Gophers will be fine even without Mbakwe

[GopherFish]

Gophers win over Va Tech shows me Gophers will be fine even without Mbakwe. No reason the Gophers can't make it back to the Big Dance.

 

[zambam]

While they played well today, don't jump to conclusions. VA Tech really had no idea what to expect from this team without Trevor so it was probably hard to prepare. Either way great game!

 

[kix4kix]

The gophers should be a better TEAM without him in there, williams seems to have already stepped up more than I have seen all year. 1 game sample, but still, hard to complain with a w.

 

[GophersOnTheRise]

We'll see how the rest of the season plays out, but making the NCAA tournament should absolutely still be the goal (we can come up with a new goal when/if they get there).

 

[BleedGopher]

The gophers should be a better TEAM without him in there, williams seems to have already stepped up more than I have seen all year. 1 game sample, but still, hard to complain with a w.

This could be a case of irrational exuberance after a nice win tonight. Trevor is a fantastic team player and it's not as if he has the style of game that demands "touches" like The Hump, Westbrook or Joseph where one could make an argument that losing a selfish player could lead to better team ball.

We will feel Trevor's absence this entire year. It will be very difficult to replace his intangibles, let alone the more concrete parts of his game (amazing rebounding, shot blocking, improved FT shooting, etc) but we have what we have and it's the coach and team's job to make the best of it. Tonight was a good start.

Go Gophers!!

 

[Goldy Gopher]

Trevor is gonna be a big loss and is a great player, but it looks like Trevor being hurt has allowed Rodney to be more comfortable and maybe become a better player. Rodney really looked a lot more comfortable and effective playin the 4 and just never seemed to be able to effectively play the 3. We are going to have to find a way to get to the line a little more than we did last night and that is something Trevor was very effective at.

 

[Rodney's Open]

I agree with the original poster. The Mbakwe loss hurts obviously, but he was somewhat a bad player for Rodney. Rodney looked much better last night at the 4, and he looks like he could play 4 against most teams and be effective. He will be closer to the basket to use is leaping ability and will be able to get a lot more putbacks. It also helps the 3 position since we actually can get someone who can play that position. The loss of Mbakwe helps the 3 position tremendously since Tubby isn't forced to play Rodney there the whole game.

 

[ruppertflywheel]

This could be a case of irrational exuberance after a nice win tonight. Trevor is a fantastic team player and it's not as if he has the style of game that demands "touches" like The Hump, Westbrook or Joseph where one could make an argument that losing a selfish player could lead to better team ball.

We will feel Trevor's absence this entire year. It will be very difficult to replace his intangibles, let alone the more concrete parts of his game (amazing rebounding, shot blocking, improved FT shooting, etc) but we have what we have and it's the coach and team's job to make the best of it. Tonight was a good start.



Go Gophers!!

Bleed my good man. LW beat the skunks twice single handlely. Westbrook had a scorer's mentality and wanted the ball plain and simple.

 

[zambam]

Bleed my good man. LW beat the skunks twice single handlely. Westbrook had a scorer's mentality and wanted the ball plain and simple.

That is exactly what Bleed was saying. LW needed the ball in his hands. Trevor can clean up the offensive boards for points.

 

[i'm batman]

On an Ohio State board one fan was excited because the Big 10 was seven teams deep (OSU, MSU, Wisky, Illinois, Purdue, Michigan and Indiana) and one poster chimed in with the glaring omission...Northwestern.

Is this what we expected in Tubby's fifth year at Minnesota? being in the top eight of the Big 10?

Gophers may be fine, but I fear that basketball fans are settling into acceptance of Mason level mediocrity.