Luke Winn with SI.com ranks us 17th going into next season

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Non Conf. Schedule

Perhaps the quality of the upcoming non-conference schedule might reflect this new found respect.
C'mon Tubby - let the boys man up a bit in December
 


gophers are on the right track. WE'RE COMING!
 

Non Con

minimax said:
Perhaps the quality of the upcoming non-conference schedule might reflect this new found respect.
C'mon Tubby - let the boys man up a bit in December
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Do we have a handle on what our non con looks like for this coming season?
 

Section201 said:
Do we have a handle on what our non con looks like for this coming season?
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They will play some great games in the 76 classic over Thanksgiving, unfortunately not at the barn. UCLA, Butler, West Virginia, Texas A&M, Clemson are in that tourney.
 




Personally I think will be good next year with Alrich and Collins but if you able to shut down one player there team becomes somewhat one demisional.(And Purdue would match up well with KU in the National Championship game:) ). The 'Cuse will be good particully if Flynn comes back with out him-I don't see them making many waves. I'm just going to assume Lawson and Ellington are gone, makes them a much less potent team. I think people are underestimating how importent Walton and mainly Suton was to MSU. DeRosen is a one and done type player doubt he comes back. I think the most underrated team on the list is Ohio State. With Lighty, Turner, and Burford all coming back they are really going to present match up problems for teams. Especially if they all see the court at the same time. Very few teams have 3 good defenders who are quick enough to keep up with those three and are between about 6-4 and 6-8. Or atleast I can't think of one.
 

I will wait till February to judge the quality of next years team...lots of new guys, young accross the board and frankly, if we can't run offense...how do we expect to consistently win games against quality opponents?
 

I think we'll be a top 20 team for the most part
 





As for the next season, I will be very happy if we finish around 5th in the conference with one win at the Dance. A top 4 finish in the conference and the sweet sixteen in the 2010-2011 should be feasible. Anything better would be a great overachievement to me.
 

As this year showed, integrating so much new talent is problematic and doesn't always go as well as you would hope. I think we'll be a little better off with continuity next year so I'm hopeful that we'll have it together by B10 time. But can we count on as good a noncon season as this year to keep us ranked? it's tough to get back in once you fall.
 

Schnoodler said:
As this year showed, integrating so much new talent is problematic and doesn't always go as well as you would hope. I think we'll be a little better off with continuity next year so I'm hopeful that we'll have it together by B10 time. But can we count on as good a noncon season as this year to keep us ranked? it's tough to get back in once you fall.
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how well did you reasonably think this year would go? I thought we played fine this season and for returning basically all of our scorers and a good recruiting class it seems a lot of people on this boad (not neccessarily you) are pretty pessimistic about next year. Granted the Big ten will be stacked next year, but still.
 

gopheraschells said:
how well did you reasonably think this year would go? I thought we played fine this season and for returning basically all of our scorers and a good recruiting class it seems a lot of people on this boad (not neccessarily you) are pretty pessimistic about next year. Granted the Big ten will be stacked next year, but still.
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Wins are not going to come easy in the Big Ten next year. Sampson and Iverson need to mature a lot between now and then if we are going to live up to that ranking of 20.

Here's a question for the board. What Big Ten teams aren't going to make the tourney next year?
 

Good point. It'll be even tougher in the Big 10 next season. The Gophers need to build on what they did this past season because if they don't they're likely headed to the NIT.

"What Big Ten teams aren't going to make the tourney next year?"

My guess would be Indiana, Iowa, Northwestern, Penn State, and most likely one of Illinois, the Gophers, Ohio State (if no Turner) or Wisconsin. It'll be tough for the Big Ten to get 7 bids again next season.

Gotta' believe the preseason top 3 in the Big 10 will be Purdue, Michigan State & Michigan, probably in that order.
 


Michigan has something we don't have right now, a couple bona fide true studs in Harris & Sims, both who appear like they're returning. The Gophers have a lot of good players, but at some point I think we need a couple guys to develop into studs. I was really impressed with Harris & Sims in the game at The Barn. We had nothing to counter those two when the game was on the line.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Michigan has something we don't have right now, a couple bona fide true studs in Harris & Sims, both who appear like they're returning. The Gophers have a lot of good players, but at some point I think we need a couple guys to develop into studs. I was really impressed with Harris & Sims in the game at The Barn. We had nothing to counter those two when the game was on the line.
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And despite that, they weren't significantly better/worse than us this year. Now consider that they lack the capacity to improve even half as much as we can next year, and I don't see how there's any doubt that we should finish above them.
 

"And despite that, they weren't significantly better/worse than us this year."

I would respectfully argue, Michigan was good enough to sweep us and win a game in the NCAA Tournament, something we weren't able to accomplish. I certainly think the Gophers can finish ahead of Michigan next season, but I wouldn't say it's a certainty by any means.
 

SelectionSunday said:
"And despite that, they weren't significantly better/worse than us this year."

I would respectfully argue, Michigan was good enough to sweep us and win a game in the NCAA Tournament, something we weren't able to accomplish. I certainly think the Gophers can finish ahead of Michigan next season, but I would say it's far from a certainty.
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They also weren't good enough to beat Iowa on the road or win a game against Wisconsin.
 

"They also weren't good enough to beat Iowa on the road or win a game against Wisconsin."

We could go around in circles all day with this. The Gophers weren't able to win at Northwestern like Michigan did, nor were we able to beat Purdue on our home floor (like Michigan did). I hope you are proven correct. Finishing ahead of Michigan would be a good sign for the Gophers next season. It's not a stretch to think either team -- if all goes well -- could finish 3rd in the Big 10 next season.
 

Plinnius said:
Now consider that they lack the capacity to improve even half as much as we can next year, and I don't see how there's any doubt that we should finish above them.
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What makes you say that they lack the capacity to improve even half as much as we can? They get another year out of Sims and Harris and why shouldn't they get better? They also return the emerging talent Lavell Lucas-Perry. They started two freshmen who were sharp-shooters who figure to improve, too. They have a nice recruiting class coming in, including the No. 14 point guard in the country, as well as a 7-foot redshirt freshman who will be eligible for the coming season.

Now, the Gophers might finish ahead of them but to say there isn't any doubt is just silly.
 

tjgopher said:
They get another year out of Sims and Harris and why shouldn't they get better?
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Those guys can get better, but they've already made the most substantial jump in their maturation. Joseph, Sampson, and Iverson (maybe even Carter) have yet to make that jump.


tjgopher said:
They started two freshmen who were sharp-shooters who figure to improve, too.
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How much, though? Neither of them seem to have particularly large upsides.


tjgopher said:
They have a nice recruiting class coming in, including the No. 14 point guard in the country, as well as a 7-foot redshirt freshman who will be eligible for the coming season.
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Relative to our recruiting class, however, it looks less nice. And that freshman point guard might actually have to start.

tjgopher said:
Now, the Gophers might finish ahead of them but to say there isn't any doubt is just silly.
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Considering all of the inherent advantages that we hold over them -- defense, athleticism, depth, size (we should significantly outrebound them) -- I don't see why it's so silly.
 



"Tubby Smith's team didn't exactly have a ton of talent last year, and he still led them to the Big Dance. Now he'll add three talented guys — probably the three most talented on the team — in White, Williams and Mbakwe."

If that's how he feels, then yeah, it's hard not to put us in the top 15. If those three come in and truly play like the three most talented guys on the team, we're gonna be explosive. Of course that won't happen, but if it did.......lol
 

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