2023-24 Big Ten Women's Basketball Preview: Minnesota
Can a new coach find success with another young, talented Gopher roster?
As said last week, I think today’s preview starts a new tier of teams in the Big Ten. While I don’t necessarily anticipate NCAA Tournament bids from these next couple of teams, there is a lot more to be excited for with them this season, as well as beyond, and I would not count out postseason play for any of them.
This team in particular, I feel I may have a lot to say about as far as high ceilings go.
Last Week’s Preview:
Overview
Last year’s Minnesota team was, unless everything broke exactly right, never meant to make a splash in year one, and year one was exactly what it felt like for that roster. Despite head coach Lindsay Whalen entering her fifth season with the team, it was a roster that returned just three players from the year prior, and was absolutely loaded with young talent.
Highlighting that young talent was Minnesota’s recruiting class, which ranked 10th nationally according to ESPN. All those new faces meant Whalen had quite the task ahead of her, and even with a lot of talent on the roster, she never was able to put it together.
Minnesota’s 11 wins were the second lowest of Whalen’s tenure, and that was in spite of a pretty good offense and relentlessly fast pace of play. That’s because — as has been the case with every Whalen team besides her first season — the defense was very, very poor, and the offense was not all that efficient.
The results led to Whalen being forced out under… odd circumstances. Now look, Lindsay Whalen the player is an all-time great, a true legend of Minnesota athletics. But Lindsay Whalen the coach left a whole lot to be desired. She consistently coached teams that played very uninspired basketball with lackluster defense, and it let some potential stars of the program either under develop or leave before it was able to get to that point.
Regardless of Whalen’s impressive history as a player, this change was needed, especially considering the crop of talent that Minnesota has right now. Now, it is up to Dawn Plitzuweit to get that done.
Plitzuweit heads to Minnesota after one season at West Virginia, with the large portion of her success coming at a very successful stint with South Dakota. At both stops, her teams played very efficient offensively by slowing the pace down. It would be a stark swap in styles for the Gophers, but it may unlock something in Minnesota’s top star, who struggled with efficiency, but had a highlight reel that shows just how high her ceiling can be.
We will get to that player, but let’s first discuss who is leaving the program along with Whalen.
Here's last year’s Minnesota roster, sorted by Her Hoop Stats win shares:
Departures
Yes, eight players from last year's team are gone, which is never an amount you’d want to see. But of the eight players, just one is leaving through the portal with more than one win share, with the losses of Katie Borowicz and Isabelle Gradwell being out of the team’s control.
That one loss — Rose Micheaux — is a big one though. Micheaux was one of the three returnees from Minnesota last season, and she blossomed in an expanded role. She was the Gophers’ top interior scorer and the team’s leading rebounder, and she ranked No. 40 in my end-of-year Hoopla 40 for her efforts.
Replacing Micheaux’s output will be difficult, as will replacing the key veteran depth that left with her in the portal. But Minnesota managed to retain all four members of that No. 10 recruiting class, a huge, HUGE win for Plitzuweit and co. all things considered.
Returnees and Transfers
The top player from that talented freshman class was Mara Braun, who led the team in scoring and win shares in her first year at the collegiate level. Braun’s freshman campaign — which ended in a conference All-Freshman selection and a No. 27 spot on my Hoopla 40 — was far from perfect, and her efficiency (36.7 FG%) will need to improve for her to reach her full potential.
That full potential for Braun, it’s something very few basketball players have. And sure, while Braun’s stats last year were good, she is best described in this way:
Shooting percentages be damned, Mara Braun is must-watch television, a player who has all the confidence in the world to take the big shots at the right moments from anywhere on the court. It’s the type of energy that makes her ceiling so glaringly obvious.
Braun is a hooper at heart, just finished a stint on Team USA’s 3x3 team and has a coach that specializes in getting the most out of her team’s offensive possessions. I think it could be a truly enormous year for the sophomore guard.
But Braun is just one member of that impressive four-player class. Mallory Heyer finished close behind her in win shares as a very solid alternative scoring option, especially from inside the arc. Her rebounding ability will grow even more important without Micheaux, and this should be an exciting duo to watch for all year.
Make it a trio. Amaya Battle filled up the box score in her first season and did so without any real threat of a deep ball. If she can find some outside scoring, or improve her shot making inside, this will be a hard team to stop offensively.
Niamya Holloway is the fourth member of the class, and we have not gotten to see her play yet due to injury. She was a top 100 player out of high school and could be competing for a starting spot from day one depending on how she has progressed.
Maggie Czinano is now the longest tenured Minnesota player as she enters her third season with the team. Her shooting still needs improvement, but she remains a well-rounded guard who is able to get to the free throw line with impressive consistency.
Aminata Zie is the final returnee, and she also was unavailable last year from injury. She came to Minnesota from the Juco level, and should give the Gophers some experienced depth at the five.
Minnesota has matched its eight departures with eight arrivals, two of which are through the transfer portal. Both of those transfer feel like they could make immediate impacts for different reasons.
That starts with veteran guard Janay Sanders, whose 83 collegiate starts is close to matching the total of Minnesota’s entire returning roster. Sanders is a lot like Czinano with the way she can get to the line, and her free throw attempt totals ranked 35th in the nation. She has not been an excellent shooter, but she has a knack for scoring and also brings something defensively this team will need.
Sophie Hart is a less accomplished collegiate player, but has 25 total games of experience at an accomplished NC State program, and is a former top 65 recruit. She has impressive and needed size (6-5) for this team, and could carve out a big role back in her home state, much like another NC State transfer — Genesis Bryant — did for Illinois last season.
Freshmen
Six first-year players are entering the fray in Plitzuweit’s first season at Minnesota, which is a great sign for the future growth of this program. Retaining a class of this size through a coaching swap, along with the four talented freshmen from the season prior, is more positive momentum than the Gophers felt at any point in Whalen’s tenure.
The big name in this class is Grace Grocholski, a top 100 prospect that put up monstrous numbers at Kettle Moraine. I think there’s a real chance she starts at the wing immediately for Minnesota, but at the least she should be earning substantial minutes off the bench to help right away.
Ajok Madol is another interesting option at the three, as she brings a lot of international experience as a part of Team Canada. Madol’s length and versatility should get her involved early, and leaves a lot of room for potential as she grows into the collegiate game.
McKynnlie Dalan and Ayianna Johnson both were excellent rebounders in high school and should help fill the loss of the veteran forward group, as will Kennedy Klick, who is one of two in-state signees to help Plitzuweit make her stamp on the vast talent within the state of Minnesota.
The other in-state get is Brynn Senden, who comes in as a preferred walk-on. Her chemistry with Braun could help get her some action off the bench as Braun will likely see some substantial minutes.
Outlook
Projected Starters
G - Amaya Battle
G - Mara Braun
G - Janay Sanders
F - Mallory Heyer
C - Sophie Hart
Projected Big Ten Finish: 11th
I’m really, really excited to watch this Minnesota team, even if it doesn’t lead to a huge outpouring of wins in Plitzuweit’s first season. The core of exciting talent from last year’s project is back, six new freshmen are entering the fray and it’s all under a new system that should yield better results than her predecessor.
This starting lineup has three no-brainers in Battle, Braun and Heyer, and I think Plitzuweit could go a lot of different directions for the other two spots. Sanders will see competition from Czinano, Grocholski and Modal, and Hart could be swapped out with Holloway if the Gophers want to go smaller.
The big question I have for Minnesota this year is how much their style of play will change immediately, or if Plitzuweit will keep the pace up more than she’s used to because of the style in the Big Ten. Pace aside, efficiency on offense is huge for this team and for the development of Braun, who has All-Big Ten levels written all over her.
But offense is just one piece of the puzzle, and it’s the piece that Minnesota has been solid at for years now. Plitzuweit spent one year at West Virginia, and its defense went up 70 spots in the national rankings. If that can happen with the Gophers, this team could truly compete for a WNIT spot at minimum.
The talent level in the Big Ten is so high that it’s hard to place Minnesota any higher than this simply because there is a large amount of unknown with this roster. A lot of the excitement I have is what I could see happening instead of what has already been proven, but that could feels much more realistic than it did a year ago with the needed changes that were made this offseason.
At worst, Minnesota is worth watching to see the talent, to see the new direction and to see a team that looks more ready than ever to get back to glory. At best, that time might be here if the sophomores take a big leap and Plitzuweit can establish a defensive identity.
One thing is certain though: The Minnesota Golden Gophers are worth your time this season.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Minnesota Athletics
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