STrib: Whalen Plans to Rest Gopher Starting Back Court More

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www.startribune.com

Gophers women's basketball plans to rest starting backcourt more

The hope is that strategy will limit second-half lulls.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Kent Youngblood:

Whalen's plan is to give freshmen Katie Borowicz and Caroline Strande significant minutes to give Powell and Scalia rest, making sure that one of the two starters is always on the court. Borowicz, who graduated from Roseau High School early and joined the Gophers midseason, has had flashes of both strong play and difficult minutes. But she plays with a confidence. Strande had a significant ankle injury early in the season, returned, but tweaked that ankle again a couple of weeks ago. Against Iowa she scored seven points playing half the fourth quarter.

With Powell resting early this week, and Hubbard not practicing, Borowicz and Strande got significant minutes with the first team in practice this week.
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Whalen's plan is to give freshmen Katie Borowicz and Caroline Strande significant minutes to give Powell and Scalia rest, making sure that one of the two starters is always on the court.
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Who da thunk?😂

Sound a bit like giving up on the season?
 

Shades said:
Who da thunk?😂

Sound a bit like giving up on the season?
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Who knows... maybe it will actually make the rest of the season better if Powell and Scalia can be more effective for the whole game?
 

I'll be rooting for the upset, but this game is going to be a tough one. I say it wouldn't be the worst approach to let some younger players get some experience while allowing some starters with mild injuries to recoup - or at least not make the injuries worse. I'd rather have a healthier Scalia and Powell down the stretch. 4 of the next 5 games after OSU are winnable.
 



polli said:
Mixed message? "Tears of joy" vs "giving up".
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You have to remember, Shades wants the Gophers to lose. He wants Whalen to do horrible so he can say he was right she was a bad hire. He has never coached D1 basketball a day in his life, but feels he is an expert about what it takes. So he would be thrilled if they struggled and lost every single game until Whalen is fired. Once again, because she has shown she can recruit high-rated Minnesota prospects (especially in 2022), he has to pick other stuff to harp on. As stated, there is nothing this team or Whalen or staff can do to please Shades. He just wants them to be bad to make himself look right.
 


I'm all in on Smith, Katie, and Strande getting some additional PT this year. It's looking like this team is going to be a guard-oriented team going forward, at least until they can recruit some bigs, so it would be nice to know going into next year who will be able to contribute and how. I suspect that the "Nattering Nabob of Negativity" is just trolling us all again, but, nonetheless, it would be nice to see what some of the other guards can do. Even though Powell and Scalia have earned a lot of PT, there will be plenty of minutes available in a 3-guard lineup after Hubbard is gone.
 

With Strande getting healthy, makes perfect sense to let her get more playing time. Borowicz has brought lots of energy when she's been in. Can't run Powell and Scalia nearly 40 minutes per game if you want them to stay healthy, too. Both Powell and Scalia have had injury issues this year, too. Don't ever see Whalen "giving up" on a season.
 



Well, there will be plenty of minutes available today now that Powell got her 3rd foul in just the 1st quarter.
 

I like their energy in the first half. But it also led to too many unforced errors. They need to keep the energy while executing.
 


It really is brutal. Down 9 in the 1/2 and then by 25 @ the end of the 3rd.
 



bball_craz_26 said:
You have to remember, Shades wants the Gophers to lose. He wants Whalen to do horrible so he can say he was right she was a bad hire.
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You’re frequently wrong and this notion is no exception. Winning is the top priority for me. That’s why I’m showing corcern about this new revelation. Remember I figured Whalen promised minutes to Katie in order to lure her into early entry? People said they didn’t see Katie getting many at minutes all, and now it’s happening. The excuse now is “starters are all banged up”. If they’re hurting that bad, why have them out there at all? Doesn’t make sense. We’ll see if this is just a temporary situation. If it’s not, don’t be surprised to see at least one transfer happen, like I suggested before. They have too many PG’s long term so it wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen, but I’d hate for it to be Powell transferring.
 

I believe Powell will transfer. I have thought this for a while. I know nothing, but have just thought this because of her body language and her relationship with Coach Whalen. I have also not hid that I am not a huge Powell fan. Great scorer but I don’t think she has a great feel for the game. I don’t think she is making others around her better. That’s what I think a PG should do. If she stays great, but I would like to see her more of a shooting guard. I believe Borowicz is the future pg. She is already showing flashes of great passes. Doesn’t always have the inside people to finish.
I am enjoying watching the freshman. Strande definitely does struggle with defense. This game is so much faster then she is used to.
I do not think Whalen has thrown in the towel, but chances of the Gophers in the post season are very low. I do think building these freshman is a good move.
 

Assuming Gadiva is out again this week and with the Gophers well documented slow starts at the beginning of each half maybe tinker with the line up again? Start Borowicz at PG with Scalia, Powell, Sissoko and Sconiers? Borowicz seems to bring energy and seems to be able to get the ball inside, granted the posts need to be able to catch the ball and finish. Still like Smith and she’s a better defender but it’s not like the Gophers excel on that side of the ball anyway. I just don’t see any Gopher player on the court that play with any sort of confidence that they can beat some of the elite teams in the BIG. They need a big dose of swagger from someone.
 

Shades said:
. Remember I figured Whalen promised minutes to Katie in order to lure her into early entry?
www.startribune.com

Roseau's Katie Borowicz adjusting after getting early start with Gophers

She graduated from high school, came straight to U.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com


It was a sacrifice, but Borowicz said it has been worth it.

"I'm loving it," she said. "I love the challenge, playing with better [players], against better [players]. They didn't tell me I'd get playing time. It was just, come here and we'll see what happens. I'm already having a Big Ten experience. It's all worth it."
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tripledouble said:
I'm all in on Smith, Katie, and Strande getting some additional PT this year. It's looking like this team is going to be a guard-oriented team going forward, at least until they can recruit some bigs, so it would be nice to know going into next year who will be able to contribute and how. I suspect that the "Nattering Nabob of Negativity" is just trolling us all again, but, nonetheless, it would be nice to see what some of the other guards can do. Even though Powell and Scalia have earned a lot of PT, there will be plenty of minutes available in a 3-guard lineup after Hubbard is gone.
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There's a possibility that Hubbard does not leave.
 

Katogopher said:
Assuming Gadiva is out again this week and with the Gophers well documented slow starts at the beginning of each half maybe tinker with the line up again? Start Borowicz at PG with Scalia, Powell, Sissoko and Sconiers? Borowicz seems to bring energy and seems to be able to get the ball inside, granted the posts need to be able to catch the ball and finish. Still like Smith and she’s a better defender but it’s not like the Gophers excel on that side of the ball anyway. I just don’t see any Gopher player on the court that play with any sort of confidence that they can beat some of the elite teams in the BIG. They need a big dose of swagger from someone.
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I'm a fan of Sconiers from a future perspective if she commits to working, but we are better when we are more nimble, I would opt for Mershon to start the 2nd half assuming she has an impact in the first half. I think IL is going to be smaller and we may have to go smaller...
 

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