Post Utah, Pre Season Thoughts

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watertown 1987 guy n

watertown 1987 guy n

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Went to the game last night. Yes, athletic, have a nice mix of veterans and productive young players. I was encourage when Utah decided to up the energy at the 7 minute mark of the game and try to make it game and the Gophers responded with some nice defensive plays and offensive plays and maintained control to the end. Not sure if the Gophers are that good that they stopped this run or if Utah was just undermanned for the task.

Can They Grow Through The Season
At this point the team doesn't know how good it can be and needs some tests to develop that identity. Hopefully they respond positively to those tests and not flounder - confidence can be fragile but as long as Murphy is on the court the bottom will not fall out, but tight games on the road and team working together for win will go a long way to build confidence and convince these guys they have something special.

Need A Leader -
The loss of Mason is evident, the "leader" has not yet emerged, Kalsheur will likely be that guy in 1-2 years but its tough for a freshman to do it. We all want Coffee to be that guy this year but not sure if he has the personality for it, the same for Jordan - quiet, working-class type players that get it done but not natural leaders. McBrayer - too streaky and pouts when it doesn't go in. Washington - needs to mature and consistently make good decisions, last night he was unimpressive with some forced shots, BUT does create some nice ball movement - he does a better job than anyone else on the team (including Coffee) at breaking down the defense. He is a natural point guard and we will need him at the point against Big10 teams to break down the defense. No one else on the team has that skill quite like him - hopefully he matures and becomes more consistent. I'll say it again, this team needs him to be at the point! If it happens, the best lineup for the Gophers would be Washington, Kalsheur, Coffee, Oturu and Murphy. If it doesn't happen and Washington doesn't mature and become consistent, this team will struggle at times in the half court offense during Big10 play against the best half court defensive teams.
 

My thoughts after watching the game from my couch 250 miles away:

Amir Coffey: I love so much what he does at the point, and it seems like he can take it to the rim whenever he wants to. But he's going to cost us a game somewhere along the line with his free throw shooting as we're trying to salt away a close win. Mason was pretty clutch at the line during those situations.

Jordan Murphy: Maybe he doesn't need to develop a consistent mid-range jumper, because he seems even more relentless in the lane and on the glass. Such a joy to watch.

Daniel Oturu: I think 90% of his points are going to be dunks and putbacks. He doesn't have a wide array of post moves, at least not now, but he's going to be tough to handle around the rim.

Dupree McBrayer: I've never seen any guard consistently dribble the ball so high. I don't want him trying to dribble through a press any time soon, but I love his athleticism and his willingness to take (and make) shots both inside and outside. He didn't have as big an impact on the game last night, but I suspect that was an outlier. He's an excellent defender as well.

Gabe Kalscheur: More please. What a jump shooting performance, and I was equally impressed with his drive and finish in the closing minutes. I was surprised that Pitino was starting him. Not surprised any longer.

Isaiah Washington: That was a "left-for-work-without-deodorant" game for him last night. Yikes. A couple sweet passes in the lane aside, he was one I didn't want to see out on the floor. I hope that's an aberration.

Matz Stockman: Pleasantly surprised. He's serviceable, but a different level of serviceable from Konate. I'm not sure his haircut is going to catch on, though.

Michael Hurt: Well...

Jarvis Omersa: Great dunk. But he really, really needs to work on his defensive footwork. He was blown by more than once when he was in. I bet that's why we didn't see him in the second half.
 


When Curry is back and if Carr gets the waiver, this team will be so deep.
 

Oturu had a couple nice moves last night, including a lefty finish at the rim. Found himself in the right spot a lot and finished with dunks. Had a rough start to the game but figured it out quickly. Does a lot defensively, including foul. Will get better though.
 


McBrayer is the team's vocal leader. I watched the game from home, but here's where I saw his leadership:

I was watching Stockman a lot last night, mostly because he surprised me by his good play. You can tell he is in weird position, chemistry wise with the team, because our roster is made up of longtime Gophers (Murphy, McBrayer, Coffey, Hurt) and then the three freshman. Stockman is an outlier in the group. After one of Stockman's baskets, there was a foul (or some sort of dead ball call) on the other end of the court and the five Gophers gathered below the rim. McBrayer hit Stockman on the shoulder as kind of a "you're balling right now" solute, and it was that kind of recognition and veteran leadership that Mason would have brought in year's past.
 

Lakers612 said:
McBrayer is the team's vocal leader. I watched the game from home, but here's where I saw his leadership:

I was watching Stockman a lot last night, mostly because he surprised me by his good play. You can tell he is in weird position, chemistry wise with the team, because our roster is made up of longtime Gophers (Murphy, McBrayer, Coffey, Hurt) and then the three freshman. Stockman is an outlier in the group. After one of Stockman's baskets, there was a foul (or some sort of dead ball call) on the other end of the court and the five Gophers gathered below the rim. McBrayer hit Stockman on the shoulder as kind of a "you're balling right now" solute, and it was that kind of recognition and veteran leadership that Mason would have brought in year's past.
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Yep. I love that the guys have more spirit this year than the last couple years. They are celebrating with each other and playing together with some passion. Looks like they are having fun!
 

Have been hoping this year's version would approach the standard set by the 2016-17 team. Didnt see that last night. Seems like there is a lot of potential and can get there if it all comes together. I thought there was a real effort to defend the 3 point line, although it meant giving up some blow-bys at times. Also is nice for a change to see that teams will perhaps need to pay a price for zoning us this year.
 

When Murphy had to sit in the first half due to foul trouble I saw him pull Omersa and Oturo together and talk to them. That's leadership. Get in the young guys ears and help them out.


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GopherMarchMadness said:
I was wondering this same thing, and couldn't seem to find anything regarding injuries or off court issues.
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Pitino answered: "you can't play everybody" or something close to that in the press conference. Affirmed he was healthy.
 

60's Guy said:
Pitino answered: "you can't play everybody" or something close to that in the press conference. Affirmed he was healthy.
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That's fair enough. I guess there are just certain nights where guys don't fit the rotation. Not to mention most of our foul trouble was in our front court, so not much of a necessity to sub in guards. Thanks for the help!
 

GophersInIowa said:
When Curry is back and if Carr gets the waiver, this team will be so deep.
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That would be some great depth and hopefully enough to where a few injuries don't cripple us the way they have in the past. No matter what happens with Carr, getting Curry back will be huge for the frontcourt and really give us some nice depth up front. Will also help us in those games where a guy might get in foul trouble early.

Still need that go-to-guy to emerge. Would be awesome if it was Coffey but as others said I am not sure that is in his makeup to really take over a game. I actually think it could end up being Kalscheur. Super small sample size but he is clearly not afraid to look for his shot and while he won't keep hitting 3s at a 78% rate he seems to have a really nice shooting touch. They don't need someone to dominate the offense but when they get in those tough spots where you need a big basket, it is great to have that guy you know you can go to.

If Washington would adopt a pass first mentality he could be a great point guard for us. He is so quick and breaks down a defense well, plus he makes some really nice passes. He needs to stop taking 3s though because he just isn't good at it and they have others on the roster that are much better at it like McBrayer and Kalschuer.

I really like how they push the ball up quickly, puts a lot of pressure on the other team and can lead to some easy looks. 48 assists in 2 games is awesome. Again with the super small sample size but Michigan State led D1 last year with an average of just under 20 assists per game so if they can maintain close to this level they would be in elite company. Regardless of where they end up, lots of assists is a sign of a really unselfish team and those teams can be super hard to defend because you can't key in on one or two guys.
 



It seems like a long ways away and there are no guarantees but I think Curry will help in a lot of areas including leadership when he returns. Carr, also is a candidate if we can catch a break and get him eligible.
If Gabe keeps playing like he is...he might be our best current candidate besides Murphy to lead. Murphy's play is so critical...night and day difference with him in the game.
 

bga1 said:
Yep. I love that the guys have more spirit this year than the last couple years. They are celebrating with each other and playing together with some passion. Looks like they are having fun!
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It's a season emphasis...they are charting it...body language, bench conduct etc
 

Shooting needs to improve, Washington needs to get his stroke, he looked good against UMD, he needs to get back to that, Coffey has to get more consistent, and either Hurt or Stull has to step up.

We really need to get Curry back from a defensive standpoint, Omersa is not ready for prime time and Stockman just isn't quick enough against some opponents.
 

No one mentioned it, but people were previously knocking IW for his defense. I though his D last night was quite good.


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Omersa looks like he needs work on defense. I see him as more of an energy guy off the bench - come in for a few minutes if other guys are in foul trouble.

Stockman will have trouble with really physical post players, but he looks more serviceable than I expected.

Coffey takes a few too many kamikaze drives to the basket for my taste.

Murphy has got to stay out of foul trouble. Not the same team when he's not on the court.

As far as Curry, by the time he comes back, he will have been out of game situations for a long time. I suspect that it will take him a while to round into shape and figure out his role on the team. So, I don't expect to see the Gophers at full strength until January at least. (hopefully in time for conference games.)
 

Fun group to watch.

My observation regarding Amir - I think he is in the pg postion for one reason, and that is to make it to the nba. I appear to be in the minority, however, him at the point makes me uneasy. I hope he improves as the season goes by.

Murph - He would be devastating offensively if he could stop and pop in 12-15 ft shots. Dont get me wrong, still very good. I really thought he would come in this season with a J that would really open up his driving lanes.

Gabe - what a beautiful shot. Composed. Appeared to play very good D. Looking forward to his development.

Jelly - He is frustrated with his shot. Me too. If he could get it to fall consistently, his game would really flow. He needs to just play simple.
 

BarnBurner said:
Fun group to watch.

My observation regarding Amir - I think he is in the pg postion for one reason, and that is to make it to the nba. I appear to be in the minority, however, him at the point makes me uneasy. I hope he improves as the season goes by.

Murph - He would be devastating offensively if he could stop and pop in 12-15 ft shots. Dont get me wrong, still very good. I really thought he would come in this season with a J that would really open up his driving lanes.

Gabe - what a beautiful shot. Composed. Appeared to play very good D. Looking forward to his development.

Jelly - He is frustrated with his shot. Me too. If he could get it to fall consistently, his game would really flow. He needs to just play simple.
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I think Amir at PG is in large part due to Carr not being cleared yet. If/when he is available I think Coffey will play far less PG.

Similar to Murphy but for different reasons, Washington needs to develop that 12-15 foot jumper and stop taking 3s. He is quick off the dribble meaning if he has a quick pull up shot he should be open as defenders will tend to fall back for fear of him driving. He just isn't a good three point shooter (in games at least, no clue if he hits them in practice) and he takes them at bad times. Somebody needs to convince him that he is not a 3 point guy because I am pretty sure he thinks he is.

Really excited to see what Gabe can become after these first few games, if he can keep this up he could be a heck of a player.
 

I thought the Gophers played average for most of the game, poorly for about three minutes in the first half, and very well for another three minutes in the second half but after last season it just feels good to get a win.
 

Guard's today just want to play a two level game, shoot threes and layups/dunks. If they really want to be great players they would develop a three level game that includes that 12-15 foot jumper. That triple threat would improve their whole game!
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Omersa looks like he needs work on defense. I see him as more of an energy guy off the bench - come in for a few minutes if other guys are in foul trouble.

Stockman will have trouble with really physical post players, but he looks more serviceable than I expected.

Coffey takes a few too many kamikaze drives to the basket for my taste.

Murphy has got to stay out of foul trouble. Not the same team when he's not on the court.

As far as Curry, by the time he comes back, he will have been out of game situations for a long time. I suspect that it will take him a while to round into shape and figure out his role on the team. So, I don't expect to see the Gophers at full strength until January at least. (hopefully in time for conference games.)
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Gabe has such a mature way of how to play. Super high intangibles. The program wins with guys like that.
 

LongLiveMilesTarver said:
I thought the Gophers played average for most of the game, poorly for about three minutes in the first half, and very well for another three minutes in the second half but after last season it just feels good to get a win.
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We clearly had the better talent- but Utah played hard the whole game and their offensive movement was not easy to defend. Good early matchup.
 


Regarding the thread title....anybody else get annoyed when people reference non-conference play as "preseason"? I don't know why it bothers me so much. Preseasons don't count. This does.
 

Angrygopher1 said:
Guard's today just want to play a two level game, shoot threes and layups/dunks. If they really want to be great players they would develop a three level game that includes that 12-15 foot jumper. That triple threat would improve their whole game!
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This goes against all analytics. Mid-range jump shots are very inefficient. This is why the NBA and a lot of other levels are shooting more 3s and a lot less mid-range shots. You get 50% more points for making 3s so you don't need to shoot nearly the same %. Obviously dunks and layups are very efficient due to the high % of makes.
 

But a mid range shot would make the players ability to drive easier as the defender has another thing to worry about, would also affect how you defend the three.
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
This goes against all analytics. Mid-range jump shots are very inefficient. This is why the NBA and a lot of other levels are shooting more 3s and a lot less mid-range shots. You get 50% more points for making 3s so you don't need to shoot nearly the same %. Obviously dunks and layups are very efficient due to the high % of makes.
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This is all very true and makes sense. In a perfect roster world, all of our guards would be master three-point shooters. However, Washington is not (yet). He has hurt the team with those shoes. So, the poster’s point is applicable. With his excellent driving ability, his value to the team would improve if he was a high-percentage threat to either score at the rim, or make the mid-range shot if the defender is giving him too much room on the drive. Of course, I would rather see a kick out to Kalscheur, Stull, Coffey or McBrayer for the open three, but that’s beside the point.


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bga1 said:
Yep. I love that the guys have more spirit this year than the last couple years. They are celebrating with each other and playing together with some passion. Looks like they are having fun!
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Agree. Last year it was akin to watching people be led to the noose every game.
 

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