One Rube's Perspective

DoubleAlum

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I'm not a great Bball mind. I played high school ball for 3 years, mostly watching from the bench (perhaps watching from the bench had its advantages to seeing the whole game). I haven't been watching the Gophers too closely this year. I even had trouble seeing the greatness of Tyus Jones while he was dominating in high school. So, you can take this all with a grain of salt (as I know you all will), but I thought it would be fun to provide a more distant, less invested observation of the team. Hopefully it's objective.

1. Carlos Morris destroys momentum for this team on a regular basis by taking too many long shots at poor times, early in the shot clock and with nobody in position to rebound. The guy can finish beautifully at the rim and should stick to that for now. Seems like a coaching deficiency to me.
2. Mo Walker now seems like one of the best centers the Gophers have had in many years. He needs more touches and more shots. Kudos to coaching and Mo for making this happen.
3. Team defense seems really poor. Gophers just seem to get out hustled and confused a lot on D. Seem to stand around flat footed and guys blow by them.
4. Joey King needs to just catch and shoot. He's often open, but decides to head fake and then dribbles into no-mans land or trouble. Coaching problem it seems to me.
5. Nate Mason seems as talented as any guard we've had at Minnesota in many years.
6. Lil Dre needs to turn it down just a notch. Just a little too frenetic. Dial it back a hair. Seems like coaching to me.

Bottom line, it seems to me we need more coaching. Guys need to be told what to do and what not to do. I suppose there is a fine line between allowing guys to play their game and over coaching/stifling your players. Also, something needs to be done about the defense, but don't know enough to make suggestions. Seems like playing mostly zone would be the way to go, but what do I know. Finally, I have a question: is this really stupid, or could we play Hollins, Lil Dre, Mason, Morris and Mo at the same? Does King add enough to make his presence necessary?

Okay now, rip me apart boys!!
 

All good points. Most probably aren't surprised, but I'm hesitant to say some of things are all all the coaches. Maybe they do tell King to shoot instead of head faking all the time. And maybe he does it in practice.

But I agree with the overall info of your post.
 

I'm not a great Bball mind. I played high school ball for 3 years, mostly watching from the bench (perhaps watching from the bench had its advantages to seeing the whole game). I haven't been watching the Gophers too closely this year. I even had trouble seeing the greatness of Tyus Jones while he was dominating in high school. So, you can take this all with a grain of salt (as I know you all will), but I thought it would be fun to provide a more distant, less invested observation of the team. Hopefully it's objective.

1. Carlos Morris destroys momentum for this team on a regular basis by taking too many long shots at poor times, early in the shot clock and with nobody in position to rebound. The guy can finish beautifully at the rim and should stick to that for now. Seems like a coaching deficiency to me.
2. Mo Walker now seems like one of the best centers the Gophers have had in many years. He needs more touches and more shots. Kudos to coaching and Mo for making this happen.
3. Team defense seems really poor. Gophers just seem to get out hustled and confused a lot on D. Seem to stand around flat footed and guys blow by them.
4. Joey King needs to just catch and shoot. He's often open, but decides to head fake and then dribbles into no-mans land or trouble. Coaching problem it seems to me.
5. Nate Mason seems as talented as any guard we've had at Minnesota in many years.
6. Lil Dre needs to turn it down just a notch. Just a little too frenetic. Dial it back a hair. Seems like coaching to me.

Bottom line, it seems to me we need more coaching. Guys need to be told what to do and what not to do. I suppose there is a fine line between allowing guys to play their game and over coaching/stifling your players. Also, something needs to be done about the defense, but don't know enough to make suggestions. Seems like playing mostly zone would be the way to go, but what do I know. Finally, I have a question: is this really stupid, or could we play Hollins, Lil Dre, Mason, Morris and Mo at the same? Does King add enough to make his presence necessary?

Okay now, rip me apart boys!!

Not sure if I should laugh or bang my head on the wall.
 


Not sure if I should laugh or bang my head on the wall.

So just to clarify, is it your opinion that Pitino and staff are constantly telling Carlos Morris to stop taking bad shots and costing our team precious momentum, and Morris is simply ignoring them? And the coaches just throw up their hands and go "oh well, he'll do what he wants?" I kinda doubt it 19.
 


So just to clarify, is it your opinion that Pitino and staff are constantly telling Carlos Morris to stop taking bad shots and costing our team precious momentum, and Morris is simply ignoring them? And the coaches just throw up their hands and go "oh well, he'll do what he wants?" I kinda doubt it 19.

It's been well documented that the coaches are working with Carlos Morris on his shot selection.
 

So just to clarify, is it your opinion that Pitino and staff are constantly telling Carlos Morris to stop taking bad shots and costing our team precious momentum, and Morris is simply ignoring them? And the coaches just throw up their hands and go "oh well, he'll do what he wants?" I kinda doubt it 19.

There are a lot of guys that would spend more time on the pine if the team had better depth. They need Morris out there despite his flaws.
 

So just to clarify, is it your opinion that Pitino and staff are constantly telling Carlos Morris to stop taking bad shots and costing our team precious momentum, and Morris is simply ignoring them? And the coaches just throw up their hands and go "oh well, he'll do what he wants?" I kinda doubt it 19.

I'll bet Carlos hears it a lot from the coaches, and his shot selection has improved over this year. One, it's a process. You don't suddenly go from not doing what coaches want to magically following the plan. Second, the guy is a player. You also don't want him hesitating and looking to the bench scared to screw up. IMO, that was the case in Tubby's last years. It's also why I've been impressed with Stolling's approach with the women. She lets them play--more fun to watch, players enjoy it more, and players will improve.
 

Not completely off-base.
1)I agree that Morris can take ill-advised shots too early in the shot clock. I have no problem with one or two, early in the game, but when you aren't knocking those shots down, you have to stop taking them and use a different strategy. To Morris credit and Coach Pitino's, you didn't see bad shots in the 2nd half.
2) Walker is still soft. He missed some bunnies today and forced up a handful of others. He's the best we have, but clearly he's a step down from the top centers in the conference.
3) Team defense is fine. There were some moments when guys got beat off the dribble and weak side defense didn't get in place for help, but Joey had three charging calls because he was in position. Overall, they played pretty well today. (20 turnovers by Rutgers didn't come with no defense being applied.)
4) King is what he is. An undersized power forward who has little arch on his 3 point shot. He can hit a few, but you also see a number of those shots skim off the front rim. I have no problems with his head fakes. He's a plugger and at present...the best we can get in that position.
5) Mason is solid, but he had a few possessions today where his ball handling was a bit suspect. Too reach another level as a point guard, he's going to have to dribble that ball as if it's on a string. But, he's a freshman and he's very good at this point in his college career. No complaints on his game.
6) lil Dre is very good in transition, but he struggles when taller players are able to trap him. In those situations he can get caught taking too much time to decide on where to go with the ball, which results in a turnover. (see the late game trap that resulted in a turnover and bucket for Rutgers). In the open court, however, he uses his speed very well. He just needs to hold himself back from driving into double teams in the middle of the defense.

I am not nearly so quick to blame coaches for individual deficiencies on a team. Coach has this team playing a motion offense. This gives the players a lot of opportunity to make personal decisions based upon how they are reading the defense. Coach isn't playing the game, the players are playing the game (stating the obvious here). I like how Richard controlled the tempo in this game, yet gave a longer leash to the players. They are the ones who win or lose the games.

What is disconcerting to me is that with a senior laden team, we don't have anyone who will demand the ball in the final minutes and force his will on the opponent. If anything, this team is far too nice.

One other observation. Konate looked much, much improved today. He ran the court well and he moved his feet much better than he had during the non-conference season. I was very happy to see his progress and I can see him taking more time away from EE.
 



Believe it or not Morris's shot selection has actually gotten better lately IMO. Today was rough, but he hasn't been too bad of a shooter this year so he deserves some leeway. Pitino gives his players freedom on offense. Call it bad coaching if you want, but that's just how it is.
 

I'll bet Carlos hears it a lot from the coaches, and his shot selection has improved over this year. One, it's a process. You don't suddenly go from not doing what coaches want to magically following the plan. Second, the guy is a player. You also don't want him hesitating and looking to the bench scared to screw up. IMO, that was the case in Tubby's last years. It's also why I've been impressed with Stolling's approach with the women. She lets them play--more fun to watch, players enjoy it more, and players will improve.

I agree with the above. We already have confidence issues. Yankin' guys from the game, staring them down, screaming at them is not
how to effect change. It's a process, as Mulligan said. The last thing you want is somebody going into a turtle shell and muttering I can't do anything right. Playing free, having fun is the secret. Hollins said it today. Players who hesitate are hopelessly ineffective, again as Mully said.
Pitino is a very good coach masking a lot of deficiencies in personnel. 2nd in the nation in steals with this group is coaching. Pitino is dictating the pace of the game. It will be more effective with better players. Patience.
 

thoughts

1. Morris and others regularly shoot early in the shot clock without making the defense expend any effort. If they are hot like Dre was against Rutgets i think it's ok. They are rarely that hot.
2. Agree that he needs more touches. Hard to play him big minutes as his defense stinks. I think his rebounding has improved.
3. We are a better offensive team that defensive team.
4. King is one of the few players in all of college who uses the shot fake a tad to much. Can you imagine if Morris could develop it what kind of drives he could make?
5. Mason is the most solid freshmen guard i can remember. Not crazy athelticsm but just solid to spectacular (3 pt shooting for a freshmen).
6. I think lil dre and EE are having the same issue. They have one gear, the top end, and they struggle when the game dictates them to slow down. I think big ten teams have scouted Dre well and he is struggling to adapt.

We are already one of the smallest and least physical teams in all of the big conferences. You would have 5-9, 6-1, 6-1, and a 175 lb 6-5 guy playing the pf spot. King provides 3pt shooting, charges, and all out effort. He would be a nice David Grim type off the bench if we had better options there. Buggs has played better basketball. Neither is a good rebounder.


1. Carlos Morris destroys momentum for this team on a regular basis by taking too many long shots at poor times, early in the shot clock and with nobody in position to rebound. The guy can finish beautifully at the rim and should stick to that for now. Seems like a coaching deficiency to me.
2. Mo Walker now seems like one of the best centers the Gophers have had in many years. He needs more touches and more shots. Kudos to coaching and Mo for making this happen.
3. Team defense seems really poor. Gophers just seem to get out hustled and confused a lot on D. Seem to stand around flat footed and guys blow by them.
4. Joey King needs to just catch and shoot. He's often open, but decides to head fake and then dribbles into no-mans land or trouble. Coaching problem it seems to me.
5. Nate Mason seems as talented as any guard we've had at Minnesota in many years.
6. Lil Dre needs to turn it down just a notch. Just a little too frenetic. Dial it back a hair. Seems like coaching to me.

. Also, something needs to be done about the defense, but don't know enough to make suggestions. Seems like playing mostly zone would be the way to go, but what do I know. Finally, I have a question: is this really stupid, or could we play Hollins, Lil Dre, Mason, Morris and Mo at the same? Does King add enough to make his presence necessary?

Okay now, rip me apart boys!!
 

Not completely off-base.
1)I agree that Morris can take ill-advised shots too early in the shot clock. I have no problem with one or two, early in the game, but when you aren't knocking those shots down, you have to stop taking them and use a different strategy. To Morris credit and Coach Pitino's, you didn't see bad shots in the 2nd half.
2) Walker is still soft. He missed some bunnies today and forced up a handful of others. He's the best we have, but clearly he's a step down from the top centers in the conference.
3) Team defense is fine. There were some moments when guys got beat off the dribble and weak side defense didn't get in place for help, but Joey had three charging calls because he was in position. Overall, they played pretty well today. (20 turnovers by Rutgers didn't come with no defense being applied.)
4) King is what he is. An undersized power forward who has little arch on his 3 point shot. He can hit a few, but you also see a number of those shots skim off the front rim. I have no problems with his head fakes. He's a plugger and at present...the best we can get in that position.
5) Mason is solid, but he had a few possessions today where his ball handling was a bit suspect. Too reach another level as a point guard, he's going to have to dribble that ball as if it's on a string. But, he's a freshman and he's very good at this point in his college career. No complaints on his game.
6) lil Dre is very good in transition, but he struggles when taller players are able to trap him. In those situations he can get caught taking too much time to decide on where to go with the ball, which results in a turnover. (see the late game trap that resulted in a turnover and bucket for Rutgers). In the open court, however, he uses his speed very well. He just needs to hold himself back from driving into double teams in the middle of the defense.

I am not nearly so quick to blame coaches for individual deficiencies on a team. Coach has this team playing a motion offense. This gives the players a lot of opportunity to make personal decisions based upon how they are reading the defense. Coach isn't playing the game, the players are playing the game (stating the obvious here). I like how Richard controlled the tempo in this game, yet gave a longer leash to the players. They are the ones who win or lose the games.

What is disconcerting to me is that with a senior laden team, we don't have anyone who will demand the ball in the final minutes and force his will on the opponent. If anything, this team is far too nice.

One other observation. Konate looked much, much improved today. He ran the court well and he moved his feet much better than he had during the non-conference season. I was very happy to see his progress and I can see him taking more time away from EE.
Agreed. The 2nd half Konate looked like he belongs. He will get more physical, will rebound better and will play better defense as he plays more. But count me one that sees a little of Dieng in him. I like the ability to catch at the elbow and hit shots to force his defender out. Creates opportunities for high low(with a decent PF) or back cuts.
 




Agreed. The 2nd half Konate looked like he belongs. He will get more physical, will rebound better and will play better defense as he plays more. But count me one that sees a little of Dieng in him. I like the ability to catch at the elbow and hit shots to force his defender out. Creates opportunities for high low(with a decent PF) or back cuts.

I'm not trying to be pessimistic, but that was ONE shot. Has he taken and made another jump shot with the Gophers? Does anyone remember him pulling the trigger and making during non con?

Bakary still looks like an awkward duck out there, like really awkward. He has the body size, motor and the offensive moves to some day be a force in this offense. But if we weren't 1-5 I wouldn't want him on the court, I'd take hustle/whinny McGee over him every day of the week.
 

I'm not trying to be pessimistic, but that was ONE shot. Has he taken and made another jump shot with the Gophers? Does anyone remember him pulling the trigger and making during non con?

Bakary still looks like an awkward duck out there, like really awkward. He has the body size, motor and the offensive moves to some day be a force in this offense. But if we weren't 1-5 I wouldn't want him on the court, I'd take hustle/whinny McGee over him every day of the week.

He actually got fouled before the shot in the first half and was in the process of making a beautiful hook shot. The shot didn't count but it oozed of potential. The way he shot it-if he perfects that move, it's unstoppable. What I notice is that he posts up well and gets the ball high like he should on offense where he looks confidence. On defense he looks like he is thinking about where he should be and what he should do and he is a step slow because of it. He also plays small on defense, he's in a crouch. He'll learn but he needs time on the court. I'd rather see him on the court personally.
 

He actually got fouled before the shot in the first half and was in the process of making a beautiful hook shot. The shot didn't count but it oozed of potential. The way he shot it-if he perfects that move, it's unstoppable. What I notice is that he posts up well and gets the ball high like he should on offense where he looks confidence. On defense he looks like he is thinking about where he should be and what he should do and he is a step slow because of it. He also plays small on defense, he's in a crouch. He'll learn but he needs time on the court. I'd rather see him on the court personally.

I'm almost positive he hit a 12-15 foot jumper from free throw line extended??? I could be mistaken. I really like him offensively, which is odd, as I feel Pitino said he was much further along defensively than offensively. I agree that on defense it's way too much thinking for him, also on rebounding he is solely focused on getting a body on his guy, which is awesome, but he forgets to go get the ball when he can. Couple times a ball was rebounded right in front of him while he boxed out his guy that if he would have just left his man and jumped, he most likely would have won the ball.

I'd rather see him too, seeing as we are 1-5, but if we had to win a game TODAY, I want EE on the court rather than Bakary as I trust EE to get the rebound/block before Bakary
 

I'm almost positive he hit a 12-15 foot jumper from free throw line extended??? I could be mistaken. I really like him offensively, which is odd, as I feel Pitino said he was much further along defensively than offensively. I agree that on defense it's way too much thinking for him, also on rebounding he is solely focused on getting a body on his guy, which is awesome, but he forgets to go get the ball when he can. Couple times a ball was rebounded right in front of him while he boxed out his guy that if he would have just left his man and jumped, he most likely would have won the ball.

I'd rather see him too, seeing as we are 1-5, but if we had to win a game TODAY, I want EE on the court rather than Bakary as I trust EE to get the rebound/block before Bakary

You did see him hit a 12 footer as well. I was referring to an earlier play he made.
 




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