There are 3 things this team consistently does that are just infuriating

[cncmin]

1. Failure to guard the 3. No matter if the opponent is having trouble scoring inside or not (tonight), no matter if the opponent does nothing but shoot 3 pointers (perfect example UW), if the ball goes inside, our guards follow the ball. This rarely results in a steal or a forced missed shot, but instead leaves the 3-point line wide open for an easy dish back out and 3. This happened many times again today, as it has almost every game since Tubby has been coach. The worst was late in the game when Nix (or Payne?) had gotten deep, but our 7-foot blocker Eliason had good position, and MSU had hardly scored any 2-pt field goals the entire game to that point. Dre doubled down, the ball got dished back to Appling, and for all intents and purposes the game ended there as the ball swished through the net. Is this a defensive coaching decision or can the players simply not help themselves from leaving the 3 open? Whatever the case, correcting this would earn the Gophers about 3 to 4 more victories every season, alone.

2. The starting 5 comes out flat nearly every game, and has been a recurring theme since December. It was pathetic how slow the Gophers moved on offense for the first 5 minutes, and their defense wasn't much better. I could understand the Gophers coming out flat against maybe a Lafayette or a different non-conference foe - maybe even PSU - but there is no excuse for the team to come out lackadaisical in a B1G game. Tubby was right to bench the starters; though putting in Walker once again proved futile (when will that experiment end?), and the bench put out some energy but no offensive cohesiveness - and therefore zero offense. When the starters got back in, they displayed more energy and the results were much better; however there was no need to be down in a big hole (7) already at that point in the game, especially with MSU shooting poorly to that point. Will they come out ready to play in any B1G game this season? I haven't seen it yet, so it would be a pleasant surprise. The sad thing is, the Gopher's M.O. when this season started was crushing energy right out of the gate. Where did that go?

3. Related to #2, the players largely fail to put in any effort whatsoever to move without the ball and to make hard cuts. They just walk around on offense, don't really move too much without the ball, don't really "want" the ball, and just watch each other waiting for someone else to do something. The guys "breaking" to the ball slowly jog into position, too rarely leading to a pass to a player in scoring position. If a guy drives, no one fills in the gaps created in the defense, and as a result the driving player doesn't have the dish-out options he should have. Perhaps as a direct result of lack of off-ball movement, ball movement and offensive fluidity in the half court set is nearly absent for this team. I thought these problems were particularly evident in the two passing turnovers in passes directed to Rodney at the top of the key late in the game. Sure, the telegraphed passes weren't anything to brag about, but Rodney walk-jogged both times toward the open spot in the key, and the defender easily beat him to the spot for two big steals and layups. Perhaps/probably neither is a steal if Rodney darts toward the ball to help the passer.

This team is talented enough to win a lot of ball games and to go deep in the Tournament this year, but I question their passion to play and their basketball intuition. There are two players on this team who at least always bring passion - Mbakwe and Eliason. I wonder if it is not a coincidence that a lack of team effort has corresponded with Elliot's longer bench minutes since the B1G season began.

 

[gopherbadgerman]

They started good against Iowa.

regardless i think these are valid points...

 

[bga1]

I can't stand anything about Wisconsin but...a few things they consistently do that allows them to win year after year with decent but not stunning talent:

They consistently allow the fewest made threes - this is a big deal- 3's really are a big lift
They play sound position defense- they don't block a lot of shots and they don't foul a lot- they hold their positions
They run plenty of motion in the swing offense
To sum it up - they have a way of playing and a purpose and they get better at it as the year goes on

Contrast those things with the Gophers.

 

[tinyarch]

The kids do what the coaches teach.

Now, granted that the kids make some boneheaded decisions that they are directly responsible for. However, when you see a pattern of consistency in the way a team approaches things you have to trace that back to coaching. The patented Tubby standing offense is a yoke that Tubby has to bear.

 

[drnkmn]

Defending the 3 and the stupid turnovers are my 2 biggest since Tubby arrived. Ive given up hope it will ever change as long as he is the head coach. If this team doesnt snap out of it and do something this season I think youre going to start to see Monson level apathy creep in.

 

[march madness]

I like Wisconsin's defense, there offense makes me want to hurl.

I can't stand anything about Wisconsin but...a few things they consistently do that allows them to win year after year with decent but not stunning talent:

They consistently allow the fewest made threes - this is a big deal- 3's really are a big lift
They play sound position defense- they don't block a lot of shots and they don't foul a lot- they hold their positions
They run plenty of motion in the swing offense
To sum it up - they have a way of playing and a purpose and they get better at it as the year goes on

Contrast those things with the Gophers.

It is a rarity for Wisconsin to ever double anyone, leaving the 3pt line open. They force players to make shots over the top of defenders. I wish we played that way. Now on offense I don't care how effective theirs is, I don't want to play it.

 

[jamiche]

It is a rarity for Wisconsin to ever double anyone, leaving the 3pt line open. They force players to make shots over the top of defenders. I wish we played that way. Now on offense I don't care how effective theirs is, I don't want to play it.

I would take their wins, NCAA tourney appearances and boring but sound offense over our alley oops dunks every day and twice on Christmas.

Also, do you think that our motion free offense is so much fun to watch?

 

[Goph4phan]

1. Failure to guard the 3.

I gets so much worse when Tubby goes zone. And to me, its purely coaching.
Tubby is insistent on doubling the post. The funny thing is Tubby coaches his old ball-line-defense. That's ok with me, and I think we have the athletes to do it, however, Tubby either coaches it wrong or his players year in and year out make the same mistake. Watch the guards doubling from the wing. They almost always turn their back to the shooters instead of playing ball-you-man so they have a chance to recover to defend the 3. We have the athletes, just lack skills and especially footwork.

 

[tikited]

It is a rarity for Wisconsin to ever double anyone, leaving the 3pt line open. They force players to make shots over the top of defenders. I wish we played that way. Now on offense I don't care how effective theirs is, I don't want to play it.

We don't have any height out there for most of the game which makes Tubby and co. think they need to double every time the ball goes anywhere down low.

 

[Moses87]

Top 3 things that infuriate me:

1)We don't have anybody who can create for his teammates. Most of our half court offense winds up being an individual effort like Coleman had against Iowa or Andre's step back jumpers. I dream of the day we have a point guard who can get past his man, draw the defense to him and kick it to a wide open teammate. We just don't don't have it now and it makes watching our offense painful.

2)Don't drive to the basket enough. I know we are limited with our ball-handling, but there have been numerous instances where opponents are daring the Gophers guards to drive to the basket and we pass it up. Andre and Austin need to get more aggressive and not shy away from driving. I will give some kudos to Austin who did it 5 times last night when he realized his outside shot wasn't falling. He scored 2 layups, got fouled (made 2 of 4 FT's) twice and had 1 shot blocked. Andre NEVER drives to the basket anymore. He's had numerous lanes and opportunities. I think Tubby is in his head and he's more comfortable playing it safe. Playing it safe won't work against the elite.

3)Missing 1 and 1's. I swear we make about 25% of our 1 and 1's. I'm probably exaggerating but that's how it feels. I don't know if the players get extra tight in those situations or if we are just that poor at FT's in general. Trevor pretty much cost us the NW game with his 3 seperate 1 and 1 misses. Plus he went 0-2 on a shooting foul in that game. Hard to imagine winning any close games in March with that kind of shooting.

 

[GophersInIowa]

The 3-point defense doesn't bother me as much as others. We still only allowed 61 points on the road, and that's with MSU shooting some free throws at the end. We do allow a bunch of 3's sometimes, but we're also usually pretty good in 2-point defense. The Gophers are still in the top half of points allowed per game in the BT.

 

[book]

Even Nebraska went nuts hitting 3's. That and the 1 and 1 ft misses are bad. I'd rather have us chuck up shots and get the off. rebounds than dibbling around and turning it over looking for the deal shot!

 

[GophersInIowa]

Even Nebraska went nuts hitting 3's. That and the 1 and 1 ft misses are bad. I'd rather have us chuck up shots and get the off. rebounds than dibbling around and turning it over looking for the deal shot!

To be fair, Gallegos was on fire that game and was hitting some shots when the Gophers were playing good defense. He's extremely streaky.

 

[cncmin]

We don't have any height out there for most of the game which makes Tubby and co. think they need to double every time the ball goes anywhere down low.

Has there been any opponent this season that has crushed the Gophers inside?
Worse yet, when we double down that leaves no one to block out the offensive guard if the interior player takes a shot...yet another reason why the team is not as good on the defensive board as it should be...meanwhile, when the opponent gets an offensive board, our doubling down lends to easy passes to open guards set up perfectly on the arch.

I long to see a defensive scheme whereby we wait until an interior player starts burning our defenders (like, say, Sullinger used to do) before we start packing it in. Even so, Sullinger used to hurt us, but it was still OSU's guards that did most of the damage. If the coaches would challenge each man to just shut down the man he's guarding - HIS man - this team would be so much better on defense. Instead, the guards rely on someone else to help, and their lack of communication for that help makes matters that much worse.

 

[march madness]

cncmin. This is what Wisconsin does on defense. Great position man to man. Never leave shooters. Make a post player earn a basket with a good move and shot over the top. Everyone is in position to rebound. CSU does this as well. The teams that press and double seem to be Florida, Louisville, Missouri, etc.; but they can recruit guys that are not only athletes they are very skilled on the offensive end. I am not sure this is the best type of style for the big ten.. Tubby prove me wrong. I am complimenting Wisconsin defense here not their offense.

 

[StCroix]

#3 is HUGE. I have never seen successful basketball team stand around without the ball. If this is Tubbys offense, well, good luck at USC Tubby. There are times the only one moving is the guy with the ball. When they are active, good things happen.

 

[Gopher Bandanna Guy]

I may take flak for this, but I really feel that the offense runs at its smoothest, when EE is in the game. He is active in the high post, and a good passer. I also see the backcourt failing to make a strong effort on some possessions to get Trevor the ball. Even if he doesn't have great position to make a move to the hoop, dump the ball in there. It may have to come back out, but you'll force the defense to collapse a bit. I feel like Dre doesn't drop the ball in the post early in the shot clock enough.

 

[mcal24]

Top 3 things that infuriate me:

1)We don't have anybody who can create for his teammates. Most of our half court offense winds up being an individual effort like Coleman had against Iowa or Andre's step back jumpers. I dream of the day we have a point guard who can get past his man, draw the defense to him and kick it to a wide open teammate. We just don't don't have it now and it makes watching our offense painful.

Tyus, you reading this?

 

[BTen]

I may take flak for this, but I really feel that the offense runs at its smoothest, when EE is in the game. He is active in the high post, and a good passer. I also see the backcourt failing to make a strong effort on some possessions to get Trevor the ball. Even if he doesn't have great position to make a move to the hoop, dump the ball in there. It may have to come back out, but you'll force the defense to collapse a bit. I feel like Dre doesn't drop the ball in the post early in the shot clock enough.

Good Post. Agreed on all points. Though the biggest difference with EE seems to be that when he's on the floor with the starters, your observations are right on. Seems like earlier in conference play, he was seeing the floor with all the other subs and his confidence got completely rattled.

 

[gopherbadgerman]

I may take flak for this, but I really feel that the offense runs at its smoothest, when EE is in the game. He is active in the high post, and a good passer. I also see the backcourt failing to make a strong effort on some possessions to get Trevor the ball. Even if he doesn't have great position to make a move to the hoop, dump the ball in there. It may have to come back out, but you'll force the defense to collapse a bit. I feel like Dre doesn't drop the ball in the post early in the shot clock enough.

I cant believe I am typing this, but I feel the same way currently about EE, and I am one of those who felt, and still do to some extent, that he is not going to be a good B10 player. But I concede that the last couple of games the offense has looked better with him on the floor and either Coleman or Williams out of the game.

 

[GophersInIowa]

I may take flak for this, but I really feel that the offense runs at its smoothest, when EE is in the game. He is active in the high post, and a good passer. I also see the backcourt failing to make a strong effort on some possessions to get Trevor the ball. Even if he doesn't have great position to make a move to the hoop, dump the ball in there. It may have to come back out, but you'll force the defense to collapse a bit. I feel like Dre doesn't drop the ball in the post early in the shot clock enough.

I agree completely.

 

[cncmin]

Good Post. Agreed on all points. Though the biggest difference with EE seems to be that when he's on the floor with the starters, your observations are right on. Seems like earlier in conference play, he was seeing the floor with all the other subs and his confidence got completely rattled.

This is likely the case with ALL of the subs. Why Tubby does the "line change" substitutions is beyond me. Each individual sub could find success on the floor surrounded by better talent.

As for the observations with EE and the offense improving, that makes a lot of sense. Watch Elliott with the ball, he's constantly looking for open players around the floor in position to score. If one isn't found, he works the ball quickly to a better ball handler. Coleman and Williams end up slowing down or stopping any flow the offense has when they get the ball outside. Also, it helps that EE actually puts in some energy on the offensive end - he fights for position, and gets to his spot quickly. He's also been rebounding very well all year. I'm still at a loss as to how he lost almost all of his minutes at the start of B1G play. At the very least, if the game comes down to a half-court matchup, as it has often lately, Tubby needs to get EE in the game, probably at the expense of Coleman or Williams.

 

[book]

Recruit some shooters!

 

[lakesgopher]

i just cant stand the turnovers, that is it. if we cut our turnovers in half we beat wisky, nu, maybe michigan, probably indiana, and duke is a competitive game until the final buzzer. thats why i always thought losing cobbs was the worst thing to happen to the gophers. we just dont have the ball handlers to be a top team in the big ten. hopefully we get on a nice win streak to close out the season and get a nice draw in the tourney. i still feel like this team is better suited to win games outside of the big ten. hope im right!

 

[GopherJake]

I may take flak for this, but I really feel that the offense runs at its smoothest, when EE is in the game. He is active in the high post, and a good passer. I also see the backcourt failing to make a strong effort on some possessions to get Trevor the ball. Even if he doesn't have great position to make a move to the hoop, dump the ball in there. It may have to come back out, but you'll force the defense to collapse a bit. I feel like Dre doesn't drop the ball in the post early in the shot clock enough.

EE is the only big who has a clue about how to set a decent screen and run an effective high screen and roll. TM is terrible at it. Williams doesn't even try.

 

[bga1]

EE is the only big who has a clue about how to set a decent screen and run an effective high screen and roll. TM is terrible at it. Williams doesn't even try.

Speaking of the high screen and roll...... This is what Michigan does so effectively to make Trey Burke even better as a point guard. Burke has a better handle than Andre, but they are otherwise very similar. neither is blow you away fast but both are fast enough. Neither is going to break down Big Ten opponents off the dribble without a good screen. Our screens are half heaerted and tend to create action that is side to side rather than getting the point into the paint. In the Mich/OSU game, with a minute left McGary sets a high ball screen for Burke. Burke dribbles to the free throw line the defense picks him up and he hits a baseline cutter for the lay in. This is what we don't do and could with Andre. It won't work every time but it will make him more multi dimensional and open things up for that deadly jumper of his.

 

[GG07]

I would be more comfortable with
G-Dre
G-Austin
F-Williams
F-Mbakwe
C-Eliason
with Coleman coming off the bench. Coleman would make our bench better. If we do this lineup I think we can easily win 6 of 8. All 8 games we have left we can win other than maybe Indiana.

 

[scher215]

IMO. The Gophers D is pretty good. Either need to stop doubling the post or do it better, but other than that pretty solid and even that isn't a huge deal to me.

The offense is horrendous. Not sure if it is all Tubby, the players, the others team D or what, but the stall is awful. The three man passing around the perimeter is awful. The lack of aggression and attacking. Lack of movement. Lack of screens. How tentative everyone looks. It is terrible.

Fix that and the Gophers will be right back on track.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Recruit some shooters!

Coming into today, the Gophers were fourth in made 3-pointers and 3-point % in conference play.

 

[tikited]

Speaking of the high screen and roll...... This is what Michigan does so effectively to make Trey Burke even better as a point guard. Burke has a better handle than Andre, but they are otherwise very similar. neither is blow you away fast but both are fast enough. Neither is going to break down Big Ten opponents off the dribble without a good screen. Our screens are half heaerted and tend to create action that is side to side rather than getting the point into the paint. In the Mich/OSU game, with a minute left McGary sets a high ball screen for Burke. Burke dribbles to the free throw line the defense picks him up and he hits a baseline cutter for the lay in. This is what we don't do and could with Andre. It won't work every time but it will make him more multi dimensional and open things up for that deadly jumper of his.

Exactly.