Tid-bits on Vander Blue, Harrison Barnes, Rodney and construction of the Barn's court

Donate To GopherHole
BleedGopher

BleedGopher

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
62,210
Reaction score
18,789
Points
113
per this blog update from Marcus Fuller:

Gophers after former Wisconsin recruit; Barnes visits
By Marcus Fuller on May 13, 2009 1:29 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
The Gophers won't meet Wisconsin on the basketball court until next season, but they now have a chance to beat the Badgers on the recruiting trail by going after the best player in their rival's backyard.

Madison Memorial High School guard Vander Blue recently backed out of his commitment to Wisconsin this week, according to Internet reports. Blue, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound junior, is ranked as one of the top 10 point guards in the nation and a top-30 player in the 2010 class by Rivals.com.

I've heard that Minnesota coaches will be heavily pursuing Blue now that his recruitment is open. Blue had shown some interest in the Gophers in the past, but Marquette and Louisville appear to be the frontrunners. Marquette already landed Blue's teammate, Madison Memorial senior forward Jeronne Maymon.

Blue, who plays AAU basketball with the Illinois Warriors, wasn't with the team at the local Sabes Invitational last weekend. But he's expected to play in the St. Louis Eagles Invite this week. The Howard Pulley Panthers are scheduled to play the Warriors at the event, which starts Friday. That means an intriguing guard matchup between Blue and Howard Pulley guard Jacob Thomas, a blossoming Gopher target.

-- The nation's top-ranked recruit, Harrison Barnes, didn't make it to the quarterfinals of the Sabes tournament over the weekend with All-Iowa Attack, but he took the opportunity to make an unofficial visit to Minnesota's campus Sunday morning with his mother, Shirley. Barnes, who plans to play in a couple of tournaments with Howard Pulley this summer, had a good visit, according to Rene Pulley. I wouldn't be surprised if the Gophers eventually get an official visit, because coach Tubby Smith is close with Barnes' mother. But it will be hard to leapfrog national title contenders such as Duke, Kansas and North Carolina in the end.

-- Pulley said Gophers recruit Rodney Williams Jr. is still young enough to play with his AAU team this summer, but Pulley wanted him to work on becoming eligible to play college ball with Minnesota next season. Williams recently received an ACT score of 17 after retaking the college entrance exam, which should be enough to qualify if he keeps his grades up to finish high school at Cooper.

-- Construction on Williams Arena's court will begin on May 19, the Gophers announced today. The Barn's playing surface will be replaced for the first time in 81 years.

http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/

Go Gophers!!
 


Are they actually changing the look, or just replacing it with an identical?
 

Surely they've replaced the court in 81 years? Heck I remember them replacing it at least within the last 10-15 years. Is this something more substantial? Is replacing the floor and the court two different things?
 

If Tubby somehow steals this guy, it sure would be a refreshing change from what we're used to from the Bo vs. Monson era. ... Bo raiding the state and beating Monson head-to-head for some darn good players. Turning the tables & stealing a few good players out of Wisconsin would be cool, if we can do it.
 


Now is the right time to join the rest of the world and eliminate the silly raised floor.
 


Gopher4Life said:
Now is the right time to join the rest of the world and eliminate the silly raised floor.
Click to expand...

I love the raised floor. It is a unique identifying feature and it improves the sightlines for the crowd.
 

grunkiejr said:
I love the raised floor. It is a unique identifying feature and it improves the sightlines for the crowd.
Click to expand...

Please don't do anything to provoke G4L into another bitter pissing match about the raised floor.

Thanks.
 



KyGopherfan said:
Anyone know what the new court will look like?
Click to expand...

I would vote that half of the court be raised and half of the court be at ground level such that only Rodney Williams could easily make it over the half court line. :)
 

i hope they dont change any of the features of the court...leave the paint the way it is
 


howeda7 said:
Surely they've replaced the court in 81 years? Heck I remember them replacing it at least within the last 10-15 years. Is this something more substantial? Is replacing the floor and the court two different things?
Click to expand...

Charley Walters had reported almost every year for the past 10-15 years that the floor was being replaced. But he always followed that up later with, "Oops, I guess not."

Each of those times it set off debate here about what the floor should look like. I'd say get Goldy off the floor and replace it with the big block M. I would also like gold around the edges -- it's hard to make that look good but it looks great on TV when the Lakers play -- but I know that puts me in the minority here.
 



I thought discussion awhile back some thought they heard they were going with the block M at mid-court....but I could be wrong (i usually am when it comes to remembering things)
 


howeda7 said:
Surely they've replaced the court in 81 years? Heck I remember them replacing it at least within the last 10-15 years. Is this something more substantial? Is replacing the floor and the court two different things?
Click to expand...

I think they will be replacing more than just the court itself. IIRC, there are something like "springs" beneath the court that give it a somewhat bouncy feel that players seem to like, but will be removed. I think that's the 81 year old part. Somebody mentioned it on TV once, was it Bob Knight during his telecast when he went on and on about the raised floor?
 


anticallihan said:
Whoah.. who will Goldy point to when he walks on the court if he is no longer painted on the court?
Click to expand...

Somehow I think Goldy would manage :D.....I must admit, I wouldn't mind if they put the block M at center court. It doesn't have to be a permanent change if it doesn't look good. Just a little something to change things up. If people don't like it, change it back. If they do like it, all the better.
 

bga1 said:
Agreed. Except take the "Cub Foods" advertisement off.
Click to expand...

YES, get the Cub Foods ad off of there! Please, there must be a big donor who can contribute what Cub pays for that ad.

Most certainly keep the raised floor. This would be a good polling question. I bet those in favor of the raised floor win 90% to 10%.
 

How about this in the future some day (probably not going to happen, but we love to dream...)

PG-Vander Blue
SG-Devoe Joseph
F-Rodney Williams
F-Harrison Barnes
F-Royce White
 

TheDinkytowner said:
I think they will be replacing more than just the court itself. IIRC, there are something like "springs" beneath the court that give it a somewhat bouncy feel that players seem to like, but will be removed. I think that's the 81 year old part. Somebody mentioned it on TV once, was it Bob Knight during his telecast when he went on and on about the raised floor?
Click to expand...

I don't know what the reason was, but it was always very forgiving and easy on the knee's. It almost made up for the longer court length when playing intermural game's there instead of cook.
 

grunkiejr
Section 135, Rows 24 & 25 Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 1,226



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gopher4Life
Now is the right time to join the rest of the world and eliminate the silly raised floor.

I love the raised floor. It is a unique identifying feature and it improves the sightlines for the crowd.">>>>>>

How does it improve the sightlines for the crowd?
 

Because it raises the action of the game higher making the action seem closer to you than it really is. I would hate to see The Barn lose the raised floor. It is part of the charm of the place.
 

I've always believed that the uniqueness of an arena lends to a home-court advantage. The raised floor is great and I'll be sad if it is ever removed.
 

1) The raised court is not being removed...and it won't be removed.

2) The actual boards have never been replaced. They did a study on the floor's wood a few years back, and it was made by a company in Wisconsin that went out of business in the 1930s.

3) According to a video on the Star Tribune about the floor's replacement, the court will look virtually the same, right down to having Goldy Gopher at center court. Apologies to those who wanted a block "M", as it doesn't look like that will happen.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom