Niko should be in Big Ten coach of the year mix

[MNVCGUY]

Considering the way this team is playing with such a short bench and ridiculously bad luck on the injury front, Niko should at the very least be a finalist for Big Ten coach of the year. Hoiberg or someone else will win it but Niko has done a hell of a job given what he has had to work with.

I don't care who you are playing....you should not be able to dominate Big Ten teams with the roster we have right now.

 

[JZABR]

I agree completely, but that agreement will largely be central to Gopher fans. My money would be on Hoiberg. Ben Mccollum would likely be considered ahead of Niko as well in most circles.
But with what Niko has done with what he has, 2 top 20 wins, numerous single possession losses, 6 Big Ten wins he'd have my vote. Culture change. He's developed Reynolds into an All B1G defender, a really good playmaker, Asuma has developed throughout the year, Grove's improvement has been huge this year as well. Bright future. Hopefully we can get to some sort of post season tournament.

 

[GoGophs2275]

What is the obsession with mediocrity here? People said the same thing about Ben Johnson because they played okay for a few months his first year instead of being the worst team in college basketball It's weird.

Niko's done a good job considering the dearth of talent he inherited, but you don't get to be Big Ten Coach of the Year because you took over a terrible program and are sitting in 12th in a very top heavy conference.

We don't need to overrate every little thing. The team still is playing 6 guys like Ben Johnson did too. That's not sustainable. Hopefully next years team actually has some depth with Niko getting plenty more time to recruit, because players get hurt every year. Losing 2 or 3 guys isn't a good enough reason to have 6 playable Division 1 guys.

I like Niko. He's been fine for how bad the situation was. But there's at least a handful of coaches more deserving assuming this is where the Gophers finish.

 

[Gophers1992]

What is the obsession with mediocrity here? People said the same thing about Ben Johnson because they played okay for a few months his first year instead of being the worst team in college basketball It's weird.

Niko's done a good job considering the dearth of talent he inherited, but you don't get to be Big Ten Coach of the Year because you took over a terrible program and are sitting in 12th in a very top heavy conference.

We don't need to overrate every little thing. The team still is playing 6 guys like Ben Johnson did too. That's not sustainable. Hopefully next years team actually has some depth with Niko getting plenty more time to recruit, because players get hurt every year. Losing 2 or 3 guys isn't a good enough reason to have 6 playable Division 1 guys.

I like Niko. He's been fine for how bad the situation was. But there's at least a handful of coaches more deserving assuming this is where the Gophers finish.

There’s not really an objective criteria of what makes someone the best coach, so it’s not unreasonable to celebrate what this team has done given the lack of talent and injuries. If we look like this in a couple years we can all rip Niko for not putting together a deeper roster, but for the time being he has done an excellent job.

 

[eker0016]

Preseason poll had us at 16th and we are currently 12th. Nebraska was picked 14th, and are 5th.

It might be more impressive that we have done that while losing 4 of our top 8 players, but it's not enough for him to win coach of the year.

 

[WinMinGophers!]

USC was another win for Gophers but for shocking reff'ing, worst I can recall.

Horrific other reff'ing -- but I will be conservative and stand put at 1 shaft.

 

[TheRealUncleRico]

What is the obsession with mediocrity here? People said the same thing about Ben Johnson because they played okay for a few months his first year instead of being the worst team in college basketball It's weird.

Niko's done a good job considering the dearth of talent he inherited, but you don't get to be Big Ten Coach of the Year because you took over a terrible program and are sitting in 12th in a very top heavy conference.

We don't need to overrate every little thing. The team still is playing 6 guys like Ben Johnson did too. That's not sustainable. Hopefully next years team actually has some depth with Niko getting plenty more time to recruit, because players get hurt every year. Losing 2 or 3 guys isn't a good enough reason to have 6 playable Division 1 guys.

I like Niko. He's been fine for how bad the situation was. But there's at least a handful of coaches more deserving assuming this is where the Gophers finish.

Wait a minute…. P. Reusse? Is that you?

 

[FritoPendejo]

Considering the way this team is playing with such a short bench and ridiculously bad luck on the injury front, Niko should at the very least be a finalist for Big Ten coach of the year. Hoiberg or someone else will win it but Niko has done a hell of a job given what he has had to work with.

I don't care who you are playing....you should not be able to dominate Big Ten teams with the roster we have right now.

A lot of people will look at Minnesota and see a team that is going to win about as many Big 10 games as expected and not notice how depleted the team is. Let’s keep it that way. The record will be about the same as CBJ had last year but I’ve been impressed with Niko’s coaching. And there will be a metric sh!t ton of P5 openings. I’d rather Niko not pop up on anyone else’s radar.

As far as COY goes, it’s gotta be Hoiberg and May 1-2 in some order, and anything else is madness. But really, the COY award is no more valuable than a World’s Greatest Grandpa t-shirt.

 

[MNVCGUY]

What is the obsession with mediocrity here? People said the same thing about Ben Johnson because they played okay for a few months his first year instead of being the worst team in college basketball It's weird.

Niko's done a good job considering the dearth of talent he inherited, but you don't get to be Big Ten Coach of the Year because you took over a terrible program and are sitting in 12th in a very top heavy conference.

We don't need to overrate every little thing. The team still is playing 6 guys like Ben Johnson did too. That's not sustainable. Hopefully next years team actually has some depth with Niko getting plenty more time to recruit, because players get hurt every year. Losing 2 or 3 guys isn't a good enough reason to have 6 playable Division 1 guys.

I like Niko. He's been fine for how bad the situation was. But there's at least a handful of coaches more deserving assuming this is where the Gophers finish.

First off - Never said Niko should win it (don't think he will) just that he should be in the mix because the coaching job he has done this year has been very impressive given how well the team has played with how short handed we are.

And secondly.....we haven't lost 2-3 guys we have lost 5 or 6 - Willis, Vaihola, Omot, Stephens, Turner, JCJ. We aren't short handed because we have a roster full of garbage we are short handed because of injuries.

Saying Niko has done a good coaching job this year isn't about embracing mediocrity it is about acknowledging that he has done a good job navigating a really tough roster situation and keeping the team competitive on a night in and night out basis. And if you watch the team play you can tell they are a really well coached group based on how they execute. You couldn't really say that about any of Ben's teams.

 

[mnhoopboy]

There’s not really an objective criteria of what makes someone the best coach, so it’s not unreasonable to celebrate what this team has done given the lack of talent and injuries. If we look like this in a couple years we can all rip Niko for not putting together a deeper roster, but for the time being he has done an excellent job.

What he's done can be celebrated without making a mockery of the BIG COY award. He should not be in the running when you have other coaching jobs in the conference that have been much better.