Golden Nugz 11.17.11

by GopherNation on Nov 17, 2011 6:00 AM CST in Golden Nuggets

Who is excited to actually get to watch Gopher Basketball on TV tonight? I am! Although, I'm nervous about the game (I truly am) but I'm happy one will finally be on TV.

Marcus Fuller is profiling Rodney Williams and his defense (?). I haven't seen him play but I'm skeptical.
GopherSports.com has a quick Q&A with Nick Bjugstad.
NCAA.com is spotlighting Gopher Hockey who is back on top!
Congrats to Dan Monson's Long Beach State 49ers who controlled and hung on to beat #9 Pitt last night.
Gopher Volleyball is heading to Nebraska for a big match with the Huskers.
Ron Zook is getting testy with the media. I'd like to point out that I predicted at the beginning of the season that he would be fired shortly before the Gopher game. It may be that he'll get fired after we beat Illinois.
Fox Sports North highlights Duane Bennett who's Gopher career is coming to an end. He has been through a lot but is a stand-up guy and a good leader on this team.

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I remember when I first heard

Rodney and NBA in the same sentence and thought the only way that would happen would be as a defensive specialist. RW reminds me so much of Dennis Rodman at his age. RW’s offensive skills are what they will always be—-just ain’t gonna happen. But defense, with RW’s physical talents, is one area that can really be improved upon with hard work and dedication. I would encourage RW to embrace the role of “defensive stopper.” BTW, I hated the Rodman sideshow—-don’t go there Rodney please.

by Texas Gopher on Nov 17, 2011 7:50 AM CST reply actions

but through two years

he has been worse on defense than he was on offense. He has been clueless on the defensive end.

what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher

by GopherNation on Nov 17, 2011 9:21 AM CST up reply actions

GN

not sure I can agree with you on that. I think his D has improved more than his O. Granted, neither one has been much but he has more upside on the defensive side of things than the offensive.

by Texas Gopher on Nov 17, 2011 9:32 AM CST up reply actions

I don't get to see as much of the bball team...

…as I do of the football team, but I’d be inclined to agree with GN. It seems to me like his improvement is due more to his athleticism then actually getting much better as a defender when it comes to fundamental skills or aspects of D schemes.

by GoAUpher on Nov 17, 2011 9:46 AM CST up reply actions

Tubby's players develop defensively more than they do offensively

People don’t see it as much because it doesn’t end up in the box score but all of these guys have improved defensively since their freshman year.

by DJL44 on Nov 17, 2011 12:29 PM CST up reply actions

he has matured a little both physicall and just as a basketball player

but he is still the weak link defensively among the starters. He is athletic,but he does not understand defense.

what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher

by GopherNation on Nov 17, 2011 2:17 PM CST up reply actions

Don't know about that

He blocks shots and uses his length to get steals.

He’s not the best on the ball perimeter defender, but he does a lot that’s valuable on the defensive end of the floor.

by amiller92 on Nov 17, 2011 10:28 AM CST up reply actions

That's his athleticism though.

Not being good at understanding/executing the defensive scheme or possible issues with his fundamentals is where the “clueless” or “liability” type comments come in to play. Athleticism only gets you so far.

by GoAUpher on Nov 17, 2011 12:29 PM CST up reply actions

Don't get me wrong.

I love Rodney. But his inability to progress farther given his talents is both frustrating and concerning if he’s to be counted on as a key player.

by GoAUpher on Nov 17, 2011 12:30 PM CST up reply actions

on the ball D is OK

but away from the ball he loses his man, he gets caught on screens way too easy and he doesn’t provide much help if someone else gets beat. Blocking shots is a vastly overrated stat because guys like RW will wholesale leave his man to flying at a shot in an attempt to block it. Nevermind that for every block he records his man gets left open for an easy basket if the shooter decides to pass it.

what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher

by GopherNation on Nov 17, 2011 2:16 PM CST up reply actions

I have mixed emotions about finally being able to watch the Gophers tonight

Reasons for Excitement
1. Getting to see Andre Hollins and Joe Coleman in an actual game
2. Trying to determine what Oto and Julian can bring to the team
3. Watch Trevor dominate
4. Watch the Gophers get back to uptempo basketball

Reasons for Nervousness
1. Rodney
2. Ralph

If these two look like the players they were last year and haven’t improved over the summer than this team is going to struggle and it will be a long season. If they have than they shoot to the top of my excitement list and this season has tons of potential.

by tc_brent on Nov 17, 2011 8:49 AM CST reply actions

My take

Is don’t get too excited about Joe Coleman. He isn’t going to wow you, but he should hustle.

As for Rodney and Ralph, there issue is consistency. If they are good sometimes and terrible at other times. That was true last year and seems to this year as well so far.

by amiller92 on Nov 17, 2011 10:29 AM CST up reply actions

I am too TC....

excited to see them play live. I hope I am impressed based on my low expectations. I feel pretty confident we will come out and dominate this game and I’ll eat some crow. I’m okay with that. I hope that’s the case actually.

I’m also realizing as bad as this football season was, I’m already beginning to miss it, knowing it will end in a week. I’m optimistic about the future. Very optimistic. Excited even. Weather this weekend is supposed to be warm (mid 50’s) but rainy.

See y’all on the other side of tonight’s basketball game. Have a good one.

by jimipig on Nov 17, 2011 8:57 AM CST reply actions

And congrats to coach Monson!

Guy never took the low road while he was here, or when he was fired. I’ve always wished the best for him….and I’m glad he’s having success in a MUCH nicer climate than Minnesota! He deserves it. He seems like a genuinely good man and a good coach.

by jimipig on Nov 17, 2011 8:59 AM CST reply actions

Players...

could he just not handle the Rickerts and Humphries (duh) and big time recruiting?

His best team here was with Lawson, Arob, Hagen… otherwise he always seemed like he wasn’t prepared for the big time.

Yet he’s got a heckuva track record at Gonzaga and now LBSU.

by InflectionPoint on Nov 17, 2011 10:00 AM CST up reply actions

He is doing some serious shit

at LBSU….consider what he took over. 2007/2008 they won 6 games. Then 15 games. Then 17 games. Then 22 games. That is a positive TREND!!!!

He’s got X’s and O’s, and I just think he walked into a shit-show at MN (wasn’t our best player Vincent Greer?). No way he could turn down Humphries or Rickert, but both those guys were fucking cancers. How can you be great at X’s and O’s when you have two guys who think they are Lottery PIcks? Especially when you are trying to build a program from the death penalty?

I would take Monson as our coach in a fucking HEARTBEAT right now….to build our program without the handcuffs he had when he came last time. Absolutely I would. He is proving that Minnesota was the anomoly on his resume. And look at who he competes with for recruits…UCLA, USC, UNLV, the New Mexicos, Oregon, Washington/Washington State, even Pepperdine……

by jimipig on Nov 17, 2011 10:20 AM CST up reply actions

ugh

No way. Monson blows. He was an ass to his players, the fans and everyone around the program. His treatment of Michael Bauer alone, a guy who’s freshman season showed a kid that should have developed into a stud, was enough to make he hate him.

And player just didn’t get better under him.

by amiller92 on Nov 17, 2011 10:33 AM CST up reply actions

Yikes Jim

I appreciate the effort Dan put in here. “Cleaning” things up, straightening up the house.

But I definitely would not take him and it has nothing to do with Tubby. It was clear Dan was not comfortable as headcoach here. Why? Not sure, but record/recruiting/body language/selling out to Humphs all sorts of factors show him not cut out to be at the helm of a B1G program.

by InflectionPoint on Nov 17, 2011 10:40 AM CST up reply actions

Greer was a Juco added late in Dan's time here.

And he was a stud at times during those seasons (his going off against Wisky @ home in 2005 is still one of my fave Gopher moments). But yea, his willingness to allow both Rickert and Humphries to use MN as a 2nd choice (and in the case of Humphries, to sell out and let the kid “get his” at the expense of the team) destroyed his image and credibility. That plus how some of the key players on several recent Badger teams are all guys he failed to land. I wouldn’t take him back at all.

by GoAUpher on Nov 17, 2011 12:34 PM CST up reply actions

I should have clarified...

I loved the guy. Crazy side spin left handed shot, crazy ups. But he was the premier stud on our squad. That’s not good.

by jimipig on Nov 17, 2011 2:45 PM CST up reply actions

Monson

Sure seemed to take the low road with Humphreys. “Yes, Mr. Humphreys, I’d be happy to carry your jock for you,” is not something a head coach should ever be saying.

by amiller92 on Nov 17, 2011 10:31 AM CST up reply actions

wholeheartedly agree. Sold out.

by InflectionPoint on Nov 17, 2011 10:34 AM CST up reply actions

first I saw one of Monson's teams play

was my first year in MN, that was one of the Rickert/Burleson teams, they were playing Wisconsin. It was clear that MN had more talent . . . and it was also clear that Wisconsin would win. They were far better coached, more disciplined, while MN was taking bad shots, making poor decisions, etc. Maybe his guys had just tuned him out.

I'm feverished, or the way you want to spell it

by plinytheelder on Nov 17, 2011 7:46 PM CST up reply actions

Zook

Interesting that the Gophers-Illinois game is setting up to be Zook’s last stand. If the Gophers win, I say there is 99% chance Zook gets canned. Although, there is probably still a 40% chance he gets canned even if he wins.

by Tubtastic on Nov 17, 2011 9:06 AM CST reply actions

Judging by recent reports/comments

I’d say it’s much higher than 40%. New AD has been totally non-commital towards Zook.

by Gophermike on Nov 17, 2011 10:32 AM CST up reply actions

Duane

To add to Duane’s good guy resume I believe it was his runback that got me a free Supercuts!

Its no Axe, but…

by InflectionPoint on Nov 17, 2011 9:58 AM CST reply actions 1 recs

And I will admit...

…there is a bit of pain as I see Royce White popping in 21 points and recording his 2nd consecutive double/double for ISU……damn his inability to behave himself in Minnesota!!!!

by jimipig on Nov 17, 2011 10:24 AM CST reply actions

Damn Maturi

And his treating minor adolescent BS like it’s a capital offense.

by amiller92 on Nov 17, 2011 10:34 AM CST up reply actions

Numerous cases of property theft

is hardly just “boys being boys.”

by Gophermike on Nov 17, 2011 1:14 PM CST up reply actions

Someone please correct me if wrong...

…but he was only accused of stealing the clothes from the mall (ugh…wtf was he thinking)? He was never charged with the laptop theft (though the UMPD sure took their sweet time getting there).

Again, my memory on this one is hazy so if I’m wrong correct away.

by GoAUpher on Nov 17, 2011 1:37 PM CST up reply actions

That's my memory too

by amiller92 on Nov 17, 2011 1:39 PM CST up reply actions

Um.. "numerous?"

By that you mean one?

by amiller92 on Nov 17, 2011 1:38 PM CST up reply actions

Oh and

yes, shoplifting some close is “boys being boys.” It’s a 2-3 game suspension at most.

by amiller92 on Nov 17, 2011 1:39 PM CST up reply actions

Argh

clothes

by amiller92 on Nov 17, 2011 1:39 PM CST up reply actions

To be fair...

…it wasn’t just shoplifting. He also assaulted (i.e. pushed down) a security guard who caught him.

by GoAUpher on Nov 17, 2011 1:48 PM CST up reply actions

You know, kids stuff.

Look, I agree that Maturi overreacted, but lets not turn what White did into nothing just because he can play basketball.

by Gophermike on Nov 17, 2011 2:04 PM CST up reply actions

Uh, yeah, kids stuff

by amiller92 on Nov 17, 2011 2:53 PM CST up reply actions

He reacted immaturely when he got got

He did not engage in any serious violence.

by amiller92 on Nov 17, 2011 2:54 PM CST up reply actions

think of how scary good our front court would be if Royce was still here...

it’s good as is, but Trevor and Royce together would be special

by GreasyLlama on Nov 17, 2011 11:02 AM CST reply actions

He comfortably put in 25 points

in his first game’s double/double…..

As for Monson…I’m not saying he handled Humphries/Rickert correctly or appropriately, but look at what he walked into. He followed Clem’s Nut after a decade of competitive basketball teams with huge upset home wins over the years, death penalty, lost scholarships, terrible publicity.

So he gets a superstar,absolute blue chip who says “look, I’m playing one season and going pro, I can do it for you as a home town hero, or I can go elsewhere”, so the new guy in town wasn’t going to turn that down, was he?

I guess my real point (I rarely have a point, but here I actually do) is you can’t look at Monson who took over Minnesota at a horrible, horrible time, where he was in his career, where the program was, and compare it to Monson now, more mature, his 3rd coaching gig, unlikely success at Long Beach, etc.

I’d personally hire the Monson now is what I’m saying. The Monson we got was a different man. i’m sure he’d admit that.

by jimipig on Nov 17, 2011 11:05 AM CST reply actions

It wasn't the "death penalty"

But yes, he had a tough hand to start, and he recruited some great players. Unfortunately, those great players didn’t translate to wins, and the rest of the guys didn’t seem to improve under his coaching, so he didn’t get to build anything.

by amiller92 on Nov 17, 2011 11:09 AM CST up reply actions

Fair

I guess I’ll now sit back as we count all the players who came in as question marks and dramatically improved under Tubby’s hands-on mentorship, that is, the guys who have stayed in the program long enough for us to evaluate….

I’m not trying to crap on Tubby, but come on…saying guys didn’t develop under Monson as a negative doesn’t seem relevant to me right here. I’m showing you a more mature Dan Monson who is succeeding at Long Beach and who just knocked off Pitt at Pitt. He knows how to coach this game. He failed here during a really shitty period. Fine, not “the death penalty”, but total dogshit. I’d take him. You wouldn’t. I accept that.

by jimipig on Nov 17, 2011 11:17 AM CST reply actions

I'm not sure how Tubby is relevant

To evaluating Monson’s tenure, but fine. I wouldn’t hire him here because his time here was so bad that I don’t care what success he’s had at LBS. But he’s probably earned another shot at the big time somewhere. Best of luck to him but I don’t want him.

As for Tubby, if you don’t think Nolan and Hoffharber got a lot better, I can’t help you. Damian Johnson, Lawrence Westbrook, Jamal Abu-Shamala, and Dan Coleman all showed significant improvement in their time under Tubby (although for some of them it was a brief time). Austin Hollins looks to me like he got a lot better. Trevor is better. Ralph and Rodney are the counter-examples. They’ve improved a little but not developed to the potential they seemed to have.

Michael Bauer got worse, and I don’t think the player was the problem. Vincent Grier and Mo Hargrow never seemed to grow much under Monson despite seeming like they had real potential. The guy just seemed to beat down his players instead of empowering them. But Dusty Rychart is a pretty strong counter-example. He improved a ton.

by amiller92 on Nov 17, 2011 12:04 PM CST up reply actions