What's Next 26-27 Roster

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In regards to Centers, I will be interested to see what happens with Kuol. She is listed as a Center in some reports and a Forward in others. She almost has Hart's height and plays well in the highlight reels.
 

LakeWoebegone said:
In regards to Centers, I will be interested to see what happens with Kuol. She is listed as a Center in some reports and a Forward in others. She almost has Hart's height and plays well in the highlight reels.
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Athletic project. Is she able to play 10 minutes a game as a freshman? If not, redshirt.
 

Kuol needs to add some muscle and weight but she is athletic and skilled.
 

I have inquired a few times as to why Zoey wasn't redshirted after missing first seven games, but have not received responses. I ask once again...
thanks!
 


AllEars said:
I have inquired a few times as to why Zoey wasn't redshirted after missing first seven games, but have not received responses. I ask once again...
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just a guess, but I think you were right when you said for depth. at the end of the season they mentioned many times that they were proud of Hart for playing hurt. If she would have missed games because of it I think Zoey would have got more playing time. Hart may have been closer to missing games than we realized.
 


AllEars said:
I have inquired a few times as to why Zoey wasn't redshirted after missing first seven games, but have not received responses. I ask once again...
thanks!
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Nobody knows without asking Dawn or the coaching staff directly.

Couple of theories.
1) We never knew the injury of her sister in Tracey. Maybe they thought there was a chance they could share the court together and that might mean more to them then the extra year of eligibility. (We don't know how much she wants to be in college 5 years)

2) Going into the year, here are the players that I thought could play center. Hart, Tonga, Heyer, Woodson, Holloway, the Bershers sisters. Well Heyer transferred, Woodson ACL injury, T.Bersher injury. So the big depth got really depleted, also of Hart, Tonga, Holloway, Bersher, Bersher is the only player who can spread the floor. Dawn might of thought with in season improvement Z.Bersher could of brought a different wrinkle to the lineup and she is also bigger than Holloway, and to be fair to Bersher at the end of the year she passed Holloway in the rotation.

3) Dawn might want to have the classes spread out. Meaning if Z. Bersher reshirts that means they would only have one sophomore on roster in Christian and then would have 5 freshman, Dawn might want more separation between classes for recruiting and transfers purposes.
 
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Just read an interview with Coach Staley where she said the #1 ? that she has to answer with every prospect is 💵. She said she asks this early in the process to know if she can be competitive. While we don’t know exactly how much the woman’s program has to spend I think it’s safe 2 say many programs have more than us.
 



GringaGopher said:
Just read an interview with Coach Staley where she said the #1 ? that she has to answer with every prospect is 💵. She said she asks this early in the process to know if she can be competitive. While we don’t know exactly how much the woman’s program has to spend I think it’s safe 2 say many programs have more than us.
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I have no idea where we rank nationally with money for WBB (it's better for us if it stays that way) and it's safe to assume we are not at the top. With that said, I think we are likely more competitive than people think.

We know the U is providing the full $21m share to student athletes. We know WBB is one of the 5 sports receiving that money.

We are also seeing some of the larger local corporations start to get involved with NIL. Xcel Energy just did a promo with Men's Hockey, for example. As corporations get more comfortable with NIL, we could have advantages that other B1G schools do not (with notable exceptions)

As always, everyone can do their part and throw $10/month to DTA. You can designate your money to specific sports.
 

ndnae said:
just a guess, but I think you were right when you said for depth. at the end of the season they mentioned many times that they were proud of Hart for playing hurt. If she would have missed games because of it I think Zoey would have got more playing time. Hart may have been closer to missing games than we realized.
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Thanks for replying. I am not sure if Sophie was playing hurt... this was clearly her best year... but added depth might be sometime.
 

Gophermangeek said:
Nobody knows without asking Dawn or the coaching staff directly.

Couple of theories.
1) We never knew the injury of her sister in Tracey. Maybe they thought there was a chance they could share the court together and that might mean more to them then the extra year of eligibility. (We don't know how much she wants to be in college 5 years)

2) Going into the year, here are the players that I thought could play center. Hart, Tonga, Heyer, Woodson, Holloway, the Bershers sisters. Well Heyer transferred, Woodson ACL injury, T.Bersher injury. So the big depth got really depleted, also of Hart, Tonga, Holloway, Bersher, Bersher is the only player who can spread the floor. Dawn might of thought with in season improvement Z.Bersher could of brought a different wrinkle to the lineup and she is also bigger than Holloway, and to be fair to Bersher at the end of the year she passed Holloway in the rotation.

3) Dawn might want to have the classes spread out. Meaning if Z. Bersher reshirts that means they would only have one sophomore on roster in Christian and then would have 5 freshman, Dawn might want more separation between classes for recruiting and transfers purposes.
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Thanks for replying. I will go with theories 2 & 3.
 

AllEars said:
Thanks for replying. I am not sure if Sophie was playing hurt... this was clearly her best year... but added depth might be sometime.
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Dawn is vague, but implies she was playing injured for large chunks of the season in the Sweet 16 postgame. Link should go directly to her discussing Sophie.

The only thing I know for certain, is Sophie was not practicing the day they let some fans observe (Wed before Illinois)

 



AllEars said:
I have inquired a few times as to why Zoey wasn't redshirted after missing first seven games, but have not received responses. I ask once again...
thanks!
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Redshirting is becoming a rarity. Most players are unwilling to 'waste' a year sitting out and developing their craft and prefer learning on the court. In the portal era, most programs are unwilling to waste a scholarship for an extra year of an 'unproductive' player. The attitude is to see what they got then move on to another player if it doesn't work out.

I much prefer the good ol' days (still less than a decade ago!!) when both player and program were committed to one another and invested the time to build the relationship during recruiting AND during the 4-5 years that the student was with the program.
 

Dawn PLitzuweit had a good interview with on Sundays with korzo on wcco radio, but I don't know how to put the podcast on here.
 

Fun analysis great future !! My thoughts watching in the barn all year. Woodson plays major minutes, Christian played ok until Big 10 to slow to get her shot off, Klick won’t see much playing time. Holloway is great to have as teammate. 2 of 3 may not be back as Johnson last year. This has become a business and can’t have very average players sitting on the bench when there is bucket loads of talent out there! Remember it took until the last 2 games to fill the barn. Must have a very good point guard and big in transfers. Freshmen are the most interesting. The young lady from Maple Grove and Michigan State I’m guessing is coming home !! She was amazing in the state tournament last year !! Who knows? We will see !! Only 6 more months y’all !!
 

MustbeMarchguy said:
Fun analysis great future !! My thoughts watching in the barn all year. Woodson plays major minutes, Christian played ok until Big 10 to slow to get her shot off, Klick won’t see much playing time. Holloway is great to have as teammate. 2 of 3 may not be back as Johnson last year. This has become a business and can’t have very average players sitting on the bench when there is bucket loads of talent out there! Remember it took until the last 2 games to fill the barn. Must have a very good point guard and big in transfers. Freshmen are the most interesting. The young lady from Maple Grove and Michigan State I’m guessing is coming home !! She was amazing in the state tournament last year !! Who knows? We will see !! Only 6 more months y’all !!
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How do you know she is coming home?
 

Omega015 said:
If by depth you mean more street clothes or walking boots on the bench, sure.

It's obvious to me what it is, but if you want to believe Tracey was the best option in the portal, that's fine
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I'm not certain what point you are trying to make... I provided the timeline. Zoey committed in June 2024 and signed in November 2024. Tracey entered the portal in April 2025.

It couldn't be any more clear that Tracey was not offered a spot to entice Zoey to commit 9 months earlier and sign 5 months earlier.

Tracey was clearly a depth piece. She signed BEFORE Heyer left. She was not expected to see the court in any meaningful fashion and didn't. She was a bench piece... nothing more, nothing less.

I am not aware of anyone who has suggested that Tracey was the best option in the portal. She was the cheap option that fit within the budget.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
Thanks for sharing your opinion.


View attachment 43371

😉
Just Kidding Kiddo
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I provided irrefutable facts not opinions. Zoey committed in June 2024 and signed in November 2024. Tracey didn't enter the portal until April 2025. Please explain to me where I have shared an opinion.

Are you honestly suggesting that Plitzuweit approached the Bershers family in June 2024 and promised the elder Tracey a transfer spot 9-10 months later to entice the younger Zoey to commit? In my OPINION, that is highly unlikely for a player of Zoey's stature.
 

ecoperson said:
I provided irrefutable facts not opinions.
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ecoperson said:
Zoey committed in June 2024 and signed in November 2024. Tracey didn't enter the portal until April 2025. Please explain to me where I have shared an opinion.

Are you honestly suggesting that Plitzuweit approached the Bershers family in June 2024 and promised the elder Tracey a transfer spot 9-10 months later to entice the younger Zoey to commit? In my OPINION, that is highly unlikely for a player of Zoey's stature.
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I won’t respond further as I have more important matters to attend and am not going to derail the thread for childish 🐮💩.

“I could be wrong, I often am🤷‍♂️.” One of my first business mentors taught me this and it held me on good stead till I retired from corporate sales; so i don’t care if I’m wrong, especially on an anonymous chat board (you win🎉🎊🍾👏) and if I continue to grow, i won’t care if I’m right either.

☮️ my friend.



 

ecoperson said:
I'm not certain what point you are trying to make... I provided the timeline. Zoey committed in June 2024 and signed in November 2024. Tracey entered the portal in April 2025.

It couldn't be any more clear that Tracey was not offered a spot to entice Zoey to commit 9 months earlier and sign 5 months earlier.

Tracey was clearly a depth piece. She signed BEFORE Heyer left. She was not expected to see the court in any meaningful fashion and didn't. She was a bench piece... nothing more, nothing less.

I am not aware of anyone who has suggested that Tracey was the best option in the portal. She was the cheap option that fit within the budget.
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The timeline is the timeline. I don't dispute it.

It's certainly plausible that Tracey wanted to play with her sister and we had a roster slot and no money.

Another plausible scenario that fits your timeline: "Hey Zoey, if you commit we'll offer your sister in the portal. Sound good? Great, don't tell anyone"

I'm not interested in derailing the thread further. I'm just not going to be naive when it comes to potential side deals.
 


Belzx009 said:
Holloway has entered the portal. I am happy for her. She gave Minnesota four years. She will play somewhere.
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I will miss her. She’s a joy to watch, and from everything I’ve seen from her she’s a person I would always want as a teammate. I completely understand wanting an opportunity to play more for her final season wherever she lands. I’ll be rooting for her.
 
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Lynx said:
I will miss her. She’s a joy to watch, and from everything I’ve seen from here she’s a person I would always want as a teammate. I completely understand wanting an opportunity to play more for her final season wherever she lands. I’ll be rooting for her.
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Agree, always excited and happy for her teammates. I always thought she’d breakout but maybe this wasn’t the right system for her. I’ll be rooting for her as well.
 

With an open scholarship NOW I wouldn’t mind adding Ode. I just thought before we need a BIG and a PG. I think they will play 4 guards most of the time so it doesn’t bother me having a lot of depth there. Still wish Mya Moore would flip from Creighton to Minnesota
 


Belzx009 said:
With an open scholarship NOW I wouldn’t mind adding Ode. I just thought before we need a BIG and a PG. I think they will play 4 guards most of the time so it doesn’t bother me having a lot of depth there. Still wish Mya Moore would flip from Creighton to Minnesota
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This!
I would love to now land Ode with this open spot!
 


bball_craz_31 I believe you're close to the team in some way, are you hearing any potential portal visits?
 


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