State Tournament 2024

[Willwin40]

McKinney's defense was a big factor in the game. I wish the Trib would have reported the number of shots she blocked. She made McGill earn her points.

McKinney seem’s similar to Holloway as a player. I can picture them in a press and creating a lot of havoc for their opponents. They both need to work to improve on their shooting but they’re great at everything else.

 

[StateOfHoops]

She is as high profile as Bueckers was nationwide. I don't think Gophers even made a list and she Crump has made it known to Gophers she has no interest.
Crump will be going to a blueblood, like UCONN, LSU, South Carolina, Duke, North Carolina, UCLA, USC. I would be willing to bet South Carolina or UCONN.

This is all true. HOWEVER, it would just take ONE kid like this to stay home to change things. Crump, Greenway (though Iowa seems a natural choice for her). Just takes one special player. Whalen wasn't the top recruit for her class and McCarville was an admittedly overweight and underrecruted farm girl out of Wisconsin. Just takes one or a few special ones. Maybe the portal will bring some kids home. The kid at South Carolina is making good NIL $ and getting some minutes...but she would be a difference maker at home. Fingers crossed and good vibes for the Gophers

 

[2nd Degree Gopher]

I love everything about the state tournament EXCEPT Dave Lee. His commentary adds nothing. As a result, I watch most games with the sound off.

I believe that I would have just as much of an idea of what was happening in the game if they replaced him with a toddler speaking Japanese. I only watch with the sound on for a few minutes to remind myself how thankful that I am that he no longer has any involvement in Gopher sports.

 

[gopherdudepart2]

I believe that I would have just as much of an idea of what was happening in the game if they replaced him with a toddler speaking Japanese. I only watch with the sound on for a few minutes to remind myself how thankful that I am that he no longer has any involvement in Gopher sports.

Agreed, they need to replace Dave Lee for Mn State basketball tournaments. Time for someone else to take the reigns.

 

[gopherdudepart2]

For all the complaining they the announcers did about the officiating I would like to see them put on a shirt and whistle. The MSHL actually pay's less for state tournament games than regular season games so the officials are almost volunteering a lot of time. You want better officials at least up the ante at the State High School league. Cheapskate administrators.

 

[Belzx009]

Willow Thiel? 41 pts and 20 rebounds vs good Providence team. Committed to U MN Crookston, Gophers could use some forward recruits?

Thiel is great! Lost to her in the section championship. She put up very big numbers all season. However I think D2 or small D1 is where she will be successful. She may be a little small to play a forward at a major school. Great post moves and has expanded her game to hitting 3s, but she doesn’t get to the basket on her own. Doesn’t drive is what I’m talking about and doesn’t handle the ball. She will de VERY well where she is at.

 

[tripledouble]

Wow...the quality of high school basketball in Minnesota is impressive. I watched all of the televised games and there were a ton of terrific players. Olson is a terrific player. Would have looked great in a Gophers uniform and would have contributed significantly immediately. Crump is a legitimate 5-star. Love the way Greenway can push the pace. Addie Mack scored 53 in the consolation championship. She's a bit of a question mark as a college player because of her size, but she's very talented. Albany's Sands was a good get for St. Thomas. Oehrlein very talented and able to distribute the ball. I really like BSM's Bishop. Hopkins Walker very talented for a 9th grader. Will be interested to see how her game develops. Maybe most intriguing to me was Ari Peterson. Easy to see why the Gophers have already offered her. She's 6'1" as an 8th grader, runs the court very well, can handle to ball and can shoot the 3. Very athletic. If she works hard and can develop her game even more, she'll be able to play college ball wherever she wants. Also impressed by the coaching in the tourney and the sportsmanship.

 

[tripledouble]

Oh, and I think McKinney should be able to contribute to the Gophers next year, especially on the defensive end with her length and athleticism. Also looks like she is a good free throw shooter. And McGill is definitely a P5 player who should do well at Florida.

On a sidenote, I thought that there were a couple of crucial calls in the Providence/Albany game, especially the 4th foul on Sands which may have impacted the outcome of that game. It appears that the officials may have missed on that call...and that 4th foul affected the way she played defense the rest of the game. Sands was dominant in the first half. Nevertheless those were two very talented Class AA teams.

 

[xxxdog]

Obvious the present overall Mn. girls BB talent level has several quality D-1 players....Division 2 Mankato State possible in recruit 5-11 guard Elisabeth Gadient from Goodhue might landed the gem of Senior guards in Minnesota.... Gadient has the size & quickness at guard to compete easily in the Big-10 or several other D-1 programs...She has solid 3-point ability besides a amazing first step while accelerating inside or pull up for a jump shot, also add her assist ability noted with standout passing....Trust this, you will wish she was wearing maroon & gold before her college years are finished.....

 

[BigTenGuy]

McKinney seem’s similar to Holloway as a player. I can picture them in a press and creating a lot of havoc for their opponents. They both need to work to improve on their shooting but they’re great at everything else.

Second time seeing McKinney this weekend, and she seems like a much better player on offense than Holloway, even if not a great shooter. McKinney's handle, speed and length all help her on offense a great deal as a wing/guard. McKinney can help make an offense function. McKinney looks much better to me than her recruiting ranking. Holloway, on the other hand, seems like an offense stopper, who can help on defense and in transition, and also some on the offensive glass. But other than spelling Hart or Johnson, and pending development, Holloway's future minutes seem limited at present time.

 

[MaxyJR1]

For all the complaining they the announcers did about the officiating I would like to see them put on a shirt and whistle. The MSHL actually pay's less for state tournament games than regular season games so the officials are almost volunteering a lot of time. You want better officials at least up the ante at the State High School league. Cheapskate administrators.

The officials want to work state and those games are hard to get. Unfortunately the reward seems to be more on the longevity and seniority side that the ability side of things. The officials that worked on Saturday were not the best the state could offer, but the state also has to reward people so that they continue to get officials with the carrot of STATE.

I don't think the announcers complained, they were just confused. Dave Lee has no idea on rules. Spencer was really good IMO and a step up from analysts in the past. However, he too is coming from the college level of watching basketball. Like the NCAA and NFL, it would be beneficial to have an official on the broadcast to give some perspective on what is happening.

As others have said before, there should be more to it with guests that know the players, follow the sport all year and can give better insight.

 

[MaxyJR1]

Obvious the present overall Mn. girls BB talent level has several quality D-1 players....Division 2 Mankato State possible in recruit 5-11 guard Elisabeth Gadient from Goodhue might landed the gem of Senior guards in Minnesota.... Gadient has the size & quickness at guard to compete easily in the Big-10 or several other D-1 programs...She has solid 3-point ability besides a amazing first step while accelerating inside or pull up for a jump shot, also add her assist ability noted with standout passing....Trust this, you will wish she was wearing maroon & gold before her college years are finished.....

Minnesota State also is getting all tournament player in AAA Rhyan Holmgren from St. Peter.

 

[MaxyJR1]

Second time seeing McKinney this weekend, and she seems like a much better player on offense than Holloway, even if not a great shooter. McKinney's handle, speed and length all help her on offense a great deal as a wing/guard. McKinney can help make an offense function. McKinney looks much better to me than her recruiting ranking. Holloway, on the other hand, seems like an offense stopper, who can help on defense and in transition, and also some on the offensive glass. But other than spelling Hart or Johnson, and pending development, Holloway's future minutes seem limited at present time.

McKinney is coming off injury as well, so she should have room to continue to get better post injury. I like the recruits that Dawn is bringing in.

 

[MaxyJR1]

Thanks...so maybe College girls should go back to halves. Like just about everything else other than WNBA and NBA.

MN is one of the only states in the country that plays halves for HS. The National Rule is quarters. MN went to halves as an experiment to see if it would lead to more players playing. The National League wanted to see if adding minutes and less breaks would lead to more playing time for more kids. The National never adopted the halves and MN stayed with it.

I think that MN should go back to quarters and especially now that there is a shot clock. It would add mor to the game with exciting end of quarter play.

NCAA Men supposedly is staying halves due to money as they get more commercial time under halves than under the Quarter System.

NCAA men is the only basketball playing halves in reality.

 

[MN GBB Fan]

Second time seeing McKinney this weekend, and she seems like a much better player on offense than Holloway, even if not a great shooter. McKinney's handle, speed and length all help her on offense a great deal as a wing/guard. McKinney can help make an offense function. McKinney looks much better to me than her recruiting ranking. Holloway, on the other hand, seems like an offense stopper, who can help on defense and in transition, and also some on the offensive glass. But other than spelling Hart or Johnson, and pending development, Holloway's future minutes seem limited at present time.

I think McKinney and Holloway are both products of the programs they developed under. Cosgriff wants all the players on the floor to be able to score; he develops versatile players who can do it all. Holloway, on the other hand, came from Eden Prairie where the coach slots players into roles and rarely gives them any leeway to develop beyond their designated role. Until her senior year, Holloway was really only allowed to rebound and defend. In her senior year she was finally given a scoring role. Cos prepares more players for the next level much better than the EP coach does. I know McKinney really only played for Cos for one season since she was hurt all last season, but I am sure that he had her constantly working to develop her offensive game once she could put weight back on her leg. Once her AAU season started last year she was on fire. You would have never guessed she'd been sitting for 6 months.

 

[Ski U Mah Gopher]

This is all true. HOWEVER, it would just take ONE kid like this to stay home to change things. Crump, Greenway (though Iowa seems a natural choice for her). Just takes one special player. Whalen wasn't the top recruit for her class and McCarville was an admittedly overweight and underrecruted farm girl out of Wisconsin. Just takes one or a few special ones. Maybe the portal will bring some kids home. The kid at South Carolina is making good NIL $ and getting some minutes...but she would be a difference maker at home. Fingers crossed and good vibes for the Gophers

I don't understand why everyone has Greenway going to Iowa.

On the men's side, Nolan Winter's parents were both letter winners at the U and he still went to Wisconsin.

Chad, through Gray Duck, has put money into DA. He seems to get more attached to Minnesota every day.

 

[Gophearl]

It will be Maddyn's call. Her Dad will support her in whatever she decides.