On sports huddle this morning...

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ethomasp31 said:
MSU losses Lucas and Summers
Purdue losses Moore and Johnson
OSU losses Sullinger, Diebler and Lighty
Wisconsin loses Leuer

The Gophers lose Hoff but should have Mbakwe who should have a decent chance to be a Big Ten Player of the Year candidate.
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Wisconsin also loses Nankevic, he is important to the Wisconsin offense.
 

jovs said:
Wisconsin also loses Nankevic, he is important to the Wisconsin offense.
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Im sure that they have a recruiting class full of small ugly whits boys that can shoot 3s to take his place.
 

gall0249 said:
Im sure that they have a recruiting class full of small ugly whits boys that can shoot 3s to take his place.
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They have two white boys, and two african americans, FWIW...

White boys are a center and a PF

None of them are very highly ranked...
 






Go Gophs eh? said:
if aaron craft can dominate as a freshman, so too can andre hollins
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craft was considered a top 30 PG coming out of high school that is playing his true position. hollins is being forced to play PG which is not his natural position.
 

Hurtin' for certain if Trevor leaves

If we lose Mbakwe, I think we drop a ton in terms of the Big Ten pecking order. He's that important. There's no one on the current roster or no newcomer coming in that will be able to come close to doing the things he does. I'm accepting the fact that he's not likely to come back.
 



SelectionSunday said:
If we lose Mbakwe, I think we drop a ton in terms of the Big Ten pecking order. He's that important. There's no one on the current roster or no newcomer coming in that will be able to come close to doing the things he does. I'm accepting the fact that he's not likely to come back.
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As unlucky as Tubby has been in losing Nolen, he was equally lucky this year having Mbakwe playing. That easily could have gone the other way. I shudder to think how awful this team would be right now without Mbakwe.
 

TODAY'S SPORTS HERO -- SIR SIDNEY HARTMAN.

I heard at 640am this morning that the Los Angeles Lakers are going to honor SID at the TWolves game tomorrow night for his early contributions to the LAKERS.

Congrats Sid. Classy move by the Lakers. Altho I remember a buddy of mine called Sid's show in the early 90's and suggested that the TWolves hire Phil Jackson as their coach. Sid dismissed him with "Are you the guy's cousin or sumthin?"

Anyway congrats again to SID.
 

I can't see this team contending next year. Mbakwe is a beast but he can't do it all by himself (as evidenced this season). We lose the ONLY guy on the team who can hit a shot from beyond 15 feet. Who is going to shoot for this team? Hollins has as many airballs as he has made 3s - he doesn't look like a consistent shooter. Rodney? No chance. Armelin is decent but probably at best a 30% 3 point guy. Andre Hollins, the JUCO and Coleman are all unknowns of course but freshman and 1st year JUCO guys rarely impress at Minnesota.

The only way this team contends is if either the JUCO or Hollins is the real deal at the point and 2 or 3 of these guys figure out how to shoot a jump shot...
 

Not that I am not optimistic about next year but to say they could be contenders might be a little bit of a stretch. I just don't see that we have a reliable perimeter threat next year. We will have a few contributers from outside the arc but so far none of the current freshman look like they will be ready to light it up IMO.
 



Contenders? No. Better than they are right now? I see that as likely.
 

rrjackIII said:
TODAY'S SPORTS HERO -- SIR SIDNEY HARTMAN.

I heard at 640am this morning that the Los Angeles Lakers are going to honor SID at the TWolves game tomorrow night for his early contributions to the LAKERS.

Congrats Sid. Classy move by the Lakers. Altho I remember a buddy of mine called Sid's show in the early 90's and suggested that the TWolves hire Phil Jackson as their coach. Sid dismissed him with "Are you the guy's cousin or sumthin?"

Anyway congrats again to SID.
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Sid doesn't know how to use the internet, please send all congratulations via snail mail.
 

Sometimes I think Gopherhole is mostly non-Gopher fans posing as Gopher fans. I can't believe the pessimism around here. I'm not going to predict the Gophers win the Big Ten next year, but I'm not going to count them out either. Don't forget what this team did early in the year when they were 100% healthy. If we only lose Hoff and Al then I think we are going to be looking pretty good next year.

I am comfortable with Hollins/Mav/Juco at PG and think our wing play is going to be much improved with Coleman coming in, Hollins and Chip having a year under their belt, Rodney improving his shot and ball handling, and Oto being able to stretch the floor from the 3/4. We are going to be incredibly deep in the front court. I don't see another team in the conference that will have as many talented bigs as us. Mbakwe, Ralph, Colt, Mo, EE is going to be one hell of a front court.

I defintely think we have the talent to finish top 4 in the Big Ten. Hopefully we stay healthy and void any distractions (grades/off court stuff).
 

MadtownGopher said:
Sometimes I think Gopherhole is mostly non-Gopher fans posing as Gopher fans. I can't believe the pessimism around here. I'm not going to predict the Gophers win the Big Ten next year, but I'm not going to count them out either. Don't forget what this team did early in the year when they were 100% healthy. If we only lose Hoff and Al then I think we are going to be looking pretty good next year.

I am comfortable with Hollins/Mav/Juco at PG and think our wing play is going to be much improved with Coleman coming in, Hollins and Chip having a year under their belt, Rodney improving his shot and ball handling, and Oto being able to stretch the floor from the 3/4. We are going to be incredibly deep in the front court. I don't see another team in the conference that will have as many talented bigs as us. Mbakwe, Ralph, Colt, Mo, EE is going to be one hell of a front court.

I defintely think we have the talent to finish top 4 in the Big Ten. Hopefully we stay healthy and void any distractions (grades/off court stuff).
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Agreed. We're losing Hoff which is a huge loss, but again, we're not losing Nolen. We haven't had him on the team. Since losing him, we've lost nothing but close games, all decided in the last few minutes by our absence of a point guard. Losing Hoff as a point guard isn't a huge loss, and we lost him as an off-guard the day we lost Nolen. Next year we won't have to get much from Oto, Elliot, Coleman, An. Hollins, Big Mo, or Halverson in order to improve (as long as we don't lose anybody). The pessimism right now is mind-boggling.
 

MadtownGopher said:
Sometimes I think Gopherhole is mostly non-Gopher fans posing as Gopher fans. I can't believe the pessimism around here. I'm not going to predict the Gophers win the Big Ten next year, but I'm not going to count them out either. Don't forget what this team did early in the year when they were 100% healthy. If we only lose Hoff and Al then I think we are going to be looking pretty good next year.

I am comfortable with Hollins/Mav/Juco at PG and think our wing play is going to be much improved with Coleman coming in, Hollins and Chip having a year under their belt, Rodney improving his shot and ball handling, and Oto being able to stretch the floor from the 3/4. We are going to be incredibly deep in the front court. I don't see another team in the conference that will have as many talented bigs as us. Mbakwe, Ralph, Colt, Mo, EE is going to be one hell of a front court.

I defintely think we have the talent to finish top 4 in the Big Ten. Hopefully we stay healthy and void any distractions (grades/off court stuff).
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Your front court is going to be very interesting. I wonder how many minutes Colt will get. He has seemed to get worse as a player and you have some young guys who could take his minutes. I dont think it is as talented as you make it out to be, because I dont think Sampson is that great. That being said IF you get your back court figured out - losing 2 senior guards can be hard to replace even if Nolen did not play much
 

MadtownGopher said:
I am comfortable with Hollins/Mav/Juco at PG and think our wing play is going to be much improved with Coleman coming in, Hollins and Chip having a year under their belt, Rodney improving his shot and ball handling, and Oto being able to stretch the floor from the 3/4. We are going to be incredibly deep in the front court. I don't see another team in the conference that will have as many talented bigs as us. Mbakwe, Ralph, Colt, Mo, EE is going to be one hell of a front court.
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Lack of player improvement has been the one of the hallmarks of Tubby's reign at the U thus far which is why pessimism is winning out at this point.
 

MadtownGopher said:
Sometimes I think Gopherhole is mostly non-Gopher fans posing as Gopher fans. I can't believe the pessimism around here. I'm not going to predict the Gophers win the Big Ten next year, but I'm not going to count them out either. Don't forget what this team did early in the year when they were 100% healthy. If we only lose Hoff and Al then I think we are going to be looking pretty good next year.

I am comfortable with Hollins/Mav/Juco at PG and think our wing play is going to be much improved with Coleman coming in, Hollins and Chip having a year under their belt, Rodney improving his shot and ball handling, and Oto being able to stretch the floor from the 3/4. We are going to be incredibly deep in the front court. I don't see another team in the conference that will have as many talented bigs as us. Mbakwe, Ralph, Colt, Mo, EE is going to be one hell of a front court.

I defintely think we have the talent to finish top 4 in the Big Ten. Hopefully we stay healthy and void any distractions (grades/off court stuff).
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But you are missing the point. In this day and age, there is a 3 point line. Front-lines are not nearly as important as guard play. Teams with good guards win and close out games at the end. Teams without them end up in the NIT and wondering why they lost so many close games. We really don't have any guards. This Hollins kid better be the real deal or we are in trouble.

Guards, guards, guards. College B-ball is all about guards.
 

Go Gophs said:
But you are missing the point. In this day and age, there is a 3 point line. Front-lines are not nearly as important as guard play. Teams with good guards win and close out games at the end. Teams without them end up in the NIT and wondering why they lost so many close games. We really don't have any guards. This Hollins kid better be the real deal or we are in trouble.

Guards, guards, guards. College B-ball is all about guards.
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Agreed, I would take a Vince Grier over a Mbakwe any day.
 

Go Gophs said:
But you are missing the point. In this day and age, there is a 3 point line. Front-lines are not nearly as important as guard play. Teams with good guards win and close out games at the end. Teams without them end up in the NIT and wondering why they lost so many close games. We really don't have any guards. This Hollins kid better be the real deal or we are in trouble.

Guards, guards, guards. College B-ball is all about guards.
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I think we are going to have a lot of dangerous weapons in the back court. Andre Hollins can actually create for himself and others, something we've never had at PG under Tubby. Austin Hollins and Chip Armelin have had flashes of brilliance this year and I can't wait to see what they can do next year. Then we have Joe Coleman, Rodney Williams, and Oto Osenieks on the wing who all offer something different.

I'd also disagree with your point that the front court doesn't matter in college basketball. Three of the top 5 or so Big Ten Player of the year canidates are big men; Johnson, Sullinger, and Leuer.

I'm excited for next year, I think it will be easily the best team Tubby has had at Minnesota. A lot of talented players with a great variety of skill sets.
 

MadtownGopher said:
Sometimes I think Gopherhole is mostly non-Gopher fans posing as Gopher fans. I can't believe the pessimism around here. I'm not going to predict the Gophers win the Big Ten next year, but I'm not going to count them out either. Don't forget what this team did early in the year when they were 100% healthy. If we only lose Hoff and Al then I think we are going to be looking pretty good next year.

I am comfortable with Hollins/Mav/Juco at PG and think our wing play is going to be much improved with Coleman coming in, Hollins and Chip having a year under their belt, Rodney improving his shot and ball handling, and Oto being able to stretch the floor from the 3/4. We are going to be incredibly deep in the front court. I don't see another team in the conference that will have as many talented bigs as us. Mbakwe, Ralph, Colt, Mo, EE is going to be one hell of a front court.

I defintely think we have the talent to finish top 4 in the Big Ten. Hopefully we stay healthy and void any distractions (grades/off court stuff).
Click to expand...

Next year is next year. I'm tired of next year, even though I will eventually have high hopes for next year. Right now if anyone is a real Gopher fan this year should burn right through your gut. It has mine. To be sitting here with two games to go and to not even have a prayer to go to the NCAAs is just incredibly disappointing. And to see it being done in such an uncreative and ugly looking way is worse. Right now I question if the people that are able to blow this season off are fans.

In about a month when the fallout from this season is done and we know who is coming back as well as who the spring signees are, then I think it will be easier to take a fresh and perhaps more optimistic look at the coming year.
 

bga1 said:
Next year is next year. I'm tired of next year, even though I will eventually have high hopes for next year. Right now if anyone is a real Gopher fan this year should burn right through your gut. It has mine. To be sitting here with two games to go and to not even have a prayer to go to the NCAAs is just incredibly disappointing. And to see it being done in such an uncreative and ugly looking way is worse. Right now I question if the people that are able to blow this season off are fans.

In about a month when the fallout from this season is done and we know who is coming back as well as who the spring signees are, then I think it will be easier to take a fresh and perhaps more optimistic look at the coming year.
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+1, at some pt. the sliding scale of optimism/delusion has to stop.
 

Go Gophs said:
But you are missing the point. In this day and age, there is a 3 point line. Front-lines are not nearly as important as guard play. Teams with good guards win and close out games at the end. Teams without them end up in the NIT and wondering why they lost so many close games. We really don't have any guards. This Hollins kid better be the real deal or we are in trouble.

Guards, guards, guards. College B-ball is all about guards.
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bingo
 

bga1 said:
Next year is next year. I'm tired of next year, even though I will eventually have high hopes for next year. Right now if anyone is a real Gopher fan this year should burn right through your gut. It has mine. To be sitting here with two games to go and to not even have a prayer to go to the NCAAs is just incredibly disappointing. And to see it being done in such an uncreative and ugly looking way is worse. Right now I question if the people that are able to blow this season off are fans.

In about a month when the fallout from this season is done and we know who is coming back as well as who the spring signees are, then I think it will be easier to take a fresh and perhaps more optimistic look at the coming year.
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I never said this season was over. I was responding to all of the so called "fans" that said next year we are going to be awful and finish in the bottom 3 or 4 of the Big Ten.

After the run they made in the BTT last year, I am not ready to count them out.
 

MadtownGopher said:
I never said this season was over. I was responding to all of the so called "fans" that said next year we are going to be awful and finish in the bottom 3 or 4 of the Big Ten.
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I personally don't have us in the bottom 3 or 4 next year but I don't doubt that people with those predictions are real fans.
 

goldengophers said:
I personally don't have us in the bottom 3 or 4 next year but I don't doubt that people with those predictions are real fans.
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I just don't know how you can be a fan when you don't have a shred of optimism about your team. I guess that's a trend for all Minnesota born sports fans though, something I've never understood.
 

MadtownGopher only believes that a "fan" is someone who looks at the world through maroon and gold colored glassess. optimisim and delusion are 2 different things.

and your assertion "Andre Hollins can actually create for himself and others..."" this is what you want to be true therefore in a maroon and gold colored world it must be true. I haven't seen him play and I doubt you have either to make such a claim.
 

scools12 said:
MadtownGopher only believes that a "fan" is someone who looks at the world through maroon and gold colored glassess. optimisim and delusion are 2 different things.

and your assertion "Andre Hollins can actually create for himself and others..."" this is what you want to be true therefore in a maroon and gold colored world it must be true. I haven't seen him play and I doubt you have either to make such a claim.
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And your constant negativity makes that assertion false? How much film of Hollins have you broken down?
 

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