Stanford season ticket holder and Gopher alum (’67) here. Long time GopherHole reader / supporter – thanks to all of you for keeping me up with Gopher hoops and football through the years!
I have seen all the Stanford games this year and a lot of the Gopher games (thanks to the Big Ten network on cable).
Stanford played very well early in the year (almost beat Syracuse in the pre-season NIT) and had a good game against NC State (at home). In the middle of the year, they played poorly but have played very well lately, especially in the NIT, although last night’s game had a lot of middle of the season moments.
They play 9-11 guys, 2 of their starters often play very few minutes, so it’s hard to give you a match up view. They are a pretty athletic team with length but no bulk. The core of the team is the sophomore class. Teamed with freshman Randle, that makes them inconsistent – never know what’s going to show up.
Stanford starts 3 seniors, although 2 of them often don’t play much and neither has a decent offense game. Zimmerman, from Wisconsin, is a defender / rebounder and Mann is a defensive specialist, but he is the worst shooter you’ve ever seen at the D1 level – and often a turnover machine. Zimmerman will match up against Eliason.
The most interesting match up is Dre Hollins / Chasson Randle. The Stanford perspective is that they recruited them both and they were Stanford’s top two choices (for only 1 scholly last year). They rated them Randle first, Hollins second. When Randle committed, Hollins committed to the Gophers the next day. Although Hollins has come on strong lately, Randle has been Stanford’s best player all year. But I think Hollins might have a bit of an edge now, will be interesting to see.
Bright is their pg, although he has been coming off the bench lately. He’s their best shooter and often the top scorer. He has a lot of trouble in the paint. He gets there but it’s often not productive.
Brown should match up with Austin Hollins – 2 tall athletic wing players. He’s a streaky shooter / scorer – can get 20 but it could be under 5.
Owens is an athletic 5th year senior with some good moves around the basket. He’ll probably match up against Rodney and they’ll have a contest to see who gets the most dunks. Owens range is about 6-8 feet. He probably holds the record for botched dunks.
Huestis comes off the bench and is a terrific rebounder / defender (shot blocker) for a 6’ 7” guy. Struggles with offense though.
Powell also comes off the bench. He’s an athletic big (tall but not bulky). He’s been injured most of the year but has come through lately, especially in the NIT. Good finisher – can’t shoot beyond the foul line.
If Gage gets in the game, you’ll see a very good shooting big. But he hasn’t played much lately.
Trotter is a skinny tall guy (senior) who doesn’t play much either but he does have some offense (left hander).
I don’t know how to predict this game. I thought Udub would beat the Gophers and I don’t think Stanford could beat Udub. So I guess I have to favor the Gophers, but I don’t know how I’ll be rooting. Let’s put it this way …
Go Gophers!
I have seen all the Stanford games this year and a lot of the Gopher games (thanks to the Big Ten network on cable).
Stanford played very well early in the year (almost beat Syracuse in the pre-season NIT) and had a good game against NC State (at home). In the middle of the year, they played poorly but have played very well lately, especially in the NIT, although last night’s game had a lot of middle of the season moments.
They play 9-11 guys, 2 of their starters often play very few minutes, so it’s hard to give you a match up view. They are a pretty athletic team with length but no bulk. The core of the team is the sophomore class. Teamed with freshman Randle, that makes them inconsistent – never know what’s going to show up.
Stanford starts 3 seniors, although 2 of them often don’t play much and neither has a decent offense game. Zimmerman, from Wisconsin, is a defender / rebounder and Mann is a defensive specialist, but he is the worst shooter you’ve ever seen at the D1 level – and often a turnover machine. Zimmerman will match up against Eliason.
The most interesting match up is Dre Hollins / Chasson Randle. The Stanford perspective is that they recruited them both and they were Stanford’s top two choices (for only 1 scholly last year). They rated them Randle first, Hollins second. When Randle committed, Hollins committed to the Gophers the next day. Although Hollins has come on strong lately, Randle has been Stanford’s best player all year. But I think Hollins might have a bit of an edge now, will be interesting to see.
Bright is their pg, although he has been coming off the bench lately. He’s their best shooter and often the top scorer. He has a lot of trouble in the paint. He gets there but it’s often not productive.
Brown should match up with Austin Hollins – 2 tall athletic wing players. He’s a streaky shooter / scorer – can get 20 but it could be under 5.
Owens is an athletic 5th year senior with some good moves around the basket. He’ll probably match up against Rodney and they’ll have a contest to see who gets the most dunks. Owens range is about 6-8 feet. He probably holds the record for botched dunks.
Huestis comes off the bench and is a terrific rebounder / defender (shot blocker) for a 6’ 7” guy. Struggles with offense though.
Powell also comes off the bench. He’s an athletic big (tall but not bulky). He’s been injured most of the year but has come through lately, especially in the NIT. Good finisher – can’t shoot beyond the foul line.
If Gage gets in the game, you’ll see a very good shooting big. But he hasn’t played much lately.
Trotter is a skinny tall guy (senior) who doesn’t play much either but he does have some offense (left hander).
I don’t know how to predict this game. I thought Udub would beat the Gophers and I don’t think Stanford could beat Udub. So I guess I have to favor the Gophers, but I don’t know how I’ll be rooting. Let’s put it this way …
Go Gophers!
