Gopher Basketball
The Gophers have a far more favorable schedule as the conference season comes to an end. After what Minnesota hopes will be a happy ending in Happy Valley, they will finish the regular season with three homes games (Michigan State, Michigan and Penn State) and a winnable road contest (at Northwestern). Thursday’s game is not a must win, but I need to relieve some stress and watching one of my teams win an important game is the best way I know how to do so (I’ve tried yoga, but only because I was chasing a girl ““ and that effort resulted in more stress caused by pulling a muscle and wasting time with the young lady who turned out to be as sharp as a deflated basketball).
The Team
Great caution should be exercised when facing a school that starts four seniors, especially one with a potent offensive threat like Talor Battle, who can be counted on to provide double-digit scoring for the home team. When the senior guard tallies seven more assists, he will become the first player in Big Ten history with 2,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists. Battle is a great kid and undeniably a treat to watch play despite the stupid scroll tattoo on his arm.
During the 2009-10 season, Minnesota faced Penn State three times, winning each game. At State College, it was a Lawrence Westbrook fade away buzzer beater from about 19 feet out that gave Minnesota a 66-64 victory. After reminiscing about that shot, I thought it might be a good time to check in on the former Gopher. See the end of this article for a quick update on Lawrence.
Things to Know About Penn State
* Penn State’s game pace has been extremely slow and hasn’t exceeded 60 in any of the past eight games. However, Minnesota’s big lineup must get back in transition and not let Penn State create easy looks because they will take advantage if the Gophers are lazy.
* There is no bench. The PSU starters are averaging more than 86% of the team’s minutes in Big Ten play.
* Their three-point shooting is a poor 31.9%, but they often settle for deep shots.
* They take care of the ball, possessing a very respectable turnover percentage of 18%. At the same time, they do not force their opposition to turn the ball over.
* The battle of the boards will be especially important. The average D1 offensive rebounding percentage is approximately 32.5%. Minnesota has cleaned up 39% of its misses, while Penn State limits their opposition to an OR% of 29.5%.
* The Nittany Lions don’t get to the free throw line much and they don’t send the opponent there either. However, as per usual Minnesota shouldn’t have a problem getting plenty of trips to the charity stripe. By the way, Minnesota is shooting 68.5% from the line in Big Ten games. The D1 average is usually around 69% each year. Don’t sweat it.
The Gophers are the better team, but the seniors of Penn State won’t go down without a fight. Rodney Williams had a nice game against Iowa and may be a good option to try to get going early on in this one. I anticipate Talor Battle drawing the assignment of Rodney on defense to start off, despite the seven inch difference in height. In the end, I see Minnesota’s inside presence, offensively and defensively, being too much for the likeable Lions. My pick: Minnesota by 4.
The Players
#12 Talor Battle
6’0″, 170 lbs, senior. 37.3 mpg, 20.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.2 apg, 43.2% FG, 34.7% 3FG.
Battle has logged over 4,400 minutes in more than 120 games (35.5 mpg average) and is a tremendous scorer who has reached double-digits 100 times in his career. He can get it done by creating off the dribble, but about half of his shots come from three-point range where he is just a career 33% shooter (66/190 or 34.7% this year). Still, he can come up clutch and will make you pay if the deep ball is not highly respected. There is no questioning it ““ this offense goes through Talor Battle. He can shoot, dribble or pass. He will draw fouls from the Gopher defense and does not turn the ball over. Minnesota needs to make him work, but Battle will put points on the board.
#25 Jeff Brooks
6’8″, 215 lbs, senior. 32.8 mpg, 13.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg.
Brooks is a very good athlete with a wing span of nearly 7 feet. This is the type of college career that makes one appreciate four year guys. Over the years he has built up his frame and greatly improved his shooting and expanded his offensive repertoire. After averaging 3 points in his first two years, Brooks scored 7.4 points to go along with 4.2 boards in 23.7 minutes per game as a junior. This season, not only are his averages up, but he has been very efficient, shooting 61% on his 2-point attempts and 44% from 3-point range (18/41). He’s a good rebounder on both ends of the court and a nasty shot blocker. Offensively, he can work on the perimeter or get busy down on the blocks.
Earlier this month, Brooks dislocated his right shoulder and missed a game on February 6. While the rumor is that his sex life has gone from minimal to nonexistent after the injury, he’s been able to get back on the court and do well, as evidenced by his 6/6 FG performance against Michigan State on February 10. Still, I don’t think he’s 100%, but as Penn State’s only other dangerous offensive threat, he’ll need to give a good effort if his team is going to win.
#22 Andrew Jones
6’10″, 245 lbs, senior. 30.4 mpg, 6.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg.
Fifth year player that is nearing his 24th birthday, Jones hasn’t improved much over the past few years. He’s got decent size and is an adequate rebounder, but it ends there. Despite his height, Jones is incapable of blocking a shot. As Penn State’s tallest player by a couple of inches, they’ll need him to stay out of foul trouble so he can help on interior defense. I’ve heard he has tried to mold certain parts of “œhis game” after former Nittany Lion center John Amaechi.
#15 David Jackson
6’7″, 210 lbs, senior. 31.0 mpg, 10.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg.
Now in his 5th year after his 2006-07 campaign was cut short due to injury, Jackson is a solid role player that occasionally puts points up on the board. After shooting 50% from the field a year ago, he is converting just 43.1% of his 2-point shots (47/109) and 36.1% of his treys (30/83). Named Penn State’s “œMr. Defense” last season.
#23 Tim Frazier
6’1″, 160 lbs, sophomore. 28.7 mpg, 4.8 ppg, 4.8 apg, 2.1 A/T ratio.
Frazier is a speedy guard that has done a very good job distributing the ball. Will look to drive and dish to Battle and Brooks against Minnesota. Can penetrate and pick up fouls, although he tends to give the ball away a few times a game. The sophomore is the last option to shoot the ball and is not a threat from outside (2/18 3FG this season).
#2 Taran Buie
6’2″, 180 lbs, freshman. In eleven games, averaged 15.2 minutes and 5.8 points.
Buie is the highest rated recruit in Penn State’s history and fans had hoped he could be as good as or even better than his half brother Talor Battle. An athletic shooting guard who can really attack the rim, his days of playing for this program may already be over. Prior to the start of the season, Buie had a couple of dumb run-ins with the law. By late December, he had been suspended for a violation of team rules and hasn’t played since. These days, he’s still enrolled at Penn State, but nowhere to be found when it comes to basketball activities. Another one for Hoiberg to check out. Unfortunate.
#5 Billy Oliver
6’8″, 220 lbs, freshman. 16.3 mpg, 3.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg.
It’s hard not to feel a little bad for the kid because he’s the Percy Harvin of college basketball. That is, his struggles with headaches have kept him out of games. Skill-wise, there is no comparison. Percy is an absolute stud and Oliver is a complete and total mess. Can’t rebound or defend, hacks the opposition, turns the ball over and can’t shoot. Billy is willing to launch from deep, but has only connected 10 times (25.6%) this year.
Snapshots from a CPA
Random numbers and/or miscellaneous data
Without Al Nolen in the lineup”¦
“¦the Gophers have held opponents to a lower three-point field goal shooting percentage than games in which Al has played.
“¦the Gophers average more assists per game.
“¦the Gophers average fewer turnovers per game.
“¦the Gophers average more steals per game.
Lawrence Westbrook
Westbrook was drafted in the third round of the NBDL draft by the Maine Red Claws, who he played with for nine games before being released. Last month, the Dakota Wizards added Westbrook to their roster.
In 17 D-League games, Westbrook has averaged 15.5 minutes and 7.2 points while shooting 38.6% from the field overall (and 14/29 or 48.3% 3FG) and 93.8% (30/32) from the line. In a recent four game stretch, Lawrence averaged 24 minutes and 15 points per game, but suffered an ankle injury on February 11. It appears to be just a sprain, and with the timing of the All Star break, he may be ready to go by the time Dakota next plays on February 26.
I checked in with Joey Whelan (@JoeyWhelan), a sports reporter for KFYR-TV in Bismarck and author of the Wizards Watch Blog to get his thoughts after watching Westbrook over the past several weeks. Whelan said that after a couple of games of getting acclimated, Westbrook has done a good job of picking his spots, especially from beyond the arc, despite not being the primary scoring option on the team. Whelan offered the following thoughts on Westbrook: “œHe has the quickness and the savvy to get to the basket off the dribble, but his size and lack of vertical explosiveness is definitely a handicap at this level when he gets into the lane. Defensively he is active and does a good job of staying in front of opposing players, but his size makes it pretty easy for guards to elevate and shoot over him.”
This won’t come as a surprise to many Gopher fans, but when I asked about a recent technical called on Westbrook, Whelan said, “œhe has shown a slight tendency for getting heated during game play, having picked up a technical for arguing with an official, but in general he’s been playing with more of a chip on his shoulder and actually benefiting from it.”
Finally, Whelan doesn’t ever foresee Westbrook reaching the NBA level, but believes that he can be a consistent role player in the D-League for as long as he wants to continue playing.
Catch up with J.B. Bauer on Twitter
Discuss the Penn State game on Tubby’s Barn Basketball Forum