cncmin
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- Nov 20, 2008
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I've agreed with many of Westbrook's detractors here about his erratic play this year...sometimes great, sometimes not so good. Tonight was one of those games where with a few minutes left I said Tubby, get WESTBROOK and HOFF in there to end this game!
Westbrook showed once again why he's our go-to guy in close games. His drives at the end weren't beautiful, but they were good, and he is confident. Plus, when he goes to the line, he's money, no matter the situation. How often have you ever seen him miss 2 in a row? As much as his running shots in the last few minutes, it was his ability to go 7-for-7 from the line that won this game.
As for Hoff, he played a solid game again. Once again, a couple of times he got sucked in too far on defense, and the Gopher paid for that. But once again, he was by far the team's best passer, and he does not turn it over and he rebounds well. Do not discount his steady play, even with only 2 points, as a big reason why the Gophers didn't blow this game. Westbrook with 15 and Hoff with only 2 - these were the Gophers' players of the game.
About Hoff, his shot confidence is still not there, as evidenced by his failure to pull the trigger on a few opportunities that, when he's on fire, he takes. I'm disappointed that he's not more aggressive to both get open and to shoot, but that said it's not often he turns it over, and he creates a lot of nice baskets with really good passing.
Westbrook is GREAT in the running game. Conversely, in the half court he's not nearly as good. When he can attack before the defense is set, he's lethal. But he doesn't pass well enough to be a great player in the half court offense. Between him and DJ and Nolen, it's those 3 who tend to fail to move the ball in the half court offense that prevents the Gophers from getting more open looks. That said, Lawrence played a great game, especially at the end, and we owe BOTH of our Wisconsin victories mainly to him.
Westbrook showed once again why he's our go-to guy in close games. His drives at the end weren't beautiful, but they were good, and he is confident. Plus, when he goes to the line, he's money, no matter the situation. How often have you ever seen him miss 2 in a row? As much as his running shots in the last few minutes, it was his ability to go 7-for-7 from the line that won this game.
As for Hoff, he played a solid game again. Once again, a couple of times he got sucked in too far on defense, and the Gopher paid for that. But once again, he was by far the team's best passer, and he does not turn it over and he rebounds well. Do not discount his steady play, even with only 2 points, as a big reason why the Gophers didn't blow this game. Westbrook with 15 and Hoff with only 2 - these were the Gophers' players of the game.
About Hoff, his shot confidence is still not there, as evidenced by his failure to pull the trigger on a few opportunities that, when he's on fire, he takes. I'm disappointed that he's not more aggressive to both get open and to shoot, but that said it's not often he turns it over, and he creates a lot of nice baskets with really good passing.
Westbrook is GREAT in the running game. Conversely, in the half court he's not nearly as good. When he can attack before the defense is set, he's lethal. But he doesn't pass well enough to be a great player in the half court offense. Between him and DJ and Nolen, it's those 3 who tend to fail to move the ball in the half court offense that prevents the Gophers from getting more open looks. That said, Lawrence played a great game, especially at the end, and we owe BOTH of our Wisconsin victories mainly to him.
