Who do you start?

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I would hope wally atleast gets a few solid minutes to see what he can do and if not I agree that we should definitely consider redshirting him
 

sconnygopher said:
I would hope wally atleast gets a few solid minutes to see what he can do and if not I agree that we should definitely consider redshirting him
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I agree. I'd be very surprised if Wally doesn't earn solid minutes this year. No one can have that much bad luck 2 years in a row can they?
 

howieramone said:
I agree. I'd be very surprised if Wally doesn't earn solid minutes this year. No one can have that much bad luck 2 years in a row can they?
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I feel like we all had about 7 years worth of bad luck under Orlando
 

Pretty safe bet it's Hollins, Hollins, Smith, Buggs, and EE at this early juncture.
 




Blackhammer said:
4 Star? Give me a break. We beat out Santa Clara for him. He is a tweener who can't shoot. He belongs in the Sun Belt or whatever, where he could play against smaller players and not lead the nation in getting his shot blocked to go along with leading the nation in guys blowing by him on D.
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http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/97982/joe-coleman

4 star, #1 player in MN according to ESPN.

If you're going to insult a kid at least do a little research first so you don't come off as a moron. Joe has a lot of room for improvement, but he is pretty talented and would definitely have started for us this year.
 


EG#9 said:
I think it's too early to make predictions on who starts due to the fact that so many of these kids are unknowns to some degree.

One idea that I don't believe has been covered yet is to have Malik Smith come off the bench. I have read that he's not the greatest defender, but is a good 3 point shooter and might even be a bit of a gunner. Now, beyond the fact that assuming an FIU transfer would start in the B1G is a stretch, I think this thread has focused more on the offensive end of the court than the defensive end. If Pitino does try to push the pace in his first year, that will start on the defensive end by harassing guards and forcing turnovers. I think that would make McNeil or Mathieu (or possibly an improving Charles Buggs/Wally Ellenson) better options as the 3rd guard/forward/wing in the starting lineup next to the Hollins boys. In that scenario, Smith could be more of an instant offense off the bench type and a guy who becomes more of a focus of the offense when 'Dre Hollins is on the bench.
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Good point about Smith. I don't see why we'd want to move Austin Hollins, second best player to a new position as a Senior, where his strengths (defense) would be mostly negated playing against bigger opponents? If it ain't broke don't fix it. Leave Austin at the 2 & have Malik Smith come off the bench as the 6th man, to provide offense & to be the main scorer when Dre's sitting.

I also see no reason to think Dre's going to move to SG. Hopefully Mathieu will be good enough to handle the point for extended periods, but Dre's our PG & a damn good one. What we really needed last year were a second ball handler (hopefully Mathieu) & a second outside scoring option (hopefully Smith).

I think Buggs might benefit most from Coleman's departure as SF is his natural position. He's a rail thin, jump shooter who finishes well in transition & blocks shots. He has the skill package that Rodney never developed.

Joey King didn't get a scholarship to sit on the bench. Provided we don't get another forward before the season starts he'll be the PF & expected to rebound.

Elliot is a lock at Center imo & poised for two very good years. He needs to stay healthy & out of foul trouble.

PG- Dre Hollins
SG- Austin Hollins
SF- Buggs
PF- Joey King
C- Elliot

Bench:
6th man- Malik Smith. Fills the void we had last year for a second scorer.
PG- Dre Mathieu. Hopefully he can be the second ball handler.
Big- Mo Walker. In addition to recovering from the knee, he also needs to play more physical as we're very thin up front.
Oto- If we don't bring in another forward Oto will likely see plenty of minutes at the 4. He'd probably be the second best rebounder on the team & is a physical guy on a team with very little of it left up front.
Mav- I think Mav would still see some minutes as he can back up at either guard position, has lot's of experience & has gotten notably better each year.
 



I'm just glad to see the potential for depth. I think there are going to be a lot of minutes for a lot of players. We'll be better than we expect and we will be fun to watch! Mo has to lose mo weight to stay healthy running.

I'm looking forward to this year. Easy 20 win year again.
 

diehard said:
I'm just glad to see the potential for depth.
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Not the D word again?!

You start Andre Hollins and Austin Hollins, two of the best returning players in the conference.

After that every position is up for competition. Strong defensive play = "I want minutes, coach!"
 

I can't believe this thread, the coaches don't even know who will start and these people think they do!!!
 

littlebigboy said:
I can't believe this thread, the coaches don't even know who will start and these people think they do!!!
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What's wrong with having some fun with predictions? Never understood why that bothers some people so much. No one is claiming to make any guarantees. By the way, at this point we are probably more familiar with our players than the coaches are. It isn't ridiculous to think we have a good feel for who might start.
 



What I don't understand is the big emphasis on who starts. Minutes played and combos of players are more important than who starts. Those two things plus the only thing that matters to some is the scorebook.
 

Dr.Don said:
What I don't understand is the big emphasis on who starts. Minutes played and combos of players are more important than who starts. Those two things plus the only thing that matters to some is the scorebook.
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True, but I think that's also what people are predicting even if they don't explicitly state that. I don't think anyone is going to predict someone starts but only plays 15 minutes. If they're predicting they start, they're predicting they play major minutes, which as you said, is most important.
 

Pretty unimpressive that our best players are Andre and Austin Hollins. I have a feeling this is going to be another year of mediocrity.
 


97FinalFourHappened said:
Pretty unimpressive that our best players are Andre and Austin Hollins. I have a feeling this is going to be another year of mediocrity.
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I'm not sure expectations could be any higher than mediocrity. New coach. Losing the two best players on the team. Recruiting class that is mediocre at best.

I don't mean to sound negative, but I don't think you can ask for much more this year.
 

Gopherbbdude said:
I'm not sure expectations could be any higher than mediocrity. New coach. Losing the two best players on the team. Recruiting class that is mediocre at best.

I don't mean to sound negative, but I don't think you can ask for much more this year.
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Rodney Williams, one of the two best players? lololol He was the fourth best player on the team at best. Mbakwe is the only guy we lost who is irreplacible with our current personel. If we get Buckles, im confident we can get some quality minutes at the forward spot, between him and Buggs.
 

Gopherbbdude said:
I'm not sure expectations could be any higher than mediocrity. New coach. Losing the two best players on the team. Recruiting class that is mediocre at best.

I don't mean to sound negative, but I don't think you can ask for much more this year.
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I think by the end of the year, we'll be better than last year. Would be nice to have Mbakwe back, but most/all of the other good B1G teams lost more than that. Very good player, but not 1st team all conference good, not a go-to scorer, and not exactly ideal to play a 6-7" guy as your primary post. Rodney Williams had great potential and was exciting, but if you look at performance, his performance (especially in the B1G season) certainly is replaceable. Again, you can't just say "we won't be as good because we lost somebody," because everybody loses players every year.

I'm optimistic we have some good players coming in, players that will help right away. We'll definitely be a better shooting/scoring team. I think with the coaching change we'll be a more motivated team, and also I speculate we'll be a better coached team. I think the returning players will improved...you expect some improvement as a matter of course, but I think the coaching change adds a bit of rejuvenation and motivation.

My expectation is that while there may be some uneven patches early on while we get lineups and combinations worked out, we'll develop into a good team and will not lose very many home B1G games, will win some on the road, will have a good B1G tourney showing, and will make the NCAA tourney and play well in it.
 

I will say, without Williams and Mbakwe we may not have as many Sports Center "Top 10" moments or highlight dunks. But by and large, highlight dunks don't win basketball games.
 

WanderingGopher said:
I think by the end of the year, we'll be better than last year. Would be nice to have Mbakwe back, but most/all of the other good B1G teams lost more than that. Very good player, but not 1st team all conference good, not a go-to scorer, and not exactly ideal to play a 6-7" guy as your primary post. Rodney Williams had great potential and was exciting, but if you look at performance, his performance (especially in the B1G season) certainly is replaceable. Again, you can't just say "we won't be as good because we lost somebody," because everybody loses players every year.

I'm optimistic we have some good players coming in, players that will help right away. We'll definitely be a better shooting/scoring team. I think with the coaching change we'll be a more motivated team, and also I speculate we'll be a better coached team. I think the returning players will improved...you expect some improvement as a matter of course, but I think the coaching change adds a bit of rejuvenation and motivation.

My expectation is that while there may be some uneven patches early on while we get lineups and combinations worked out, we'll develop into a good team and will not lose very many home B1G games, will win some on the road, will have a good B1G tourney showing, and will make the NCAA tourney and play well in it.
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There's about a 1% chance we make the NCAA tournament. And you're saying we'll do well in it and make it like it's nothing? Last year was the first time we made it since what, 2008? And that was with a "dream team" so to speak. We're starting Elliot Eliason, and 2 guys who we really know nothing about. The only security here is with the Hollins boys, and my point is that they aren't anything special. Both will have mediocre years in the Big Ten. As a Junior, Austin averaged 10 points. That's OK at best.
 

Gopherbbdude said:
I'm not sure expectations could be any higher than mediocrity. New coach. Losing the two best players on the team. Recruiting class that is mediocre at best.

I don't mean to sound negative, but I don't think you can ask for much more this year.
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Rodney Williams being "one of our two best players" may be the funniest thing I've ever read... The guy couldn't hit the ocean with a basketball if he was sitting in a boat...
 

97FinalFourHappened said:
. ... Last year was the first time we made it since what, 2008?
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Might want to brush up on your Gopher basketball history. The Gophers made the NCAA Tournament in both 2009 and 2010, and the year you referenced (2008) they did not. But don't let any facts get in the way.
 

my point still stands. we made it as an 11 seed last year with a "good" team. now you expect us to do better with losing 3 starters and having 0 big name recruits
 

97FinalFourHappened said:
my point still stands. we made it as an 11 seed last year with a "good" team. now you expect us to do better with losing 3 starters and having 0 big name recruits
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Last year we underachieved. We had a roster built for a fast paced game, yet played a grind it out style. This year we will be playing a style that better suits our strengths, so it's reasonable to assume we won't underachieve again, or at least not as much as last season. Even if we have less talent, we can have a better season if we just play to our potential. I wouldn't expect you to understand that though.
 

Lay off the meth. Fast-paced style against Big Ten schools is not going to magically get us to the NCAA tournament. I would be shocked if we finished in the top 9. Just being a realist, love the gophs but we have to be more realistic here. Dre and Austin are not big time players who can lead a team to the promised land, we just have to accept that. If we get Rashad though, then we can talk.
 

GophersOnTheRise said:
Last year we underachieved. We had a roster built for a fast paced game, yet played a grind it out style. This year we will be playing a style that better suits our strengths, so it's reasonable to assume we won't underachieve again, or at least not as much as last season. Even if we have less talent, we can have a better season if we just play to our potential. I wouldn't expect you to understand that though.
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+1
 

97FinalFourHappened said:
Lay off the meth. Fast-paced style against Big Ten schools is not going to magically get us to the NCAA tournament. I would be shocked if we finished in the top 9. Just being a realist, love the gophs but we have to be more realistic here. Dre and Austin are not big time players who can lead a team to the promised land, we just have to accept that. If we get Rashad though, then we can talk.
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No magic needed. Playing a style that suits your players' strengths is better than playing a style that goes against your players' strengths. This is just common sense. Also, it seems like you aren't giving Andre enough credit. He's a damn good player. You act as though he is average.
 

97FinalFourHappened said:
Lay off the meth. Fast-paced style against Big Ten schools is not going to magically get us to the NCAA tournament. I would be shocked if we finished in the top 9. Just being a realist, love the gophs but we have to be more realistic here. Dre and Austin are not big time players who can lead a team to the promised land, we just have to accept that. If we get Rashad though, then we can talk.
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Well, I guess we'll see. Check back in about 9 months, troll.

Dre not a "big time player"? Maybe I don't know much, but (among other things) laying 41 points on a good Memphis team AS A SOPHOMORE seemed pretty big time to me. I do think Austin, while a good starter, is not enough to be one of the straws that stirs the drink on an elite team. We could use one more to pair with Andre. Rashad, come on down.
 

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