What has been the biggest problem this year?

[millions2spare]

thank you for the vote of confidence dr don! I will take the AD slot---tubby is a very good coach!

 

[Section201]

m2s

thank you for the vote of confidence dr don! I will take the AD slot---tubby is a very good coach!

m2s/ml,

You can only have the AD position when you can spell all the student/athlete names correctly.

This includes Mbakwe.

Lord have mercy, we agree on something: Tubby is a very good coach

 

[Friend Of Tubby]

Several VERY GOOD Coaches Having Disappointing Years

Roy Williams, Jim Calhoun, Ben Howland to name 3 off the top of my head.

 

[Drex96]

Interesting statistic:

The large majority of those responding to this poll believe "finishing games" has been the biggest problem this year. And yet, no one seems to think this has anything to do with "coaching." If the coach had a different name like "Bob Smith," would that be the case?

Finishing games is definitely something that has to do with coaching. Don't believe me? Remember the events that led up to implementation of the 30 second clock and the 5 second rule.

One consistent thing about this Gopher team is that they blow big leads in the closing minutes of games and Tubby saves his TO's until the last second. Would using a TO to "settle down" the team during those runs have prevented some of those losses?

Yes, there are many individual problems amongst the players on this team, but let's not overlook the coaching failures of which there are many.

 

[balds]

Lack of ball handler

Not having Nolen certainly added to the end of game woes. Remember last year vs. Louisville? Late in the game when Louisville was pressing, Nolen almost every time single handedly dribbled through pressure (and made his free throws). When teams ratcheted up their defense/pressure this year we got tentative because we didn't have that ball handler, all too often it resulted in a turnover.

 

[tomdog]

I think Blizzard is spot-on with their assessment of Westbrook and Johnson. I disagree, however, with 'Barn' in assuming that Nolen is going to be a leader next year. He couldn't even put himself in a position to stay on the court this year with his academics. I would have serious reservations about his ability to be accountable to his teammates. I'm a bit torn about Senior Day tomorrow, generally one of my favorite games. I think that Westbrook and Johnson are two very disappointing players, although I think they were put in roles that they weren't cut out for.

 

[Friend Of Tubby]

Yahoo! Article Says...

Season Recap: A promising season turned disastrous with the loss of Al Nolen to grades and top recruits Royce White and Trevor Mbakwe to legal issues. Minnesota is 8-9 in the league but probably will have to win the Big Ten tournament to earn an NCAA Tournament berth.

In Focus: The Gophers need to do something fast against Iowa to put the stench of the Michigan game behind them.

 

[Mikie S]

Not having Nolen certainly added to the end of game woes. Remember last year vs. Louisville? Late in the game when Louisville was pressing, Nolen almost every time single handedly dribbled through pressure (and made his free throws). When teams ratcheted up their defense/pressure this year we got tentative because we didn't have that ball handler, all too often it resulted in a turnover.

Strangely enough, as of last week, the Gophers were 7th nationally in assists and 18th in Ast/TO ratio.

 

[freshtrout]

Well, IMO, the largest reason is that Tubby didn't have the players he thought he had at the beginning of the season....and yes a quality point guard would have helped greatly.