Gophers to the Final Four?

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scher215

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According to Joe Lunardi, it isn't completely ridiculous.

He made this comment while discussing his bracket on ESPN

"Would it really surprise anyone if... the Minnesota Golden Gophers rode a star player or coach all the way to Atlanta" - Joe Lunardi
 

It would surprise me, and probably the majority of Gopher fans, and the majority of basketball fans...but thats probably close to it.
 

It would be surprising. Not the most surprising thing in the world though. I mean. VCU made it.
 

I think surprise was probably a poor word choice. I would be surprised but not completely shocked if this happened.
 



I've thought this is a potential top 15 team in the country so no, it wouldn't shock me if the season plays out how I think it can.
 


We need to make the tournament first...then actually win a game.
 




Odd of Lunardi to suggest you can ride a "star coach" to the F4.
 

Stay healthy and it is a possibility, Dre Hollins looked good I thought, Mo Walker is a better offensive big man than they have had for a long time, Williams is a senior, and hopefully Mbwake can get back to where he was, need some outside shooting to go with the driving and inside game, if the shooting comes around and with the depth they have they could be tough.
 

jovs said:
Stay healthy and it is a possibility, Dre Hollins looked good I thought, Mo Walker is a better offensive big man than they have had for a long time, Williams is a senior, and hopefully Mbwake can get back to where he was, need some outside shooting to go with the driving and inside game, if the shooting comes around and with the depth they have they could be tough.
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It took a long time for you to say..."anything is possible." :)
 

If Joe Coleman can shoot effectively from outside I think the team will be a lot more dangerous.
 



I'll be happy if we can just get into the dance and win one game. This team isn't as disciplined as the '97 team, nor does it have the depth of guard play that the '97 team had. I'd be shocked if Minnesota made the final four.
 

tinyarch said:
I'll be happy if we can just get into the dance and win one game. This team isn't as disciplined as the '97 team, nor does it have the depth of guard play that the '97 team had. I'd be shocked if Minnesota made the final four.
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not sure if you follow gopher basketball but we didn't have a season in 97
 

only if you believe depoll lakes. In all seriousness, this team doesn't have a stone cold killer like Bobby Jackson who can score whenever he wants
 

I wouldn't make reservations for the Final Four quite yet.
 


Every person who is saying it could happen has a lot of "ifs" in their posts.

The Gophers are a good team, but probably not a top 4 team in their own conference. Its obviously possible but its also possible Rodney learned how to dribble, Joe Coleman can make jump shots, Big Mo will be in fantastic shape by seasons end and Maverick won't have a lot of turnovers or a bad haircut.
 




SelectionSunday said:
We played in the Final Four last season.
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Well done lol.

Seriously though, I can see a track where this team could be that good. Look at us last year, some of the L's we took that were just right there for the taking. If they can figure out the late game situations (or if you blame Tubby for it, they can overcome his lack of late game coaching acumen lol), who knows where this team could head. And you get a few of those and suddenly confidence takes off, and you have a run in you.

Obviously there would be a lot of "ifs" involved, that's why it would be a surprise to see this team do it. But I don't there are an unreasonable amount of ifs to be answered that could lead to that type of ending this season. The main three "ifs" to me being Trevor's full return, Dre's continued improvement, and Rodney's full flight development as a leader and consistent player. That's three big pieces where if they fall in place, a lot of other things suddenly also slip into position much easier.

All of that said, I still have this team pegged at a ceiling around Sweet 16, but that's my uneducated, without looking really at other teams that closely, slightly biased opinion of this team. Honestly, just get in (comfortably please), and let the chips fall where they may.
 

scher215 said:
According to Joe Lunardi, it isn't completely ridiculous.

He made this comment while discussing his bracket on ESPN

"Would it really surprise anyone if... the Minnesota Golden Gophers rode a star player or coach all the way to Atlanta" - Joe Lunardi
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And yet our very own fans wont set the expectations to win a couple in the NCAA......
 

khoffman43 said:
Every person who is saying it could happen has a lot of "ifs" in their posts.

The Gophers are a good team, but probably not a top 4 team in their own conference. Its obviously possible but its also possible Rodney learned how to dribble, Joe Coleman can make jump shots, Big Mo will be in fantastic shape by seasons end and Maverick won't have a lot of turnovers or a bad haircut.
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I take exception to this post, there's no way you can hate on the high top :mad:
 

It's a Pig Man! said:
I take exception to this post, there's no way you can hate on the high top :mad:
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Give it time. The high-top turns into a mohawk by conference play...then what is his roll? Turn the ball over, frustrate fans AND not look cool on TV. Thats Maverick for you.
 

khoffman43 said:
Give it time. The high-top turns into a mohawk by conference play...then what is his roll? Turn the ball over, frustrate fans AND not look cool on TV. Thats Maverick for you.
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as long as it's the fairly subtle mohawk that he usually rocks I don't have a problem with that either. His play most of the time is a different story.
 

khoffman43 said:
Every person who is saying it could happen has a lot of "ifs" in their posts.
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But that's the case for virtually every team in the country. If these four things happen, I think we will make a run.

1. No significant injuries, transfers, or suspensions
2. Mbakwe is 100% and his old self again
3. Rodney Williams continues with the progress he made last year
4. Andre Hollins shows he can run the point consistently
 

GophersInIowa said:
But that's the case for virtually every team in the country. If these four things happen, I think we will make a run.

1. No significant injuries, transfers, or suspensions
2. Mbakwe is 100% and his old self again
3. Rodney Williams continues with the progress he made last year
4. Andre Hollins shows he can run the point consistently
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I am not a fan of us always opening with the first "if" of "no significant injuries". Tubby just said in an interview that this is the deepest team we ever had. I expect us to be able to endure a lost player or two, plug the holes, and keep chugging. That is what separates us from the next level. Lots of teams will do well when everything goes their way, we need to find a way to engineer the big wins when stuff doesn't go our way.
 

BarnBurner said:
And yet our very own fans wont set the expectations to win a couple in the NCAA......
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It hasn't been done in 23 seasons. Why should anyone expect this to be the 1-in-23 season?
 

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