B1G Game 11: Gophers Host Rutgers (2-3-19)

[tripledouble]

Oops, I posted before I intended to. A couple of additional thoughts re: Lamke. She must not be totally healthy or we would not have seen K. Bello get the minutes she got when Pitts was in foul trouble. I would normally prefer the four guard lineup, but not sure with this group. If the Gophers intend to do that, Perez is going to have to become more of an offensive factor, including looking to take shots. I like the full court pressure the team applies when Perez is in, however.

On another note, which I could place in another thread, but I'm too lazy. On last week's coaches show, Whalen noted that Hubbard might be done for the year. I thought it was interesting that soon after she said that when they went to a commercial, they showed a video clip of Hubbard guarding someone in practice. I am presuming that clip was from this season, but not totally sure. I'm wondering if the staff (and Hubbard) have decided to pull the plug on this year and start anew next year. Foot injuries can be somewhat tricky. Did we ever determine if she could play the rest of this year and still apply for a redshirt for this season or is that not a possibility. If she cannot get a redshirt for this year if she plays, then I vote that they put her on the shelf for the rest of the year. My feeling is this team doesn't have the talent (even with her) to make the NCAA tourney this year and I'd rather save her for next year.

[Ignatius L Hoops]

Maybe I missed it, but has it been discussed why Lamke has been getting reduced minutes the last two games? Is she dealing with an injury or has the coaching staff just decided to go in that new direction? Someone previously mentioned that she was in a boot, but then she did play some minutes in the first half of the Rutgers game and I thought she looked healthy. Anyone know?

I don't think an injury caused the two turnovers in four minutes. It's tough to find good matchups for Lamke against Rutgers. Kehinde Bello had one turnover in four minutes. Her turnover was a direct pass to a Rutger's player after a nice rebound. Whalen obviously didn't appear comfortable putting Lamke and K Bello on the court and inviting the defense to swarm to them.

[fanfromthevalley]

Oops, I posted before I intended to. A couple of additional thoughts re: Lamke. She must not be totally healthy or we would not have seen K. Bello get the minutes she got when Pitts was in foul trouble. I would normally prefer the four guard lineup, but not sure with this group. If the Gophers intend to do that, Perez is going to have to become more of an offensive factor, including looking to take shots. I like the full court pressure the team applies when Perez is in, however.

On another note, which I could place in another thread, but I'm too lazy. On last week's coaches show, Whalen noted that Hubbard might be done for the year. I thought it was interesting that soon after she said that when they went to a commercial, they showed a video clip of Hubbard guarding someone in practice. I am presuming that clip was from this season, but not totally sure. I'm wondering if the staff (and Hubbard) have decided to pull the plug on this year and start anew next year. Foot injuries can be somewhat tricky. Did we ever determine if she could play the rest of this year and still apply for a redshirt for this season or is that not a possibility. If she cannot get a redshirt for this year if she plays, then I vote that they put her on the shelf for the rest of the year. My feeling is this team doesn't have the talent (even with her) to make the NCAA tourney this year and I'd rather save her for next year.

There was a previous reply or thread that noted no redshirt option if you miss a part of the season at the beginning and then start playing later in the season. So, I, too, would say keep Hubbard off the court to totally heal and get the redshirt for her. In that coaches show, Whalen was pretty certain sounding about her not coming back this season. I was not watching closely enough to see if that was a current or past practice clip.

[whalenfan]

I think Kehindes minutes came from Kaposi who didnt see any minutes. Lamke is dealing with an ankle injury so they likely wanna keep her stints on the court short.

[CutDownTheNet]

That is correct. Hubbard may apply for a medical red shirt, which would almost certainly be granted. But now, in the second half of the season, my understanding of the somewhat obtuse rules is that if she plays even one minute then she forfeits her red shirt ability. If Whalen is starting to talk "done for the season," that pretty much means she too thinks using her is a waste of a season of eligibility on what now looks more and more like a non NCAA post season.

Not only did Lamke throw the ball away twice, I think (just about) every pass to her was a turnover as well (perhaps more on the thrower than the catcher). Anyway, it was 4 minutes of turnover magnet. So next shift, K. Bello got the nod. She got a turnover and 2 rebounds but gave up an end-of-shot-clock three point play including the foul. So then it was back to four guards.

The Lamke not starting thing has (I believe) more to do with deciding to play mostly four-guard rotations against certain teams. The rotation has dynamically flowed between three and four-guard sets all year, but three guards plus a C and a PF for most of the time. We'll see two-post sets again, mostly against tall teams. But the T. Bello plus four guards arrangement is working quite well offensively against suitable opponents, so I think we'll see a lot more of that. With Irene in there, we're much faster and better/faster defenders too, plus more 3-point shooting threats. And we've proven we can press with that outfit too. So we might look more like a Stollings team from here on out. With one difference. Whalen will put in two posts if the situation calls for it, whereas Stollings was religiously opposed to that idea, and lost games for the team due to such religious-fervor based coaching errors.

[EaganGopher22]

I think that Whalen is still looking to win and not yet looking to next year. Otherwise, one would think she would want to play Staples and Byrne more instead of Perez. That said, I agree that she may also want to save a year of Hubbard at this point.