MaroonGopher
Banned
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2010
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Everyone on here would have been delighted for the Gophers to come away with two victories in Puerto Rico this past weekend, but they didn’t.
They came away with three.
West Virginia, North Carolina and Western Kentucky are solid, well above average squads with extraordinarily rich basketball traditions – and each one simply couldn’t break through against our boys in gold. To me, it feels a little fantastic that this team can out-play three NCAA Tournament quality teams in four days without its best natural scorer, but they did.
I think it’s simply time to accept that Minnesota is going to make some noise when conference season rolls around. Anything less would be disappointing in my opinion.
The Gophers won’t enter league play as the favorites or anything like that, but I believe 9-11 wins in what is toughest Big Ten Conference ever could be in order. If Mbakwe, Ralph, Blake and Nolen sustain their high level of play for the remainder of the season and Devoe has a smooth transition back into the rotation, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to contend for 12-13 victories.
As for the rest of the non-league campaign, Minnesota will be favored in every contest and has just one game against a team from a true power conference (Virginia at home).
I’m just going to say it: Minnesota has a real chance of being undefeated when they travel to Madison to tussle with the Badgers on Dec. 28.
This about that for a minute.
Observations from the couch: Al Nolen is the quintessential point guard for this team. He openly admits that he doesn’t have the greatest outside shot, so he takes his talents to the basket, mainly dishing to open teammates when the defense collapses. Conference opponents know this, though, and will likely sag on defense and give him a generous cushion. He’s going to have to adjust.
…Blake Hoffarber is just cool. Honestly, when was the last time this program had a player with his kind of outside stroke and overall moxy? I always hate when coaches and broadcasters abuse the term “great basketball IQ” but this kid has just that. He’s smart, cold-blooded and always seems to be in the right place at the right time.
…Though not as skilled or highly touted as most of their peers, Tubby reeled in some fearless freshman in Austin Hollins and Chip Armelin. They are not afraid to shoot or take it to the rim and appear adept at playing under pressure (example: the final four seconds against WVA). Hollins is so scrawny right now but I believe he will be an all-conference type player once he develops into a man’s body. Though he’s nailed a few outside shots this season, Chip will not make his money shooting 3-pointers (his shot looks like a knuckleball). He’s a slasher, plain and simple – and I like it!
…As Andy Kats (who loves this team) pointed out a couple times, Ralph appears to be playing with more confidence every game. I just hope is effort (or lack there of) against West Virginia doesn’t throw him off. I know he had serious foul trouble, but that’s his fault. He looked a little bored on then bench too.
…Colton Iverson took a huge step in proving to me (not that my opinion really matters) that he can contribute on offense. To be honest, I was just waiting for him to trip and fall over his own two feet on his way to the basket after making that steal near mid-court against the Mountaineers. But he managed to finish the play quite nicely and that wasn’t all he did. His fade and swish on the left block was pretty cool and his put-back was nice as well. Maybe he wouldn’t ruin a free buffet after all.
They came away with three.
West Virginia, North Carolina and Western Kentucky are solid, well above average squads with extraordinarily rich basketball traditions – and each one simply couldn’t break through against our boys in gold. To me, it feels a little fantastic that this team can out-play three NCAA Tournament quality teams in four days without its best natural scorer, but they did.
I think it’s simply time to accept that Minnesota is going to make some noise when conference season rolls around. Anything less would be disappointing in my opinion.
The Gophers won’t enter league play as the favorites or anything like that, but I believe 9-11 wins in what is toughest Big Ten Conference ever could be in order. If Mbakwe, Ralph, Blake and Nolen sustain their high level of play for the remainder of the season and Devoe has a smooth transition back into the rotation, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to contend for 12-13 victories.
As for the rest of the non-league campaign, Minnesota will be favored in every contest and has just one game against a team from a true power conference (Virginia at home).
I’m just going to say it: Minnesota has a real chance of being undefeated when they travel to Madison to tussle with the Badgers on Dec. 28.
This about that for a minute.
Observations from the couch: Al Nolen is the quintessential point guard for this team. He openly admits that he doesn’t have the greatest outside shot, so he takes his talents to the basket, mainly dishing to open teammates when the defense collapses. Conference opponents know this, though, and will likely sag on defense and give him a generous cushion. He’s going to have to adjust.
…Blake Hoffarber is just cool. Honestly, when was the last time this program had a player with his kind of outside stroke and overall moxy? I always hate when coaches and broadcasters abuse the term “great basketball IQ” but this kid has just that. He’s smart, cold-blooded and always seems to be in the right place at the right time.
…Though not as skilled or highly touted as most of their peers, Tubby reeled in some fearless freshman in Austin Hollins and Chip Armelin. They are not afraid to shoot or take it to the rim and appear adept at playing under pressure (example: the final four seconds against WVA). Hollins is so scrawny right now but I believe he will be an all-conference type player once he develops into a man’s body. Though he’s nailed a few outside shots this season, Chip will not make his money shooting 3-pointers (his shot looks like a knuckleball). He’s a slasher, plain and simple – and I like it!
…As Andy Kats (who loves this team) pointed out a couple times, Ralph appears to be playing with more confidence every game. I just hope is effort (or lack there of) against West Virginia doesn’t throw him off. I know he had serious foul trouble, but that’s his fault. He looked a little bored on then bench too.
…Colton Iverson took a huge step in proving to me (not that my opinion really matters) that he can contribute on offense. To be honest, I was just waiting for him to trip and fall over his own two feet on his way to the basket after making that steal near mid-court against the Mountaineers. But he managed to finish the play quite nicely and that wasn’t all he did. His fade and swish on the left block was pretty cool and his put-back was nice as well. Maybe he wouldn’t ruin a free buffet after all.