Anyone else reminded of '05-'06?

[WilliamsArenaGuy]

That team was coming off a tournament berth, had Vincent Grier back, hopes were high for the return of Mo Hargrow and Adam Boone. Expectations were high and mostly for good reason. Instead it was a godawful season (instead of a few nice wins at home in the Big Ten) and the beginning of the end for Dan Monson.

This season is setting up to be just as disappointing. We have a better coach, but I honestly think Tubby is as confused about what to do as any of the fans. He bascially admitted it in the paper this morning:

"It's the same sort of scenario, each loss has been the same way pretty much and that's the disappointing part about it," Smith said. "Sometimes, you're not sure if you have the right personnel in there, or do you have the right play call? So there's a lot of things we need to evaluate in that regard."

To me, this is not a good sign and not a quote you should hear from a Hall of Fame coach. A lot of the lineup choices and combinations have been curious for two years now, including the tendency to replace five guys at once. Monson was chastised whenever he did that. And why is Rodney Williams still starting? The guy has done nothing against any of these better teams. He is a freshman who looks completely lost and is playing like a true freshman. Yet we're still throwing him out there to start games against better competition?

I am optimistic always and will hope for the best, but I do not have a good feeling about this season, especially with the quality of the conference in which we are playing.

Now for the obligatory disclaimer: I DO NOT want to fire Tubby. I like him. He clearly has proved to be a great coach. I am still in relative shock that he is the coach of our team. It would be nice to simply question what I see without having to clarify that each time lest I upset someone or get ripped for my audacity.

Also, thank you Damian Johnson for the free throws last night. You are my favorite player, but come on, that was simply ridiculous.

 

[bga1]

The answer is yes, it reminded me last night of that year.

Right now I'd be starting Nolen and Joseph together based on what I have heard today. As to Rodney- my view is that it's not his fault that he looks lost. The offensive scheme apparently has him and three other guys standing on the perimeter passing the ball around the arc until somebody-usually Nolen-drums up the courage to make a strafing drive through the defense. I'm all for starting Rodney if there is a ton of offensive movement-in which case he would be dynamite.

 

[GopherLady]

That team was coming off a tournament berth, had Vincent Grier back, hopes were high for the return of Mo Hargrow and Adam Boone. Expectations were high and mostly for good reason. Instead it was a godawful season (instead of a few nice wins at home in the Big Ten) and the beginning of the end for Dan Monson.

This season is setting up to be just as disappointing. We have a better coach, but I honestly think Tubby is as confused about what to do as any of the fans. He bascially admitted it in the paper this morning:

"It's the same sort of scenario, each loss has been the same way pretty much and that's the disappointing part about it," Smith said. "Sometimes, you're not sure if you have the right personnel in there, or do you have the right play call? So there's a lot of things we need to evaluate in that regard."

To me, this is not a good sign and not a quote you should hear from a Hall of Fame coach. A lot of the lineup choices and combinations have been curious for two years now, including the tendency to replace five guys at once. Monson was chastised whenever he did that. And why is Rodney Williams still starting? The guy has done nothing against any of these better teams. He is a freshman who looks completely lost and is playing like a true freshman. Yet we're still throwing him out there to start games against better competition?

I am optimistic always and will hope for the best, but I do not have a good feeling about this season, especially with the quality of the conference in which we are playing.

YES! I was just saying that last night, but I think this year is worse, because I had even higher expectations. I remember going into that season, coming from a tourney run - thinking, Hargrow would be a great replacement for Lawson, Boone had 5 years of experience and was bigger than A-Rob, and Spencer showed so much more athleticism his freshman year, I thought he'd be an upgrade from Hagen. I thought our backcourt (with all that experience) was going to be like Illini's the year before...needless to say, I was wrong, soooo wrong. And we started the BT season 0-6.

I don't think we had a downgrade in talent, it was all just chemistry, leadership, and the little things and intangibles. That's why you can't really put your finger on this team, and why they're not living up to expectations.

That team wasn't pretty, and they had a lot of ugly wins, but they managed to pull them out. I hope this year's team can find that passion and that physical type of play.

 

[NateDawgUM]

I think the rotation needs to be tightened up. Tubby seems too content with the "line change" approach. When I watch, I feel like some guys are having a good game, and then they are taken out and sit for long periods.