Other than Trevor, who would you say are the other BIG caliber players on the team?

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ruppertflywheel

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Tubby had a stable full of horses at Kentucky. Not so here. Tubby's best coaching days were at Kentucky because he had the players. 5*****
players can make an average coach a good coach. JMO but, I think Austin, Ralph, Welch and Rodney belong in the BIG with Drea Hollins and Coleman being future BIG players. Tubby has yet to recruit a true "sniper" since he has been here. The guy that goes out and puts 20 on the board every night. ( Willie Burton, Vo Lenard, etc) I like the grit of this team, but looking at last nights game I would take the Illini roster over the current Gopher roster. If we do indeed get 9 wins it is because these kid while short on talant give maximum effort. For that, you have to give the coaching staff an "A".
 


Ruppert, A hell of lot more than there is expertise of several of the expert commentors here on GH. :horse:
 


Dr. Don, 90% of your posts are ripping GHers and/or ripping predictions. We get it, you don't like either. Your schtick was a lot better when you acted drunk and hit on Nadine.
 


How is EE not a B1G-caliber player? May not be an offensive weapon, but a solid player IMO.
Since when is a sniper considered a scorer? Snipers are shooters, and shooters don't score 20 points a game. A sniper is a guy like Hoffarber, whose highest average was 13 points a game his senior year. You are looking for a scorer.
Chip was off, but I think he can play. Mav was serviceable last night, and I think will continue to improve. Oto seems lost, but I think he is playing out of position personally because Tubby always sends him down to the post.
 

Stan said:
Dr. Don, 90% of your posts are ripping GHers and/or ripping predictions. We get it, you don't like either. Your schtick was a lot better when you acted drunk and hit on Nadine.
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Acted?
 

The answer is that there is no offensive studs like Willie Burton or Voshon Lenard on this team or any of Tubby's teams here. Why? He hasn't recruited one.
 

Burton was a Dutcher recruit. In Clem's 14 years his best offensive weapons were Lenard and Bobby Jackson. I hear what you're saying, but players like that just don't come along too often. I'm hoping we can get one of the local kids in 2014. Wish I had a better answer.
 



To put it another way, how many players on the Gophers roster would be starters on another B1G team?

Honestly - I'm not sure anybody on this team would start for any of the better teams in the conference, and that's the point. The Gophs' best players may be as good or better than the starters for the poor teams in the league, but they're certainly not better than the starters on the good teams.

Welch could probably start for 3-4 other teams in the league; Ralph for 1-2 teams; Rodney would start for 3-4 of the lower-tier teams. That's it. Austin Hollins is a bench player for a good team. Mav doesn't see the floor for a good team. Dre Hollins could maybe get some minutes on a better team, but as a "designated shooter" type.

The Gophers talent level just isn't that good when compared to the top half of the conference. And that goes right back to recruiting. Tubby Smith was supposed to be the "big-name" coach who would bring in better players and move the Gophs up the conference ladder. Hasn't happened. Don't think it's going to happen.
 

In the 4 1/2 years since Tubby took over, there have been four total players to average 20+ points a game in the Big Ten. Michigan St. and Wisconsin didn't have one. Guys that score 20+ points a game are hard to come by.

If you talking about a Hoffarber type of guy, I think Oto has the chance to be like that. At 6-8, he would be tough to defend at the 3-point line. It looks lost right now, but like it was already said, he's playing out of position.

By the way, Burton and Lenard never averaged 20 points a game.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Welch could probably start for 3-4 other teams in the league; Ralph for 1-2 teams; Rodney would start for 3-4 of the lower-tier teams. That's it. Austin Hollins is a bench player for a good team. Mav doesn't see the floor for a good team. Dre Hollins could maybe get some minutes on a better team, but as a "designated shooter" type.
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lol
 

I respectfully disagree with a fellow Son of Norway. If our "Beast" hadn't got hurt, we make the dance. We have a very young squad with all kinds of talent. Huge Mo with be back no later than next year and I really like both new recruits. No one wants to hear it, but be patient. It's going to be a fun year watching the 7 new players develop and next year will be even better.
 



Sampson would start on most teams, I can't off the top of my head think of a team that has a better post player, even at Ohio State he would probably start along side Sullinger. He's awkward, not real quick, and not that strong, but he blocks shots, good jump shoot scorer, and has really developed the hook shot while he has been here.

Williams does some things that no one else in the leauge can do. He just isn't a greate outside player.

They are the only experienced returning players though. Experience is important and the main reason this team is going to struggle at times. In a couple of years there is probably going to be a couple more from this team on the list.
 

This is such a stupid post. The team is 12-2, but yet we don't have any big 10 caliber players because lost at Illinois in double ot (where plenty of opposing teams will lose this year). If we play with that effort week in and week out I guarantee they will be a tournament team. Not going to lie,the loss really hurt, but at the same time I feel really optimistic. Who gives a *&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!# about what each player would do individually on other big ten teams... Luckily it's a team game and personalities and chemistry outweigh individual skill sets.
 

topos said:
This is such a stupid post. The team is 12-2, but yet we don't have any big 10 caliber players because lost at Illinois in double ot (where plenty of opposing teams will lose this year). If we play with that effort week in and week out I guarantee they will be a tournament team. Not going to lie,the loss really hurt, but at the same time I feel really optimistic. Who gives a *&^!#*&^!#*&^!#*&^!# about what each player would do individually on other big ten teams... Luckily it's a team game and personalities and chemistry outweigh individual skill sets.
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Again, selective reading on some of the posters here. You being one of those topos. I POINTED out who I thought IMO were BIG caliber players with the Gophers. I did not say: "We don't have any" It might be wise before you respond to the OP you digest completely what the post is about. Amazing what people can conjure up that is completely unrelated to the topic.:clap:
 

I think everybody on the team is Big Ten caliber, with the possible exception of Ingram (or maybe I haven't seen enough of him). We have Big Ten players; the problem is that they're mostly average. A few slighly above, a few slightly below. We are also fairly young this year. You don't rise to the top when everybody's average. What we are missing is an all-conference-type, reliable scorer. We didn't have that even with Mbakwe.

I'm looking forward to what this team can become in a year or two as they mature a little and (hopefully) improve a bit. But it still won't mean much without a go-to scorer who can help us stay away from the wrong end of 10-2 runs.
 


ruppertflywheel said:
Again, selective reading on some of the posters here. You being one of those topos. I POINTED out who I thought IMO were BIG caliber players with the Gophers. I did not say: "We don't have any" It might be wise before you respond to the OP you digest completely what the post is about. Amazing what people can conjure up that is completely unrelated to the topic.:clap:
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You still haven't told me how EE isn't a B1G player.
BTW - It's B1G with the number 1 not BIG with the letter I.
 

zambam said:
You still haven't told me how EE isn't a B1G player.
BTW - It's B1G with the number 1 not BIG with the letter I.
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At this point in time, he isn't. Do you think he is better at this point than Drea Hollins or Coleman; remembering that he has already has a RS season.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
At this point in time, he isn't. Do you think he is better at this point than Drea Hollins or Coleman; remembering that he has already has a RS season.
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You still haven't given an actual reason. He did a great job when he was guarding Meyers Leonard. He is a very good passer and knows not to hold the ball on the outside, just keep it moving. He does a pretty good job of getting into position on rebounds. He's not an offensive weapon, but who says that's what is required to play in the B1G?
 

I'm usually convinced that only 2 guys on Wisconsin would start for any other Big Ten team, and they seem to do just fine.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
At this point in time, he isn't. Do you think he is better at this point than Drea Hollins or Coleman; remembering that he has already has a RS season.
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Jesus Christ...

Can you please get banned again? The entire site (the entire web?) is better when you're not on it.
 

Eliason

EE has no business playing in the Big Ten. This is his second year in the program and his lack of basketball awareness and coordination is shocking for a Big Ten player.

We don't have any scorers because Tubby won't recruit them, he never has. I tend to think that is because there is a gray area in recruiting that Tubby won't go near. Scorers are usually highly recruited kids and their recruitment is most often won/lost in this gray/AAU/$ area. Tubby has a great track record in the profession and he's not willing to put that on the line to get a higher-caliber player; his reputation means too much to him.
We'll keep seeing 7-foot projects and role-player type forwards while Tubby is in charge. They will play hard and that is a testament to his coaching abilities and that is as good as it will get.
 

tjgesquire said:
EE has no business playing in the Big Ten. This is his second year in the program and his lack of basketball awareness and coordination is shocking for a Big Ten player.

We don't have any scorers because Tubby won't recruit them, he never has. I tend to think that is because there is a gray area in recruiting that Tubby won't go near. Scorers are usually highly recruited kids and their recruitment is most often won/lost in this gray/AAU/$ area. Tubby has a great track record in the profession and he's not willing to put that on the line to get a higher-caliber player; his reputation means too much to him.
We'll keep seeing 7-foot projects and role-player type forwards while Tubby is in charge. They will play hard and that is a testament to his coaching abilities and that is as good as it will get.
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Interesting take...Could you elaborate on the AAU/$ angle and explain exactly how that limits Tubby? I'm genuinely curious.
 

Moses87 said:
Interesting take...Could you elaborate on the AAU/$ angle and explain exactly how that limits Tubby? I'm genuinely curious.
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The way I read is the coach has to be willing to grease the pockets of AAU coaches
 

tjgesquire said:
EE has no business playing in the Big Ten. This is his second year in the program and his lack of basketball awareness and coordination is shocking for a Big Ten player.
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It is strange how people who are passionate about basketball can have so many oddly varying views. My view is almost exactly opposite of your view. While you call his lack of awareness and coordination shocking, I am actually quite shocked how high his basketball awareness and coordination is at this point in his career. For a young big man who has played a grand total of 14 college games, I think he runs the floor well, he defends well, he screens well, he passes well, he rebounds well. Clearly, he isn't an NBA lottery pick, but he IS a Big Ten player, IMO. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see him evolve into an 11 point/8 rebound per night kind of guy in a couple of years. But, I think he is for sure a guy who right now is an effective 10-13 minute per night guy in the Big Ten. He certainly was against Illinois the other night. Obviously, he isn't a superstar, but he can play in the Big Ten.

I think many regard "Big Ten Caliber" as a guy that has to be drafted in the NBA. Not true at all. Check out the league. There are literally only 2-4 guys in the entire league that get drafted each year. Most teams are filled with ordinary players who are Big Ten caliber. It isn't as if every Big Ten team except the Gophers are loaded with future NBA all-stars. You don't have to be a superstar to be "Big Ten Caliber." RSIII (and I've been critical of him) would start for almost every team in the league (can someone name me more than 2 or 3 teams that he'd come off the bench for instead of starting? I can't.) Rodney Williams would start for almost every team in the league. Austin Hollins would get quality minutes for almost every team in the league. Julian Welch is solid. The younger guys will grow into that, as well.
 

tjgesquire said:
EE has no business playing in the Big Ten. This is his second year in the program and his lack of basketball awareness and coordination is shocking for a Big Ten player.
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What a world, write a guy off after one Big10 game in his RS Freshman season.

Sure glad no one did that to this guy after his freshman year ...

Trevor Mbakwe (Freshman)
9.2 MPG
1.5 PPG
26.7% FG%
47.4% FT%
2.1 RPG
0.4 BPG
 

GoGoGophers said:
Jesus Christ...

Can you please get banned again? The entire site (the entire web?) is better when you're not on it.
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"Banned again"? Junior, you need a course in anger management. Sounds like you may have had a rough shift night at the local Super America.:rolleyes:
 

Moses87 said:
Interesting take...Could you elaborate on the AAU/$ angle and explain exactly how that limits Tubby? I'm genuinely curious.
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Moneys get funnelled to AAU programs through vairous means (foundations, alumni donations, etc.) that allow extra looks/time/influence. Tubby does not even look at kids that require this sort of "effort."
 

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