I forgot about that until they mentioned it. That is beyond comprehension with the team he had - leaves me dumbfounded that he was that poor of a coach1 road victory and counting.
Unleash your inner optimist- he’s much more funJust want to say I am a massive pessimist… I get that 6-0 is probably a mirage. That said this is better than expected already. A road win vs is still a road win… I am excited for the future of this program with Ben Johnson in charge.
Will be interesting to see how people react when the losses start piling up. Hopefully people will remember the positive signs from this early stretch and remain excited about the future.Just want to say I am a massive pessimist… I get that 6-0 is probably a mirage. That said this is better than expected already. A road win vs is still a road win… I am excited for the future of this program with Ben Johnson in charge.
I'll be okay if it's just a difference in talent and athleticism if the players are playing hard and the team is playing good basketball with sound ball movement.Will be interesting to see how people react when the losses start piling up. Hopefully people will remember the positive signs from this early stretch and remain excited about the future.
This team is really going to struggle during Big Ten play because we just don't have the size to compete in the conference. But this 6-0 start is super encouraging and watching the way the team plays and the smart decisions being made by the coaches, lends itself well to what they will be able to do when they have the talent to compete.
Based on early returns I will be super surprised if we end up seeing the team play poorly over the remainder of the season. I think the fundamentals will still be there but the size/talent gap will be too much to overcome. That said, I won't be surprised at all if this group manages to spring some upsets along the way.I'll be okay if it's just a difference in talent and athleticism if the players are playing hard and the team is playing good basketball with sound ball movement.
If it's stand around for 30 seconds and take bad shots, I'll be disappointed.
This team is really going to struggle during Big Ten play because we just don't have the size to compete in the conference.
But this 6-0 start is super encouraging and watching the way the team plays and the smart decisions being made by the coaches, lends itself well to what they will be able to do when they have the talent to compete.
I'm going to go out on a massive limb here and posit the crazy notion there's no lesson learning needed here...they didn't purposely go into the season short handed in the front court.There are two distinct statements there. I agree that Ben & staff deserve credit for the second but I also insist that they deserve some blame for the first. I hope they learn their lesson and don't take us into another season short handed in the front court.
I'm going to go out on a massive limb here and posit the crazy notion there's no lesson learning needed here...they didn't purposely go into the season short handed in the front court.
So the staff made the conscious decision NOT to recruit more inside players?Bad results can come from bad intent, negligence, or bad luck but the results all count the same. People often said that Pitino was unlucky but he seemed to be unlucky a lot. One is not to blame for a tornado destroying his house but one can be blamed for not having home insurance.
For sure, this year's roster is exactly what Coyle had in mind for "the plan"!Coyle!!!!!!
So the staff made the conscious decision NOT to recruit more inside players?
Or could it be they were left a shit sandwich by Pitino and were UNABLE to recruit more inside players capable of playing in the B1G?
Again...there is no lesson to be learned here, unless you think Ben Johnson and staff weren't aware they would be undersized
Because in today's society we all must think the exact same thing.... Thinking outside the box is not allowedHere's a question. Why do you care so much about what I think?
They didn't set out to build a roster that could be a contender this season. They did however set out to build a roster more capable of being competitive and then got hit with some bad luck on the injury front losing 2 frontcourt guys in Fox and Ihnen.There are two distinct statements there. I agree that Ben & staff deserve credit for the second but I also insist that they deserve some blame for the first. I hope they learn their lesson and don't take us into another season short handed in the front court.
That's not at all true. You can think whatever you want, but if you don't think correctly, you're not allowed to participate in the society. That's the risk we take for thinking differently.Because in today's society we all must think the exact same thing.... Thinking outside the box is not allowed
They didn't set out to build a roster that could be a contender this season. They did however set out to build a roster more capable of being competitive and then got hit with some bad luck on the injury front losing 2 frontcourt guys in Fox and Ihnen.
It was clear from early on the focus was on 22-23 and beyond based on the players they were bringing in. Guys who for the most part had 1 year left but were good solid basketball players from lower level schools.
That has translated to a team that plays hard and clearly has a high basketball IQ. They are limited (especially after the injuries) but they will go out and compete and are actually doing better on the court than most of us expected them to. They play like a team that has been together for a while as opposed to a collection of guys from all over the country that never played together prior to this season. That, above all else, has been one of the most impressive parts of the teams early success.
True, but Fox was hurt almost immediately after he signed and Ihnen is not a center. So he knew in April he was short at the 5 spot and convincing Curry to play and signing Ogele were the only remedies (successfully) pursued.Worth noting, two of our "bigs" (Ihnen & Fox) are either out or most likley out for the season. Pretty sure Johnson didn't plan for that. How huge would it be just to have one of those guys?
Oh well, that's the hand Gophers have been dealt. Let's just treasure every win the Gophers get this season, including last night over an awful Pitt team. There aren't going to be (m)any once the calendar turns to January.
If they can take 2/3 from Miss St, Mich St., and Michigan, I fully expect you to fire up the "Wins By Tier to Make the Dance" thread.Worth noting, two of our "bigs" (Ihnen & Fox) are either out or most likley out for the season. Pretty sure Johnson didn't plan for that. How huge would it be just to have one of those guys?
Oh well, that's the hand Gophers have been dealt. Let's just treasure every win the Gophers get this season, including last night over an awful Pitt team. There aren't going to be (m)any once the calendar turns to January.
Why the long essay? I don't need lectures on the team. I appreciate what the coaches and players have done well. Here's some advice: don't talk to people like they just showed up for the first time today and don't know anything. Maybe you're like those people on the Progressive commercial: turning into your parents!
Here are simple facts from last night's game: two starting Pitt forwards combined for 25 rebounds and 27 points while Curry, Daniels, and Ogele combined for 6 rebounds and 8 points. Do you think that the staff, just maybe, could have made a little more effort to make some improvement to this portion of the roster?
I don't see how they ever planned to play Ihnen at center and they only had a healthy Parker Fox for like a week.Will keep this brief so as not to offend you with an essay. In answer to your part in bold - Parker Fox 6'8", Isaiah Ihnen 6'9" and probably hoping to get more from Treyton Thompson 6'11" as well.