Looking ahead to next year

[Blackhammer]

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.

Austin and Wally grouped together? Wally has showed zip so far. Our team next year will be built aroung Dre and Austin. Wish we had two guards to go with them. Ellis could be one. Would love to use Dre at the two more but to do so we need someone to play some point. No,not Maverik.

 

[bemidjigopher]

I actually think will be decent next year probably around what we were this year, only expectations won't be as high. Unlike this year where it wasn't clear I think the Hollins boys will be the clear leaders of the team and with another year of seasoning. Coleman will probably get more touches in the offense now that Rodney is gone, they were essentially the same player. Losing Mbakwe will hurt, but in all honesty he may have been the most Jeckel and hyde out of them all. EE will be fine in the starting line up. I think Wally, Buggs, Ellis and Foster can be solid bench players. The x factor will be can MO get in better shape, he'll be another year removed from knee surgery so that should help in his off season workouts. Unless we bring in a JUCO the 4 will probably be a commitee thing between Buggs, Oto and Foster, or maybe Tubby will use both EE and Mo with the three guards.

 

[gopherMD]

How will the Gophers fare in the B1G is the real question. Hard to see them being clearly better than anyone. Penn St gets Frazier back. NU gets Crawford and Cobb back. Most teams have better recruiting classes. I hope Buggs and Ellis turn out to be stars but am not betting the farm on next year's team finishing better than 9th.

 

[Blackhammer]

I actually think will be decent next year probably around what we were this year, only expectations won't be as high. Unlike this year where it wasn't clear I think the Hollins boys will be the clear leaders of the team and with another year of seasoning. Coleman will probably get more touches in the offense now that Rodney is gone, they were essentially the same player. Losing Mbakwe will hurt, but in all honesty he may have been the most Jeckel and hyde out of them all. EE will be fine in the starting line up. I think Wally, Buggs, Ellis and Foster can be solid bench players. The x factor will be can MO get in better shape, he'll be another year removed from knee surgery so that should help in his off season workouts. Unless we bring in a JUCO the 4 will probably be a commitee thing between Buggs, Oto and Foster, or maybe Tubby will use both EE and Mo with the three guards.

One though, plain and simple Coleman is not a guard or a perimeter player. He is a four. With him starting we have a wing that can't shoot or handle,who at times gets swallowed up inside by bigger players when he drives. He is a decent role player. But the floor shrinks with him as a wing on offense.

 

[howieramone]

One though, plain and simple Coleman is not a guard or a perimeter player. He is a four. With him starting we have a wing that can't shoot or handle,who at times gets swallowed up inside by bigger players when he drives. He is a decent role player. But the floor shrinks with him as a wing on offense.

I don't know if it will be Wally or Ellis, but I would guess Coleman gets beat out at some point next year. I see him as the 6th man.

 

[westcoastgopher11]

Much different kind of team but I think they can be pretty good.

Hopefully we have more quality depth behind Hollins/Hollins/Coleman.

Front court will be different looking, its all going to depend on whether or not Eliason/Walker/Buggs develops.

I can't see Oto contributing but I hope I'm wrong.

This team could be as good record wise as this year's squad or pretty close to it. If someone in the front court steps forward and some tweaks are made they could improve on this year's performance.

 

[Sparlimb]

We had our window.

Now it's passed.

And we screwed the pooch.

This is not difficult.

That doesn't count as optimistic...

 

[Winasota Gopher]

If the turn the ball over at the same rate don't expect any major swings forward... I predict a tied for 9th ( ) type season if we are 15+ to/ game.

 

[Becky Vadger]

I see huge trouble for us next year. That is why I wanted to see us accomplish so much more this season.

With defenses not being occupied with Trevor (or even Rodney), the Hollinses are going to find easy shots even tougher to get. Plus, you have to figure Tubby will still want our guards to feed the ball down low, even though they won't have much to feed it to.

Austin and Dre will hit enough shots for us to win some games, but I see another bottom half of the B1G finish, maybe winning as few as 3 or 4 games in conference.

 

[EG#9]

I agree with most of the posts in this thread in that next year does not shape up well. My guess is that the Gophers will be picked to finish 9th in the league by most outlets (ahead of Northwestern, Nebraska, and PSU). What's scary is that we've now had 3 consecutive seasons where the Gophers have finished lower (usually significantly lower) than the preseason consensus.

The guard play should be solid, but this team was kind of soft for the Big Ten WITH Mbakwe and Ingram...I don't see anyone grabbing tough rebounds for next years team. If Tubby were to come back (different topic, but sort of relevant here), would he try to use both open scholarships on JUCO's to try to save his job?

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

Next year is going to be an interesting team. We are essentially going to be returning our team that made the NIT run, except Rodney Williams.

A lot of our success is going to depend upon is any of our younger wings can develop into threats. We need someone to space the floor with Austin and Dre. It seems like Ellis is more of a combo type player (am I wrong to get a Joe Coleman vibe from him?), so if Wally or dare I say Oto can consistantly knock down some shots, I think we'll be fine. I would actually expect us to finish around 8-10 again.

 

[matt]

Until I see otherwise, I'm going to assume Buggs will be a stud for us.

He's probably the guy I'm most excited to see next year. He looks very athletic, he can shoot, and he should get a good amount of minutes next year. I think the biggest question with him though is if he can bang around down low and defend the 4.

 

[matt]

Next year is going to be an interesting team. We are essentially going to be returning our team that made the NIT run, except Rodney Williams.

I hadn't thought of it that way. With an extra year of experience and 2 offseasons that NIT team should be able to improve on a 6-12 record by a couple games. Add in what Buggs, Ellenson, and the new guys could bring to the table, and it might improve even more.

But hey, Tubby will probably find a way to take this team 12-6 and totally redeem himself.

 

[BuckyGopher]

Get the coach from VCU, if not him grab Flip...if not flip, take a chance on a younger up and comer coach such as the Robert Morris coach or the Florida Gulf Coast coach. Go small and talented:

Dre
Ellis
Austin
Coleman
EE

Bench:
Oto, Wally, Mo, Mav, and sign a true pg or juco 4 man.

Not the most talented Team in the history of Gopher basketball but they definitely have potential. A new young coach plus this team, will give us fans something to look forward to. I really feel that Ellis will be a stud and obviously dre and Austin are extremely talented. EE is very underrated plus a couple of good recruits and Gopher basketball will be in the top 25 within in a couple of years.

 

[MadtownGopher]

Next year is going to be an interesting team. We are essentially going to be returning our team that made the NIT run, except Rodney Williams.

A lot of our success is going to depend upon is any of our younger wings can develop into threats. We need someone to space the floor with Austin and Dre. It seems like Ellis is more of a combo type player (am I wrong to get a Joe Coleman vibe from him?), so if Wally or dare I say Oto can consistantly knock down some shots, I think we'll be fine. I would actually expect us to finish around 8-10 again.

I like your NIT observation, but you are pretty far off on the Ellis/Coleman comparison. Ellis is a much better shooter and ball handler. So much so that I believe Ellis will essentially be our 3rd PG next year. He should also be one of our better long range shooters.

 

[Winasota Gopher]

I like your NIT observation, but you are pretty far off on the Ellis/Coleman comparison. Ellis is a much better shooter and ball handler. So much so that I believe Ellis will essentially be our 3rd PG next year. He should also be one of our better long range shooters.

That nit team never played in the big 10

 

[howieramone]

I like your NIT observation, but you are pretty far off on the Ellis/Coleman comparison. Ellis is a much better shooter and ball handler. So much so that I believe Ellis will essentially be our 3rd PG next year. He should also be one of our better long range shooters.

+1

 

[cncmin]

I can't see the team doing that much worse than they did this year. They lose the following:

Mbakwe
Rodney
Welch
Ingram

Of those, Mbakwe is the only one that will be hard to replace. And while that's a very big hole, the fact of the matter is that Mbakwe was not an offensive force this year. Probably never fully recovered from his knee injury. He also didn't box out very well on the defensive end. But he brought a lot of good things to the team that will be difficult to replace.

Rodney, Welch, and Ingram brought very little to the team this year. Ingram brought hustle, Welch brought a decent backup guard game, and Rodney's lack of a quality year probably was the ultimate key to the Gophers' relative failure this year. Defenses rarely had to concern themselves with guarding him, and he didn't really excel on the defensive end either.

Dre and Austin should carry the team, but don't count out Coleman. I like Joe's game, as long as he's being aggressive. And perhaps heading into his junior year he takes those reigns. He can get to the hoop and finish like no one else on the team, and he must do more of that. His jumper was significantly improved this year as well. EE will bring a solid rebounding, passing, and interior defensive game. If he can get more confident and figure out some consistent moves on the offensive end, he could be a game-changer.

So we have 4 pieces of a solid puzzle. Who steps up to be that main 5th player? Unknowns: Buggs, Wally, Ellis. I'd look for one of those 3 to step it up. Will Oto improve his game?

In years past, we've often looked at players going into an offseason as nobodies. Everyone was down on Al Nolen his first couple of years. Hoffarber didn't get much attention as a recruit. Damian Johnson was considered to be downright terrible by many here. Spencer was often looked down upon. And yet, just using those guys as relatively recent examples, they all surprised us as significant contributors. And then there was Dre...when that class came in everyone said that his recruiting class wasn't much. Sound familiar?

I agree that the team isn't poised to win the B1G next year or even to make a serious run at the top. However, another trip to the NCAA's is not as far away as most of this board is making it out to be. A couple players who add the most fundamental of skills: better passing, better boxing out, better court awareness - could do wonders for this team. Only need a couple of things to go our way (for once). A decent amount of success should really not be that far away.

 

[howieramone]

I can't see the team doing that much worse than they did this year. They lose the following:

Mbakwe
Rodney
Welch
Ingram

Of those, Mbakwe is the only one that will be hard to replace. And while that's a very big hole, the fact of the matter is that Mbakwe was not an offensive force this year. Probably never fully recovered from his knee injury. He also didn't box out very well on the defensive end. But he brought a lot of good things to the team that will be difficult to replace.

Rodney, Welch, and Ingram brought very little to the team this year. Ingram brought hustle, Welch brought a decent backup guard game, and Rodney's lack of a quality year probably was the ultimate key to the Gophers' relative failure this year. Defenses rarely had to concern themselves with guarding him, and he didn't really excel on the defensive end either.

Dre and Austin should carry the team, but don't count out Coleman. I like Joe's game, as long as he's being aggressive. And perhaps heading into his junior year he takes those reigns. He can get to the hoop and finish like no one else on the team, and he must do more of that. His jumper was significantly improved this year as well. EE will bring a solid rebounding, passing, and interior defensive game. If he can get more confident and figure out some consistent moves on the offensive end, he could be a game-changer.

So we have 4 pieces of a solid puzzle. Who steps up to be that main 5th player? Unknowns: Buggs, Wally, Ellis. I'd look for one of those 3 to step it up. Will Oto improve his game?

In years past, we've often looked at players going into an offseason as nobodies. Everyone was down on Al Nolen his first couple of years. Hoffarber didn't get much attention as a recruit. Damian Johnson was considered to be downright terrible by many here. Spencer was often looked down upon. And yet, just using those guys as relatively recent examples, they all surprised us as significant contributors. And then there was Dre...when that class came in everyone said that his recruiting class wasn't much. Sound familiar?

I agree that the team isn't poised to win the B1G next year or even to make a serious run at the top. However, another trip to the NCAA's is not as far away as most of this board is making it out to be. A couple players who add the most fundamental of skills: better passing, better boxing out, better court awareness - could do wonders for this team. Only need a couple of things to go our way (for once). A decent amount of success should really not be that far away.

+1

 

[Pewterschmidt]

Anything low post-related will be a train wreck. It will be one of the biggest weaknesses of any BCS team in the country. I like everyone's roster in the B1G next year better than the Gophers with the exception of Penn St and possibly Nebraska. I think they'll finish no better than 9th with a decent chance at finishing 11th. Mo and EE can't even combine to play 40 minutes because of conditioning and foul trouble issues and they're giagantic liabilities on the floor to begin with and THEY'RE THE BEST BIGS ON NEXT YEAR'S SQUAD!!!!

The idea that at least 80 minutes each game will come from Mo, EE, Foster, Buggs, and Oto should be frightening to all Gopher fans.

 

[jovs]

Where will the scoring come from next year, Dre is the only consistant scorer, hopefully Austin has a good year, without the athleticism this team had next year could be a nightmare, I hope for 7-11 or 6-12, I'm thinking it could be a 3 or 4 win year.

 

[WorkingMyTailOff]

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.

The UCLA and Florida game helped me understand this season better. I don't think this team underachieved as much as I did before the tournament. All of the good teams had bad losses like the Gophers did this year. It's how college basketball was this year and will probably be going forward (parity). Talent wise we are not there yet. We had a decent team this year, but we didn't have as much talent as Florida.

I agree with the original poster that next year will be fun. Austin and Dre will be better, maybe Coleman's shot will improve, and hopefully Mo sheds some of his weight over to Elliot's thin frame.

 

[westcoastgopher11]

Biggest things for me:

-Coleman needs to find a way to create his own shot, or become a better ball handler to the point where he can attack the basket consistently off the dribble. This alone will give Dre and Austin more room for shots and spread our guards better.

-EE needs to develop a high post shot. I never see him being a world beater on offense down low but if he can pick and pop and force zones to collapse on him from that spot that will be HUGE for the team. Trevor hit a few from that area last night and it forced Florida to respect it instead of occupying prime rebounding position.

-Mo needs to be THE workout warrior this off season, being in shape with good conditioning will help his game immensely.

-One of the youngins has gotta step up, preferably someone who can attack off the dribble and finish around the basket.

 

[MadtownGopher]

Anything low post-related will be a train wreck. It will be one of the biggest weaknesses of any BCS team in the country. I like everyone's roster in the B1G next year better than the Gophers with the exception of Penn St and possibly Nebraska. I think they'll finish no better than 9th with a decent chance at finishing 11th. Mo and EE can't even combine to play 40 minutes because of conditioning and foul trouble issues and they're giagantic liabilities on the floor to begin with and THEY'RE THE BEST BIGS ON NEXT YEAR'S SQUAD!!!!

The idea that at least 80 minutes each game will come from Mo, EE, Foster, Buggs, and Oto should be frightening to all Gopher fans.

Please do tell me who you love in Wisconsin's front court? They had a weak front court this year and lose Berggren, Bruiser and Evans. All they have is Kaminsky who was barely good enough to be a back up role player and Evan Anderson who has been absolutely horrible and massively disappointing. So please, tell me what you love about their front court so much.

 

[MadtownGopher]

One thing I'd like to see from EE is the ability to finish above the rim. There is absolutely no reason that a 7'1 can't finish around the rim with dunks. When he settles for weak layups he opens himself up to blocked shots. I'm not even sure he's dunked once since being at Minnesota, it's absolutely stunning and one of the reasons he struggles on offense.

 

[march madness]

Next season, huge rebounding and muscle need at pf!

Trevor will be hard to replace. Ingram was under-rated. Besides highlight blocks and dunks, and ok defense Rodney will not be missed.

The undersize team everyone is talking about will be ok in the non-conference, then we will hit the wall in conference, lose almost all road games, and win half to 3/4 at home.

 

[GopherJake]

-Mo needs to be THE workout warrior this off season, being in shape with good conditioning will help his game immensely.

I agree, but good luck with that. I will believe it when I see it. Is it somehow impossible to lose weight during a season? He didn't lose any this season. Ingram was a WAAAAYYY better player than him this year. Miles better.

 

[westcoastgopher11]

I agree, but good luck with that. I will believe it when I see it. Is it somehow impossible to lose weight during a season? He didn't lose any this season. Ingram was a WAAAAYYY better player than him this year. Miles better.

I know man, pretty frustrating.

I'm still sticking by my Mo and EE summer workout and nutrition plan. They walk everywhere together, and whenever Mo wants to eat something EE has to eat 2/3 of it. Hopefully with some lifting and a lot of cardio from mobbing around Dinkytown they'll both come back next fall leaner and meaner.

 

[bemidjigopher]

Please do tell me who you love in Wisconsin's front court? They had a weak front court this year and lose Berggren, Bruiser and Evans. All they have is Kaminsky who was barely good enough to be a back up role player and Evan Anderson who has been absolutely horrible and massively disappointing. So please, tell me what you love about their front court so much.

Dekker was pretty good

 

[MadtownGopher]

Dekker was pretty good

He's a SG/SF. The OP said we'd have one of the worst front courts in the country and arguably the worst in the Big Ten. Wisconsin is losing just as much as us if not more and they had a worse front court than us this year.