MINNEAPOLIS (AP) 鈥� When Sophie Hart decided about three years ago to transfer home to , her then-teammates at North Carolina State sent her off with a clever nickname.
Soph the Goph.
Hart’s father liked it so much he spearheaded a T-shirt line. The merch has been a hot item during her final college season, culminating with the program’s resurgence and return as a .
The 6-foot-5 Hart has helped the Gophers, who are ranked 18th in the latest , reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018. They’re the No. 4 seed in their quartile of the bracket and will play Green Bay in the first round at Williams Arena on Friday.
Hart, who was Minnesota’s winner of the Big Ten sportsmanship awards, is averaging 10.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, both career highs. Her drop-step move on the low block and finishing touch at the basket has become a vital part of a balanced Gophers offense, and her ball skills have continued to be sharpened.
鈥淲hen I鈥檓 about to pass it, I always yell her name and she whips her head around, so I’m thinking it might not get there, but then she always comes up with it,” guard Tori McKinney said. 鈥淚鈥檓 so thankful for her. I honestly love having her on the team, I’m super sad it鈥檚 her last season, but she鈥檚 been doing everything to her best ability.鈥�
Hart has become a deft passer out of the post, too, finding backdoor cutters and spot-up shooters with ease.
鈥淚 love to see her doing more than one thing. You can鈥檛 really guard that,鈥� McKinney said Thursday. 鈥淚t makes it a lot more challenging, so it works great for us.鈥�
Hart, who was a standout at Farmington High School about 30 miles south of the university, played sparingly at North Carolina State before departing during the 2022-23 season and committing to Minnesota under then-coach Lindsay Whalen. When in March 2023 and , Hart stuck with her decision and has since enjoyed three years of on-court development and off-court delight.
鈥淭his group is so fun to play with,鈥� Hart said. 鈥淐oming home, it鈥檚 neat to be able to go home for all those little moments. I was able to go to my sister’s bachelorette party, go home for dad鈥檚 birthday. Then you go to games, and my elementary school nurse comes, my third grade teacher comes. It鈥檚 a community behind you.鈥�
Plitzuweit was well aware of Hart, having recruited Minnesota heavily when she was the coach at South Dakota. She talked to Hart about coming to West Virginia when she was there, before taking the Minnesota job. Plitzuweit’s daughter even played against Hart on the summer tournament circuit.
鈥淛ust her resilience, her toughness, her awareness has continued to get better all along,鈥� Plitzuweit said, noting Hart’s eye for details and penchant for delivering feedback to the coaching staff.
When the Gophers, for example, were handed the official scouting report for Green Bay, Hart needled Plitzuweit for making the margins on the page too small.
鈥淚 was like, 鈥楤ut the font is bigger than normal,鈥欌�� Plitzuweit said, with only mild protest. 鈥淪o evidently I messed that up this time. I’m working on that. She makes sure that she keeps us in check.鈥�
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