***OFFICIAL MINNESOTA AT INDIANA IN-GAME THREAD!!!***

[bga1]

Well, agree in part and disagree in part. Yes, I think we need better coaching but we also need better recruiting and player development (of course, those are also part of coaching). I agree with Veritas (above) on this one. You want to have at least two players who are truly good (check), a few more players who are pretty competent on a consistent basis (unchecked), and a few more who are good enough to contribute in more limited minutes (also unchecked).

The players this season WERE NOT good enough. Potentially they may be good enough but they weren't ACTUALLY good enough. As a 3rd offensive option, Gabe was a disaster for most of this conference season. Two years ago, based on his really mediocre stats at Vanderbilt, I said that Willis wasn't good enough to deserve a sit-out scholarship. Early in the season, I thought I might be wrong but, soon enough, he played like his old self. Alihan might have been good enough as an 8th man but he wasn't good enough for the minutes he got. Ihnen certainly has potential and good size; Pitino probably should have been willing to play him bigger minutes as soon as possible and to struggle through the growing pains. Williams has some potential but a negligible offensive game at this point. Omersa plays hard on defense but is undersized, has zero offensive game, and doesn't look like he'll ever have an offensive game. At this point, there is no reason to complain any more about Hurt's shortcomings. Freeman and Greenlee? Well, the fact that they couldn't get minutes on this team pretty much says it all.

I give Freeman a pass for two reasons: 1. Big men are slower developing 2. He is behind Oturu.
I think he is going to be a fine player over time. I like him.

 

[Gopherfan84]

Apparently your happy with the present team. I do watch Iowa and they do occassionally run a trap. It doesnt mean we are running it all game. Are you good with 3 steals a game?

Other than Omesa, who is short but athletic we have no muscle on this team. Carr is built ok, but Willis isn't, neither is Demir. When you play small and playing a 6-4 guy at SF your lineup is small, you hope to be more athletic and quicker, our team isn't.

Who said I was happy with it? I'm talking about a style that works. Iowas D is god awful and I want no part of what they do defensively. It's disgustedly gross and on a similar level of Hoiberg. Steals per game isn't a stat I put a ton of stock in. I would put turnovers forced as a more important stat. I'll take 3 steals per game all year if we are still a top 20 defensively and rebound well.

You pointed out that we are small, I disagree and pointed it out with actual heights. Feel free to disagree. Athletes don't mean basketball players. Plenty of schools prove this continually.

 

[march madness]

I would take what Iowa and Wisconsin is doing with a core of local players and a few outstate players over what MN is doing. They have issues with lateral quickness on defense but are consistently finishing higher than MN most years.

What good Wisconsin kids are comming to the U?

Indiana started J Smith at the 3 and played him their most of the game. 6-7 230
Ohio ST plays 6-8 205 Young
6-6 220 A. Wesson at forward, not sure which would be the 3?

Maryland plays the athletic Wiggins 6-6 200 there mostly.
MSU usually plays the athletic A Henry 6-6 210 at the 3.
Iowa plays Wieskamp 6-6 210.

As far as forced turnovers go, MN ranks 340th in the nation, out of 350 teams, sound like a Louisville/Florida to you?

NCAA College Men's Basketball DI current team Stats | NCAA.com

Discover the current NCAA Division I Men's Basketball leaders in every stats category, as well as historic leaders.

www.ncaa.com

Who said I was happy with it? I'm talking about a style that works. Iowas D is god awful and I want no part of what they do defensively. It's disgustedly gross and on a similar level of Hoiberg. Steals per game isn't a stat I put a ton of stock in. I would put turnovers forced as a more important stat. I'll take 3 steals per game all year if we are still a top 20 defensively and rebound well.

You pointed out that we are small, I disagree and pointed it out with actual heights. Feel free to disagree. Athletes don't mean basketball players. Plenty of schools prove this continually.

 

[builtbadgers]

I would take what Iowa and Wisconsin is doing with a core of local players and a few outstate players over what MN is doing. They have issues with lateral quickness on defense but are consistently finishing higher than MN most years.

What good Wisconsin kids are comming to the U?

Indiana started J Smith at the 3 and played him their most of the game. 6-7 230
Ohio ST plays 6-8 205 Young
6-6 220 A. Wesson at forward, not sure which would be the 3?

Maryland plays the athletic Wiggins 6-6 200 there mostly.
MSU usually plays the athletic A Henry 6-6 210 at the 3.
Iowa plays Wieskamp 6-6 210.

As far as forced turnovers go, MN ranks 340th in the nation, out of 350 teams, sound like a Louisville/Florida to you?

NCAA College Men's Basketball DI current team Stats | NCAA.com

Discover the current NCAA Division I Men's Basketball leaders in every stats category, as well as historic leaders.

www.ncaa.com

UW is finishing ahead of us every year for a full generation plus.

 

[Gopherfan84]

I would take what Iowa and Wisconsin is doing with a core of local players and a few outstate players over what MN is doing. They have issues with lateral quickness on defense but are consistently finishing higher than MN most years.

What good Wisconsin kids are comming to the U?

Indiana started J Smith at the 3 and played him their most of the game. 6-7 230
Ohio ST plays 6-8 205 Young
6-6 220 A. Wesson at forward, not sure which would be the 3?

Maryland plays the athletic Wiggins 6-6 200 there mostly.
MSU usually plays the athletic A Henry 6-6 210 at the 3.
Iowa plays Wieskamp 6-6 210.

As far as forced turnovers go, MN ranks 340th in the nation, out of 350 teams, sound like a Louisville/Florida to you?

NCAA College Men's Basketball DI current team Stats | NCAA.com

Discover the current NCAA Division I Men's Basketball leaders in every stats category, as well as historic leaders.

www.ncaa.com

I apologize as I was not clear. I'm not happy with how we are doing defensively. I do not believe that Donovan's or Pitino's presses that they ran at Florida and Louisville will work in the B1G. When I said I don't care about steals, that wasn't me saying I think our defense is doing good. I think it can and it should be better. Would steals be a byproduct of that? Maybe. I also know with Rob Jeter, the defensive philosphy is more stay in front of your man and be in good help position. Packline teams do not steal the ball much, they put more emphasis on forcing a contested shot and rebounding.

As far as size goes, we are plenty tall. Height is not a determining factor of great teams. Would it be awesome if Gabe was 2 inches taller? Sure, but he's not and he still defends 6'6 guys just fine. There are a lot of ways to skin a cat to be a top 10 defense. The main part of it is though that you recruit to the system you run. Syracuse put an emphasis on tall lanky kids because of their zone. Wisconsin or Virginia put an emphasis on kids who are fundamentally sound in their stance and a cerebral. They don't necessarily care about length as much. Pitino's Louisville teams would play two combo guards that were 6'3 or shorter because they wanted to be pests and stay underneath the ball handlers. Our issue here is we have not recruited toward a system or stayed with a system. We have a strong defensive mind on the staff, we need to get out of his way and let him teach it.

 

[Bad Gopher]

I apologize as I was not clear. I'm not happy with how we are doing defensively. I do not believe that Donovan's or Pitino's presses that they ran at Florida and Louisville will work in the B1G. When I said I don't care about steals, that wasn't me saying I think our defense is doing good. I think it can and it should be better. Would steals be a byproduct of that? Maybe. I also know with Rob Jeter, the defensive philosphy is more stay in front of your man and be in good help position. Packline teams do not steal the ball much, they put more emphasis on forcing a contested shot and rebounding.

As far as size goes, we are plenty tall. Height is not a determining factor of great teams. Would it be awesome if Gabe was 2 inches taller? Sure, but he's not and he still defends 6'6 guys just fine. There are a lot of ways to skin a cat to be a top 10 defense. The main part of it is though that you recruit to the system you run. Syracuse put an emphasis on tall lanky kids because of their zone. Wisconsin or Virginia put an emphasis on kids who are fundamentally sound in their stance and a cerebral. They don't necessarily care about length as much. Pitino's Louisville teams would play two combo guards that were 6'3 or shorter because they wanted to be pests and stay underneath the ball handlers. Our issue here is we have not recruited toward a system or stayed with a system. We have a strong defensive mind on the staff, we need to get out of his way and let him teach it.

My opinion has been pretty strong that, in general, you do need to be able to throw different defensive looks at people to keep them honest. I loved the defense OSU played against the Gopher women last night: primarily half court, but they occasionally threw some full-court at us, which the Gophs weren't ready for in those instances (although I don't think it caused any turnovers).

 

[skiumah1]

My opinion has been pretty strong that, in general, you do need to be able to throw different defensive looks at people to keep them honest. I loved the defense OSU played against the Gopher women last night: primarily half court, but they occasionally threw some full-court at us, which the Gophs weren't ready for in those instances (although I don't think it caused any turnovers).

You gotta love (and hate playing) those coaches who throw different defenses at you when it's unexpected but very opportune for them. It's huge. Those are the guys. There are also some who just have their philosophy and just say "try and beat us" and you can't. More power to those guys too.

 

[Gopherfan84]

My opinion has been pretty strong that, in general, you do need to be able to throw different defensive looks at people to keep them honest. I loved the defense OSU played against the Gopher women last night: primarily half court, but they occasionally threw some full-court at us, which the Gophs weren't ready for in those instances (although I don't think it caused any turnovers).

That's enjoyable for a fan and of course there are adjustments you make based on your scout and what the other team has, but in general, great defensive teams stick to their identity and don't sway very often. Think the Bob Knight Indiana teams, or currently with Baylor, Virginia, or Kansas. There is nothing more frustrating for an offense when they can't do what they've want to do even though they've been preparing for it for a week.

 

[Gopher-in-Keno]

The change in defense doesn't have to be a big change either, try picking up man at 3 quarters once in a while. Even if it doesn't create a turnover, it often times throws the other team's offense out of sorts as far as shot clock. They aren't able to set up and run their plays so easily.

 

[builtbadgers]

I apologize as I was not clear. I'm not happy with how we are doing defensively. I do not believe that Donovan's or Pitino's presses that they ran at Florida and Louisville will work in the B1G. When I said I don't care about steals, that wasn't me saying I think our defense is doing good. I think it can and it should be better. Would steals be a byproduct of that? Maybe. I also know with Rob Jeter, the defensive philosphy is more stay in front of your man and be in good help position. Packline teams do not steal the ball much, they put more emphasis on forcing a contested shot and rebounding.

As far as size goes, we are plenty tall. Height is not a determining factor of great teams. Would it be awesome if Gabe was 2 inches taller? Sure, but he's not and he still defends 6'6 guys just fine. There are a lot of ways to skin a cat to be a top 10 defense. The main part of it is though that you recruit to the system you run. Syracuse put an emphasis on tall lanky kids because of their zone. Wisconsin or Virginia put an emphasis on kids who are fundamentally sound in their stance and a cerebral. They don't necessarily care about length as much. Pitino's Louisville teams would play two combo guards that were 6'3 or shorter because they wanted to be pests and stay underneath the ball handlers. Our issue here is we have not recruited toward a system or stayed with a system. We have a strong defensive mind on the staff, we need to get out of his way and let him teach it.

Bennett does not worry about how tall a kid is, he cares about reach.