Jackie Johnson, 6-2 post from Eden Prairie, was the 3rd and final signee for the year. Rated as the #1 player in the class of 2012, her verbal was received late last summer with sighs of relief among Minnesota high school and Gopher fans.
It has been pointed out, of course, that she is unlikely to play the post in college as Big 10 posts nowadays tend to run in the 6-4 to 6-7 range. The Gophers' current posts are Katie Loberg (6-4) and Amber Dvorak (6-7). If seniority were to hold sway, Loberg would start this year (which is what she is doing) and next.
The picture for 2014 is murky. Johnson will be a 6-2 sophomore while Micaella Riche will be a 6-2 senior. If 6-2 is too short for a Gopher or a Big 10 post, then you'd have to count Riche out, and yet she's been solid thus far (OK, just 2 exhibitions) as Loberg's back-up in the post. Maybe by 2014, the Gophers will also have 6-8 freshman Savanna Trapp of Esko (high school class of 2013) to pick from. But if Johnson's not the future solution in the post, it's getting to be about time for Borton to recruit somebody who is.
But seriously, you'd think that Johnson's optimal position would be the 4. She has the quickness and the shot to do that, while the 3 might be a little too far from the hoop. It will be a surprise if she is not a top contributor to the Gophers before she's done.
The jury is a little more out on guards Mikayla Bailey and Shayne Mullaney. Bailey, 5-8, from Osseo, is only rated the #19 high school senior in the state and the #11 guard. And, offensively, it's true, she's not one of the most gifted of 2012 guards, as she scored 10 points per game last year on an assortment of 3s, drives to the hoops and layups off of defensive prowess--hers and her teammates' at Osseo.
If she's a C as a scorer (maybe a B in transition), and she's a B as a ball-handler and distributor, she's an A on defense. She may be a roll player, but she'll be a roll player with a roll.
Then there's Shayne Mullaney, 5-8, from Eden Prairie. Some who've criticized the signing of Bailey are also lukewarm on Mullaney. Well, I remember when she was rated as about the #17 or #18 sophomore in the state and Tessa Cichy was #1. Now Mullaney is the #5 senior guard and Cichy #6. So this has been a volatile class.
But I think of Mullaney as a poor man's Rachel Banham, which is to say a combo guard who can handle the ball, set up the offense, set up your scorers and...oh, yes, not incidentally...put the ball in the hole herself. She was a 58 percent shooter as a junior. And, sure, she shot a lot of lay-ups but you're going to hold that against her? She can penetrate. But she can also pop the 3.
But of course you're saying, but, wait. She's the #5 senior guard? Why didn't the Gophers get 1 of the other 4? Kali Peschel of Sauk Centre, for example, who's got size (6-1) and who scores some 25 ppg? Well, she's not a Big 10 ball-handler. She'll have to be at least a 2 though I suspect that her foot speed makes her more of a 3. A good 3, perhaps, but not a guard. (She's going to Iowa, so we will find out how she stacks up with Mullaney and vice versa.)
But then there's the #2 guard, Marissa Janning of Watertown-Mayer, who was consistently rated as the #1 girl in her class as a freshman and sophomore. She's a solid offensive player with great explosiveness and quickness. And she's definitely a 2. She might be better than Mullaney and she might not. And, when in doubt, Mullaney's versatility might be the tie-breaker.
#3 is Sydney Coffey who does everything really really well except shoot it. #4 is Brittney Scherber is a great ball-handler and distributor but her slightly stature could be a problem.
Which of these girls is obviously better than Mullaney. Once upon a time, you would have said Janning. Then Cichy. Now, it's not clear. In a couple of years Alexis Foley (White Bear Lake and Illinois State) might be the answer. Personally, I like Mullaney.
Of course, she won't be called upon to start as a freshman, as Rachel Banham and Leah Cotton are the obvious candidates for next year. Then in 2014 it will be Banham and either Mullaney or Sari Noga or somebody from 2013 (Becca Dahlman or Nia Coffey), and in 2015 Banham and Mullaney or somebody from 2013 (again), unless Kenisha Bell and/or Grace Coughlin are ready to contribute as freshmen which seems doubtful. Alex Ionescu, maybe?
So if you're a Gopher fan, get used to the idea of Shayne Mullaney as a significant competitor to the Gopher program. There's a lot of guards in the Gophers' present and future, but nobody else (except Mikayla Bailey, of course) is positioned to run with Rachel Banham for 3 years. Think of her finally, then, as the 2nd coming of Shannon Schonrock, if you like.
And, now, on to the 2013s where the air is thick with intrigue.
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