Chip Scoggins: 'Weird' Gophers have to be at their best to advance in NCAA tournament

[BleedGopher]

per Chip:

They don’t have a true point guard to run the offense, and they rank near the bottom in three-point shooting. Their best post player is 6-6, maybe. And their bench is thinner than a Q-tip.

The Gophers might be the most unorthodox team in the 68-team NCAA tournament field.

“We’ve just been weird,” coach Richard Pitino said this past weekend.

That’s a good description. Inconsistent works, too. But definitely weird.

Their template for success — and hopes for advancement — is straightforward. They need Jordan Murphy and Amir Coffey to carry them offensively, their defense must be airtight and their effort level pushed to full throttle. That’s their identity when they are at their best.

There have been a few outlier scripts to victory this season, but their limitations prevent them from having Plans B, C and D.

“We haven’t gone on these huge runs of wins,” Pitino said. “We kind of have gone on some losing streaks, then snuck back, had a big win.”

They have been a tough team to figure out because of those dips and rises. At times you think they are capable of more, and then other times you wonder how they won 21 games.

http://www.startribune.com/weird-go...best-to-advance-in-ncaa-tournament/507333422/

Go Gophers!!

 

[JimmyJamesMD]

Pitino has built a weird roster.

Quality guards should not be that hard to get on the roster. THey are all over the NCAA. Quality big men are usually the challenge.

 

[march madness]

We knew coming into the season we had a great front court and questionable back court. Also looking at the next three high school classes they tend to be great in the front court. Weird that we have issues getting quality guards, especially ones that can shoot.

 

[stocker08]

per Chip:

They don’t have a true point guard to run the offense, and they rank near the bottom in three-point shooting. Their best post player is 6-6, maybe. And their bench is thinner than a Q-tip.

Three of the four are accurate concerns.

But I don't know why he felt the need to shoehorn in that our best post player is only 6-6. Who gives a damn how tall he is? Murphy produces and is an all big ten player. It's stupid to ignore that Oturu has been very good as the season has progressed in order to take a dig at the roster.

 

[Holy Man]

Three of the four are accurate concerns.

But I don't know why he felt the need to shoehorn in that our best post player is only 6-6. Who gives a damn how tall he is? Murphy produces and is an all big ten player. It's stupid to ignore that Oturu has been very good as the season has progressed in order to take a dig at the roster.

I read the comment as an insult to Oturu as well. He has had a nice freshman season coming off the shoulder injury over the summer. His defense needs to improve and he needs to get stronger so he can finish with contact, but his offense has been solid. With a whole summer to workout, I think he will be an outstanding player next year. He needs help, though, which is not currently on the roster.

 

[Keyser Söze]

Three of the four are accurate concerns.

But I don't know why he felt the need to shoehorn in that our best post player is only 6-6. Who gives a damn how tall he is? Murphy produces and is an all big ten player. It's stupid to ignore that Oturu has been very good as the season has progressed in order to take a dig at the roster.

I don't think he meant that was a concern. It was an example of our team being unorthodox. Our best post player being 6'6" is unusual. Doesn't mean he isn't good.

 

[JimmyJamesMD]

I don't think he meant that was a concern. It was an example of our team being unorthodox. Our best post player being 6'6" is unusual. Doesn't mean he isn't good.

exactly.

 

[bga1]

Pitino has built a weird roster.

Quality guards should not be that hard to get on the roster. THey are all over the NCAA. Quality big men are usually the challenge.

I think he thought he had 3 more quality guards than he ended up with. Carr- couldn't get the waiver. Stull, a guy who can shoot and scored 14 a game at the D1 level, never panned out and IW a kid that played pretty well in the last 10 Big Ten games of 17-18 never got with the program this year and played bad defense.

 

[JimmyJamesMD]

I think he thought he had 3 more quality guards than he ended up with. Carr- couldn't get the waiver. Stull, a guy who can shoot and scored 14 a game at the D1 level, never panned out and IW a kid that played pretty well in the last 10 Big Ten games of 17-18 never got with the program this year and played bad defense.

True.

I would add in Dupree as well, who's best year ended up being his sophomore year.

Carr - you cant depend on a transfer that may or may not become eligible

Stull - i didnt watch any film of his. I just assumed he would contribute more. Did Stull decline as a player?

IW - just a miss. Top 100 recruit.

 

[Holy Man]

True.

I would add in Dupree as well, who's best year ended up being his sophomore year.

Carr - you cant depend on a transfer that may or may not become eligible

Stull - i didnt watch any film of his. I just assumed he would contribute more. Did Stull decline as a player?

IW - just a miss. Top 100 recruit.

Stull was playing against far higher caliber competition. He also came in grossly out of shape, which still boggles my mind. There is something behind that, but I think that was the biggest issue in his effectiveness.

 

[stocker08]

I don't think he meant that was a concern. It was an example of our team being unorthodox. Our best post player being 6'6" is unusual. Doesn't mean he isn't good.

Again....I don't read it that way. We have an all-big ten PF. Is the center always going to be the best player on their team? And tossing that in with the fact that we don't have a point guard, we have 3 point shooting issues, and that our bench shallow as ****? Sounds like he is making it out to be negative imo.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

I don't see it as negative - just unorthodox. Let's say another team had a PF who was listed at 6'7" - but was really 6'5" or maybe 6'6" - could not shoot from outside- and got all his points bulling his way into the basket for short shots and put-backs. My point is that Murphy has some limitations to his game - limitations that Gopher fans excuse or ignore because they like the guy. hey, I like Murphy too. but he is not a prototypical PF in today's game. I think that's all Chip is saying.

overall, I thought it was a really good summation of this year's team. As I think Randball said in another column, this team is really hard to get a handle on. the only consistent thing about the team has been its inconsistency.

 

[Keyser Söze]

Again....I don't read it that way. We have an all-big ten PF. Is the center always going to be the best player on their team? And tossing that in with the fact that we don't have a point guard, we have 3 point shooting issues, and that our bench shallow as ****? Sounds like he is making it out to be negative imo.

The headline calls the team "weird". The first sentence lists off unusual things about the team (including the 6'6" PF comment). The next sentence is "The Gophers might be the most unorthodox team in the 68-team NCAA tournament field." And the following sentence is a quote from Pitino calling the team weird.

That seems pretty clear that he's just listing off weird/unorthodox things, but interpret it how you want I guess.

 

[stocker08]

The headline calls the team "weird". The first sentence lists off unusual things about the team (including the 6'6" PF comment). The next sentence is "The Gophers might be the most unorthodox team in the 68-team NCAA tournament field." And the following sentence is a quote from Pitino calling the team weird.

That seems pretty clear that he's just listing off weird/unorthodox things, but interpret it how you want I guess.

I was just pointing out that yes.....Murphy is undersized. That just doesn't matter if he does what he's supposed to do. Paul Millsap, Draymond Green, Rodman, Barkley, etc. Plenty of great PFs right at that 6'6" height. And I'm in no way comparing Murphy's accomplishments to these guys....but would you say it's unorthodox that the 1993 Suns Finals team best front court player is only 6'6" (Barkley, MVP year) along with three other things that are negatives (3pt%, PG, bench)? I wouldn't. It just happens that you've got a guy who can play bigger than his size and happens to be one of the best in the league at his position.

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[bga1]

True.

I would add in Dupree as well, who's best year ended up being his sophomore year.

Carr - you cant depend on a transfer that may or may not become eligible

Stull - i didnt watch any film of his. I just assumed he would contribute more. Did Stull decline as a player?

IW - just a miss. Top 100 recruit.

IW, though a complete enigma, is still a sophomore. Great passer. Poor defender and shooter - who at times has been amazing. Scored 26 points on 11 shots against Michigan last year. So the potential is there.

In criticism of Pitino- it is the coach's job to put together a roster that works and to get the most out of the guys he has.

In defense of Pitino- when it was apparent that neither Stull nor Washington could play consistent, solid defense, he used them less and less. As a result we have played pretty good defense as the season wore on. Stull got the better of the playing time because he is a shooting threat (who often refuses to shoot). IW shot too much.

 

[mnhoopboy]

Stull was playing against far higher caliber competition. He also came in grossly out of shape, which still boggles my mind. There is something behind that, but I think that was the biggest issue in his effectiveness.

Probably nothing that Stull hadn't done in previous seasons. But you can get away with being out of shape in the Horizon League.

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[mnhoopboy]

IW, though a complete enigma, is still a sophomore. Great passer. Poor defender and shooter - who at times has been amazing. Scored 26 points on 11 shots against Michigan last year. So the potential is there.

In criticism of Pitino- it is the coach's job to put together a roster that works and to get the most out of the guys he has.

In defense of Pitino- when it was apparent that neither Stull nor Washington could play consistent, solid defense, he used them less and less. As a result we have played pretty good defense as the season wore on. Stull got the better of the playing time because he is a shooting threat (who often refuses to shoot). IW shot too much.

Social Media was IW's problem. Instead of working on his weaknesses over the summer, he was fixated on continuing to grow his "JellyFam" brand. Not sure he really made it a point to get better in certain facets of his game and it's shown. And let's be honest, other kids see and hear the attention he's getting and make it a point to go at him every chance they get. He hasn't been up to the challenge yet. Hopefully this has been a rude awakening for him.

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[cjbfbp]

IW, though a complete enigma, is still a sophomore. Great passer. Poor defender and shooter - who at times has been amazing. Scored 26 points on 11 shots against Michigan last year. So the potential is there.

In criticism of Pitino- it is the coach's job to put together a roster that works and to get the most out of the guys he has.

In defense of Pitino- when it was apparent that neither Stull nor Washington could play consistent, solid defense, he used them less and less. As a result we have played pretty good defense as the season wore on. Stull got the better of the playing time because he is a shooting threat (who often refuses to shoot). IW shot too much.

Washington's defensive lapses are magnified whereas there have been times this year where he has played pretty decent defense and that seems to go unnoticed.

Stull is a "shooting" guard in name only. On a 40 minute basis, he averages 4.6 shots; that's the lowest on the team by anyone who plays. If he is a good shooter, he needs to catch the ball and shoot quickly more often instead of putting the ball on the floor and then giving it up. Otherwise, there is no reason to guard him. Given Washington's terrible shooting percentage this year, I guess one could say that he shoots too much, but, on a 40 minute basis, his propensity to shoot is only 4th on the team. The one who really needs to shoot more is Kalscheur.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Stull was playing against far higher caliber competition. He also came in grossly out of shape, which still boggles my mind. There is something behind that, but I think that was the biggest issue in his effectiveness.

Stull seems like he is miserable all the time. Never gets excited, just seems down. Maybe he doesn't get along with the other players? I imagine the season hasn't gone like he had hoped too so that maybe plays into it.

 

[GoodasGold]

Stull seems like he is miserable all the time. Never gets excited, just seems down. Maybe he doesn't get along with the other players? I imagine the season hasn't gone like he had hoped too so that maybe plays into it.

Another aspect of coaching. Btw, who’s the fat assistant coach - what’s his role

 

[stocker08]

Stull seems like he is miserable all the time. Never gets excited, just seems down. Maybe he doesn't get along with the other players? I imagine the season hasn't gone like he had hoped too so that maybe plays into it.

His minutes per game have been wildly inconsistent from game to game as well. It's hard to maintain a rhythm that way. And early on in the season....he just wasn't getting much playing time. With Washington glued to the bench he's seen some more time but he's just so limited at level.

I do want to give Stull some props in two of our biggest wins of the year. At Wisconsin he was forced to play 22 minutes because Washington didn't see any playing time. Hit a few big shots for 6 points on 2-4 shooting. Doesn't sound like much....but in a game where both teams score under 60....both of those threes were big. And at home against Purdue.....he once again played 22 minutes. Only put up 4 points on 1-2 shooting with a pair of FTs.....but also added 6 rebounds in a game where Oturu went missing (0 rebounds).

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