All Things Gophers Basketball Pre-Season Links, Tweets, Analysis, etc.

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Here is a thread to post links, tweets, analysis etc. leading up to the Gophers exhibition opener.
 


A Good Read on Tubby's Thoughts on His Team

How long does Tubby keep bringing Trevor off the bench?
 


From Marcus:

Here’s my projected starting five right now:
Guard — Andre Hollins
Guard — Austin Hollins
Forward — Joe Coleman
Forward — Rodney Williams
Forward — Trevor Mbakwe

Next five:
Guard — Maverick Ahanmisi
Guard — Julian Welch
Forward — Oto Osenieks/Charles Buggs
Forward — Mo Walker/Andre Ingram
Center — Elliott Eliason/Walker

http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers...y-smith-calls-mbakwe-his-sixth-man-right-now/

Go Gophers!!
 




In all fairness he said "right now". Doesn't necessarily mean that Trevor won't be starting come Nov. 9. Everyone needs to remember that he hasn't been been able to even practice for very long at this point. It's going to take a little while before he's at 100%.
 

Where is Wally? (pp link)

Marcus's line-up
***************
Here’s my projected starting five right now:
Guard — Andre Hollins
Guard — Austin Hollins
Forward — Joe Coleman
Forward — Rodney Williams
Forward — Trevor Mbakwe

Next five:
Guard — Maverick Ahanmisi
Guard — Julian Welch
Forward — Oto Osenieks/Charles Buggs
Forward — Mo Walker/Andre Ingram
Center — Elliott Eliason/Walker

Gophers coach Tubby Smith calls Mbakwe his “sixth man” right now
http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers...y-smith-calls-mbakwe-his-sixth-man-right-now/
 





Jon said:
Marcus's line-up
***************
Here’s my projected starting five right now:
Guard — Andre Hollins
Guard — Austin Hollins
Forward — Joe Coleman
Forward — Rodney Williams
Forward — Trevor Mbakwe

Next five:
Guard — Maverick Ahanmisi
Guard — Julian Welch
Forward — Oto Osenieks/Charles Buggs
Forward — Mo Walker/Andre Ingram
Center — Elliott Eliason/Walker

Gophers coach Tubby Smith calls Mbakwe his “sixth man” right now
http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers...y-smith-calls-mbakwe-his-sixth-man-right-now/
Click to expand...

If you have ever played or coached the game of basketball, the "sixth man" is oftentimes the MVP because he can fill in more than one spot.

Some do not have a clue.

See Kevin McHale, sixth man on the Celtics in their hayday.
 






CBS has Gophers #22 in the nation:


By Jeff Goodman | College Basketball Insider

Coach: Tubby Smith

Years at school: 5 (103-64 all-time)

Best NCAA Tournament finish: NCAA first round (2009, 2010)

Last season's record: 23-15 (NIT)

Notable returnees from last season: Trevor Mbakwe, Rodney Williams, Austin Hollins, Andre Hollins, Julian Welch, Joe Coleman, Maurice Walker, Elliott Eliason

Notable loss from last season: Ralph Sampson III

Notable newcomers: Wally Ellenson, Charles Buggs

Projected starters: G; Austin Hollins G: Andre Hollins G: Joe Coleman F: Rodney Williams F: Trevor Mbakwe

Why this team will be good: Tubby Smith is a heck of a coach, especially when he has talent, and the Gophers certainly have more than enough of that to find themselves in the Big Ten race. A year ago, without his best player, Smith still found a way to win 23 games. Now Trevor Mbakwe -- who averaged 14 points and 9.1 boards in seven games last year before suffering a season-ending knee injury, is back. The Gophers have an all-Hollins backcourt with Austin and Andre -- and Rodney Williams is finally starting to show the potential that made him a heralded recruit coming out of high school. The lone loss from last year's team was that of Ralph Sampson III, and the son of the former NBA big man was a major disappointment, averaging just 7.9 points and 4.6 boards per contest. In addition to the Hollins' (who aren't related), Minnesota has guards Julian Welch and Joe Coleman back -- and also adds talented freshman Wally Ellenson. The hope is that big man Maurice Walker, who has missed his first two seasons, can finally be healthy to provide depth and bulk up front.

Why this team might disappoint: If Mbakwe doesn't come back at or near full-strength, this group will be much like they were a year ago: Mediocre. Sure, they won 23 games -- but went just 6-12 in Big Ten play. Mbakwe is one of the top rebounders in the country when healthy -- and is also terrific in transition. He's a difference-maker and takes much of the pressure off guys like Williams and the Hollins'. Without him, there's just not enough -- especially down low. The guards are solid, but not quite enough to carry the team. Williams is a perfect sidekick, but can't be counted upon to be a star -- largely due to his inconsistency. Smith needs to make sure his perimeter guys take care of the ball this season. Last season the decision-making wasn't pretty and that must improve for the Gophers to take the next step.

Bottom line: Smith is a proven X's and O's guy. He won at Tulsa, Georgia and also at Kentucky. He's gone to a pair of NCAA tournaments in five seasons at Minnesota -- and it would have been three if Mbakwe hadn't gone down with a torn ACL on Nov. 27. Give him enough talent and he's a virtual lock to get to the NCAA tournament. With Mbakwe, the Gophers have enough. But Smith needs an effective Mbakwe -- and that means he'll need to regain most of the athleticism following the knee injury. Austin Hollins is a junior and Andre Hollins, who needs to improve his decision-making, has a year under his belt. However, it ultimately comes down to Mbakwe and Williams. Those two guys are both capable of playing with just about anyone in the country. If Mbakwe is healthy and Williams plays to his potential, this team could challenge for one of the top spots in the Big Ten. If not, Smith & Co. will likely be headed back to the NIT.

Quote from an opposing coach in the league: "The thing that's going to be interesting is whether they play Rodney Williams at the three or the four -- and whether they play Trevor Mbakwe at the four or the five. I'd play Williams at the four, because he was definitely more effective there last year, and go with Mbakwe at the five."

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/20539551/no-22-minnesota

Go Gophers!!
 

From Amelia's chat:

Comment From Michael
How healthy is Mo? Will he be full strength to begin the season and will he be ready to be our first center off the bench?
12:05


Amelia:


Mo should be ready to go, health-wise. I think the biggest concern with him right now is getting him to the right size where he can maximize his production and court time. Right now, he’s about 20 pounds heavier than the Gophers want him to be. Mo had a couple of minor injuries over the summer – again, the weight was a big factor – and so probably hasn’t had the ability to workout as hard as he would like. Until that happens, I imagine Gophers staff will watch him with crossed fingers as he jumps and bangs around.

Go Gophers!!
 

More than enough talent to be in the big 10 race.

Indeed.
 

Amelia: Gophers men's basketball: After NIT results, top 25 expectations

There is optimism for a team that showed improvement at the end of the season and looks to be deeper this season with the much-awaited return of big men Trevor Mbakwe and Mo Walker from knee injuries

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/173788501.html

Go Gophers!!
 

BarnBurner said:
More than enough talent to be in the big 10 race.

Indeed.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say "more" than enough, but definitely enough. A couple breaks and they should be in the top 3 or 4 IMO. But since this is Gopher basketball, that's unlikely, so we're still probably talking 5th or so. But even that would be a nice change of pace, you know, sweating about seeding, rather than whether we get in at all, that'd be nice.
 

Monty519 said:
I wouldn't say "more" than enough, but definitely enough. A couple breaks and they should be in the top 3 or 4 IMO. But since this is Gopher basketball, that's unlikely, so we're still probably talking 5th or so. But even that would be a nice change of pace, you know, sweating about seeding, rather than whether we get in at all, that'd be nice.
Click to expand...

All injuries and transfer issues aside, we had "enough" talent to do better than we did last year. I think that we would have been a tournament team if we would have won the games that we did win and then not blown late leads in some other games (MSU in the regular season and Michigan in the Big Ten tourney come to mind). I think that Trevor and Mo will be able to make meaningful contributions quickly even if they don't come back from long absences as strong as we all hope, so for me, the biggest question is have we changed our late game strategy to be able to finish the games we are in a position to win? If we can drive the nail in the coffin when we get the late lead, I think we have a very dangerous team this year. If we sit on the ball and watch double digit leads evaporate without trying to make a play offensively, I don't think Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio would be able to get us to where we want to be.
 






BleedGopher said:
Rothstein Files: Mbakwe’s Return Adds To Minnesota’s Impressive Depth In Big Ten

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/10...ds-to-minnesotas-impressive-depth-in-big-ten/

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

Tubby quotes:

“We played pretty good basketball last year after we lost Trevor, and Rodney Williams proved he was really effective when he slid over to power forward. That’s probably the way we’d start things right now" ... HURRAY! This is what I hoped Tubby realized. RW at PF resulted, more than anything else, in a vastly improved perimeter defense.

"The depth on this team is overwhelming. I’m going to play 10-12 guys." ... DAMN! The injury situation FORCED Tubby to play a 6 or 7 man rotation with little of the discontinuity of Tubby's infamous full line shifts.
 

I think Tubby is going to press the whole game. So I am fine with him playing 10-12 guys.
 



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