Johnson on what Payne needs to do to get more PT: We talked to him about having a dominant mindset...to be confident that when you're in there.

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Roland Brooks said:
TT should not be feeding the low post. Do those passes that hit off the back count as shots??
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I think the high low offset with TT is what makes him valuable. It opened up the middle for Garcia and Battle to operate. Instilling that in Payne's game would help the Goph's. TT hasn't been doing it much if at all this year. He did it a lot last year. As Carrington's offense improves you don't need that much scoring from the 5.
 

MNJay said:
Wow...all of a sudden, out of nowhere...many are agreeing with me on playing the freshmen.

Just as of yesterday, everyone was screaming for more transfers.
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No, just that he is the best out of all of them(freshmen) and getting the least minutes. Makes no sense.
 


MNJay said:
You guys are entitled to your opinion that we should have more transfer guards. But there's no consistency...you suddenly like it when Carrington does well. I say wait until we develop what we have before adding transfers.
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Either way there isn't a Big Ten caliber point guard on the roster. I like what Cooper does, but he is a middle to bottom tier B1G guy. My hope is the kid from Illinois can come in and be really good, but either way, I think they need 1 or more guards, at least 1 of which can run the point out of the portal to put with this group.
 

Go Gophs said:
Either way there isn't a Big Ten caliber point guard on the roster. I like what Cooper does, but he is a middle to bottom tier B1G guy. My hope is the kid from Illinois can come in and be really good, but either way, I think they need 1 or more guards, at least 1 of which can run the point out of the portal to put with this group.
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I know we need a PG.

Not to be a broken record...it's just that I don't want to bring in upperclassmen transfers until we develop what we have.

I'm big on lining things up. Having a full team at all positions...very good players all ready to go...all on the same team. NOT 'balancing the classes' and always coming up short of being great.
 


Holf2 said:
Ben has done this to Payne. Payne should have been starting all year. There hasn’t been a question about this. How can you not reward your hardest working player. Him starting TT for first part of the season simply cannot to justified. If Payne is now struggling w confidence, it’s 1000% Ben’s creation. He’s whittled away at his confidence all year and he’s now victim blaming. Ben, you are the problem here. Recognize that Cooper is NOT a pg and doesn’t have the ability to facilitate an offense at this level. That’s why Payne can’t get the ball. He fights like hell down low (and certainly there’s room for improvement but not primary issue) but it’s nearly always wasted effort cuz Johnson hasn’t figured out how to calibrate the offense properly to deliver the ball where/when it needs to go. I thought a light had finally went on when I saw Samuels in the starting lineup last game, but then Ben still had Cooper running point. Why on earth would you start Samuels and have him play off the ball (where he effectively ends up standing in the corner and we’re playing 4 on 5). Very clear that Carrington needs to be the starting pg, especially if we’re heading into same scenario next year (is Cooper here next year?). Either way, it should be abundantly clear by now that the primary issue is a lack of a facilitator to initiate an offense (this ball screen that we keep running for Cooper is completely asinine - it produces nothing) and Cooper is simply too limited to handle it (he can’t dribble facing the basket with ball pressure). He would be much more effective playing off the ball and taking more 3s. And Carrington is clearly our most viable option. This would enable offensive movement, open things up, and allow the ball to get delivered to Garcia/Payne/JOJ. None of this should be difficult to interpret. I just think Ben is afraid to put Cooper and Garcia in their place. That’s on him. That’s leadership. I so want him to succeed, but he needs to get out of his and the teams way.
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Wait, what??

Cooper has flaws for sure, in particular on defense, but he’s 7th in the country at 6.7 assists a game, and a lot of the times when our offense stalls, the only way we finally get something going is because Cooper made a play on a pick and roll.

Carrington has shown nothing to me that he’s a point guard. His best game came last night when he was able to catch and shoot off the ball.

Maybe I’m seeing different things than other people, but Cooper has looked like our best offensive player by far, and is one of the best passers I can remember seeing in a gopher uniform. Saying that he isn’t a point guard seems absurd to me.
 

MNJay said:
I know we need a PG.

Not to be a broken record...it's just that I don't want to bring in upperclassmen transfers until we develop what we have.

I'm big on lining things up. Having a full team at all positions...very good players all ready to go...all on the same team. NOT 'balancing the classes' and always coming up short of being great.
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MNJay- There are two things all of these kids want. They want to play and they want to win. If someone can offer them both. The best ones stay in your program. If you offer only playing time, the worse ones stay and the best leave, confident that they can get to play anywhere.

If our team is short of a winning PG next year, then it is malpractice not to go get one from the transfer market if we can. Winning sooner is the best assurance for winning long term
 


bga1 said:
MNJay- There are two things all of these kids want. They want to play and they want to win. If someone can offer them both. The best ones stay in your program. If you offer only playing time, the worse ones stay and the best leave, confident that they can get to play anywhere.

If our team is short of a winning PG next year, then it is malpractice not to go get one from the transfer market if we can. Winning sooner is the best assurance for winning long term
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No. 2-3 years of losing will bring winning basketball back to the barn.
 



MNJay said:
Lots of D1 coaches in here.

Payne was getting minutes every game...and all the talk here was about needing more transfers. Payne doesn't get minutes 1 game...and everyone's outraged.

Very few in here are consistent. It's just complaining about different things, game by game.
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I have noticed the kineseo tape on Paynes left shoulder. Against MSU there was only two strips. Last night they had more tape on. The trainers must be attempting to stabilize his shoulder area for some reason. I wonder if part of his lower minutes have to do with an injury.
 

MNJay said:
Yeah maybe this was simply a good game to develop TT a little.

I like to focus on the freshmen of course. But yeah, we do have to give TT some minutes.
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We have to inject him with steroids and get him to love banging down low. Get him to keep the ball up high instead of dropping it down to 5 feet when he possesses it.
The kid has some skills, but he needs a lot of practice.
 

skyman31 said:
Wait, what??

Cooper has flaws for sure, in particular on defense, but he’s 7th in the country at 6.7 assists a game, and a lot of the times when our offense stalls, the only way we finally get something going is because Cooper made a play on a pick and roll.

Carrington has shown nothing to me that he’s a point guard. His best game came last night when he was able to catch and shoot off the ball.

Maybe I’m seeing different things than other people, but Cooper has looked like our best offensive player by far, and is one of the best passers I can remember seeing in a gopher uniform. Saying that he isn’t a point guard seems absurd to me.
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Excellent post!
 




bga1 said:
MNJay- There are two things all of these kids want. They want to play and they want to win. If someone can offer them both. The best ones stay in your program. If you offer only playing time, the worse ones stay and the best leave, confident that they can get to play anywhere.

If our team is short of a winning PG next year, then it is malpractice not to go get one from the transfer market if we can. Winning sooner is the best assurance for winning long term
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Yes, when we're 1 player away from winning big...then bring in an upperclassmen transfer.

But it seems to me that the best route to go is developing our young players first.
 


MNJay said:
Yes, when we're 1 player away from winning big...then bring in an upperclassmen transfer.

But it seems to me that the best route to go is developing our young players first.
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Next year we will be one really good player away. A really good, speedy point guard. I have said all along this team has good talent but a badly constructed roster at the guard spot. Cooper would look really good in a 6th man combo guard situation. Christie is going to help. Fox and Ihnen are going to help. Evans will help, Payne is going to be terrific. That's why it is important to win, enough this year to convince that guy that we are almost there.
 

bga1 said:
Next year we will be one really good player away. A really good, speedy point guard. I have said all along this team has good talent but a badly constructed roster at the guard spot. Cooper would look really good in a 6th man combo guard situation. Christie is going to help. Fox and Ihnen are going to help. Evans will help, Payne is going to be terrific. That's why it is important to win, enough this year to convince that guy that we are almost there.
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Yeah...let's see how things are looking at the end of the year.

I'm aiming for the Clem model. But if Battle & Garcia are looking good and returning...I'm good with adding a transfer and going for it next year.
 

I’d say PP already has a dominant mindset. Maybe more dominant than many of his teammates. “Play me or keep me”.
 

Holf2 said:
Ben has done this to Payne. Payne should have been starting all year. There hasn’t been a question about this. How can you not reward your hardest working player. Him starting TT for first part of the season simply cannot to justified. If Payne is now struggling w confidence, it’s 1000% Ben’s creation. He’s whittled away at his confidence all year and he’s now victim blaming. Ben, you are the problem here. Recognize that Cooper is NOT a pg and doesn’t have the ability to facilitate an offense at this level. That’s why Payne can’t get the ball. He fights like hell down low (and certainly there’s room for improvement but not primary issue) but it’s nearly always wasted effort cuz Johnson hasn’t figured out how to calibrate the offense properly to deliver the ball where/when it needs to go. I thought a light had finally went on when I saw Samuels in the starting lineup last game, but then Ben still had Cooper running point. Why on earth would you start Samuels and have him play off the ball (where he effectively ends up standing in the corner and we’re playing 4 on 5). Very clear that Carrington needs to be the starting pg, especially if we’re heading into same scenario next year (is Cooper here next year?). Either way, it should be abundantly clear by now that the primary issue is a lack of a facilitator to initiate an offense (this ball screen that we keep running for Cooper is completely asinine - it produces nothing) and Cooper is simply too limited to handle it (he can’t dribble facing the basket with ball pressure). He would be much more effective playing off the ball and taking more 3s. And Carrington is clearly our most viable option. This would enable offensive movement, open things up, and allow the ball to get delivered to Garcia/Payne/JOJ. None of this should be difficult to interpret. I just think Ben is afraid to put Cooper and Garcia in their place. That’s on him. That’s leadership. I so want him to succeed, but he needs to get out of his and the teams way.
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Start Carrington at PG. I've seen it all. Never change GH
 

Part of the problem with the turnovers and bad passes is where they are trying to make the pass from. The easiest entry to the post is from the wings. I was taught that at a very young age in my basketball career. Hell I made a living off of it. Averaged close to 10 assists my senior year that way. We are trying to throw it over the top from the top of the key. Get the ball to the wing and allow Payne to get that guy on his hip, the pass will be way easier and more likely to connect. Then when the D collapses from the wing then you can kick it out. If the double doesn’t come then Payne can make his move. If he has established good position, he can score at will I think. He is the perfect build to make it happen. He works hard down there but if you don’t make the pass or make a bad pass it can be very frustrating.
 

MennoSota said:
Well, clearly you're an established D1 coach so you certainly know best...😏
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I am with MennoSota. There are a some of us, me and MennoSota included, that have been watching and quite frankly not seeing what the problem is. Criticism, or even discussion for that matter, is hardly warranted given the results on the court this year.
 

Go Gophs said:
Either way there isn't a Big Ten caliber point guard on the roster. I like what Cooper does, but he is a middle to bottom tier B1G guy. My hope is the kid from Illinois can come in and be really good, but either way, I think they need 1 or more guards, at least 1 of which can run the point out of the portal to put with this group.
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Couldn't disagree more, I think Cooper is definitely a B1G point guard, and mid to upper tier at that. He does everything quite well for a point guard except for making free throws.

He Averages:
Points 10.9 #36 in B1G
Rebounds 3.8 #45 in B1G
Assists 6.7 #2 in B1G
Assist/TO 2.6 #5 in B1G
Steals 1.3 #15 in B1G
Blocks 1 #20 in B1G
FG% 0.474 #32 in B1G
3PT% 0.530 #1 in B1G
FT% 0.512 #36 of only 38 ranked in B1G:sneaky:
 

3 Random Things:
Cooper is shooting a higher % from 3 than he is from the free throw line. Which direction we going?
Carrington was 4 of 7 from 3 last time out vs PB to get to 29%.
Payne and Ola Joseph are clearly our two hardest workers, yet they played the least minutes and got publicly criticized by the coach. Hmmm
 

MNJay said:
Lots of D1 coaches in here.

Payne was getting minutes every game...and all the talk here was about needing more transfers. Payne doesn't get minutes 1 game...and everyone's outraged.

Very few in here are consistent. It's just complaining about different things, game by game.
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You have to admit it is a little strange that you need D1 head coaching experience to comment on Gopher basketball on Gopherhole, but do not need D1 head coaching experience to actually coach the Gophers.:unsure:
 

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