It's Official: Mbakwe returning to Gophers for 12-13 Season #UnfinishedBusiness

GophersInIowa said:
PG - Andre Hollins 30, Welch 10
SG - Coleman 25, Welch 15
SF - Austin Hollins 28, Williams 12
PF - Williams 18, Mbakwe 22
C - Mbakwe 8, EE 12, Walker 20

I'd like to see Oto get some minutes as well but I just don't see it. We'll see though.

I like that disparity. I think the EE / Walker minutes could start the other way as Mo gets comfortable, but those two will be interesting to watch how their minutes stack up.

Tubby has a good problem on his hands of figuring out how to get some talented guys minutes.
 

I'll get hammered by the "expectations" crowd, but I would be thrilled with a 9-9 or better season next year. Ball security is the #1 issue going into next year.

I always predict 10-8. No one has more respect for the B1G than I do. The Beast will be a little over 10 months in rehab when the season starts and Huge Mo has alot of rust. I fully expect to see 2 squads of 5 during a tough, but necessary NC schedule. I would be very surprised if Joe and/or EE don't take the major leap sometime during the season. By the end of the season we could be world beaters, but I expect the following 2 seasons to be better yet.
 

howieramone said:
I always predict 10-8. No one has more respect for the B1G than I do. The Beast will be a little over 10 months in rehab when the season starts and Huge Mo has alot of rust. I fully expect to see 2 squads of 5 during a tough, but necessary NC schedule. I would be very surprised if Joe and/or EE don't take the major leap sometime during the season. By the end of the season we could be world beaters, but I expect the following 2 seasons to be better yet.

Assuming the season starts November 7th or so, Trevor will be 345 days removed from the injury, or a little over 11 months since the injury.

I think his conditioning and trust of the knee will need work, but he should be fully healed when the season starts. Hopefully he can get some practice in before then.
 

I thought I saw an article earlier this year that Mo would have been ready to play some time at the beginning of the conference play, but tubby didnt want to have him waste a year or get reinjured. I can't remember if that was this season or the one before though, does anyone else remember seeing this? If that was this year, I think he would be ready a lot faster for this upcoming season as he should be able to fully workout.
 

Assuming the season starts November 7th or so, Trevor will be 345 days removed from the injury, or a little over 11 months since the injury.

I think his conditioning and trust of the knee will need work, but he should be fully healed when the season starts. Hopefully he can get some practice in before then.

what day was the surgery though? I think the surgery wasn't for 2 or 3 weeks after injury. Still should be relatively healed but that varies from person to person. Does anyone know the timetable for his recovery in his freshman year at Marquette?
 


ECreppinUofM said:
I thought I saw an article earlier this year that Mo would have been ready to play some time at the beginning of the conference play, but tubby didnt want to have him waste a year or get reinjured. I can't remember if that was this season or the one before though, does anyone else remember seeing this? If that was this year, I think he would be ready a lot faster for this upcoming season as he should be able to fully workout.

That is correct. Mo has been practicing and participating in warm ups since about half way through the big 10 season. He should be good to go for 12-13, but having no game experience is still not good. He will need some time to get comfortable, IMO.
 

PG - Andre Hollins 30, Welch 10
SG - Coleman 25, Welch 15
SF - Austin Hollins 28, Williams 12
PF - Williams 18, Mbakwe 22
C - Mbakwe 8, EE 12, Walker 20

I'd like to see Oto get some minutes as well but I just don't see it. We'll see though.

I think we go big with everyone playing their natural position. EE at 5, the Beast at 4, Rodney at 3. Control the boards then we can run. If you look at starting the best 5, I believe EE is further ahead than Joe.

Nice problem to have.
 

I think we go big with everyone playing their natural position. EE at 5, the Beast at 4, Rodney at 3. Control the boards then we can run. If you look at starting the best 5, I believe EE is further ahead than Joe.

Nice problem to have.

Except, I believe Rodney Williams' natural position is the 4. I like the smaller line-up with Rodney at the 4 and Mbakwe at the 5. Hopefully Rodney spends the offseason working on his outside game - specifically ball-handling, a 3 point shot and a nice pull up jumper.

But yes, great problems to have! :clap:
 

Rodney is a 4

Rodney didn't start playing well until he was at the 4, keep him there. Start the three guard lineup with Mbakwe at center unless the opposition has a 7 footer down low.
 



Rodney did not play the prototypical 4 position with that 3 guard lineup. I think he can still thrive on the wing.
 


From the contract/LSU thread. Apparently he said it on the radio show.

Dave Lee asked Tubby if it was nice to have Armelin's scholership available for Trevor comming back. Tubby just said that Chip asked and was released from his scholerships but that just means that he is free to look around and something to the effect that he may decide to stay.

He then said you never know what might happen with Trevor and what he decides.
 

Rodney didn't start playing well until he was at the 4, keep him there. Start the three guard lineup with Mbakwe at center unless the opposition has a 7 footer down low.

Rodney showed signs at the end of the year he is ready to move back to the 3. That's exactly where he needs to be if he wants a to have a solid pro career.
 




I'd prefer Williams get most of his time at the 3. Assuming we're healthy, Mbakwe (mostly 4/some 5), Walker (5), EE (5), Ingram (4) and even some Oto (4) should be more than enough to handle the 4/5.
 

It's been so long since we've seen Walker play, it's hard to guess what type of impact he'll have. I can't wait to see how he looks this fall and see how he fits in.
 

what day was the surgery though? I think the surgery wasn't for 2 or 3 weeks after injury. Still should be relatively healed but that varies from person to person. Does anyone know the timetable for his recovery in his freshman year at Marquette?

Depends on your definition of 'recovery'. The knee issues then were different than what he's rehabbing now. As a freshman, he had surgery to fix an "isolated fibular collateral ligament" and also address a pre-existing knee condition that he had dealt with for some time.

That was in November 2007. The thought was that he would redshirt that year, however he was cleared to play late in the season and appeared in his first game of the season on February 15, 2008 (the team's 24th game of the season).

Sounds like he'll play college ball in 2012-13, but like Rodney said, "you never know with Trev".
 

It will be interesting to see what effect having Andre at the point will do for Rodney playing the 3. If he is going to be a pro it has to be at the 3 and even then he might be outsized most of the time.

One thought about Trevor, if he wanted to he could decide to transfer say to Kentucky and be eligible next year couldn't he.
 

Sounds like he'll play college ball in 2012-13, but like Rodney said, "you never know with Trev".
I can't tell if this is you trying to comment on how it's unsure if he'll heal or you being an ass about how he still might not come back.
 

We are Top 25 already.

With him and Walker back, along with the development of the Hollins' and a few others, I have to agree. I am only concerned about 2 things, First, that all focus will be on Trevor again. It seemed to me, the others stepped up their game when Trevor went down and the Gophers ended up a better team for it. Hope that continues.

2. Given MN's knack for injuries, and not just the Gophers, almost every MN team has gotten hit with top players getting injured, I am concerned about that as well

Anyway, I think it is a great move for everyone for Trevor to return. This years draft sounds like the deepest in years. Trevor's coming back gives him the year to show he has recovered and he should improve his draft status for next year.
 

With him and Walker back, along with the development of the Hollins' and a few others, I have to agree. I am only concerned about 2 things, First, that all focus will be on Trevor again. It seemed to me, the others stepped up their game when Trevor went down and the Gophers ended up a better team for it. Hope that continues.

2. Given MN's knack for injuries, and not just the Gophers, almost every MN team has gotten hit with top players getting injured, I am concerned about that as well

Anyway, I think it is a great move for everyone for Trevor to return. This years draft sounds like the deepest in years. Trevor's coming back gives him the year to show he has recovered and he should improve his draft status for next year.


The main thing is, he is going to leave the University of Minnesota with a Masters Degree.
 

The main thing is, he is going to leave the University of Minnesota with a Masters Degree.

True, but as a player with pro aspirations, it seems reasonable to recognize the benefits of draft status as well. He can go back and get his masters degree at any time, but draft position literally adds up to millions of dollars as well.

Not trying to make any judgment on values at all, just the reality of the situation. I use to be what was considered a purist in wanting the players to finish their collegiate career and helping the college succeed. That said, the potential for the money and the opportunity is something that is very real as well.

Personally glad he is coming back, but would have understood regardless.
 


One thought about Trevor, if he wanted to he could decide to transfer say to Kentucky and be eligible next year couldn't he.

I don't see how this could happen. He already sat out a year here, then played a year, then got injured, sitting out the rest of this past season. Are you asking if, because Trevor didn't exactly use a year of his eligibility this past season, he could transfer anywhere and be eligible immediately? I believe the answer to that question is no. For instance, Jarrod Uthoff at Wisconsin did not play this past season, but that doesn't make him eligible to play immediately wherever he goes, he still has to sit out a year because of transfer, and he will simply have three years of eligibility. Unless there is something about getting a 6th year that says he doesn't actually have to use that 6th year here, I don't believe he can play any more Division I college basketball unless it is at the University of Minnesota. After the video that was put out this morning though, I really don't think he would transfer even if he could. I am very, very confident he will be playing basketball here next season.

It will be nice to have Trevor back inside again as it will help free up our guards on the outside. The future is looking so bright!
 


I think we go big with everyone playing their natural position. EE at 5, the Beast at 4, Rodney at 3. Control the boards then we can run. If you look at starting the best 5, I believe EE is further ahead than Joe.

Nice problem to have.

Maybe. If Rodney Williams does play at the 3 only, then that will cut down the minutes of Joe Coleman and Julian Welch significantly. You have to expect Williams, Austin and Andre Hollins will all see 28-30 minutes a game. That leaves only 10-15 minutes total for Coleman and Welch if Rodney is playing the 3.

I think Williams most certainly can and will play the 3, but I think him playing some 4 and Mbakwe some 5 will give the best players the most minutes. Obviously, who we are playing will affect the minutes game by game.
 

Sounds like he'll play college ball in 2012-13, but like Rodney said, "you never know with Trev".

That's rich.. trying to draw parallels between kids getting ticketed for being underage and in a bar where alcohol is beeing served withe the felony assault of a woman who was unknown to the defendant and for which the accused was found guilty in the court of law."

So vindictive. Glad you guys could take a break from listing out the various Gopher players that you want kicked off the team to make room for guys that you prefer.

"Just win, baby"

"Drain the Tub"

My man GW also likes to imply that TM was found guilty, so you never know with Trev.

I'd give Trev a .00000000000002% chance of being 'actually' guilty of what he pleaded no-contest too.
 

If Andre, Austin and Williams each play 28 minutes, there is 36 minutes left for Coleman and Welsh. The games are 40 minutes long so there will be 12 more minutes at each position, and 12 times 3 is 36. Also, some of Rodney's minutes might be at the 4 which will allow even more minutes to become available.
 

It's been so long since we've seen Walker play, it's hard to guess what type of impact he'll have. I can't wait to see how he looks this fall and see how he fits in.


I am curious to see his play as well. I was just about completely sold on him before he went down, and I am really hoping that he can come back just as strong. As much as I like EE and how much he has progressed, I can definitely see Big Mo taking a big chunk of minutes at the 5, and I'm very ok with that.
 

I am curious to see his play as well. I was just about completely sold on him before he went down, and I am really hoping that he can come back just as strong. As much as I like EE and how much he has progressed, I can definitely see Big Mo taking a big chunk of minutes at the 5, and I'm very ok with that.

If you just go from what we last saw from each player, I have to think Walker is the better player and should get more minutes...but you never know with injuries.
 




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