Gopher Basketball
This recap’s going to have a little different twist to it. After eight straight wins over eight overmatched opponents, my typical recaps are probably getting a bit stale. So I’ll keep this one brief and will then make some general comments about the team as well as about each regular as we head into Big 10 season.
The game went back and forth for the first 15 minutes, with Loyola Marymount taking the lead on several occasions. Minnesota closed the half out on a 15-4 run though, and led 46-31 at the break. The Lions hung around for a while in the second half and were within 68-57, but the Gophers then pulled away for a very comfortable 93-67 victory.
Loyola Marymount was a solid team with plenty of size, good passing, and decent defense (although their coach wasn’t too pleased about it tonight). They weren’t hitting from the outside though (just 2 for 17 on 3s), and that was their only hope. The Gophers were very sharp offensively, as their 64% field goal percentage and 22 assists indicate. They did finish with 15 turnovers, but many of those came late. Minnesota did have some defensive breakdowns, as they got beat off the dribble and in the post several times, which allowed the Lions to score 38 points in the paint. The Gophers also gave up too many offensive rebounds. It was a solid victory overall, but the Gophers did take small steps back defensively and on the boards.
The most impressive stat was this: for the first time in more than 13 years, six Gophers scored in double figures. Rico Tucker led the way with a career-high 17 points (and a career-high 6 rebounds). Vincent Grier had 15 points and 4 assists. Dan Coleman had 14 points. Brent Lawson filled the stat sheet again with 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Spencer Tollackson had a career-high 12 points. And Jeff Hagen scored 10.
Here’s the box score.
Team Comments
- The improvement the Gopher offense has shown is remarkable. Two months ago, it looked pretty bad. Now, it’s as good of a team offense as I’ve seen from Minnesota in many, many years. The ball movement is extremely unselfish, there has become a major focus on getting the ball inside and running the offense from there, and the guys are having fun doing it. The Gophers have shot 62% from the field in the first half of their past 5 games (the starters pretty much shot that in the second halves as well), which is impressive regardless of the competition. Several of these opponents have held good teams below 50%.
- The improvement the Gophers have shown in defense, hustle, and attitude since last season has also been remarkable. The addition of Coach Molinari gets much credit, but I (without slighting him) feel the assemblage of players on the roster is even more important. These guys like to hustle, defend, and share the ball, and they feed off of each other. It’s contagious and is hopefully a foundation that will continue for years to come.
- How many Big 10 games will this team win? Who knows? They rank 6th in the conference right now according to the RPI, and looking at the other teams, that seems about right to me. Of course, the difference between 6th and 4th or 10th can be small, so you never know. The NCAA Tournament (whether realistic or not) should be the team’s goal, but the NIT definitely shouldn’t be considered a failure if this team continues to play well. They’ve shown more individual and team improvement in the past few months than we’ve seen in a long time, and it’s been fun to watch. If The Barn gets back to being The Barn, this team will be tough to beat at home. And they seem to have the mentality it takes to pull an upset or two on the road. We’ll see.
Player Comments
- Dan Coleman – Dan got off to a strong offensive start this season, but then he got in a rut. He got out of that rut (and off the bench) by focussing more on his defense, rebounding, and aggressiveness. He still has a ways to go in those areas (it should continue to rub off from the rest of the players), but he’s getting better. The most important thing is that Dan is getting his confidence back. He’s scored in double figures three straight games and has been shooting the ball very well. His pass-shoot decisions are also getting better, although he still needs to cut down on careless passes. Dan continuing his recent improvement might be the key heading into Big 10 play.
- Vincent Grier – WOW. Enough said. Vincent honestly makes a half-dozen plays each game that literally make my jaw drop. And I’m not just talking about the highlight dunks and athletic finishes. Just watching him catch the ball can be amazing. He honestly catches balls that I’ve never seen another Gopher catch. He has better body control than I’ve ever seen another Gopher have. And he has great hands and anticipation on the defensive end as well. I’m not sure what else to say. He’s simply an all-Big 10 player. And the best thing is, he doesn’t need to score or even take a shot to be effective. To provide a little balance in my comments, I guess he could improve his shooting a little. His jumper certainly isn’t textbook. But then again, he’s shooting 56% from the field, 39% from 3-point range, and 80% from the free throw line, so he seems to be shooting ok. The only real complaint I have is that he absolutely does not shoot with his right hand. If he ever learns to finish with both hands, there will be no defending him one-on-one (or maybe even one-on-three, as we’ve seen many times). Sorry if I went a little overboard, but Vincent is an amazing player to watch (especially when you watch closely).
- Jeff Hagen – Jeff is playing the best basketball of his career. I still cringe when he puts the ball on the floor and makes himself small, but he’s doing a much better job this season of using his size and finishing aggressively. His inside presence is probably the primary reason why Minnesota has dominated the past 8 games. He won’t be able to dominate like that in the Big 10, but he can still be a weapon. Jeff can score against most Big 10 players one-on-one, and he’s been doing a very good job of passing out of double teams. He’s also been better on the boards and defensively, although he still does let guys push him down too deep at times. Keep Jeff reasonably healthy is another key for the rest of the season.
- Brent Lawson – Man, how well has this guy been playing? He’s gone from an unknown (by most) and unheralded transfer to a senior leader and key player in just two years. Brent has been putting up tremendous numbers in every category. He led the Gophers in scoring last game, and tonight he led them in rebounds and assists. He’s also at (or near) the top of the Big 10 in steals. Brent may not do anything great, but he’s doing everything well. He’s shooting the ball with confidence from 3-point range, he’s playing aggressively and taking the ball to the basket when there’s an opening (the biggest key), he’s crashing the boards on both ends, he’s playing very good defense, and he’s the #1 hustler on a team of hustlers whenever there’s a loose ball on the court. Brent has gone from being the biggest question mark in the starting lineup to possibly being its anchor.
- Aaron Robinson – Aaron is another senior who has really stepped up his game. While he came into the season with a new level of confidence and responsibility, I think the key has been his shooting. Aaron is shooting a very good 42% from 3-point range (in his Player Spotlight, I was hoping for 37%). Aaron’s overall confidence has fed off his confidence in his jumper. You could almost see it happen. He knocked down a few 3s, and all of a sudden he beating guys off the dribble, finishing on fast breaks, dishing out sweet assists, and playing the pestering defense we always knew he could. Aaron has been a very good point guard this season. In his worst games, he’s done a solid job of running the offense and defending. In his best games, he’s taken over the game with his shooting. I really wouldn’t change a thing; we just need more of the same.
- J’son Stamper – Out of the 8 regulars, I think J’son is the one who’s true potential we’ve seen the least. Part of it has been injuries, and part may be a slow adjustment to the size and speed of Division I basketball. We’ve definitely seen what he was known for coming out of juco: hustle (he’s fun to watch on the point of the press), aggressiveness (he’s fearless and relentless), and rebounding (good hops and great hands). What we haven’t seen yet is what I saw in pick-up games this summer. Surprisingly good handles and shooting for a power forward. Instead, we’ve seen J’son have some turnover problems and sometimes struggle to finish. Hopefully he’s getting that out of his system. The increased size in the Big 10 figures to give him some problems at times, but I still think he can make a bigger impact than what we’ve seen so far (which hasn’t been too bad for an 8th man).
- Spencer Tollackson – After Dan Coleman, getting improved play from Spencer is probably the 2nd most important thing heading into Big 10 play. Fortunately, we’ve started to see it. Spencer has displayed his passing talents since day one, but overall he struggled offensively. He missed a lot of makeable shots, he passed when he should have shot, and he went for the highlight pass when a simple one would have sufficed. He’s been improving in those areas over the past few games, with tonight being his best effort yet. Spencer shot 6 for 7 from the field and was very aggressive in the post. He used his trademark spinning fade-away a couple of times, but he also faced up and finished strong on several occasions. Best thing was, he was at times doing it against a bigger player. Spencer has a good head on his shoulders, so I think we’ll continue to see him improve.
- Rico Tucker – We’ve had a few sneak previews, but I’m still waiting for the monster dunk that is going to make The Barn go absolutely nuts. Don’t worry; it’s coming. Beyond that though, Rico has made an impressive transition from high school to college ball so far. It took him a few games to start showing his passing ability (he really is a true PG, despite what many say), and there were games when he forced some bad shots, but now he’s starting to get into a rhythm. Most impressive has probably been Rico’s outside shooting. That was his main question mark coming in (I had reported that his shot was pure, but the consistency wasn’t quite there yet), but he’s answered that question by hitting 42% of his 3-point attempts. Most importantly, Rico has brought tremendous defense and intensity from day one. He may be a freshman, but he’s already a leader. His upside is still much bigger, but he’s further along the curve than I was counting on at this point.
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