Gopher Basketball
The Gophers have been practicing for a week and are a mere two weeks away from their first exhibition game against Bemidji State. With so many new faces, a scrimmage like tonight’s is an important step in getting the team ready for the season.
Play was ragged at times tonight but two things are certain: while this team may not have a defined superstar, it is likely the deepest team in the Monson era; and while it can be a challenge to truly evaluate a team in an inter-squad scrimmage, I feel very confident that this team will surpass the “œexpert” predictions that the national magazines are touting this Fall.
A quick analysis of the players tonight. Oh, and for those keeping score at home, Gold defeated Maroon 71-63.
Lawrence McKenzie: The obvious take-away from tonight is that Lawrence is not afraid to shoot the ball. He is a talented player and the type of catch-and-shoot guard that we don’t often see in Minnesota. He finished with a team-high 19 points and likely led the game in shots attempted. He is fearless in this regard and when he is on, the points will come quickly. McKenzie played the entire game tonight.
Limar Wilson: Limar is a high-energy guy that the Gopher crowd will feed off his enthusiasm. He is very quick and was effective in the open court pushing the ball. I fear he could struggle at times with a trap or running a half court offense, but we’ll need him to silence these fears for us to have a good season. Wilson finished with 10 points tonight.
Engen Nurumbi: Nurumbi is mechanical at times on both ends of the floor, but he is not afraid of contact. He blocked a few shots, ran the floor surprisingly well and even took a few outside jumpers. He has quite a bit of work to do as his overall game is pretty raw. Nurumbi had 11 points tonight.
Brandon Smith: The thing to remember with Brandon is that he’s only played a handful of live games over the past two years, but the athleticism is there. Brandon has the ability to get to the basket and can rebound well on both ends of the floor, but he tends to get lost in the flow of the game at times. He probably logged the fewest minutes on his team tonight, although he did finish with 12 points.
Travis Busch: Travis only played a few minutes each half and didn’t do a ton while he was in there. He has added quite a bit of upper body strength since I saw him two years ago in high school and I expect his red shirt season to be a good time for him to get acquainted to the speed and athleticism of the Big Ten.
Damian Johnson: I think Damian was the biggest surprise tonight as he had a great well-rounded game. He finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, seven steals and five assists and showed the athleticism that and length that have Gopher coaches excited. He also brings a lot of energy to the floor and could be a great weapon off the bench, and if he plays like he did tonight he could start from time to time depending on the matchups. He was very active on both ends of the floor and if his play tonight translates to the season, he’ll be a part of the main rotation.
Bryce Webster: It often takes freshman big men a longer time to adapt to the college game than it does guards, but Bryce is a fast study. It will still take time for him to adapt to the speed of the college game, but he looks comfortable on both ends of the court and wasn’t afraid to mix it up a bit down low. Bryce is going to be the type of guy that Gopher fans will enjoy watching develop. He oozes potential and came a long way in high school and you can just see that he’s going to develop into a very good big man for the Gophers.
Kevin Payton: After an early defensive steal, Kevin was pretty quiet all night long on both ends of the floor. He played point guard a bit when he was in the back court with Lawrence Westbrook, but other than that it was a quite night for the freshman.
Dan Coleman: It’s hard to imagine that scoring a game-high 22 points would constitute a quite night, but most of his points were not really areas where he created the points, but that’s ok ““ that appears to be his style of play. He nailed a couple of outside shots, had a few put backs and ran the floor well in transition. We need him to step up this year ““ no ifs ands or buts.
Lawrence Westbrook: It is easy to see that Westbrook is used to creating his own shots and getting some points in the paint. It may be difficult to replicate that in the Big Ten, but he does have a score first mentality. He finished with 15 points.
Jamal Abu-Shamala: Jamal was quiet tonight as he only scored four points, but he is starting to shoot off the dribble more which is very important for him as teams have more in-depth scouting reports on him.
Spencer Tollackson: Spencer is built for the Big Ten and he is starting to use his size more effectively. He didn’t fade away from the basket like he often did last year. He was aggressive on offense all night long and had a few nice moves with his back to the basket. He even drilled an outside jumper and a few free throws. Spencer looked physically ready to battle the likes of Wisconsin and Ohio State, and it’s only October. He finished with 15 points.
Jonathan Williams: Williams has been a work in progress, but he continues to make the progress. His offensive game looks more polished, he is more aggressive on the boards and seems to finally be adapting to the speed of the game. It is obvious that he worked hard this offseason and it will be important that he can stay out of foul trouble, stay healthy and continue to get minutes. We’ll need his size and rebounding this year.
Recruits: Future Gophers Blake Hoffarber, Al Nolen and Andrew Broommer were in attendance”¦as was Gopher recruit, Armond Battle of Benilde-St. Margaret’s. Cole Aldrich was also in attendance.