Gophers Loaded with Up and Coming Talent


I love the metaphors flying here guys. I do think this meal will take some time- if anyone is thinking that a new coach in his 2nd year with the kind of turnover Johnson's had and the number of freshmen playing would have the program winning a lot already, I think you may have to look around a little. Sure, Musselman at Arkansas....different situation, and there are very few like tha
Gourmet chefs can make an exquisite meal with little time and resources, especially with a platoon of assistants.
Craig Smith @ Utah is going to win against #4 Arizona tonight…
 

Half the posters on this board are clowns.

Anyone remember what Andre Hollins looked like most of his freshman year? Not good - with moments of promise in between. Then - with about a half-dozen games remaining - boom. It clicked. And we saw what he'd look like in the following year. That's typical of 4-star freshman players. They take time to acclimate - almost all of them do.

So here we are. Finally with an incoming class full of guys that show the promise of developing into legit players by the end of the year. And what happens? The clowns on this board want to deprive them of their opportunity. Forget W's and L's. Sit back, enjoy watching the guys develop, and know that you're seeing the vision come together.

I'm absolutely loving this year.
Half? Try a recount.
 

Half the posters on this board are clowns.

Anyone remember what Andre Hollins looked like most of his freshman year? Not good - with moments of promise in between. Then - with about a half-dozen games remaining - boom. It clicked. And we saw what he'd look like in the following year. That's typical of 4-star freshman players. They take time to acclimate - almost all of them do.

So here we are. Finally with an incoming class full of guys that show the promise of developing into legit players by the end of the year. And what happens? The clowns on this board want to deprive them of their opportunity. Forget W's and L's. Sit back, enjoy watching the guys develop, and know that you're seeing the vision come together.

I'm absolutely loving this year.
Genuine question. At what point/year do you actually care about wins? Myself I cannot comprehend that wins and loses dont matter 1 bit, but I understand that's not everyone. But I will be honest I think its easy for Ben (or people who loved Pitino or Tubby or whoever) backers to not have an actual set timeline because then they never admit they could have been wrong. Again not being snarky or anything I just am genuinely confused how winning doesn't matter (cue up Herm Edwards ha)
 

Talk about the ideal opportunity to execute a matchup zone defense...
Glass half full, bro.
That sounds exciting too bad rebounding out of a a zone is much harder and we already are bad at it. I just watched g tech play a 1-3-1 against my wife's Hawkeyes team. Tech gave up 20 off rebounds. Murray had 20 total alone.
 


My glass will be half full when we have multiple successful NCAA runs like Wisconsin does with half the starters from Minnesota.
 

I
Correct. We know he can recruit. That's no longer a concern, and it's a plus.

The questions we need answered now are can he develop players, and can he coach X's and O's.
think this staff showed they can do X and O's last year, the key will be development, I think it looks ugly right now because of all the young guys and even veteran guys who are new are trying to gel and find chemistry. I don't think this group has been close to putting their best foot forward yet. I think a lot people will feel better about this group by the end of the year, but I'll say this Ben clearly built this roster like someone who knows he has a ton of job security, as he should since it's only year two (year one in Fleckism's)
 

Half the posters on this board are clowns.

Anyone remember what Andre Hollins looked like most of his freshman year? Not good - with moments of promise in between. Then - with about a half-dozen games remaining - boom. It clicked. And we saw what he'd look like in the following year. That's typical of 4-star freshman players. They take time to acclimate - almost all of them do.

So here we are. Finally with an incoming class full of guys that show the promise of developing into legit players by the end of the year. And what happens? The clowns on this board want to deprive them of their opportunity. Forget W's and L's. Sit back, enjoy watching the guys develop, and know that you're seeing the vision come together.

I'm absolutely loving this year.
Andre also missed quite a few games with an injury his Freshman year, don't think he was healthy until February. Favorite Dre Hollins Freshman moment was when he threw it off the Wisconsin player's nut sack to avoid a five second violation
 

I'm all in with the freshman talent and waiting for improvements from b10 experience. However, if those core freshman or Garcia, Battle, Ihnen, Fox transfer Johnson's plan falls apart.

It's a given, some will.
Grass is always greener somewhere else.
BEN just has to learn to deal with it like the guy at Illinois.
 



Genuine question. At what point/year do you actually care about wins? Myself I cannot comprehend that wins and loses dont matter 1 bit, but I understand that's not everyone. But I will be honest I think its easy for Ben (or people who loved Pitino or Tubby or whoever) backers to not have an actual set timeline because then they never admit they could have been wrong. Again not being snarky or anything I just am genuinely confused how winning doesn't matter (cue up Herm Edwards ha)
Toward the end of next season.

This warrants a longer explanation - but I'm a little time-constrained now. So I'll say it the "abbreviated" way. Ben is doing something similar to what PJ did when he first arrived. He is installing guys with the highest ceilings. That means you'll lose. If you want to win more than you lose, you install guys with the highest floors - not ceilings. But if you want to build the program and you have license to do so, because you are a new coach, then you install the guys with the highest ceilings, let them lose, coach the heck out of them, and after a year, their ceilings close in on their floors. Meanwhile, the 2018-clowns kept screaming "BUT PJ INHERITED A 9 WIN TEAM!!! HE SHOULD BE WINNING MORE!" ...Right. And - in private - he'd tell you "No Shit, I know I could win more in 2018. But the fastest way to 2019, is to take a losing path in 2018. So shut the f*** up, and enjoy the ride." Ben is doing the same thing.
 

Toward the end of next season.

This warrants a longer explanation - but I'm a little time-constrained now. So I'll say it the "abbreviated" way. Ben is doing something similar to what PJ did when he first arrived. He is installing guys with the highest ceilings. That means you'll lose. If you want to win more than you lose, you install guys with the highest floors - not ceilings. But if you want to build the program and you have license to do so, because you are a new coach, then you install the guys with the highest ceilings, let them lose, coach the heck out of them, and after a year, their ceilings close in on their floors. Meanwhile, the 2018-clowns kept screaming "BUT PJ INHERITED A 9 WIN TEAM!!! HE SHOULD BE WINNING MORE!" ...Right. And - in private - he'd tell you "No Shit, I know I could win more in 2018. But the fastest way to 2019, is to take a losing path in 2018. So shut the f*** up, and enjoy the ride." Ben is doing the same thing.
The problem in 2018 wasn't that the ceiling of our players was too high, it was that the defense was stuck with an incompetent coordinator and it improved dramatically almost as soon as he was fired midseason.
 

Toward the end of next season.

This warrants a longer explanation - but I'm a little time-constrained now. So I'll say it the "abbreviated" way. Ben is doing something similar to what PJ did when he first arrived. He is installing guys with the highest ceilings. That means you'll lose. If you want to win more than you lose, you install guys with the highest floors - not ceilings. But if you want to build the program and you have license to do so, because you are a new coach, then you install the guys with the highest ceilings, let them lose, coach the heck out of them, and after a year, their ceilings close in on their floors. Meanwhile, the 2018-clowns kept screaming "BUT PJ INHERITED A 9 WIN TEAM!!! HE SHOULD BE WINNING MORE!" ...Right. And - in private - he'd tell you "No Shit, I know I could win more in 2018. But the fastest way to 2019, is to take a losing path in 2018. So shut the f*** up, and enjoy the ride." Ben is doing the same thing.
Wow wise post
 

Toward the end of next season.

This warrants a longer explanation - but I'm a little time-constrained now. So I'll say it the "abbreviated" way. Ben is doing something similar to what PJ did when he first arrived. He is installing guys with the highest ceilings. That means you'll lose. If you want to win more than you lose, you install guys with the highest floors - not ceilings. But if you want to build the program and you have license to do so, because you are a new coach, then you install the guys with the highest ceilings, let them lose, coach the heck out of them, and after a year, their ceilings close in on their floors. Meanwhile, the 2018-clowns kept screaming "BUT PJ INHERITED A 9 WIN TEAM!!! HE SHOULD BE WINNING MORE!" ...Right. And - in private - he'd tell you "No Shit, I know I could win more in 2018. But the fastest way to 2019, is to take a losing path in 2018. So shut the f*** up, and enjoy the ride." Ben is doing the same thing.
PJ was also the hottest coaching prospect in college football coming off a 13-1 season with Western Michigan. It's easier to be patient when the results have been demonstrated previously. With Ben, he has never won big at the college level, as a player or coach. I want him to succeed because it would be dumb to root against our head coach, but it's more difficult to be patient to wait for results never before seen.
 



The problem in 2018 wasn't that the ceiling of our players was too high, it was that the defense was stuck with an incompetent coordinator and it improved dramatically almost as soon as he was fired midseason.
Think he meant 2017. 2018, defense and starting ZA over Tanner cost us a couple games
 

The biggest issue right now is roster construction. Can you imagine if those other 2 forwards were healthy? 1 post player, 2 guards, and about 8 forwards!
The no guards is puzzling. Just as bad is guard evaluation: Thiam and Samuels can't be guys you thought you were going to win with. Cooper may settle in or just be in over his head?
You are pretty much trying to make Henley a guard at the Big Ten level...which in different circumstances is probably great but now it only makes sense for baptism under fire and lots of growing pains.
Carrington much like Henley has too much responsibility but one million per cent in our situation the four freshmen need 20 minutes a night or you'll be in the same situation next year. Carrington is a shooter...hopefully.
So out of the collection you have one candidate to run the offense in Cooper. That is puzzling.
Ihnen may have been a guard for Ben but he was not going to be the primary ball handler, so I'm not sure what the plan was?
 

Craig Smith @ Utah is going to win against #4 Arizona tonight…
Not even close. Minnesota guys Ben Carlson (Wisky) and Gabe Madsen (Cincinnatti) both scored 11). I wonder if Smith was in the picture for the Gopher job. Or wasn't interested.
 

I

think this staff showed they can do X and O's last year, the key will be development, I think it looks ugly right now because of all the young guys and even veteran guys who are new are trying to gel and find chemistry. I don't think this group has been close to putting their best foot forward yet. I think a lot people will feel better about this group by the end of the year, but I'll say this Ben clearly built this roster like someone who knows he has a ton of job security, as he should since it's only year two (year one in Fleckism's)
AND, if we are healthy next year, AND, if we can add two really good guards, AND, if the top 7 guys all stay (or for sure the four freshmen) Hey, I think we are in the top 6 of the conference next year...IF Ben looks more like the coach last year than this year coaching wise.
So, ya...we should be good next year! :)
 

AND, if we are healthy next year, AND, if we can add two really good guards, AND, if the top 7 guys all stay (or for sure the four freshmen) Hey, I think we are in the top 6 of the conference next year...IF Ben looks more like the coach last year than this year coaching wise.
So, ya...we should be good next year! :)
I think Christie will be good enough to be a rotation guy. Does alot of things well that Carrington does well from a basketball IQ stand point, but looks to shoot it better compared to where Carrington was a year ago. for minutes next year, we do need Carrington and Henley to make the type of jump that say Dupree made from Freshman to Sophomore year, which I don't think is an unreasonable ask, generally want anyone in your program you recruit to make that kind of jump. I'd love for Fox and Ihnen to have their moment next year, but I also think we've recruited well enough at those spots where it's not the end of the world if we don't. Obviously this team would be better with Battle and Garcia than not for next year, this year neither are doing their pro stock's any favors right now. I would like to see us add a multi year transfer at PG for depth, even if that guy is a project, someone that can handle for 8-10 minutes that can give a different look than Cooper. They'll be hundreds of Guards in the portal, should be able to find a quick one who can D up.
 

Who is Humphries? I know the Gophers had someone with that name who had a long basketball career and was briefly married to a famously annoying celebrity but he's long gone.
Freudian slip . Garcia, it would be great if he could put up stats like Humphries.
 


Not even close. Minnesota guys Ben Carlson (Wisky) and Gabe Madsen (Cincinnatti) both scored 11). I wonder if Smith was in the picture for the Gopher job. Or wasn't interested.
Pretty sure Smith had an interview scheduled, but it was cancelled as Coyle had to decided to hire Ben before meeting with other candidates.
 

That sounds exciting too bad rebounding out of a a zone is much harder and we already are bad at it. I just watched g tech play a 1-3-1 against my wife's Hawkeyes team. Tech gave up 20 off rebounds. Murray had 20 total alone.
Do you understand matchup zones? They change with the offensive sets so that they appear to be man-to-man, but everyone switches on cuts and picks. It can be very difficult for offenses to function well.
Now, regarding a 1-3-1 zone, it is awful for rebounding and it is cringeworthy to watch a naturally poor rebounding team play a 1-3-1 zone. I wouldn't do it, personally, unless the 1-3-1 was actually a half court trap. Even then I would use it sparingly.

But, when you have a team that is similar in height and skill set, across the board, you can use a matchup zone and not give up rebounding position.
 


Andre also missed quite a few games with an injury his Freshman year, don't think he was healthy until February. Favorite Dre Hollins Freshman moment was when he threw it off the Wisconsin player's nut sack to avoid a five second violation
He missed 1 game that year. Not that it matters. But he was playing less earlier because he wasn’t playing well. Then he started playing well.
 

Pretty sure Smith had an interview scheduled, but it was cancelled as Coyle had to decided to hire Ben before meeting with other candidates.
Smart to rush to hire a guy with no other real job prospects and not interview other established and interested coaches 😂😂😂
 


Do you understand matchup zones? They change with the offensive sets so that they appear to be man-to-man, but everyone switches on cuts and picks. It can be very difficult for offenses to function well.
Now, regarding a 1-3-1 zone, it is awful for rebounding and it is cringeworthy to watch a naturally poor rebounding team play a 1-3-1 zone. I wouldn't do it, personally, unless the 1-3-1 was actually a half court trap. Even then I would use it sparingly.

But, when you have a team that is similar in height and skill set, across the board, you can use a matchup zone and not give up rebounding position.
The problem with playing against a matchup zone is that it works better if you have five guys that can catch, pass, move, and shoot a bit. Most teams aren't built that way.If you play against an offense that does that rebounding while playing a matchup is a nightmare.
 

The problem with playing against a matchup zone is that it works better if you have five guys that can catch, pass, move, and shoot a bit. Most teams aren't built that way.If you play against an offense that does that rebounding while playing a matchup is a nightmare.
Does minny do this well? Srs question.
 




Top Bottom