Final (unofficial) Gophers' Nonconference Schedule

[The-Real-Truth]

Thats funny, UK's record was 27-5 that year, losing to a very average Ga team twice and trust me, when i say beating UAB to advance to the sweet 16 would not have made Tubby king...

You ignorant UK fans always miss the point. The point of the post was not what you mentioned. I hope that secondary education in Kentucky becomes mandatory soon. You think that your basketball IQ is high? If you had ever used the half-ass brain of yours, you would have understood what a mismatch was. Ga was a miss-match for UK that year. It is usually the case with Izzo teams also. He creates mismatch. That's the way he wins the games. You could not possibly deny the fact that UK would have gone all the way if it was not because that UAB loss. If you do, you are in the category that I mentioned in my previous post.

 

[ChemEGopher]

FOT isn't a season ticket holder so he really couldn't care less about the home schedule. He sees no more than a handful of Gopher games a year (@Northwestern and maybe the BT Tournament). He's most concerned with helping maintain Tubby's pristine image. That's been his MO since day one. Everyone should just accept it and take anything he posts with that grain of salt.

 

[jamiche]

FOT will be out of here the day Tubby leaves. The U and Gopher basketball, as an institution within an institution, mean nothing to him.

The NCS problem preceded Tubby but we were led to believe that an improving program would mean an improved schedule. Instead the problem has gotten worse. This year there are only about six out of eighteen home games that are "must see" (there are always three or four lousy B10 teams). That is a betrayal of an extemely loyal fan base. Tubby, Esposito and Maturi, as Tubby's supposed supervisor, are not held accountable.

 

[intheknow]

You ignorant UK fans always miss the point. The point of the post was not what you mentioned. I hope that secondary education in Kentucky becomes mandatory soon. You think that your basketball IQ is high? If you had ever used the half-ass brain of yours, you would have understood what a mismatch was. Ga was a miss-match for UK that year. It is usually the case with Izzo teams also. He creates mismatch. That's the way he wins the games. You could not possibly deny the fact that UK would have gone all the way if it was not because that UAB loss. If you do, you are in the category that I mentioned in my previous post.

Higher then yours, its laughable at best to even suggest UK would have won the ncaa, had they beat UAB. The mighty UAB got slaughtered in the next game 100-74 by Kansas. UK played in a weak SEC, won a bunch of games and got put out early by UAB. If thats the best team you ever seen, then you need need to watch some youtube videos...

 

[skoalvikings]

This year there are only about six out of eighteen home games that are "must see" (there are always three or four lousy B10 teams). That is a betrayal of an extemely loyal fan base. Tubby, Esposito and Maturi, as Tubby's supposed supervisor, are not held accountable.

Exactly. Let's say we get 7 decent games a year, and season tickets are in the neighborhood of 550, then you are paying about $78 per decent game. That's a lot of cash for a bubble team.

 

[The Truth]

Higher then yours, its laughable at best to even suggest UK would have won the ncaa, had they beat UAB. The mighty UAB got slaughtered in the next game 100-74 by Kansas. UK played in a weak SEC, won a bunch of games and got put out early by UAB. If thats the best team you ever seen, then you need need to watch some youtube videos...

Actually that 04 team was a pretty good ballclub. It lacked depth though and that's what helped do them in against UAB. Marquis Estill deciding not to work in the classroom to get his 5th year of eligibility also hurt. Erik Daniel and Chuck Hayes were two of the best forward tandems in terms of passing that I have ever seen.

If they could have held on to the ball at the end of the game (and there were some inexplicable lapses of judgement at the end of that game by some veteran players) I think a matchup with Kansas would have suited them better. One of the most disappointing losses I have ever experienced. Right up there with Marquette in 94 and Georgetown in 84.

 

[intheknow]

Actually that 04 team was a pretty good ballclub. It lacked depth though and that's what helped do them in against UAB. Marquis Estill deciding not to work in the classroom to get his 5th year of eligibility also hurt. Erik Daniel and Chuck Hayes were two of the best forward tandems in terms of passing that I have ever seen.

If they could have held on to the ball at the end of the game (and there were some inexplicable lapses of judgement at the end of that game by some veteran players) I think a matchup with Kansas would have suited them better. One of the most disappointing losses I have ever experienced. Right up there with Marquette in 94 and Georgetown in 84.

The 1996 team was the best college basketball team i ever seen, the 03 team was really good, going undefeated in the SEC before bowing out to Wade and Marquette. Bogans was hurt, but, i never could figure out why Tubby had Hayes guard Wade..

 

[Plinnius]

i never could figure out why Tubby had Hayes guard Wade..

Because he's considered a terrific defender?

Here's an excerpt from a recent ESPN interview with Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey:

Keri: You talked at length to Michael Lewis about Shane Battier, a player you acquired because his contributions exceeded the obvious stats. Who else on the roster fits that mold, and how are their contributions best measured?

Morey: Any time a player's value is in large part tied up in the defensive side of the ball, he's going to be underrated. Chuck Hayes is an extreme example. You couldn't understand why he's in the league if you just looked at the standard box score stats. If you just looked at points, rebounds and assists, you'd think we all need our heads examined.

Keri: What makes Hayes so good defensively? Is it defending multiple positions? Defensive rebounding? Something else?

Morey: Not to give a smart-ass answer, but yes. He does all of those things well. He can … well he can come close to guarding 1 through 5. To guard the 5, you need particular strength, and he has that. It would be a little tougher for him to guard a 1. But against 2-3-4-5, he's one of the best. He has a unique combination of lateral quickness, strength and speed all wrapped up in a great defensive mind. Because he's so limited in other ways, much more so than Shane, he wouldn't be an NBA player if those things weren't true.

 

[howeda7]

The issue here really is a home/road thing. In reality, having say Butler, UCLA, Clemson, Miami, St Joe's and Steven F Austin out of a 12-game non-conference schedule is really not bad at all. The problem is when only the weakest of that group is at home. In a year when you know your best NC games are in a tournament and the ACC game is on the road, you HAVE to go out of your way to get at least ONE decent NC home game. The fact that they have failed to do so even once in 3 years is unacceptable. If you just swapped SFA with say Oregon or Florida or whoever, there'd be a lot less bitching about it, and it wouldn't really be that much thougher.

 

[The Truth]

The issue here really is a home/road thing. In reality, having say Butler, UCLA, Clemson, Miami, St Joe's and Steven F Austin out of a 12-game non-conference schedule is really not bad at all. The problem is when only the weakest of that group is at home. In a year when you know your best NC games are in a tournament and the ACC game is on the road, you HAVE to go out of your way to get at least ONE decent NC home game. The fact that they have failed to do so even once in 3 years is unacceptable. If you just swapped SFA with say Oregon or Florida or whoever, there'd be a lot less bitching about it, and it wouldn't really be that much thougher.

The problem you find more and more is that teams from other BCS conferences don't want to give up a home date where a. They get nothing out of it financially i.e. no split of the gate and b. television doesn't want it. Why would Florida or Oregon give up money to come to Minnesota when they can play a neutral site game (or at home) against a big name opponent or a lower tier school and pocket a percentage of the proceeds?

Even those smaller schools (especially in football) are starting to say "I don't care how much they pay us. We want a return date or, at the very least, some sort of neutral site where we can get a percentage of the gate". I said it before but Middle Tennessee State wanted 1 million dollars AND a return game for agreeing to come to Lexington to play football again after last season.

 

[jamiche]

The issue here really is a home/road thing. In reality, having say Butler, UCLA, Clemson, Miami, St Joe's and Steven F Austin out of a 12-game non-conference schedule is really not bad at all. The problem is when only the weakest of that group is at home. In a year when you know your best NC games are in a tournament and the ACC game is on the road, you HAVE to go out of your way to get at least ONE decent NC home game. The fact that they have failed to do so even once in 3 years is unacceptable. If you just swapped SFA with say Oregon or Florida or whoever, there'd be a lot less bitching about it, and it wouldn't really be that much thougher.

Agreed. The NCS, in totality, is fine. The home portion of the NCS this year should be priced at about $15 per ticket. Hopkins High School would be better competition than most of the squads coming in.

 

[howeda7]

The problem you find more and more is that teams from other BCS conferences don't want to give up a home date where a. They get nothing out of it financially i.e. no split of the gate and b. television doesn't want it. Why would Florida or Oregon give up money to come to Minnesota when they can play a neutral site game (or at home) against a big name opponent or a lower tier school and pocket a percentage of the proceeds?

Even those smaller schools (especially in football) are starting to say "I don't care how much they pay us. We want a return date or, at the very least, some sort of neutral site where we can get a percentage of the gate". I said it before but Middle Tennessee State wanted 1 million dollars AND a return game for agreeing to come to Lexington to play football again after last season.

Comparing football and basketball in this regard is a non-starter IMO. The sums of money BCS teams are paying non-BCS teams is indeed ridulous and a whole different topic.

Florida or Oregon would give up money to come to Minnesota in exchange for the return game. It's not that difficult. Florida is playing at NC State this year in the return of a home game they had last year. Are we not at least attractive as a bad NC State team? We appearantly at least had discussions about getting KANSAS for a home-and-home, so don't tell me we can't get some of the middle-of-the-pack major conference teams to give us home-and-home series....

 

[The-Real-Truth]

Because he's considered a terrific defender?

Here's an excerpt from a recent ESPN interview with Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey:

Keri: You talked at length to Michael Lewis about Shane Battier, a player you acquired because his contributions exceeded the obvious stats. Who else on the roster fits that mold, and how are their contributions best measured?

Morey: Any time a player's value is in large part tied up in the defensive side of the ball, he's going to be underrated. Chuck Hayes is an extreme example. You couldn't understand why he's in the league if you just looked at the standard box score stats. If you just looked at points, rebounds and assists, you'd think we all need our heads examined.

Keri: What makes Hayes so good defensively? Is it defending multiple positions? Defensive rebounding? Something else?

Morey: Not to give a smart-ass answer, but yes. He does all of those things well. He can … well he can come close to guarding 1 through 5. To guard the 5, you need particular strength, and he has that. It would be a little tougher for him to guard a 1. But against 2-3-4-5, he's one of the best. He has a unique combination of lateral quickness, strength and speed all wrapped up in a great defensive mind. Because he's so limited in other ways, much more so than Shane, he wouldn't be an NBA player if those things weren't true.

Thank you.

 

[The Truth]

Comparing football and basketball in this regard is a non-starter IMO. The sums of money BCS teams are paying non-BCS teams is indeed ridulous and a whole different topic.

Florida or Oregon would give up money to come to Minnesota in exchange for the return game. It's not that difficult. Florida is playing at NC State this year in the return of a home game they had last year. Are we not at least attractive as a bad NC State team? We appearantly at least had discussions about getting KANSAS for a home-and-home, so don't tell me we can't get some of the middle-of-the-pack major conference teams to give us home-and-home series....

No they wouldn't. You can keep telling yourself that but it won't make it true nor is blaming it all on your AD or Tubby Smith. It's a lot more complex than just "we have an open date..let's schedule UCLA, Kansas, Duke, or Uconn in a series."