***OFFICIAL NORTH TEXAS AT MINNESOTA IN-GAME THREAD!!!***

Donate To GopherHole
DarthGopher said:
I'll watch some Colorado State games this year so I can get familiar with our new coach for next year.
Click to expand...
No decent coach will take this job without a good NIL commitment. Honestly I think the only way you are going to get big money committed is if we pay huge for a big time coach that has gotten it done at a high level. Then the money will come in. I don't think Niko Medved is going to drive locals to write big checks.
 


GameDay said:
For the record, I think (likely we all think) Ben needs to be gone at the end of the season. But for whatever new coach we get, collectives, businesses, and donors: please please give him better NIL funding to work with because it'd take a miracle coaching job to put together a tournament team here absent of some better NIL. Even 300-400k more a year to work with makes a giant difference.
Click to expand...
They had a chance to field a really solid squad this year if they would have paid Hawkins and Payne. But the school fell behind on the NIL race and lost their chance. Nobody is going to sign here with out a big commitment for their own pocket and a load of guaranteed NIL for the recruits.
 

bga1 said:
How Ben thinks it is a good idea for Odukale to bring the ball up and initiate the offense is beyond me. That's nuts.

Patterson looks to be a less savvy version of Taurus Samuels.

Ben has to let Asuma run the offense, he is the only kid with enough quickness and ability to do it. Let him learn and make some mistakes.

This is a horrid team. They play hard on defense but they just don't have a lot of high D1 ability. I feel sorry for Garcia, he is going to get mugged the whole year.

How on earth did these coaches think they could go out and recruit a team this slow and have them compete in the Big Ten.
Click to expand...
Not really sure they have an offense to run? Asuma in 29 minutes led the team in turnovers as Mean Green had some quick hands against him as well when he had the ball far outside. Also only had 1 assist and shot 1-6 and 1-5 on 3#PT as well. When you are taking desperate shot with few seconds left on the shot clock time and time again this is the result. Our offense is so predictable. Slowly bring it up the floor, stall for 10 seconds, and then panic and hope someone makes a one on one off balance shot. Gophers have the team D for the most part, just need to push the ball on offense and be more assertive. Mean Green were more MEAN!
 

drewhaus7 said:
Not really sure they have an offense to run? Asuma in 29 minutes led the team in turnovers as Mean Green had some quick hands against him as well when he had the ball far outside. Also only had 1 assist and shot 1-6 and 1-5 on 3#PT as well. When you are taking desperate shot with few seconds left on the shot clock time and time again this is the result. Our offense is so predictable. Slowly bring it up the floor, stall for 10 seconds, and then panic and hope someone makes a one on one off balance shot. Gophers have the team D for the most part, just need to push the ball on offense and be more assertive. Mean Green were more MEAN!
Click to expand...
Ben has always run the offense with a lot of dribbling by the PG- Willis, Cooper, Hawkins all dribbled around a lot to start the offense. Willis could score and Hawk was so quick that he could get away with it and spring things open. A slow guard like Patterson or Odukale dribbling at the top is just death to the offense. Asuma will be fine. We are going to be bad, just let the kid go and make mistakes being proactive and you might have something by midyear.
 









Bob_Loblaw said:
NBA is a step down in competition compared to practice two years ago.
Click to expand...
It's like I got amnesia or something...I keep forgetting about the legendary practices.
I didn't see any of those and unfortunately just watched the games. :)
 

Yale lost by 8 to Purdue on the road. Purdue is picked by many to win the Big Ten.
Cleveland State lost by 48 at Michigan. But, they did beat Valpo on the road.
Central Michigan has two road wins and lost by 8 at Marquette. Marquette is ranked 15th in the country.

So, no guarantees for us among the next 3.
 

leib0039 said:
Glad to see after 3 years people finally seem to realize CBJ is the worst thing to happen to this program...maybe ever. Pitiful hire, terrible coach. He literally does nothing well. I'd be shocked if he's ever a HC above D3 again
Click to expand...
John Wooden, Coach K, Bobby Knight...none of them could win here. Zero chance. No players are going to turn down hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Maybe 1 in 100 like Garcia. It's a miracle that he stayed for some reason.

Even if we had a good team by some miracle...our administration would suspend the key players.
 



bleedsmaroonandgold said:
Let's take a deep breath. It's a tall order to expect any coach to be able to win games against blue blood powerhouses with huge NIL budgets like.....North Texas.
Click to expand...
If I was Ben...I'd be talking to Coyle about MONEY & PROPAGANDA. Kickbacks. Winning isn't on anyone's list of priorities anymore. Who gives a crap if we beat North Texas or not.
 

Don't have BTN+ so didn't get to see it but looks like Garcia shot the ball well and nobody else could hit the broad side of a barn.

Had to have been an extremely painful game to watch because it looks like neither team could shoot last night.

Mike Mitchell out, Frank Mitchell limited and guys still learning how to play together but still a brutal loss and doesn't bode well for Johnson's ability to win enough this year to save his job. Time will tell though.
 

Spaulding!No! said:
I think it might be over.
Click to expand...
I’m not jumping off the bridge just yet but certainly looks like it could be a long season. Hoping this was an outlier and we’re mostly competitive in the Big10 maybe surprising one or two teams.
 

GameDay said:
-Odukale can't dribble, take care of the ball, or hit the broad side of a barn
-Patterson is far too slow, short, and unathletic to get any separation to score efficiently at the B1G level
-And Rigsby is 5-21 FG on the year and also doesn't look like he has good handles or explosiveness to be any kind of shot creator on a stagnant offense

Who would've thunk Edmonds would be the only decent looking transfer going into the season??
Click to expand...
Anyone without rose colored glasses would have seen it. We all knew with our NIL we what we could get.
 

leib0039 said:
Glad to see after 3 years people finally seem to realize CBJ is the worst thing to happen to this program...maybe ever. Pitiful hire, terrible coach. He literally does nothing well. I'd be shocked if he's ever a HC above D3 again
Click to expand...
Coyles MN experiments in both men's and women's BB failed miserably. It's time to move on from this debacle. I completely agree with your last sentence.
 

One of the things that stands out to me about the Ben Johnson era is the lack of speed he has recruited at guard. He recruited 2 guys with plus speed for this level- Hawkins and Thiam. Christie has average Big Ten speed and a world class jumper. Mitchell has average speed. Carrington, Cooper, Samuels, Patterson, Willis, Loewe all bigger bodied slower guys.

Asuma is the only kid on this squad that has the potential to get past somebody at this level.

North Texas had kids that ran circles around us.
 

CentralGopher said:
I’m not jumping off the bridge just yet but certainly looks like it could be a long season. Hoping this was an outlier and we’re mostly competitive in the Big10 maybe surprising one or two teams.
Click to expand...
Going to take more than just being competitive in conference games for Johnson to save his job. He needs a strong conference showing this year.

An early season loss like this doesn't necessarily assure doom and gloom but it certainly isn't a good sign. Need to get everyone healthy and gel before conference games start. With our non-conf schedule it was always going to take a good showing in conference for us to make the tournament. This loss doesn't change that but it certainly doesn't help our cause.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Going to take more than just being competitive in conference games for Johnson to save his job. He needs a strong conference showing this year.

An early season loss like this doesn't necessarily assure doom and gloom but it certainly isn't a good sign. Need to get everyone healthy and gel before conference games start. With our non-conf schedule it was always going to take a good showing in conference for us to make the tournament. This loss doesn't change that but it certainly doesn't help our cause.
Click to expand...
It was more "how" they lost. As other posters have commented, the offense has no flow, no purpose and zero situational awareness. The whole thing looks like a discombobulated goat rodeo, and I watched the second half of the second half, which was light years better than the first.

They scored 3 baskets and 14 points in the first half. More turnovers than made baskets. That is next-level incompetence, and I can't believe all these players suddenly forgot how to play basketball at a high level.

I really wanted Ben to succeed. I think a lot of us did. The plug should have been pulled after last season, but, I also had to accept it most likely wasn't going to happen, so, I hoped for the best. As it stands today, he's toast. The question is does it happen in season or end of season. I wouldn't even be concerned with guys transferring. This thing needs to be raized to the ground and something completely new built with a proven coach / leader. No more bargain bin shopping.
 

DarthGopher said:
It was more "how" they lost. As other posters have commented, the offense has no flow, no purpose and zero situational awareness. The whole thing looks like a discombobulated goat rodeo, and I watched the second half of the second half, which was light years better than the first.

They scored 3 baskets and 14 points in the first half. More turnovers than made baskets. That is next-level incompetence, and I can't believe all these players suddenly forgot how to play basketball at a high level.

I really wanted Ben to succeed. I think a lot of us did. The plug should have been pulled after last season, but, I also had to accept it most likely wasn't going to happen, so, I hoped for the best. As it stands today, he's toast. The question is does it happen in season or end of season. I wouldn't even be concerned with guys transferring. This thing needs to be raized to the ground and something completely new built with a proven coach / leader. No more bargain bin shopping.
Click to expand...
I don't think a move happens in season. The roster is a non issue because regardless of who the coach is next year they are going to have to rebuild basically the entire team.

The baffling part of all this to me is how this team went from shooting great from 3 in the two exhibition and first regular season game to being unable to shoot at all. Very frustrating.

Coming into the year it felt like a longshot that Johnson would win enough to save his job. But he will get the opportunity to see how the season plays out. Hopefully things improve a lot as the season goes on.
 

DarthGopher said:
It was more "how" they lost. As other posters have commented, the offense has no flow, no purpose and zero situational awareness. The whole thing looks like a discombobulated goat rodeo, and I watched the second half of the second half, which was light years better than the first.

They scored 3 baskets and 14 points in the first half. More turnovers than made baskets. That is next-level incompetence, and I can't believe all these players suddenly forgot how to play basketball at a high level.

I really wanted Ben to succeed. I think a lot of us did. The plug should have been pulled after last season, but, I also had to accept it most likely wasn't going to happen, so, I hoped for the best. As it stands today, he's toast. The question is does it happen in season or end of season. I wouldn't even be concerned with guys transferring. This thing needs to be raized to the ground and something completely new built with a proven coach / leader. No more bargain bin shopping.
Click to expand...
Who cares if guys transfer. Even if all eligible players come back next year, that’s a last place B10 roster.
 

I would rather watch St Thomas play……..they have a coach and a school that is committed to winning!!
 

Go get Sundance wicks from wyoming! He will be a hot coach, moving up quickly
 

Wet_Blanket_Guy said:
Who cares if guys transfer. Even if all eligible players come back next year, that’s a last place B10 roster.
Click to expand...
Yes and this is a year where, if we lose his recruiting class, so be it. It is not like he has a couple of 5 stars coming in. There seems to be no barrier to exit at this point other than the administration's will to win and go big with this. If they are going to just go get another up and comer, then stick with Ben and we can all just watch the carnage on TV while the crowds shrink to Covid era size.
 

bga1 said:
Ben has always run the offense with a lot of dribbling by the PG- Willis, Cooper, Hawkins all dribbled around a lot to start the offense. Willis could score and Hawk was so quick that he could get away with it and spring things open. A slow guard like Patterson or Odukale dribbling at the top is just death to the offense. Asuma will be fine. We are going to be bad, just let the kid go and make mistakes being proactive and you might have something by midyear.
Click to expand...
I hope so!!! I am on board for team Ben! Good kids all around!
 

What can we expect out of Cochran when he returns? Can he shoot or make a free throw? lol
At this point I don't even care who the new coach is and if they win games; I just want to see a offense.
 


MNVCGUY said:
I don't think a move happens in season. The roster is a non issue because regardless of who the coach is next year they are going to have to rebuild basically the entire team.

The baffling part of all this to me is how this team went from shooting great from 3 in the two exhibition and first regular season game to being unable to shoot at all. Very frustrating.

Coming into the year it felt like a longshot that Johnson would win enough to save his job. But he will get the opportunity to see how the season plays out. Hopefully things improve a lot as the season goes on.
Click to expand...
He better be ready. Any coach that is worth his salt is going to look at the tape from last night and follow that defensive script. Double Garcia and pressure our slow guards out high. Outside of Asuma, who is green as the grass yet, we have nobody that can beat the pressure off the bounce and make the defense pay for the over play. Worse Garcia, good as he is (we would be unbelievably bad if he hadn't stayed)- doesn't pass the ball much so he is great fun to double team.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom