5 burning questions before we start the season

[zipsofakron]

I posed these over at FTB, but I thought it'd be interesting fodder for the board. I had a few questions that I'm excited to see answers to as the season plays out. Some will be readily apparent right away; others might take a while. Great for speculation. Bad for Dr. Don.

1. Who will win the battle to start at center?

2. Will Josh Martin overtake Joey King as the starting PF during the year?

3. Can the Gophers take advantage of a softer conference schedule?

4. How much playing time will Charles Buggs see?

5. Can Richard Pitino strike JUCO gold twice with Squirrel Morris?

 

[DeathClutch]

I posed these over at FTB, but I thought it'd be interesting fodder for the board. I had a few questions that I'm excited to see answers to as the season plays out. Some will be readily apparent right away; others might take a while. Great for speculation. Bad for Dr. Don.

1. Who will win the battle to start at center?

2. Will Josh Martin overtake Joey King as the starting PF during the year?

3. Can the Gophers take advantage of a softer conference schedule?

4. How much playing time will Charles Buggs see?

5. Can Richard Pitino strike JUCO gold twice with Squirrel Morris?

1. Mo but Eliason is obviously going to play plenty of minutes. Either could start and it'd be fine by me.
2. No, but he will be a good energy guy off the bench who grabs rebounds and pisses of other teams fans.
3. Yes, see Nebraska last year.
4. Not alot. I think not being able to practice this summer hampered his development going into the season.
5. Not to the extent of Mathieu but we don't need Carlos to have the impact that Mathieu had last year.

 

[BleedGopher]

1. I think Mo Walker will start the majority of games, and will likely be the center in at the end of games, assuming no foul trouble. Elliot will get plenty of PT, but Walker will separate himself.
2. No. Comments from Pitino lead me to believe that Martin has a growing to do to be a more polished player.
3. I sure hope so and I think we will. We need to defend the home court every time we step into The Barn and we need to be tougher on the road, which Pitino firmly recognizes.
4. Maybe a tad more than last year, but I don't anticipate he'll be in the regular rotation.
5. I don't see Morris having the impact that Mathieu had last year as we hadn't seen a JUCO impact a team as a junior like we did last year since Grier's first year at the U. I am eager to see the SF battle between Morris and McNeil.

Go Gophers!!

 

[WanderingGopher]

1. Who will win the battle to start at center?

Eliason. Assuming King and Morris start at forwards, I think you need to pair them (relatively skinny, King more offensive minded PF) with a defensive stopper at the post. When subs start coming in, you've got more defensive oriented guys like McNeil and Martin, you pair them with Walker.

2. Will Josh Martin overtake Joey King as the starting PF during the year?

No, not unless King gets hurt. Why is this a "burning question"?

3. Can the Gophers take advantage of a softer conference schedule?

I wouldn't assume it's softer until they start playing the games. We miss Mich and MSU at home, but with all the guys they lost, who's to say they'll be better than Nebraska, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio State, etc. But that's not the point. Regardless of our opponents, I expect us to clean up at home this year.

4. How much playing time will Charles Buggs see?

Again, not really a burning question considering he barely played last year, missed summer development, and started the year coming off the bench in the first scrimmage.
More burning question is whether he'll ever be a big factor (not saying that to be negative, just recognizing his upperclassman years are still ahead of him).

5. Can Richard Pitino strike JUCO gold twice with Squirrel Morris?

This is key. Not sure. Like Mathieu and basically every other juco we've had, he'll probably start quietly and we should expect more out of him next year than this year. I'd settle for a poor man's Austin Hollins.

 

[EG#9]

I posed these over at FTB, but I thought it'd be interesting fodder for the board. I had a few questions that I'm excited to see answers to as the season plays out. Some will be readily apparent right away; others might take a while. Great for speculation. Bad for Dr. Don.

1. Who will win the battle to start at center?

2. Will Josh Martin overtake Joey King as the starting PF during the year?

3. Can the Gophers take advantage of a softer conference schedule?

4. How much playing time will Charles Buggs see?

5. Can Richard Pitino strike JUCO gold twice with Squirrel Morris?

1. I'd start Elliott, but might play Mo more minutes. Pitino kind of answered this question today when he stated that he didn't think either guy would ever truly overtake the other because they each have some unique strengths that the other player doesn't possess. I prefer Elliott to start because I think he fits better with Joey King, and gives the Gophers a stronger defensive presence to start the game. The bonus is that starting Elliott likely puts Mo in a position to get minutes against backup bigs where his advantage in the post becomes even more pronounced.

2. Judging by Pitino's comments at the Big Ten media day, I don't get the impression that Martin is all that close to King right now. Given that Coach has been pretty effusive in his praise for a couple other freshman, my guess is that King keeps the job all year.

3. Hopefully

4. Little to none. Coach Pitino has not brought up Buggs on his own and his only mentioned him when forced to by a direct question from a reporter. Whether he plays or not, he'll always have that game against Iowa which is more than some scholarship players have had.

5. No real guess as to how good Squirrel Morris will be. Pitino has praised him at times (as have teammates), but if McNeil is really making the battle for that wing spot tight, it's hard to imagine him being an impact guy.

 

[Golden_Sloth]

1. Who will win the battle to start at center?

2. Will Josh Martin overtake Joey King as the starting PF during the year?

3. Can the Gophers take advantage of a softer conference schedule?

4. How much playing time will Charles Buggs see?

5. Can Richard Pitino strike JUCO gold twice with Squirrel Morris?

1. EE will remain the starter. Mo may get more minutes, but Pitino prioritizes defense and will want EE in to set the tone early in games.

2. No

3. Yes

4. 2 MPG. JK and JM will eat up the majority of minutes at the 4 with Konate getting some spot duty.

5. Squirrel will be a solid contributor, but won't have as big an impact as Mathieu did last year.

 

[SelectionSunday]

My 2 cents:

1. Big Mo

2. No. The way Pitino is gushing about Konate I suspect he'll get more minutes in the frontcourt than Martin.

3. They better. They need to clean up at Williams Arena. Hard to believe we'll have a softer overall home schedule than this one. Other than the Badgers (but make no mistake, Gophers can beat UW), the expectation should be to win every home game. Gophers need to do that until the program proves it can win tough games on the road.

4. TBD. Not ready to count Buggs out yet because there are too many unknowns in the frontcourt other than MoElliott & King.

5. Why not? Don't need a Mathieu-type season out of him, just need a solid debut. If he's not ready, there could be major issues at the 3.

 

[GopherHoopsFan]

I posed these over at FTB, but I thought it'd be interesting fodder for the board. I had a few questions that I'm excited to see answers to as the season plays out. Some will be readily apparent right away; others might take a while. Great for speculation. Bad for Dr. Don.

1. Who will win the battle to start at center?

Walker

2. Will Josh Martin overtake Joey King as the starting PF during the year?

Yes

3. Can the Gophers take advantage of a softer conference schedule?

Yes

4. How much playing time will Charles Buggs see?

Who cares. I can't understand why anybody cares at this point about Charles Buggs' minutes, it's pretty obvious that he isn't and never will be a factor for this team.

5. Can Richard Pitino strike JUCO gold twice with Squirrel Morris?

Probably more like striking bronze

 

[Winasota Gopher]

Probably more like striking bronze

elaborate?

 

[march madness]

my questions

My 5 questions:
1. Can Andre return to his healthy and aggresive sophmore form?
2. Do we have enough bodies on the perimeter?
3. Can both Mo and Joey turn themselves into average rebounders and defenders?
4. Will EE be more consistent this year?
5. Can we match up with a 6-3 SF against good rebounding teams like Mich st?

1. Who will win the battle to start at center? doesnt matter both will play a ton.

2. Will Josh Martin overtake Joey King as the starting PF during the year? doubtful

3. Can the Gophers take advantage of a softer conference schedule? hope so

4. How much playing time will Charles Buggs see? not much

5. Can Richard Pitino strike JUCO gold twice with Squirrel Morris?

hope so.

 

[Otis]

I posed these over at FTB, but I thought it'd be interesting fodder for the board. I had a few questions that I'm excited to see answers to as the season plays out. Some will be readily apparent right away; others might take a while. Great for speculation. Bad for Dr. Don.

1. Who will win the battle to start at center? Big Mo, is the better choice in my opinion but I feel this will depend on how the centers pair up with the PFs. If Konate can be a dominant defensive big then I could see starting him and Mo to maximize the low post presence. It's hard to start Joey and Mo together defensively.

2. Will Josh Martin overtake Joey King as the starting PF during the year? Maybe? Joey is not a lock and could be passed up by either Martin or Konate. If Konate can play D and board then I think he will get a shot faster than Martin. Pitino has mention Konate at all his conferences.

3. Can the Gophers take advantage of a softer conference schedule? Let's hope so! tough to say how these teams will play. Michigan was supposed to be down without McGary and they exceeded expectations. Loads of talent in the BIG, anyone could surprise.

4. How much playing time will Charles Buggs see? near zero, come Big Ten time. needs a bigger body. Eat a sandwhich Chuck!

5. Can Richard Pitino strike JUCO gold twice with Squirrel Morris?

Need a three who can be effective in this offense, so let's hope Squirrel doesn't drive us nuts! (see what I did there)

 

[mnsportsgeek]

Who's gonna take over ball hog duties from Wally? These are the pressing questions we need to ask ourselves.

 

[USTHoops]

No signs point toward Buggs playing many meaningful minutes. Pitino is trying Konate at PF and he's probaby now the 3rd PF behind Joey and Josh

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

I posed these over at FTB, but I thought it'd be interesting fodder for the board. I had a few questions that I'm excited to see answers to as the season plays out. Some will be readily apparent right away; others might take a while. Great for speculation. Bad for Dr. Don.

1. Who will win the battle to start at center?

2. Will Josh Martin overtake Joey King as the starting PF during the year?

3. Can the Gophers take advantage of a softer conference schedule?

4. How much playing time will Charles Buggs see?

5. Can Richard Pitino strike JUCO gold twice with Squirrel Morris?

1. The Goose takes it, Mo provides a nice scoring touch off the bench but for the starting lineup we roll with EE's physicality in the paint.

2. No, Joey King will be a more consistent shooter and we want his range in the lineup. If I am wrong about number 1, I am wrong about number 2. It will either be Goose/King or Mo/Josh.

3. Yes, we will have less hiccups against weak opponents, and finish with a winning B1G season for the first time since I have been a student/alumnus.

4. Almost none. He was a depth guy recruited for a different offense, and Pitino's recruiting has passed him up. He seems like a great guy, and I'm rooting for him to at least be able to capitalize with some clutch points on a night when we need him due to foul trouble/injuries (obviously I don't mean I am rooting for an injury).

5. Forget gold, Squirrel will be JUCO platinum.

 

[Atl Gopher]

Who's gonna take over ball hog duties from Wally? These are the pressing questions we need to ask ourselves.

I still believe that Buggs upside is among the tops on our team. Patino said as much last season. The guy is an athletic beast. Watching him in warm ups he looks like a man among boys. He seemed lost on the floor when he did get playing time with the exception of one game. In keeping with bigs take longer theme I hope to see significant increases in his PT as the year progresses.

 

[Winasota Gopher]

1. The Goose takes it, Mo provides a nice scoring touch off the bench but for the starting lineup we roll with EE's physicality in the paint.

2. No, Joey King will be a more consistent shooter and we want his range in the lineup. If I am wrong about number 1, I am wrong about number 2. It will either be Goose/King or Mo/Josh.

3. Yes, we will have less hiccups against weak opponents, and finish with a winning B1G season for the first time since I have been a student/alumnus.

4. Almost none. He was a depth guy recruited for a different offense, and Pitino's recruiting has passed him up. He seems like a great guy, and I'm rooting for him to at least be able to capitalize with some clutch points on a night when we need him due to foul trouble/injuries (obviously I don't mean I am rooting for an injury).

5. Forget gold, Squirrel will be JUCO platinum.

The whole starting lineup conversation between the 3/4/5 is hit on the head right here. There will be a balance of scoring and defense from those positions. When Mo is out there expect the Martin/McNeil combo of defense and rebounding to get the playing time. When EE is out there expect Morris and King. Each will likely get 15 to 25 minutes with variations happening when we are in slow down drag it out style games against Sconny (need more athleticism and length to defend/rebound) where I could see an EE/Martin(or Konate) combo to defend against Wisconsin's talented bigs. Or in a speed up score fest against Michigan (maybe even see some Mason at the 3 to really pump up scoring). Best thing is, on paper and in my maroon colored mind, we've got options and the ability to play many styles of ball in the Big 10.

 

[Tommy Flanagan]

Joey King is the undisputed starter, and will play a big role on how far as this team goes.

 

[98VQueens]

There will be a balance of scoring and defense from those positions. When Mo is out there expect the Martin/McNeil combo of defense and rebounding to get the playing time

You seem to get caught up on this. Mo will play plenty with King, EE with Martin and so on.

 

[Winasota Gopher]

You seem to get caught up on this. Mo will play plenty with King, EE with Martin and so on.

???

I obviously understand that lineups are fluid, and Pitino does not do the 5 in 5 out hockey lineup changes. I'm also very well aware of balancing scoring in a lineup and being aware that EE has less ability to create on his own compared to Mo. There absolutely will be a balancing act among the positions so I'm not sure how I am getting "hung up" on something.

EE is less of an offensive weapon than Mo
As a freshman we could expect the same to be true when comparing Martin and King

You cannot trot out a lineup of a bunch of offensive deficient players and expect the ball to continue to move. Tubby tried, and it never worked.

 

[zipsofakron]

1. I like Eliason to start if he has a good lead-up to the season. He's still the incumbent, IMO, and I feel like a confident Eliason is a huge deal.

2. The reason I ask this is because King was the starting PF last year by default. He did a great job, don't get me wrong. But what happens when you have a guy challenging him who naturally fits the position? Not sure this is as cut and dry as we think.

3. I'd really love to buck the annual February woes.

4. I really don't think Buggs fits anywhere into this lineup. As most have said, he was recruited by a different coach for a different system. I doubt he even gets a chance to succeed. But, hey, everyone wants to #FreeBuggs anyways.

5. Morris seems to be the only fit for SF, physically, outside of Buggs. Really excited to see what he brings to the table, especially considering the stories about his work ethic and how seriously he is taking this opportunity.

 

[Halsey Hall]

Eliason. Assuming King and Morris start at forwards, I think you need to pair them (relatively skinny, King more offensive minded PF) with a defensive stopper at the post. When subs start coming in, you've got more defensive oriented guys like McNeil and Martin, you pair them with Walker.



No, not unless King gets hurt. Why is this a "burning question"?



I wouldn't assume it's softer until they start playing the games. We miss Mich and MSU at home, but with all the guys they lost, who's to say they'll be better than Nebraska, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio State, etc. But that's not the point. Regardless of our opponents, I expect us to clean up at home this year.



Again, not really a burning question considering he barely played last year, missed summer development, and started the year coming off the bench in the first scrimmage.
More burning question is whether he'll ever be a big factor (not saying that to be negative, just recognizing his upperclassman years are still ahead of him).



This is key. Not sure. Like Mathieu and basically every other juco we've had, he'll probably start quietly and we should expect more out of him next year than this year. I'd settle for a poor man's Austin Hollins.

If NOT burning, why the hell do you take the time to rip on them and why do you answer them????