Is the decision not to redshirt Wally Ellenson the right decision?

Is the decision not to redshirt Wally Ellenson the right decision?

  • Yes, we are going all in this year and we'll need Wally.

    Votes: 58 64.4%

  • No, I wish we could have redshirted him because he already missed so much time

    Votes: 32 35.6%
  • Total voters
    90
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mplarson7 said:
For all we know, he could really catch on this year and take minutes from Oto, Mav, and Welch.
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Not sure about Mav, but Oto, Welch and a few from Joe if he has the hot hand.

NBA? Why are you idiots talking about Wally to the NBA? Unbelievable.

For all we know the kid has not intention of attending the UofM 5 years, so why make him? Perhaps he wants to shoot for the 2016 summer Olympics or even focus on track his fifth year.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
There was an article the other day that stated in the meeting with the Ellensons, that Wally said he wanted to play this year & that his parents supported his decision. That part appears to be fact.

What is speculation is whether or not Tubby would have done it without them asking for it? I suspect Tubby would not have burned the red shirt, but that's just my opinion. We had very good seats right behind the Gopher bench & Wally had a look on his face the entire game like he was constipated or something. I was even commented to my friend about how the kid's facial expressions & body language looked not-so-happy. In retrospect I guess he must have been waiting the whole night to get into the game as they'd agreed & probably wasn't enjoying watching all the way until garbage time. The fact that Tubby held him out until the very end, despite the blowout suggested to me Tubby wasn't exactly itching to get him on the court.
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Yikes... I know this is a message board but that is what we like to call "jumping to conclusions". I hear there is a nifty board game about that thats all the rage with the kids these days.
 


Here's the bottom line for me - I don't know whether this kid is ready to play D-1 Basketball.

Maybe someone who has seen a practice can shed some light - but remember, Ellenson broke his finger and has missed a lot of practice, so at this point, as far as the fans are concerned, he's an unknown commodity.

Who knows - maybe he's dominating in practice and he's going to be a superstar........or maybe he's not.

I stand by my original opinion - UNLESS Tubby is prepared to give him consistent playing time (at least 5-10 min a game), then I think it was a mistake to pull the redshirt. If they pulled the redshirt, and the kid winds up playing 2 or 3 minutes of mop-up duty in blowouts, I would consider that a waste of a year of eligibility.
 

9194Gophs said:
For all we know the kid has not intention of attending the UofM 5 years, so why make him? Perhaps he wants to shoot for the 2016 summer Olympics or even focus on track his fifth year.
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Rio! Did I read somewhere that he was going to do track for the UofM also?
 


On the Sports Huddle interview with Tubby today, Tubby said he thought a red-shirt year would have been beneficial for Wally. Wally and his parents wanted him to play this year. Tubby said he was not sure how many minutes would be available for Wally.

Sid asked Tubby if Mo Walker was a disappointment. Tubby said his knee injury was even worse than Trevor's injury. He said Mo's weight has dropped from 324 to 297.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Here's the bottom line for me - I don't know whether this kid is ready to play D-1 Basketball.

Maybe someone who has seen a practice can shed some light - but remember, Ellenson broke his finger and has missed a lot of practice, so at this point, as far as the fans are concerned, he's an unknown commodity.

Who knows - maybe he's dominating in practice and he's going to be a superstar........or maybe he's not.

I stand by my original opinion - UNLESS Tubby is prepared to give him consistent playing time (at least 5-10 min a game), then I think it was a mistake to pull the redshirt. If they pulled the redshirt, and the kid winds up playing 2 or 3 minutes of mop-up duty in blowouts, I would consider that a waste of a year of eligibility.
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Hindsight is 20/20. What if someone gets hurt later in the year or in the tournament and it forces him to play 15+ minutes per game? Would you rather him be forced into that role after not playing at all prior to the injury or would you rather him get some minutes here and there so he is more ready? Having him ready to play in case he needs to take on a bigger role is a safe move and would make an injury less devastating.
 

GophersOnTheRise said:
Hindsight is 20/20. What if someone gets hurt later in the year or in the tournament and it forces him to play 15+ minutes per game? Would you rather him be forced into that role after not playing at all prior to the injury or would you rather him get some minutes here and there so he is more ready? Having him ready to play in case he needs to take on a bigger role is a safe move and would make an injury less devastating.
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The question is not whether he will "need" to take on a bigger role - the question is whether he is capable of playing a bigger role. As JohnnyL noted above, Tubby has stated publicly that he felt Ellenson should redshirt - but the player and his parents were pushing for him to play. Tubby is at practice everyday, and presumably has a better idea of whether Ellenson is ready to contribute.

As I said above, I have no idea whether this kid is ready to play D1 basketball. My opinion (which is completely unsupported by any facts) is that, if the Gophs need this kid to play 15+ minutes a night, they will be in deep doo-doo.
 

Maybe out there a little, but the thought crossed my mind that the burning of the RS was to send a message to immediate recruits...(Tyus for one) that there will be immediate playing time and that Tubby is flexible on not RS them.
 



GophersOnTheRise said:
Hindsight is 20/20. What if someone gets hurt later in the year or in the tournament and it forces him to play 15+ minutes per game? Would you rather him be forced into that role after not playing at all prior to the injury or would you rather him get some minutes here and there so he is more ready? Having him ready to play in case he needs to take on a bigger role is a safe move and would make an injury less devastating.
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Which brings up another point...given the rash of injuries the team has had the past few years, giving him some playing time now would help to have him somewhat ready if need arises.
 

Wally is insurance in case Austin or coleman were to get injured. We don't have much on the wing. I consider Oto more of a tweener. He plays better inside than outside right now. Great game by Wally though. Awesome ally -oop! LOL

Even against bad competion, 5 pts, 4 reb, 1 ass, and no turnovers looks great for a kids second game and he hasn't been practicing. All in 15 minutes.
 

march madness said:
Wally is insurance in case Austin or coleman were to get injured. We don't have much on the wing. I consider Oto more of a tweener. He plays better inside than outside right now. Great game by Wally though. Awesome ally -oop! LOL

Even against bad competion, 5 pts, 4 reb, 1 ass, and no turnovers looks great for a kids second game and he hasn't been practicing. All in 15 minutes.
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Say what???
 

calminnfan said:
Maybe out there a little, but the thought crossed my mind that the burning of the RS was to send a message to immediate recruits...(Tyus for one) that there will be immediate playing time and that Tubby is flexible on not RS them.
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Lost me. No chance Tyus, Vaughn, Reid, Henry & Illikainen would RS.
 




calminnfan said:
Maybe out there a little, but the thought crossed my mind that the burning of the RS was to send a message to immediate recruits...(Tyus for one) that there will be immediate playing time and that Tubby is flexible on not RS them.
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Redshirting Tyus was never an option and I'd be shocked if that possibility ever even crossed his mind.
 

Schnauzer said:
Every time Oto sets up to shoot I start looking to see if there are Gophers in good rebounding position.
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I thought the SAME thing! lol Also, if they're going to do it, better to do it early in the season. If we'll need him later, do it now.
 

I say play the guy. If he can help win one game it is worth it. Who knows where the program will be in three years anyway. Williams and Trevor are the best pair of seniors the program has had in a long time, lets try to win now...
 

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