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

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RockChalk said:
As Hawkins tends to run wild at times, where we all say oh well. Can't we do the same for BC?
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I'd guess that being the national assists per game leader gives him a little more leeway.

I haven't seen any big problems with Carrington's ball handling but Hawkins is a wizard with the ball. Carrington is more regarded for his defense and rebounding.
 


RockChalk said:
Wasn't he Mr. BB in the state of MN a couple years back?

I'm not sure he looked any worse than the other 3-4 guys who handled the ball on those difficult, Rutgers press related miscues there toward the end of the game.

As Hawkins tends to run wild at times, where we all say oh well. Can't we do the same for BC?
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Hawkins does tend to get reckless at times but without him we would have been in a lot of trouble against a press like the one Rutgers can throw at you.
 


Gopher_In_NYC said:
He’s also an 80% FT shooter, who wants the ball in his hand, at the end of the game.
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Yep, awesome knowing that Garcia, Mitchell and Hawkins can all be counted on to hit clutch free throws down the stretch in games. They absolutely iced the game last night.

Been quite the ride this year. Feel "bad" for the handful so caught up in negativity about the coach and team that they are missing it.....those would be the people who shockingly are nowhere to be found on these boards when good things happen, but they are fans.....because yeah....most fans only enjoy following their team when they are losing.... :)
 


MNVCGUY said:
Yep, awesome knowing that Garcia, Mitchell and Hawkins can all be counted on to hit clutch free throws down the stretch in games. They absolutely iced the game last night.
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I’m not cringing when they go to the line like last season.

MNVCGUY said:
Been quite the ride this year. Feel "bad" for the handful so caught up in negativity about the coach and team that they are missing it.....those would be the people who shockingly are nowhere to be found on these boards when good things happen, but they are fans.....because yeah....most fans only enjoy following their team when they are losing.... :)
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as we continue to stack Ws, they will whimper away and your thread of foresight will prevail🙌
 
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It's not a yes/no - on/off situation.

you can like the team and still find things to criticize/question.

for me - I was more optimistic about this team at the start of the season. I think I let myself become too enthusiastic watching them play against lesser opposition in the non-conf schedule. in the B1G, the flaws of this team are more apparent - and they do have flaws.

If the Gophers want to do anything in the B1G Tournament or make a post-season tournament, they have to become more consistent; they must find a way to avoid those 'dead zones' on offense; and they can't crap their pants in tight, late-game situations.

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on Asuma - I've watched him a little bit in HS, but only a couple of games where he was facing quality opposition. I'm not sure he's a B1G-caliber PG. I see him as a combo guard who can handle the ball a little bit - but the primary ball-handler against a B1G defense? I just don't know.
 

Hawkins does have a tendency to play "hero ball" at the end of games. It’s fine to want the ball in your hands, and it’s great to be able to hit the free throws at the end. But in the last four, five games, I think he has had 3 reach in fouls late in the games, letting the opponent score without the clock running, when the clock was actually who we were playing against. Those are mental mistakes someone of his experience and talent should not be making. When you have more than one game announcer saying "what was he thinking" In the last few weeks on the same topic, it’s time to slow down a little.
 

Gopheritnow said:
Hawkins does have a tendency to play "hero ball" at the end of games. It’s fine to want the ball in your hands, and it’s great to be able to hit the free throws at the end. But in the last four, five games, I think he has had 3 reach in fouls late in the games, letting the opponent score without the clock running, when the clock was actually who we were playing against. Those are mental mistakes someone of his experience and talent should not be making. When you have more than one game announcer saying "what was he thinking" In the last few weeks on the same topic, it’s time to slow down a little.
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Yeah, Hawkins aggressiveness gets him in trouble sometimes. He took a bad foul against Rutgers when going for a steal late and it isn't the first time he has done that.

But in the end you take the good with the bad and he does way more good then he does bad. His passing and ball handling makes the offense go and he is really good at the ally-opp pass. Was funny when he dropped a couple very vocal f-bombs after he missed on one to Ola-Joseph I believe.

Has been fun watching Hawkins and Mitchell settle into Big Ten play. Both had some struggles but both seem to be figuring it out and are making plays out there.
 



MNVCGUY said:
Yeah, Hawkins aggressiveness gets him in trouble sometimes. He took a bad foul against Rutgers when going for a steal late and it isn't the first time he has done that.

But in the end you take the good with the bad and he does way more good then he does bad. His passing and ball handling makes the offense go and he is really good at the ally-opp pass. Was funny when he dropped a couple very vocal f-bombs after he missed on one to Ola-Joseph I believe.

Has been fun watching Hawkins and Mitchell settle into Big Ten play. Both had some struggles but both seem to be figuring it out and are making plays out there.
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The mid court alley oop to Payne was incredible, exactly where it needed to be.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
It's not a yes/no - on/off situation.

you can like the team and still find things to criticize/question.

for me - I was more optimistic about this team at the start of the season. I think I let myself become too enthusiastic watching them play against lesser opposition in the non-conf schedule. in the B1G, the flaws of this team are more apparent - and they do have flaws.

If the Gophers want to do anything in the B1G Tournament or make a post-season tournament, they have to become more consistent; they must find a way to avoid those 'dead zones' on offense; and they can't crap their pants in tight, late-game situations.

----
on Asuma - I've watched him a little bit in HS, but only a couple of games where he was facing quality opposition. I'm not sure he's a B1G-caliber PG. I see him as a combo guard who can handle the ball a little bit - but the primary ball-handler against a B1G defense? I just don't know.
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The team is playing very good basketball right now, and have continued to improve as the year has gone on. Of course people can find things to criticize, and no one is saying you can't. However, that's all a handful of people do with Ben. The good news is there is much less to criticize right now than there was earlier in the season.

The team is taking much better care of the ball, and are getting really good shots on offense. And their defense has been outstanding. Yes, they have stretches they miss shots, but the good news is those stretches are less likely now because they aren't combined with multiple empty possessions because of turnovers. There are few teams in college basketball right now that don't have those stretches where they struggle to score. They have the athletic ability to play with people this year.

Asuma will be a solid player in the Big Ten, with potential to be really good if he continues to improve. There were multiple other P5 teams who were getting involved with him last summer, but he made it clear he was going to the U. He handles the ball well, sees the floor well, plays with a lot of poise, and has an easy release on his shot. Further, he plays really good defense. He will do well, and doesn't have to come in and start right away with the likely returning back court we have.
 

Tucker32 said:
Asuma will be a solid player in the Big Ten, with potential to be really good if he continues to improve. There were multiple other P5 teams who were getting involved with him last summer, but he made it clear he was going to the U. He handles the ball well, sees the floor well, plays with a lot of poise, and has an easy release on his shot. Further, he plays really good defense. He will do well, and doesn't have to come in and start right away with the likely returning back court we have.
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I'm from Iowa and coached against Tamin Lipsey from Iowa St. when he played at Ames. I have only seen highlights of Asuma, but he seems similar. Pretty strong, handles the ball well, doesn't get sped up, not an elite shooter or athlete though. Is that anywhere near accurate?
 




MonikerSchmoniker45 said:
I thought Betts would contribute at least some this season. It's been disappointing, but I won't give up on him yet. He fits the physical type of player that CBJ is looking for, so I see why they took a chance on him.
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I could see right away he wasn’t there (yet) this season. Then again the man is still a freshman and I think everyone (including himself) have put a lot of pressure on him early. Sometimes big men take time to develop. I’m still excited about his prospects. I definitely hope he sticks around and puts in the time this offseason.
 
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GopherJack said:
So will the plan be to have Asuma back up Hawkins at point guard next year and then take over the PG position his sophomore year? Hawkins is just so damn important to the success of our team. I can't wait to see him run the team next year too.
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Well we'll all have to donate to the NIL to make that happen.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Yeah, Hawkins aggressiveness gets him in trouble sometimes. He took a bad foul against Rutgers when going for a steal late and it isn't the first time he has done that.

But in the end you take the good with the bad and he does way more good then he does bad. His passing and ball handling makes the offense go and he is really good at the ally-opp pass. Was funny when he dropped a couple very vocal f-bombs after he missed on one to Ola-Joseph I believe.

Has been fun watching Hawkins and Mitchell settle into Big Ten play. Both had some struggles but both seem to be figuring it out and are making plays out there.
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Was there last night and Ben was not pleased...it's clear he wanted them to press but not take a foul. Would have been a top highlight had Hawk gotten it cleanly and then scored.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
in the B1G, the flaws of this team are more apparent - and they do have flaws.
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You've announced that this team has "flaws" several times now. You know, most of us who post here watch these games and haven't deluded ourselves into thinking that this team is an emerging version of Wooden's late 60s UCLA teams.
 

Drake University Gopher said:
I could see right away he wasn’t there (yet) this season. Then again the man is still a freshman and I think everyone (including himself) have put a lot of pressure on him early. Sometimes big men take time to develop. I’m still excited about his prospects. I definitely hope he sticks around and puts in the time this offseason.
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Will be interesting to see how they're able to develop him without in game experience. My hope is that Cam stays another year and Betts plays behind him then slides in the next year.
 

RockChalk said:
Kind of like Betts?
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I think Betts could still have a high upside but he is sort of falling into that Ihnen/JOJ type of player.

This is all off the few minutes I've seen him play, but I think he sees himself more like a wing and he does not have the skillset to be a wing. He can't handle the ball very well and he isn't particularly quick. He's a 4 with a jump shot. Unfortunately, what happens with that kind of player is that they become extremely one dimensional (or zero dimensional if the shot isn't falling). I think for Betts to see much playing time, he's going to have to decide to just be a more active player. Try to play like Parker Fox and if he's able to put it all together, he'll be like a Parker Fox with a jump shot.

Next year will be interesting as far as minutes for our frontline. Assuming everyone returns, it will be Grove, JOJ, Ihnen and Betts battling for minutes behind Payne and Garcia.
 


Drake University Gopher said:
I could see right away he wasn’t there (yet) this season. Then again the man is still a freshman and I think everyone (including himself) have put a lot of pressure on him early. Sometimes big men take time to develop. I’m still excited about his prospects. I definitely hope he sticks around and puts in the time this offseason.
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I wondered if would have been more beneficial to play his SR year as scheduled then enroll and redshirt rather redshirt and then contribute only as a practice player for two years.
 


Bob_Loblaw said:
I think Betts could still have a high upside but he is sort of falling into that Ihnen/JOJ type of player.

Next year will be interesting as far as minutes for our frontline. Assuming everyone returns, it will be Grove, JOJ, Ihnen and Betts battling for minutes behind Payne and Garcia.
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With all due respect, I don't think you or anyone other than the coaches have seen enough of Betts to determine what type of player he is going to be.
 


RockChalk said:
With all due respect, I don't think you or anyone other than the coaches have seen enough of Betts to determine what type of player he is going to be.
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Well yeah, that's why my reply had an entire paragraph that started out with "This is all off the few minutes I've seen him play".

From the 40 minutes of basketball that I've seen, he's a floater. Maybe there is a high motor there, I hope there is.
 


Interesting stats from the Strib article on the game -

Rutgers was held to 25% shooting in the second half, including 1-for-13 from three. Jeremiah Williams, who had been averaging a team-high 14 points in the past four games, was held to nine points on 2-for-10 shooting.

The Gophers shot 15-for-19 from the foul line in the second half, including eight consecutive free throws to end the game.
 


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