STrib: Andre Hollins is back.

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BleedGopher

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per Amelia's blog:

Andre Hollins is back. It's been a long time coming for the senior guard, and the in between had clearly been weighing on him, even though coach Richard Pitino said one of the reasons he stuck by his veteran in the starting lineup was because his struggles didn't show in practice. Hollins had scored in double digits just twice in the previous seven games, and was shooting less than 40 percent from the field. Pitino could talk about his defense and intangibles all he wanted -- a slump like that from the team's best shooter is always going to have a big impact. The Memphis native made a statement almost instantly that all of that would be changing. Hollins scored a three for the Gophers' first bucket of the game and kept going until he hit 31 -- the second-highest total of his career and the most he's scored since his sophomore season. He came off screens, shot seven threes (tying a career-high), dunked in traffic for the first time ever (Turf toe? Doesn't seem to be a thing) and even played to contact a little bit, something we've seen him shy away from lately. Minnesota will need this version if it's going to make a run. Where would the Gophers have been in this game if Hollins hadn't had a monster game? Not looking so positive.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/288931701.html

Go Gophers!!
 

Yeah. Back. Just like after he scored 41 he was going to be a lottery pick. Maybe put 2 games in a row together and I might declare him on the way back.

I LOVE Andre Hollins as a person. He is an exemplary young man. He is not "back" after one good game.
 

Yeah, we were saying he's "back" after the Wake Forest game too. Let's wait a few games.

He's not going to score 30+ points per game and be scorching hot from the outside every game like yesterday, but let's have a few more good-shooting games with few turnovers. Honestly I thought our guys screwed up by not giving him the ball ENOUGH yesterday. There was one stretch in the second half where he was on fire and then didn't get a shot for like 5 minutes.
 

He looks like his quickness has returned. Maybe his turf toe has healed.
 

He made some drives yesterday that I hadn't really seen from him for a year. Looked good and confident. Hopefully this gets him out of the rut and back to his full potential
 


Actually, I would put his good game to pitino. Pitino gave him more screens and double screens yesterday than any other game this year which is the strength of hollins game..hopefully this keeps up.
 

JoshuaT81 said:
Actually, I would put his good game to pitino. Pitino gave him more screens and double screens yesterday than any other game this year which is the strength of hollins game..hopefully this keeps up.
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Wonder if that defensive assignment of guarding Bishop Daniels allowed him a little more energy on offense?
 

JoshuaT81 said:
Actually, I would put his good game to pitino. Pitino gave him more screens and double screens yesterday than any other game this year which is the strength of hollins game..hopefully this keeps up.
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I think these types of plays are called every game for Andre but most teams defend it better than Rutgers did yesterday. I'm sure Pitino called even more once he realized Hollins was feeling it.
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
Wonder if that defensive assignment of guarding Bishop Daniels allowed him a little more energy on offense?
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I was talking with my friend about this yesterday- and I think this is spot on. I like Pitino and think his system will be effective with the proper personnel (even in B10), but I would criticize him for stubbornly forcing Andre to play full court on ball defense. By Pitino's own assessment, Dre is not an "elite athlete," which I think is fair and tend to agree with- but the question then becomes, why are you having him expend precious physical energy on the defensive end chasing around athletes that are presumably more "elite." It is a losing proposition, and has 3 key consequences in my view:
1. It hurts us more than it helps us, often leading to defensive collapses once quicker/faster guards begin exploiting Dre
2. It leads to unnecessary foul trouble for Dre, and more over, I believe is psychologically hindering to him, because again, you are placing him in a failing proposition that he shouldn't be reasonably expected to succeed in.
3. You are completely exhausting your best offensive player whose energy you should be saving to execute for you on the offensive end.

I believe in Pitino's vision, but you have to be able to walk and chew gum, and concede in some line up scenarios for the sake of Ws. I'm thinking the defensive assignment was more happenstance than calculated, and I'm hoping Pitino will recognize the impact this defensive assignment had and makes the adjustment that puts Dre/team in better position for success.

Go Gophers!
 



Is he back in the same way that Mo Williams was "back" after he dropped 52?
 

Assume Andre will draw the assignment on either Shields (listed at 6'7", 221) or Petteway (6'6", 215) on Tuesday. Morris has to handle the other guy. Tough match ups.
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
Assume Andre will draw the assignment on either Shields (listed at 6'7", 221) or Petteway (6'6", 215) on Tuesday. Morris has to handle the other guy. Tough match ups.
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Which is why the Gophers play so much zone.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

I would try a box and one on Petteway with Morris chasing. Pettway the best scorer, one of only 2 decent 3pt shooters (Parker). They arent a great rebounding team either. Big wings who can post if we play man.
 




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