2012-2013 Gophers

[Scott M]

Gophers opt to life Wally Ellenson's redshirt 12 games into season.

by Nate Sandell, ESPN 1500

MINNEAPOLIS -- When Gophers coach Tubby Smith motioned for Wally Ellenson to check in for what would be his collegiate debut, a feeling of nervousness surged through the true freshman guard.

"He said his body was in shock, because his was in a relaxed mode and then coach called him and he was like, "Ohhh,'" sophomore guard Andre Hollins said with a grin Tuesday after the Gophers' 70-57 against North Dakota State.

Ellenson was granted his wish to play in his first year on campus.

In a surprising move, the Gophers lifted Ellenson's redshirt 12 games into the season. After mulling over the situation for an extended period, Smith met with Ellenson and his parents on Monday night. They came to the conclusion that the Wisconsin native would begin his initial year eligibility, despite the season already being nearly six weeks old.

"He wanted to play. His parents felt comfortable with wanting to play," Smith said. "They were all in agreement that lets get him in there and get him going, see how he does and go from there."

Ellenson's debut was brief. He entered with under four minutes to go in the second half and the Gophers' holding a comfortable 16-point lead. Fighting through obvious first-game jitters, Ellenson committed a turnover within 30 seconds of stepping on to the court before sinking one of two free throw attempts.

"He looked different out there without a practice uniform on," senior forward Rodney Williams said. "It's definitely good to see Wally out there. He's been waiting a long time. He finally got a chance. Hopefully we'll seem him more."

Ellenson's season was derailed before it could begin when broke his left hand in practice in late October. He was kept him sidelined for four weeks. The injury seemed to make it likely the Gophers would preserve his redshirt, as they had already opted to do with fellow freshman Charles Buggs.

However, the Gophers waited to see how Ellenson progressed through the recovery process. He returned to practice in limited fashion during the last week of November. Smith avoided making a final decision on Ellenson's status until he had several practices to observe him after he was cleared for full contact.

Known largely for his dunking ability, the 6-foot-4 combo guard averaged 20.1 points per game and 8.9 rebounds last season for Rice Lake High School (Wisc.). Smith hasn't defined what Ellenson's role will be this year, but feels there is a spot for him in the Gophers' already crowded backcourt.

"He's going to be a good player for us," Smith said. "Wally has got a tremendous amount of talent and athleticism. I think he will help us."

Under Smith's rules, freshmen are not allowed to speak with the media until the team's first Big Ten game.

Smith's willingness to allow him to play right away may also be tied to the Gophers' current pursuit of Ellenson's younger brother, Henry. The 6-foot-9, 250-pound high school sophomore, is rated a four-star prospect by Rivals.com. Along with the Gophers, he is being recruited by Kansas, Iowa State, Georgetown and Baylor.

[Scott M]

From Luke Lapinski, ESPN Rumor Central

At the moment, Minnesota sits at 11-1, ranked No. 13 in the AP Top 25. The Gophers are finally healthy, Trevor Mbakwe is making his presence felt up front and a number of guards are making things happen along the perimeter. With things already going so well, why lift the redshirt of one of the program's top freshmen?

Whether it makes sense on the surface or not, that's exactly what Tubby Smith has done. In the team's last outing, he allowed Wally Ellenson to get into the game for four minutes. That means this year will count as one of the young guard's four years of eligibility -- and he's already essentially missed the first 12 contests.

A closer look at the situation reveals a few potential reasons for making such a move though. For one, Ellenson is capable of helping Minnesota with a nice shooting touch from the outside. Even though things are going well now, it never hurts to have an extra weapon or two at your disposal -- especially in the loaded Big Ten. And the Gophers seem primed to do some damage this year, so why wait? They also already have another shooting guard (Alvin Ellis) set to hit campus next fall, so it's not as if they'll be thin at the position down the line just because Ellenson's suiting up now. On top of that, Nate Sandell of 1500ESPN.com points out that the program is currently recruiting Ellenson's younger brother, Henry -- a four-star prospect ranked No. 22 overall in the 2015 class. Allowing Wally to play right away -- something both he and his family wanted -- certainly can't hurt in that recruiting process.

[Dotch]

I should've pm'ed you before the game and would've been able to meet you in person Scott. We had tickets for the game a friend had given me just the day before. Worked out slick because I had to be in town for meetings as did a group of St. Paul campus Gopher alum. I even took a SDSU grad along who had never been there so he could see the historic old facility. Dandy seats. Across from the opponents bench about 10 rows up from the floor and Flip Saunders was actually a few rows behind us!

Was fun to get back to the confines of the Barn once again. Agree with your assessment a few days back. They got off to a slow start as I saw it and had to work at it to get control of the game which I commend them for. Trevor too I felt started slow but once he got it cranked up, he was the beast once again. They could've easily mauled the Bison had they taken the ball inside more and gotten a thin bench into early foul trouble. But hey, what's the fun in that when you can camp outside and practice shooting and miss all those mid-range jumpers?

[Scott M]

Watched BTN and the Gophers last night. Slow outta the gate, but they overhwlemed Lafayette with their depth.

Coleman had a nice game, going hard to the hoop and getting rewarded with some dunks, he also got out in transition and flushed a few. Everybody got to play except Elliason. Apparently he's in the doghouse, TUbby wouldn't elaborate. Attitude about not starting, bad practices, a speeding ticket (?!?) were some of the speculation I heard. I have a hard time thinking he'll be out for long, guy always gives 100% and works hard so I'm not worried about it.

Next up is New Years against Michigan State. They need to start on the right foot and win at home, against a ranked team. We'll see what they have, they should be hungry to get this one and the barn should be rocking.

[schmitty3]

Yea not much of a test last night. The talent differential between the 2 teams was just so big. I didn't think they looked too good, but it's tough when you are playing Lafeyette.

Can't wait for the B1G season to start!

[Scott M]

Would like to see a win tonight if this team is seriously thinking of contending this year. MSU is having a down year, relatively speaking, so you gotta take care of home court. I am nervous about the long layoff...

[Scott M]

Nice closeout, Gophers score final 12 points. 76-63 Final. Tubby shortens the bench and the starters respond. Nice opening win, setting the bar high. Still too many turnovers, Appling hurt them early, but they pounded the glass hard to compensate.

[schmitty3]

Yep they finally bucked the trend of falling apart at the end of big 10 games and took over at the end there. Dre Hollins and Mbakwe were huge at the end.

One thing that's concerning is the half court offense. Seemed like unless they were getting fast break points they had nothing. They also gave up a lot of offensive rebounds, but made up for that with offensive rebounds of their own.

Now i'm hoping Iowa can somehow pull off a win over Indiana...

[Huskie]

Nice win for the Gophers, it's a good way to start the year in a conference that's loaded. It still will be tough for them to finish above 4 or 5 with the talent in the league. They still need to do a lot of work on their half court offense, you can't win on transition alone. Also, how about a few of you drawing up some out of bounds plays and send them to Tubby so we can inbounds the ball under our own basket---maybe even score a time or two. Go Gophers!!!!!

[schmitty3]

Yea those base line inbounds were ugly. Don't think i've ever seen a team without a play for that situation. Everybody would just stand around until it got close to 5 seconds and then they would panic. Even the basic "stack" that you learn in youth ball would have been better than what they were doing.

[DrJ]

Just got back from the Barn.They still need some work but they came through at the end against a very good team. Old Gophs would find away to loose it at the end. Maybe this is the year.My voice is a little tired out from today and yesterdays big win.If only the Gophs football team could have hung on we could have had 4 wins the past weekend. Go MINNESOTA..... DrJ.

[Snag]

First win in 3 years vs. magician state. Played some good d the final 5 minutes and took over the game. I was a little worried with 10 minutes to go.

[fishersofmen]

Here we come!!

[TwinkeeDink]

yeah, start of the second half wasn't all so good. I was afraid we'd be the "old" gophs and cough up a big game after a stellar first half. Not sure if we're top ten material, but we'll find out. Big Ten is super tough this year, best conference in the nation, hands down.

[Scott M]

17-14 halftime lead. More scoring by the Old Dutch Little Chippers than the two D1 team. Gophers need to rip this open and get the fullcourt game going.

[Scott M]

Nice second half, blowing away NW. 69-51. Gophers put up 52 in the second half. Cleared the bench and everyone got in the books.

Nice game for Austin Hollins. He got hot and went 5-7 on 3's in the second half.

Tough game coming Wednesday night in Assembly Hall. Ohio State dropped their game this weekend in Champaign, could be tough for the Gophers. They will really need to clamp down on Illinois' talented guards. Illini go three guard lineup with Paul, Abrams, Richardson, and then bring Bertrand off the bench. They will need to play good defense and own the paint.

[Scott M]

#8 in the AP Top 25. USA Coaches Today Poll #10. Tough game at Illinois #12AP, then at Indiana #5AP, then home with Michigan #2AP. Brutal stretch. Gotta get 1-2 of them if they want a crack at a Big Ten title.

[Scott K]

The Big 10 is going to be a tough conference this year.

[CodyDawg]

Brutal schedule. If we can win 1 out of 3, i will be satisfied, 2 out of 3 I would be thrilled. A road win at IL or IN would be more than huge. Gotta defend your homecourt and play better than .500 ball on the road. To win the Big 10, you are going to have to go undefeated or maybe 1 loss at home, so that Mich game is big.

[Scott M]

Gotta pound the glass tonight, keep up the strong O rebounding against a poor rebounding team and own the paint. This is a much more winnable game than at Indiana in my opinion.

[Scott M]

84-67 whooping administered by the Gophers. Wow. I could hardly believe it as I listened. Could be the makings of a special team, regardless of what happens with impending matchups with the #5 and #2 teams in the country. A deep NCAA run would makes my long suffering on this board worth it to a degree.

Great execution on the road, awesome defense, and control of all facets of the game. Hoping for more this weekend in Bloomington.

[schmitty3]

Big win tonight, hopefully they can pull of one of these next two.

[mrklean]

hopefully they can keep it up crazy to see how good the big 10 is this year

[Snag]

I think Indiana will be tough to beat on the road. It looks like we are starting to get a little respect from the zebras. I hope they crush Michigan at home. I think Michigan is similar to Illinois, but have a better point guard.

[EBass]

Coleman was outstanding! Gophs are deep and you never know who's going to go off each night. It's about time Tubby!