What grade would you give Gophers coaching in BTT loss to Michigan State?

What grade would you give Gophers coaching in BTT loss to Michigan State?

  • A

    Votes: 3 3.7%

  • B

    Votes: 6 7.4%

  • C

    Votes: 24 29.6%

  • D

    Votes: 40 49.4%

  • F

    Votes: 8 9.9%
  • Total voters
    81
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stocker08 said:
I never said that the defense was good! In the game thread I said the Gophers didn't play well enough. I said that MSU won the hustle battles. I said that MSU made their shots and the Gophers didn't.....because during that 15-2 stretch in which MSU took control.....they were making their shots....including a couple threes.....and the Gophers missed several point blank shots that they get 95% of the time. It completely swung all momentum and the Gophers never recovered.

You are just manufacturing things to argue with me about at this point.
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Thank you, that's a start. It was bad, much like it has been the last month. Especially in the 2nd half. I was actually optimistic with how we played in the 1st half, but then the bad defense reverted back.
 




Payne had something like 7 turnovers. MSU jumped him in the 2nd. I don't expect senior play from sophomore Payne. He improved this year. He's my favorite. Looking forward to next season already.

Out of the gate they nailed it. Avoid a 3 bomb-fest strategy that would fail. Christie later in the game got a few after he warmes up. I don't expect more from a freshman.

As far as everything else that happened in the second half, I will defer to others who can see the game better than I.
 




Ben was Ben. I dont think he was awful but he obviously didnt win the game with coaching either. Todays game was kinda the perfect example of the team as a whole. Its clearly much improved over the last couple years but also extremely flawed.

Most obviously they need 1 more big(4 or 5) and thats with Fox. And one more ball handler. When hawkins sat briefly its laughable. Christie can barely dribble and hes the option.

Players need to improve their flaws or we need to add on. Just saying returning everyone is auto ranked and tourney is wrong.

Dawson- Today was the ultimate GTG(Garbage time Garcia) game. Hes talented as hell. Can score at all levels. But when the going gets tough and the competition excels and his game doesnt translate as an alpha. He was brutal in crunch time and got cooked on D all 2nd half and picked up 4 fouls. The route was on....and he became a bucket again. Theres a reason for 3 programs and 4 seasons he hasnt seen the tourney. Hes a bucket but not a alpha

Payne- Monster with strength and solid moves. His BBall IQ is non existent. He wont stop bringing the ball low. Passing isnt even a concept hes heard. And his 30 feet from the basket fouls are hilarious.

Christie- Honestly hes mostly just a freshman. Needs to work on the handles so that when his shot is off like the last 5ish games he can do more. But hes the least flawed.

Hawkins-As good as his floor general ability has been this year. He has such limited offensive game for himself it cant offset his size. Inefficient shooting and when he drove into lane today to try to score he got smothered, no moves.

Mitchell- This guy could be a elite 6th or 7th man. Tourney teams dont start Mike Mitchell. He has the confidence of Myles Powell and the game of a poor mans Max Klesmit. It hurts us a lot with dumb shots and passes. Also too small when we already have Hawk.

Carrington- Guy just cannot play offense. Every time he gets the ball he does some little shot fake that causes the defender to chuckle cause you know he aint shooting. Great defender for his size. LIability on offense when forced to play and no depth.

All of those guys belong on a power 6 team and can play heavy minutes for a tourney team. Today all their negatives reared their heads in that second half. The offseason is on the players and Ben to try to minimize those negatives and hopefullly find more depth to help offset them.

There is promise for next year to truly be a tournament team no sweat, but work to be done.
 




Gophers7633 said:
Thank you, that's a start. It was bad, much like it has been the last month. Especially in the 2nd half. I was actually optimistic with how we played in the 1st half, but then the bad defense reverted back.
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The defense wasn't good and the Gophers didn't deserve to win. I guess my thoughts on saying that MSU hit shots in the second half and the Gophers didn't comes down to that 15-2 run. Up until that point.....both teams were mostly trading blows but neither team was really pulling away. During that run, MSU hit both threes they took and had a bunch of shots in the paint that dropped. In that same stretch.....the Gophers not only missed everything that they took.....but Garcia flubbed an uncontested layup and Payne had that super odd non-dunk. But there were plenty of reasons why the Gophers didn't win.
 

stocker08 said:
The defense wasn't good and the Gophers didn't deserve to win. I guess my thoughts on saying that MSU hit shots in the second half and the Gophers didn't comes down to that 15-2 run. Up until that point.....both teams were mostly trading blows but neither team was really pulling away. During that run, MSU hit both threes they took and had a bunch of shots in the paint that dropped. In that same stretch.....the Gophers not only missed everything that they took.....but Garcia flubbed an uncontested layup and Payne had that super odd non-dunk. But there were plenty of reasons why the Gophers didn't win.
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Yes, I would agree during that stretch Holloman and Hoggard both hit their 3's. They did make shots during that stretch. Overall, though in the 2nd half, they made a ton of layups/dunks and FT's.
 

Gophers7633 said:
Yes, I would agree during that stretch Holloman and Hoggard both hit their 3's. They did make shots during that stretch. Overall, though in the 2nd half, they made a ton of layups/dunks and FT's.
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They did. Defense was not good. I just highlighted that 5-6 minute stretch as the difference in the game. The rest of the game.....they were mostly trading blows without either team really standing out.
 

stocker08 said:
They did. Defense was not good. I just highlighted that 5-6 minute stretch as the difference in the game. The rest of the game.....they were mostly trading blows without either team really standing out.
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Worth mentioning we were absolutely dominated on the boards leading to MSU second and third shots and quick outlets for fast break buckets after defensive rebounds.

Rebounding has been an issue most games and needs to be addressed in the portal.
 



stocker08 said:
C. Difference was that they made shots in the second half and the Gophers didn't. Garcia played just okay and we needed more. Payne had a brutal stretch in the second half that really hurt.
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First half as well.

Brutal game for him BUT he was 5-5 from the line...
 


Dakota2 said:
Worth mentioning we were absolutely dominated on the boards leading to MSU second and third shots and quick outlets for fast break buckets after defensive rebounds.

Rebounding has been an issue most games and needs to be addressed in the portal.
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Yeah, and that's partly a depth issue too. Tough ask to have guys crashing the offensive glass and then sprint back on defense for 32+ minutes. On top of re-recruiting the guys playing minutes right now.....got to sort through what's on the bench and see who's capable of playing minutes next year.

Betts has been part of the team for two years now. If he's not capable of contributing next year.....then he should be encouraged to check out other options.

JOJ has a unique skill set that doesn't quite translate right now. I hope that his absence from the floor has been more due to his concussion issue than his inability to play competent basketball. But really.....he needs to lay off the weight room. He's undersized (height wise) as a PF and too slow to keep up with leaner SG/SFs. If he were a better ball handler and could create mismatches on the offensive end of the court.....the defensive issues could be forgiven. We'll see.

Ihnen is decent depth for a few minutes per game. I'd like to think that with a full season without reinjury.....that he'll be able to provide more off the bench next season.
 

stocker08 said:
Yeah, and that's partly a depth issue too. Tough ask to have guys crashing the offensive glass and then sprint back on defense for 32+ minutes. On top of re-recruiting the guys playing minutes right now.....got to sort through what's on the bench and see who's capable of playing minutes next year.

Betts has been part of the team for two years now. If he's not capable of contributing next year.....then he should be encouraged to check out other options.

JOJ has a unique skill set that doesn't quite translate right now. I hope that his absence from the floor has been more due to his concussion issue than his inability to play competent basketball. But really.....he needs to lay off the weight room. He's undersized (height wise) as a PF and too slow to keep up with leaner SG/SFs. If he were a better ball handler and could create mismatches on the offensive end of the court.....the defensive issues could be forgiven. We'll see.

Ihnen is decent depth for a few minutes per game. I'd like to think that with a full season without reinjury.....that he'll be able to provide more off the bench next season.
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I'm seeing next year differently. I don't expect Garcia to return. I think Fox might if the guards all come back because he is just the kind of guy who might feel responsibility to his teammates not to leave them way short in the front court.

I don't see JOJ coming back, nor Ihnen. Maybe Keinys or Betts leaves too.

Under that scenario we would have four or five spots to fill in the portal. In order of priority, I would put them:

1) Starting power forward;
2) Back up center;
3) Wing;
4) Guard

If Johnson can find two strong big men who can rebound and play strong defense, we could improve greatly. As with all transfers you would want them to have a minimum of two years eligibility.
 

DarthGopher said:
I have yet to see this team string together 2 complete halves of basketball. The collapses down the stretch have had the same issues crop up over and over again. Prolonged scoring droughts, sustained defensive lapses, then panic, push and turn it over. Once it starts, it just seems to snowball out of control.
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+o4
 


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