Dear Amanda, I write to you as a long-time avid fan of the Gopher womenâÄôs basketball team. As you are undoubtedly aware, there are many of us. I would like to take a stab at representing my fellow fans. If it is not too late, we encourage you to reconsider your decision to leave the University of Minnesota after your sophomore year in order to turn professional. We congratulate you for the tremendous season that you turned in. You played an important role in orchestrating an incredible turnaround for your team. We thank you for reinvigorating our passionate support for Gophers womenâÄôs basketball. We have been led to believe that the âÄúBuckets for BanhamâÄù campaign was your inspiration. If true, that says a lot about the leader that you are. It was a very thoughtful gesture to a teammate, and it served as an effective rallying cry for your team. However, Rachel Banham will be back to complete her final season next year. How could you not be there to enjoy that season with her that held so much promise? There are a number of characteristics of womenâÄôs athletics that lead us to be as supportive of them, if not more so, than for menâÄôs athletics. One of those characteristics is that we can count on enjoying the experience of watching the great players for four years. Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi and Lindsay Whalen are just a few examples. Generally speaking, those women were student-athletes who earned their degrees. We can still envision a Zahui B. banner adorning the rafters of Williams Arena someday. Please reconsider. Thank you.