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The Good, The Bad and The Interesting: The Aloha Maui Edition
By zipsofakron
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/314838?referrer_id=388419
Holiday tournaments are strange breed. They’re fun in that they provide a good opportunity for teams of all levels to face off on a neutral court, and give the Minnesota’s of the world a chance to match up with the Syracuse’s, North Carolinas and Memphises’ when it ordinarily wouldn’t happen. But they also come at a time early in the season where many teams just aren’t prepared to play at a high level. That leads to plenty of inconsistency, upsets and unpredictability. The Gophers in past holiday tournaments have beaten the likes of North Carolina, for instance, but have also dropped games to Portland. The rest of the season is full of its own surprises, but at this time of the year things can get especially wonky.
The Maui Invitational offered a great opportunity to see the Gophers in action against teams other than the low-major opponents that come through Williams Arena and, as is the case this time of the year, we saw plenty of inconsistency. The Gophers nearly took down Syracuse before turning around and getting smacked by Arkansas. Not to mention the near disaster against Division II Chaminade. But what does that tell us about the team and what to expect for the rest of the season? Not much, unfortunately. Sure, the Gophers were exposed on a few fronts, but this early in the season it’s unfair to draw conclusions about a team. The interior and lack of size was exposed, but that doesn’t prevent the team from switching things up and playing to their strengths as the year progresses.
For better or worse I like to look at these games as exhibitions. They matter, yes, but five games into the season they’re more of a way to see what needs work for the rest of the year. However, if Maui showed us anything, it’s that the Gophers do, in fact, need plenty of work between now and conference play.
GOOD:
Don’t look now, but Malik Smith is a legit scoring threat –Prior to the season, Malik Smith was viewed as a wild card. Sure, he was a great shooter at FIU, but how would that translate against stiffer competition? And since the Gophers haven’t had a three-point specialist since Blake Hoffarber, people were skeptical of his capabilities. But Smith’s fan base is starting to grow, and while the jury is still out on how impactful he’ll be for the team this year, it’s beginning to look like he’ll be a solid addition at the very least. If Smith’s Maui Invitational performances are any indication he can be a tremendous spark for the offense – not just when pulling up for three, but also when taking the ball to the hoop. Smith showed consistently that he’s confident in himself, and when things started to look dire his ability to quickly turn the game around was clear. It isn’t always pretty, and he racks up his share of misses and turnovers, but on multiple occasions he came up with a timely steal, or took the ball to the rack and drew a foul, or nailed a three-pointer to swing the momentum. In fact, he led the team in scoring through the three-game tournament, and is shooting better than Andre Hollins from deep so far this season.
With years of conditioning to forget the long ball and rely on the inside game, believing in guys like Smith to get the job done from beyond the arc feels weird, and I still find myself muttering “No!” as if Rodney Williams was pulling up. But as the season moves along, it’s getting easier to trust Smith to know his shot and what he’s capable of. They won’t always go in, but in the world of college basketball, the momentum that comes from a timely three-pointer is hard to top. He’ll be under a microscope this year considering the skill set he brings, but when taking his game at face value, he’s showing to be a valuable addition to the team already.
BAD:
Holy crap, we almost lost to a D-II team – I had the fortune of being on vacation all week, which meant I had a front row seat to the roller coaster ride that was the Chaminade game. Rather than comfortably reviewing the box score and AP recap like a normal working stiff, I had to endure the Silversword onslaught and live the possibility that the Gophers would lose to a Division II team in real time. It was horrifying. Obviously, the Gophers didn’t lose, but the fact that they had to struggle to beat a team at that level is disconcerting. It’s early in the season, and it’s hard to put a lot of stock in results and performances at holiday tournaments, but for three quarters of their final Maui game the Gophers looked dreadful. In fact, it was nearly a repeat of the Arkansas game.
Now, the Gophers didn’t lose, and I hate it when people say that a team “almost” lost, but I can’t help but think about what would have happened if the Gophers showed up against a team from a major conference. The result probably wouldn’t have been as pretty. The Silverswords cut up the interior like it was butter and for much of the game they slowed Minnesota down, refusing to let them play their game. Hot shooting from the field helped as did Minnesota’s ineffectiveness in the shooting department. But, still, that they were a class below the Gophers, talent-wise, continuously showed through, which not only allowed Minnesota to hang around despite their poor play, but also led to its eventual victory.
Now, I don’t want to take away anything from the team; they battled back and didn’t give up even when it seemed like they were completely disinterested, which is a positive in its own right. And while Chaminade is a D-II team, they’re capable of taking down anyone on any given night (look at the Baylor game two nights before) at this tournament. But I’m more than a little concerned that the team had obvious flaws for the second game in a row and had they not faced Chaminade, I’m not sure they’d have been in position to pull off the comeback.
INTERESTING:
End of the bench, in the middle of the game? – I thought I was seeing things, but late in the second half with the Gophers having just upped their lead to five at 69-64, both Daquien McNeil and Kendal Shell, a head-scratching freshman/walk-on duo, entered the game. It’s not like the two haven’t seen the floor this year, but the only PT Shell has gotten is in garbage time against scrub teams, and McNeil hasn’t been trusted with meaningful minutes since he showed up.
Perhaps this was a wake-up call to the players on the court? That’s one explanation, but it also came at a time when the Gophers were on a roll and had battled back to take the lead, so it’s not like it was a Tubby-esque punishment or message-sending technique. And it’s also not as if McNeil and Shell add another level of talent to the floor. In a guard-heavy lineup they’re way, way down the list in guys who can contribute. So far I haven’t heard any explanation, but this one leaves me scratching my head. If Pitino was sending a message, I wonder what other messages we’ll see this year. Playing with walk-ons is an interesting tactic.
By zipsofakron
http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/314838?referrer_id=388419
Holiday tournaments are strange breed. They’re fun in that they provide a good opportunity for teams of all levels to face off on a neutral court, and give the Minnesota’s of the world a chance to match up with the Syracuse’s, North Carolinas and Memphises’ when it ordinarily wouldn’t happen. But they also come at a time early in the season where many teams just aren’t prepared to play at a high level. That leads to plenty of inconsistency, upsets and unpredictability. The Gophers in past holiday tournaments have beaten the likes of North Carolina, for instance, but have also dropped games to Portland. The rest of the season is full of its own surprises, but at this time of the year things can get especially wonky.
The Maui Invitational offered a great opportunity to see the Gophers in action against teams other than the low-major opponents that come through Williams Arena and, as is the case this time of the year, we saw plenty of inconsistency. The Gophers nearly took down Syracuse before turning around and getting smacked by Arkansas. Not to mention the near disaster against Division II Chaminade. But what does that tell us about the team and what to expect for the rest of the season? Not much, unfortunately. Sure, the Gophers were exposed on a few fronts, but this early in the season it’s unfair to draw conclusions about a team. The interior and lack of size was exposed, but that doesn’t prevent the team from switching things up and playing to their strengths as the year progresses.
For better or worse I like to look at these games as exhibitions. They matter, yes, but five games into the season they’re more of a way to see what needs work for the rest of the year. However, if Maui showed us anything, it’s that the Gophers do, in fact, need plenty of work between now and conference play.
GOOD:
Don’t look now, but Malik Smith is a legit scoring threat –Prior to the season, Malik Smith was viewed as a wild card. Sure, he was a great shooter at FIU, but how would that translate against stiffer competition? And since the Gophers haven’t had a three-point specialist since Blake Hoffarber, people were skeptical of his capabilities. But Smith’s fan base is starting to grow, and while the jury is still out on how impactful he’ll be for the team this year, it’s beginning to look like he’ll be a solid addition at the very least. If Smith’s Maui Invitational performances are any indication he can be a tremendous spark for the offense – not just when pulling up for three, but also when taking the ball to the hoop. Smith showed consistently that he’s confident in himself, and when things started to look dire his ability to quickly turn the game around was clear. It isn’t always pretty, and he racks up his share of misses and turnovers, but on multiple occasions he came up with a timely steal, or took the ball to the rack and drew a foul, or nailed a three-pointer to swing the momentum. In fact, he led the team in scoring through the three-game tournament, and is shooting better than Andre Hollins from deep so far this season.
With years of conditioning to forget the long ball and rely on the inside game, believing in guys like Smith to get the job done from beyond the arc feels weird, and I still find myself muttering “No!” as if Rodney Williams was pulling up. But as the season moves along, it’s getting easier to trust Smith to know his shot and what he’s capable of. They won’t always go in, but in the world of college basketball, the momentum that comes from a timely three-pointer is hard to top. He’ll be under a microscope this year considering the skill set he brings, but when taking his game at face value, he’s showing to be a valuable addition to the team already.
BAD:
Holy crap, we almost lost to a D-II team – I had the fortune of being on vacation all week, which meant I had a front row seat to the roller coaster ride that was the Chaminade game. Rather than comfortably reviewing the box score and AP recap like a normal working stiff, I had to endure the Silversword onslaught and live the possibility that the Gophers would lose to a Division II team in real time. It was horrifying. Obviously, the Gophers didn’t lose, but the fact that they had to struggle to beat a team at that level is disconcerting. It’s early in the season, and it’s hard to put a lot of stock in results and performances at holiday tournaments, but for three quarters of their final Maui game the Gophers looked dreadful. In fact, it was nearly a repeat of the Arkansas game.
Now, the Gophers didn’t lose, and I hate it when people say that a team “almost” lost, but I can’t help but think about what would have happened if the Gophers showed up against a team from a major conference. The result probably wouldn’t have been as pretty. The Silverswords cut up the interior like it was butter and for much of the game they slowed Minnesota down, refusing to let them play their game. Hot shooting from the field helped as did Minnesota’s ineffectiveness in the shooting department. But, still, that they were a class below the Gophers, talent-wise, continuously showed through, which not only allowed Minnesota to hang around despite their poor play, but also led to its eventual victory.
Now, I don’t want to take away anything from the team; they battled back and didn’t give up even when it seemed like they were completely disinterested, which is a positive in its own right. And while Chaminade is a D-II team, they’re capable of taking down anyone on any given night (look at the Baylor game two nights before) at this tournament. But I’m more than a little concerned that the team had obvious flaws for the second game in a row and had they not faced Chaminade, I’m not sure they’d have been in position to pull off the comeback.
INTERESTING:
End of the bench, in the middle of the game? – I thought I was seeing things, but late in the second half with the Gophers having just upped their lead to five at 69-64, both Daquien McNeil and Kendal Shell, a head-scratching freshman/walk-on duo, entered the game. It’s not like the two haven’t seen the floor this year, but the only PT Shell has gotten is in garbage time against scrub teams, and McNeil hasn’t been trusted with meaningful minutes since he showed up.
Perhaps this was a wake-up call to the players on the court? That’s one explanation, but it also came at a time when the Gophers were on a roll and had battled back to take the lead, so it’s not like it was a Tubby-esque punishment or message-sending technique. And it’s also not as if McNeil and Shell add another level of talent to the floor. In a guard-heavy lineup they’re way, way down the list in guys who can contribute. So far I haven’t heard any explanation, but this one leaves me scratching my head. If Pitino was sending a message, I wonder what other messages we’ll see this year. Playing with walk-ons is an interesting tactic.
