I'm calling it right now

[touchdownvikings]

This is going to be a good team. When I look at Mason, Murphy, McBrayer, Dorsey, Gilbert, I don't see a Mav or Chip among them. They're all going to blossom into a Hollins/Hollins level of player. ALL of them. I'm seeing player development each week.

Basically, the problem Tubby had was that when he had Mbakwe and Williams, he could kill you inside. It's just that the rest of his roster was Coleman (could not shoot and had a skill set that overlapped Mbakwe's and Williams', so he was redundant - not additive), and the two Hollins, plus Chip/Mav/Welch. Basically, on any given night you could pack the lane with three players - that stunts Mbakwe/Williams/Coleman (none of whom could shoot), ignore whichever Hollins is having an off night, and chase the other Hollins all the hell over the court. Done. He needed a couple more guards of the same level as Hollins/Hollins so that which ever couple were "on" could play the major minutes that night. Well that's what we're gonna have: lots of Hollins/Hollins level players. Plus we'll have Lynch & Fitz, so we'll have an inside game. This team will be good, balanced and well constructed. Just not this year.

To all the naysayers, ignore the losses, watch the player development. We're going to be very good. Don't know how you can't see it.

(Didn't mean to invoke a Tubby versus Pitino debate, by the way. For the record, I would not have fired Tubby, but I think Pitino will be great.)

 

[bleedsmaroonandgold]

This is going to be a good team. When I look at Mason, Murphy, McBrayer, Dorsey, Gilbert, I don't see a Mav or Chip among them. They're all going to blossom into a Hollins/Hollins level of player. ALL of them. I'm seeing player development each week.

Basically, the problem Tubby had was that when he had Mbakwe and Williams, he could kill you inside. It's just that the rest of his roster was Coleman (could not shoot and had a skill set that overlapped Mbakwe's and Williams', so he was redundant - not additive), and the two Hollins, plus Chip/Mav/Welch. Basically, on any given night you could pack the lane with three players - that stunts Mbakwe/Williams/Coleman (none of whom could shoot), ignore whichever Hollins is having an off night, and chase the other Hollins all the hell over the court. Done. He needed a couple more guards of the same level as Hollins/Hollins so that which ever couple were "on" could play the major minutes that night. Well that's what we're gonna have: lots of Hollins/Hollins level players. Plus we'll have Lynch & Fitz, so we'll have an inside game. This team will be good, balanced and well constructed. Just not this year.

To all the naysayers, ignore the losses, watch the player development. We're going to be very good. Don't know how you can't see it.

(Didn't mean to invoke a Tubby versus Pitino debate, by the way. For the record, I would not have fired Tubby, but I think Pitino will be great.)

The bold is a pretty crappy thing for a major conference team to expect of its fans.

 

['13Gopher]

Should we also ignore having 26 seconds to end regulation and shooting a half court three as a result of a timeout?


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[bga1]

Should we also ignore having 26 seconds to end regulation and shooting a half court three as a result of a timeout?


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Plays break down and players end up having to make great plays and hard shots to win. It's rare that something drawn up is going to win a game on the last possession. Same thing happened with Tubby, Monson and even Clem- you just don't want to remember it. It would have been clinically insane to shoot the ball with more than 3-4 seconds left on the shot clock (with this poor shooting club) and leave Illinois 7-8 seconds to win. They wanted to get it into Murphy and have him go to the hole and get fouled or make a shot- it didn't work out.

So yes- we should ignore it- until we have a better team with an inside threat with vacuum cleaner hands that you can lob it into.

 

[scher215]

While I agree mostly. Pitino is on pace to have the same problem as Tubby. Having no shooters. That's my only concern.

 

[Gopherbbdude]

While I agree mostly. Pitino is on pace to have the same problem as Tubby. Having no shooters. That's my only concern.

I agree with what you mostly agreed with[emoji4] ... need shooters

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[GophersInIowa]

Should we also ignore having 26 seconds to end regulation and shooting a half court three as a result of a timeout?


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So the timeout caused the bad shot? I'm pretty sure that was not how the play was designed.

 

[Bad Gopher]

Plays break down and players end up having to make great plays and hard shots to win. It's rare that something drawn up is going to win a game on the last possession. Same thing happened with Tubby, Monson and even Clem- you just don't want to remember it. It would have been clinically insane to shoot the ball with more than 3-4 seconds left on the shot clock (with this poor shooting club) and leave Illinois 7-8 seconds to win. They wanted to get it into Murphy and have him go to the hole and get fouled or make a shot- it didn't work out.

So yes- we should ignore it- until we have a better team with an inside threat with vacuum cleaner hands that you can lob it into.

If I recall correctly, there was less than a second difference between the game and shot clocks.

 

[Winasota Gopher]

If I recall correctly, there was less than a second difference between the game and shot clocks.

.6 or so.

 

[ethomasp31]

This is going to be a good team. When I look at Mason, Murphy, McBrayer, Dorsey, Gilbert, I don't see a Mav or Chip among them. They're all going to blossom into a Hollins/Hollins level of player. ALL of them. I'm seeing player development each week.

Basically, the problem Tubby had was that when he had Mbakwe and Williams, he could kill you inside. It's just that the rest of his roster was Coleman (could not shoot and had a skill set that overlapped Mbakwe's and Williams', so he was redundant - not additive), and the two Hollins, plus Chip/Mav/Welch. Basically, on any given night you could pack the lane with three players - that stunts Mbakwe/Williams/Coleman (none of whom could shoot), ignore whichever Hollins is having an off night, and chase the other Hollins all the hell over the court. Done. He needed a couple more guards of the same level as Hollins/Hollins so that which ever couple were "on" could play the major minutes that night. Well that's what we're gonna have: lots of Hollins/Hollins level players. Plus we'll have Lynch & Fitz, so we'll have an inside game. This team will be good, balanced and well constructed. Just not this year.

To all the naysayers, ignore the losses, watch the player development. We're going to be very good. Don't know how you can't see it.

(Didn't mean to invoke a Tubby versus Pitino debate, by the way. For the record, I would not have fired Tubby, but I think Pitino will be great.)

Yeah right whatever....if Nolen and Mbakwe wouldn't have gotten hurt, Tubby would still be coaching here now. His classes at Texas Tech have all been worse than what Pitino has had at Minnesota and his Texas Tech team is miles better than ours. Don't tell me about Richard Pitino and player development please....good God!!!

 

[ethomasp31]

.6 or so.

it was 1.9 seconds.

 

['13Gopher]

So the timeout caused the bad shot? I'm pretty sure that was not how the play was designed.

My wording was poor, of course the timeout didn't cause it but with a timeout in that situation there had better have been a plan B. I understand that plays don't always work, I played football for a long time. However, tough to stomach that horrible effort to win the game especially after a timeout.


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[cjbfbp]

Yeah right whatever....if Nolen and Mbakwe wouldn't have gotten hurt, Tubby would still be coaching here now. His classes at Texas Tech have all been worse than what Pitino has had at Minnesota and his Texas Tech team is miles better than ours. Don't tell me about Richard Pitino and player development please....good God!!!

I agree with you that Pitino hasn't shown much when it comes to player development, but I can't conclude with any degree of confidence that Tubby's Tech recruiting classes have been worse than Pitino's classes here. A coach can't just rely on recruiting services' star rankings unless that coach is getting the very highest rated players. 3 star players are often better than 4 star players and that 3 star ranking is sort of like the "R" rating for films - it covers a very wide range of variation. Granted, Tubby's team is a bit older than ours, but I could see that they had some talent when watching them this season and even when watching them last season.

 

[Winasota Gopher]

it was 1.9 seconds.

Are you certain?

I feel like that was what it was before the timeout, and then out of the timeout it was under a second? Which was very puzzling to me.

I deleted my recording so I cannot check.

 

[Gold Vision]

Are you certain? I feel like that was what it was before the timeout, and then out of the timeout it was under a second? Which was very puzzling to me. I deleted my recording so I cannot check.

I noticed the same thing. It was much closer after the time out than before. They must've done a clock adjustment.

 

[alchemy2u]

So the timeout caused the bad shot? I'm pretty sure that was not how the play was designed.

Didn't King say he screwed up and should have been in the corner?

Pitino has done a good job with player development. I agree with the original poster and these players are going to be good. Too many people are getting to hung up with the stats and not watching the development of the players. It has been stated many time that Pitino has made his bed and has quite a few rookie coaching and recruiting mistakes, but things are getting better.


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[GophersInIowa]

My wording was poor, of course the timeout didn't cause it but with a timeout in that situation there had better have been a plan B. I understand that plays don't always work, I played football for a long time. However, tough to stomach that horrible effort to win the game especially after a timeout.


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Gotcha. Just thought you were saying it was the timeout that caused the confusion. Agree, the execution was pretty poor to say the least.

 

[touchdownvikings]

I understand your point about not having shooters, but you need to consider this: we don't need a Voshon level shooter. Voshon was "on" every single time he was left open. Guys like Hollins/Hollins were "on" once out of every three games. Get six of those guys, and you always have a couple "on" during any given game - we just find them during the game and play them. That's where we'll be. Now we just need Lynch & Fitz to arrive, Murphy to beef up so he can power through the defense, and we'll be good. This is a slam dunk - I have no reservations about calling it.

 

[GopherPop]

Hope Coach et al. are watching the Cuse Uva game.....good study on attaching the 2-3 zone that Cuse uses

 

[Winasota Gopher]

Hope Coach et al. are watching the Cuse Uva game.....good study on attaching the 2-3 zone that Cuse uses

Pitino has already chewed that zone up.

I don't think it's the strategy of coaching that he's lacking.

 

[JimmyJamesMD]

Hurt will help shooting next year. I have no idea how good Fitzgerald, Coffey and Curry are at shooting.

We have guys on the team that have potential to be shooters.

Mason
McBrayer
Gilbert (has shot well)
Murphy

Once these guys get more experience and confidence, I think they will be fine shooters.

 

[NoNmae]

Players getting experience - 2 good transfers and a solid Fr. class. This team will bounce back next year. 2015-16 simply a throw away year.

 

[leftyslefty]

Need more help

Players getting experience - 2 good transfers and a solid Fr. class. This team will bounce back next year. 2015-16 simply a throw away year.

Guard play is not good enough. Neither offensive acumen or shooting ability are in evidence. Everyone is eligible to improve of course, but I don't think Mason is a point guard, and Dorsey is a big????

 

[Ewert86PC]

The only stat that counts is found in the W column. It's looking empty this year.

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[dtrain19]

The only stat that counts is found in the W column. It's looking empty this year. Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

***NEWSFLASH***

 

[gopher7]

The only stat that counts is found in the W column. It's looking empty this year.

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We haven't had a winning conference record for 12 years now, and if you count sanctions, by my count we have had just 3 in the past 34 years (if you don't count sanctions, 7 in the past 34). We act like we are some storied program that has no room for anything but perfection. I think people are underestimating the kind of effort it will take to dig our program out of the hole it's in. If suffering through a season like this is going to help us accomplish that, similar to what happened in Clem's first year, then I have to be ok with that.

 

[march madness]

3 pt shooting has been an issue at Louisville too. Fortunately for them they get enough turnovers and steals to make up for playing athletic players who cant shoot. Even during their championship season '12-13, the only good 3pt shooter was 6th man Hancock (40%), no starter shot better than 32%.

Coffey isn't a 3pt shooter. Doesn't sound like Curry is. Hurt is, but is he ready for big minutes? It does seem like it could be the biggest weakness next year.

Dorsey, is he a Westbrook? An undersized 2? I guess if you played McBrayer at 6-4 pg you could play a 6' SG. Dorsey doesn't seem to have natural lead guard instincts. I wonder if he played off the ball a bit during high school. He is good at getting to the rim.

I really like was Iowa is doing this year. I hope Pitino can adjust his thinking to getting more size, physical, and skilled post players even if you sacrifice a tad in athleticism.

 

[Ewert86PC]

We haven't had a winning conference record for 12 years now, and if you count sanctions, by my count we have had just 3 in the past 34 years (if you don't count sanctions, 7 in the past 34). We act like we are some storied program that has no room for anything but perfection. I think people are underestimating the kind of effort it will take to dig our program out of the hole it's in. If suffering through a season like this is going to help us accomplish that, similar to what happened in Clem's first year, then I have to be ok with that.

If we are a "storied program" it is because we have been on the bubble of greatness for the past 34 years and always find ways to hobble ourselves, both as a team and an administration.

What bothers me most is recruiting. When recruiting highly rated in state players we seemingly lose out or put in a half hearted attempt. This is why Amir Coffey is such a big deal.

Plays break down and players end up having to make great plays and hard shots to win. It's rare that something drawn up is going to win a game on the last possession. Same thing happened with Tubby, Monson and even Clem- you just don't want to remember it. It would have been clinically insane to shoot the ball with more than 3-4 seconds left on the shot clock (with this poor shooting club) and leave Illinois 7-8 seconds to win. They wanted to get it into Murphy and have him go to the hole and get fouled or make a shot- it didn't work out.

So yes- we should ignore it- until we have a better team with an inside threat with vacuum cleaner hands that you can lob it into.

***NEWSFLASH***

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[scher215]

3 pt shooting has been an issue at Louisville too. Fortunately for them they get enough turnovers and steals to make up for playing athletic players who cant shoot. Even during their championship season '12-13, the only good 3pt shooter was 6th man Hancock (40%), no starter shot better than 32%. Coffey isn't a 3pt shooter. Doesn't sound like Curry is. Hurt is, but is he ready for big minutes? It does seem like it could be the biggest weakness next year. Dorsey, is he a Westbrook? An undersized 2? I guess if you played McBrayer at 6-4 pg you could play a 6' SG. Dorsey doesn't seem to have natural lead guard instincts. I wonder if he played off the ball a bit during high school. He is good at getting to the rim. I really like was Iowa is doing this year. I hope Pitino can adjust his thinking to getting more size, physical, and skilled post players even if you sacrifice a tad in athleticism.

The other problem is Pitino doesn't run the Rick/UL offense. He runs the Billy D/ Florida offense which featured guys like Scottie Wilbekin, Bradley Beal, Chandler Parsons, Erik Murphy, Corey Brewer, etc. if Pitino doesn't want to recruit a team full of average to good three point shooters that's fine, but then he shouldn't run an offense designed to get three point shots either.

 

[cjbfbp]

I really like was Iowa is doing this year. I hope Pitino can adjust his thinking to getting more size, physical, and skilled post players even if you sacrifice a tad in athleticism.

Yes, Iowa is having a fine year, but there is another big difference between them and the Gophers: Iowa is the most senior reliant team in the conference (by quite a bit in terms of minutes played). Iowa starts four seniors and one junior and they all play substantial minutes. Those five guys have logged a lot of minutes over their careers. In terms of maturity and experience per minute of play, Iowa tops the conference. Next year may be a significant adjustment for them.