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Belzx009 said:
She would be the perfect fit. Hopefully she sees that more than money. Like obviously the Gophers could offer her some but not as much as other schools.
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I'm also curious about the funds we have. Over the last couple of days the men had four people announce they will be returning and they thanked some sponors, one being a car company. Maybe they have given some to the womens program too.
 

DietCokeFan said:
Gracie Merkle is hitting the portal. I think she would be a great fit in coach P's style - but I would bet she would come with a big price tag.
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I’m confused about Coach P’s preferred style. In various interviews since she arrived (e.g. state fair), Coach P has talked about wanting to play fast. But fast has yet to happen, and this year was slow, 18th in BIG, and 300+ nationally.

This year was also great. The offense was highly efficient. The combination of improved shooting (still not great), great ball security and very good offensive rebounding produced great offensive numbers. Would take this year anytime.

Does Coach P actually prefer to play slow, or has she just adjusted to her personnel?
 


BigTenGuy said:
I’m confused about Coach P’s preferred style. In various interviews since she arrived (e.g. state fair), Coach P has talked about wanting to play fast. But fast has yet to happen, and this year was slow, 18th in BIG, and 300+ nationally.

This year was also great. The offense was highly efficient. The combination of improved shooting (still not great), great ball security and very good offensive rebounding produced great offensive numbers. Would take this year anytime.

Does Coach P actually prefer to play slow, or has she just adjusted to her personnel?
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I think she means play fast in transition, which I have seen year over year improvement in since her first year coaching. If you compare her first year to this year (or even last year), at least two of our guards now try to sprint ahead in transition, and we are very willing to take riskier passes to get them the ball if they can score quickly.

But once we're out of transition, the style is clearly to run the shot clock down and pass methodically so as to limit turnovers and keep the other team's number of possessions (and score) lower. The longer you have the ball, the more you are able to guarantee the other team does not have the ball.
 

If Maya Nnaji is actually returning to play college basketball she is by far and away my #1 big target
 


Gophermangeek said:
If Maya Nnaji is actually returning to play college basketball she is by far and away my #1 big target
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I remember seeing a post on her - do you know where (what social media) she made the post about a possible return? I wonder what rust she would have. I don't rememeber much of her from her playing days.
 

MaroonMagic said:
I think she means play fast in transition, which I have seen year over year improvement in since her first year coaching. If you compare her first year to this year (or even last year), at least two of our guards now try to sprint ahead in transition, and we are very willing to take riskier passes to get them the ball if they can score quickly.

But once we're out of transition, the style is clearly to run the shot clock down and pass methodically so as to limit turnovers and keep the other team's number of possessions (and score) lower. The longer you have the ball, the more you are able to guarantee the other team does not have the ball.
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She has stated she wants to play fast. I seem to also remember her also saying that she didn’t have the horses for that style this year? Which I would agree with. That said whenever
they went on one of those runs they generally did it when sped up. Their set offense included too much dribbling and to many screens where the ball handler did no rub off close enough, making them ineffective.
 

DietCokeFan said:
I remember seeing a post on her - do you know where (what social media) she made the post about a possible return? I wonder what rust she would have. I don't rememeber much of her from her playing days.
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It was an instagram story where she captioned “we are so back” and she was working with a basketball trainer. And then she tweeted about basketball for the first time in the long time.

I don’t know if she is going to play again and I know that Arizona environment was really toxic. She was high school teammates with Woodson (and battle) and the U medical program is really really good (she is getting her medical degree)

Not sure it’s possible but she is by far my number 1 target if she plays again
 




Willwin40 said:
Braun will be a starter!
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Braun will not be a starter if everyone returns. Grocholski is a better shooter than Braun. Braun is not a PG and is too small to play a forward in the BIG. Plus, Grocholski followed Coach P from her commitment to WV. Braun will be a solid rotation player unless some of the incoming Freshman or transfers are better (lots of competition). Going to the Sweet 16 will impact the quality of players coming in and competition for minutes will be much harder. We are not handing out spots to MN kids anymore. This is about winning and playing the best talent.
 

Bunyan said:
Braun will not be a starter if everyone returns. Grocholski is a better shooter than Braun. Braun is not a PG and is too small to play a forward in the BIG. Plus, Grocholski followed Coach P from her commitment to WV. Braun will be a solid rotation player unless some of the incoming Freshman or transfers are better (lots of competition). Going to the Sweet 16 will impact the quality of players coming in and competition for minutes will be much harder. We are not handing out spots to MN kids anymore. This is about winning and playing the best talent.
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Disagree!
 






GG was better in every offensive category this year.. way more efficient and plays with way more physicality… GG is underrated on D… she has pretty good feet and rarely gets beat off the dribble.. covers her D gaps incredibly.. you can tell she reads her scouting reports.. GG busted her ass to get leaner this year.. best vision on the team.. Braun benefited from her vision with skip pases for open threes.. they actually find each other very well..
 

Bunyan said:
Braun will not be a starter if everyone returns. Grocholski is a better shooter than Braun. Braun is not a PG and is too small to play a forward in the BIG. Plus, Grocholski followed Coach P from her commitment to WV. Braun will be a solid rotation player unless some of the incoming Freshman or transfers are better (lots of competition). Going to the Sweet 16 will impact the quality of players coming in and competition for minutes will be much harder. We are not handing out spots to MN kids anymore. This is about winning and playing the best talent.
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Braun will definitely be a starter. There's a reason she was the first to announce she is staying here. If she wasn't going to be a starter, I wouldn't fault her for transferring out. So we all but know she's starting.

She is the only one currently on the team who has played for Team USA, and she won a gold medal doing it. Based on her history alone, she still theoretically has the highest ceiling of any current Gophers, and her performance at the Barn in the first two rounds showed that.
 

I hope Kussow is better the GG. In that case the Gophers would be sitting pretty next year but to rank her above her without her playing a college game seems aggressive…..remember GG is one of the best shooters nation wide. She doesn’t force shots either. If the defense is taking her away she finds an open teammate…. Experience will start. Also remember the old saying….its not who starts the game but who finishes it.


Anyway I really am excited to see who the Gophers get in the portal. The waiting is killing me and the portal isn’t even open yet 🤦🏽‍♀️
 

I hope Kussow is their best player… I want a potential first team all big 10 player… an Olivia Olson type
 

Roland Brooks said:
GG was better in every offensive category this year.. way more efficient and plays with way more physicality… GG is underrated on D… she has pretty good feet and rarely gets beat off the dribble.. covers her D gaps incredibly.. you can tell she reads her scouting reports.. GG busted her ass to get leaner this year.. best vision on the team.. Braun benefited from her vision with skip pases for open threes.. they actually find each other very well..
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I agree completely. Braun and GG played well off each other and had the best court vision when bringing the ball up the court. They were always looking ahead to pass if someone was open. The other guards too often preferred dribbling to passing.
 

Exactly!! Wings would be open.. kick ahead if nothing is there kick it back to the PG and start the O… I would count 2-3 times a game GG or Braun clapping or calling for the ball…
 

MaroonMagic said:
Braun will definitely be a starter. There's a reason she was the first to announce she is staying here. If she wasn't going to be a starter, I wouldn't fault her for transferring out. So we all but know she's starting.

She is the only one currently on the team who has played for Team USA, and she won a gold medal doing it. Based on her history alone, she still theoretically has the highest ceiling of any current Gophers, and her performance at the Barn in the first two rounds showed that.
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Agree, zero chance Braun doesn’t start.
 

Agreed. Zero chance. GG had an awful end to her season. When she is not shooting well she is highly ineffective.
 




Again, why so much emphasis on starting. MiLaysia Fulwiley was arguably one of thee best players for LSU this year and came off the bench most of the year as she got used to Kim Mulkey's system. And some of South Carolina's best players start the game on the bench.
 

Roland Brooks said:
GG was better in every offensive category this year.. way more efficient and plays with way more physicality… GG is underrated on D… she has pretty good feet and rarely gets beat off the dribble.. covers her D gaps incredibly.. you can tell she reads her scouting reports.. GG busted her ass to get leaner this year.. best vision on the team.. Braun benefited from her vision with skip pases for open threes.. they actually find each other very well..
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This to me was the absolute first thing I noticed this year and she was able to play faster due to the incredible work she put in over the summer to make her overhaul happen!

She did seem to hold back from shooting the 3 at the end of the season a bit and passed up 3's I wish she would have taken. She, to me, is their best pure shooting returner (if she comes back, which I think she will!) and along with Mara (who really made a comeback in the latter half of the season), and Tori, that is a powerful 3some to kickoff next year as starters.

This was a great year for the BB women!!
 

I agree and hope Grace comes back for next year. It would be a huge loss if not. I'd also like to see her shoot the ball when she gets a good open look. I sensed hesitation toward the end of the season too. "Just" make one of three and who cares if you miss the other two.
 

Would be interesting if McGill enters the portal from Florida and Maya Nnaji makes a comeback if somehow they would both land at the U???
 

drewhaus7 said:
Would be interesting if McGill enters the portal from Florida and Maya Nnaji makes a comeback if somehow they would both land at the U???
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When did Nnaji graduate HS? Would she even have eligibility?
 

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