Sophie Hart ( Farmington ) Leaving NC State

[Bfan]

I've been skipping through game videos of North Carolina. Senior center Camille Hobby starts. Then graduate center River Baldwin, a transfer player, comes in and plays. Very little playing time behind them for Hart.

In this video Hart comes in around 31:10:

Once she's in the post she's a force.

When she has the ball in the paint the announcer says, "Nobody can guard Sophie down there." He mentions that she's improved -- has practiced against a good player. Mentions she's in better shape this year than last.

To me is a big player who excels in the paint, rebounding and closer shots, and not as great of an athlete at running/quickness. Probably not a longer-range shooter. If dominating in the paint is the goal then she has that covered.

 

[Bfan]

Ohio State is now following her on Twitter.

 

[GringaGopher]

Here is this year's and next year's roster/depth chart for those wondering if Gophers have the scholarships to add Hart.

For the Record, they are going after her and trying to add her.

Good! U can’t teach or coach height. I could not tell much about her foot work but we have not really had a true Big and maybe some home cooking is exactly what she needs…..

 

[Bfan]

I think the apparent limitations of Hart thus far create challenges. In high school she was more of an old school center. The game has changed to more to the perimeter. Also, is she able to run uptempo for significant minutes. She has a rebounding presence and short range scoring. Is that game going to expand more outside the paint or does the team work around that.

I do not know. I am just conveying information.

 

[60's Guy]

Let’s make it happen Whalen. Post play is the biggest downfall of her teams, it’s time to turn that around.

I'd argue bad defense trumps post play.

 

[blkroll]

Is she faster than Oberg? Maybe an upgrade there…

 

[gopherdudepart2]

Here is this year's and next year's roster/depth chart for those wondering if Gophers have the scholarships to add Hart.

For the Record, they are going after her and trying to add her.

Most Gopher fans would take her in a heart beat. You cannot teach that size. Come on Sophie, join the Gophers, you will have a lot of fans in Williams buzzing if you come home. We already love the players we have,but could use the help in the post.

 

[Belzx009]

She should head over to Virginia and watch the gophers tomorrow.

 

[Ragnor]

Most Gopher fans would take her in a heart beat. You cannot teach that size. Come on Sophie, join the Gophers, you will have a lot of fans in Williams buzzing if you come home. We already love the players we have,but could use the help in the post.

I agree size is important but size on it's own does not make you better when you have 2 solid posts like Rose & Oberg, Helgren is the perfect example of that. Helgren gave us some depth but her lack of scoring aptitutde meant the other team didn't need to double her inside and could put more pressure on our scorers last year. Helgren was good for depth but on this years team she would be behind Rose, Oberg and Heyer at the post even though Heyer isn't playing post.

 

[Belzx009]

Has anyone heard any updates? Is Minnesota a legit option? Is she looking to make the move at break? I keep thinking how badly this team could use another post….especially if she was eligible the 2nd half of the season.

 

[gopher572]

I noticed her parents were at the Wake Forest game. I’m not sure if that means anything.

 

[Belzx009]

I noticed her parents were at the Wake Forest game. I’m not sure if that means anything.

I would say that’s a good sign…..honestly though why wouldn’t she. She would get playing time and has really good guards to play with. It’s a great fit.

 

[gopherdudepart2]

I would say that’s a good sign…..honestly though why wouldn’t she. She would get playing time and has really good guards to play with. It’s a great fit.

Agreed, she Hart would be a great fit with Minnesota, at the 5.

 

[GringaGopher]

C’mon Sophie ! We need more options @ the 5.

 

[bball_craz_31]

Has anyone heard any updates? Is Minnesota a legit option? Is she looking to make the move at break? I keep thinking how badly this team could use another post….especially if she was eligible the 2nd half of the season.

Legit Option- Yes
Favorites (currently)- No

 

[adamj95]

Any updates?

 

[Belzx009]

Any updates?

Ha I was literally just going to write this! I got so excited when I saw someone had commented!

 

[bball_craz_31]

Any updates?

It's a changing situation. She is listening to a lot of teams that are calling. Gophers have made it clear they are EXTREMELY interested in her services. I think its unlikely we see anything until January at the earliest but I could even see her wait to do visits and see teams through the rest of the season and then make a decision and be on campus by the time of summer workouts. It's fair to say, the freshman and Hart's game fit well. However, there are teams that are CURRENTLY more successful or consistent NCAA tournament teams are in the running for her as well.

She is interested and listening to the Gophers, but it will be heavily on her wanting to be close to home and trusting the play of Braun, Battle, Heyer and next year with Holloway back.

 

[whalenfan]

It's a changing situation. She is listening to a lot of teams that are calling. Gophers have made it clear they are EXTREMELY interested in her services. I think its unlikely we see anything until January at the earliest but I could even see her wait to do visits and see teams through the rest of the season and then make a decision and be on campus by the time of summer workouts. It's fair to say, the freshman and Hart's game fit well. However, there are teams that are CURRENTLY more successful or consistent NCAA tournament teams are it the running for her as well.

She is interested and listening to the Gophers, but it will be heavenly on her wanting to be close to home and trusting the play of Braun, Battle, Heyer and next year with Holloway back.

Waiting til summer to get with her new team seems like a bad idea. If your gonna enter the portal this early why not try to figure out where your going and get into that school after the christmas break. She could gain alot just by getting into practice and hanging out with her new teammates.

 

[Belzx009]

Will she play on more successful teams?!?! She has basically guaranteed playing time here. Minnesota has already shown its trajectory to be a tournament team next year. Volleyball transfers who have announced later then her have already picked their teams. She is not fast footed enough to be taking a season off. She should be at least practicing somewhere in my opinion.

I get I’m bias as a Gopher/Minnesota kid fan, but I can’t think of a more perfect match for her. I don’t like that she is taking so much time.

 

[BBJones]

Will she play on more successful teams?!?! She has basically guaranteed playing time here. Minnesota has already shown its trajectory to be a tournament team next year. Volleyball transfers who have announced later then her have already picked their teams. She is not fast footed enough to be taking a season off. She should be at least practicing somewhere in my opinion.

I get I’m bias as a Gopher/Minnesota kid fan, but I can’t think of a more perfect match for her. I don’t like that she is taking so much time.

It's her life and her decision. She apparently made a mistake when she chose NC State, and I'm sure she doesn't want to make another one. Whether you like it or not probably won't enter into her thinking. And I think it's a little early to project that the Gophers will make the tournament next year. Although the freshmen look promising, they have a long ways to go. The team still lacks size, and so far no "bigs" have been added for next year.

For the record, I'm a Gopher fan and hope Hart chooses Minnesota. But I'm also objective enough to know that there a lot of other tempting choices out there.

 

[MNGirlsHoops]

St Thomas? great education, former aau teammates...

 

[Belzx009]

The St. Thomas thought has crossed my mind as well. There is also good coaching there. I still think she needs to go somewhere in the spring. I don’t think her not playing would be good for her. I know she could be doing individual workouts and stuff but it is not the same.

 

[Bfan]

If Hart waits, she would have to compete with a flood of other transfer portal players that are better. She was banished to the bench.

That video I had posted of Hart showed a play where her team runs up court and started the play; Hart was not in the shot. She was lagging behind. She had just come into the game as a substitute. The announcer suggested she had been lazy and out of shape and now she's in better shape. Coming out of high school she needed to develop her game outside the paint. I didn't see that in the videos I watched.

If I was her I would be making a move right now to transform my whole self and complete game.

She has talent. She has size. She's really good inside. There's a lot missing.

Minnesota is NCAA tournament bound next year and after with the awesome young MN talent progressing nicely.

At the post positions Rose has improved a lot from last year, and Heyer already won Freshman of the Week. There are lots of minutes yet to go around.

Anyway, she may regret waiting when she should immediately begin the transformation.

 

[PhiloVance]

If Hart waits, she would have to compete with a flood of other transfer portal players that are better. She was banished to the bench.

That video I had posted of Hart showed a play where her team runs up court and started the play; Hart was not in the shot. She was lagging behind. She had just come into the game as a substitute. The announcer suggested she had been lazy and out of shape and now she's in better shape. Coming out of high school she needed to develop her game outside the paint. I didn't see that in the videos I watched.

If I was her I would be making a move right now to transform my whole self and complete game.

She has talent. She has size. She's really good inside. There's a lot missing.

Minnesota is NCAA tournament bound next year and after with the awesome young MN talent progressing nicely.

At the post positions Rose has improved a lot from last year, and Heyer already won Freshman of the Week. There are lots of minutes yet to go around.

Anyway, she may regret waiting when she should immediately begin the transformation.


View attachment 22713

Maybe she's expecting a NIL bidding war.

 

[bball_craz_31]

St Thomas? great education, former aau teammates...

Literally the Gophers have all of that.. however they are in a better conference, more D1 history and a better group of young players to grow with in the next 2-3 years.

St.Thomas has two AAU teammates (Pratt and Hill) compared to Gophers having one (Czinano)

 

[CoachJD]

If Hart waits, she would have to compete with a flood of other transfer portal players that are better. She was banished to the bench.

That video I had posted of Hart showed a play where her team runs up court and started the play; Hart was not in the shot. She was lagging behind. She had just come into the game as a substitute. The announcer suggested she had been lazy and out of shape and now she's in better shape. Coming out of high school she needed to develop her game outside the paint. I didn't see that in the videos I watched.

If I was her I would be making a move right now to transform my whole self and complete game.

She has talent. She has size. She's really good inside. There's a lot missing.

Minnesota is NCAA tournament bound next year and after with the awesome young MN talent progressing nicely.

At the post positions Rose has improved a lot from last year, and Heyer already won Freshman of the Week. There are lots of minutes yet to go around.

Anyway, she may regret waiting when she should immediately begin the transformation.


View attachment 22713

"Minnesota is NCAA tournament bound next year" Let's be real. That's a joke.
Try to stay out of the bottom 3 of the BIG. Same goal as the men's team.

 

[Bfan]

"Minnesota is NCAA tournament bound next year" Let's be real. That's a joke.
Try to stay out of the bottom 3 of the BIG. Same goal as the men's team.

Welcome back to civilization. That's been a long trip. Once you catch up on all the recruiting news, stats, progress notes and tournament projections you can weigh in.

In my assessment based on all that I project an NCAA tournament appearance next season. Below is a link to the expanded brackets early projections for the 2023 tournament. Minnesota will be on that in 2024.

Women's Bracketology: No. 1 seeds survive opening day, but make way for Michigan

The Big Ten is flexing one day into the season. The conference has two 1-seeds and matches the SEC's 11 teams as Michigan jumps into the field.

www.espn.com

 

[Ragnor]

"Minnesota is NCAA tournament bound next year" Let's be real. That's a joke.
Try to stay out of the bottom 3 of the BIG. Same goal as the men's team.

You might not like the positivity but is negativity the key? Reality indicates so far this year, they aren't even bottom 3, according to the NET or the B1G standings. Can't you even agree they should be improved next year?

 

[Lynx]

I attended the high school state tournament semis when Paige’s team played Hart’s team before COVID shut the tournament down before the finals. That was my one time watching Hart in person and I’ve really hoped to watch her as a Gopher since.

I was a student manager for a Power 5 team in the 90s. This year’s freshman class reminds me of a highly touted 5 player class we had. Once those 5 arrived and got much of the playing time, most of the class above them transferred out. The following season was tough but by their senior season they made the Elite 8 and legitimately challenged for the Final 4. Hart reminds me in many ways of the post from that 5 player class, and I think I’ve wanted her to come because that trajectory is my hope for this great collection of young Gophers talent.