Northwestern Postgame Thoughts 1/22

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hendo59 said:
coulda woulda shoulda. Speculation about what he or the team may or may not have done starting earlier is pointless. Unless you were involved in the practices, you really wouldn't know if he was ready to start as a true freshman, would you? And if early games were evidence, Coleman did not demonstrate early in the season that he deserved more minutes. He was playing poor defense, was a turnover machine, and looked uncomfortable in the offense. Maybe, and just maybe, Tubby waited to start him until he felt he had picked things up sufficiently to not be a liability on either end of the court. Of course no one really knows that except the coaching staff and other players who were involved in practices, so really, why not stop pretending that you knew it all along and/or know better than the coaches who should be playing when. Coleman is playing great and I am glad he is in there now. He gives us a great chance to finish the season strong and make the tourney. That is really all that matters.

Try to find something positive to say about the turn-around and three-game winning streak rather than playing the same old song and dance. Your schtick is way past old. SMH

Go Gophs!
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100%. Nice post.
 

jamalo said:
Do you honestly think that Mav was outperforming Coleman in practice? What part of his 37% FG% warranted him being in the starting lineup, in your rose colored opinion? Is your premise that the switch suddenly turned on for Coleman after the 4th conference game in terms of him being ready and then Tubby was prepared to commit to him?
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If you actually think Tubby has a Maverick obsession & has been playing him to the detriment of the team you're on drugs. Coleman wasn't ready, that's obvious to anyone who knows basketball. His defense was brutal, he was turning the ball over & simply was not seeing the big picture. That happens with Freshman. Then they get better through practice & being eased into the lineup. Happens on every team, every year.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
Coleman wasn't ready, that's obvious to anyone who knows basketball. His defense was brutal, he was turning the ball over & simply was not seeing the big picture.
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Have to disagree there, but to each his own (I posted on this in the other thread). His D wasn't any worse than any other guard, and I don't know what turnovers you are talking about...he only had 6 turnovers in the first 14 games of the year?!
 

Gold Vision said:
Welch's midrange game and Coleman's slashing ability carved NU's defense up.

I though RS3 played a really inspired game too. He seemed very engaged and shows some heart.
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Agreed.

As conference coaches watch Coleman they will start to give him the outside shot(he hasn't shown he can make them yet) and concentrate on denying his drive to the basket. How Joe responds to that will be key.
 

If Ralph keeps playing as hungry as he played yesterday, he is going to be a force down low. I know I have been an adamant critic of Ralph's energy level in the past, but he showed what he can do against NU and the results were on the scoreboard. Keep it up big guy.
 


players and the system.

When Trevor went down and we switched from the high low to the 3 guard "motion" offense. This helped Rodney and Coleman. Coleman's bread and butter is his drive. Playing the 3 in the highlow, if you drive you are usually clogging the lane as there are two bigs there. Now there is more movement more room to drive; both Rodney and Coleman have thrived.

As far as Mav is concerned Tubby through history plays more experienced players until he just can't anymore. Meaning the sub is outplaying the starter by leaps and bounds. I think mental mistakes, not playing the ball-man defense, drives him more crazy than any physical limitations do.

The rest of this year I would not have Dre play the point unless its a blow out. Let him get comfortable off the ball. He has a decent stroke and pick his spots on drives. Let him work on his ball handling and confidence in the offseason and for the future.
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
If Ralph keeps playing as hungry as he played yesterday, he is going to be a force down low. I know I have been an adamant critic of Ralph's energy level in the past, but he showed what he can do against NU and the results were on the scoreboard. Keep it up big guy.
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Ralph had a TIPSLAM yesterday! My eyes almost popped right out of my head.
 


Minnesconsin fan said:
The lefthanded tip dunk attempt by Rodney was very impressive also. Not many people capable of even attempting that one.
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No questions asked, if Rodney had successfully put that one down it would have been the best dunk of his career and certainly "ESPN Top 10" material. That one absolutely would have blown the roof off, and that's hard to do nowadays at Williams.
 




bleedsmaroonandgold said:
I know I have been an adamant critic of Ralph's energy level in the past, but he showed what he can do against NU and the results were on the scoreboard. Keep it up big guy.
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You mean he dominated against a team without a true legitimate center, let alone post player?

Post this same message when Ralph dominates down low Wednesday against Nix and Green, and I'll recant my hardened skepticism.
 

josh087 said:
You mean he dominated against a team without a true legitimate center, let alone post player?

Post this same message when Ralph dominates down low Wednesday against Nix and Green, and I'll recant my hardened skepticism.
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He did dominate JaJuan Johnson a couple year ago, and played very well against MSU that season as well for what its worth.
 

920/414 Gopher said:
Wasn't a fan of Shon Morris ripping him for that.
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I do agree with the sentiment though, if Rodney could have made that shot by doing something less flashy, he definitely should have. For anyone who missed it, the comment on TV was something like "a layup is worth two more than a missed dunk".
 



I like the direction the team is heading although there are times I just shake my head a bit at the guys who either pick up their dribble too soon or loft cross-court passes that almost have an "interception invitation" on them.

When Sampson plays well, this team can be really tough and they are still decent when he's just so-so. They'll live or die on their guard play.
 

50PoundHead said:
I like the direction the team is heading although there are times I just shake my head a bit at the guys who either pick up their dribble too soon or loft cross-court passes that almost have an "interception invitation" on them.

When Sampson plays well, this team can be really tough and they are still decent when he's just so-so. They'll live or die on their guard play.
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Those cross court passes scared me to death. NW was just too slow. They should have had numerous steals.
 

hendo59 said:
SMH
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Joe Esposito, is that you?

The problem with your theory is that Coleman's increase in minutes wasn't linear; it went from single digits until Purdue and spiked to the mid-20s after that. Maybe a light bulb did go off for Coleman in practice in between Iowa and Purdue, but there is also the possibility that Tubby realized the season was on the brink and he needed to swap out no offense, fewer mistakes for much more offense and the potential for more mistakes.

I mentioned Mav because that is who Coleman ultimately replaced in the starting lineup.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
If you actually think Tubby has a Maverick obsession & has been playing him to the detriment of the team you're on drugs.
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I don't know that I would call it an obsession (maybe stubborness), but the bottom line is that we were starting two of the slowest guards in the conference together in a lineup where one player could drive the the basket. Also, I would need to question the wisdom of having the ball in the hands of a 23% shooter in conference games, dribbling with his head down, at the end of two winnable conference games.

Now that we have a competitive lineup on the floor, let's hope we can continue our recent run. The motion offense suits the personnel much better than high/low, and this is an enjoyable team to watch.
 

jamalo said:
I don't know that I would call it an obsession (maybe stubborness), but the bottom line is that we were starting two of the slowest guards in the conference together in a lineup where one player could drive the the basket. Also, I would need to question the wisdom of having the ball in the hands of a 23% shooter in conference games, dribbling with his head down, at the end of two winnable conference games.

Now that we have a competitive lineup on the floor, let's hope we can continue our recent run. The motion offense suits the personnel much better than high/low, and this is an enjoyable team to watch.
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I'm not the hardcore hoops guy I used to be and haven't watched as much as most here, but that's the one thing I've noticed most about Ahanmisi: he likes to dribble the basketball to no net positive effect. That can really knock the team out of sync.
 

From the Barn said:
He did dominate JaJuan Johnson a couple year ago, and played very well against MSU that season as well for what its worth.
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What is your definition of "domination", and what game are you referring to? If it is the Purude upset last year, I would definitely need to disagree. JaJuan absolutely TORCHED Sampson to start the game, he scored of 4 straight possessions, in four different ways (drive, post up, fade, step back), and made Tubby switch Mbakwe to him. He was completely terrible that game, and we're lucky we pulled that off. But you might be thinking of a different game?
 

jamalo said:
Joe Esposito, is that you?

The problem with your theory is that Coleman's increase in minutes wasn't linear; it went from single digits until Purdue and spiked to the mid-20s after that. Maybe a light bulb did go off for Coleman in practice in between Iowa and Purdue, but there is also the possibility that Tubby realized the season was on the brink and he needed to swap out no offense, fewer mistakes for much more offense and the potential for more mistakes.

I mentioned Mav because that is who Coleman ultimately replaced in the starting lineup.
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Certainly a possibility. However, one of my points is that the problem with your theory is that you have no way of proving our case any more than someone taking the opposite side can, and thus it is a fruitless argument that wastes everyone's time. If you are for Tubby, it is a great adjustment mid-way through the season. If you are against him, it was poor coaching that caused him to wait this long. The reality is a case can be made either way, because few, if any of us on this board, have the real inside scoop. So again, my main point is that speculation on this is fruitless and cannot be proved by anyone on either side of this argument, and because of this we should enjoy the fact that Tubby made a great decision to insert Joe into the starting lineup a few games ago. That decision may ultimately save our season.

Further, your point about Joe ultimately replacing Mav is also skewed through the particular shade of glasses you are wearing, IMO. He did not ultimately replace Mav, as you put it. The starters through Trevor's injury were Ralph, Trev, Rodney, and Hollins x2. Then the roster shuffling occurred with the move to a three guard offense. Julian was the first to be promoted to the starting rotation after the injury, not Mav. After some different roster combinations to find the right fit, which included experiments with Mav, Julian, Dre and Austin in some form, he has ultimately settled on Julian, Austin, and Joe as his starting backcourt, which obviously seems to be our best combination. Thus one can either say that Joe replaced Dre in the starting lineup at a guard spot due to his inconsistent play, combined with Julian's move to the point from the 2 guard spot, or that he replaced Julian at the 2 when he moved to the point, or that he replaced Austin at the 2 who was moved to the 3 when Rodney was moved to the 4. Or...you get my point. He did not replace Mav, because Mav was a replacement himself. A replacement who did not work out in the role he was inserted to, which ultimately resulted in our current lineup and Mav sliding into the 2 PG spot.

So please, take of your current glasses and replace them with some that provide a more balanced perspective. Otherwise, you simply pigeon-hole yourself into the position of a bitter fan who will spin anything to make it look like Tubby is a poor coach who needs to go. And quite frankly, I, and the a majority of the fans on this board right now do not want to listen to that schtick while our season appears to be turning around in a significant way. That's all I'm saying.

GO Gophs!!!
 

mryan1125 said:
What is your definition of "domination", and what game are you referring to? If it is the Purude upset last year, I would definitely need to disagree. JaJuan absolutely TORCHED Sampson to start the game, he scored of 4 straight possessions, in four different ways (drive, post up, fade, step back), and made Tubby switch Mbakwe to him. He was completely terrible that game, and we're lucky we pulled that off. But you might be thinking of a different game?
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I just did a quick run-through of the matchups between the Gophers and Purdue over the past couple years and Johnson scored in double figures each game. And really the only game he had that wasn't totally solid was a 7-16 shooting performance in that B1G tourney game against us on 3/13/10. He still scored 17 in that one.

Last year, Ralph averaged 8.5 ppg against Purdue. In 2009-10, however, he averaged 17 ppg in 2 games...and on 2/24/10 (which we lost at home 59-58) Ralphie had 21 pts, 7 rebs, and 2 ast. In that same game, Johnson had 14 pts., 10 rebs., and 3 blks.

Maybe that's the game FTB is referencing? That's as close to dominant as I could find. Definitely a solid offensive outing for Ralph, but Johnson seems to have played well also.
 

hendo59 said:
So please, take of your current glasses and replace them with some that provide a more balanced perspective. Otherwise, you simply pigeon-hole yourself into the position of a bitter fan who will spin anything to make it look like Tubby is a poor coach who needs to go. And quite frankly, I, and the a majority of the fans on this board right now do not want to listen to that schtick while our season appears to be turning around in a significant way. That's all I'm saying.

GO Gophs!!!
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Not bitter at all; very enjoyable team to watch with the recent lineup changes. I'm not entirely clear why another poster brought up Tubby's name on the thread, but that is what I responded to. I, like you, hope that the focus of the board is on the (hopefully) continued success of the team.
 

50PoundHead said:
I like the direction the team is heading although there are times I just shake my head a bit at the guys who either pick up their dribble too soon or loft cross-court passes that almost have an "interception invitation" on them.

When Sampson plays well, this team can be really tough and they are still decent when he's just so-so. They'll live or die on their guard play.
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+19. Most teams do.
 


920/414 Gopher said:
I just did a quick run-through of the matchups between the Gophers and Purdue over the past couple years and Johnson scored in double figures each game. And really the only game he had that wasn't totally solid was a 7-16 shooting performance in that B1G tourney game against us on 3/13/10. He still scored 17 in that one.

Last year, Ralph averaged 8.5 ppg against Purdue. In 2009-10, however, he averaged 17 ppg in 2 games...and on 2/24/10 (which we lost at home 59-58) Ralphie had 21 pts, 7 rebs, and 2 ast. In that same game, Johnson had 14 pts., 10 rebs., and 3 blks.

Maybe that's the game FTB is referencing? That's as close to dominant as I could find. Definitely a solid offensive outing for Ralph, but Johnson seems to have played well also.
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Exactly. I'm actually not as down on Ralph as many on this board are. He is what he is at this point. I just get frustrated when people see him play well against the have-not's of the big ten and think he's turned some sort of corner. The fact is against legitimate teams/centers, especially in road games, he is a totally different player.
 

mryan1125 said:
What is your definition of "domination", and what game are you referring to? If it is the Purude upset last year, I would definitely need to disagree. JaJuan absolutely TORCHED Sampson to start the game, he scored of 4 straight possessions, in four different ways (drive, post up, fade, step back), and made Tubby switch Mbakwe to him. He was completely terrible that game, and we're lucky we pulled that off. But you might be thinking of a different game?
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A couple years ago means a couple of years ago.
 

jamalo said:
Not bitter at all; very enjoyable team to watch with the recent lineup changes. I'm not entirely clear why another poster brought up Tubby's name on the thread, but that is what I responded to. I, like you, hope that the focus of the board is on the (hopefully) continued success of the team.
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Well, my apologies if I am misunderstanding the nature of your posts. If that is the case, then great! I am with you as far as my enjoyment of the current roster and my hope for a focus on the continued success of the team. I must admit, however, that your posts seem to slant quite strongly toward an anti-Tubby bias. Maybe we just have different perspectives on what it means to have a focus on the continued success of the team. :)
 

josh087 said:
Exactly. I'm actually not as down on Ralph as many on this board are. He is what he is at this point. I just get frustrated when people see him play well against the have-not's of the big ten and think he's turned some sort of corner. The fact is against legitimate teams/centers, especially in road games, he is a totally different player.
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FTB - Any Questions on Ralph?
 

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