|
Post by zero-rotation outside hitter on Nov 12, 2023 16:54:39 GMT -5
Haven’t followed much of The Gophers this year … appears it’s been a struggle. So question is I guess … if you are a top high school player and want to win, why do you come to Minnesota? If you are already here and want to win, why do you stay? Not trying to be gloom and doom but aren’t those the two pressing questions for this coaching staff? Watching the fifth set of IU match. Missed the first but McKenna hasn’t played at all, Hanson has played relatively well. Cook IS using a DS finally and effectively. Taylor should be four rotations, she’s a liability in the back row and she only swings with full power 20% of the time, no idea why as that’s her only real weapon. Boyfriend or not, McKenna has played really well on the national teams, tournament mvp at least twice, and not playing her just makes me wonder when the transfer portal opens for volleyball. Watched via live stream the Wayzata win, New Prague really played them pretty well. Both the Swenson twins will help MN next year. Reuse’s column today noted that recruiting just got a lot harder with the west coast teams coming in - which I’ve been saying since that happened, if you can play in the best volleyball conference in the country why not do it in warmer weather? I think the conference erred in choosing money over keeping the conference relevant in other than men’s sports. I believe a respective school's climate is astronomically overrated on this forum in regard to claims that recruiting will be tougher in the B1G with the addition of west coast schools. Someone please offer an example of a top-10 recruit stating that their decision was based on the weather (and who was otherwise NOT ALSO considering other schools where it sometimes snows).
|
|
|
Post by genej101 on Nov 12, 2023 17:05:59 GMT -5
Watching the fifth set of IU match. Missed the first but McKenna hasn’t played at all, Hanson has played relatively well. Cook IS using a DS finally and effectively. Taylor should be four rotations, she’s a liability in the back row and she only swings with full power 20% of the time, no idea why as that’s her only real weapon. Boyfriend or not, McKenna has played really well on the national teams, tournament mvp at least twice, and not playing her just makes me wonder when the transfer portal opens for volleyball. Watched via live stream the Wayzata win, New Prague really played them pretty well. Both the Swenson twins will help MN next year. Reuse’s column today noted that recruiting just got a lot harder with the west coast teams coming in - which I’ve been saying since that happened, if you can play in the best volleyball conference in the country why not do it in warmer weather? I think the conference erred in choosing money over keeping the conference relevant in other than men’s sports. I believe a respective school's climate is astronomically overrated on this forum in regard to claims that recruiting will be tougher in the B1G with the addition of west coast schools. Someone please offer an example of a top-10 recruit stating that their decision was based on the weather (and who was otherwise NOT ALSO considering other schools where it sometimes snows). Well, we’ve never had this situation before, so how could we know? At least in volleyball, the BIG is the best conference, whether it affects recruiting is yet to be seen, probably not for NE, WI, Penn State, the rest of us? We’ll find out.
|
|
|
Post by zero-rotation outside hitter on Nov 12, 2023 17:12:24 GMT -5
I believe a respective school's climate is astronomically overrated on this forum in regard to claims that recruiting will be tougher in the B1G with the addition of west coast schools. Someone please offer an example of a top-10 recruit stating that their decision was based on the weather (and who was otherwise NOT ALSO considering other schools where it sometimes snows). Well, we’ve never had this situation before, so how could we know? At least in volleyball, the BIG is the best conference, whether it affects recruiting is yet to be seen, probably not for NE, WI, Penn State, the rest of us? We’ll find out. What??? We've never had a school with warmer weather than Minnesota? Certainly it's not a new concept that a recruit could consider one school over the other in the past, say forty(?), years based on weather? Some recruits have gone to Texas, San Diego, UCLA, Florida, Arizona. Some have gone to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Penn Sate, Pittsburgh. All PRIOR to the B1G change. Provide an example where any of those recruits that went to warmer schools have stated their choice was based on weather.
|
|
|
Post by BigDigEnergy on Nov 12, 2023 17:38:59 GMT -5
Watching Nebraska clobber Illinois and see Jordan Larson is now an assistant coach for John Cook. SHE is the kind of coach, experience or not (she was a coach on the floor, college, pro, Athlete’s Unlimited) I wanted MN to find. I will never understand why Hugh was not on the selection committee to replace himself. I’d happily say goodby to Keegan and replace him with Jordan Larson if she’d accept the job at the end of this season. Just my opinion, despite the win today. She can recruit with anyone I am certain, any elite athlete would love to play for her. WHAT!!! ![???](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/huh.png) You gotta slow down…. That’s personally quite an outrageous statement. So glad you are not the Gopher AD hahah.
|
|
|
Post by skolgophers on Nov 12, 2023 17:47:59 GMT -5
Watching Nebraska clobber Illinois and see Jordan Larson is now an assistant coach for John Cook. SHE is the kind of coach, experience or not (she was a coach on the floor, college, pro, Athlete’s Unlimited) I wanted MN to find. I will never understand why Hugh was not on the selection committee to replace himself. I’d happily say goodby to Keegan and replace him with Jordan Larson if she’d accept the job at the end of this season. Just my opinion, despite the win today. She can recruit with anyone I am certain, any elite athlete would love to play for her. WHAT!!! ![???](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/huh.png) You gotta slow down…. That’s personally quite an outrageous statement. So glad you are not the Gopher AD hahah. Yeahhh lol I’m not understanding the logistics behind that. Why would you bring in someone with no coaching experience to take over for one of the most successful volleyball coaches in not only the NCAA, but also with the national team? Just because she is a big name does not make her a good option as Hugh’s successor.
|
|
|
Post by courtwatchers on Nov 12, 2023 17:50:21 GMT -5
This weather concept about Minnesota drives me crazy. People make it sound like the SNOW GODS only have the State of Minnesota in mind, when it comes to that beautiful white fluffy stuff every winter.
|
|
|
Post by ugopher on Nov 12, 2023 18:14:30 GMT -5
Watching Nebraska clobber Illinois and see Jordan Larson is now an assistant coach for John Cook. SHE is the kind of coach, experience or not (she was a coach on the floor, college, pro, Athlete’s Unlimited) I wanted MN to find. I will never understand why Hugh was not on the selection committee to replace himself. I’d happily say goodby to Keegan and replace him with Jordan Larson if she’d accept the job at the end of this season. Just my opinion, despite the win today. She can recruit with anyone I am certain, any elite athlete would love to play for her. How do you know she can recruit? She hasn't had to do so before. Find it interesting that you want to replace a proven head coach with someone with no coaching experience simply because that person was a great player. Lindsey Whalen ring a bell? Is anyone hearing of dissent among the players due to the coaching staff? I haven't but I'm not close to the program as, I suspect, most on this forum are not as well.
|
|
|
Post by ugopher on Nov 12, 2023 18:19:06 GMT -5
For those who say that the MN climate will hurt MN recruiting, may I remind you that one 2025 recruit is from Florida and another is from Texas.
|
|
|
Post by BigDigEnergy on Nov 12, 2023 18:57:29 GMT -5
WHAT!!! ![???](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/huh.png) You gotta slow down…. That’s personally quite an outrageous statement. So glad you are not the Gopher AD hahah. Yeahhh lol I’m not understanding the logistics behind that. Why would you bring in someone with no coaching experience to take over for one of the most successful volleyball coaches in not only the NCAA, but also with the national team? Just because she is a big name does not make her a good option as Hugh’s successor. Yeah it absolutely makes $&#*$*$ no sense. I love and respect Larson but there is no way she is ready to be the head coach at this level. We don’t even know if this is something she will enjoy doing.
|
|
|
Post by BigDigEnergy on Nov 12, 2023 18:58:25 GMT -5
For those who say that the MN climate will hurt MN recruiting, may I remind you that one 2025 recruit is from Florida and another is from Texas. And we have many former gophers coming from those states.
|
|
|
Post by genej101 on Nov 12, 2023 20:12:50 GMT -5
Well, we’ve never had this situation before, so how could we know? At least in volleyball, the BIG is the best conference, whether it affects recruiting is yet to be seen, probably not for NE, WI, Penn State, the rest of us? We’ll find out. What??? We've never had a school with warmer weather than Minnesota? Certainly it's not a new concept that a recruit could consider one school over the other in the past, say forty(?), years based on weather? Some recruits have gone to Texas, San Diego, UCLA, Florida, Arizona. Some have gone to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Penn Sate, Pittsburgh. All PRIOR to the B1G change. Provide an example where any of those recruits that went to warmer schools have stated their choice was based on weather. I never said anyone did. I said that playing in the best volleyball conference in the nation provides a recruiting tool for USC and UCLA that they didn’t have prior to the expansion. That’s what might affect recruiting in the future. We’ll have to wait and see. That and I don’t see Keegan continuing the record Mike Hebert and Hugh set, I just don’t. Meredith Nelson (one of our best middles ever who also coached SSS, Paige, Hannah and Sarah to that club national title) does color on a lot of our games and she’s wondered aloud at some of the things he’s done too. Not critically, not her job, just wondering, so have I. I’ve been a season ticket holder here since the late 90’s and I really want that story to continue. I don’t think this coach and this expansion will help that. I’d love to be wrong and live to see it as I’m long retired.
|
|
|
Post by genej101 on Nov 12, 2023 20:22:40 GMT -5
Watching Nebraska clobber Illinois and see Jordan Larson is now an assistant coach for John Cook. SHE is the kind of coach, experience or not (she was a coach on the floor, college, pro, Athlete’s Unlimited) I wanted MN to find. I will never understand why Hugh was not on the selection committee to replace himself. I’d happily say goodby to Keegan and replace him with Jordan Larson if she’d accept the job at the end of this season. Just my opinion, despite the win today. She can recruit with anyone I am certain, any elite athlete would love to play for her. How do you know she can recruit? She hasn't had to do so before. Find it interesting that you want to replace a proven head coach with someone with no coaching experience simply because that person was a great player. Lindsey Whalen ring a bell? Is anyone hearing of dissent among the players due to the coaching staff? I haven't but I'm not close to the program as, I suspect, most on this forum are not as well. If she’s patient enough, she’s likely John Cook’s heir at Nebraska. She’s had one of the most successful careers in volleyball history every girl playing at any level knows her name and would love to play for her. She’d have no trouble coaching. She was all everything at every level she’s played at, including running her own team (and winning everything) in the first season of AU. Yes, Lindsay rang a bell, I saw all of her games when she played for the Gophers and many with the Sun and Lynx as well. I think Coyle pulled the plug too soon on her, this amazing sophomore class is HERS. Something else went on there, don’t know what. I don’t know if there’s any dissent on the team, only that they are not at all what we’ve come to expect - that’s on Hugh, he has some bench players who really aren’t D1 level, his leaving (and I don’t blame him for that, his kids are at playing ages now) left Keegan with a scarcity of talent. We’ll have to see how he does filling the holes because the conference is not going to be easier next year. Or ever, I hope. I love seeing six teams in the top 25 and I love it even more when we’re one of them.
|
|
|
Post by genej101 on Nov 12, 2023 20:26:11 GMT -5
This weather concept about Minnesota drives me crazy. People make it sound like the SNOW GODS only have the State of Minnesota in mind, when it comes to that beautiful white fluffy stuff every winter. I grew up on a farm an hour north of the cities, I’m 74, I know all about the snow, though we’ve not had a bad winter really this century. I hope Keegan is a coach great kids will want to play for, we don’t have quite the development program Nebraska does but Minnesota produces a lot of 1 level talent. Keeping them home will be key and with his contacts elsewhere bringing in kids like Samedy who left Florida to play for Hugh is going to be important. At my age, I’m impatient, I want to see as much success as possible while I’m still here to see it. :^)
|
|
|
Post by genej101 on Nov 12, 2023 20:30:36 GMT -5
Yeahhh lol I’m not understanding the logistics behind that. Why would you bring in someone with no coaching experience to take over for one of the most successful volleyball coaches in not only the NCAA, but also with the national team? Just because she is a big name does not make her a good option as Hugh’s successor. Yeah it absolutely makes $&#*$*$ no sense. I love and respect Larson but there is no way she is ready to be the head coach at this level. We don’t even know if this is something she will enjoy doing. She’s doing it right now at Nebraska, and getting experience at the highest level sitting next to John Cook - I expect him to coach a good while, but if she stays there, she’s the heir apparent I bet. I’m thinking maybe you didn’t see her the one year she played with AU? She was the points leader the whole year, so drafted and coached her own team there, won everything and got to play with Sheila as that was her last season. I just don’t think for a second she won’t be a great coach and her resume will have kids lining up to play for her. Down the road maybe but I’d put money on that.
|
|
|
Post by gazelle1 on Nov 12, 2023 20:46:47 GMT -5
Yeah it absolutely makes $&#*$*$ no sense. I love and respect Larson but there is no way she is ready to be the head coach at this level. We don’t even know if this is something she will enjoy doing. She’s doing it right now at Nebraska, and getting experience at the highest level sitting next to John Cook - I expect him to coach a good while, but if she stays there, she’s the heir apparent I bet. I’m thinking maybe you didn’t see her the one year she played with AU? She was the points leader the whole year, so drafted and coached her own team there, won everything and got to play with Sheila as that was her last season. I just don’t think for a second she won’t be a great coach and her resume will have kids lining up to play for her. Down the road maybe but I’d put money on that. Dani Busboom-Kelly, the current head coach at Louisville, will likely be the next Nebraska head volleyball coach, though I think it probably won't be for another 3-5 years. Cook is 67 but has shown no signs of slowing down, nor has he given any public indication he is ready to retire. Jordan Larson is still a full-time player and only a part time coach. This fall she was with the US national team in Europe qualifying for the Olympics, so she missed the first month of the college season. She will play pro ball in the spring, and next summer she will be with the Olympic team in France for the Summer Olympics. She is a great player without a doubt, but I think it is yet to be seen whether she will become a great coach.
|
|