Trevor Mbakwe Q&A: 'We had every piece you needed to contend for the Final Four'

[BleedGopher]

per BTN:

BTN.com: Post-Minnesota, you’ve played in Italy, Israel, Germany and Russia. Give us a few must-visit vacation spots.

TM: Orvieto is a little town in Tuscany that my family loved, on top of a hill with great food and vineyards. The Amalfi coast is a must-do, the views from the cliffs are unreal. Jerusalem has so much history and such a mix of cultures that there’s nowhere else like it. St.Petersburg, where I play now, is possibly the most beautiful city Ive been to as far as architecture and just the layout of the city with canals everywhere.

BTN.com: How bad do the locals struggle with your last name? Has it led to some good nicknames?

TM: I’ve had my name butchered pretty bad at times here. For the most part, though, the fans and announcers have done a good job getting it right. Every now and then during introductions I might here a crazy name, and then realize they are talking about me haha.

BTN.com: I asked your former teammate Damian Johnson for a couple questions to ask you. First one: How far would the 2009-10 Minnesota team have gone if you were able to play?

TM: I think we were a Sweet 16 team, for sure. We had every piece you needed to contend for the Final Four.

BTN.com: No. 2 question from Damian: What was your scariest Tubby Smith moment?

TM: My redshirt year when I saw Coach chew out one of our teammates, Paul Carter, for not boxing out. I didn’t sleep much that night because I was worried about what I got myself into.

http://btn.com/2017/05/06/trevor-mb...ece-you-needed-to-contend-for-the-final-four/

Go Gophers!!

 

[Former Goofer]

One of my favorite Gophers in recent memory.

 

[jamiche]

Mbakwe's block on Zeller might have been the loudest moment in The Barn since 1997.

I think that he could have been a ninth or tenth guy on an NBA bench two or three years ago but it would have meant giving up a six figure overseas contract to take a shot at it. He's probably too old now.

 

[gopherlaney]

Trevor Mbakwe Q&A: 'We had every piece you needed to contend for the Final Four'

You have to wonder what if about that team. If Tubby had his way Royce and Trevor play that year. Starting 5 is Colton Iverson, Mbakwe, Royce White, Devoe Joseph, and Al Nolen.

Lawrence Westbrook, Damian Johnson, Paul Carter, Ralph Sampson, Blake Hoffarber, Rodney Williams, Justin Cobbs off the bench.

Devron Bostic only see's the floor in practice


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Winasota Gopher]

You have to wonder what if about that team. If Tubby had his way Royce and Trevor play that year. Starting 5 is Colton Iverson, Mbakwe, Royce White, Devoe Joseph, and Al Nolen.

Lawrence Westbrook, Damian Johnson, Paul Carter, Ralph Sampson, Blake Hoffarber, Rodney Williams, Justin Cobbs off the bench.

Devron Bostic only see's the floor in practice


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My god. I get hot and bothered thinking about that team. I remember seeing cobbs in the gym one day just clinically working on his shot thinking he i a quick, solidly built shooting pg. djoe was one of the biggest head scratchers for me, he could have been so good for us. He hits that season and you've got to wonder what happens next???

 

[skauma]

This thread got me curious about what Rodney Williams is up to now. I remember seeing multiple NBA mock drafts one year, where they all had Rodney as a lottery pick...then he never broke out as a player, and went undrafted. I felt his athletic ability would still at least garner some looks for him. Looked him up, he last played in the D-league in 2016, then was released after a season ending injury. I can't find anywhere what kind of injury, but season ending would have you thinking its going to effect his athletic ability, which is a shame, as it is about his only asset as a player.