Chip Scoggins column: Not-So-Big Mo sheds 40 pounds, hopes to gain a career

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This is encouraging to read....there were times last year when he showed potential and looked dominate but could just never finish around the rim because he looked tired. Even in systems like pitino's (missouri, florida, vcu, louisville) you still need to have a solid big in the middle that does all the small things. Since we pretty much know at this point EE and Mo will never be in the game together we should be able to keep both players fairly rested.
 



katze019 said:
Way slimmed down, wow.

Can anyone explain the photo to me? I have several ideas, but don't know for sure what the joke is.
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Maybe they're just taking a photo? Was that one of your ideas?
 






GophersOnTheRise said:
Nor does it mean your current skills will deteriorate. Good thing Mo has been skilled all along.
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Yeah. He's really shown it in all its glory, hasn't he? Amazing career so far.

Here's the thing. Everybody was sooooo excited to see him return this past year and dreamed of double-doubles every game. He came in fat and slow. The skills you talk about weren't very evident. I saw the 7 games he played 3 years ago and thought the same promise you have in your head now. But I haven't seen it since and I will believe it when I see it. When you are fat and slow, your general skills are probably deteriorating too.

I hope he succeeds, I want him to succeed, I applaud his dedication to losing weight, but I am not depending upon him. It will be a bonus if he contributes anything more than bit pieces. I wish him luck. He had ZERO chance without significant weight loss and that would have been a complete waste of size and raw talent.
 



GopherJake said:
Yeah. He's really shown it in all its glory, hasn't he? Amazing career so far.
Here's the thing. Everybody was sooooo excited to see him return this past year and dreamed of double-doubles every game. He came in fat and slow. The skills you talk about weren't very evident. I saw the 7 games he played 3 years ago and thought the same promise you have in your head now. But I haven't seen it since and I will believe it when I see it. When you are fat and slow, your general skills are probably deteriorating too.

I hope he succeeds, I want him to succeed, I applaud his dedication to losing weight, but I am not depending upon him. It will be a bonus if he contributes anything more than bit pieces. I wish him luck. He had ZERO chance without significant weight loss and that would have been a complete waste of size and raw talent.
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Him not having an "amazing career so far" proves absolutely nothing in this discussion. He hasn't put up big number for one very obvious reason: He's been way too big. Despite any other struggles he's had, he has shown that he has good hands, nice touch, and is a good passer. It's hard to take advantage of certain skills when your slow and exhausted because you're out of shape.

If he can give us 15+ minutes of decent production (if he gets down to 255 then I see no reason this can't happen), that will be hugely valuable to this team.
 


GophersOnTheRise said:
Him not having an "amazing career so far" proves absolutely nothing in this discussion.
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Yep. Nothing.

GophersOnTheRise said:
Despite any other struggles he's had, he has shown that he has good hands, nice touch, and is a good passer. It's hard to take advantage of certain skills when your slow and exhausted because you're out of shape.
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He averaged 6.6 minutes a game in 30 games last year. Hardly an exhausting amount. His "good hands, nice touch, good passer" netted him 11 assists and 20 TOs. He did not attempt a 3 pointer and shot 62% from the free throw line. At 6 minutes a game, these stats don't scream "finesse."

Again, I saw what you saw 3 years ago. I hope he succeeds. If I was Dick Pit, I would have a plan B. (I'm guessing he does.)
 

GopherJake said:
He averaged 6.6 minutes a game in 30 games last year. Hardly an exhausting amount. His "good hands, nice touch, good passer" netted him 11 assists and 20 TOs. He did not attempt a 3 pointer and shot 62% from the free throw line. At 6 minutes a game, these stats don't scream "finesse."
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I suppose not, but have you ever ran up and down a court at over 300 pounds? Maybe it's more tiring than you think. Also those stats mean very little to me. I think his weight is the reason for his struggles. Also, it's way too small of a sample size to judge him, especilaly on his free throws. To be clear, I'm not expecting him to be an all-star. I'm just confident that a 255 pound Mo will be significantly better and more productive than a 310 pound Mo. All he has to do is give his 15+ solid minutes to have a major impact on this team. We desperately need minutes in the front court. EE can't play 40 minutes himself.
 



Winasota Gopher said:
That is not at all what you were saying....

You were being a troll.
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I was not being Troll....I have had Gopher football season tickets for years and went to the U. I'm not sure you understand what a "troll" is.
 

Parski1 said:
I was not being Troll....I have had Gopher football season tickets for years and went to the U. I'm not sure you understand what a "troll" is.
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Troll - Someone who gets pleasure by typing annoying/controversial/offensive words at strangers on internet forums, for them to read. Example - Parski
 

Parski1 said:
I was not being Troll....I have had Gopher football season tickets for years and went to the U. I'm not sure you understand what a "troll" is.
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You don't understand what being a troll is.

Because you have tickets doesnt mean you have the right to say rediculous things....
 

GophersOnTheRise said:
Him not having an "amazing career so far" proves absolutely nothing in this discussion. He hasn't put up big number for one very obvious reason: He's been way too big. Despite any other struggles he's had, he has shown that he has good hands, nice touch, and is a good passer. It's hard to take advantage of certain skills when your slow and exhausted because you're out of shape.

If he can give us 15+ minutes of decent production (if he gets down to 255 then I see no reason this can't happen), that will be hugely valuable to this team.
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In bold part, for sure, for sure.
 

Winasota Gopher said:
You don't understand what being a troll is.

Because you have tickets doesnt mean you have the right to say rediculous things....
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Saying that losing weight will not make Moe athletic and a better player is not ridiculous. Saying I'm not too sure how the big guy will fit in with Pitino's new fast\athletic score off the defense system is also not ridiculous.
 

Parski1 said:
Saying that losing weight will not make Moe athletic and a better player is not ridiculous. Saying I'm not too sure how the big guy will fit in with Pitino's new fast\athletic score off the defense system is also not ridiculous.
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You know that's not what you said. I understand if you take all the context and past "parski" moments out of your response that's what you meant. But all on the board other than you and maybe howie+1, read it the way I did.

Turn the page parski, turn the page.
 

Winasota Gopher said:
You know that's not what you said. I understand if you take all the context and past "parski" moments out of your response that's what you meant. But all on the board other than you and maybe howie+1, read it the way I did.

Turn the page parski, turn the page.
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That's what I mean't....deal with it. Just losing weight will not make Moe the player you suggest.
 


Parski1 said:
That's what I mean't....deal with it. Just losing weight will not make Moe the player you suggest.
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Haha... deal with it!!! I am Parski hear me roar!

Exactly what type of player did I suggest he would become?
 

Parski1 said:
Saying that losing weight will not make Moe athletic and a better player is not ridiculous. Saying I'm not too sure how the big guy will fit in with Pitino's new fast\athletic score off the defense system is also not ridiculous.
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A 6'10" 270 pounder running a 6:45 minute mile is not a slug, that in and of itself is pretty impressive, if he's added endurance he will get up and down the court just fine.
 

jovs said:
A 6'10" 270 pounder running a 6:45 minute mile is not a slug, that in and of itself is pretty impressive, if he's added endurance he will get up and down the court just fine.
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Seriously, that's moving pretty good, especially for someone that LARGE
 

The one thing I have always noticed about Mo is that even in the limited time he has been in there he wants the ball and he plays aggressive. His weight and injury issues have derailed his career to this point. He seems committed to working his butt off (literally) to get in shape and try to be a piece of the puzzle this year.

He may or may not ever live up to the hype or ability he displayed a few years ago but he has a much better chance of getting there at 255 lbs then he did at 300+.

Bottom line is it is great to see him buying into Pitino's way of doing things and putting in the effort to get his body to where it needs to be for him to have a shot at being a successful basketball player. If he can live up to the promise he showed he could be a huge part of a team lacking in overall size going into this season.
 


Just saw that pic on twitter. Mo does look unrecognizable. Couldn't be happier for the guy and I think he is going to surprise a lot of people around the B1G this year.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Mo Walker looks completely different after losing 44 pounds. Runs the floor lot better, too. Gotta give him credit. <a href="http://t.co/1Y6VvO2R4j">pic.twitter.com/1Y6VvO2R4j</a></p>— PiPress Gophers Now (@GophersNow) <a href="https://twitter.com/GophersNow/statuses/351128263818625025">June 30, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 

Maybe Moe will fit in....dude looks so different. Looks good.
 

Wow! Really impressed by the shape he's been able to get himself into in such a short period of time
 


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