Golden Nugz 02.06.12
by GopherNation on Feb 6, 2012 10:27 AM CST
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PrintWell the big game yesterday is in the books and the Gophers came away with another Big Ten road win. A 69-61 win at Nebraska gets them back on the winning track as we now head into a tough stretch of the schedule.
Wisconsin and Ohio State (both at home) are what the Gophers have in store for them over the next eight days. Winning one of these games is the type of win we need to erase one of the Iowa losses. I'm not holding my breath (mostly because I'd die if I didn't breath between now and Thursday's game) but both games are at home and we just might catch lightening in a bottle.
- The Gopher basketball bench came up big again while contributing to the Gopher win on Sunday.
- The Lansing State Journal is already suggesting that Tubby Smith is your Big Ten Coach of the Year. (look under the midseason awards on the left hand side of the first page)
- Chip Scoggins has a nice profile on Oto Osenieks.
- A weekend WCHA wrap-up. The Gophers didn't play this weekend but considering we are fighting for a regular season title, everything is important.
- The staff at Gopher Illustrated gives out their 2012 recruiting awards. Always an interesting read if you are a subscriber.
- Unfortunately the Big Ten division names are here to stay.
- Finally, the Pioneer Press has a few names that could be candidates for the vacant Athletic Director job at Minnesota.
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Seriously?
Tony Fucking Dungy? Again that name? Does he have to be named for every god damned position that opens up at the U? Yes, hyperbole….and extemism…but you get my drift. Sorry for my sensitivity on the subject…but Dungy has grown from a guy I respect to a guy that just annoys me now. I feel like he’s always casting judgment on others. Or, being used as a resource for coaching searches. He can beat it and go pound sand for all I care.
Others on the list intrigued me though, and thank you for including the link….
For one, I’m a big fan of Mason…..not sure what bridges were burned…but he seems like a bright guy who understands the big picture of athletics, lives in the area still, has learned to embrace the U over the years since his departure….not saying I want him as AD, but he’s worth an interview to me.
by jimipig on Feb 6, 2012 10:33 AM CST reply actions 1 recs
You had me with the angry rant about Dungy.
Then you lost me. First of all, that list is a bunch of shit thrown against the wall to see if anything sticks. The only name that has a remote possibility is Fiore.
And then there’s Mason. As I’ve said elsewhere, anyone who considers Glen Mason a viable candidate for athletic director of the University of Minnesota cannot be trusted with even safety scissors. The man had no work ethic as an overly compensated football coach, so he should be entrusted with a job that requires more time on the clock but less pay? No. And what loyalty does he have towards the University of Minnesota? This is a man who was checking his phone every few minutes to make sure it was still working, in case tOSU was about to call. And how much does a 65 year old have left in the tank? Unless we’re looking for a thin Pope, that’s just another strike against Mason.
Everyone fails. The successful learn from their failures. I just wish we'd quit giving ourselves so many learning opportunities.
by WhiteSpeedReceiver on Feb 6, 2012 10:45 AM CST up reply actions
I'm not interested in Mason
But I’m not sure about your criticisms. I’d just put it this way: he wasn’t able to get us there as coach, so why would we make him AD?
I really don’t think that AD should require more time on the clock. At least not if the football coach is working as hard as he should be.
Which is why it’s a nice transition for a guy like Alvarez. They can ease up a little, rely on their underlings more and use the prestige of their career to do what the AD is really supposed to do: raise money.
And that’s why I really would prefer someone with strong connection to the U, and presence in the community. I don’t know who that is, but it is one area in which Dungy is qualified.
If we can’t get that, then someone who is up and coming and energized is a must. And I agree, it’s hard to see Mason as that guy.
I don't think a connection to the U is a must.
If the new AD can’t rely on the connections from others in the dept then we’re already in trouble. Fiore is very interesting to me because I think the two greatest needs from the new AD are fundraising ability and vision when it comes to tradition/atmosphere/gameday experience. Fiore’s resume at SUNY suggests he understands both and can execute at both.
It had better not be.
Frankly there is nobody alive with a sports connection to the U that has any business being hired as AD. Hiring from within is a lovely idea if, y’know, there’s anything of worth within.
Mariucci isn’t an option. Brooks isn’t an option. Bierman isn’t an option. Warmath isn’t an option.
Yes sir.
I’d have no problem if the new AD came in on July 1 with a metric shit-ton of resume paper and some boxes. There’s nobody over there right now who has any business being considered.
And of course Mason has an affinity for the U since he left. He’s been getting paid to not coach football games, and he’s actually looking like he’s above-mediocre thanks to the coach that followed him.
Everyone fails. The successful learn from their failures. I just wish we'd quit giving ourselves so many learning opportunities.
by WhiteSpeedReceiver on Feb 6, 2012 2:17 PM CST up reply actions
People change when they step away.
And i’m not saying I want him as AD, or if he’s qualified, but I think in this industry he’d be worth an interview. That’s all. Just like I said about Coach Kill during our search. Not positive he’s the guy, but he’s worth an interview…
And I agree it’s just a silly list…but I saw the chance to basically express my wishes that nobody ever mentions Tony Fucking Dungy (or Flip Saunders) again for anything Gopher related, outside of their time here as athletes…
Not sure I understand...
…your vitriol towards Dungy and Flip. I’m not saying either are right for the AD position, but I would definitely like to have Flip as the basketball coach if Tubby were to leave.
I'll explain...
Dungy just annoys me with his holier than thou attitude. And he’s always been mentioned to fill football vacancies and I guess I’m just a bit pissed off that he didn’t take it upon himself to spend a few years of his life rebuilding the program. So ok, it’s more than just annoyance…he had a chance to take personal responsibility after he was done achieving everything in the NFL, to do something really special at the U and he didn’t feel like doing it. Then he was a “consultant” who I don’t feel did a damn thing during our coaching search given all major coaches rejected the offers (fine, laywers, this is just speculation, but I feel pretty safe saying it). So in my mind he didn’t do shit for the U. Then he had the exact same “role” for Indiana…another Big 10 team…so I’m just “whatever dude, get the fuck out of the U’s picture and may you have a good remaining life.”
As for Saunders, he didn’t really “do anything” negative…but again, he’s been successful, arguably, at all levels….and he has a chance to come back and fix a broken program but he chooses not to put the effort in for his old school (and mind you, these guys both would make near maximum salaries, so it’s not like I’m asking them to sacrifice food for their kids’ kids’ kids). So not unlike Dungy, though I’d say Dungy had a better opportunity to do more, Saunders never takes the step to focus on making the U’s basketball program something special. Do I hate the guy? No. But I also don’t see the guy doing much positive for the U…at least, nowhere NEAR what he could be doing.
I can’t do shit for the U other than buy tickets, sweatshirts, and give money. A lot? No, because I don’t have the means to…but it pisses me off that these two guys have millions upon millions stashed away, have reached success and are beyond the half-way point of their careers and they refuse to strive to make their alma mater’s football and basketball programs the best they could be, with something more valuable than money. Reputation, time and X’s and O’s.
I guess I’m bitter, yes. Thank you for the free therapy session…
Yeah, I don't get that
I guess I can understand the holier than thou aspect, but what could Dungy do? He was having a very successful NFL coaching career when we hired Brewster and after Dungy was done coaching he was completely done. He doesn’t want anything more to do with coaching anywhere. He doesn’t like the lifestyle. The U asked him to help out in the coaching search, but I don’t know what he was expected to do. Frankly, I felt like the U did that more as a publicity stunt than anything for themselves to attract attention and interest. I don’t know what role he played for IU—I was under the impression he was going to suggest quality minority candidates for them which is a cause he believes in and hence, the involvement.
As for Flip—I think you are way off base on him. As an NBA coach, he was making much more money than he would ever make as a collegiate coach. It would have been foolish for him to leave the NBA after Monson was fired. His son played for the U, so it isn’t like there isn’t any loyalty there. Now that he isn’t coaching in the NBA anymore, if Tubby were to walk away, I believe he would be one of the first interviewed to succeed him. I’m not sure what you want from Flip at this point as long as Tubby is here.
Fair...agreed, if Tubby leaves.
But the longer they are away, the less effective they can be at initial impact.
But if choosing between Tubby or Flip, 9.9/10 would have chosen Tubby back then…he was like the hottest girl in the school wanting to sleep with you the day you just broke up with your girlfriend. No way could you pass him up at the point we were at. I thought we were looking at a minimum of Sweet 16’s being the norm with Tubby….damn….
Okay, but
I’m not sure either guy would cut it as a college coach. It’s enough different that their skills may not transfer, especially with recruiting.
Also, I’d rather have Dungy say no than take the job when he doesn’t want to work. I’m not sure college coaching is the right thing for a guy in his stage of life who has already retired from one incredibly difficult job.
I think Flip would be good
It always helps to have a guy that played at the school and can speak with pride and knowledgeably about tradition. Also, someone who had success coaching in the NBA would be a good recruiting tool for kids who have the dream of playing at the next level. Flip can provide the coaching to get there.
And I'll further admit..
…these are totally selfish reasons. So I judge them both harshly. Dungy lost his son, is getting older, etc. Besides, at this point, he grows less effective by the year….he needed to jump on board as our coach a couple years ago.
And Flip…I’m sure he has more he wants to accomplish and may love the NBA game and hate the thought of having to recruit little self-riotous punks for a living…so I can’t judge him either.
To ask the questions that concern you, to dig deeper.
If I know for a fact he’s not qualified, which none of us do, then you wouldn’t bring him in. If you think he might be, then you interview him to dig deeper.
Is it just me
or is Oto essentially the reverse Rodney? He is an accurate 3 point shooter who’s been stuck inside (by necessity of course). When we get our front court depth back (Maurice, that new recruit and hopefully Mbakwe), I really hope he gets moved out to small forward.
He's a shooter we need to let shoot.
Agreed. His game is to shoot in the flow. Mid to just outside mid-range jumpers. Him being locked inside is circle in square peg in my opinion and we’ll never receive the value from him we could.
What I really like about Chip Armelin ...
Is that he just refuses to play Tubby’s “Frozen Statue” offense. Of course, Chip will never start a game in his Gopher career. He just cannot be depended upon to stand still in the Frozen Statue offense. And Tubby would hate to force him to leave and be a starter at Oregon or Cal as Devoe and Cobbs were forced to do for failure to appreciate the Frozen Statue offense so cleverly designed by Tubby.
The other thing to be said about Chip is that — just if — if he ever suited up and stepped on the football field for Jerry Kill he would instantly be one of our handful of top players. It would be a dream to see Chip lighting up the Bank.
I like that Armelin is lefthanded also
There are many defenders that are not used to defending to the other side of the basket.
Chip has really stepped up
And being able to catch and shoot the way he has lately, which is absolutely could not do last year, adds another piece to his game. His decision making has gotten a lot better too.
But he still needs to improve his defense before he’d be a starter anywhere.
Also, if Cobbs had not transferred, there would not have been a contract available for him.
More about Otto ...
Two things have surprised me so far about Otto. First, the guy they said last year was a better three-point shooter than Hoff, can’t hit the three. His form is great but they just don’t go down. My own theory is that he is a good shooter but he needs floor time and some freedom to get a rhythm going for it to start to show. Another casualty of Tubby’s famed Frozen Statue offense.
The other thing that has surprised me about Otto is that he is a complete player. From the talk last year I thought he was just an outside jump shooter. But he can post up, get some rebounds, pass the ball, and hit mid-range jumpers around the key. Otto looks like a guy who will blossom into a real player but he could help most this year by getting into the flow of the offense and get his confidence on the threes.
You are careless DAC...
…you imply multiple times here that our offense does indeed “flow”. Shame on you.
Kidding aside, I agree…guy needs to be on the move and feeling the game as a shooter. We just don’t utilize him the right way.
FSO
I like the Frozen Statue Offense phrase so much that I nominate it for permanent status among acceptable (and interpretable) Daily Gopher acronyms. May it be held in such highly regarded company as White Speed Receiver (WSR), Orlando Tubby Smith (OTS), and the like. From now on, I can happily scroll things such as:
The Gophers’ suprisingly accurate 3-point shooting the last two games have bailed out OTS’s otherwise unpalatable FSO.
On that note, I need some help gents… what others am I ignoring that deserve a place on the acceptable list???
Journalism. Enhanced.
AD
I like that Kaler insists that the right candidate have good business acumen. I hope that implies s/he will make the revenue sports a priority for the benefit of the entire program. Of the candidates mentioned in the article, I’m most intrigued by those who have worked in the private sector and bring the business acumen
HE.
Not to be a sexist…but I need somebody who eats/sleeps/breathes football. Not comfortable that will be a woman. Unless she’s from south of the Mason Dixon line…in which case, carry on….
Erin Andrews?
"Our attitude is we look at ourselves and we grade ourselves. And even if we don’t like what’s happening on the other side, we don’t make a — it’s not our business" - Tony Larussa
I'm not sure...
…how many female athletic directors are out there at BCS schools. But I wouldn’t be opposed to it. I don’t think s/he needs to be a football person per se. A good business person would easily find that is the road to success. As such, I personally don’t think it makes much of a difference. In fact, I’m always for fresh thinking, so perhaps a different perspective could be advantageous in some respects.
Chip
And yes, I’ve always admired Chip’s confidence in himself, which has resulted in more good than bad over the course of his brief Gophers career. With so much love for himself, it remains a mystery to me how he can be so bad of a free throw shooter.
Oh, and Julian Welch AGAIN proved he doesn’t have the stones to make free throws when they matter most.
Journalism. Enhanced.
It's clearly becoming a thing of him
It’s really unbelievable that a guy who is otherwise such a good free throw shooter can’t do it at the end of the game.
Relax, Julian, and take a breath. You can do this.
Welch is a cancer with under 5 to play....
….get him on the bench for the last few minutes. Please. I really don’t want to hate the guy, but come on dude! Seriously? Stones. Balls. Juevos. Awful.
I was shocked that Tubby
Had Armelin out there at the end of the game yesterday. He can’t shoot free throws and any time.
But we had Welch, Chip and Rodney all out their while the other team needed to foul.
Julie has stones
Yes, it is unfortunate and hopefully a temporary phenomenon that Welch has choked at the line when the chips are down, notably losing the first Illinois game in regulation time. But let’s be honest here and recognize the number of monster threes Julie has hit during our magnificent 5-2 run after the disasterous 0-4 start. Don’t give up on Welch. He is a player and he’s been pretty clutch when we needed a big shot. If nothing else, Andre is going to push him into being a much better player the rest of his Gopher career. If not, expect Julie to play off the bench while Andre starts and leads.
Welch
I like Welch a lot, in spite of his late-game tendencies to miss FT’s. Though I have to admit, his lack of ball security is becoming a major problem in regards to turnovers.
Journalism. Enhanced.
About Dungy and Flip
Don’t know that either of them owes his soul to the U of M. Neither grew up here, they just played ball here four years. Flip spent actual time here later but still, I am not going to hold either of them responsible for restoring football and basketball glory to Dinkytown.
The primary reason is neither one has been, is, or wants to be a college coach. It is as different from the pro game as turkey growers managing baseball. College coaches are a breed. However else he turns out for us, Jerry Kill is a college football coach in every sense of the word. Tubby is a college basketball coach. Those are the kinds of guys we want, not pro coaches who “owe” the U something. My problem with Tubby is not that he is not a good college basketball coach. My problem is his level of interest — it is waning as he nears retirement.
The FSO
is due in large part bc we don’t have a B10 PG on this roster. I still hold out hope it might be Dre but I am losing confidence in his upside at PG. We don’t have anyone who can penetrate, dish, get guys moving, hit guys in stride, make entry passes, etc. That is why everyone stands around out on the perimeter. The FSO that will be the standard by which all FSO’s are measured, was last year when Blake was the PG. I really don’t know which offense took more years off my life——OTS’s FSO with Blake or Fisch’s offense that was equally painful to watch on the FB field.
I think that's right
But with teams figuring out to play pressure defense on the perimeter against us, I don’t know why we aren’t seeing the coaches draw up some back screens/cuts to help us get to the rim.
No question
…that this year’s FSO since Mbakwe went down is still way ahead of last year’s version. Part of that is the FLEX and part is that it turns out we have 3 guys (Welch, Austin Hollins, and Andre Hollins) who can knock down 3’s with semi-regularity. That’s two more than we had last year. We also have a guy in Coleman (until recently, at least) who can drive and dish. So that supports what Tejas Gopher is saying about personnel being more important than scheme.
Journalism. Enhanced.
Armelin too
Actually, for both categories. He’s been draining threes lately and can drive (maybe not so much the dish part, but he can finish).
Tex, I see you are still in pain over Fisch LOL
But last year’s FSO was totally Tubby’s insistence on playing the guy furthest removed from a point guard at point guard. And in the process he ruined our best three point shooter. Well, with Mav as the option I can’t totally blame Tubby.
But the reason for the FSO this year is not the lack of a PG. We have three and all three are playing better than Hoff handled it last year (certainly no diss of Hoff). The reason for the FSO is IT’S TUBBY’S DESIGN AND PRIDE AND JOY. WHERE THE HELL DOES RALPH SET UP? WHO THE HELL IS THE PG GOING TO DUMP OFF TO IF HE DRIVES, SAUL OVER ON THE BENCH?
You can’t use a PG with no post man. Even when he sends Elliot out there he makes him set up as a screener 30 feet from the basket. Absurd.
DAC
I don’t know who the 3 PG’s you are talking about?? Mav is the only guy I would call a true PG and watching him run a half court offense is torture. Bottom line, we don’t have a big-time B10 PG. Just for teh sake of argument, imagine John Stockton out there. Do you see anyone who even remotely thinks like him??? I am not talking plays like him, just trys to act like him. No, because we do not have a PG. Mav is a major defensive liability too. The biggest reason for the FSO (good one BTW), is no PG to run the show.
Ralph sets up nicely
outside the top of the arc. Where all 7 footers should set up. No? 20-25 feet from the basket?
Kevin McHale
for AD!!!!!!!
HOF credentials, executive experience, Minnesota connection.
What’s the worst that could happen? (he’s got lots of experience with under the table deals)
by TwinATL on Feb 6, 2012 4:49 PM CST reply actions 1 recs
it’s nice if you have a qualified candidate with connections to the school who gives everybody the warm fuzzies for AD (Alvarez, Belotti…which didn’t work out) but it’s more of a bonus than a requirement.
Some of the best ADs in the country has zero connection to their current jobs when they started.
Deloss Dodds (Texas) was Kansas State’s AD
Bob Bowlsby (Stanford) was Iowa’s AD
Joe Alleva (LSU) was Duke’s AD
Mitch Barnhart (Kentucky) was Oregon State’s AD
Joe Castiglione (Oklahoma) was Mizzou’s AD
Big time programs rarely hire someone that hasn’t shown that they’re able to do that job, they just don’t expect someone to do a job well that they haven’t done before.
Find someone who has experience as an athletic director and who’s able to competently run a large operation, bring in money, and be the CEO of the athletic department. They should be able to prioritize their goals to the goals of the people that buy tickets and donate (strong hockey, football, basketball programs) and develop other programs as well as they can.
Flip or Dungy are fun names to throw out, but there’s no reason to expect that because they have been successful athletes and coaches that they will be successful ADs, find someone that’s willing to work and sweat and get results.
How can you tell
Who is among the best ADs?
Glen Mason???
Jimipig, what are you smoking?
We tend to agree on all things Jerry Kill related, but I’m afraid this time you’ve gone off the deep end. There’s no way in hell the Board of Trustees hire someone who was fired as head coach to be the new athletic director. Not only would it be awkward as hell, it would just be plain stupid. Mason may have the moxie to be someone’s athletic director someday, but it sure as hell won’t be Minnesota, and it sure as hell won’t be now.
Come on, man. Seriously.
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