GopherFan88
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Pitino has the program in the right direction and if he can get his recruits like Jarvis and Alex, I can't wait for the next couple years.
Good season, excited for the future of the program
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MadtownGopher
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Yep we were picked in the 10-12 range at the beginning of the year and we ended up 7th with some very nice wins. Our best case scenario this year was fringe bubble team and we definitely accomplished that best case scenario. The future is bright and I can't wait to see who we fill out our 2014 and 2015 classes with. POLLYANNA!
The recruits will be the key. I was waiting to see if Pitino could compete, x's and o's-wise, with the coaches in the B1G. In my view, Pitino passed that test. We saw good offensive movement, and even though our D was pretty suspect, I think a lot of that was an athleticism issue. Fringe-tournament team was basically what I thought was a reasonable high-end expectation this year, and we're there. Now it comes down to recruiting. Hopefully this convinces recruits that Pitino is for real, and with some better recruits, we could really make some noise.
Decent year considering the Gophers have bottom 3 talent and absolutely zero depth. As others have mentioned, recruiting is the key. Need to get a shovel in the ground for the practice facility to compete year in and year out for the prize recruits.
freshtrout
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Yep - shooters like JP Macura. Too bad we couldn't get him. Pitino and staff will need to find others and also convince the local talent to stay home. If that happens, the future looks good.
Unfortunately.....
...this is the best time of the year if you are a Minnesota basketball fan. For the gophers we can analyze and anticipate recruiting news. For the women we can analyze and anticipate new coaching prospects. For the Timberwolves we can analyze and anticipate the draft, free agency and new coaching candidates. 2014-2015, here we come!
We don't do much post season around these parts.
...this is the best time of the year if you are a Minnesota basketball fan. For the gophers we can analyze and anticipate recruiting news. For the women we can analyze and anticipate new coaching prospects. For the Timberwolves we can analyze and anticipate the draft, free agency and new coaching candidates. 2014-2015, here we come!
We don't do much post season around these parts.
It would be easier to take if there were some immediate hopeful prospects for any of them. I don't follow the women or the Wolves closely, but it is somewhat promising longer term with the men. I would be more excited if there were a sure fire immediate impact player on the line for the men, but that doesn't appear to be the case. Maybe the NIT can generate some hope with some of the lesser used players.
Power forward, please! It really showed up in Indy that to be competitive in the B1G, you have to have a banger, and we don't have one.
Winasota Gopher
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And more importantly they can defend without help or double teaming.... That's a huge problem for this team.
Bad Gopher
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Or shooters like Ethan Wragge. The more I think about it, the less I think of Macura as a "miss." Pitino was on him from the start, and Minnesota just wasn't the best fit for him school-wise. But when I reviewed Wragge's stats - 47% from three range and the second-leading scorer on a Top 10 team - that's a guy who got away. That's the kind of player we need to identify and grab. It's easy to identify 4* and 5* players, but can you pick out the local 2*'s and 3*'s that can develop and help you? That's the trick.
bleedsmaroonandgold
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It was nice to see us compete, and this was maybe a little more than I expected pre-season. That said, one of my top criteria for any group of players is that they do as well as they are capable of with their talent level. In that respect, I think we left some meat on the bone. This team should be a tournament team, and would be if they hadn't let some very winnable games slip right through their fingers. That needs to change next year.
Tommy Flanagan
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I am very happy with the season, and '14 recruits so far. I am almost certain that Piper is on board. He will bring it on defense and in transition. I am sure some exciting other names will surface soon to round out this class.
'15 recruiting already has some great names considering us. I think it is around 6 or 7 top 100 kids.
POLLYANNA!!
'15 recruiting already has some great names considering us. I think it is around 6 or 7 top 100 kids.
POLLYANNA!!
WindyCityGopher
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I frankly didn't know what to expect from Pitino and staff this year. They had some big wins (bringing in DeAndre; motivating Mo to become a player; Richard's coaching performances at home against Iowa and Wisconsin, which was one of the most complete games I've seen a Gophers team play in years), some losses (ultimately, Malik didn't become the player he showed flashes of being, and that hurt us in more than one game; the Northwestern loss at home) and some head-scratchers (Elliott's strong start that was overshadowed by his prolonged second-half slump; their low ratings on defense and turnovers), but in the end they won 20 games (and counting) in his first season as a HC at a high major, so I'm good with that. Of all the recruits next year I'm most looking forward to seeing Josh Martin. I think the kid will infuse a bit of much needed bad-assness and attitude (he's already Tweeted about stopping Nigel Hayes next year) to a team that's lacked a killer instinct all season. I'm excited for the future of Gopher basketball.
Winasota Gopher
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I think Nate Mason has that same attitude. I hope he is a defensive stopper along with an efficient ball handler of the future. I like the thought of him (as long as what I mentioned is true) and McNeil on top of a 2-3 or shutting down the opponents ball handlers full court all day long. Long arms, and the stones to get in the opponents face.
If we can stop getting beat off the dribble, and stop feeling the need to double every post that touches the ball our defensive metrics will move very favorably. BIG IF's though.
I'm bittersweet on the season. I think early on they showed incredible signs by beating Sconnie and Ohio State. But as the season wore on it looked like so were we. I think what it comes down to is the lack of talent on this team. I love our players to death but they just are not that good.
Mathieu is the only guy IMHO that flat out every night is quick. Other players one night they are fast the next much slower.
Austin's jump shot just isn't consistent. Great defender and he tried very hard on offense but he just isn't a great shooter or a great scorer.
Andre Hollins (gimpy I know) just can't create his own shot making him become very one dimensional.
Our PF's (King, Oto) love the hard work from these guys but they just aren't athletic enough to go toe to toe with other bigs in the B1G. Buggs showed some signs of promise but its clear the coaching staff just doesn't trust him.
Elliot and Mo. Talk about the tale of half seasons. EE lead us the first half and Mo for much of the 2nd half. EE and Mo need to work on there 10-15 foot jump shot to make our offense more effective. EE brings nothing on the low block and Mo is all block. I love our bigs but even with Mo...he can only hurt you one way and he has soft hands. Develop that mid range game.
M&M&M Boys (Malik, Mav, McNeil) Say what you want about them but 0 offense from these guys...at least consistent offense. After the Neb. game Malik has been a no show. Mav was not reliable and McNeil can defend but didn't contribute on the offensive end. That is 3 bench players with not that much productivity. I hope McNeil will come around as he is only a freshmen but right now he is just a defensive player. ( a good one though)
Obviously I'm disappointed we didn't get into the NCAA's but I'm not surprised. Other teams have a lot more talent and are playing better. (BYU and NCState getting in is still a joke) The thing I think most Gopher fans are "upset" with is how much promise we showed so early to kind of fall flat on our face and the team looked very different when challenged and had to face adversity. But what this team comes down to is the players. We just dont really have them to be consistently competitive night in and night out.
So as far as the future goes...we have a brief glimpse of the kind of players Pitino wants in Mathieu....but his first "official" recruiting class will be next year and then we can really see how the future will look. I do like his system over what we had previously but right now...we just dont have the talent...again all IMHO.
Mathieu is the only guy IMHO that flat out every night is quick. Other players one night they are fast the next much slower.
Austin's jump shot just isn't consistent. Great defender and he tried very hard on offense but he just isn't a great shooter or a great scorer.
Andre Hollins (gimpy I know) just can't create his own shot making him become very one dimensional.
Our PF's (King, Oto) love the hard work from these guys but they just aren't athletic enough to go toe to toe with other bigs in the B1G. Buggs showed some signs of promise but its clear the coaching staff just doesn't trust him.
Elliot and Mo. Talk about the tale of half seasons. EE lead us the first half and Mo for much of the 2nd half. EE and Mo need to work on there 10-15 foot jump shot to make our offense more effective. EE brings nothing on the low block and Mo is all block. I love our bigs but even with Mo...he can only hurt you one way and he has soft hands. Develop that mid range game.
M&M&M Boys (Malik, Mav, McNeil) Say what you want about them but 0 offense from these guys...at least consistent offense. After the Neb. game Malik has been a no show. Mav was not reliable and McNeil can defend but didn't contribute on the offensive end. That is 3 bench players with not that much productivity. I hope McNeil will come around as he is only a freshmen but right now he is just a defensive player. ( a good one though)
Obviously I'm disappointed we didn't get into the NCAA's but I'm not surprised. Other teams have a lot more talent and are playing better. (BYU and NCState getting in is still a joke) The thing I think most Gopher fans are "upset" with is how much promise we showed so early to kind of fall flat on our face and the team looked very different when challenged and had to face adversity. But what this team comes down to is the players. We just dont really have them to be consistently competitive night in and night out.
So as far as the future goes...we have a brief glimpse of the kind of players Pitino wants in Mathieu....but his first "official" recruiting class will be next year and then we can really see how the future will look. I do like his system over what we had previously but right now...we just dont have the talent...again all IMHO.
station19
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howieramone
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His first official recruiting class is Martin, Mason, Morris, plus 3 additional scholarships. Very important we show improvement next season.
CentralGopher
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Agree with MadTown. I'm disappointed we aren't in the dance but still a good season. Any thoughts on where we are picked to place in the B1G next year? Are we a bottom pick yet again next year? I wouldn't have said we were this year and ended up right about where I thought we would so I would expect about the same or better next year myself.
I think that's what he's saying, that next season we will see his first real recruiting class on the court.
Not arguing this. I meant his first offical recruiting class will be freshmen "next year" so we can't assess it at this point.
That is what I was saying. Thank you.
MadtownGopher
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I'd predict a top 6 or 7 finish since we'll have 4 good seniors in Dre, Mathieu, EE, and Mo.
Wisconsin may be the favorite to win the conference since they only lose Brust. Iowa returns almost everyone and should only get better. Michigan and MSU are always in the mix even though they may be losing some major pieces. Not sure who OSU has coming up in the program but they are always tough. I'm not sure if Nebraska loses much from this year, so they'll probably be solid. Illinois gets some transfers and will add a good recruiting class. Northwestern will probably continue to improve. Purdue and Penn State will probably continue to suck. Indiana, who knows. No idea about Maryland or Rutgers.
Iowa does lose Marble though, that's a big blow.
MadtownGopher
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Oh damn. I thought he was a junior, you are right that is a huge blow. Makes their end of the season slump all the more devastating.
Iowa loses three seniors, including their leading scorer, who have played significant minutes since their freshmen years. Northwestern is bringing in what might be the best recruiting class in its history. Nebraska's future depends very much on whether Petteway turns pro. As of now, they have only one recruit (a freshman center).
Winasota Gopher
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B1G is going to be a gong show next year. Michigan State might be the team that takes the biggest fall, depends a lot on Harris, and it wont be far based on how Izzo coaches/recruits.
OSU has some big time recruits coming next year in Russel Tate and Diop while really only losing Craft if everyone stays.
OSU has some big time recruits coming next year in Russel Tate and Diop while really only losing Craft if everyone stays.
Is that a real risk for them? He can play but I never had it in my head that he would enter the draft.
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