Will anyone bolt?

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both of those guys will be solid contributors next year. I'm thinking in simialr roles. I think Hoff will improve as our inside game takes a step forward and he gets better looks. There's always minutes for a guy like Carter who can get O rebounds and hustle.
 


I'm not a huge Gopher fan, but living in the area I wind up following them. I think some of the players being discussed could be pretty solid players in the future. Since my team goes about 7 deep, I'm kind of envious of the Minnesota bench. Carter and Hoffarber of the listed players especially I think will be productive. Both have 2 more years of eligibility, right? Both are specialists of a sort, and it'd be nice if they were consistent with what they're supposed to be doing, but I think the skillset is there to be good role players.

Minnesota has a nice little team working IMO. 2 years ago y'all were awful. Last year you were okay at best. This year with no seniors of real consequence, you made the NCAA's. If one or two of the guys you have coming in turns out to be a real scorer and those two young bigs keep on getting better, I think the makings for a pretty respectable run and national ranking are in the makes.
 

busch should just leave and not look back. if he does that all i will remember is the louisville game and his teen wolf look.
 

Hoffarber did have a shooting slump (mentally). He's a very good shooter. He was also hurt a lot by not having a point guard that penetrated or could shoot well enough to get his man to slough off. He was also hurt by Sampson and Iverson being too skinny to score regularly down low. Hoffarber isn't a great defensive player but with better point play, center play and power forwards he'll flourish, and he's only a sophomore.

Carter has great skills. He had a great season for a sophomore. He'll get better and better with time and good competition.

Bostick has all of the tools, I wouldn't be surprised to see him click and suddenly get 20 minutes a game next year.

We're very young and have lots of potential.
 


Honestly I think the people knocking Carter don't know squat about basketball. Dude is far from a finished product but remember that he's only a sophomore. He's much more skilled all around at this point than DJ was last year and especially where he was as a RS frosh. Carter plays very hard, hits the boards, has good handles and has made a number of huge plays this year. I don't understand why people are knocking him. Don't forget that when he was recruited most people described him as a utility type guy who was athletic. Well thats exactly what he's been but with much more offensive potential than he's been given credit for. He needs to improve his J but he has pretty good form already. He was our 2nd best defender after DJ all year in terms of consistency and our best rebounder yet people act like he's a scrub. He was essentially a freshman! His hustle and athleticism won us the Wisconsin game (along with LW). Carter will be a very good player in 2 yrs IMO. I really think he'll be a slightly less quick handed DJ but with much more offensive ability
 

walter said:
It would be fine by me if bostick, carter, payton, hofarber, and busch all went with Shamala and Williams.

IMO - They are not worth the bench space
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Harsh but probably true. The only one I'm iffy on is Carter who I might keep. He is incredibly passionate but most of the time he acts like Jojo the idiot circus boy when he gets the ball. Gets all excited and throws the ball away. If he scores- Katy bar the door. He punches himself in the chest until I fear he's ready to fall to the floor.
 

This was Carter's first year at this level and he developed very well IMHO. His defense improved and he led the team in rebounding numerous times. Next year could be a big year for him.
 

Rushing to judgement

Handsome Pete said:
Harsh but probably true. The only one I'm iffy on is Carter who I might keep. He is incredibly passionate but most of the time he acts like Jojo the idiot circus boy when he gets the ball. Gets all excited and throws the ball away. If he scores- Katy bar the door. He punches himself in the chest until I fear he's ready to fall to the floor.
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Um...don't you think that you might jumping the gun here a bit? Taking Carter as the example... He certainly has had his ups and downs, but I've seen more than enough to think that with maturity and experience he will be at least a solid contributor to this team. He brings great energy and heart, good rebounding for his size and he's taken the ball to the hoop against bigger guys and been able to finish and draw the foul.

Is he as consistent as we'd like? No. But he is only a sophomore and playing in this system for the first year. Bobby Jackson didn't have a great first year here either, and he went on to legend status his senior year. We don't yet know what Carter's results will be, but it's certainly way to early to declare him a "waste of bench space."

To take another example, look at Hoff. Throughout high school and 1.5 of his 2 years in college that he is a deadly shooter. Even with his slump, he shot 34+% for the year. Yes, it was way lower in the conference and post seasons. Assuming that he can re-find his touch and confidence, at a minimum he can still be a great option off the bench against certain match-ups. Imagine how many more open looks there will be when we have a feared inside game and/or when we have more players who can slash to the hoop and collapse a defense. Again...WAY to early to cast him off.

The disappointment is certainly raw right now, but let's maintain some perspective here. This is still a very young team and various players likely haven't reached their full potential. Why would you give up on them this early. Jeff Hagen didn't do much at all in his first 2 years, yet he became an effective player later in his career. Even if Carter and Hoff do end up as deep bench players, that's a good sign as that would be our deepest and most talented bench that I can remember (40+ years). And it means that we have more talented players that are getting minutes. That's a good thing! I'm excited to see how this all develops.
 



walter said:
I am a fan of the gophers - the fact is none of these guys can shoot
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You're right, shooting is the only thing that makes you worth a scholarship...defense, rebounding, ball handling, passing don't matter.:cool02:
 

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