2010-2011 Gophers

[EBass]

Big Ten Title Baby!

[hoppe56307]

Quick everybody on the wagon the Gophers are ranked #17. (which is a little low i thought)

[Dotch]

Always good to hear they're ranked but the only ranking that counts of course is the one at the end of the season. They let it go to their heads last year but am thinking (hoping) this team is different. Looking at their schedule, there are a few creampuffs in there, but not the plethora of little sisters of the poor that was the hallmark of the Monson era. It should better prepare them for what promises to be a tough upcoming Big Ten season. Was a good weekend though capped off by Chilly getting his pink slip. All this excitement may start to cut into my nap time!

[Scott M]

AP #15. Plenty of room on this bandwagon, might get some hits on the b-ball forum this winter with the Vikes a mess.

[james_walleye]

It should be a fun big 10 season.

[Coach1310]

Definitely the most talented Gophers roster we have had in a while...... the depth is the thing that gets me the most... Mbakwe is a beast, Sampson seems to have improved and Iverson and Walker are some great depth with the big fellas. I have been impressed with Nolen so far, although I don't think he should be taking many jumpshots... definitely the weakest part of his game... but he has figured out how to get to the line and seems a bit better at handling the team. Hoffarber has become a great intangibles player... doing a lot of little things and stroking it when he gets room. His defense is a TON better than it used to be. Rodney may be the best athlete on the floor no matter who we play. He seems out of control at times, but if teams get in his face, he can go by anybody. All in all, I think we are just deeper and more athletic than we have been in the past. I still think we will struggle to find a lot of offense off the dribble and a lot of possessions will turn into a Big Ten grinder, but with our big fellas, I don't have a huge problem. I won't pronounce a Big Ten title as Ohio State looked REALLY good and Purdue and Michigan State aren't anything to sneeze at and I think Illinois is going to be pretty good too, but at least it looks like there will be a Minnesota sports team worth watching!!! Hopefully the Goph's can take care of business... schedule should allow for a 10-0 start!

[hoppe56307]

Speaking of depth it was nice to see that some of our younger points guards not fold under the pressure with Joesph out, from the little bit that i did see on Sunday they handled themselves pretty good.

[fishingMN4eyes]

Mbakwe, continues to make me say "WOW".

Nolen, he is the reason they beat West Virginia. Without his free throw shooting and defense on 3, they lose that game big. His offense isn't pretty but he is effective when he can get to the line and he did. Literally carried the Gophers down the stretch.

Hoffarber, looked great at times but we generally solid throughout which is huge. That 'oop to Mbakwe, huge spark and nobody else on the team puts as pretty of a pass on that one.

Sampson looked good in the first two and obviously not so good against WestVa. Good to see Iverson step in and play some big minutes.

[Scott M]

Nolen has a "foot injury" and could be out a few weeks and Williams sprained his ankle in Wednesday night's victory over NDSU.

Went to that game and the Gophers looked bored. Never really pulled way in front, but still ended up winning by 19. Hoffarber did most of the damage.

Had to chuckle when it got quiet late in the second half and the chants of "Junior College" rained down on NDSU's bench. Lots of Minnesota kids on NDSU's squad, 8 kids I believe, most of the starters.

Tomorrow night is the Big Ten - ACC challenge. Should be a good game with Virginia. Hopefully Joseph is back.

[schmitty3]

Gophs move up to #13 in the USA today polls

[CJH]

Virginia at 6 on ESPN2 I believe!! Should be a tough game with Nolen, Joseph, and Williams out!

[schmitty3]

Both Joseph and William are playing tonight

[schmitty3]

Well that #13 ranking isn't gonna last long. Tough loss to Virginia. Terrible second half.

[Scott M]

What a disgusting game from the Gophers...terrible second half. Zero work inside for most of the game, Iverson, Sampson, and Walker combine for 9 points. Mbakwe had 18 but most of those were on put backs. The Gophers really got in a hurry in the second half. They really did miss Nolen, but they had the horses to beat Virginia without him. Disappointing defense and a lack of patience on offense. If they really want to be the world beaters that some think they can be, they need to close out teams, especially at home to an unranked squad. Yuck. First loss of the season, hopefully they can learn from it.

[Dotch]

Always good to hear they're ranked but the only ranking that counts of course is the one at the end of the season. They let it go to their heads last year but am thinking (hoping) this team is different. Looking at their schedule, there are a few creampuffs in there, but not the plethora of little sisters of the poor that was the hallmark of the Monson era. It should better prepare them for what promises to be a tough upcoming Big Ten season. Was a good weekend though capped off by Chilly getting his pink slip. All this excitement may start to cut into my nap time!

Hmmmm...this game looked like deja vu all over again and they didn't have Westbrook to blame for it! Joseph looked like he was rusty and pressing. The more he pressed the worse things got. Guard play overall was horrible in the second half, defense on the perimeter stunk most of the game and they missed the front end of 1 and 1's that could've kept them in it while Virginia was canning theirs. Virginia was unconscious from outside the arc. Give 'em credit and give the Gophers the "L" they deserve for lack of intelligent effort as a team. Perhaps they needed to be taken down a notch. They need to remind themselves haven't won anything yet that will get them in the tournament without continuing to win the games they should win. As da chise says, hopefully they learn from it.

[CJH]

Both Joseph and William are playing tonight

My bad, thought the paper said they weren't playing.

Not a good effort at all, no urgency, looked like they were overlooking V. The guard play was horrendous, defensively and offensively. Not sure what was up with Joseph, he was trying to do way too much, but looked very rusty. Thought the bigs played OK. They didn't get the ball in the post nearly enough, but could have rebounded a little better. Most of V's damage came from the perimeter, way too many open 3's.

I have a feeling there will be lots of sprints ran today - Tubby doesn't tolerate bad defense or lack of effort, and he shouldn't.

Hopefully this will be the kick in the pants they need.

[SkunkedAgain]

Yup, good timing for a loss before starting the Big 10 season. It's been covered enough above: bad defense, hurried offense, lack of execution, etc....

It's still exciting to watch this team, and you can see the talent in their freshman lineup. Finally a Gopher sports program with promise for the future.

[Coach1310]

Didn't see the game, BUT just from reading the comments I can visualize it and it ain't pretty!!! Sometimes a loss like this is necessary to refocus ...hopefully that is the case. The bummer I see is if they end up a bubble team, this is one of those losses that will come back to hurt you as a BAD LOSS at home unless Virginia is a much better team than they have been and are being predicted to be....

[mr_jman]

It was an ugly game, but losing this time of year to help the team refocus and realize that anyone can beat you on any night may help them in the long run. If the Gophers are a bubble team, this loss may hurt BUT keep in mind we have already beat a lot of teams that were in the tourney last year. For me the season will really start when we play Big 10 teams. With the strength of this conference, we will have many chances to make or break our season!

[SkunkedAgain]

Actually, it was a great game for the first half. The Gophers were absolutely destroying Virginia for the entire half. We went into the halftime with only a ten point lead, and then started out alright, but Virginia dominated the second half. The announcers stated it correctly, Virginia needed to play flawless basketball in order to win - and they did. They hit nearly all their 3-point attempts and free throws while forcing Minnesota to play panicked offense. It was ugly in the end but more because it was a tale of two teams.

[Scott M]

Just watched ESPN U's All Access Minnesota Men's basketball. Didn't think much of it. Got a couple bad interviews from Sampson and Iverson, who talked about living up to their pedigrees. The only guy that could carry a conversation with Andy Katz was Austin Hollins talking on the same subject. Not a lot of substance in examining the facilities, practices, or players.

I caught the Duke All Access and thought it was way better. So much more insight from Coach K about how he keeps himself grounded (Looking out at Krzyzewskiville and seeing all the kids camping out for the best seats), how he looks at practice as both physical and mental conditioning ("fight through being tired...make a stand that right now we stop them from scoring"), and how he makes sure the team gets better with each game and practice. It was also interesting to hear from Singler (The next Larry Bird?) as he talked about his decision to come back and how he does other things to keep his mind off basketball (cooking and painting).

Good show format but the team and coach really make the show. No high marks for Tubby or his players.

[Scott M]

Can't believe the Gophers are in the top 25 and can't get on TV. Got the road win at St. Joe's. Eastern Kentucky at home on Saturday.

[LMITOUT]

Duke is playing St. Louis this weekend on CBS. No time for the silly Gophers.

[CJH]

Can't believe the Gophers are in the top 25 and can't get on TV. Got the road win at St. Joe's. Eastern Kentucky at home on Saturday.

I was surprised it wasn't at least on the Big Ten Network!!!

[Nick Kuhn]

Too bad a win over both Eastern and Western Kentucky doesn't just count as a win over Kentucky