Strib: Whalen Q & A with Kent Youngblood

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Ignatius L Hoops

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http://www.startribune.com/lindsay-...asketball-office-with-new-mementos/494753541/

Q What have been some of the challenges you’ve faced so far?

A For me, just figuring out what system we want to run and what we want to do. How we’ll organize practices. As a player, you’re told what to do. To be the one coming up with what we need to work on? That’s where my assistant coaches have been so great. … Now it will be trying to motivate players to reach our goals.

Q What differences will fans see when the season opens?

A We’re going to play mostly man-to-man defense. They played zone last year. Defense is a priority. That’s what got us to the Final Four. To take the next step, we have to play defense.

Q Did you like what the team did offensively last season?

A I liked the running. I liked a lot of their sets. We’re still going to run, but hopefully it will be off our defense. Honestly, I love a lot of the offensive stuff we ran with the Lynx. Cheryl is a great offensive mind. That’s what I know. I’m thinking of what we ran with the Lynx in 2013, 2014[when the Lynx used a high-post offense]

Q How will you replace Carlie Wagner’s scoring and leadership?

A One of them is Mercedes [Staples], the freshman. She 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.
 

Man-to-man (or, as I think we're supposed to call it, player-to-player)!
 

I think only Lynette calls it player to player or maybe person to person ;).

I'm unclear as to who is the staff's defensive guru or as to how aggressively we will play man.
 

Preaching defense. I love the sound of that.
 

A few general comments after "reading between the lines". As others have commented, it's nice to know that this coaching regime intends to make defense a priority. Stollings' teams never seemed to do that as much as I had hoped for. I also like the switch from what was primarily zone defense to what looks like it will primarily be player-to-player defense. I am anxious to see if Kenisha Bell can ramp up her defense a bit. She is certainly tall enough and athletic enough to be a very good defender , and with her ability to run the court, she could key a lot of transition baskets. Also, it looks like Whalen has already decided that Staples will be relied upon to contribute as a freshman. No surprise with that. Also seems that the posts will be much more part of the offense this year than they were last year. If that's the case, then T. Bello will have to step up her game and Lamke will likely have to contribute also. In looking at some of the high school players the new staff has offered, they are certainly going after some athletic (and tall) posts and power forwards. With those recruits, it seems that Whalen & Co. will be more likely to go with a traditional lineup instead of the 4-guard lineup preferred by Stollings. The fact that the "bigs" the Gophers are recruiting are quite athletic should serve this program well in the future.
 



No mention of Hubbard in the article. Is she still on the team?
 

Shades said:
No mention of Hubbard in the article. Is she still on the team?
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Diva is in the "eve of first practice video:

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tripledouble said:
I am anxious to see if Kenisha Bell can ramp up her defense a bit. She is certainly tall enough and athletic enough to be a very good defender , and with her ability to run the court, she could key a lot of transition baskets. .
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Is this what you want?

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The part of defense I appreciate the most is ball and shot denial, especially against the players that are more likely to hurt you. Leaving your feet for a block can be spectacular, but can also make you vulnerable to foul calls. What I don’t want to see is key players getting into foul trouble because they’re playing reckless defense. That’s something I rarely had to worry about under Stollings.
 

Take some risks and soon they will perfect the shot denials.

What I am hoping to see is a team that is a fast transition defensive team who can run and gun in fast breaks.
 

You also don't want to handcuff instincts. Bell has the hustle and athleticism to be a great defender. I'm willing to live with the occasional out of control charge or turnover because she has shown the ability (more last year) to not like it turn into 2-3 mistakes or into a 8-8 turnover game like she did the year before. Plus I trust this staff will do a better job and sitting her for a few minutes to refocus and calm down.

we have all complained about playing no defense the last three seasons, lets not be picky about how aggressive of defense we will be playing. lets just be appreciative that they will be playing some for now.

Shades said:
The part of defense I appreciate the most is ball and shot denial, especially against the players that are more likely to hurt you. Leaving your feet for a block can be spectacular, but can also make you vulnerable to foul calls. What I don’t want to see is key players getting into foul trouble because they’re playing reckless defense. That’s something I rarely had to worry about under Stollings.
Click to expand...
 




Hoops, you're right in saying that Bell's defense shouldn't be a concern. She was a good defender last year. But, I still think she can improve her defense substantially, and, if she can, it should key the Gophers defense and transition offense. And from a personal standpoint, she'll have a much better shot at playing in the WNBA if she can become a great defender.
 

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