GS: You work with the post players. How would you assess that position group?
DOB: "I love coaching our posts. I know that I've been fortunate to coach some really good post players in these first two years. Still to this day, I say that I really have so much respect for
Annalese Lamke because she had a dream senior season after not having such a dreamy three years prior. Being able to coach a traditional Big Ten low-post, back-to-the-basket post player that first year was really fun and a great gift. Certainly watching
Taiye Bello's development over the two seasons was really fun because I think Taiye grew into her skill set and it was very evident to our team, obviously, but it was also evident to our opponents. We've talked to other coaches and just the way she was able to grow her game to be able to face up on the perimeter this last season, where she wasn't able to do that her junior season was really fun to see.
"As a group, I think we're still evolving how we're going to play. I think we spent a lot of time this season with one traditional post on the floor. Not many of us would've projected Taiye being our "5" player this year at 6'1. So that's the fun part of what we're doing in terms of recruiting and building a roster and player development is I think there will be more times where we'll have two traditional post players on the floor which will help with the rebounding. We don't anticipate one player coming in and replacing Taiye's double-double average, so we'll have to do that by committee. I'm excited for our post group. I've been really pleased with our development and just realize that with so many young posts coming in, and Klarke (Sconiers), Grace (Cumming) and Barbora (Tomancova) continuing to develop, I think we have a real chance to establish Minnesota post play as something formidable."
GS: You also do a lot with setting up the team's schedule each season. What's your philosophy when it comes to that?
DOB: "We realize that the Big Ten schedule, in and of itself, is stout so we try to be strategic in November and December. Minnesota resources our program extremely well so our goal is to go to some tropical destination every other year for a Thanksgiving tournament, so we're excited this Thanksgiving to be going to the Battle 4 Atlantis in The Bahamas. In those off years that we're not traveling to some place on a beach, we would be at home for Thanksgiving so that our players' families and fans can be part of hopefully a two-game homestand that weekend. So by the time you figure out what you're doing for Thanksgiving in those years you're going to a tropical destination, which typically include a field of high-caliber teams, and then you have the Big Ten/ACC Challenge game in December, you already have three or four non-conference games that are really going to help you get ready for the Big Ten.
"We've also taken a position where Coach Whalen has taken an interest in renewing some of these regional rivalries. We've started doing that and we're excited to continue that. Eventually we'll start taking some more trips to areas where our players are from; this past season we went out to Washington D.C. for two games. We obviously play at Rutgers on a regular basis and maybe that would satisfy Klarke's trip home to Queens, but we might play another school in the city so that her family doesn't have to drive very far. So we'll start seeing some of these trips for our players to play in front of their family and friends at their local universities, as well."
