MaroonGopher
Banned
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2010
- Messages
- 434
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- 16
Minnesota’s effort was tough to gauge. The Gophers had such a distinctive height advantage that very little effort was needed to score. Though well built and muscular, Northeastern State’s second tallest player in the starting rotation was 6-3 and no player stood taller than 6-6. Ralph Sampson III and Colton Iverson needed only to turn and shoot to score with ease. The constant double-teams left the perimeter wide open too. With 7 minutes to go in the first half, Blake Hoffarber already had five 3s. He wasn’t the only one shooting bombs either. Interestingly enough, the ‘Hawks played man-to-man defense despite their enormous height disadvantage.
The chemistry between the returning players was great. No-look passes and fluent offense was the norm when those guys where on the floor. Each knew exactly where the other was going to be at just the right moment. It was fun to watch.
Rodney Williams was a human highlight-reel, blocking shots, dunking and even canning a few jumpers. His perimeter defense against Dominique Gaines (NE State’s lightning-quick guard) was exceptional as well. His length was obviously bothersome. Gaines has Division I quickness and a ripped frame. He took Nolen to school a couple times.
Trevor Mbakwe was great. As expected, he dominated the glass and caused lots of problems underneath on offense. He got to the line quite a bit and showed some nice touch. He did, however, run into some foul trouble and maybe, just maybe, looked a little frustrated with coming off the bench. This is just a personal observation and I could be waaaaay off. I also thought it was strange to see him out there with a bunch of freshman.
The new guys impressed me quite a bit, with the exception of Elliot Eliason, so I guess I’ll start with him. I swear if there was a draft that blew through the gym, this kid would have fallen over. Half the time he looked like he was going to trip over his own two feet. He needs to redshirt, not only to gain 25 lbs of muscle, but also to work on his footwork and endurance.
Austin Hollins is extremely skinny, but displayed some exciting game. He has an old-school over the top shot that looks hard to block. He attacked the hoop quite well and had a neat finish in transition where he drove the lane, twisted the ball behind his back and laid it off the glass in front of a defender. Chip Armelin was quick and looked cool shooting lefty. If he was four inches taller, he’d be a 4/5-star recruit as far as I’m concerned.
Mo Walker didn’t touch the ball much, but looks to have decent footwork and a little touch from around the 10-foot perimeter. I’m looking forward to seeing him develop. He could be a very good center in the rough and rugged Big 10.
Interesting observation about Devoe Joseph: He didn’t start and played sparingly in the first 20 minutes, but did manage to knock down a jumper at the buzzer. When the first wave of subs entered in the second half, he was nowhere to be found. He didn’t check-in until the 10-minute mark.
The chemistry between the returning players was great. No-look passes and fluent offense was the norm when those guys where on the floor. Each knew exactly where the other was going to be at just the right moment. It was fun to watch.
Rodney Williams was a human highlight-reel, blocking shots, dunking and even canning a few jumpers. His perimeter defense against Dominique Gaines (NE State’s lightning-quick guard) was exceptional as well. His length was obviously bothersome. Gaines has Division I quickness and a ripped frame. He took Nolen to school a couple times.
Trevor Mbakwe was great. As expected, he dominated the glass and caused lots of problems underneath on offense. He got to the line quite a bit and showed some nice touch. He did, however, run into some foul trouble and maybe, just maybe, looked a little frustrated with coming off the bench. This is just a personal observation and I could be waaaaay off. I also thought it was strange to see him out there with a bunch of freshman.
The new guys impressed me quite a bit, with the exception of Elliot Eliason, so I guess I’ll start with him. I swear if there was a draft that blew through the gym, this kid would have fallen over. Half the time he looked like he was going to trip over his own two feet. He needs to redshirt, not only to gain 25 lbs of muscle, but also to work on his footwork and endurance.
Austin Hollins is extremely skinny, but displayed some exciting game. He has an old-school over the top shot that looks hard to block. He attacked the hoop quite well and had a neat finish in transition where he drove the lane, twisted the ball behind his back and laid it off the glass in front of a defender. Chip Armelin was quick and looked cool shooting lefty. If he was four inches taller, he’d be a 4/5-star recruit as far as I’m concerned.
Mo Walker didn’t touch the ball much, but looks to have decent footwork and a little touch from around the 10-foot perimeter. I’m looking forward to seeing him develop. He could be a very good center in the rough and rugged Big 10.
Interesting observation about Devoe Joseph: He didn’t start and played sparingly in the first 20 minutes, but did manage to knock down a jumper at the buzzer. When the first wave of subs entered in the second half, he was nowhere to be found. He didn’t check-in until the 10-minute mark.
