This was a really important win for many reasons

[Costa Rican Gopher]

it was funny listening to Gus when he wanted to rave about how good Carlos was playing and every time he started in Jimmy would throw a little water (reality) on the hyperbole that Gus was spewing. Jimmy has done enough games to temper his enthusiasm because he know there are more plays coming and nothing is guaranteed with Carlos.

What did Carlos Morris do different from the past 10 games other than make shots as opposed to missing them? I couldn't watch the game but Ryan James' play-by-play/blog made it sound like his defense was awful again and that he was jacking up contested 3's, early in the shot clock as usual, but last night they happened to fall. After the game James said it was perhaps Morris' best game as Gopher so I'm confused? Are people thinking "The light really came on for Morris & this is what we can expect moving forward." or more "Morris took a lot of bad shots, but they went in and we won."?

 

[bga1]

it was funny listening to Gus when he wanted to rave about how good Carlos was playing and every time he started in Jimmy would throw a little water (reality) on the hyperbole that Gus was spewing. Jimmy has done enough games to temper his enthusiasm because he know there are more plays coming and nothing is guaranteed with Carlos.

Carlos has ability you can't coach. For him to be better we have to find out if Pitino can teach him to find the right moments to do his thing and the right moments to just pass the ball. Despite his flaws, the kid has the ability to win games if he learns to harness his ability. He is our second best FG% shooter and a decent (37%) 3 point shooter despite his sometimes bad shot selection. He just needs to learn to play defense and play a little bit smarter on offense and he could be a big part of next year. Big night for him last night and something to build on and refine.

 

[Minnesconsin fan]

What did Carlos Morris do different from the past 10 games other than make shots as opposed to missing them? I couldn't watch the game but Ryan James' play-by-play/blog made it sound like his defense was awful again and that he was jacking up contested 3's, early in the shot clock as usual, but last night they happened to fall. After the game James said it was perhaps Morris' best game as Gopher so I'm confused? Are people thinking "The light really came on for Morris & this is what we can expect moving forward." or more "Morris took a lot of bad shots, but they went in and we won."?

it looked like the same Morris to me. Some good, some bad. Some subtle, some glaringly obvious. My point was that Gus hadn't seen Morris as much as Jimmy has so Jimmy knew there was a bad play coming with every good one. Make a contested 3 that he gets fouled on, miss the uncontested 15footer (free throw-13.5 ft to the front of the rim)

 

[scher215]

What did Carlos Morris do different from the past 10 games other than make shots as opposed to missing them? I couldn't watch the game but Ryan James' play-by-play/blog made it sound like his defense was awful again and that he was jacking up contested 3's, early in the shot clock as usual, but last night they happened to fall. After the game James said it was perhaps Morris' best game as Gopher so I'm confused? Are people thinking "The light really came on for Morris & this is what we can expect moving forward." or more "Morris took a lot of bad shots, but they went in and we won."?

I thought he looked more in control. He wasn't pressing as much. They were a few contested shots, but it seemed they were more shots he wanted, he was picking his spots. Typically it appears he is improvising out of countries and just jacks something up for the sake of shooting.

He also cut down on turnovers, nothing stupid trying to force it.

Still didn't pass the ball on a fast break, but overall just seemed much more in control.

Joey King too, his big difference was he used his pump fake to draw fouls as opposed to dribbling to a harder shot or passing. Was GREAT to see.

 

[Goldy Gopher]

What did Carlos Morris do different from the past 10 games other than make shots as opposed to missing them? I couldn't watch the game but Ryan James' play-by-play/blog made it sound like his defense was awful again and that he was jacking up contested 3's, early in the shot clock as usual, but last night they happened to fall. After the game James said it was perhaps Morris' best game as Gopher so I'm confused? Are people thinking "The light really came on for Morris & this is what we can expect moving forward." or more "Morris took a lot of bad shots, but they went in and we won."?

I thought Morris made some tough shots last night but did take better shots than he does a lot of times. He still had a couple plays where you just wondered what he was thinking like a lob pass to Mo that as nowhere near him and went right to a Spartan player. I thought Morris was better on the defensive end last night and did come up with a couple steals last night. He did get hit with a charge call on what I believe was a 2 on 1 fastbreak again although this time I thought it was a bad call as the Michigan State player kind of slid in under Morris. Overall I was encouraged with the decision making from Morris last night and thought it was a step forward for him.

 

[Ope3]

In the words of the great Nuke Laloosh, "I like winning, it’s like uh, you know, better than losing".

 

[Winasota Gopher]

What did Carlos Morris do different from the past 10 games other than make shots as opposed to missing them? I couldn't watch the game but Ryan James' play-by-play/blog made it sound like his defense was awful again and that he was jacking up contested 3's, early in the shot clock as usual, but last night they happened to fall. After the game James said it was perhaps Morris' best game as Gopher so I'm confused? Are people thinking "The light really came on for Morris & this is what we can expect moving forward." or more "Morris took a lot of bad shots, but they went in and we won."?

Shots found the bottom of the net at a higher rate than usual. He had some what the hell moments like mentioned above me, as well as a couple fast breaks where we had 3 on 1 and rather than 3 passes down the court we took 5 hard dribbles into the defender down the middle...

His defense wasn't any worse than the rest of the team on finding shooters off the screen actions. MSU does a nifty little wrinkle where they will set a screen high and have the shooter flare to the corner that no one could seem to find out. Valentine and Trice did an awfully good job of setting up there guys for open looks, or we did an awfully good job of running into screens.

His defensive positioning I cannot say I saw any other glaring mistakes out of him so I wont say it was better, but there weren't any blatent back door cuts that he allowed.

I wouldn't say it was his best game, as during the Non Conference schedule when we were running up and down on people and played less half court he really shined.

 

[Minnesconsin fan]

Shots found the bottom of the net at a higher rate than usual. He had some what the hell moments like mentioned above me, as well as a couple fast breaks where we had 3 on 1 and rather than 3 passes down the court we took 5 hard dribbles into the defender down the middle...

His defense wasn't any worse than the rest of the team on finding shooters off the screen actions. MSU does a nifty little wrinkle where they will set a screen high and have the shooter flare to the corner that no one could seem to find out. Valentine and Trice did an awfully good job of setting up there guys for open looks, or we did an awfully good job of running into screens.

His defensive positioning I cannot say I saw any other glaring mistakes out of him so I wont say it was better, but there weren't any blatent back door cuts that he allowed.

I wouldn't say it was his best game, as during the Non Conference schedule when we were running up and down on people and played less half court he really shined.

good point on the defensive end. The worst lapse i saw from anyone was from Andre fighting over the top of the screen while Trice was floating to the low corner. That was after Andre had just sat out for about 8 minutes due to his 4th foul which came on the exact same kind of play in the same corner.

 

[Keyser Söze]

This. It's hard to recruit when you're losing, no one's having any fun and the fans have checked out. This win gives the staff something to sell and renews fan support for the remaining few games. As others have pointed out it makes the Wisconsin game relevant, which is good.

That said, this is a moral victory and doesn't change the painful season we've had. I said this last year as well, but I hope we don't make it to the NCAA's. I think an NIT run would be more beneficial, with the extra games, extra practices, etc. for this young team as opposed to getting blown out by Kentucky or Duke in the 1st round of the Big Dance.

Are you saying we would be a 16 seed?

 

[bga1]

Are you saying we would be a 16 seed?

He wasn't thinking clearly- not about the seed or the NIT. There's about a 99% chance that we have no choice, but NEVER should the NIT be favored to going to the NCAAs and no we would never be a 16 seed if we got in.

Can anyone imagine a team getting selected for the Dance and the coach steps up to the podium and says- "We'd rather go to the NIT because we are hoping to play more games." Said coach is fired within hours.

 

[howeda7]

This. It's hard to recruit when you're losing, no one's having any fun and the fans have checked out. This win gives the staff something to sell and renews fan support for the remaining few games. As others have pointed out it makes the Wisconsin game relevant, which is good.

That said, this is a moral victory and doesn't change the painful season we've had. I said this last year as well, but I hope we don't make it to the NCAA's. I think an NIT run would be more beneficial, with the extra games, extra practices, etc. for this young team as opposed to getting blown out by Kentucky or Duke in the 1st round of the Big Dance.

I hate this argument. First, making the NCAA's is always better. And this team is not 'young' by college basketball standards. Finally there's probably a 45% chance we'll lose the 1st NIT game vs. a 55% chance we'll lose the first NCAA game. We won't be playing Duke or Kentucky, we'll be playing in some 6/11 game against a team like SMU.

 

[SelectionSunday]

We're actually one of the oldest teams in the country. Trying to find where I saw/heard that, but I think it was on BTN. The numbers back it up:

Eliason 23
Walker 23
Hollins 22
Mathieu 22
Morris 22
Shell 22
Buggs 21
Diedhiou 21
King 21
Konate 21
Lukashewich 19
Mason 19

Average age of 21.3. This isn't a young team. And when McNeil got booted he wasn't young either. He's already 21.

 

[Costa Rican Gopher]

He wasn't thinking clearly- not about the seed or the NIT. There's about a 99% chance that we have no choice, but NEVER should the NIT be favored to going to the NCAAs and no we would never be a 16 seed if we got in.

Can anyone imagine a team getting selected for the Dance and the coach steps up to the podium and says- "We'd rather go to the NIT because we are hoping to play more games." Said coach is fired within hours.

I cede the point on the seed. See what I did there.

I disagree on the other point. I think there are times when the NIT is better for player development due to the probability of more practices/games. When I say "Young" I'm not talking about Elliott and Kendall Shell. I'm talking about playing for future because this season has been over for a while now. Guys like Gaston and Bakary need all the game experience they can get imo.

 

[cjbfbp]

I cede the point on the seed. See what I did there.

I disagree on the other point. I think there are times when the NIT is better for player development due to the probability of more practices/games. When I say "Young" I'm not talking about Elliott and Kendall Shell. I'm talking about playing for future because this season has been over for a while now. Guys like Gaston and Bakary need all the game experience they can get imo.

Those may be valid points but he is right that no coach would ever say that in public.

 

[bga1]

I cede the point on the seed. See what I did there.

I disagree on the other point. I think there are times when the NIT is better for player development due to the probability of more practices/games. When I say "Young" I'm not talking about Elliott and Kendall Shell. I'm talking about playing for future because this season has been over for a while now. Guys like Gaston and Bakary need all the game experience they can get imo.

I get what you are saying. However, even an NIT title becomes a punchline a year later for people talking about the program while an NCAA appearance is racked up as a program positive even if it is one and done. People are already discussing the bad appearance of Pitino perhaps not making the NCAAs in his first three years. The NCAA tournament is what you sell to recruits long term- that's where they want to get. If you can say " we have been to the NCAA tournament 4 out of 5" years or whatever- that means a lot to a recruit. Regarding game experience - I am really excited that the team goes to Spain in the summer. Huge plus.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

The most consistent thing about this team has been their inconsistency.

I admit I had given up on the season. The Michigan State game really came out of nowhere for me - I just hadn't seen any indication that this group of players was capable of playing a game like that on the road against a quality opponent.

In retrospect, it makes all of the close losses earlier in the season feel that much worse. This team could have easily won another 4 or 5 games, and that would have put an entirely different perspective on the season.

BUT, having said that, the odds of this team making the NCAA tournament are about the same as the odds of my boss saying something nice to me on Monday morning..............