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And IF Christie returns, and IF they can get a 5 that can rebound and play D and a decent wing, they have a chance to be better than last year, and that's assuming there is continued development from Christie, Hawkins, and Mitchell, and the addition of Asuma, who will get some playing time...

You clearly have some strong feelings about this, I'll step aside on this one.

I'm not sure how you translate "fill in a few minutes off the bench" into "please don't think he will be a high contributor to the gophers next season" . That's a bit curious to me, perhaps you didn't read it very closely? And if he decided to come back? I'd welcome him. Why? I don't think...

It's really easy to imply Johnson is pretty ignorant in thinking Ihnen "was a guard." Much of how players play in terms of their position is based on brain-type. There are many players who are geared towards being basket-facing players, and do not learn "back to the basket" kinds of skills...

Agreed, and there are many here who are talking about Johnson "missing" this opportunity with JOJ and failing to "coach him up" into the player he should be. JOJ seems like a good guy, and he is pretty good initiating offense with the ball in his hands. He also has a 46 inch vertical. However...

That would really help Mitchell. And the other things would be to reduce his number of turnovers (he had 4 yesterday) and to make sure he understands game situations better, and when to take a quick shot. You certainly don't want to reduce his aggressive approach too much, because he can be...

I believe it was on the broadcast yesterday-lots of "red misses" near the hoop, and lots of makes from the 3 point line and longer 2's.

Agreed, the shot chart showing where Christie makes or misses his shots from showed how much he struggles to finish on his drives-and good for him for showing a willingness to put it on the floor and go. Having Christie come back next year with an additional 15 lbs of muscle to finish drives...

And not only does he have cohones (sp?) the size of boulders, the only thing more amazing than his improvement on the assist to turnover ratio this year is that he hasn't been a liability on defense. Most guys 5'8 (which is about what he really is) are often taken advantage of by bigger...

Couldn't agree more. You can bet that JOJ has been instructed on not only his effort on defense but also how to be a part of the flow of the offense rather than "trying to take over." He also struggles with his ball handling and passing, but he has a lot of physical talent-46 inch verticals...

Well, you might agree that going from 2-17 in the Big Ten last year to 8-7 so far this year is an improvement. I'll refrain from any more dialogue here, I want to keep my mental health in good shape. “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” -Zig Ziglar...

Thank you for that slice of profound wisdom. I'm wondering then if you would say that Ben should be owning the success and turnaround this year? Be careful you don't go too far, you may be labeled a "Johnson apologist."

One gets the feeling that no matter what happens with this team, it will never be quite enough, and things will always be Ben's fault. There's an old saying, Anyone whose goal is "always something higher" must expect someday to suffer vertigo. Are you enjoying the season? I think you may have...

Agreed that Battle would have been a poor fit for this team. I don't have "inside information" about team chemistry from last year, but besides his liability on defense, it didn't seem like he was an asset for the team on the team chemistry side either. And it is such a pleasure to see...

I understand. My concern is that the earth will be struck by an unknown meteor, causing untold deaths and destruction. And even before that happens, I'll be killed when a drunken bus driver runs me over on a city sidewalk. I suppose then everything will have to be rebuilt again.

You do take the good with the bad from Hawkins. He'll commit some untimely fouls, he'll turn it over at times, and he'll occasionally wait too long and have to beat the shot clock. And here is what he brings: 7.6 Assists and 2.8 turnovers is a great ratio He is an automatic press breaker and...

(cont) and using his left hand, he's going to be tougher to defend. My God, if he had a short jumper...

Agreed, and a lot of that is what can happen when Payne is able to stay out of foul trouble and get more minutes. And as he gains confidence in putting the ball on the floor and

Those are good examples. The difference with Olberding was that almost nobody during that earlier era had done a lot of work in the weight room, and he was incredibly strong. But Copa and Humphries were also both physical freaks who excelled and had NBA careers, although Copa's was only one year...

I played in that "74 State Tournament, we lost our 2nd game to the Bemidji team that Olberding and Melrose beat in the finals. Lost of "short shorts and big hair" back then, with very little muscle definition! Olberding was a freak-nobody came close the the physical domination and skill he had...