What Grade Do You Give the 26-27 Roster?

[Bayfield Gopher]

Ryan James has the Gophers pegged in the #10 spot in the BIG.

 

[SplitDecision]

Ryan James has the Gophers pegged in the #10 spot in the BIG.

I like his optimism, and if MN can keep games in the 70's in conf. they will be very competitive.

 

[march madness]

I voted "A."

First off, I think Niko is an "A" coach, and the 'whole' of next year's team will be greater than the sum of its parts.

When I watched games last year, there were a few things I lamented about over and over again that I hoped Niko would address in the offseason. There were also quite a few positives I hoped we could build upon. I feel strongly that Niko "fixed the bad" and "built upon the good."

First - Shooting. We had some good shooters, but not nearly enough. Reynolds playing 35+ minutes per game killed the offense. I loved what he brought in terms of toughness, strength, and defensive prowess, but man, it hurt the offense's flow when the defense could collapse the lane. With the batch of new guards, if you cannot hit an open 3, you won't be playing (barring defensive situations, foul trouble, etc).

We have an abundance of guard options next year (yes, some unproven), and they'll get great looks just by playing in the system. Teams won't be able to defend us like they did last year, and I expect a significant jump in KenPom offensive efficiency rating.

Second - Post Size. I think we did about as well as we could have done playing small ball in a massive Big Ten last year (JCJ and Grove were a big part of that). Niko is also known to play smaller centers; he always has. But the league keeps getting bigger, and I was really happy to see Niko adjust, grab Kordel, and have a true big that'll hopefully be a force against the other notable 7-footers in conference.

Third - Injuries. I have no beef with the hurt guys last year, but I was relieved to see them walk. I don't think that was an easy decision for a coach to make, but it was a necessary one. We saw Willis play some, and it didn't look good (his foot could have been bothering him, idk).

I think trading him for Evans for one year is a massive upgrade. Both are undersized, but Evans is a proven contributor in Niko's system, can shoot the 3, and should acclimate immediately.

Fourth - The Nucleus. The guys that battled every single night and kept us in the games we had no business being in are all back. They'll be as confident as ever and have plenty of reinforcements now, so they won't all need to play 30+ minutes per game.

I really hope we leverage this returning core, play some tough non-conference games, and break the dreaded neutral-court losing streak!

First - Shooting. We had some good shooters, but not nearly enough. Reynolds playing 35+ minutes per game killed the offense. I loved what he brought in terms of toughness, strength, and defensive prowess, but man, it hurt the offense's flow when the defense could collapse the lane. With the batch of new guards, if you cannot hit an open 3, you won't be playing (barring defensive situations, foul trouble, etc).

Reynolds didn't have an outside shot. He had everything else, and I say that we will miss him. When we had no fast break but he pushed the ball anyway and somehow made a shot, found a teammate, or went to the line. His defense was the best on the team. His physicalness and toughness at guard will be hard to replace also.

I agree with everything else.

 

[bga1]

First - Shooting. We had some good shooters, but not nearly enough. Reynolds playing 35+ minutes per game killed the offense. I loved what he brought in terms of toughness, strength, and defensive prowess, but man, it hurt the offense's flow when the defense could collapse the lane. With the batch of new guards, if you cannot hit an open 3, you won't be playing (barring defensive situations, foul trouble, etc).

Reynolds didn't have an outside shot. He had everything else, and I say that we will miss him. When we had no fast break but he pushed the ball anyway and somehow made a shot, found a teammate, or went to the line. His defense was the best on the team. His physicalness and toughness at guard will be hard to replace also.

I agree with everything else.

In the last part of the season we had 2 guys on the floor Reynolds and Grove that can't shoot. It was an outstanding performance to win 8 games. We have size, shooting and depth- inexperienced in some spots- but we have it. I love the potential.

 

[march madness]

In the last part of the season we had 2 guys on the floor Reynolds and Grove that can't shoot. It was an outstanding performance to win 8 games. We have size, shooting and depth- inexperienced in some spots- but we have it. I love the potential.

Again, you like the offensive potential as better. I agree. We lost our most athletic and best defender, that is my additional observation. IF you add better shooters, but less strong, athletic players, you give up defense. This is a trade. It is the one thing Niko wasn't able to add. It was thought he wanted more shooting, more size, and more athletic. We got the first two.

 

[bga1]

Again, you like the offensive potential as better. I agree. We lost our most athletic and best defender, that is my additional observation. IF you add better shooters, but less strong, athletic players, you give up defense. This is a trade. It is the one thing Niko wasn't able to add. It was thought he wanted more shooting, more size, and more athletic. We got the first two.

Hopefully we make up for the loss of Reynolds’ D with our post size- which is far better