The Whalen Effect

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From the Strib Kent Youngblood interview:

"We...play mostly man-to-man defense. ... Defense is a priority. That’s what got us to the Final Four. To take the next step, we have to play defense."

"I liked the running. ..., but hopefully it will be off our defense. ...I love a lot of the offensive stuff we ran with the Lynx. ... in 2013, 2014[when the Lynx used a high-post offense]."

"Mercedes [Staples], ... can space the floor. Great shooter. I feel with Kenisha and Jasmine [Brunson], they’ll be our strengths. And Pitts. To me, she’s not Maya [Moore], but she has a great release. So we can use her [much like the Lynx use Moore]. The person we need to take the biggest jump is [post player] Taiye Bello."

Lindsay Whalen is mindful of what got the Gophers to the Final Four in 2004. Strong defense and fast transitions off defense.

We are getting a peek at the style of play that the Gophers are going to run. A hybrid of sorts from the Lynx, last year's sets, and the 2004 Gophers' play. It will be fun and exciting to watch, and fun for the players.

Four Star Mercedes Staples will figure prominently in running the offense and setting the spacing. She is a godsend that she fell into the Gophers' lap at the right time.

It is smart of Whalen to hire former coaches as assistants. They have the experience to run and conduct practices. Two of them are connected to the Gophers Final Four team that will help write new chapters in the Gophers Women's Basketball history.
 
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From the Strib Kent Youngblood, Oct. 1:

...The players are all ears. The team, coming off a trip to the second round of the NCAA tournament last spring, has big goals: a conference title, a deeper NCAA run.

And her players say having Whalen as their head coach makes that goal more tangible.

“If you’re a coach putting so much effort and time into it, and investing so much in us, we’re just going to pay forward with that,” Pitts said.

Bell has her own WNBA dreams, and she believes Whalen could help make them come true; it’s a subtext of nearly every conversation the two have.

“She brings a lot of drills to us that we’ve never done,” Bell said. “And it’s all fun. She reminds us every day to have fun while we’re playing. This is why we’re here. It has to be fun to get better.”

Whalen is instilling a bigger vision for the team and individually. Wouldn't it be something if Senior Kenisha Bell and Sophomore Destiny Pitts both have a shot at the WNBA? It will be because of the right coaching and the kids maximizing their talents.

I sense that Coach Whalen seem to have a nack for bringing out the best out of the players. She has a very good sense of what it will take for some of these kids to make it to the next level.

Can she motivate these players to realize their dream of a conference title?

Nothing attracts recruits better than winning and the team atmosphere.

If the media attention is indicative of the things to come for Gophers' Women's Basketball, one wonders if the crowds will come back to watch the Lady Gophers rock the barn.

I understand that the first home game against New Hampshire with the promotion is a virtual sellout except for a handful of tickets.
 
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Reeve has been collecting 2nd round picks in the 2019 WNBA draft. Unfortunately, one of them came from the egregious Natasha Howard trade. I’d be surprised if she didn’t have in mind drafting Bell with one of those picks.
 


If Lindsay Whalen can launch some of her players into the WNBA in her first four years, it certainly will get the Gophers program noticed.
 

You mean like Stollings/Borton did without getting the program noticed much?
 

I am talking about recruiting more elite players that normally wouldn't consider MN because of who the head coach is. The Whalen Effect. We will see if she really has that impact to recruiting that will have longevity.

From the preliminary reports here, practices are more intense, players are having more fun, and they are more teaching-focused through reps when the players don't get something.

I am looking forward to a more exciting brand of Gopher basketball that will be very entertaining to watch.

Hopefully, we will see larger crowds now that Whalen is back at the U.
 
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Lindsay Whalen:

Women's Basketball Academics
92% Graduation Rate
95% of MN teams has Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better
3.24 Cumulative GPA
Majors on WBB Team: Mathematics, Applied Economics, Kenesiology, Human Resource Development, Psychology, Business & Marketing Education, Computer Science, Agriculture & Food Business Management
 



hungan1 said:
Lindsay Whalen:

Women's Basketball Academics
92% Graduation Rate
95% of MN teams has Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better
3.24 Cumulative GPA
Majors on WBB Team: Mathematics, Applied Economics, Kenesiology, Human Resource Development, Psychology, Business & Marketing Education, Computer Science, Agriculture & Food Business Management
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That’s great, most of these players know that they will have to rely on their degree to make a living. It is sad how many male athletes don’t take advantage of being a student and get directed into taking meaningless classes just to meet the demands of the program (I.e. North Carolina).


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Let the Lindsay Whalen Era begin - the WinningWhay on November 9!

Lindsay Whalen - The most transformative women's basketball player in Minnesota history has come home to the Gophers to fulfill a promise from fourteen years ago.

 
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Lindsay Whalen Press Conference 10/17/2018

 




Why I think Whalen will be successful.

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I am intrigue with her entire coaching staff. They've got a high combined basketball IQ. She is definitely going to bring back the crowds for an exciting brand of basketball win or loss.
 

With Lindsay Whalen as head coach, we are seeing a lot of attention to the Gophers program by better recruits.

My immediate concern for the 2018-2019 season is Gadiva Hubbard's injury and how her loss will impact the line up. Replacing her minutes is a concern. Someone has to step up where Carlie Wagner left off in scoring. I hoping that Staples/Bell/Pitts will help fill that void.

Whalen's apparent emphasis to a principally man-to-man defense will bring a lot of excitement at The Barn. Defensive-minded Carly Thibault is a big addition to the Gophers Coaching Staff. She helped Mississippi State achieved the nation's best 37-win campaign and championship appearance.
 
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http://www.espn.com/womens-college-...peat-one-top-story-lines-watch-2018-19-season

Question from ESPN:


4. What will be the Whalen effect?

It's not fair to expect too much from a first-year coach ... but everybody is watching how longtime WNBA star Lindsay Whalen does at her alma mater, Minnesota. It's exciting to see a player of her caliber join the coaching ranks.

The Gophers' highlight as a program was 14 years ago, when Whalen came back from a broken hand during her senior season to lead the team to the Final Four. Her WNBA career, first with the Connecticut Sun and then with the Minnesota Lynx, was epic, including four league titles with the Lynx.

The Gophers have talent, led by Kenisha Bell and Destiny Pitts, who were both on the media's preseason all-Big Ten team. Bell also made the coaches' preseason team.

The expectations should not be too big for Whalen's first season, but they won't be small. The native Minnesotan is used to carrying the hopes of a state on her shoulders, though, so this will be nothing new for her.
 

With Houlfat "Happy" Mahouchiza abruptly leaving the program (due to eligibility issues as an international player?), Lindsay Whalen is left with only three 2018 solid signees:

Mercedes Staples - (5' 10" G, Centerville Utah)
Delaynie Byrne - (6' 2" F, Arvada Colorado)
Barbora Tomancova - (6' 2" F/C, Brno Czech Republic)

The timing couldn't be worst. They don't have enough time to look for a viable grad transfer or another high caliber player for the 2018 class.

On the positive side, Whalen's first full class will have five slots which she has quickly been filling including the first instate Gopher recruit since Senior Kenisha Bell of Bloomington Kennedy HS:

Sara Scalia - 5' 10" PG, Stillwater HS, Stillwater Minnesota
Grace Cumming - 6' 3" P, Theodore Roosevelt HS, Des Moines Iowa
Justice Ross - 5' 10" F/W, Des Moines East HS, Des Moines Iowa
Klarke Sconiers - 6' 3" P, Christ The King HS, Middle Village (Bronx) New York

The questions is, how will she fill the last slot? Will it be someone like PG Jasmine Powell from Detroit Country Day School (Destiny Pitts alma mater)? Will she entertain another in state recruit?

I see that she is going after big athletic types who can possibly play other positions. IMHO, the last spot will be filled by a Guard/Point Guard.
 
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hungan1 said:
With Houlfat "Happy" Mahouchiza abruptly leaving the program (due to eligibility issues as an international player?), Lindsay Whalen is left with only three 2018 solid signees:

Mercedes Staples - (5' 10" G, Centerville Utah)
Delaynie Byrne - (6' 2" F, Arvada Colorado)
Barbora Tomancova - (6' 2" F/C, Brno Czech Republic)

The timing couldn't be worst. They don't have enough time to look for a viable grad transfer or another high caliber player for the 2018 class.

On the positive side, Whalen's first full class will have five slots which she has quickly been filling including the first instate Gopher recruit since Senior Kenisha Bell of Bloomington Kennedy HS:

Sara Scalia - 5' 10" PG, Stillwater HS, Stillwater Minnesota
Grace Cumming - 6' 3" P, Theodore Roosevelt HS, Des Moines Iowa
Justice Ross - 5' 10" F/W, Des Moines East HS, Des Moines Iowa
Klarke Sconiers - 6' 3" P, Christ The King HS, Middle Village (Bronx) New York

The questions is, how will she fill the last slot? Will it be someone like PG Jasmine Powell from Detroit Country Day School (Destiny Pitts alma mater)? Will she entertain another in state recruit?

I see that she is going after big athletic types who can possibly play other positions. IMHO, the last spot will be filled by a Guard/Point Guard.
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They technically have 7 open scholarships for next year if they really wanna use em. Women get 15.
 

Whalen has a lot of latitude. With two extras scholies should she choose to use them, she can hold out for last minute high four or five star 2019 players that can be next level game changers. Those that may be watching the progress of the Gophers under Whalen in her first season. Who knows. May be she will bank them for Paige Bueckers' class (2020). Strangest things can happen.
 
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I'm thinking JUCO or grad transfer for one of the scholarships to balance the classes.
 


Lindsay Whalen is good for Big Ten Basketball. Can Lindsay Whalen bring the Big Ten to the national stage?

Brenda Frese did it at Minnesota and then on to Maryland.

The reasons to be excited for the Gophers are many. But, first and foremost Minnesota is in love with a native daughter coming home to make good of a visionary statement she made fifteen or so years ago as a player to bring the Gophers to national prominence.

She is Minnesota's connection to the Final Four. She has a taste of what is is like to be a champion. She came so close. Connecticut led by Diana Taurasi defeated Minnesota 67-58 in the semis. Connecticut had much more talent. The defeat has been eating her. She hates losing. She is motivated by it.

Here is the game video. Warning: The video is rather frazzled.

Women's basketball have not seen a rare specimen like Lindsay Whalen in awhile. A combination a proven winner at all levels - college, Olympics, and pros. A former player and now a coach with a high basketball IQ. As a player a team builder who made everyone bring their A game. A good judge of talent. Someone who knows what it takes to practice like a champion and be a champion. And for the players - someone who knows how to maximize their potentials. She has charisma.

Maybe, it wouldn't be as scripted in her first full season as coach. One thing I am certain about - The Gophers will be winners.

It will be great to see if she can actually pack The Barn for women's basketball again. I am certain many fans who flocked to the Target Center to watch her play may go across the river to The Barn. There is magic in the The Whalen Whay. She wants to be back in The Final Four. This time as a coach.
 
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I will never forget that Final Four trip to NO. I hope she gets us back there and am 100% behind her as a coach.
 

For those of us that were there it was very memorable!! Unfortunately Lindsay will struggle before the big ten simply because Hubbard will be out!! We don’t have that many shooters on this team so it is imperative that Hubbard be there. Otherwise this team will struggle some.
 

samloupete said:
For those of us that were there it was very memorable!! Unfortunately Lindsay will struggle before the big ten simply because Hubbard will be out!! We don’t have that many shooters on this team so it is imperative that Hubbard be there. Otherwise this team will struggle some.
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With or without Gadiva, struggles in our non-conference season would hoist some serious red flags.
 

It is a game of adjustments. I am not too worried about Gadiva being not available. Get her healed up properly. Save her for the back half of the schedule. They'll get it all figured out by the time they play Syracuse on November 29, 2018.

It sounds like Whalen and staff are sticklers for conditioning, and very willing to adapt the play style by their talent and what the opponents give them.

I am intrigued by the 4-Star prospect Mercedes Staples. She is quite a shooter. Timing is everything. It so happened that after she committed to Clemson, the basketball coach Audra Smith was fired. That left the door open for her to decommit. Her AAU coach, former WNBA star Natalie Williams immediately recommended the Gophers. Hands down it was a no brainer for her. She wanted to play for Lindsay Whalen. ESPN's HoopGurlz ranks her the No. 64 best player in 2018, and the No. 17 Point Giard in the nation. She brings a lot of versatility to the Gopher's Offense.

“Mercedes is someone that has a lot of different skills and brings a lot to the team,” Whalen said in a statement. “She can pass it with the best of them, can see the floor, can shoot and can score it.

https://www.twincities.com/2018/05/09/lindsay-whalen-lands-her-second-recruit-four-star-guard-mercedes-staples/

http://www.startribune.com/lindsay-whalen-lands-another-top-100-player-mercedes-staples-coming-to-gophers/482218641/
 

samloupete said:
For those of us that were there it was very memorable!! Unfortunately Lindsay will struggle before the big ten simply because Hubbard will be out!! We don’t have that many shooters on this team so it is imperative that Hubbard be there. Otherwise this team will struggle some.
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What do you mean? Early on there were people thinking Brunson was better without questioning it or even giving it a second thought.
 

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I'd be worried more if I were him about hearing footsteps behind him if he doesn't get the Gophers to the NCAAs than how the Women's Basketball team will fare this season.

But, he has a good point. Top tier homegrown players can stay home and win championships. Why leave when there is so much love here?
 

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