A Reasonably Objective Assessment

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jamiche

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I very much enjoyed the game last night.

They ran more than usual in the first half and then tightened up in the second. The three guard lineup worked well. As usual, miserable from the line until Welch at the very end.

The real concern is that it took a tremendous effort to barely beat a middling (at best) ACC team at home. There are two ways to look at it: the team will get used to the "new normal," Tubby will adapt and a new, perimeter based, aggressive club will claw its way to the tournament. In the alternative, the schedule will grind this team to near dust and it will be another lost season in the Barn. I was talking with a good friend of mine in the stands last night and we agreed that this year will be a real test of how much passion Tubby has for this job and this group of players.

Let's hope for one of the raucous scenes of players climbing all over one another in front of the TV on Selection Sunday. It is still achievable.
 

The one good thing about this team is we definitely have some depth on the perimeter. I don't think this team will be worn out.
 

Va tech was picked 6th in the ACC, the Gophers were picked 9thish in the B1G without their two seniors and two leading returning scorers, and you expected them to not struggle to win? Really? What is objective about that?

You even picked Va. Tech to win by four. I'm baffled.
 

jamiche said:
I very much enjoyed the game last night.
The real concern is that it took a tremendous effort to barely beat a middling (at best) ACC team at home.
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We were a middling Big Ten team, in all likelihood, even with Mbakwe and Sampson playing big minutes. Without them, it stands to reason that it would take a tremendous effort to beat another middling team.
 

Who the hell picked the Gophers to finish 9th in the Big Ten From The Barn? I saw predictions ranging from 3rd to 7th from the Big Ten Media and most of the early bracketology predictions had the Gophers in the tournament.
 


From the Barn said:
Va tech was picked 6th in the ACC, the Gophers were picked 9thish in the B1G without their two seniors and two leading returning scorers, and you expected them to not struggle to win? Really? What is objective about that?

You even picked Va. Tech to win by four. I'm baffled.
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I don't see where he "expected" us to do better. I believe his point was that it took all we had to beat VT. That means we have to find a lot of improvement to do well enough in the Big Ten to reach the tournament. I think that's a pretty objective view.

We have to find a way to be able to hold our own versus other teams in three point shots. Limit their makes while increasing ours. That and the FTs as he noted are a big deal. We are no longer going to win just as a dominant front line team.
 

I stick with my assessment of this current roster that it will be one of Tubby's best coaching jobs if they get to the NIT. If the NCAA, he should be unanamously named the BIG COY.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
I stick with my assessment of this current roster that it will be one of Tubby's best coaching jobs if they get to the NIT. If the NCAA, he should be unanamously named the BIG COY.
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At his point - with our remain NC schedule all home games- we should be 11-1. We would probably make the NIT with 6 or 7 conference wins. I don't think that qualifies as a great coaching job. There's enough talent here that would allow Tubby's "best coaching job" (or one of them) to get to the dance. I would give him COY for that though.
 

In the predict the score he had Va. Tech by 4. Just find it odd that the Gophers exceeded his expectations, and then he is concerned that they did.
 



i didn't see the whole game.. but what i saw had VT in man-to-man.. with our guards getting into the lane time after time..

did VT throw a zone at us?

with our lack of pure shooters, a zone would be a real test.
 

From the Barn said:
In the predict the score he had Va. Tech by 4. Just find it odd that the Gophers exceeded his expectations, and then he is concerned that they did.
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Again- far be it for me to interpret Jamiche (see the OT board :) ) but I think he meant that he basically thought we would stink prior to the VT game and that we exceeded his expectations by winning. Then he went on to say that it's a bad sign for anyone that does have high expectations that the Gophers had to battle so hard just to squeeze out a victory over VT. From there he simple gave the "high versus low" options- ie. A) Tubby does a great coaching job and the team develops a new identity or B) as I think Jamiche expects we have a year that includes a fair amount of suffering. That's how I read it and I pretty much agree with the assessment.
 

From the Barn said:
In the predict the score he had Va. Tech by 4. Just find it odd that the Gophers exceeded his expectations, and then he is concerned that they did.
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I'm not "concerned" about anything. People came on the board after the game and pronounced it a great win when, in fact, it was a close win at home against a mid level ACC team. Considering that they were down by one with less than a minute to go, my prediction wasn't off by much. My point is that this will be a very interesting season and Tubby has an opportunity to change some opinions of his tenure because he has a situation that will require him to coach differently in order to be successful. It was a solid start but, given the level of competition and the venue, difficult to know if it means much.
 

yes it was a 'close win at home against a mid level ACC team'..

but the way they played was a 'win'.. compared to the first halves in Orlando.. and the entire game against Dayton, this was a different team.. now why they don't play with this fire all the time is the part that baffles me.. maybe we were just standing around waiting for Trevor to do it all? or felt RS3 was owed touches on each trip?
 



You say this, Jamiche:

I'm not "concerned" about anything.
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But yet...

The real concern is that it took a tremendous effort to barely beat a middling (at best) ACC team at home.
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I don't even disagree with you, I just found the contradiction amusing.
 

dboy said:
i didn't see the whole game.. but what i saw had VT in man-to-man.. with our guards getting into the lane time after time..

did VT throw a zone at us?

with our lack of pure shooters, a zone would be a real test.
Click to expand...

Va Tech did throw a zone at the gophs, but Welch hit a 3 one possession and the next i believe they ditched the zone.
 

jamiche said:
I'm not "concerned" about anything. People came on the board after the game and pronounced it a great win when, in fact, it was a close win at home against a mid level ACC team. Considering that they were down by one with less than a minute to go, my prediction wasn't off by much. My point is that this will be a very interesting season and Tubby has an opportunity to change some opinions of his tenure because he has a situation that will require him to coach differently in order to be successful. It was a solid start but, given the level of competition and the venue, difficult to know if it means much.
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Are you at some point going to acknowledge that the Gophers had neither Ralph or Trevor?
 

bga1 said:
I don't see where he "expected" us to do better. I believe his point was that it took all we had to beat VT. That means we have to find a lot of improvement to do well enough in the Big Ten to reach the tournament. I think that's a pretty objective view.

We have to find a way to be able to hold our own versus other teams in three point shots. Limit their makes while increasing ours. That and the FTs as he noted are a big deal. We are no longer going to win just as a dominant front line team.
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I disagree that it took "all we had" to beat Virginia Tech.

The obvious, no Ralph Sampson III. Say what you want about RSIII being soft and that EE played pretty well (who I'm a big fan of, by the way), but Ralph is a senior and a starter.

Secondly, Austin Hollins is one of the best players in the team and he had a pretty poor game, by his standards this year.

They also shot 2-for-13 from the arc and barely over 50% from the FT line. If anything I would make the argument that Va Tech was lucky they were even in the game. If Chip and Rodney could actually shoot FT's and they make even 28% or so from the arc, they win by double digits.
 

From the Barn said:
Are you at some point going to acknowledge that the Gophers had neither Ralph or Trevor?
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I thought they were both out there. Trevor went for 14 and 9; Ralph for 12 and 7. Couldn't have won without 'em.
 

I'm reassured by the tremendous effort needed to barely beat VT. That level of team effort is fundamental for any measure of improvement/success this year and beyond. To get it under the current circumstances and for a win is great. If Tubby and staff can effectively coach solutions to the 3 pt. issues and maximize his roster, yes it may be an interesting season. If not, well......stay tuned.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
I disagree that it took "all we had" to beat Virginia Tech.

The obvious, no Ralph Sampson III. Say what you want about RSIII being soft and that EE played pretty well (who I'm a big fan of, by the way), but Ralph is a senior and a starter.

Secondly, Austin Hollins is one of the best players in the team and he had a pretty poor game, by his standards this year.

They also shot 2-for-13 from the arc and barely over 50% from the FT line. If anything I would make the argument that Va Tech was lucky they were even in the game. If Chip and Rodney could actually shoot FT's and they make even 28% or so from the arc, they win by double digits.
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Good point Ogee- I simply meant that the effort was all out. I think there is room for improvement in every area because we are young- and that's why I have hope. As far as Ralph - we need him. As far as that one game I don't think he'd have made much difference because Elliason played so well on both ends.

The potential upsides:
Get Walker back (could happen)
Get Ralph back and with improved play (could happen)
Improved 3 point shooting (quite likely I think)
Improved 3 point defense (hopeful but doubting)
Better ball handling (we got a good start last game with only 9 TOs)
 

bga1 said:
Good point Ogee- I simply meant that the effort was all out. I think there is room for improvement in every area because we are young- and that's why I have hope. As far as Ralph - we need him. As far as that one game I don't think he'd have made much difference because Elliason played so well on both ends.

The potential upsides:
Get Walker back (could happen)
Get Ralph back and with improved play (could happen)
Improved 3 point shooting (quite likely I think)
Improved 3 point defense (hopeful but doubting)
Better ball handling (we got a good start last game with only 9 TOs)
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Highly unlikely that Walker comes back this year
Ralph is who he is
Three point shooting will improve
The free throw shooting must improve. Has to improve. Should improve. It remains a mystery why it's so unsteady every year.
The three point defense will likely improve
With more guards on the floor there should be better ball handling
Rebounding will likely suffer
The half court perimeter weave offense needs to be overhauled.
 

Heard there was a tweet yesterday where Walker said his time was coming soon. Just sayin'. I think there's a much greater chance they let him play the second half than before TM went down. With TM there wasn't the urgency and they coudl play it ultra safe. I'm sure they will still play it safe but if they can get a substantial portion of the Big Ten season out him - I'd go for it.
 

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