How good will our defense be next year?

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Go Gophs eh?

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Imagine this- PG-Al Nolen SG- Chip Armelin SF- Rodney PF- Trevor C- Colt I think that would be one of the best defensive lineups in the b10 much less the country
 


athletic, said to have a 40 inch vert, usally athetic guys at least have the tools to be a good defender, and we know hoff is too slow and devoe not that great of a defender. not saying this is a starting lineup, but if we need to crunch down this team could be inpenetrable
 

He has a 37" vertical :) Would you like to score points with this lineup also?

I just thought it was a random insertion into that lineup. Joseph is very capable of guarding the second threat after Nolen.
 





Ignoring how bad our offense would be... that still doesn't even look like a great defense to me. Any solid sg with height would kill us in that lineup. Chip will still be a freshman and defense isn't just athleticism. We really have no idea how he'd be as a defender this year. Rodney has great potential as a defender but he definitely isn't there. It's not just about blocking shots. Colt can be a very good defender at times. I feel like he gets screwed by the refs a lot.
 

Any solid SG with height causes most teams headaches, good thing there aren't many in the Big Ten. Nolen did a more than admirable job against Evan Turner last year. You can make up for the lack of height with that length on the interior. Austin Hollins fits the mold of a good 2 guard defender before Chip. Austin has already been praised as a good defender while some question Chip's abilities.
 




Go Gophs eh? said:
any way i expect us to have a great D next year
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Haha, I actually agree. Losing Damian Johnson hurts, but getting Nolen back, the development of Rodney, and the Addition of Mbakwe should all be great positives. This team lost it's defensive identity for stretches at the end of last year.
 

Defensively, we are missing that long athletic wing, and I think it will really show up some nights. On the other hand, part of defense is securing the rebound, and we should be a talented mature team inside for the first time in forever. I think that the combination of Ralph, Colton, and Trevor should give us a great opportunity to control the boards against most opponents. I think the one thing most of us underestimate is that we have two 7 foot players who will finally be upperclassmen.
 

I agree with your premise that the Gophers have a chance to be pretty good defensively, however I disagree with your proposed line-up to reach that goal. A line-up of Colton/Ralph, Trevor Mbakwe, Rodney Williams, Austin Hollins and Al Nolen would be fun to watch as they are all long and/or athletic. I think there will be a lot of shot blocks at Williams arena this year. The key will be whether they can cover the perimiter and if the younger players like Rodney and Austin prove that they can be strong contributors this season. I also think Blake plays reasonable defense, is a good rebounder for his size and has great court awareness. As stated by others, I think you have to mix in Devoe and Blake to ensure there is enough offense on the floor. This should be a very fun season at the Barn.
 



Hopefully we do have a great defense, because I think our offense will struggle. As much as Westbrook frustrated all of us, he was our most explosive offensive player. Hopefully Devoe continues to improve.
 


EG#9 said:
Defensively, we are missing that long athletic wing, and I think it will really show up some nights. On the other hand, part of defense is securing the rebound, and we should be a talented mature team inside for the first time in forever. I think that the combination of Ralph, Colton, and Trevor should give us a great opportunity to control the boards against most opponents. I think the one thing most of us underestimate is that we have two 7 foot players who will finally be upperclassmen.
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Really? I think you're forgetting the guy who has arguably the best combination of length and athleticism in the entire country. His name is Rodney Williams.
 

With Al Back Devoe and Blake will play ahead of any of the newcomers at 2 guard. As the year progresses maybe someone will jump out of the pack. But, I doubt it.

As far as Williams goes it would be great to see him play the SG spot, with his length and athletic ability. But, he is the probably going to spend most of the time at the 3 spot.

I hope Oto is able to get his passport problem settled. His would give us great versatility at 2,3 or 4.

Don't count Dawson out. He could see some minutes before it's over.
 

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