Gary Parrish (CBSSportsline) has Gophers #16

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Does anyone think this can actually happen if our guard play does not improve?

If our rebounding and inside scoring improves, but our guard play stays flat... same result?

Thoughts.

I am not saying our guard play won't/can't improve. But if Joseph/Cobb/Al don't improve in distribution of the ball, especially down low it could be a long season.

If that is the case, the only thing that would improve this situation would be shooting the three more consistently.
 

We have all the returning players from a NCAA tourney team plus a top 20 recruiting class (two players ranked in the top 50). Its certainly not absurd to expect good things next year. Yes, there are still questions that need to be answered but a 16 or 17 ranking implies we are a good but not great team.
 

No doubt we will improve.

I am amazed at how anyone wouldnt think this team or its players would not improve. We relied on 3 true Freshman and a pair of JUCOs to play minutes last year. Those are five players who will be greatly improved next season simply by being more comfortable on the floor and more familiar with the D-I college game. I am sure this team will be much better and I am not even counting on the new talent coming in that should help the team get better. The Gophers should be one of the deepest teams in the Big Ten next year with a large number of its players more experienced than what we have had in years. I think being in the top 20 is a very legit goal for this team and even more important is this team should be in the Sweet Sixteen next year as long as they stay healthy.
 

WolfontheProwl said:
I am amazed at how anyone wouldnt think this team or its players would not improve. We relied on 3 true Freshman and a pair of JUCOs to play minutes last year. Those are five players who will be greatly improved next season simply by being more comfortable on the floor and more familiar with the D-I college game. I am sure this team will be much better and I am not even counting on the new talent coming in that should help the team get better. The Gophers should be one of the deepest teams in the Big Ten next year with a large number of its players more experienced than what we have had in years. I think being in the top 20 is a very legit goal for this team and even more important is this team should be in the Sweet Sixteen next year as long as they stay healthy.
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Winning in tournament time is all about Guard play. Michigan state went all the way to the Final Four with their guards and rebounding.

We can have the most dominating inside games in the country, but guard play will win us games.

We had the worst 3 point % in the big ten last year as well as a below average assists to TO, assists, and TO margin. Plain and simple that is what has to improve. So that is either Al or someone is going to have to jump over Al.

If that doesn't improve we will 100% be middle of the pack not competing for a big ten title.
 


"Winning in tournament time is all about Guard play. Michigan state went all the way to the Final Four with their guards and rebounding.

We can have the most dominating inside games in the country, but guard play will win us games.

We had the worst 3 point % in the big ten last year as well as a below average assists to TO, assists, and TO margin. Plain and simple that is what has to improve. So that is either Al or someone is going to have to jump over Al.

If that doesn't improve we will 100% be middle of the pack not competing for a big ten title."

Not sure why you directed this to my post which was questioning why we wouldnt improve. Guard play, post play, and team play should all be better next season. If the players dont improve from one season to the next then we need to start looking at what is going on in the offseason. As far as I am concerned the players improved on their games from last year to this year and should do so again. If they dont improve the current players and the incoming talent will take their playing time.
 

I don't think there is anyone in this board arguing that we would not improve. In my case, I just don't see the point in overly optimistic forecasting based on something we haven't seen much evidence about yet. I would not want to prematurely subject the team still in the phase of rebuilding to a burden of expectation and possible criticism when it "underperforms" speaking relatively to the expectation.
 

Also, how much did Al Nolen and Hoff really improve (or anyone on the team)?

If you want to use them as a bench mark for Freshman, we should be worried.

Besides Westbrook, no one took huge leap. Damien did appear to be a much stronger player on the floor, and his offensive game really improved. His stats did not jump up that much. His problem was staying on the floor.

So hopefully the biggest jump is So -> Junior. That means we should see improvement in Hoff, Nolan, and Carter. Hopefully we can add Bostick to that list.
 

anticallihan said:
Does anyone think this can actually happen if our guard play does not improve?

If our rebounding and inside scoring improves, but our guard play stays flat... same result?

Thoughts.

I am not saying our guard play won't/can't improve. But if Joseph/Cobb/Al don't improve in distribution of the ball, especially down low it could be a long season.

If that is the case, the only thing that would improve this situation would be shooting the three more consistently.
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What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time Al Nolen was being hyped here as a top-3 Big Ten point. Sometimes really sucks.

I've taken my shots at Nolen, but its not entirely his fault. They played great defense and were an above average rebounding team. But on the offensive end ... :eek:.

The Gophers had one above average scorer (Westbrook) starting with four other guys unable to make an open 12-foot shot. Add just one guy who can create (and make) his own shot or even hit an open jumper and the completion of the team changes.
 



Mikie S said:
even hit an open jumper and the completion of the team changes.
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That would require us getting an open jumper in the first place. I can count on one hand how many open jump shots we had in the last month of the season last year.
 

I;m not trying to be an ass, but unless you have a lot more fingers than you should, then that is a huge exaggeration. We may not have generated nearly enough of them, but less than five? I doubt you meant it literally, but still.
 

anticallihan said:
Does anyone think this can actually happen if our guard play does not improve?

If our rebounding and inside scoring improves, but our guard play stays flat... same result?

Thoughts.

I am not saying our guard play won't/can't improve. But if Joseph/Cobb/Al don't improve in distribution of the ball, especially down low it could be a long season.

If that is the case, the only thing that would improve this situation would be shooting the three more consistently.
Click to expand...

With as terrible as the Gophers' offense was this year, the fact that they were a #10 seed showed that with just a little bit of improvement, they could go a long way. Was there anyone on this team that had a better year than expected? Maybe Iverson? Maybe DJ? That's it. If even a few more players have decent years, and if a few of the newcomers contribute, the Gophers could be in for a very solid year.
 

I think the problem with this thread is that some are not giving the team the proper respect for this year. we were a good team. not a great team, but good. moving to top 20 isn't a huge leap. We return most everyone, we will be better. that's the power of experience. getting to top 20 isn't about solving problems, it's simply showing up and making natural team improvements. if we do solve our problems we jump to an even higher level.
 



Wisconsin a team to watch??

Does it seem strange to anyone else that WI is listed as a team to watch next year? They're losing two of their best players with Landry and Krabbenhoft gone and their next recruiting class doesn't seem like enough to keep them in contention in a league which will be much better next year. I can't see them being anything better than mediocre.
 

UST Gopher said:
Does it seem strange to anyone else that WI is listed as a team to watch next year? They're losing two of their best players with Landry and Krabbenhoft gone and their next recruiting class doesn't seem like enough to keep them in contention in a league which will be much better next year. I can't see them being anything better than mediocre.
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Reputation. Reputation. Reputation. They have been solid for nearly a decade, and they get the benefit of the doubt. It will take at least a couple of years of underachieving for them to lose that reputation gained over that time. I don't follow recruiting much beyond our own, but it seems like "preseason" polls almost never take incoming players into consideration unless a class is loaded with one and done type players.
 

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