Gophers Win Opener, Pack Their Bags

When it comes to season openers, “a win is a win” is usually the most realistic philosophy to have. How a team plays in Game 1 of the schedule has little bearing on how they’ll play in Game 30; it’s basically just a chance for guys to get rid of first-game jitters. I had placed a little more emphasis on this opener because of the difficult four-game stretch that follows it, but I forgot that we only had four guys who had ever played a D1 college game.

The Gophers didn’t impress me as much in this game as they did in the two exhibitions, but that doesn’t really matter. It’s also not really that surprising in hindsight, because Lipscomb was a better team than the two exhibition opponents (at least offensively and in the backcourt) and was better than I expected. They certainly weren’t good enough to be within 49-52 27 minutes into the game like they were today, but “a win is a win” (just this once).

Minnesota actually had some impressive stats. They shot 55% from the field and made half of their 3-point attempts. They had 18 assists, 14 steals, and 12 blocked shots. And they attempted 35 free throws. Those numbers are usually indicative of a blowout. The reason this game wasn’t quite one of those is that the Gophers weren’t as good in their two key areas as there were the past two games. They didn’t defend as well, and they didn’t rebound as well.

Lipscomb’s quickness on the perimeter (namely James Poindexter and Brian Fisk) gave the Gopher guards trouble, and their strength and quick feet inside (mainly Shaun Durant) caused some problems for the Gopher big men. The defensive effort was still there, and it was a still a better performance than the past few years, but the execution was a little lacking at times (perhaps do solely to the increased level of competition). The 14 steals were impressive (point guards Aaron Robinson and Rico Tucker had half of them), and Jeff Hagen does deserve credit for his 7 blocked shots (although he had a rough game in other areas).

The rebounding setback is probably a little more worrisome, since it was more of a team thing than the individual defensive letdowns. Minnesota only outrebounded the Bisons 30-26, despite having a noticeable size advantage. The Bisons did have 9 missed free throws to pad their stats with, but their 9 offensive rebounds and 7-4 advantage in second-chance points can’t be explained away. The Gophers simply didn’t crash the boards as hard as they need to on either end of the court. But again, “a win is a win.”

The highlights for Minnesota start with the play of two newcomers. Vincent Grier was sensational (I’ll probably be using that word a lot talking about him) in his debut, scoring 23 points on 9 for 10 shooting from the field. He attacked the basket all game long and made some spectacular plays. He also had 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals in his team-high 36 minutes, and I don’t think he ever got tired.

Dan Coleman also had a strong debut, finishing with 21 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. Dan got off to a bit of a slow start and missed a few bunnies in the first half, but he heated up and ended the game 7 for 15 from the field and 3 for 4 from 3-point land. Not bad for a 6’8″ freshman.

Freshman Rico Tucker scored 11 points, with 9 of them coming at the free throw line. We still haven’t seen the real Rico (his passing ability and confidence in transition have been missing), but I do like seeing a freshman guard aggressive enough to get 10 free throw attempts in 15 minutes of playing time. Rico also played strong defense.

Jeff Hagen finished with 10 points, and Aaron Robinson had 7 points despite a cold shooting night. He did have one great hesitation move in transition to go along with a team-high (tied by Grier) 4 assists. And I need to make one comment about newcomer J’son Stamper, despite his quiet 4-point game. When a loose ball hits the floor, you better hide the women and children. He’s an animal, and he’s going to come up with it just about every time.

Now the Gophers are off to Alaska, where the face Furman Wednesday night (or in the wee hours of Thursday morning here in Minnesota) in the first round of the Great Alaska Shootout. There aren’t going to be any easy games up there, and I’m not sure the young Gophers are ready yet, but it will be interesting to see what happens. A couple of wins would be a very good sign.

Here’s the box score.