 3-Star, 88.
2019 Sara Scalia - Stillwater HS, Stillwater MN - G, 5' 8", 3-Star, 88.
2020 Alexia Smith - Africentric HS, Columbus OH - PG, 5' 8", 5-Star, 96.
2020 Erin Hedman - Eisenhower, New Berlin WI - P, 6' 3", 4-Star, 94.
2020 Caroline Strande - Lutheran, Racine WI, G, 6' 0", 3-Star, 90.

The transfer of 2018 class Delaynie Byrne and Mercedes Staples leaves the Gophers with a short bench. Ergo, adding JC player Daja Woodard was a big plus. Mercedes Staples had a badly injured ankle which in part probably have shaken her shooting confidence. They could have worked with her to get it back by redshirting her. Staples will get a fresh start with the San Diego Aztecs. Delaynie was over her head and a transfer to UNLV will give her a fresh start.

Will Lindsay Whalen go after transfers/grad transfers to fill the two spots to shore up her bench?
 

hungan1 said:
I didn't notice this Jan. 1 post about JUCO forward Daja Woodard. They will definitely have some height and talent for next season in addition to RS FR 6' 2" F/C Barbora Tomancova, and RS JR 5' 9" G Godiva Hubbard:

2018 Daja Woodard - LeFore Cty, Eight Mile AL (Jones Cty JC) - W, 6' 1", 3-Star, 90.
2018 Kadi Sissoko - Ropazu, Paris FR (Syracuse) - G, 6' 2", 5-Star, 98.
2019 Jasmine Powell - Country Day, Detroit MI - PG, 5' 6", 4-Star, 94.
2019 Klarke Sconiers - Chris The King, Middle Village NY - P, 6' 3", 3-Star, 90.
2019 Grace Cumming - Theodore Roosevelt, Des Moines IA - P, 6' 3", 3-Star 88.
2019 Justice Ross - East HS, Des Moines IA - W, 6' 0", 3-Star, 88.
2019 Sara Scalia - Stillwater HS, Stillwater MN - G, 5' 8", 3-Star, 88.
2020 Alexia Smith - Africentric HS, Columbus OH - PG, 5' 8", 5-Star, 96.
2020 Erin Hedman - Eisenhower, New Berlin WI - P, 6' 3", 4-Star, 94.
2020 Caroline Strande - Lutheran, Racine WI, G, 6' 0", 3-Star, 90.

The transfer of 2018 class Delaynie Byrne and Mercedes Staples leaves the Gophers with a short bench. Ergo, adding JC player Daja Woodard was a big plus. Mercedes Staples had a badly injured ankle which in part probably have shaken her shooting confidence. They could have worked with her to get it back by redshirting her. Staples will get a fresh start with the San Diego Aztecs. Delaynie was over her head and a transfer to UNLV will give her a fresh start.

Will Lindsay Whalen go after transfers/grad transfers to fill the two spots to shore up her bench?
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You assume that she will only have to fill 2 spots. I won’t be surprised if there are more transfers at the end of the season.
 

blkroll said:
You assume that she will only have to fill 2 spots. I won’t be surprised if there are more transfers at the end of the season.
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That is the unknown commodity. It is not only players that she has to worry about. Assistant coaches may also bail.

Being a great player does not automatically mean you will be successful immediately as a head coach.

I hope to goodness that I am wrong. My sense is that Coach Whalen has difficulty relating with her players and in establishing her system. She needs to build relationships with each player positively. Losing the team leader thru transfer hurts. The body language of both the coaching staff and the players at tonight's game tells all.

I wasn't joking about Mark Coyle giving the entire team a getaway weekend to bond and be away from basketball.

You can't coach young 18/19 year-old fragile impressionable players like the way they do in the pros ala Coach Cheryl Reeve. You will lose a lot of them. PJ Fleck is masterful at building interpersonal relationships. He paid his dues by sojourning from college and pro football player, grad assistantship to coordinator, etc... So he learned along the way how to deal with people and situations.

My two cents on this is Lindsay Whalen will recover, but it may take a little longer.
 

hungan1 said:
That is the unknown commodity. It is not only players that she has to worry about. Assistant coaches may also bail.

Being a great player does not automatically mean you will be successful immediately as a head coach.

I hope to goodness that I am wrong. My sense is that Coach Whalen has difficulty relating with her players and in establishing her system. She needs to build relationships with each player positively. Losing the team leader thru transfer hurts. The body language of both the coaching staff and the players at tonight's game tells all.
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Agreed that transfers happen whether things are going good or not. It's unknown like the asst coaches. The end of the season will be telling. I think Pitts was a good person and a good citizen, but we don't know if she was a great leader either? She was a good teammate for sure as it was shown by their support of her leaving.

hungan1 said:
I wasn't joking about Mark Coyle giving the entire team a getaway weekend to bond and be away from basketball.
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Don't know if it's legal to do, but yes this team will need to continue to grow and bond for sure. I'm sure Lindsey and the athletic department have those that can be given to these girls as they deserve/need it.

hungan1 said:
You can't coach young 18/19 year-old fragile impressionable players like the way they do in the pros ala Coach Cheryl Reeve. You will lose a lot of them. PJ Fleck is masterful at building interpersonal relationships. He paid his dues by sojourning from college and pro football player, grad assistantship to coordinator, etc... So he learned along the way how to deal with people and situations.

My two cents on this is Lindsay Whalen will recover, but it may take a little longer.
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Coaching pros is different from college for sure, but I'd argue that college coaches are significantly harder on players than they are in the pros. I'm not using this example to stickup for Whalen. She most definitely needs growth as do all coaches. Lindsey/ any successful college coach needs to recruit to their identity and system. PJ himself does this, McGraw does this, as does basically any other successful college coach.
 

blkroll said:
You assume that she will only have to fill 2 spots. I won’t be surprised if there are more transfers at the end of the season.
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Just my opinion but, I'm expecting 2-3 transfers after the season. Certain players do not seem to be playing to their potential. They're lacking energy and game passion they once had. These girls are not happy and it shows on the court.
 



manderson1984 said:
Agreed that transfers happen whether things are going good or not. It's unknown like the asst coaches. The end of the season will be telling. I think Pitts was a good person and a good citizen, but we don't know if she was a great leader either? She was a good teammate for sure as it was shown by their support of her leaving.


Don't know if it's legal to do, but yes this team will need to continue to grow and bond for sure. I'm sure Lindsey and the athletic department have those that can be given to these girls as they deserve/need it.



Coaching pros is different from college for sure, but I'd argue that college coaches are significantly harder on players than they are in the pros. I'm not using this example to stickup for Whalen. She most definitely needs growth as do all coaches. Lindsey/ any successful college coach needs to recruit to their identity and system. PJ himself does this, McGraw does this, as does basically any other successful college coach.
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> Lindsay/any successful college coach needs to recruit to their identity and system.

What is Whalen’s identity? What is Whalen’s system?

Well, we kinda know Whalen’s identity is - she’s a local basketball player who did good at all levels. But why the heck would we need a team consisting of all mini Whalens. Not that such would be bad. It might look like 15 Sara Scalia’s, for instance, only some of em taller posts and some of em point guards. But you just can’t find and sign such a team. We pulled a coup getting Sara. Unknown to other coaches, Sara had the potential of a Destiny Pitts, then Destiny actually worked with her last summer and turned her into a Destiny-equivalent already as a Freshman. You think Scalia is molded after Whalen’s identity? Heck no. Sara is molded after Destiny’s identity. It’s just that (especially after what transpired) Sara will be better at maintaining good body language or good posture or whatever the heck are the unwritten job requirements.

And so what is Whalen’s system? I have no clue.

In general, what is a basketball system anyway?

I’m inclined to think this system business is a load of hooey.

You just get some good players, and you fill all the required positions with suitable talents (something we can look forward to in the future, but we’re minus a center now, effectively), and you train them to be better, and you teach them plays, and you teach them defense, and you teach them rebounding, and you teach them protecting the ball, and you teach them better shooting, and you have fun together, and you go out and play. Simple as that.

I think “system” is largely a meaningless concept.
 


Call it system or call it a style, coaches often have differing ideas of whom they need to recruit and from where they need recruit them. Most coaches need to know what they are looking for.

Lisa Bluder recruits different players than Kevin McGuff and both of them recruit different players than Joe McKeown. Curt "I want shooters" Miller certainly recruited different players than Teri Moren. And Jeff Walz recruits everyone the top teams are chasing.

Marlene Stollings with an uptempo offense is a very different recruiter than Lindsay is likely to be. Lindsay seems more focused on half court and probably two post offense. Just because she currently lacks two posts doesn't mean that's not where we are headed.
 



CutDownTheNet said:
> Lindsay/any successful college coach needs to recruit to their identity and system.

. You think Scalia is molded after Whalen’s identity? Heck no. Sara is molded after Destiny’s identity.
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I'm inclined to think Scalia is "molded" in her own identity, rather than someone she ended up playing with for six months.
 


FiveOut said:
You should also expect a transfer in.
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And that’s the beauty of the transfer portal. Kids can try a school/coach for a year or two and if it doesn’t work out, they can go elsewhere.
 

thatjanelpick said:
I'm inclined to think Scalia is "molded" in her own identity, rather than someone she ended up playing with for six months.
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Yeah, you’re probably right. In any event, she is probably not molded after Whalen’s identity, and there’s no reason to want her to be.
 




blkroll said:
And that’s the beauty of the transfer portal. Kids can try a school/coach for a year or two and if it doesn’t work out, they can go elsewhere.
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Yeah, if they want to sit out a year between each transfer. Fun.
 

Personally my guess for most likely to transfer is First, Klarke Sconiers. That fact that she doesn't play at all let alone over Tomanvoca or K.Bello who give little to nothing in terms of production. She also appears upset or uninteresting on the bench.

the other likely one in my opinion is Powell. She has her connection with Pitts, at times not playing enough or a lot (outside of 40 Minutes yesterday)

Those to me are the likely two to leave via transfer.
 

bball_craz_26 said:
Personally my guess for most likely to transfer is First, Klarke Sconiers. That fact that she doesn't play at all let alone over Tomanvoca or K.Bello who give little to nothing in terms of production. She also appears upset or uninteresting on the bench.

the other likely one in my opinion is Powell. She has her connection with Pitts, at times not playing enough or a lot (outside of 40 Minutes yesterday)

Those to me are the likely two to leave via transfer.
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Anybody know if Klarke is injured? Don’t see any other reason why she hasn’t played lately. She has a good solid jump shot out to 15 feet.

Unless she is perceived as being on the slippery slope toward bad body language.
 

These are some good discussions. Stay tune and see what will transpire the rest of the season. If the Lady Gophers start clicking together and get hot, then we know that whatever ails them has been overcame.

The whole team needs to be in sync. They seriously need a weekend get away as a team for some fun and R&R. Staying in a lodge at the Gunflint Trail and getting a taste of cross country skiing, Giants Ridge, Ice Fishing, or whatever winter sports and recreation is just what the doctor orders.
 

hungan1 said:
These are some good discussions. Stay tune and see what will transpire the rest of the season. If the Lady Gophers start clicking together and get hot, then we know that whatever ails them has been overcame.

The whole team needs to be in sync. They seriously need a weekend get away as a team for some fun and R&R. Staying in a lodge at the Gunflint Trail and getting a taste of cross country skiing, Giants Ridge, Ice Fishing, or whatever winter sports and recreation is just what the doctor orders.
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Something like that is always healthy, if NCAA allows.

But stay away from the black diamonds and the thin ice.
 

CutDownTheNet said:
Something like that is always healthy, if NCAA allows.

But stay away from the black diamonds and the thin ice.
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Doesn't money from boosters allowed through the athletic department for trips and such for players provided it was given without preconditions?
 

hungan1 said:
These are some good discussions. Stay tune and see what will transpire the rest of the season. If the Lady Gophers start clicking together and get hot, then we know that whatever ails them has been overcame.

The whole team needs to be in sync. They seriously need a weekend get away as a team for some fun and R&R. Staying in a lodge at the Gunflint Trail and getting a taste of cross country skiing, Giants Ridge, Ice Fishing, or whatever winter sports and recreation is just what the doctor orders.
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I think the odds that the players have the same interest in the cold outdoor activities as you are low. Maybe a stay at a spa? When’s the last time they played in a warm weather holiday tournament?
 

CutDownTheNet said:
> Lindsay/any successful college coach needs to recruit to their identity and system.

What is Whalen’s identity? What is Whalen’s system?

Well, we kinda know Whalen’s identity is - she’s a local basketball player who did good at all levels. But why the heck would we need a team consisting of all mini Whalens. Not that such would be bad. It might look like 15 Sara Scalia’s, for instance, only some of em taller posts and some of em point guards. But you just can’t find and sign such a team. We pulled a coup getting Sara. Unknown to other coaches, Sara had the potential of a Destiny Pitts, then Destiny actually worked with her last summer and turned her into a Destiny-equivalent already as a Freshman. You think Scalia is molded after Whalen’s identity? Heck no. Sara is molded after Destiny’s identity. It’s just that (especially after what transpired) Sara will be better at maintaining good body language or good posture or whatever the heck are the unwritten job requirements.

And so what is Whalen’s system? I have no clue.

In general, what is a basketball system anyway?

I’m inclined to think this system business is a load of hooey.

You just get some good players, and you fill all the required positions with suitable talents (something we can look forward to in the future, but we’re minus a center now, effectively), and you train them to be better, and you teach them plays, and you teach them defense, and you teach them rebounding, and you teach them protecting the ball, and you teach them better shooting, and you have fun together, and you go out and play. Simple as that.

I think “system” is largely a meaningless concept.
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Man if coaching was as easy as you say everyone would be dominant since it’s so easy...
Call it a system, culture, style of play or whatever you’d like; ALL successful programs in ALL college sports recruit in that manner. We can agree that we don’t know if Lindsey knows her system or style yet. We also don’t know if she does as we just haven’t seen the players come in yet.
Also have no doubt that Pitts working with Scalia helped her but let’s not act like she didn’t get better with the coaching staff and mainly on her own merit. She worked her tail off this summer to be successful and grow and that is no ones fault except her own.
 

manderson1984 said:
Man if coaching was as easy as you say everyone would be dominant since it’s so easy...
Call it a system, culture, style of play or whatever you’d like; ALL successful programs in ALL college sports recruit in that manner. We can agree that we don’t know if Lindsey knows her system or style yet. We also don’t know if she does as we just haven’t seen the players come in yet.
Also have no doubt that Pitts working with Scalia helped her but let’s not act like she didn’t get better with the coaching staff and mainly on her own merit. She worked her tail off this summer to be successful and grow and that is no ones fault except her own.
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Thanks, everyone, for helping explain what a “system” might be.

I think you’re onto something by saying that it might be most accurately reflected in the Whay a coach recruits. And that definitely means we can’t really know what Lindsay’s recruiting style is yet, since she’s only gone through half of a full-four-year cycle of recruiting/signing thus far. Although the several-year-out offers might be a hint. And perhaps she maybe is still figuring it out and tweaking it.

One thing I think most of us appreciate is that Whalen and staff are doing due diligence in the Minnesota girls basketball market, while not ignoring the national market either.
 


bball_craz_26 said:
The Rutgers double-OT game was well attended by local recruits.

known in attendance.

-Sophie Hart-2021 Center from Farmington
-Kendall Coley-2021 Wing from St.Louis Park
-Ellie Buzzelle-2022 Guard from Rogers
-Kennedy Sanders-2023 Guard from Chaska
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Adalia McKenzie was there as well.
 

CutDownTheNet said:
Anybody know if Klarke is injured? Don’t see any other reason why she hasn’t played lately. She has a good solid jump shot out to 15 feet.

Unless she is perceived as being on the slippery slope toward bad body language.
[
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Klarke has knee issues. Cummings will be redshirted. Not sure about any additional redshirts. With the number of players coming in each year I'd be surprised to see any additional redshirts.
 

wbbaddict said:
Klarke has knee issues. Cummings will be redshirted. Not sure about any additional redshirts. With the number of players coming in each year I'd be surprised to see any additional redshirts.
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That is unfortunate. I liked watching Sconiers whenever she got in the games. Also hoping she got enough experience in the BIG10 this year to feel comfortable starting next year.
 

I have a question concerning Daja Woodard. Has she really committed to the Gophers? I have not been able to find any info supporting this other than the Gopherhole. Nothing from her, her jr. college, or the U.
 

BBJones said:
I have a question concerning Daja Woodard. Has she really committed to the Gophers? I have not been able to find any info supporting this other than the Gopherhole. Nothing from her, her jr. college, or the U.
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Yeah, she is committed.

 

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