All Things Ben Johnson Tweets








oldrodent

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I suppose it could depend upon style of play and what is asked of the players but in general, I disagree with this. I think it was pretty clear Marcus Carr was exhausted at the end of a lot of games. He wasn't particularly active on defense but he was extremely active on offense. I would think he was in peak physical condition.

Do I think college guys could jog up and down the court, play a little offense and play a little defense for a full game? Yeah. Do I think they could play at that 85-100% of their capabilities for a full game? No, I don't think so.
I agree with you both. Style of play certainly comes into play. Especially with a new coach that until they get the desired players to fit their system, will aspire for an "up tempo" game. Stressing ball pressure, defense, offensive rebounding and moving the ball quickly to increase the number of possessions. All players need to be in that kind of game shape. Marcus thrived in this type of game but then he was at times obviously tired toward the end of the game. I think that had more to do with the fact that no-one else was able to score consistently and most games he had 2 and sometimes 3 different players defending him so he had to work that much harder offensively. In fairness to Gabe, who was supposed to put up big numbers, was so effective defending and worked so hard at it that his offense struggled (IMO). Of course the best scenario would be to have 7-12 players to use. Not something the gophers have had the luxury as of late. It will be interesting to see how both of these guys do this year if given a different role.
 

GopherPete

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I suppose it could depend upon style of play and what is asked of the players but in general, I disagree with this. I think it was pretty clear Marcus Carr was exhausted at the end of a lot of games. He wasn't particularly active on defense but he was extremely active on offense. I would think he was in peak physical condition.

Do I think college guys could jog up and down the court, play a little offense and play a little defense for a full game? Yeah. Do I think they could play at that 85-100% of their capabilities for a full game? No, I don't think so.
We only want the players who give 110% around here.
 




jamiche

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I would wager that the vast majority of college basketball players are fully capable of physically playing hard for a full 40 minutes. But there is also the mental, emotional and match-up side of the game you need to consider. Sometimes a guy has missed 6 easy shots in a row and could use a little break so he can re-set mentally or emotionally. Sometimes a guy is messing up an assignment, so you sit him down and explain to him what you're trying to do. Sometimes, the other team has made a move that creates a match-up problem and you feel a different style of player is needed for that situation. There are so many reasons that coaches use anywhere from 7-12 different players in games, as opposed to just letting the starting 5 go the full 40 every game.
Totally agree. My reference was only to the top couple of players on the team. The ones who create match up problems for the other team.
 

jamiche

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I suppose it could depend upon style of play and what is asked of the players but in general, I disagree with this. I think it was pretty clear Marcus Carr was exhausted at the end of a lot of games. He wasn't particularly active on defense but he was extremely active on offense. I would think he was in peak physical condition.

Do I think college guys could jog up and down the court, play a little offense and play a little defense for a full game? Yeah. Do I think they could play at that 85-100% of their capabilities for a full game? No, I don't think so.
We don't know if he was in peak physical condition or not. We didn't see him outside of games. Another reason for late game exhaustion is that RP allowed him to play one on four or five for substantial portions of most of the games. That's on the coach.

From a purely conditioning perspective, 20 year olds should easily be able to sustain for 40 minutes when there are so many stoppages in play.
 

Bob_Loblaw

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We don't know if he was in peak physical condition or not. We didn't see him outside of games. Another reason for late game exhaustion is that RP allowed him to play one on four or five for substantial portions of most of the games. That's on the coach.

From a purely conditioning perspective, 20 year olds should easily be able to sustain for 40 minutes when there are so many stoppages in play.
It's really on every coach in the country if you're correct. No one plays guys 40 minutes per game.

As far as Carr, yeah, he played 1-4 on offense, but like I said, he wasn't hyper active on defense. As far as him not being in shape, I guess you can make that argument but that's moving the goal posts. You'll make that argument for every player who looks tired playing 35+ minutes (so really, every single college basketball player). You show me 1 example of a college basketball player being able to be hyper active and play 40 minutes per game without looking completely exhausted, I'd think your point made sense. For now, it sounds a lot like fantasy.
 

atsgopher

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We used to run 30 killers, suicides, i mean lines at every practice and after every loss.
When we asked the coach, “Why so much running?” He replied, “In the 4th quarter, when the other team is gasping and pulling on their shorts and jerseys trying to catch their breath. You guys will be thinking, we got these bastards!”
Running is good.
We used to call them “Gophers.”
 



Gopher_In_NYC

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We used to run 30 killers, suicides, i mean lines at every practice and after every loss.
When we asked the coach, “Why so much running?” He replied, “In the 4th quarter, when the other team is gasping and pulling on their shorts and jerseys trying to catch their breath. You guys will be thinking, we got these bastards!”
Running is good.
Did it work? Or was your coach just a sadist?
 




WindyCityGopher

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Anybody know the reason why the bench is being brought back? Seems an odd bit of nostalgia to dig out of the storage closet now. Is it just the home bench or for the visitors side too?
 


Holy Man

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Anybody know the reason why the bench is being brought back? Seems an odd bit of nostalgia to dig out of the storage closet now. Is it just the home bench or for the visitors side too?
Way more efficient seating than individual chairs. Look nice from afar. Perhaps they are adding some walk ons and need more space.
 














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