Time to start the freshmen

Otis

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Face it folks, starting TT and Ramburg is only keeping turnovers down. TT is only avg 1.7 and 3, Ram 3pts and 5.3 rebounds (apparently he blocks out).

Time to start Payne and JoJ! They both are getting good minutes they should just start. Both are averaging over 8 points and Payne is the second leading rebounder. Yes, they turn the ball over at a higher rate. But they are freshmen and need minutes to get used to college.

Time to face facts and start these guys!
 

Face it folks, starting TT and Ramburg is only keeping turnovers down. TT is only avg 1.7 and 3, Ram 3pts and 5.3 rebounds (apparently he blocks out).

Time to start Payne and JoJ! They both are getting good minutes they should just start. Both are averaging over 8 points and Payne is the second leading rebounder. Yes, they turn the ball over at a higher rate. But they are freshmen and need minutes to get used to college.

Time to face facts and start these guys!
I would assume Ramburg will see a big reduction in minutes as Carrington gets healthy and eventually when Battle comes back.

As for starting TT over Payne I guess I don't really see an issue there. As long as Payne is getting quality minutes does it really matter if he starts or comes off the bench?

Going to be growing pains with the young guys. My biggest concern so far is the dreadful free throw sooting, especially from Cooper. Team free throw percentage of 54% will kill you in tight games. Big part of that is Cooper's rough start from the line but hopefully he figures it out and gets back closer to his career free throw percentage which is north of 60%. Not great but way better then his current 5-13 through three games.
 

I would assume Ramburg will see a big reduction in minutes as Carrington gets healthy and eventually when Battle comes back.

As for starting TT over Payne I guess I don't really see an issue there. As long as Payne is getting quality minutes does it really matter if he starts or comes off the bench?

Going to be growing pains with the young guys. My biggest concern so far is the dreadful free throw sooting, especially from Cooper. Team free throw percentage of 54% will kill you in tight games. Big part of that is Cooper's rough start from the line but hopefully he figures it out and gets back closer to his career free throw percentage which is north of 60%. Not great but way better then his current 5-13 through three games.
I agree. Coach probably thought TT provided the better matchup initially or was the more ready player but made the adjustment and stuck him on the bench after only 5 minutes.

Ramberg is playing only because Battle is out. That will change soon enough.
 

I agree. Coach probably thought TT provided the better matchup initially or was the more ready player but made the adjustment and stuck him on the bench after only 5 minutes.

Ramberg is playing only because Battle is out. That will change soon enough.
Yeah, Treyton only logged 4 minutes. Basically a couple at the start of both half’s.
Non issue.
 

Face it folks, starting TT and Ramburg is only keeping turnovers down. TT is only avg 1.7 and 3, Ram 3pts and 5.3 rebounds (apparently he blocks out).

Time to start Payne and JoJ! They both are getting good minutes they should just start. Both are averaging over 8 points and Payne is the second leading rebounder. Yes, they turn the ball over at a higher rate. But they are freshmen and need minutes to get used to college.

Time to face facts and start these guys!
It's better for Payne to come off the bench while refs are whistle happy early in the season, don't want him in foul trouble early. Ramburg will be a bench guy once Battle is back
 


Face it folks, starting TT and Ramburg is only keeping turnovers down. TT is only avg 1.7 and 3, Ram 3pts and 5.3 rebounds (apparently he blocks out).

Time to start Payne and JoJ! They both are getting good minutes they should just start. Both are averaging over 8 points and Payne is the second leading rebounder. Yes, they turn the ball over at a higher rate. But they are freshmen and need minutes to get used to college.

Time to face facts and start these guys!
I think the development process is longer term than you’re thinking.

Ben is going to be far more disciplined in his expectations of individuals than what you’ve seen in the past.

We’ll likely see some lumps that appear inexplicable. However, you’ll end with more complete players as well as, a better team and program.
 

Ugly game. I get it that we are young and missing Battle. I was disappointed with TT Maybe my expectations for his development were unfounded but based on what I saw last night not sure why he should be getting any minutes. Also I was disappointed with Henley’s play. He played soft IMO and as the game went deeper and Ben gave him significant minutes it appeared to me he was over his head and could not handle the speed and athleticism of the guard play at this level. Cooper also got alot of minutes and I don’t want to be too harsh but he reminds me of another Charlie Daniels. Carrington looked slow but it was his first game. Overall team play still lacks perimeter shooting which I’m not sure it is as simple as getting Battle back to fix that. Growing pains -
 

Face it folks, starting TT and Ramburg is only keeping turnovers down. TT is only avg 1.7 and 3, Ram 3pts and 5.3 rebounds (apparently he blocks out).

Time to start Payne and JoJ! They both are getting good minutes they should just start. Both are averaging over 8 points and Payne is the second leading rebounder. Yes, they turn the ball over at a higher rate. But they are freshmen and need minutes to get used to college.

Time to face facts and start these guys!

And next year you'll want to start Freshman again,when do you want to play anyone else ?
 

Ugly game. I get it that we are young and missing Battle. I was disappointed with TT Maybe my expectations for his development were unfounded but based on what I saw last night not sure why he should be getting any minutes. Also I was disappointed with Henley’s play. He played soft IMO and as the game went deeper and Ben gave him significant minutes it appeared to me he was over his head and could not handle the speed and athleticism of the guard play at this level. Cooper also got alot of minutes and I don’t want to be too harsh but he reminds me of another Charlie Daniels. Carrington looked slow but it was his first game. Overall team play still lacks perimeter shooting which I’m not sure it is as simple as getting Battle back to fix that. Growing pains -
Charlie Daniels? What are you talking about
 



Close your eyes at times and enjoy the season. There is really good talent on the team, but it needs to build through experience. There are going to be flashed of unbelievable play and then terrible play. It's what you will get with 4 freshmen on the floor at the same time.

With Ihnen and Fox out, we only have 7 guys who should see the floor like last year. I can't see Thompson making it through his full career here. We'll see.
 

I know this is probably a super unpopular opinion, but I think Thompson rebounds better than Garcia. If we're going zone, I think going with a larger lineup on occasion might help (Thompson -Payne - Garcia).

As far Ramberg, yeah. I get what you're saying but he is about the only guy out there that does any of the dirty work whatsoever.
 

Close your eyes at times and enjoy the season. There is really good talent on the team, but it needs to build through experience. There are going to be flashed of unbelievable play and then terrible play. It's what you will get with 4 freshmen on the floor at the same time.

With Ihnen and Fox out, we only have 7 guys who should see the floor like last year. I can't see Thompson making it through his full career here. We'll see.

Unfortunately, I think Treyton’s ceiling may be at non P6 squad.
 

Close your eyes at times and enjoy the season. There is really good talent on the team, but it needs to build through experience. There are going to be flashed of unbelievable play and then terrible play. It's what you will get with 4 freshmen on the floor at the same time.

With Ihnen and Fox out, we only have 7 guys who should see the floor like last year. I can't see Thompson making it through his full career here. We'll see.
I'm getting too old to look forward to next year, and it is less and less hopeful the easier it is to move on to greener pastures.
 



I know this is probably a super unpopular opinion, but I think Thompson rebounds better than Garcia. If we're going zone, I think going with a larger lineup on occasion might help (Thompson -Payne - Garcia).

As far Ramberg, yeah. I get what you're saying but he is about the only guy out there that does any of the dirty work whatsoever.
I may be wrong, but it seem like Thompson has a really hard time actually securing the rebound (along with a lot of the guys) he gets a lot of tips, he hits it with one hand, but can't come down with it.
 

I know this is probably a super unpopular opinion, but I think Thompson rebounds better than Garcia. If we're going zone, I think going with a larger lineup on occasion might help (Thompson -Payne - Garcia).

As far Ramberg, yeah. I get what you're saying but he is about the only guy out there that does any of the dirty work whatsoever.
Basically no one, with the possible exception of Ola-Joseph, has shown much acumen in the rebounding department. Little effort and poor technique. We were even out hustled to a lot of long three point rebounds last night. It was ugly.
 

I would assume Ramburg will see a big reduction in minutes as Carrington gets healthy and eventually when Battle comes back.

As for starting TT over Payne I guess I don't really see an issue there. As long as Payne is getting quality minutes does it really matter if he starts or comes off the bench?

Going to be growing pains with the young guys. My biggest concern so far is the dreadful free throw sooting, especially from Cooper. Team free throw percentage of 54% will kill you in tight games. Big part of that is Cooper's rough start from the line but hopefully he figures it out and gets back closer to his career free throw percentage which is north of 60%. Not great but way better then his current 5-13 through three games.
Only if you are ok with likely behind behind on the scoreboard from the get go.
 


Face it folks, starting TT and Ramburg is only keeping turnovers down. TT is only avg 1.7 and 3, Ram 3pts and 5.3 rebounds (apparently he blocks out).

Time to start Payne and JoJ! They both are getting good minutes they should just start. Both are averaging over 8 points and Payne is the second leading rebounder. Yes, they turn the ball over at a higher rate. But they are freshmen and need minutes to get used to college.

Time to face facts and start these guys!

This team must learn that there is no I in team. They must learn there job and do it.
They must understand that the game is not an equal opportunity, everyone gets a trophy senerio . Ben must establish each players roll and hold them accountable to it,otherwise failure will be the result. Not all players are equal, some are better,and those that are should be featured in the offense, that's Ben's job . If they do these things, success is possible.
 

Before B1G play, I’d like to see more of Carrington at the expense of a little of Cooper’s minutes. We need to find/develop a second PG.
I was wrong about Ola-Joseph after watching one prep game on ESPN last year. He has some life to his game.
The freshman played like freshman against DePaul.
Nobody played much defense and no help D at all.
Payne will be good, as will Henley, and Carrington. What type of game will we see from Betts next year?
Garcia plays small. For a McD All American, I expected more of a presence.
It looks like they are missing a floor general and a quick slasher that can create easy looks for others. Can Christie slash? Can he shoot like his brother? Evans will help to cover up some of the defensive weaknesses of this team next year
Ramberg plays way too many minutes. Offensive liability and not a defensive stopper except probably in practice against his teammates.
Getting Battle back will help greatly.
I like the potential with the young guys, but they will take their lumps until the “game slows down” for them.
 

As the season goes you’ll see a reduction in minutes for both. TT has been disappointing to say the least. I personally feel he’s a mid tier division 2 player. Coopers free throws will hurt us the whole season. I don’t see much changing, unless you tweak his shot but with that comes growing pains and we don’t have time for that. Ramberg plays hard and doesn’t seem to make silly mistakes. I’m more willing for him to get 5-10mins depending on other players availability. It’s going to be a long season. I’m not worried about the record, I’m worried about progress each game. Give this core 1-2 more years.
 

Before B1G play, I’d like to see more of Carrington at the expense of a little of Cooper’s minutes. We need to find/develop a second PG.
I was wrong about Ola-Joseph after watching one prep game on ESPN last year. He has some life to his game.
The freshman played like freshman against DePaul.
Nobody played much defense and no help D at all.
Payne will be good, as will Henley, and Carrington. What type of game will we see from Betts next year?
Garcia plays small. For a McD All American, I expected more of a presence.
It looks like they are missing a floor general and a quick slasher that can create easy looks for others. Can Christie slash? Can he shoot like his brother? Evans will help to cover up some of the defensive weaknesses of this team next year
Ramberg plays way too many minutes. Offensive liability and not a defensive stopper except probably in practice against his teammates.
Getting Battle back will help greatly.
I like the potential with the young guys, but they will take their lumps until the “game slows down” for them.
Two things on Payne that really impressed me, even versus his first few games:

1. The passing. Not all of them accurate but some really good passes, one into a cutter in the lane but a few passes that were great, reverse the ball passes. A center that can do this really helps the offense.
2. The quick twitch Mbakwe type athleticism
 

Gophers obviously need Battle back - but they also need Carrington to be a 3-point threat.

Get some scoring from the perimeter, and that opens up the lane for Garcia or Payne to maneuver.

On Thompson - said it last year, and I'll say it this year. He is a 7'0" small forward. not physical and doesn't have the instincts to play inside. If he can hit some outside shots, he can play. if he can't hit some outside shots, he shouldn't play.

Rebounding is about positioning, but it's also about "want to." Jordan Murphy was not a physical specimen - he just wanted the bleepin' ball more than anyone else on the court. JOJ and Payne look like they might have some of that. Thompson doesn't, and I don't think that's something you can teach.
 

Before B1G play, I’d like to see more of Carrington at the expense of a little of Cooper’s minutes. We need to find/develop a second PG.
I was wrong about Ola-Joseph after watching one prep game on ESPN last year. He has some life to his game.
The freshman played like freshman against DePaul.
Nobody played much defense and no help D at all.
Payne will be good, as will Henley, and Carrington. What type of game will we see from Betts next year?
Garcia plays small. For a McD All American, I expected more of a presence.
It looks like they are missing a floor general and a quick slasher that can create easy looks for others. Can Christie slash? Can he shoot like his brother? Evans will help to cover up some of the defensive weaknesses of this team next year
Ramberg plays way too many minutes. Offensive liability and not a defensive stopper except probably in practice against his teammates.
Getting Battle back will help greatly.
I like the potential with the young guys, but they will take their lumps until the “game slows down” for them.
Not so sure. Pretty slim.
 

Gophers obviously need Battle back - but they also need Carrington to be a 3-point threat.

Get some scoring from the perimeter, and that opens up the lane for Garcia or Payne to maneuver.

On Thompson - said it last year, and I'll say it this year. He is a 7'0" small forward. not physical and doesn't have the instincts to play inside. If he can hit some outside shots, he can play. if he can't hit some outside shots, he shouldn't play.

Rebounding is about positioning, but it's also about "want to." Jordan Murphy was not a physical specimen - he just wanted the bleepin' ball more than anyone else on the court. JOJ and Payne look like they might have some of that. Thompson doesn't, and I don't think that's something you can teach.
These are good points, it is clear that Thompson got the axe early from Johnson after showing no "want to" the first few minutes, and he has some seriously poor hands. A rebound in his hands is as likely to get knocked away as it is to be retained. Payne, on the other hand, has great hands, and while he'll have plenty of mistakes, he shows the ability to both be a physical presence and to feed the post or others slashing to the rim. The other thing is that he hasn't shown any of the spin moves or other things he can do-the best by far is yet to come.

The other issue here is the outside shooting. I think at one point they were 4 for 23 in the first half other than Payne's 5 for 5. They need Battle of course, and they need Carrington, Henley, and Cooper to shoot it better from the arc so Payne and Garcia can have some room to score inside. Cooper and Henley have each had moments, but it's been inconsistent, and Garcia had a couple of God-awful looking three's last night. Carrington will help a lot this year, the kid can shoot it. Of course, he has to prove it in games.

But the last big issue is team quickness. They can put some pretty good size on the court, but they don't have the quickness to stay in front of quick guards and will be punished all year by that. It shows up in long rebounds as well, as they have been beaten to the ball repeatedly. I'm not sure Ben can fix that, and it may mean playing more zone, which could maximize their size and hide their lack of quickness. Depaul has a quick team, and they looked faster all night.

They've put together some good pieces that will have success in the future, but I wouldn't mind seeing a couple of explosively quick guards come in the transfer portal to round things out!
 

Close your eyes at times and enjoy the season. There is really good talent on the team, but it needs to build through experience. There are going to be flashed of unbelievable play and then terrible play. It's what you will get with 4 freshmen on the floor at the same time.

With Ihnen and Fox out, we only have 7 guys who should see the floor like last year. I can't see Thompson making it through his full career here. We'll see.
Everyone is so hard on Thompson when nearly everyone was awful last night lol
 

It is one player so its not like I am calling for Johnson to be fired, but Thompson's lack of improvement over his whatever 1.5 years is not a good sign. And i get the general idea of "play the freshman all the time". That is essentially punting the season. I guess maybe some of you are ok being the worst team in the conference for multiple years in a row but I still want to win games and find being the worst team in the B1G embarrassing. If one/all of the freshman prove to be the best options so be it, but dont play them more than you would just to do it.
 

Everyone is so hard on Thompson when nearly everyone was awful last night lol
Agreed. He's basically a freshman himself, who came in as a string bean and maybe hasn't even stopped growing. Give him some time to figure out his body and game!

And for those who say he's a SF... I've heard worse problems than 7ft SFs lol!

Awkward minute distribution for him though...

Would have been nice to see someone stand up to Depaul. Seems it was left upon Dawson's shoulders to throw up contested/forced shots while everyone watches.

Carrington stood at the arc and watched the offense an odd amount.

Payne is a beast. I see Elton Brand in his game.

Team is just so so SO young. Very obvious there's a super high ceiling, it'll come as they get less overwhelmed by the big stage.
 

Two things on Payne that really impressed me, even versus his first few games:

1. The passing. Not all of them accurate but some really good passes, one into a cutter in the lane but a few passes that were great, reverse the ball passes. A center that can do this really helps the offense.
2. The quick twitch Mbakwe type athleticism
And a few to nobody that went out of bounds.
 

Before B1G play, I’d like to see more of Carrington at the expense of a little of Cooper’s minutes. We need to find/develop a second PG.
I was wrong about Ola-Joseph after watching one prep game on ESPN last year. He has some life to his game.
The freshman played like freshman against DePaul.
Nobody played much defense and no help D at all.
Payne will be good, as will Henley, and Carrington. What type of game will we see from Betts next year?
Garcia plays small. For a McD All American, I expected more of a presence.
It looks like they are missing a floor general and a quick slasher that can create easy looks for others. Can Christie slash? Can he shoot like his brother? Evans will help to cover up some of the defensive weaknesses of this team next year
Ramberg plays way too many minutes. Offensive liability and not a defensive stopper except probably in practice against his teammates.
Getting Battle back will help greatly.
I like the potential with the young guys, but they will take their lumps until the “game slows down” for them.
Ramberg is clearly a place holder for Battle until he is healthy. Reserving judgment on his floor time seems the prudent thing to do.
 

Face it folks, starting TT and Ramburg is only keeping turnovers down. TT is only avg 1.7 and 3, Ram 3pts and 5.3 rebounds (apparently he blocks out).

Time to start Payne and JoJ! They both are getting good minutes they should just start. Both are averaging over 8 points and Payne is the second leading rebounder. Yes, they turn the ball over at a higher rate. But they are freshmen and need minutes to get used to college.

Time to face facts and start these guys!
I am excited about the freshmen…particularly Ola Joseph. That said I do not see the toughness and teamwork we saw last year. More talent, yes, but I fear that we are short on hustle and grit. Payne has potential to be tough. Ramberg plays hard but does not have the skill/athleticism to play many minutes.
 




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