IW

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I've alluded to it a couple times but Pitino's pregame chalk talks are really really good. Answers everything he is allowed to (can't discuss potential recruits) and is very VERY good at working the room. Honest, open and informative.

He did two this season. If you're part of the Gopher Loyalty Program or know someone who is, I recommend attending these. Excellent experience.
 


UpAndUnder43 said:
He lives in Minnesota during the summer. Why do people assume he is just hanging in New York playing in concrete all the time? He takes classes and works out in a multi-million dollar basketball facility. All. Summer. Probably goes home for a couple weeks but I doubt that he just plays “street ball” all the time. Stop being ignorant.
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I hope he doesn't play ANY ball when he goes home. Would you really risk your season on a badly sprained/broken ankle to play some "street ball"?? You have your whole life to do that.
 

Nov 12 - Utah (home) - W 78-69 - IW 16 mins
Nov 18 - Texas A&M (Vancouver) - W 69-64 - IW 19 mins
Nov 21 - Washington (Vancouver) - W 68-66 - IW 21 mins
Nov 26 - Boston Coll (away) - L 56-68 - IW 19 mins
Nov 30 - Okla State (US bank) - W 83-76 - IW 20 mins
Dec 2 - Ohio St (away) - L 59-79 - IW 23 mins
Dec 5 - Nebraska (home) - W 85-78 - IW 11 mins
Jan 3 - Wisconsin (away) - W 59-52 - IW 0 mins
Jan 8 - Maryland (home) - L 67 - 82 - IW 17 mins
Jan 12 - Rutgers (home) - W 88-70 - IW 14 mins
Jan 16 - Illinois (away) - L 68-95 - IW 24 mins
Jan 19 - Penn St (home) - W 65-64 - IW 22 mins, 0-4, 2 asst, 1 steal, 1 TO
Jan 22 - Michigan (away) - L 57-59 - IW 12 mins, 0-1, 0 asst, 0 steal, 5 TO
Jan 27 - Iowa (home) - W 92-87 - IW 13 mins, 3-4 (1-1 3pt), 0 asst, 0 steal, 2 TO

Jan 30 - Illinois (home) - W 86-75 - IW 23 mins, 5-11 (1-4 3pt), 4 asst, 0 steal, 0 TO


By far his best game. No idea what changed, what clicked, or what anything. Played more minutes than Oturu and Curry. But I was actually happy to see him out there on the floor. Keep it up!!!
 

cjbfbp said:
Maybe some of it is dislike of background or perceived personality but I suspect most of these negative feeling are due to authoritarian thinking perhaps even with Calvinist overtones. If he's benched by the man with authority (who was blessed by God), that must mean that he's unworthy and deserving of that fate.
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Bingo. I think the fans want to like this kid, but the complex relationship with Pitino on the benchings makes people assume there are more problems than there really are.
 


UpAndUnder43 said:
Some people expect him to play 50 possessions without a mistake, but don’t expect that from anyone else.

I rarely see people question Coffey who had a few abysmal possessions tonight. Or Murphy who always has a few terrible turnovers. Why do we expect Washington to be perfect and criticize him when he isn’t but don’t expect that from juniors and seniors? Makes no sense to me.
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Agree 100%


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gopherhoopsguy said:
The hate for this kid is unbelievable. He rarely turns the ball over at the toughest position on the floor. I will say it again if this team does anything this year it is only because IW is on the floor making plays. U better start cheering this kid on. Tonight he was excellent!
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Hatred may be too strong, but he does get criticized beyond reason.


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WoodburyTim said:
Bingo. I think the fans want to like this kid, but the complex relationship with Pitino on the benchings makes people assume there are more problems than there really are.
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I agree most fans want to like him. He had a very nice ovation when he checked out at one point in the 2nd half. I think most fans are knowledgeable enough to know he was the catalyst to that win. I'm not saying he is why we won but that 13-1 run was led by IW.

Side note: The last Gopher possession of the first half when he dribbled at half court for like 20 seconds then scored was exactly what HE needed.
 

Moonlight said:
I finally heard from Pitino what I have been waiting all season to hear - a little verbal support for IW's process.
Maybe he's been reading Builtbadgers's posts, because he finally remembered to talk about his growth and just being a sophomore. Up until last night, he'd done nothing to address what we all know is a problem - we all interpret players through the lens of our biases.

As cjbfpd commented, lots of people take their cue from the authority of the coach. Lets not pretend there isn't a bias of selfish streetball thug in college basketball. It has been so for a long time, and I am disappointed in Pitino for not being more aware.
And super excited that IW is showing increasing signs of finding his way.
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I think you are making some wrong assumptions about coach Pitino. Coaches have a tendency to be the hardest on the ones they expect the most from. Pitino has very big expectations of IW and he is pushing him hard to live up to it. Also, do you really think that Pitino is naive enough to not be aware of what us brilliant fans know?


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Do we have confirmation if Jelly participated in the rouser last night?

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Here's my point of view as a student (and what I believe most other students seem to agree with). IW brings a certain energy to the game that just isn't present otherwise. When he checks in, the game feels wide open. Yes, he'll occasionally make some questionable decisions, but I don't think it's much worse than Pree or Coffey- he just misses really badly sometimes. With that being said, I do think he needs to stray away from his "jelly" layup because it gets blocked 90% of the time.

While it was nice for him to have a year under Nate Mason to develop, it also came as a little bit of a curse. It allowed Pitino to work IW in with a very short leash. This counteracted IW's free-flowing style by forcing him to play tightly to avoid any mistake. This seems to have extended, to some degree, into this year. I think the only way that IW truly breaks out is if he gets quality minutes in quality games, and is given some room to breath. I worry that he's in a really tough spot given Carr's arrival for next year, but the fact that he's stuck with the team despite criticism shows that there's something there.
 

The best part last night was his ability to move the ball up the floor quickly. Early on Dupree was struggling with the smaller guard.
 

fair said:
Here's my point of view as a student (and what I believe most other students seem to agree with). IW brings a certain energy to the game that just isn't present otherwise. When he checks in, the game feels wide open. Yes, he'll occasionally make some questionable decisions, but I don't think it's much worse than Pree or Coffey- he just misses really badly sometimes. With that being said, I do think he needs to stray away from his "jelly" layup because it gets blocked 90% of the time.

While it was nice for him to have a year under Nate Mason to develop, it also came as a little bit of a curse. It allowed Pitino to work IW in with a very short leash. This counteracted IW's free-flowing style by forcing him to play tightly to avoid any mistake. This seems to have extended, to some degree, into this year. I think the only way that IW truly breaks out is if he gets quality minutes in quality games, and is given some room to breath. I worry that he's in a really tough spot given Carr's arrival for next year, but the fact that he's stuck with the team despite criticism shows that there's something there.
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I'm glad someone else pointed out how bad his misses are. At any level of basketball you can tell a good shooter by what their misses look like. When Gabe misses, they're usually in and out, rattling around the rim. When Jelly misses, it's an airball, off the backboard etc.
 



Very pleased with how IW played last night. Like a few people said before, without him the Gophers maybe make the tourney but probably are not a threat. If he develops and can be even an average to slightly above average point guard and play 25-30 minutes a night, then I think the team becomes much more dynamic offensively.
 

fair said:
While it was nice for him to have a year under Nate Mason to develop, it also came as a little bit of a curse. It allowed Pitino to work IW in with a very short leash. This counteracted IW's free-flowing style by forcing him to play tightly to avoid any mistake. This seems to have extended, to some degree, into this year. I think the only way that IW truly breaks out is if he gets quality minutes in quality games, and is given some room to breath. I worry that he's in a really tough spot given Carr's arrival for next year, but the fact that he's stuck with the team despite criticism shows that there's something there.
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Pitino has an extremely long leash, when compared to his predecessor. Indeed, we've seen free-flowing, push the ball up the floor, push the ball to the rack way more. My read is that when IW does what he is coached to do, and makes a mistake, he has no issues and the leash remains long. When he goes off-script, gets wild and strays from the game-plan and his coaching, he gets yanked. It happened during the Iowa game for sure. Pitino's head almost exploded, IW out, didn't return.
 

Jaykay said:
I'm glad someone else pointed out how bad his misses are. At any level of basketball you can tell a good shooter by what their misses look like. When Gabe misses, they're usually in and out, rattling around the rim. When Jelly misses, it's an airball, off the backboard etc.
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A miss is a miss. Zero points scored. IW had better shot selection and hit some important shots last night. It was a step up for IW.
 

Jaykay said:
I'm glad someone else pointed out how bad his misses are. At any level of basketball you can tell a good shooter by what their misses look like. When Gabe misses, they're usually in and out, rattling around the rim. When Jelly misses, it's an airball, off the backboard etc.
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Gabe had a nice airball on a corner-3 last night. IW is not a great shooter and probably never will be. We need him to be an adequate shooter from 3 and a dangerous shooter in the lane. Both are possible.
 

alchemy2u said:
I think you are making some wrong assumptions about coach Pitino. Coaches have a tendency to be the hardest on the ones they expect the most from. Pitino has very big expectations of IW and he is pushing him hard to live up to it. Also, do you really think that Pitino is naive enough to not be aware of what us brilliant fans know?


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The statement about Builtbadger was tongue in cheek.
Perhaps Pitino isnt aware of how much animosity some folks here would have about IW. You pretty much ignored the point of my post but that's fine.
 

As I have always said to my players when they complain about me yelling at them, "Worry about what I think of you and your ability when I stop yelling at you."
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
A couple times last night he was dribbling and 4 teammates watched him dribble. Didn’t set screens, didn’t move, didn’t work to post up. He can be frustrating but so can McBrayer, Murphy, Coffey, Oturu,Curry, Hurt, Stockman, Gabe, Omersa and Stull. IW is the one fans (and Pitino) love to single out.
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This. I was surprised some were criticizing him for those few possessions. What's he supposed to do, pass the ball to someone who isn't open?

If Washington can continue to get better at the mid-range game, he could be very good. Stopping and popping around the free throw line can be hard to defend when you're good at it. Wasn't Terrell Brandon really good at that when he played for the Wolves?
 

Never mention Terrell "Stop-n-Pop" Brandon again! He and McHale cost us Mr. Big Shot when we wouldn't promise him the starting spot because Brandon was coming off an injury. So, he went to Detroit and won a championship.
 

bga1 said:
Speaking of bad shots, Pitino said something interesting in the post game presser. He talked about McBrayer and Coffey having to take open threes and that they are good enough shooters to make them. He said that it makes no sense that the fear of shooting an open three makes them bull their way into a crowd of defenders in the lane and put up tougher shots. He is exactly right and it has been a concern I have had about this team. There were a few of them last night but shot selection looked better.
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I mostly agree with this. However, we are actually a poor jump-shooting team, and we have had more success bullying our way inside than shooting the three. In some of our losses, I would say coach should have STOPPED the three-point shooting and encouraged the bullying. Against Boston College we lost by 12 and shot 5-30 from three. Against Ohio State we shot 0-13 from three. When we take it to the hole, it seems to get more guys involved and active. When we get in the stand-around-and-pass-it-around-the-perimeter mode, it results in a lot of bad jacked-up threes, which isn’t our strength. Seems to me that about 10-14 three-point attempts per game is about right for this bunch, and most of those should come from Gabe, Amir and Dupree. The rest should be lunch-pail shots close-in. That’s my $0.02.


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Jaykay said:
When Gabe misses, they're usually in and out, rattling around the rim. When Jelly misses, it's an airball, off the backboard etc.
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Hmmm. I distinctly recall a game where Gabe couldn't draw iron on multiple shots.
 


fair said:
Here's my point of view as a student (and what I believe most other students seem to agree with). IW brings a certain energy to the game that just isn't present otherwise. When he checks in, the game feels wide open. Yes, he'll occasionally make some questionable decisions, but I don't think it's much worse than Pree or Coffey- he just misses really badly sometimes. With that being said, I do think he needs to stray away from his "jelly" layup because it gets blocked 90% of the time.

While it was nice for him to have a year under Nate Mason to develop, it also came as a little bit of a curse. It allowed Pitino to work IW in with a very short leash. This counteracted IW's free-flowing style by forcing him to play tightly to avoid any mistake. This seems to have extended, to some degree, into this year. I think the only way that IW truly breaks out is if he gets quality minutes in quality games, and is given some room to breath. I worry that he's in a really tough spot given Carr's arrival for next year, but the fact that he's stuck with the team despite criticism shows that there's something there.
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Agree with this. I’m not a huge fan of the really short-leash approach. He needs to play and be able to learn. When he screws up bad and you really have to get him out, pull him out for a sequence and teach on the bench and put him back out there. He needs to play. It seemed like last night he was more relaxed and enjoying himself.


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GopherJake said:
Pitino has an extremely long leash, when compared to his predecessor. Indeed, we've seen free-flowing, push the ball up the floor, push the ball to the rack way more. My read is that when IW does what he is coached to do, and makes a mistake, he has no issues and the leash remains long. When he goes off-script, gets wild and strays from the game-plan and his coaching, he gets yanked. It happened during the Iowa game for sure. Pitino's head almost exploded, IW out, didn't return.
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Good point. The yanking is likely do to straying from the game plan vs. an unsuccessful play (shot, pass, dribble). I hadn’t thought along those lines.


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Right now there is simply no one else on the team that can do this:

HM63ZAS.gif
 

touchdownvikings said:
Right now there is simply no one else on the team that can do this:

HM63ZAS.gif
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I mean other than Amir who did it several times last night (staring down the defender and hitting a shot in his face), and nearly multiple times a game. Amir doesn't do it the same way (Dribble dribble dribble), but he's hitting jumpers at free throw line extended and beyond multiple times a game this year.

If you're saying no one else on the team can face up a good defender and confidently dribble the ball without fear of steal and turning their back to the action, you are correct, we have 1 of those.
 

brucekaupa said:
Hmmm. I distinctly recall a game where Gabe couldn't draw iron on multiple shots.
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STOP IT! That doesn't fit that narrative that Washington belongs on a playground and not taking time from local white kids like Hurt!
 

I agree in theory shoot the three when open as a general strategy nowadays. But when your team is 1 player away from horrible at it, it makes much more sense to pound it inside where we get to the line, and have short misses for easy rebounds.

The best 3's and most successful are from passes inside back out or during fast breaks or delayed fast breaks. Let's shoot those and limit the others.

McBrayer and Coffey have really regressed from 3, yet we run these plays like we are happy we found them a shot from there. McBrayer is 12-38 in 10 B1G games. That's almost 4 attempts per game.
Coffey is 11-37. Not sure if McBrayer's mom passing is a part of his decline from 3 so maybe it will return as he did shoot 41% last year. Not sure I need him putting up 4 per game trying to find out.

When coffey shoots and misses a three, all the defensive players are saying thank you.




Bordergopher said:
I mostly agree with this. However, we are actually a poor jump-shooting team, and we have had more success bullying our way inside than shooting the three. In some of our losses, I would say coach should have STOPPED the three-point shooting and encouraged the bullying. Against Boston College we lost by 12 and shot 5-30 from three. Against Ohio State we shot 0-13 from three. When we take it to the hole, it seems to get more guys involved and active. When we get in the stand-around-and-pass-it-around-the-perimeter mode, it results in a lot of bad jacked-up threes, which isn’t our strength. Seems to me that about 10-14 three-point attempts per game is about right for this bunch, and most of those should come from Gabe, Amir and Dupree. The rest should be lunch-pail shots close-in. That’s my $0.02.


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