Recent content by Formerswish

OK, you can disagree with the narrative. And every pre-season Big Ten poll done by anyone had the Gophers picked dead last in the conference-which was with the 24-25 year old players you mentioned. Perhaps you knew something that all those folks who researched the teams didn't know?

Can't answer that, I do know that things can change quickly. He may be fired. I also do not hold my hopes high for the next coach to come in and turn thing around right away. And if Johnson was around next year, a winning record in the conference would seem to be a reasonable threshold.

I agree that this was an incorrect take by Davis. And like many others, I am disappointed and frustrated by the lack of success with Johnsons teams the last 4 years. And I also have to say that getting 7 conference wins this year with this level of talent is quite an accomplishment. Am I...

If the opposition has a 4 that Odukale can guard, I like this small lineup with 4 shooters (anything over 5 feet is an adventure for Odukale). The guard rotation will be the most interesting and important for this team moving forward. If Cochran can guard and rebound like many think he can...

Agreed, I think he gets the year too. In large part because they'll have a decent defensive team that will keep some games close and allow them to win a few. Just not enough guys who can score..

I don't disagree with that, but it's what they have. And there's a chance Asuma will be running it by the end of the year. He's a talent, and once he becomes a bit more comfortable and aggressive, he'd be their best choice.

I'm in complete agreement that the play so far has been pretty awful, and if the Gophers have a poor record in the Big Ten again Johnson will be gone. And I also want to see what they have when Mitchell and Tyler Cochran play. Cochran was all-league in the MAC and was the co-defensive player of...

Sure, you're entitled to your own opinion. He was the tallest kid on the UMD roster-I'm no expert on the current height on DII rosters. I believe Johnson was trying to defend the kid and explain why he wasn't playing much at UMD. I don't think he was trying to criticize DII programs..

There are some guys 6'9 and above in D2, yes. But not too many. However, the comment Johnson made was clearly that this guy matches up much better with bigger guys and doesn't have the speed to match up with smaller players, as was previously noted by ornery Norwegian. There seems to be a lot...

It will be interesting to see how they complement each other. We've been used to teams that have point guards who command the ball for a huge percentage of the time: Hawkins, Carr, Nate Mason..Now will Patterson be the one? I can see a likely scenario in which Patterson, Cochran, and Mitchell...

While I won't suggest that Cochran is Jrue Holiday yet, when you are 6'2 and 225, you CAN be a very good defender against bigger opponents UNDER OR NEAR THE BASKET. You don't get named co-defensive player of the year in a good conference if you can't "defend bigger players near the basket."...

Agreed, and there is a whole lot here to like: 14.4 scorer, 6.4 rebounds (that's impressive and will add a lot), 36% from three, and the co-defensive player of the year in the MAC. And while a lot of people have talked about their legitimate concern about this team guarding bigger guards/wings...

No doubt that you can say he has failed based on his wins and losses. And you can argue about the talent that he's had to work with-which overall has been dismal. And anyone saying that in his first year he failed with the talent he had doesn't know a damn thing about coaching. The talent on...

I agree that it will help to have a more veteran team, and if the new guys can show some better defense than last year's team they would have a chance to be better. And they would also have a chance to be better if between Patterson, Asuma, Mitchell, Rigsby, Okudale, and Williams, they find a...

Agreed, he's an athlete with good strength and he can board a little, and along with Mitchell, Garcia, and Fox, they've got a decent group on the front line who can physically match up with most teams. And while this isn't the 2011 Kentucky Wildcats here, Johnson has put together a team with...