Sparty Postgame Reactions thread 1/25


That foul by Williams after the Sampson bank was the most unfortunate, or bone-headed, infraction I have seen in a long time. The Gophers just got a little luck with a bank shot and then Williams throws some Michigan State kid to the ground for an obvious foul, essentially erasing the basket because the kid makes both shots, making it a 10-point game. Ouch!

PS-I have been clicking back and forth from the Wolves game and 90 percent of the time, Michigan State has the basketball. Crazy.
 

Positives From tonight

I thought the team, with the exception of Austin and Ralph, played really hard tonight. With a really thought matchup we made it interesting. We took decent care of the ball outside of being strong on drives into the lane.

I think our Freshman showed some toughness and I hope Dre Hollins continues to improve.

I can't help but wonder (and wish) that we could have seen Trevor play tonight. It's just so frustrating seeing Sampson loaf out there and get his lunch eaten while players like Coleman and Williams are battling against tougher players.
 

Congrats to Izzo on 400. Regroup and pull one out at home against Illinois.
 

MSU has just more of everything. Gophers did much better than they did a couple years ago when it turned into a dunk fest. Appreciated that the guys hung in there and didn't role over and die like a lot of teams do in there.
 


Gophers got manhandled on the boards. Something to work on. Andre looked much better.
 

MSU has just more of everything. Gophers did much better than they did a couple years ago when it turned into a dunk fest. Appreciated that the guys hung in there and didn't role over and die like a lot of teams do in there.

+1
 

We battled like hell tonight, but MSU is just a real talented club. Give Izzo and them credit. Big game against the Illini this weekend. Get 'er done!
 

I'm just glad Tubby didn't roll with the b squad for a full 8 minutes in the second half like he did in the first half.
 



I always hate any loss, but I like the way we battled tonight. Our talent isn't good enough yet to win at MSU, but I thought we played hard and kept within striking distance for almost the whole game.

Bottom line for me is we still have a shot at the NCAA tournament, and two weeks ago, I didn't think that was going to be possible. If Joe and Dre Hollins continue to improve, I think we might just get there.

Whatever we do, we have got to BEAT WISCONSIN in a couple of weeks!!!
 

Gophers got manhandled on the boards. Something to work on
Without Trevor they no chance against a team like MSU. Ralph and Rodney are too thin and soft. The only way they compete is if the guards help out.
 

I saw two quick post moves from Ralph tonight that I've been waiting four years to see. A drop step away from the basket and a pretty reverse.

It's those flashes of talent that make you wonder how he disappears for stretches.
 

We battled like hell tonight, but MSU is just a real talented club. Give Izzo and them credit. Big game against the Illini this weekend. Get 'er done!
I agree. We fought hard but just didn't have the horses.

Illinois is HUGE. If we want to go dancing, that is a game we really need to have.

Won't be easy, but I think we take it in the Barn!!!
 



Gotta be the earliest in a half that anyone made a half court shot in a while.
 

- This is the type of game we really miss Trevor and could have used Big Mo. We're just not physical enough.
- The offense looked flat, too much standing around. Even late when we were down 10+, we had a shot clock violation.
- We didn't force turnovers, just 10 for them. They average almost 14 on the season. Only 4 steals for us.
- Not unexpected, Michigan St. got most of the calls other than a short stint midway through the second half. Three plays stand out to me: 1) Green's moonwalk in the 1st half (go to the 5:30 mark in the 1st half if you recorded it, it was sooooo bad). 2) Play where Green and Andre collided, the ball clearly went off Green. 3) Block on Andre's three pointer late where the defender came crashing into him. The block was clean up top but he went flying into Andre and should have been a foul. The entire Gophers bench went crazy. It resulted in a layup on the other end. That's potentially a 5 point swing. Obviously they are not the reason we lost but it certainly was a factor.

I'm not terribly upset at the loss, tough team at a tough place to win. Regroup, the next three games are very winnable.
 

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How bout the game boys?
 

Not bad, overall.

Its the one game that you just can't compensate for losing the best rebounder in the B10, who was also a guy with some attitude to go with it. Rebounding killed them early, as did Ralphs lax play. Wow, the announcers even noticed that Ralph was playing weak out there. Only two rebounds for Sampson tonight. Ouch.

The game turned south for good when Coleman stole the ball and then had his pocket picked leading to the flagrant foul. We were down five with a chance to cut it further.

Rodney is a completely transformed player. Not only has his game improved noticeably, but his attitude and leadership are quite noticeable. He battled his tail off tonight, as did most of the guys. I was glad to see Andre get some burn out there; it can only help him in the future.

Overall, it was 10 pt game, IMO. Shake this one off; lets get some revenge on Illinois.
 

I saw two quick post moves from Ralph tonight that I've been waiting four years to see. A drop step away from the basket and a pretty reverse.

It's those flashes of talent that make you wonder how he disappears for stretches.
Agreed - I wondered who that was!
BTW - what is with the constant consolidation of posts? One thread for post game discussion? I get it for the Twins, but with the team we come here to discuss?
 

Dre 0 for 5, Austin 0 for 2, Mav 0 for 2, Julian 2 for 8. That adds up to 2 for 17 - 12% from your guards. Many of those shots were open some were not. They did work hard, but you are not going to win too many games with that type of productivityj; Trevor or no Trevor; Mo or no Mo.
 

Not surprising, but disappointing how they kept us out on the perimeter way too much. At the other end it seemed like their post players, especially Green, kept getting the ball way too close. They've got some guys that could easily play tight end somewhere.
 

Dre 0 for 5, Austin 0 for 2, Mav 0 for 2, Julian 2 for 8. That adds up to 2 for 17 - 12% from your guards. Many of those shots were open some were not. They did work hard, but you are not going to win too many games with that type of productivityj; Trevor or no Trevor; Mo or no Mo.

Driving and getting off shots against MSU is a little more difficult than doing it against Penn State and Northwestern. The guards showed their age and experience tonight. Hopefully they learn from it.
 

This is a rebuilding year, we're not going anywhere. What I want to see is the guys not quit, improvement/development & hope for the next two seasons. Check, check & check.

The future is bright imo with Dre, Mav, Austin, Chip, Coleman, Oto, Mo & Elliot maturing together.
 

Random thoughts:
-I really like Coleman. He is the most exciting Gopher guard since Grier. Too few and far between to have guards who can score.
-Tubby needs to understand he needs to stop the transfers. Just as Cobbs would have been a great help last year when Nolan got hurt, Colton would have been very useful tonight. Considering how deep his rotation is, it shouldn't be that hard to keep people around.
-Is there no strength coach at the U? How can Sampson be so lean as a senior?
- I don't know much about him but I like Ingram's toughness. He came in and battled. He likely doesn't have great tools but he clearly has some grit.
-Izzo should get a T when he comes on the court during play. 10 minutes left in the first half, he came within three feet of a Gopher player while the Gophers were running their O.
-How is it that Michigan State is able to give so much prime seating to students? It must be a revenue loss but what a great atmosphere.
 

images


How bout the game boys?

Hah! Nice.

Rough one tonight, but they fought hard. They definitely beat us up on the boards and clamped down on our guards hard. Hopefully we bring our A-game next week.
 

No enough post play, no one to go to on the inside really hurt, Sampson is just to slow and not physical enough against a team like that. Michigan State gets away with alot of hand checking and holding on the perimiter, the refs weren't calling anything against them.
 

Random thoughts:
-I really like Coleman. He is the most exciting Gopher guard since Grier. Too few and far between to have guards who can score.
-Tubby needs to understand he needs to stop the transfers. Just as Cobbs would have been a great help last year when Nolan got hurt, Colton would have been very useful tonight. Considering how deep his rotation is, it shouldn't be that hard to keep people around.
-Is there no strength coach at the U? How can Sampson be so lean as a senior?
- I don't know much about him but I like Ingram's toughness. He came in and battled. He likely doesn't have great tools but he clearly has some grit.
-Izzo should get a T when he comes on the court during play. 10 minutes left in the first half, he came within three feet of a Gopher player while the Gophers were running their O.
-How is it that Michigan State is able to give so much prime seating to students? It must be a revenue loss but what a great atmosphere.

izzo gets away with murder on the sidelines at home. I think the refs are scared of his 5' 5" frame. In his mind msu never fouls or turns the ball over much like the grinch at sconnie. His goons tonight never left the lane but again with the msu education they probably can't count to three.
 

The game turned south for good when Coleman stole the ball and then had his pocket picked leading to the flagrant foul. We were down five with a chance to cut it further.

I'm glad someone mentioned this. Such a huge turn of events! Chip away at the lead to build momentum, get a big turnover with a chance to cut the lead to 2 or 3, and give it right back with a turnover and frustration-based flagrant foul. Definitely a double-mistake that Coleman will avoid as he matures, but man that one hurt.

Overall, we played tough, but Sparty's D was pretty stingy all night long. Plus, we just couldn't come through with the big jumpshots like we did at Indiana. We seemed a step behind for most of the game.

Another tough one on Saturday. Excited to see how the boys respond!
 

I found Gus Johnson's comment, "I guess Ralph Sampson is just having one of those nights."............It seems to me that RSIII was having one of his many nights.
 

I am increasingly optomistic with this group. They seem to be making strides in the right direction.

JC is going to be a star, nice work on getting him to the U tubby.
 

Gophers played hard. It was a very physical game and MN just didn't have sufficient brawn to deny Green. Let's give him his due, he's very talented and had a good night. Andre played his best floor game in a while - a confidence booster in a hostile environment.

Turning pont of the game was when both Ralph and EE had 3 fouls and we had to play small then a bit cautiously with our bigs.

Bresslin was rocking on Izzo's 400 night. This really was a tough match-up with all of the dynamics.

Go Gophers.
 




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