Balanced Scoring Leads Maroon to 75-56 Win

Intra-squad scrimmages are often tough on the fans as many times down the court fans are happy with a defensive stop, but frustrated with the offense; then fans get excited about a no-look pass, but unhappy that the defense is not playing tighter off-the-ball. That sentiment continued Saturday at The Barn as the Maroon Gophers defeated the White Gophers 75-56.

With so many new faces in Dinkytown, there have been many lingering questions surrounding the team over the past several months. A few of those were answered and a few were not. For starters, both Dan Coleman and Vincent Grier can flat out score. During a stretch in the first half, Coleman absolutely dominated with an array of mid-range jumpers and a big-time put-back slam. Coleman hit eight of his first nine shots and finished the game with 16 points and nine rebounds in 37 minutes. Coleman’s first half performance led the Maroon team to a commanding 42-28 lead.

Grier was the bright spot in the first half for the White team as he brought a lot of confidence and aggressiveness to the Gophers on the offensive end. Grier’s athleticism allows him to create a lot of shots for himself in a crowded lane and he is definitely not afraid to shoot. Grier finished with a game high 26 points on 11/21 shooting and added three steals, three assists and four rebounds in 37 minutes.

Here are some additional thoughts and statistics on the rest of the team:

Maroon Team:

Brent Lawson ““ Lawson continues to do a great job of playing within himself. The senior captain finished with 11 points on 5/8 shooting, six rebounds and five assists in 29 minutes. He played solid defense all day and seems to find himself in good position on offense. He’s a steady presence out there and the coaches will be able to count on him all season to provide a consistent leadership role.

Spencer Tollackson ““ Spencer has such a great feel for the game and is an outstanding passing big man. He had a couple of incredible no-look passes where he hit a streaking Coleman in the lane and another time got out of a double team with a crosscourt pass to an open Lawson who nailed a three-pointer. Spencer wears his emotions on his sleeve and today was no different. The freshman big man finished with 12 points on 5/9 shooting and added seven rebounds in 34 minutes. Spencer showed an array of post-moves. He and Coleman will provide a great frontcourt nucleus for the Gophers over the next four years.

Miles Webb – Miles started the game off with an NBA-range three-pointer and continued to show why he enters the program with the reputation as an outside threat. Webb finished with 11 points including two three-pointers and also played well defensively all game.

Aaron Robinson ““ Aaron looked like he had a lot more confidence out there today and with the recent injury to Adam Boone, this is a good sign for Gopher fans. Aaron struggled with his shot today finishing with two points on 1/8 shooting, but his five assists with only two turnovers was a welcome surprise. Robinson did beat Rico Tucker off the dribble a few times but he never takes it all the way to the basket; instead picks up his dribble or pitches it back out. Aaron will have to play a lot of minutes this year, so hopefully his jumper will begin to fall to at least keep defenses honest.

Maurice Hargrow ““ Hargrow had a slow first half, but was his usual (sophomore version) self in the second half. Hargrow finished with 18 points and five assists in 28 minutes and was 7/13 from the floor. He handled the ball a decent amount and this will likely be an area of concentration this season as he has a redshirt year.

Alex Popp ““ Alex was recruited to as a walk-on to shoot and when he does, he is usually very good. That did not change at the scrimmage today as he hit both of his attempts and finished with five points in 15 minutes.

White Team:

Kerry Wooldridge ““ Kerry was very quiet all summer long at the open scrimmages, but showed a few flashes of life in a first-half spurt where he had two baskets in a three minute stretch. Wooldridge finished with four points and four rebounds in 31 minutes of play.

Jonathan Williams ““ Jonathan drew the toughest challenge of the day as he had the task of guarding Coleman and Tollackson all day long. While he was quite on the offensive end (he finished with five points) he did bang down low and finished with nine rebounds, including four on the offensive end. Williams seems to be improving his conditioning and is still getting a feel for the pace of the Big Ten play, but he has great size and if Jeff Hagen’s injury lingers, he’ll likely have to play early on.

Jordan Nuness ““ Jordan only played 23 minutes, but he made the most of the time he was in there as he finished with 10 points on 4/7 shooting. Jordan has always been confident in his jump shot, but he looks more comfortable defensively compared to last year’s open scrimmage.

Rico Tucker ““ Rico played a game-high 38 minutes and showed flashes of his much-heralded athleticism and flashes of a freshman that is learning to adapt to PG play in the Big Ten. Rico finished with eight points on 4/12 shooting, five assists, five rebounds and eight turnovers. Rico pushes the ball up the court very well and he and Grier will run as exciting of a fast break around. Tucker had his first highlight dunk when he stole the ball and threw down a tomahawk jam in the open court. But as the game wore on, Robinson’s pressure frustrated Rico a bit and forced him into a few turnovers.

Ryan Saunders ““ Like Popp, Ryan Saunders was efficient from the outside hitting his only attempt, which was a three-pointer. Saunders also finished with three rebounds.

Zach Puchtel ““ Zach continued his reputation as a guy that does not shy away from physical play today as he battled Tollackson and Coleman down low. Zach finished with one rebound and two assists in 22 minutes.

Overall, it was a bit rugged at times. I am sure that there were more turnovers by the guards than the coaches want, but that unfortunately comes with the learning curve of having so many new faces. This team will need to push the ball to utilize Grier, Tucker and Coleman’s athleticism, but it could be a double-edge sword as the depth, or at least experienced guys off the bench, is not there right now. More than anything though, it was just great being back in The Barn knowing that the exhibition opener is just two weeks away.

A few additional notes: Gopher commit and Henry wing, Brandon Smith was in attendance”¦Henry Sibley big man and 2007 Gopher recruit, Trevor Mbakwe was in attendance…Jeff Hagen, Adam Boone and J’Son Stamper did not play.