Iverson is a player

[gopherbadgerman]

The kid has come so far this year. Win or lose today, he has really stepped up his game. If only he could shoot free-throws...but still, count me as impressed.

 

[Gibsogurski]

I agree! The difference between this year and last year is amazing. It looks like he has finally grown into his body. He is only going to get better over the next couple of years!

 

[Dr.Don]

badgerman...Ahhhhh my friend, don't you remember some of the posters previously thought that he was at best a D2 player?

 

[skoalvikings]

badgerman...Ahhhhh my friend, don't you remember some of the posters previously thought that he was at best a D2 player?

I'll admit I was one of the naysayers, in fact, I thought he wouldn't even dominate at that level. Now he is a decent free throw shot away from 1st of 2nd team Big Ten. Glad I was wrong.

 

[gopherbadgerman]

badgerman...Ahhhhh my friend, don't you remember some of the posters previously thought that he was at best a D2 player?

Yes I do. I dont think I ever said he was a D2 talent, but god he had really come a long way the 2nd half this year. Count me as impressed by him. He has outplayed RSIII the last few weeks, IMO...

 

[josh087]

I was also one of the naysayers. I was wrong. I'm not saying he will ever be a 20 ppg guy - but he dramatically improved this year.

 

[stocker08]

badgerman...Ahhhhh my friend, don't you remember some of the posters previously thought that he was at best a D2 player?

I was a doubter. Never said he was a D2 player at best, but I did think he would never be a solid big ten contributor. You proved me wrong Colt.

 

[GopherBeef]

The great thing is that he finished the season extremely well despite struggles and criticism through the first 3/4 of the season. It is great to see that he stuck with it and kept working. You could also see that the rest of the team had confidence in him down the stretch.

I grew up not far from South Dakota and played some basketball against some SD teams in HS. The level of play there is pretty low. It is not surprising that a big post player like Colt would come in overmatched against more experienced and better-prepared guys. The last ten games or so it looks like Colt has become much more confident and aggressive and is using his size and strength to his advantage. Hopefully the progression continues next season.

 

[98VQueens]

His touch was a little off, didn't practice yesterday with flu-like symptoms, but still grabbed 6 boards, 5 blocks in 17 minutes. Some of those moves he unveiled at the BTT are a preview of the next couple years, Colt is one of the bright spots when looking forward.

 

[BigGopherFan]

Iverson is the PERFECT role player. He'll never dominate on offense, but he blocks shots, rebounds on BOTH ends of the floor and has great size and toughness.

 

[beowulftom]

If Mbakwe is as good as advertised, a line-up of him & the twin towers could be a match up nightmare for other teams.

I hope Colton's minutes increase, I think he has played well enough to be the starter.

 

[9194Gophs]

I like our big guys future, especially the physical presence we would have with Iverson and Trevor down low.

 

[Gophs]

Iverson's ability

What impressed me this year is Iverson's sense of where the basket is. Last season, he would put the ball on the floor and not keep his hands high when he posted up. This year, he has developed a great first step to the basket without having to dribble.

I still think he's got a ways to go, needs to be a little bit more consistent and needs to put on a little more muscle, but obviously he is going in the right direction. Let's hope Tubby sticks around and gets him to a higher level.

 

[freshtrout]

Colton has a couple of years to continue to develop. That is a huge positive for this team. I wish he would work on his jumping ability to go higher with his shots. He still (at this point) gets his shots blocked too often, with work he should be able to go up and over the 6'8 players he faces in games. He'll probably put on another 10 lbs of muscle in the off season and could become a force for next years team.

 

[underground629]

I wish Tubby would stop playing Ralph more than Colton when Ralph plays like he did today. It's been embarrassing even having him out there lately. Why has Tubby been playing him more than Colt when they've been playing nowhere near the same level since the BTT? So frustrating.

 

[Holy Man]

Colt

Great to see posters' humility on pre-evaluating Iverson. I actually have always liked him. He has always been tough if not skilled, and is finally coming into his own as an offensive threat close to the basket. He will get paid to play the game someday. Big guys develop more slowly than others, and these guys are just kids. All the TV in college basketball makes us think every freshman should be ready to play right now, and that just isn't the case with 80-90% of recruits.

In that same vein, I am really looking to Rodney Williams growth in his game over the summer, and improvement that we will be able to see a little earlier in his sophomore than season than we did with Colt.