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

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bga1 said:
Collectively, I don't think I have ever seen a division one game where one team got easier shots all game long.
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I can't recall a game where as many players either were sitting on or flashed to the free throw line area, received a pass, turned, and then had a wide open shot if they wanted it or passed it to a wing player (who were often open too).

And there were several times where we had players near a shooter beyond the arc and just watched them shoot and drain it like they were incredulous they shot it.

I know the offense has been a mess this year, but the defense has been alarmingly bad at times also. Tonight was one of those times.
 


SomeGopherFan said:
I can't recall a game where as many players either were sitting on or flashed to the free throw line area, received a pass, turned, and then had a wide open shot if they wanted it or passed it to a wing player (who were often open too).

And there were several times where we had players near a shooter beyond the arc and just watched them shoot and drain it like they were incredulous they shot it.

I know the offense has been a mess this year, but the defense has been alarmingly bad at times also. Tonight was one of those times.
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I've been told Dave Thorson is a defensive guru.
 





stocker08 said:
I think you missed my point. My point is that he finished last in the Big Ten his first two years....yet turned things around.
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Is it possible? Sure. But you would like to see some level of competence on at least one side of the ball. Rutgers was good on the defensive side of the ball from the minute he got there. They weren't very talented on offense but were always tough to score against. Rutgers just diced us up tonight.
 

All the talk of young players and building for the future you gotta wonder how many stay in the wild world that is the transfer portal. I could see them losing 2 if not 3 freshman from this team. The transfer portal will make it harder for bad teams to compete cause your one good player can just leave for a better team.
 

stocker08 said:
I think you missed my point. My point is that he finished last in the Big Ten his first two years....yet turned things around.
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And Pikiell’s team improved significantly defensively in year 2. He has a system and showed progress in year 2, but we’ve been through this same conversation time and again.

There is no improvement with Ben’s team. They are horrific in every phase of the game. There is no system and no signs that this will ever get turned around.
 



VanillaThunder said:
Failure to adapt your style of play to maximize the (limited) talents of the players you have as well as a failure to bring in the type of player to fit your style of play. Ben failed both ways.
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What did he do well?
 


golfing18now said:
Is it possible? Sure. But you would like to see some level of competence on at least one side of the ball. Rutgers was good on the defensive side of the ball from the minute he got there. They weren't very talented on offense but were always tough to score against. Rutgers just diced us up tonight.
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The 2016-2017 Gophers team that went 11-5 won at Rugers in Pikiel's first year. But it was an ugly hard fought game.
 

Gophers7633 said:
He was a proven successful head coach, albeit in a lesser league, as opposed to a failing assistant coach on an underperforming program.
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And it still took him a couple years to dig out of the cellar. Can take some time.

howeda7 said:
Yes. Two of them. This team is more than two good freshman away from being even a .500 team in the B1G. The amount of expectations being put on Evans are incredibly over the top. Freshman big men don't come in and dominate hardly ever.

Minnesota will never win solely on talent. They have to be coached to a higher level. There's no evidence this staff can do that.
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Another year under the current freshman's belts. A couple of guys injured and out for the year along with our current best player and another freshman contributor. No reason the team can't be significantly better next year.
 




GopherWeatherGuy said:
And Pikiell’s team improved significantly defensively in year 2. He has a system and showed progress in year 2, but we’ve been through this same conversation time and again.

There is no improvement with Ben’s team. They are horrific in every phase of the game. There is no system and no signs that this will ever get turned around.
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Got it. So Pikiell had THE BEST last place Big Ten team ever. Got to make yeah buts somewhere, right?
 

stocker08 said:
And it still took him a couple years to dig out of the cellar. Can take some time.



Another year under the current freshman's belts. A couple of guys injured and out for the year along with our current best player and another freshman contributor. No reason the team can't be significantly better next year.
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Yeah, we can be significantly better and still be shit. The bar has been set pretty damn low. We can improve by 150 spots in the NET, and still not even be an NIT team next season.
 



stocker08 said:
Got it. So Pikiell had THE BEST last place Big Ten team ever. Got to make yeah buts somewhere, right?
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If Ben had actually gotten the job at Northern Illinois or Montana and won 4 conference titles in 10 years, it would be much easier to buy the "just wait for the future" spin. You honestly can't see the difference between him and Pikiell?
 



howeda7 said:
If Ben had actually gotten the job at Northern Illinois or Montana and won 4 conference titles in 10 years, it would be much easier to buy the "just wait for the future" spin. You honestly can't see the difference between him and Pikiell?
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His 2nd team made the QF's of the B1G tournament. His 2nd team showed improvement, albeit a slight one. There's a huge difference, and it's not hard to see.
 


scools12 said:
As bad as it has been I still don’t think it has hit rock bottom yet.
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Right, this is the worst team that I can remember. And I am
howeda7 said:
If Ben had actually gotten the job at Northern Illinois or Montana and won 4 conference titles in 10 years, it would be much easier to buy the "just wait for the future" spin. You honestly can't see the difference between him and Pikiell?
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Agree. So we have to get worse before we get better. I don’t understand the logic. This is ridiculous.
 

howeda7 said:
If Ben had actually gotten the job at Northern Illinois or Montana and won 4 conference titles in 10 years, it would be much easier to buy the "just wait for the future" spin. You honestly can't see the difference between him and Pikiell?
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You're going to have to wait regardless. Ben Johnson isn't getting fired for at least a couple more years. Anyone with an ounce of rationality realizes that it can't be built in two years. He literally had to build the roster from the ground up. Pikiell realized it too.

I choose to look at the positives. The fact that the freshman are getting a lot of playing time. That he's bringing in one of the best high school players in the nation. That we might bring back nearly everyone on the roster....as well as a couple guys that couldn't play at all this year due to injury.
 

howeda7 said:
This is a bigger concern than anyone wants to admit. If Battle or Garcia, or God forbid both, leave, we will probably be worse next year, not better.
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On page 1 of this thread, you said I was ridiculous for being kinda glad that Garcia was out.

And I said that it's no more ridiculous than how this board will be tonight if we lose.

Boy was I right. The board is in complete meltdown mode. And I still say it's ridiculous come unglued game-by-game this year...rather than looking our future potential in the next 2 years.
 

Bobbyj1997 said:
Right, this is the worst team that I can remember. And I am old.
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The sad part of this is that there is some talent on this team and they still play as a unit this badly.
I can think of a lot of years we could have used a number of these guys. The sum of the parts is greater than the whole and that is a serious problem. It feels like every player is out of position by a slot one way or another.
 

stocker08 said:
You're going to have to wait regardless. Ben Johnson isn't getting fired for at least a couple more years. Anyone with an ounce of rationality realizes that it can't be built in two years. He literally had to build the roster from the ground up. Pikiell realized it too.

I choose to look at the positives. The fact that the freshman are getting a lot of playing time. That he's bringing in one of the best high school players in the nation. That we might bring back nearly everyone on the roster....as well as a couple guys that couldn't play at all this year due to injury.
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The roster turnover at the end of the year will decide the rest of CBJ's tenure, imo.
 

EasyThere Pilgrim said:
On page 1 of this thread, you said I was ridiculous for being kinda glad that Garcia was out.

And I said that it's no more ridiculous than how this board will be tonight if we lose.

Boy was I right. The board is in complete meltdown mode. And I still say it's ridiculous come unglued game-by-game this year...rather than looking our future potential in the next 2 years.
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Garcia might leave. Whether he played in this game tonight will have zero to do with his decision. Zero.
 

From the Parkinglot said:
All the talk of young players and building for the future you gotta wonder how many stay in the wild world that is the transfer portal. I could see them losing 2 if not 3 freshman from this team. The transfer portal will make it harder for bad teams to compete cause your one good player can just leave for a better team.
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Except our "good" players are transfers. They'd have to sit at the next school unless by now they'd be grad transfers, If Garcia, Battle and Cooper leave...who scores? If freshmen transfer we are just running in place unless we change philosophy and go all portal.

If everybody is healthy and stays, there is no playing time for the 5, 6 freshmen.
It's a mess.
 

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