Gopher Basketball
It wasn’t quite the dream night it could have been, as a few big-name Panthers (Cory Johnson, Trevor Mbakwe, and Bryce Webster) were missing along with a few Gophers (J’son Stamper, Rico Tucker, Jonathan Williams) who were probably home for break. But the cupboard was far from bare.
Watching Isaiah Dahlman is always a treat, and Cameron Rundles and Romain Martin have been impressing in the backcourt, but since I’ve written about them at length recently, I’ll focus on the guys we haven’t heard much about the past few months – the Gophers.
The Gophers were well represented, with Adam Boone, Dan Coleman, Vincent Grier, Moe Hargrow, Zach Puchtel, Ryan Saunders, and Spencer Tollackson all in action along with departing seniors Brent Lawson and Aaron Robinson. Since the incoming recruits aren’t on campus yet (GopherHole.com will be providing reports on them in the coming months), the guys who sat out last season are who we’ll focus on.
Leading the charge is Hargrow, who is really looking good. As I first mentioned almost a year ago, Moe has gained a step since he last played at Minnesota. He was by far the quickest player on the court, and even Grier had a tough time staying in front of him. Moe shot the ball well from the perimeter, and he got to the basket on numerous occasions, but what was really nice to see was his passing. Moe always kept his head up, and he was penetrating to dish more often than to score. If anything, he actually looked to pass too often, but I won’t complain about that.
Also looking good was Boone. This was the first time I’ve seen Adam play since his injury last fall, and I saw no indication of him being less than 100% physically. He appeared to have dropped a little weight (it’s hard to lift weights with a torn biceps), which seems to have made him a little quicker than we last saw. Also encouraging was seeing Adam with his confidence back; he’s once again the Gophers’ clear vocal leader on the floor. Adam shot the ball pretty well from three-point range (I’m sure he’s still working to get his timing back) and had some nice passes, but he was most impressive without the ball in his hands. Adam was the best rebounder on the court (that’s a part of his game I was touting when he transferred in, so I hope it will continue), and he also was the leader in blocked shots (he pinned several against the backboard and also blocked an attempted jumper by 6’9″ Dan Fitzgerald of Marquette).
Here are a few other notes from the scrimmages:
- Grier and Hargrow went head-to-head on several occasions. In addition to being fun to watch, that should pay big dividends for both of them this season. Moe is as capable of defending Grier as anybody in the Big 10, and Vince isn’t going to face a tougher cover than Hargrow. I’ll take these two over any tandem of wings in the conference (including MSU’s Maurice Ager and Shannon Brown, who I really like).
- Grier had a few stretches were he was absolutely unconscious, which prompted several flashbacks (and related comments) to his 32-point domination of the Badgers.
- Zach Puchtel looked very solid. He’ll see some minutes this year, and if Williams isn’t ready for extended minutes inside, Zach has a chance to become a regular part of the rotation.
- Ryan Saunders shot the ball very well and looks like he’s worked hard in the weight room.
- Spencer Tollackson showed a nice jumphook in the paint and also hit several jumpers (including a couple of 3-pointers). He still needs to work on his consistency, but his shot looked good.
- Isaiah Dahlman and his father spent a lot of time talking to the Gopher coaching staff. Coaches aren’t allowed to be present during scrimmages, but Isaiah talked to them before and after.
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