Gopher Basketball
A local K-9 “œflying dogs” training group brought their high intensity and quick cast of dogs and left Gopher fans pumped up heading into the second half. That intensity must have spilled over to the team as the Gophers took a seven point halftime lead and turned it into a 22 point lead five minutes into the second half.
Aaron Robinson ignited the run as he hit three three-pointers in the first four minutes of the second half. Those three shots were the only shots that Robinson took all night, but combined with his five assists and four steals, he was the catalyst to the Gophers big half. Minnesota opened up a 67-37 lead halfway through the second half after a Vincent Grier steal and assist to a wide open Rico Tucker who hit a three-pointer.
Grier continued to show his athleticism and effectiveness in the open court as he finished with 13 points, four rebounds and five assists. While Grier continued what he started in the first exhibition game, Gopher fans got their first glimpse of JUCO transfer, J’son Stamper and he immediately made his impact felt with his high-intensity style of play. Stamper was all over the court on both ends of the ball, and while he still needs to learn the offense, he did score 13 points with four rebounds in just 12 minutes of play. His play was instrumental in the Gophers pulling away in the second half.
Most Gopher fans would probably agree that this team plays remarkably better defense than the last few years. The guys were in the faces SCSU all night and had very few defensive lapses. Some of the big men were pushed out of position a few times and allowed too man offensive rebounds (13), but there is a definite change on the defensive end of the floor.
Offensively the Gophers were not as crisp tonight. We turned the ball over 20 times, many of which were really unforced errors. But rest assured, this is a Gopher team that shares the ball and seems to be having fun early on.
Some player analysis following the St. Cloud State game:
Dan Coleman: Dan did not play as well tonight as he did in the first exhibition game. He finished with eight points and four rebounds on 3/8 shooting and 2/4 from behind the arc. He has a tendency to get pushed around a bit on the defensive end of the floor and on the glass, but he has a good feel for the game and his athleticism will make up a bit for his current deficiencies.
Brent Lawson: Brent had a usual solid game for him that will not show up in the box score. He makes a lot of smart decisions on both ends of the floor from the free-throw line to the free-throw line. He struggled a bit to finish a few open looks offensively.
Jeff Hagen: Jeff continued to use his size advantage all night and finished 14 points and 9 rebounds. He was a perfect 4/4 from the floor and 6/6 from the free throw line. He had one incredible no-look behind the head pass, but also had five turnovers.
Vincent Grier: Vincent is a player. He would get minutes on most teams in the country this year and will likely continue to lead the Gophers all season long with his athleticism and physical maturity. He played a bit of shooting guard tonight when Lawson was out of the game. Vincent is most effective in the open floor and will be a catalyst in a full-court trap.
Aaron Robinson: This may have been the best game Aaron has played as a Gopher. He is really showing signs of maturity and his outside jumper was falling tonight as he was 3/3 from behind the arc. He also put a lot of pressure defensively and ended up with three steals. He is making better decisions offensively, but still struggles a bit with his entry passes to the big men.
Rico Tucker: Gopher fans were just a foot or so away from seeing their first highlight dunk from Tucker, but SCSU just caught him as he was going up to throw it down. Rico finally found his outside shot tonight as he was 2/3 from behind the arc and finished with seven points. Rico is still learning the ins-and-outs of running an offense and he struggled a bit with his entry-passes, but he is very tough in the open floor.
Spencer Tollackson: Spencer is already becoming a fan favorite. That is in part because he wears his emotions on his sleeve, part of that is he is already defining the personality of the team and part of that is his ability to take it to the hole. Spencer had an awesome back-to-the-basket spin move with a monster dunk that drew a questionable technical foul for hanging on the rim. While he will probably earn a few extra laps in practice for that technical, he does have some nifty post-moves and had a few nice assists as well.
J’son Stamper: This was the first glimpse for Gopher fans tonight of Stamper and he did not disappoint. He is still a guy without a true position, but he will find himself earning a lot of minutes. He is very active off the ball on both ends of the court and finished with 13 points and four rebounds in just 12 minutes of play. He also played in-your-face defense all night. It is obvious that Stamper is still learning the offense and defense as he looked a little lost a few times, but he seemed to find himself in the right spot at the right time.
Miles Webb: Miles did not play much tonight, but he did have a really nice assist to Spencer Tollackson in the open court. Hopefully Miles will get a few more minutes in the non-conference schedule, as he is only an injury away from getting major minutes.
Jonathan Williams: Jonathan only played four minutes tonight but he managed four blocks in that time including a pin on the backboard just seconds into the game. He also altered a few more shots. Jonathan will see plenty of time as his career progresses. He’s still raw on the offensive end, but he seems to be adapting to the speed of the game better and better.
Kerry Wooldridge: Kerry only played five minutes tonight and had one turnover.
Ryan Saunders: Ryan found himself playing with the first unit midway through the second half. He missed his only shot attempt of the game.
Jordan Nuness: Jordan was active on the glass in his four minutes of play as he nabbed three rebounds. Jordan did not attempt a shot.
Alex Popp: Alex missed his only shot attempt (a three-pointer) in his three minutes of play.
Recruiting Update: Both Brandon Smith and Cole Aldrich were in attendance.