2010-2011 Gophers

[Dotch]

Would agree on the Twin Towers, especially Iverson last night still not taking the ball to the hole with enough authority to finish the play. Of course this was only when I was watching and was further confounded by the wife controlling the remote while flipping between Dancing With the Stars and the Gophs. I've found it helps in that case to make reference to certain features of the female dancers anatomy at which point she would change channels again. Methinks a new TV is in order to replace the broken one in the other room but I digress...

Mbakwe has added the inside punch they needed last year. Reminds me a lot physically of some of the thugs Huggins used to recruit when he was at Cincinatti. Let's hope Trevor stays eligible and healthy. Was happy with the way the guards woke up and realized that jacking a 3 ball everytime down the floor in the first half wasn't the answer. C'mon, isn't anybody missing Lawrence Westbrook yet?

[mr_jman]

C'mon, isn't anybody missing Lawrence Westbrook yet?

I really wish we had him for ONE more year with what else we have this year. Mbakwe looks good, Hoffarber will have good days and bad (He hasn't always shot well in road games) Nolan is valuable as a leader but will not put up big offensive numbers, but if he can dish the ball to a hot hand i don't have a problem with that! Agree on the Sampson/Iverson take. By now these guys should figure out that you can't be weak inside. GO UP AND THROW A FEW DOWN!!!!! Sampson has a little more fire than Iverson, but when Iverson gets going he can really be a big force (BTT last year!). Think this will be a fun season, hopefully we can pull a few upsets at home again and I wouldn't mind sweeping the BADGERS again!

[fishingMN4eyes]

Oh come on, Westbrook was such a hothead, hotdog, and had a "look at me look at me" attitude. Heck of a player but he never just played the game. I am glad to be rid of his attitude this year.

I think a big thing for Iverson and Sampson is to play with some emotion. I thought they looked the best in the sconnie and Purdue games at home last year where the crowd was into it throughout and they fed off that. As well as the BigTenTourney run where all the players looked like they were jacked up and having fun.

p.s. The Gophers only play sconnie once this year so a sweep won't be quite as impressive

[Scott M]

Gophers not taking care of the ball very well early in this one.

[Scott M]

Gophs by 6 at the half, 40-34. Should be killing them but they are turning the ball over too much and giving up too many offensive rebounds (7). 11-9 Gophers - Hilltoppers on turnovers. They are making WKU take jumpers, which is good, but they need to turn it up and exploit their size and take care of the rock.

[Scott M]

The Mbakwe man crush continues. Hurricane Mbakwe is cleaning tropical glass and dunking on anything in his path. Loving Hoffarber's newfound passing skills...

[Duffman]

Thanks for the update!

[Scott M]

59-47 12:00 to go. Decent passing and an extended 2-3 keeping WK off balance.

[Scott M]

MBAKWE FOR PRESIDENT IN 2012!!!!Another o board and 1!

[schmitty3]

Mbakwe is an absolute monster! He brings some much needed strength under the basket. He's been gettin some tough boards down there. He's gotta have over 5 dunks for the game too.

[Scott M]

Great second half for the Gophers as they pull away 95-77. Sampson goes 9 of 13 for 22 with 8 boards, Mbakwe 8 of 9 for an 18/10. Rodney chips in 17 and 7. Mbakwe and Sampson just rolled over Western Kentucky. Rodney Williams did a nice job hitting open shots and attacking the basket. Hoffarber again paces the team in passing with 9 assists. 16 for Hoff and 12 for Nolen.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow night versus North Carolina. It's a tough matchup but I don't think either team will blow the other out. Minnesota's size ought to be able to slow North Carolina's youthful but athletic bigs, including Harrison Barnes.

Unfortunately early season nonconference neutral court victories have been the high water mark for the Gophers for the last two years. In 2008 the Gophers beat Louisville (overall #1 seed in tournament) and in 2009 Butler (last year's National runner up). But this year there is still room for growth. The gophers looked really tough tonight but they still need to work in Joseph, rebound better, and make foul shots, to name a few things. Their half court offense looked good, but better defensive teams won't give them the space to operate or the time and lack of a double team to let Sampson sky hook in the lane at will. The key each year with Tubby is to make progress so hopefully the Gophers are doing that this year...last year's distractions seemed to cause the team to spin its wheels in a year in which they should have won some more games and advanced in the tournament. Still, this front court really lets you dream about making a deep run, and if the freshman reserve guards can contribute this is going to be a tough team with a great inside out game, athleticism, and tough defenders.

[fishingMN4eyes]

Sampson was very good but I agree that he will likely not have it that easy inside against UNC. Same story going into BigTen play.

Mbakwe. What needs to be said? Dude is beast.

I have been critical of Rodney so far this year and I still question why he is a starter, but he was a big contributer last night. He still made some awful mistakes with the ball, he needs to clean that up asap if he still wants to get minutes when Joseph gets back. The freshmen came in and made the same kinds of mistakes as well, can't have that kind of stuff going forward as the half court offense looked bad when no one was moving.

Nervously excited to see what happens tonight against UNC. My gut says they lose by double digits. My heart says they pull out an upset win. My head is hoping that they can just keep it close and make this game look good on a resume come March. No matter what happens, they need to clean up the turnovers, half court offense, and FREE THROW SHOOTING to have a chance against good teams like UNC. Should be a fun matchup!

[fishingMN4eyes]

p.s. I love the avatar, chise!

[james_walleye]

Both teams look shaky but hey a 3 point lead at half, i'll take it.

[Duffman]

Typical Gopher basketball, ugly as all get out, and the lead.

[Willy]

Gophs sure looked good tonigth against UNC. We controlled the game most of the way. In all honesty, we looked like the better team. Better players, etc.

I really don't think Carolina is a top 10 type team, but we will let the year play out and see what happens.

Any way you slice it, a great win. This could be a heck of an exciting season. Gotta love that.

PS Mbakwe is a man among boys out there. He sure looks like a topnotch player and Nolen was great tonite too.

[Scott M]

Great win and the team played and looked like they knew they were the better team. No hand wringing and playing timid and hugging after the win...they played like they expected to win and know they have a long ways to go to be where they need to be.

Great work by the whole team. They hit the free throws down the stretch and took better care of the basketball in the second half and notched the win. Would like to see them work on their lob passes...3 turnovers on those and no buckets.

Devoe will take this team one notch higher if they can get him back on the court. Looking forward to Sunday night.

[james_walleye]

That 2nd half was right on. Big hoop after big hoop. Hoffarber and Nolen both had cold blooded 3's at different times when NC had closed in. And just when you hadnt heard from Rodney Williams he throws a few big hoops in. I had no idea Mbakwe was that kind of force. That kind of athleticsm built into that brick sh*thouse of a body will be a nice addition this season.

[Duffman]

Mbakwe- That's the first time I've seen him play. I know it's just a glimpse, but wow, I don't think the Gophs have ever had a player like that.

It's a great victory, anytime you can beat one of what I consider the Big Four.

Duke

Kansas

North Carolina

Kentucky

[LMITOUT]

It may say North Carolina on their jersey, but they ain't the Carolina were accustomed to.

In fact, they're losing to mighty Vanderbilt right now....

Get'm while they're down I guess if it makes you feel good.

[mr_jman]

NC lost, and the Gophers take a one point lead into half time..... Gotta say I think this team will be the one Minnesota team to watch this winter! Football is all but done IMO! Wolves are more exciting, but this Gophers team has talent and hopefully they can compete with the rest of the Very good Big 10!

[mr_jman]

Great Game for the gophers and a nice tourney! Finish it off by winning 74-70! Hope we can produce these types of results in March!

[Scott M]

Another big win for the Gophers. With this one they will creep into the Top 25. Nolen was the X factor in playing great defense once they switched him onto Casey Mitchell and on offense he was able to get into the lane and draw fouls. He shot 11 of 12 on free throws...that patience at the line translated to the whole team. I felt the officials really took away the flow of the game with all foul calls, but it benefited the Gophers as they shot fairly well from the line tonight. Hoffarber was very patient with the ball and was able to get some looks in the second half off ball screens and overloads against the zone. His shot from the corner that gave Minnesota the 3 point lead was a dagger. Mbakwe was a manchild again, with 16 points, a pile of rebounds and 6 of 7 on free throws. Colt 45 was aggressive with 15 points and 8 rebounds inside. The team got little from Rodney Williams and Sampson, but they showed why they play such a deep bench and got a little from everyone. I thought we were in trouble when the line change came halfway into the first half and the freshmen took the floor, but they took care of the basketball and actually played pretty well. This will pay off down the road in the conference and later in the spring.

The thing that gets me excited about this tournament was watching the patience and maturity the team showed. They had composure all game and tournament long against some tough teams. That mental fortitude is going to help them win tight games, a real weakness for this team last year.

Next on the menu...fresh sliced bison!

[SkunkedAgain]

Yup - great win. Fun to see that when Sampson couldn't followup with another great game, Iverson was able to be the difference maker. It's also great to see the young guys playing so well while the juniors/seniors are reliable.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Very fun to see a MN team playing well..