Top 68 Team Previews: #61 Minnesota Golden Gophers -- link

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I am a huge Mav apologist on this board but I really don't see him starting - I see him as hopefully a serviceable backup PG this year but if he starts we may be in trouble
 

fryguy22 said:
I am a huge Mav apologist on this board but I really don't see him starting - I see him as hopefully a serviceable backup PG this year but if he starts we may be in trouble
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Agreed. I think we will have Andre and Welch play on the court and start together, because then we have 2 ballhandlers on the court at the same time. So it could kind of be a point guard by committee. Both Andre and Julian are more of PG/SG than true point guards so it would be beneficial if both of them were on the court at the same time to help share the ballhandling and playmaker duties.
 

If Elliot is really the next coming of Kevin McHale and Mo is healthy then Ralph might not see much playing time. I hope Oto will push Rodney to get better or for his playing time.

Andre Hollins / Julian Welch / Maverick Ahanmisi PG
Austin Hollins / Joe Colman / Chip Armelin SG
Rodney Williams / Oto Osenieks / Chris Halvorsen SF
Mbakwe / Andre Ingram PF
Elliot Eliason / Mo Walker / Ralph Sampson C
 

I don't think PG is going to be the problem with this team. Where are the points going to come from. I imagine they will get alot of them in transition but who in the half court offense is going to be able to consitently score. None of the returning players is much of an offensive powerhouse. The ability to create in the half court is a question mark.
 


Jon said:
http://www.thehoopsreport.com/article.aspx?id=767

We will be better than advertised
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Will we be better??? We all have our favorite players but we don't have a proven point, don't have a proven outside scorer and babble about whether Rodney will be first round NBA when he can't make 4th runner up to the honorable mention all conference team. 61st seems about right when you look at our recent history in the NCAA tourneys (or lack of participation in)
 

Jon said:
If Elliot is really the next coming of Kevin McHale and Mo is healthy then Ralph might not see much playing time. I hope Oto will push Rodney to get better or for his playing time.

Andre Hollins / Julian Welch / Maverick Ahanmisi PG
Austin Hollins / Joe Colman / Chip Armelin SG
Rodney Williams / Oto Osenieks / Chris Halvorsen SF
Mbakwe / Andre Ingram PF
Elliot Eliason / Mo Walker / Ralph Sampson C
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as long as he's healthy rs3 will start every single game and unless he's in foul trouble he'll play the majority of every game. tubby has given him that since he got on campus and he sure as won't change now that he's a senior.
 

Next coming of Kevin McHale? Where are you possibly getting that from? I don't think any redshirt freshman can be the next coming of one of the greatest players of all time. Ralph will likely see the second most playing time after Mbakwe--he's our second best player.

Jon said:
If Elliot is really the next coming of Kevin McHale and Mo is healthy then Ralph might not see much playing time. I hope Oto will push Rodney to get better or for his playing time.

Andre Hollins / Julian Welch / Maverick Ahanmisi PG
Austin Hollins / Joe Colman / Chip Armelin SG
Rodney Williams / Oto Osenieks / Chris Halvorsen SF
Mbakwe / Andre Ingram PF
Elliot Eliason / Mo Walker / Ralph Sampson C
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underground629 said:
Next coming of Kevin McHale? Where are you possibly getting that from? I don't think any redshirt freshman can be the next coming of one of the greatest players of all time. Ralph will likely see the second most playing time after Mbakwe--he's our second best player.
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I think the Kevin McHale comment was hyperbole, based on the fact that Tubby has often praised Elliot in interviews and says he is impressed with Elliot's abilities.
 




I'm excited about Eliason, but you can't take comments like that seriously. What is he supposed to say? "Yeah, Elliot is okay. Not sure if we should have offered him or not, but he's alright I guess." Coaches talk up players all the time. I'm sure Eliiot is a solid player and I'll be cheering him on, but there's no way he starts over Ralph unless it's due to injury.
 

It seems like every player Tubby talks about is as (insert something positive) as any player he's ever coached. I wouldn't expect Elliot to make a huge impact unless there's an injury. Mbakwe and Ralph will each be playing huge minutes, and deservedly so. I know Ralph can be extremely frustrating at times but fans thinking we're better off with him on the bench are delusional. He's clearly our second best player heading into the season. I'm predicting Austin Hollins will be our 3rd best player. I think we'll finally see that big jump in a player's development that we've been waiting for under Tubby.
 

Ya, Ralph will start but even last year before Mo was hurt he was averaging 10 minutes a game. It will be more interesting who is in at the end of the game than who starts.
 



Ralph will be playing at the end of the game as well. He's undeniably our 2nd best player heading into next year. I doubt Mo will be 100% healthy/fit, and it's not like his 10 min pg in OOC were coming solely out of Ralph's playing time.
 

underground629 said:
It seems like every player Tubby talks about is as (insert something positive) as any player he's ever coached. I wouldn't expect Elliot to make a huge impact unless there's an injury. Mbakwe and Ralph will each be playing huge minutes, and deservedly so. I know Ralph can be extremely frustrating at times but fans thinking we're better off with him on the bench are delusional. He's clearly our second best player heading into the season. I'm predicting Austin Hollins will be our 3rd best player. I think we'll finally see that big jump in a player's development that we've been waiting for under Tubby.
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That's the truth Truth.
 

Overall I think #61 is about right. As someone else pointed out, history (historically we along with Va Tech are Team Bubble) shows that's about where we end up. 2 things:

1. I think they're overstating the loss of Colton. It hurts, yes, but I don't think frontcourt depth is going to be a problem.

2. Some combination of Andre Hollins/Welch will be our starting PG not too long into the season. At least I hope that's the case.

I'm pegging us for 5th in the B1G behind OSU, Bucky, Purdue & Sparty, which should be good enough for a bid, but certainly finishing lower & again landing on the bubble would not be a shocker.
 

I pick the Gophers near the top of the Big Ten.
The way I see the Gophers playing this year is with intense defense, we wear teams down as we shift many players in and out. Ralph is a strong defensive player but I think Mo and Eliason will be better offensive weapons. Mo will be a force in a half court set when he plants himself down low and is fed the ball, while I imagine Eliason scoring in transition as he is able to get up and down the court.

I think it was Thompson of Northwestern that tock Chip to task last year; who is going to be the defensive stopper on the outside like Nolen was before he got hurt?

In close games, who is going to hit the Big shots? Andre, Austin, Oto, Joe…

It all seems good to me; Tubby will make the right choices.
 

Jon said:
I think it was Thompson of Northwestern that tock Chip to task last year; who is going to be the defensive stopper on the outside like Nolen was before he got hurt?
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Austin and Rodney
 

underground629 said:
Ralph will be playing at the end of the game as well. He's undeniably our 2nd best player heading into next year. .
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+1. Ralph's a much better player then many give him credit for. Just because it feels like he could be so much better doesn't take away from what he actually accomplishes. It's a bit the same way I feel watching Francisco Liriano pitch.
 

Not sure about Austin or Rodney covering Thompson who is 5'10 and really quick, if they were the answer I would have thought Tubby could have changed things up and shut down Thompson last year.
I am hoping Andre can bring the defense but I am not sure.
 

well thompson is gone, and austin and rodney can play them some defense.
 

So true. I think he's in for a huge year. We'll definitely have the best big men combo in the BT.

howeda7 said:
+1. Ralph's a much better player then many give him credit for. Just because it feels like he could be so much better doesn't take away from what he actually accomplishes. It's a bit the same way I feel watching Francisco Liriano pitch.
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