1st Practice

Ignatius L Hoops

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Oh no! Hope it’s nothing serious.
 

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Did Bell lose that muscle mass she gained from last year? She’s looking skinny.
 

https://kstp.com/sports/lindsay-whalen-first-practice-as-gophers-coach/5092271/

KSTP video: Whalen runs successful first practice.

Coach Lindsay Whalen of the Gophers women's hoops team conducted her first practice of the 2018-2019 season on Monday, and KSTP Sports was there.

***Click the video box above to hear from Whalen and to see video of her in action***

One change from the previous regime is Whalen is installing man-to-man defense, vs. the zone they typically played under Marlene Stollings.

Stollings is now the head coach at Texas Tech, and led the Gophers to their first NCAA Tournament win in 9-years last year. Whalen likes the returning talent, most notably senior Kenisha Bell and Destiny Pitts, who was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year last year.

Pitts noted after practice that Whalen already is emphasizing defense more than she's used to -- the Gophers took a foreign trip in August, so were allotted 10 summer practices before traveling, plus the normal offseason work allowed under the NCAA rules. The Gophers played three games in Europe too, and won all three.

Pitts also said that the Gophers studied a lot of what the Lynx did this summer, since coach Whalen will have a similar style to coach Cheryl Reeve.

Bell said she could've left as a graduate transfer, but was instantly on-board when Whalen was announced as the hire.
 

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Doesn't seem like there's going to be any lack of media attention for the ladies this year. No surprise. I love it.
 



And it's great to be talking Gopher women's hoops again. I'm an avid fan of both the Gopher men's and women's hoops teams, and I'm hoping for a couple of NCAA tourney appearances this year.
 



http://www.startribune.com/new-goph...runs-upbeat-intense-first-practice/494862741/

More from the Strib's Youngblood:


The University of Minnesota women’s basketball team’s first full practice of the fall was well underway Monday in its shiny, new fifth-floor facility. On different points of the court, assistant coaches Carly Thibault-Dudonis, Danielle O’Banion and Kelly Roysland were working with players.

On the sideline, near the floor-to-ceiling windows on the north end of the court, head coach Lindsay Whalen was in discussion with senior guard Kenisha Bell.

Anyone who watched Whalen during her years in the WNBA with the Lynx will remember how often she and coach Cheryl Reeve stood, off to the side, talking. So Monday there was a feeling of continuity.

A coach and her guard, sharing a vision. And it hit home, Whalen, deep into preparation for her first year as head coach, has truly made the transition.

She’s the coach now. Not the player.

...

Talking to the players, there was a marked difference in the energy of the practice, at least compared to last year.

“It’s very intense, it’s very competitive as well,” Bell said. “It gets everybody moving. We have more fun while doing it, ’cause everybody wants to win.”

Said sophomore Destiny Pitts: “The coaches bring it. They are able to demonstrate drills to us if we’re not understanding something. Our team is really excited to start something new. We have a good bond with our coaches.”

Much of the drills in practice were on defense, with Whalen intent on making the Gophers — a zone team last season — a tough man-to-man team, something both Pitts and Bell enthusiastically endorsed.

“We’ve all bought in,” Pitts said.

That said, there is still a learning curve here, for both players and coaches.
 






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