BTN Picks Gophers to Finish Last in Conference

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CDH27 said:
I think this projection is another indication of why Tubby was released. Tubby indicated the 2012-13 team was his best at the beginning of the season and they finished 9th. It does show that Pitino has a lot of work to do.
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No. It shows Tubby got very little out of the talent he had. He managed to take a team that was #8 in the country at one point and turn them into an 11 seed in the tournament. Was MN the eighth best team in the country? Probably not. However, they sure as hell weren't an 11 seed.
 

scher215 said:
Not sure what this guy is using, but I don't want any.

@RandBall: Per @BTNBrentYarina, #gophers picked to finsih LAST in #B1G men's hoops next year. http://t.co/9kti0ANVVo

No. 12: Minnesota – The Gophers have talent in the backcourt, but they aren’t the greatest shooters, and with forwards Trevor Mbakwe and Rodney Williams no longer around to grab second chances, there will be struggles.
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He's right, one of them only finished 4th in the conference in 3-point shooting.
 

I could see Pitino struggling with a new team in a big conference next year, but last place seems unlikely. The team really crapped its pants this year and still tied for 7th. Last place means only 3-4 wins --- which is not going to happen.
 

Iowa in 4th, Indiana in 7th, Penn State in 8th, Illinois and Minnesota 11th and 12th. Odd rankings all the way around.
 



These have to be Bizzaro World projections...Not too many of them make sense other than MSU.
 

What this projection shows is that national perception about Tubby Smith. Their view is that the Gophers lost Mbakwe and Williams and the great Tubby Smith who must have, according to Smith lore, squeezed every ounce out of his roster. So now with Smith gone the national guys that know very little about specifics think we are toast.
 

Tater said:
I could see Pitino struggling with a new team in a big conference next year, but last place seems unlikely. The team really crapped its pants this year and still tied for 7th. Last place means only 3-4 wins --- which is not going to happen.
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Pretty much sums up my view. I certainly wouldn't expect big things out of the squad next year as they fill some holes and adjust to the new coching staff but I think there is enough talent to not finish in the cellar. Depending on how things together I think there is an outside chance this team could sneak into the NCAA tournament but NIT seems more likely.
 

I hope this becomes the consensus view by the way. Nothing would be better young Pitino than having everyone pick him to finish dead last and some how manage to finish 6th or 7th. He'd be praised for "working a miracle" and it would help his recruiting even more. I'm always a fan of having expectations as low as possible.
 



At this early stage of the offseason I think 8th is a safe projection for the Gophers, but BGA makes a good point. The national perception (not that it matters) is that Minnesota is in complete rebuilding mode because they just got done firing a coach that won a national championship 15 years ago. I don't think that's the case, though certainly there's likely to be growing pains early next season.

The way I look at it, the Gophers lose one senior stud (Mbakwe), one mercurial senior (Rodney), and two role-playing seniors (Welch, Ingram). We lose one guy that will be extremely difficult to replace and one who we'll miss his athleticism. That's it.

Assuming the Hollins', Coleman, and EE return and that Pitino can bring in a guy or two (PF and/or PG?) that can compete for a starting job right away, that's a solid base. ... not top-shelf Big Ten, but certainly not bottom-of-the-barrel Big Ten. I'd say percentages are we'll likely get more out of the talent on our roster next year than we did this past season.
 

Northwestern and gopher thoughts.

Northwestern could be this years suprise team, if Crawford and Cobb retun to preinjury form. pg Sobolewski is solid and Crawford was an all conf candidate, Cobb was comming on also. They will be woefully thin in the frontcourt. Probably going with sophmores Abrahamson and Olah. I think the threesome of Crawford, cobb, and Sobolewski compare with the Hollins Duo and Coleman. I would take EE over any of Northwestern's frontcourt players easily. I also think Carmody got a lot out of his unathletic teams and I am not sure Collins is ready to do the same yet.

We all knew the gophers would be taking a step back with losing Mbakwe. His strength, athleticism, rebounding, post scoring, and defense. I hope we get some pf and pg guys even if they are jr college guys. I don't see us getting Tyus or Rashaad and we shouldn't be scared of recruiting their position. They can beat out anyone we would get anyway.
 

scher215 said:
Not sure what this guy is using, but I don't want any.

@RandBall: Per @BTNBrentYarina, #gophers picked to finsih LAST in #B1G men's hoops next year. http://t.co/9kti0ANVVo

No. 12: Minnesota – The Gophers have talent in the backcourt, but they aren’t the greatest shooters, and with forwards Trevor Mbakwe and Rodney Williams no longer around to grab second chances, there will be struggles.
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No, the BTN (i.e. the network, or the main website) did NOT pick the Gophers to finish last. One guy, one of their web producers, Brent Yarina -- a Becky grad -- picked them for that place in his own little way too early Power Rankings for next year. But don't let that stop you from using a bombastic headline to grab some GH attention.
 

NateDawgUM said:
Brent Yarina was hired by BTN to help run the website/online content (which is nothing more than a glorified blog.) For some reason they've let him venture into predictions and analysis the last couple of years.

He rarely (never?) says anything insightful.
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Ahh....I see that NateDawg mentioned this fact as well.
 




march madness said:
Northwestern could be this years suprise team, if Crawford and Cobb retun to preinjury form. pg Sobolewski is solid and Crawford was an all conf candidate, Cobb was comming on also. They will be woefully thin in the frontcourt. Probably going with sophmores Abrahamson and Olah. I think the threesome of Crawford, cobb, and Sobolewski compare with the Hollins Duo and Coleman. I would take EE over any of Northwestern's frontcourt players easily. I also think Carmody got a lot out of his unathletic teams and I am not sure Collins is ready to do the same yet.

We all knew the gophers would be taking a step back with losing Mbakwe. His strength, athleticism, rebounding, post scoring, and defense. I hope we get some pf and pg guys even if they are jr college guys. I don't see us getting Tyus or Rashaad and we shouldn't be scared of recruiting their position. They can beat out anyone we would get anyway.
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Olah and Abrahamson got a lot of experience and Olah was much improved by the end of the year. Even Mike Turner, the back-up post player, was able to contribute and knock down some shots. If Collins can get Jaren Sina to re-commit they can be potentially much better than last year. The real question for NU is how they will do with a new offense.
 

supadupafly said:
No, the BTN (i.e. the network, or the main website) did NOT pick the Gophers to finish last. One guy, one of their web producers, Brent Yarina -- a Becky grad -- picked them for that place in his own little way too early Power Rankings for next year. But don't let that stop you from using a bombastic headline to grab some GH attention.
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Well then.
 


SelectionSunday said:
At this early stage of the offseason I think 8th is a safe projection for the Gophers, but BGA makes a good point. The national perception (not that it matters) is that Minnesota is in complete rebuilding mode because they just got done firing a coach that won a national championship 15 years ago. I don't think that's the case, though certainly there's likely to be growing pains early next season.

The way I look at it, the Gophers lose one senior stud (Mbakwe), one mercurial senior (Rodney), and two role-playing seniors (Welch, Ingram). We lose one guy that will be extremely difficult to replace and one who we'll miss his athleticism. That's it.

Assuming the Hollins', Coleman, and EE return and that Pitino can bring in a guy or two (PF and/or PG?) that can compete for a starting job right away, that's a solid base. ... not top-shelf Big Ten, but certainly not bottom-of-the-barrel Big Ten. I'd say percentages are we'll likely get more out of the talent on our roster next year than we did this past season.
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+1
 

If all of the people leave who I predict will leave, Dre might be the best player in the entire Big 10 next year.

Who else is there?
Dekker might have a break out year.
Depends who stays at Michigan.
Harris/Payne at MSU?

That, alone, should keep them out of the bottom couple spots.
 


I think they predicted us to finish 5th this past seasons. Shows how preseason predictions mean nothing, especially this early.
 



go4hope said:
How is this not 9th.
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Is this a question? I'm not sure, since you typed a period. I will go ahead and assume that it is a question, and the answer is "because it's tied for 7th".
 



Somebody bump the thread that has the argument about where we finished in the big ten and take this convo over there. Don't turn this thread into that crap again.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
If all of the people leave who I predict will leave, Dre might be the best player in the entire Big 10 next year.

Who else is there?
Dekker might have a break out year.
Depends who stays at Michigan.
Harris/Payne at MSU?

That, alone, should keep them out of the bottom couple spots.
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I can't imagine Keith Appling goes pro. He'd have to be near the top of the list. Other candidates include LaQuinton Ross, Sam Thompson, Aarron White, RDM, AJ Hammons (if he can get his head straight) and Yogi Ferrell.

That being said, while I doubt that Minnesota finishes last in the Big Ten, I don't think the other predictions are that crazy. PSU was clearly better at the end of the year and they get Tim Frazier back. IU has a good class coming in but is losing 4 quality players and don't have a good enough coach to win without top talent. Iowa is gonna be really good next year. They lose Zach May and that's it.
 

jaymil said:
Somebody bump the thread that has the argument about where we finished in the big ten and take this convo over there. Don't turn this thread into that crap again.
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People keep misstating this simple fact, either out of ignorance or to push an agenda (almost certainly the latter). As soon as they stick to the actual facts, I will cease and desist. It's quite simple.
 

dpodoll68 said:
People keep misstating this simple fact, either out of ignorance or to push an agenda (almost certainly the latter). As soon as they stick to the actual facts, I will cease and desist. It's quite simple.
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Maybe just let it go. It's not that big of a deal, the season is over.
 

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