Next Year

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balds

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Let's dig into it:

1) How good is Moe? I saw several things as a Fr. that made me think he is something special. A big that can wheel and deal from the post and nail a 17 footer.

2_ How much better can Rodney be than he has been the past 3 years.

3) Hollins development? Those two could be everything.

4) Chip/Joe?Oto???

5) EE ?
 

Hopefully Trevor can come back! and Julian is healthy all year...
 

Good post. I didn't see enough of Huge Mo, but I guess ceiling is above average B1G player. This is not an Oden situation. He should be able to at least fill up minutes at the 4 and 5 next year. Believe he is a 4 long term. I think Rodney with take another leap next year. Austin, I though improved a great deal, I see ceiling as solid BIG player. Andre has a high ceiling, an above average BIG player next year. I hope Chip, Joe and Welch have a furious battle for the the #2 next year. I need another year to project Oto, but I think he can be a mismatch at the 3, just don't know if it will be next year. From the first time I saw EE no doubt in my mind he's a Dutcher big. In other words, he has an NBA future. Advanced for a 7-1, 260 pound big except offensively.

No more excuses, time to win.
 

balds said:
Let's dig into it:

1) How good is Moe? I saw several things as a Fr. that made me think he is something special. A big that can wheel and deal from the post and nail a 17 footer.

How will he come back from his injury? Is his conditioning going to be up to par? Mo showed a soft touch and a good feel for the game as a true frosh in limited time. If Mo can't get up and down the floor better than he showed as a frosh, that will limit his mintues.

2_ How much better can Rodney be than he has been the past 3 years.

How good does he want to be? It's probably unrealistic to expect him to improve his jumper at this point. Can he develop a good enought handle to take guys to the rack? I think we could see Rodney become more consistent as Senior which will help.
3) Hollins development? Those two could be everything.

I agree. We need Austin to do something offensively better than shoot 3's. He's quick enough to get to the rack, he just needs to go after it more. He's got a good shot, but it's not so good that he should be taking so many 3's. Andre needs to improve his ballhandling as I think most of his poor decisions come as a result of not being comfortable handling against pressure.

4) Chip/Joe?Oto???

Chip needs to develop a right hand and earn Tubby's trust defensively. Joe needs to develop a 3 point shot or a mid range pullup to go with his willingness to drive to the rack hard. Not sure what type of role Oto can have, but if he became the type of knockdown shooter some thought he was, there are plenty of minutes to be had.

5) EE ?
Click to expand...

Is he a reserve big man or a solid starter in the post? I think the answer to that question is determined by the development of his offensive game. He needs to have at least one go to post move in his arsenal by the time the B1G starts. At worst he's a solid rotational big who makes good decisions with the ball and is willing to sacrifice his body to make a play.


I really want to see this team find a 7-8 man rotation next year with Julian, Andre, Austin, Rodney, and Elliott likely being locks to be a part of that group. Then you hope that Mo is the 3rd big, Chip is the energy guy off the bench, and Joe/Oto/Buggs/Ellenson compete for the last regular minutes and possibly push one the other 7 out of the rotation.
 

EG#9 said:
Is he a reserve big man or a solid starter in the post? I think the answer to that question is determined by the development of his offensive game. He needs to have at least one go to post move in his arsenal by the time the B1G starts. At worst he's a solid rotational big who makes good decisions with the ball and is willing to sacrifice his body to make a play.


I really want to see this team find a 7-8 man rotation next year with Julian, Andre, Austin, Rodney, and Elliott likely being locks to be a part of that group. Then you hope that Mo is the 3rd big, Chip is the energy guy off the bench, and Joe/Oto/Buggs/Ellenson compete for the last regular minutes and possibly push one the other 7 out of the rotation.
Click to expand...

+1
Good analysis.
 



Seriously, one would have to be a little bit bullish about this lineup.

C-Eliason, Walker
PF- Mbakwe, Walker
SF- Williams, Coleman, Armelin
PG- Welch
OG- Hollins, Hollins

Even pull Mbakwe out of there. It stresses the depth among the "bigs," the quality is still pretty good. You've got plenty of depth at the 2-3 so you probably start 3 of them. i.e. More like Walker, Williams, Coleman or Armelin, 2 among Welch and the 2 Hollinses. The biggest question aside from Mbakwe is whether all of the 2s and 3s will be happy/unhappy with their playing time.

I would still say Eliason is a question, and Walker's health is still a question. So that makes 4 big questions, which is a lot. But there's a lot of upside.
 

My biggest fear is what happens to Rodney when Mbakwe comes back. I feel like Rodney was a different player after Trevor got hurt---

If Mbakwe is 90% of what he was before injury and Rodney can continue to attack the basket--- Moe will be a tougher, scrappier version of Sampson and we'll be a top 5 B1G team, imo.
 

wels0081 said:
My biggest fear is what happens to Rodney when Mbakwe comes back. I feel like Rodney was a different player after Trevor got hurt---

If Mbakwe is 90% of what he was before injury and Rodney can continue to attack the basket--- Moe will be a tougher, scrappier version of Sampson and we'll be a top 5 B1G team, imo.
Click to expand...
Of Mbakwe comes back Rodney will be just fine. We will then have a tourney team. We need Mbakwe's rebounding. If Mo is back that gives us a really big body in the middle. All good!!
 



Parski1 said:
Of Mbakwe comes back Rodney will be just fine. We will then have a tourney team. We need Mbakwe's rebounding. If Mo is back that gives us a really big body in the middle. All good!!
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If Mbakwe is back, doesn't that move Rodney back to the SF spot? He needs to work on his jumper if that happens.
 

EG#9 said:
2_ How much better can Rodney be than he has been the past 3 years.

How good does he want to be? It's probably unrealistic to expect him to improve his jumper at this point. Can he develop a good enought handle to take guys to the rack? I think we could see Rodney become more consistent as Senior which will help.
Click to expand...

I do think its unrealistic. Even though his jump shot is not where it needs to be, it still did improve this year. I've got to believe that if he wants to make it at the next level, he's gonna have to improve his jump shot.

3) Hollins development? Those two could be everything.

I agree. We need Austin to do something offensively better than shoot 3's. He's quick enough to get to the rack, he just needs to go after it more. He's got a good shot, but it's not so good that he should be taking so many 3's. Andre needs to improve his ballhandling as I think most of his poor decisions come as a result of not being comfortable handling against pressure.
Click to expand...

Agree with both. I think Austin will make the next step next year. He made huge strides this past year. As a freshman, he had no confidence in his jump shot. Complete opposite this year, especially late in the year.
 

sunnyday2 said:
Seriously, one would have to be a little bit bullish about this lineup.

C-Eliason, Walker
PF- Mbakwe, Walker
SF- Williams, Coleman, Armelin
PG- Welch
OG- Hollins, Hollins

Even pull Mbakwe out of there. It stresses the depth among the "bigs," the quality is still pretty good. You've got plenty of depth at the 2-3 so you probably start 3 of them. i.e. More like Walker, Williams, Coleman or Armelin, 2 among Welch and the 2 Hollinses. The biggest question aside from Mbakwe is whether all of the 2s and 3s will be happy/unhappy with their playing time.

I would still say Eliason is a question, and Walker's health is still a question. So that makes 4 big questions, which is a lot. But there's a lot of upside.
Click to expand...

I could see Mbakwe starting at C with Williams at PF.
 

balds said:
Let's dig into it:

1) How good is Moe? I saw several things as a Fr. that made me think he is something special. A big that can wheel and deal from the post and nail a 17 footer.

2_ How much better can Rodney be than he has been the past 3 years.

3) Hollins development? Those two could be everything.

4) Chip/Joe?Oto???

5) EE ?
Click to expand...

Forget that; Tubby is going to play uptempo next year with a smaller, faster lineup. In all seriousness, I'm not trolling but I really appreciate UM and wish you all well. Very few teams in America could recover from 10 years of tubby and UM shouldn't even try it. The school should find someone who has turned a D2 around; someone who is hungry, wanting to make a name. The next big time coach is out there under the radar somewhere and you guys deserve a break. I'm not going to get in a ongoing argument with anyone but I am really interested in where the top 25 coaches came from if anyone has ever researched that.
 



GophersInIowa said:
I could see Mbakwe starting at C with Williams at PF.
Click to expand...

It's extremely unlikely that Trevor is allowed to play next year, but if he is, I definitely see Trevor and Rodney starting at C and PF.

C: Trevor, EE
PF: Rodney, Mo
SF: Hollins, Oto, Buggs
SG: Hollins, Joe, Chip, Ellenson
PG: Welch, Mav

With Ingram transfering. Trevor, Rodney, Hollins, Hollins, Welch, EE, Mo, Joe/Oto/Chip are the regular rotation.
 

Top things to work on this summer:
Williams: Continue developing outside shot to keep your defender honest [add a bit more arc to shot, he's kind of got the Jordan line drive shot goin' on (worked for Michael, not so much for Rodney)]. Must continue developing his handles for the drive to the hoop. Initial burst on the drive is not quick enough.
Elliason: Overall offensive game. Continue work on interior footwork and positioning. Hit the weight room hard.
Ingram: Cut your weight room time in half and use that time to study video of Dennis Rodman.
Coleman: Purchase a height increasing machine that will allow yourself to hang upside down down from the ceiling apparatus (like in Deuce Bigelow) with the hopes that you can add a couple inches over the summer. Cut the time that you've used to refine your driving to the bucket skills in half (you've conquered that), use this time to work on your jump shot (and pull up jump shot) to keep defenders honest. Work on finishing at the rim.
Hollins, Austin: Hit the weight room. Work on moving without the ball (off picks) to find those gaps in the perimeter defense. Continue to refine your 'money' shot. Work on driving to the bucket and overall assertiveness. Bold prediction of the day: Austin will finish his career as one of the best all time pure shooters to come out of the U.
Armelin: Work on overall passing game. Duct tape left arm/hand to your torso in June.... don't remove tape until August. IMO: 2nd lowest ceiling of all of the returning players (he's done a great job of maxing out his potential.
Hollins, Andre: As the future glue guy of this team, continue to develop your leadership skills and being the vocal presence on the court. Take a summer class in leadership. Continue to work on ball handling skills, passing and finishing on the drive to the hoop.
Welch: IMO: Lowest ceiling of all of the returning players (he's already maxed it out). Continue developing the "old man game" craftiness. Take a long look in the mirror and realize that as a perceived leader on this team you can't be blaming others for your screw ups. Take a summer class in leadership. Visualize yourself in prime time spots at the end of games and execute like the veteran gamer we need you to be.
Ahanmisi: IMO: Work on overall passing game, especially passing to the post players. IMO: Most limited player on the team.
 

Why do you want to tape Armelins off/weak arm to his side?
 

Gold Vision said:
Why do you want to tape Armelins off/weak arm to his side?
Click to expand...

Chip's a lefty.

Mostly agree with your thoughts, but disagree on Chip having a low ceiling. He's a freak athlete. Tons of untapped potential. He needs to figure out the importance & complexity of playing team defense then there's no stopping him.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
Chip's a lefty.

Mostly agree with your thoughts, but disagree on Chip having a low ceiling. He's a freak athlete. Tons of untapped potential. He needs to figure out the importance & complexity of playing team defense then there's no stopping him.
Click to expand...
It originally said right arm, but was edited to left.
 

MadtownGopher said:
It's extremely unlikely that Trevor is allowed to play next year, but if he is, I definitely see Trevor and Rodney starting at C and PF.

C: Trevor, EE
PF: Rodney, Mo
SF: Hollins, Oto, Buggs
SG: Hollins, Joe, Chip, Ellenson
PG: Welch, Mav

With Ingram transfering. Trevor, Rodney, Hollins, Hollins, Welch, EE, Mo, Joe/Oto/Chip are the regular rotation.
Click to expand...

Why on earth would Ingram transfer? He's going to be a Sr, it doesn't make any sense. If Trevor doesn't get a 6th year (probably not gonna happen) & something happens to either Rodney or Mo then Ingram's likely to play quite a bit. Judging by his increased minutes towards the end of the season Tubby expects him to play next year & wanted him to get some experience.
 


bleedsmaroonandgold said:
If Mbakwe is back, doesn't that move Rodney back to the SF spot? He needs to work on his jumper if that happens.
Click to expand...

Good teams have depth. Sure would be nice to have Trevor, Rodney, Mo & EE (+ Oto & Ingram) against teams like Wisconsin, MSU & Ohio St.
 

Another next year thread? Two threads above another next year thread? I guess when all you have is next year, that will be the popular topic.
 

minngg said:
Another next year thread? Two threads above another next year thread? I guess when all you have is next year, that will be the popular topic.
Click to expand...
And when all you have is the hope that the coach loses his job, all you have is complaining and bitching.
 

minngg said:
Another next year thread? Two threads above another next year thread? I guess when all you have is next year, that will be the popular topic.
Click to expand...
Damn Badger fans!
 

Very enjoyable thread to read this certainly hits the mark. I would add that Tubby's hockey line changes did promote experience among the frosh and sophs. Next year needs to be different. Unless the Gophers adopt (which they won't) Arkansas/Richardson 40 minutes of (full court press) Hades style, Tubby needs to go with the shortened line-up mentioned above with the twist of playing the hot hands. The best squads play lots of guys early, then shorten the bench by the B10 and tourney time. It's our time, Gophers, it's our time.
 



Mo- I remember how well he used his body and finished around the basket. He can also shoot FT.
Rodney- You're not going to have a good shot until you change the angle of you wrist on your right hand. Needs to be a leader and "want" the ball at crunch time.
EE- Weight room, footwork,finish around the basket. elevation, ( get him on the jumping shoes) Ft's. Bottom line: He is a carbon copy of Chris Hagan, which means he should be a productive player his Jr/Sr season
Dre- Injury free will help him. Learn to take better care of the BB ( which he will) our best Ft shooter, need to know when to take the pull-up jumper versus driving to the hoop. Defense has improved quite abit over the last 6 games.
Austin- He needs to add at least 15 pounds so he isn't muscled out of the lane when he drives. Our best backcourt defensive player. Need to play on the road like he does at home. His long arms makes him a good defensive player. He sometimes overplays and gets beat backdoor.
Coleman- Finish around the basket ( he was pretty good at first, but the last several games he seems to be throwing a" wish and hope" at the rim) Also need to get stronger if he is going to play SF. Develope at least a 15 foot shot. At his size you can't live off dunks and layups. For a freshman, did not have a bad year on the defensive side.
Maverick- I wish him the BOL when he transfers. seems like a great kid.
Chipster- Our worst defender of the 10 players who play. Most creative in the lane. Hot "n" cold shooter on the 3. If he can become consistent and have games like he did against Nebraska he will be a big help. Needs to get his head straight on the freethrow line. Could be a mini Westbrook if he gets a pint of
dickhead blood in him like LW.
Ingram- Has horrible court sense, or he is just built like Tarzan and plays like Jane? He and EE have the worst hands on the team. The thing that worries me is that he looks lost out there in Tubby's system. Just saying, but he might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer as far as basketball smarts. He is not a bad defender and I could see him being a good rebounder as far as position/blocking out goes. It's is the hands that are a big question? From what I can see, no shot 10 ft out. Don't look for this JC product to transfer.
Oto- Nice size for a wing player, and his postup pretty good. Not a bad defender, but has been called several times this year on moving screens. gets off his feet fairly quick and not a bad rebounder. This kid is supposedly "lights out " shooting in practice. He has good form. The three point shots he has hit ( not alot) have been from the corner ( on the wing and out front he has been horrible) I also believe he is around 50% at the FT line.
Also needs to get stronger and add about 15 pounds. He reminds me somewhat of a raw Michael Bauer.
Welch: Good three point shooter when he has the time ( slow trigger) Really is a #2 guard. Has some nifty moves when he penatrates. good defender on the ball, sometimes looks the other way off the ball. good FT shooter, but not at crunch time. Lost at least one game this year because he missed the frontend of a 1-1. Has good court sense and I expect him to have a good senior year with Dre at the point.
Trevor- If he comes back and everybody improves 20% and with the addition of Mo I think an easy 10-8 and maybe 12-6. Some of the top teams lose bigtime players ( Taylor at Wis, Humle at Purdue, Green at MSU) If Trevor doesn't come back, 8-10 or maybe 9-9.

Incoming:
WE- Nice hops. we know the guy can win dunk contests. Tubby says he his the consumate wing shooter ( I thought he said that about Oto too?) My buddy saw him play two games and he said he is very athletic, but overplays on defense and gets caught looking the other way. He thinks a year on the weight would help. I think he is a RS, unless Oto hasn't improved and we lose Trevor. If the kid is truly a "shooter" Tubby might be forced to play him as a freshman.
Buggs: Doesn't start on his prep school team; averages about 20 minutes a game. I've only seen highlights of him and he looks rail thin. Shot doesn't look bad, but I think Tubby will RS him. A couple of Holer's said they remind them of Willie Burton. Hmm...maybe Willie when he was a sophmore in HS.

Summary: If they lose Trevor and there is a transfer or two will Tubby bring a player or player's that can contribute right away? Lots of unanswered questions. but I think this team won't throw another 6-12 stinker at us. I like us to get back and be a part of March Madness instead of hoping if we get an NIT bid it is an away game because of lack of support at the Barn
 

Being strictly left handed is not Chip's problem. He's got to play better d and make free throws. Ingram were stuck with and he can't play. Welch is slow and makes careless turnovers. Austin Hollins can play and needs to tighten up his handle and play better d to be a possible all Big Ten player.Dre is the key to our backcourt and he has a great chance to the best all around guard we have had since Bobby Jackson. I sure hope we can at least be in that 10-8 range next season but I always think that.
 


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