Golden Nugz - 01.09.12
by GopherNation on Jan 9, 2012 9:30 AM CST
in Golden Nuggets
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PrintA ton of links after a busy Gopher sports weekend. Unfortunately it wasn't a winning weekend for the major Gopher winter sports.
- Hockey lost to Notre Dame 4-3 and it wasn't really that close. The Irish led 4-1 late in the third period when the Gophers blitzed two goals in less than a minute to make it close.
- Gopher Puck Live recaps the loss in the US Hockey Hall of Fame game.
- SB Nation Minnesota also recaps the loss highlighting the erratic play.
- Gopher Basketball also lost this weekend and has dropped to 0-4 in the Big Ten.
- There are a ton of problems with this team and there is no shortage of solutions available. But there is not doubt that it is time to be more than concerned.
- Chip Scoggins is on record that it is time for a coaching change and a chance for a rebirth of the program.
- The Gophers are clearly lacking in senior leadership from their one remaining senior on the roster, Ralph Sampson III.
- Marcus points out that dating back to last season the Gophers now have a 9-game Big Ten losing streak. With a trip to Indiana up next I'm not holding my breath for that streak to be ending.
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It's hard to see the hoops problem
as a coaching problem due to the rather obvious talent issues.
That's not a coaching problem?
Talent issues.
It's a recruiting problem
Which certainly is the coaches job, but it’s complicated by injuries, attitude problems (see Joseph, Devoe), AD screw ups (see White, Royce, & Williams, Jimmy).
It’s definitely on Tubby that we don’t have the talent to compete at the moment, but it’s more complicated than saying he’s out matched as a coach on the floor.
Oh and
Chip doesn’t call for Tubby to be replaced. He just says something needs to be changed.
Like our Athletic Director for instance
"Believe in the system. For it shall bring light when there is dark, food when there is hunger, and shots when there are passes. This is the divine process." Yeo 4:18
by NorthernStar on Jan 9, 2012 11:30 AM CST up reply actions
I thought Scoggins' article was fair.
I didn’t think it was overly critical. Perhaps because it represented perfectly my feelings (and several other alum I’ve talked to). Can’t get to where I am insisting on firing Tubby because the program was such a mess and I don’t know who can do better. But I also can’t keep giving Tubby a free pass due to “circumstances” every season…this guy leaves, that guy gets hurt, that guy gets arrested, no practice facility, etc. etc. etc….always, absolutely ALWAYS a handful of excuses.
Yeah
And while I support a practice facility, I don’t see that as an excuse.
I think that's fair.
Probably not “program changing opportunities”…but maybe a guy here/there where it pushed them over the edge.
Or, it just flat out prevents us from practicing the things we need to practice, or to give guys the ability to play basketball 24/7…so that prevents us from getting as good as we could be.
I think it needs to be priority #1 of athletics right now…but state school, tough economy…tough to get momentum I think financially.
As to playing 24/7
There are tons of gyms around campus. I never had any trouble finding a place to play at whatever time of day.
Which, of course, isn’t an argument against a practice facility. They really don’t need to go to the rec center and have people like me hacking on them.
Thoughts on Gopher BB
1. Please, no coaching change for men’s BB i just don’t think i can stand to “restart” the program as Chip states. “Restart” means rebuild and that idea makes me cringe.
2. Why hasn’t the U put more effort into the practice facility idea? I mean they brought in a high profile coach, are paying him lots of money to turn this program around, but are reluctant to give him what he thinks he needs to turn the program around. It doesn’t make any sense. And enough with the idea that Williams Arena should be the selling point to recruits. Williams Arena hasn’t been the Williams Arena that everyone remembers in 15 years. Even if it was recuits aren’t interested in atomosphere and frenzy. If they were than there would have been no reason for Duke to spend millions on a new practice facility because there is no place with more atmosphere than Cameroon Indoor.
3. First impressions of Joe Coleman: he has the makings of a legit scorer.
4. First Impressions of Andre Hollins: Work in progress, but i think he and Coleman could be the best back court we have had in years.
5. I really don’t want to watch RSIII play basketball anymore, and i only say this because I can’t help but swear violently whenever he touches the ball which isn’t nice of me because he is only a kid afterall.
6. Do we have anyone capable of doing what DJ Byrd did last night? Gut feeling is no, but we desperatly need a performance like that.
7. Rodney was fantastic last night. Too bad it was all for naught.
Ralph
Is even more frustrating to me because it isn’t every time he touches the ball, for me, more like every time in every other game. One game, he’s fine, the next he does all of the stuff that he should know by now not to do.
You’re 7 feet tall, son, you can’t dribble the ball in traffic. You can’t bring the ball below your shoulders where anyone on the floor is big enough to swipe it from you. You’re the only big man on the floor, you can’t hold the ball in the post for more than a few seconds because the help defense is coming your way.
And no, we have no one who can do what Byrd did. He was draining from very long range (at least in the first half). We also don’t have anyone who can do what Jackson did in the second half – beating his man off the dribble and finishing at the rim – but we’re closer there, or at least we were with Coleman’s new-found confidence.
I disagree with the "lack of talent" arguement
I look at the Gophers roster from 1-10 and feel like they can play with anyone. The problem is in developing and putting these guys in positions to succeed. I just don’t get the feeling that a lot of coaching is being done. Coaching is teaching. Dre Hollins has a ton of talent to turn into a top-notch PG. Oto could be the 3 pt. shooter we need. Coleman could be the slasher we always wanted. There is a lot of talent on that roster, it needs to be developed. I wish I had some confidence that it is—-I could accept this year a lot better if I felt the guys were getting better.
Under Tubby
Rodney – Has Improved
Blake – Improved
Damian Johnson – Improved
Devoe – Improved
Chip – Has Improved
Mav – Kind of improved
Westbrook – Improved
Trevor – Improved
About the only player that you can say hasn’t improved significantly is Ralph and I am sure that they have put tons of effort into getting him to play with some fire. It’s just not in him.
Mav's
actually improved a lot. He just started from pretty low.
And Coleman seems to be improving a ton this year mid-season.
I completely agree
as mediocre as Mav is, he is much better than he was last year. His ceiling is just really low.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
by GopherNation on Jan 10, 2012 8:53 AM CST up reply actions
Really?
Mav – He’s a lot better this year, but he isn’t a B1G caliber talent.
Welch – Was looking like a possible legit threat but didn’t do much the last two games.
Austin – Nice, hustle guy who plays smart, but can’t shoot at the B1G level
Rodney – Clearly a top caliber talent
Ralph – Plenty of talent, but we know his issues.
So, out of the starting five there’s only one guy who’s a top-level talent, and aside from the injured Mbakwe, there aren’t any on the bench either.
talent is just not here right now
Mav - not a Big Ten caliber player, and it’s not close
Austin – solid guy, on a good team he’d be coming off the bench as a guy who won’t make mistakes while your better player gets some rest
Rodney – tons of talent but not a well-rounded player, he can be taken off his game
Ralph – a soft, shooting center. Not a go-to guy.
Chip – a hustle guy, on a good team he wouldn’t play
Welch – solid player, pretty good scorer.
Andre/Joe – both are pretty talented young guys who could be leaders on a good team. Just not yet.
We have some pieces, but we have too many guys who are not Big Ten caliber starters.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
by GopherNation on Jan 10, 2012 8:58 AM CST up reply actions
No point guard
since Nolan went down. Tubby gets these combo guys but we need a true B10 PG. It would make a huge difference. Mav is the one guy I would say is not B10 caliber talent. All the others can play with anyone.
Point Guard is a MAJOR issue
and we aren’t recruiting one again this year (at least not yet)
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
by GopherNation on Jan 10, 2012 8:59 AM CST up reply actions
Dre
All the talk about him coming in was that he wasn’t really a point, but he doesn’t really look like a combo guard to me.
Which is not to say that he’s really a point either, as he didn’t look terribly comfortable against Purdue against single man full court pressure. But he still plays like and has the attitude of a point to me.
This still confuses me to know end.
Does Tubby not agree that we’re hurting at point? So confused by this particular recruiting gap.
He made a big push for Cory Joseph
Devoe was more of a point guard than he ever wanted to admit too (although looks like he scored 30 this week). And he recruited both Welch and Dre with the idea that they could play at point.
I actually think Dre is closer to a pure point than people think, but yeah, there’s certainly a question why Mav is the only pure point guard on this roster.
Let's face the facts
it is getting harder and harder to support TS. I just don’t see a vision, plan, improvement, etc. NO B10 PG is one example. This is why I am pushing for Dre to get Mav’s minutes—-he has the potential to become one if the coaching staff can develop him and he works hard.
not having a PG is really frustrating
Unfortunately Cobbs transferred, he was the only solid PG that Tubby recruited. Devoe wanted to be a PG (and he’s better than anything we have) but he is a better SG.
what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher
by GopherNation on Jan 11, 2012 8:34 AM CST up reply actions
Dre riding the bike before entering the Purdue game
Makes me think is ankle isn’t 100%.
But it’s tradoff between fewer mistakes right now (oddly hats Mav) and getting xperience for the future (Dre). They will both get minutes.
But it’s hard to say there is no plan when parts of the plan keep disappearing for reasons beyond his control.
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