Looking ahead to next year

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thebarnsback

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With all of the doom and gloom negativity that will transpire after a loss to a really good Gators squad, I still have a lot of optimism for next year.

-Obviously we will miss Trevor Mbakwe's rebounding and toughness inside, as well as his scoring.
-Rodney was just too inconsistent and he never really gives us the inside scoring that we needed.
-Neither of these guys are back to the basketball players and IMO are not great fits while playing together.
-With both of them gone I feel that it opens up the lane for our slashers and could honestly benefit us. The lane seems awfully clogged all year long and with them gone, the mantra of our team will change. Our guards will have more space to drive and will open up our "outside shooters."

I know I will be in the minority but I feel that losing Trev and Rod may actually not be as bad as people make it out to be. What did RW do this season for the gophers? I cant remember one game in the B10 season that he won for us, or even played a key role. He good in an up and down blow out game versus teams like American. Other than that, he really didnt really provide much to the team.

Dre Hollins could be in the running for 1st team all B10. It will now be 'his team' to lead and takeover. I like the thought of that, and with him and Austin in the backcourt together for another year, we could have one of the best in the conference.

The starting lineup could look something like

Dre
Austin
Joe
Buggs/Foster
EE

We will be able to go deeper next year and will be able to run an array of different guard lineups out there with Ellis, Wally, and Mav coming off the bench.

The Big Ten will lose a lot next year and will not be as hard on us as it was this year. IU, Mich, Wisc, Mich, and OSU are all losing a key player or two. However, Purdue, Iowa, and even Nebraska will be tougher next season.


The success of the team really hinges on the development of the new guys. If Buggs, Ellis, and Wally can step into roles right away and be productive, it will help us tremendously.

Thoughts?
 


Asking a Sophomore that hardly played, a red-shirt freshman and 2 other freshmen to be big contributors is asking way too much.

This team next year will be worse defensively and have a harder time scoring than they did at times this season.
 

I am already excited for next year, in combination of sad for the seniors.

I hope this losing feeling sinks in with everyone and they find some way to put a lot of work in this offseason.

Ill volunteer to drive them and use Lifetime guest passes for court time, although not sure if that is a violation or not.

I am excited for Buggs and Wally. As well as Foster and Ellis. Curious too what happens with our coaching situation and recruiting there. Going to be a fun off season and more drama for Gopher Basketvall.
 

thebarnsback said:
With all of the doom and gloom negativity that will transpire after a loss to a really good Gators squad, I still have a lot of optimism for next year.

-Obviously we will miss Trevor Mbakwe's rebounding and toughness inside, as well as his scoring.
-Rodney was just too inconsistent and he never really gives us the inside scoring that we needed.
-Neither of these guys are back to the basketball players and IMO are not great fits while playing together.
-With both of them gone I feel that it opens up the lane for our slashers and could honestly benefit us. The lane seems awfully clogged all year long and with them gone, the mantra of our team will change. Our guards will have more space to drive and will open up our "outside shooters."

I know I will be in the minority but I feel that losing Trev and Rod may actually not be as bad as people make it out to be. What did RW do this season for the gophers? I cant remember one game in the B10 season that he won for us, or even played a key role. He good in an up and down blow out game versus teams like American. Other than that, he really didnt really provide much to the team.

Dre Hollins could be in the running for 1st team all B10. It will now be 'his team' to lead and takeover. I like the thought of that, and with him and Austin in the backcourt together for another year, we could have one of the best in the conference.

The starting lineup could look something like

Dre
Austin
Joe
Buggs/Foster
EE

We will be able to go deeper next year and will be able to run an array of different guard lineups out there with Ellis, Wally, and Mav coming off the bench.

The Big Ten will lose a lot next year and will not be as hard on us as it was this year. IU, Mich, Wisc, Mich, and OSU are all losing a key player or two. However, Purdue, Iowa, and even Nebraska will be tougher next season.


The success of the team really hinges on the development of the new guys. If Buggs, Ellis, and Wally can step into roles right away and be productive, it will help us tremendously.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Hire the guy at FGC. Have you been watching? They can actually shoot and pass the ball.
 


We had our window.

Now it's passed.

And we screwed the pooch.

This is not difficult.
 

You didn't mention the new head coach. :rolleyes:
 

Help us Charles Buggs, you're our only hope. (Princess Leia voice)
 

I'm with you barnsback. I don't think there will be a major dropoff at all. In fact I think whoever the coach is will be able to put more shooters on the floor. A lot depends on off season development:

Coleman needs to find a jump shot
Mo needs to lose 30 pounds
Buggs has to add some muscle and pounds
Ellis needs to be an impact player
Foster needs to be able to provide some PF minutes and rebound the ball

If those things happen - I think we will be better than this year. Rodney just didn't have a real good year, so the major deal is just to be a respectable rebounding team minus Mbakwe.
 




Next year will not be as bad as many think.But we have to get a ball handling guard in here. Ellis may help but these turnovers can't continue. It's too bad Ingram didn't have another year because we could use a guy like him on the team too. Why he never played much until the end of both years he was here is beyond me. Oto and Maverik should be told to leave.
 

Dre, Austin and EE will all probably play in the NBA someday. Wally and Buggs are ready for roles, and Ellis may well be the best of the 3. I'm going to watch next year.
 

Personally I am looking forward to next year. Dre, Austin, and Coleman will all be a year better. EE showed some promise and Mo had a few brief glimpses. I'm excited to see Buggs, because he seems to have worked hard in his redshirt year. I predict that we ride Dre to another appearance in the tournament with a 50/50 chance of a first round win.
 



I am an optimist by nature. Always have been. Start the countdown to next season now!
 

bga1 said:
I'm with you barnsback. I don't think there will be a major dropoff at all. In fact I think whoever the coach is will be able to put more shooters on the floor. A lot depends on off season development:

Coleman needs to find a jump shot
Mo needs to lose 30 pounds
Buggs has to add some muscle and pounds
Ellis needs to be an impact player
Foster needs to be able to provide some PF minutes and rebound the ball

If those things happen - I think we will be better than this year. Rodney just didn't have a real good year, so the major deal is just to be a respectable rebounding team minus Mbakwe.
Click to expand...


I doubt Coleman will find his jump shot.

My hope is we sign Thomas as a juco to help provide some minutes at forward.

Need:

Mo to lose weight and get stronger

Elliot to get stronger and gain confidence

Wally to feel comfortable with a full year to play and hope he can provide the jump shot Coleman is missing as they share minutes

Ellis has to come on and shoulder a huge responsibility as the third guard. Hopefully he is starting by start of big ten season

Buggs has to fill the role at forward and have a much better jumper than we have seen from that position.

Only player we don't have replacement for his Mbakwe. And yes that is a huge hole.

Starters

Hollins
Hollins
Ellis
Buggs
Eliason

Bench

Coleman
Ellenson
Foster
Big Mo
Kevin Thomas ( maybe)
Mav


Not much of a drop off from this year at every position other than Mbakwe. And again that is a huge drop off that I suspect could make or break next season. ( can someone step up). Not sure there is enough muscle there to handle the pounding in the big ten. Foster will have to shock the world.
 

JMWZ said:
Personally I am looking forward to next year. Dre, Austin, and Coleman will all be a year better. EE showed some promise and Mo had a few brief glimpses. I'm excited to see Buggs, because he seems to have worked hard in his redshirt year. I predict that we ride Dre to another appearance in the tournament with a 50/50 chance of a first round win.
Click to expand...

That's the way I see it also.
 

bga1 said:
I'm with you barnsback. I don't think there will be a major dropoff at all. In fact I think whoever the coach is will be able to put more shooters on the floor. A lot depends on off season development:

Coleman needs to find a jump shot
Mo needs to lose 30 pounds
Buggs has to add some muscle and pounds
Ellis needs to be an impact player
Foster needs to be able to provide some PF minutes and rebound the ball

If those things happen - I think we will be better than this year. Rodney just didn't have a real good year, so the major deal is just to be a respectable rebounding team minus Mbakwe.
Click to expand...

No major drop-off given that we'll have no PF, backup PF or backup C!!!
 

I think a lot of where this team goes next season depends on the type of offseason that Elliot Eliason has. Usually with developmental bigs, you hope to expect some degree of a leap going into their junior season and this is right where he's at. If he's going to be playing substantially more minutes, he's going to have to change the way he plays some of that gritty, hustle type of play we like from him - he gets far too many cheap fouls. It's also time to find out if he's ever going to add any modicum of offense to his game and if Moe can get serious enough about putting the work in to contribute anything meaningful. It's hard not to be excited about the idea of Dre and Austin continuing to improve together but can they carry the whole team? They could probably get away with it in most of the non-conference schedule, but it won't work for long. With our current lack of jump shooters and the loss of our post game, it scares me to wonder where we're going to find any points in and near the paint. Someone (Charles Buggs??) is going to have to step up from out of obscurity.
 

Studwell55 said:
We had our window.

Now it's passed.

And we screwed the pooch.

This is not difficult.
Click to expand...

I think this is spot on. Minnesota simply doesn't get that many chances to make a big run. This year's team was clearly talented enough to be a factor in the Big 10 and they underachieved. Much like the year with Royce White, the team had a big opportunity and they blew it.

It amazes me that people have changed their tune after the Gophers beat UCLA. UCLA is also a team that underachieved and had just lost one of their best players. That game shouldn't change anyone's opinion on the Gophers season and shouldn't change anyone's opinion on Tubby.
 

I hope Ellis can actually provide some scoring off the bench and if he does we should be solid.
 

I am interested to see the progress of the young players next year. With that being said, the Gophers will likely be picked no higher than 10th with the returning roster. I thougth the Gophers would finish in the top 4 this season and they finished tied for 7th with two other teams. It is very difficult to be optimistic about next years team.
 

Heber said:
I think this is spot on. Minnesota simply doesn't get that many chances to make a big run. This year's team was clearly talented enough to be a factor in the Big 10 and they underachieved. Much like the year with Royce White, the team had a big opportunity and they blew it.

It amazes me that people have changed their tune after the Gophers beat UCLA. UCLA is also a team that underachieved and had just lost one of their best players. That game shouldn't change anyone's opinion on the Gophers season and shouldn't change anyone's opinion on Tubby.
Click to expand...

I agree that we missed a big opportunity this year and it was a big disappointment. The UCLA win wasn't a big time win but it was a nicer win than some are making it out to be as well. They still had a lot of talent on the floor and we crushed them.
 

Barnsback, I appreciate looking forward as well.

1. Coaching: It's not just a fire and hire issue; (a) stick with Tubby, fine tune the assistants and assure we have a master recruiter join the staff; but it will have to be clear among AD's office and Tubby's staff that they have to recruit the big three like there's no tomorrow; and have a shovel in the ground date for a practice facility; time for the MN fortune 500s and those buck alum to see what this program can accomplish if they donate and ACT NOW; (b) or lock up Flip, who would be the only alternative coaching option who would listen with MN's current practice facility vacuum; (c) S. Smart won't listen to us unless he feels assured there WILL BE A PRACTICE FACILITY. Purposeful decisions must be made quickly.

The entire decision process should be made with the focus being this once in a generation opportunity to keep a minimum of 2 of the big MN 3.

2. Next Year:

Dre (true team leader who should play 35 mpg) (Can he average 17?)
Austin/Wally (can they average 18 between them???)
Joe/Ellis (I think he can be a significant contributor as a freshman) (can they average 15 between them?)
Buggs (Let's hope he's as good as some believe he will be; a more inside/outside version of Rodney)/Foster (he will need to rebound and play D) (can they average 10 between them??)
EE (potential to be a fine B1G center, particularly if he can get stronger); MO (Don't write him off yet) (can they average 10 between them?)

PPG predictions are pretty optimal.

It's a team that will need contributions from younger players and players stepping into starter's roles. Right now hard to see it as a anything more than a 5-9 win B1G team, unless really coached up.
 

thebarnsback said:
We will be able to go deeper next year
Click to expand...

I really believe a big part of our problem this year was exactly that. We went to deep into the bench instead of playing a consistent rotation of 8 and letting the players get into the flow of the game.
 

GophersInIowa said:
I agree that we missed a big opportunity this year and it was a big disappointment. The UCLA win wasn't a big time win but it was a nicer win than some are making it out to be as well. They still had a lot of talent on the floor and we crushed them.
Click to expand...

To me beating UCLA would have been the equivalent of beating Illinois in the Big Ten tournament
 


I think they will have two good players - Hollins and Hollins, and a bunch of role players. Unless Dre becomes a dominant player I predict a bottom third finish and Tubs will be fired then. Its his fault the roster is pretty void of talent. I do agree losing Williams is not a giant loss, but Trevor will really hurt IMO.
 

If Tubby is coaching they'll be 4-14 in the BIG....maybe 10-21 overall.
 

Buggs/Foster are the key to me. If they (perhaps with Otto contributing something) can fill the 4 spot, I think we can be at least as good as this year. Maybe not in terms of the ceiling, but in terms of overall record.
 


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