Uh, Blake.....

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GopherJake

GopherJake

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Most folks here know I love Blake's game, but he really gave us nothing today. Nothing.

Colton wasn't far behind. Having those two gaping holes gives us no chance.
 

He looked totally gassed out there.

Was running back and forth trying to get open, wasn't getting any screens, and wasn't creating separation...I figured leading the team in minutes this whole tourney, as well as during the regular season would catch up with him at some point.
 

Are you serious on Colton? He was the only low post presence we had since Ralph was still sleeping back at the hotel I think. Our guards did nothing to try and get the ball into the bigs, the only chance they got the ball was when they were at the elbow.
 

I agree on Blake--terrible D, nothing on O. I thought Colton was fine---my problem was that he didn't get enough touches. I would have liked the guards to feed Colton more--he's been a beast. I thought RSIII got too many minutes today. He displayed the bad hands-lack of perceivable effort problem that plagued him against MSU on Friday.
 

What was wrong with Iverson? Sampson was awful today though. He looked completely lost.
 


Colton is obviously better than Samson right now, and note that OSU +/- was absolutely huge when Sampson was in and Colton was out. This is similar to what happened the rest of the BTT, too.
 

gassed and spent

The lads just hit the wall. Tough to play when you are gassed and have dead legs.

They had a great tourney and it is too bad the last half got totally away from them.

Hopefully the second half did not cost them an NCAA berth.
 

The only bright spot today was Devoe and Westbrook. Both played solid and really didn't get any big contributions. Mostly on the offensive side that is. Everyone looked tired on defense.
 

OSU's fresher legs really showed in the 2nd half. I thought Iverson played well but he didn't get enough touches. Too many possessions resulted with the shot clock under 10 seconds and Joseph with the ball.
 



Hoff gave us nothing. Never sprinted off a screen, just kind of rolled around them.
 

sec105 said:
Hoff gave us nothing. Never sprinted off a screen, just kind of rolled around them.
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He was totally gassed. Had his hands on his knees/jersey nearly every time I saw him. 4 games in 4 days, logging those kind of minutes...I think that was the case for the majority of our squad out there, especially defensively.
 

SGL

ShowinGoldyLove said:
He was totally gassed. Had his hands on his knees/jersey nearly every time I saw him. 4 games in 4 days, logging those kind of minutes...I think that was the case for the majority of our squad out there, especially defensively.
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Yes and they have nothing to be ashamed of. They did not quit and they did not give in. They just ran out of gas.

I give them a tip of the hat for a great tourney run.

:clap::clap::clap:
 

cncmin said:
Colton is obviously better than Samson right now, and note that OSU +/- was absolutely huge when Sampson was in and Colton was out. This is similar to what happened the rest of the BTT, too.
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Iverson is playing better, but he is not the better player in the long run. Sampson has looked fantastic in stretches this year, and Iverson looked terrible for the majority of the year.
 



Iverson did not get the ball down low. We got so outplayed the commentators didn't bring it up. Anyone who knows basketball knows we were done without that and would rely on our guards jacking up three's. We were slow, gassed, and they were on fire. But give Iverson the ball, believe me he was the one player they didnt want to see with the ball down low.
 

How many outstanding games in a row does any team play? Even the team that eventually wins the big tournament will likely put up a stinker or two along the way and barely survive. You guys act like athletes can push buttons and make good things happen, even on days when it's not going to be that way. Seen it before in every sport and no doubt will see plenty of it again.
 

Sid Hartman said:
Are you serious on Colton?
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Yes. 6 points, 2 rebounds. He has been dominant at times of late. He wasn't today.

maxwellsmart said:
You guys act like athletes can push buttons and make good things happen, even on days when it's not going to be that way. Seen it before in every sport and no doubt will see plenty of it again.
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Not sure who this is directed at, but if it is at me, I wasn't saying they sucked or whatever. I was saying good luck beating Ohio State when you get 6 points from those 2 guys who are very important, that's all.

They were tired. Great tourney though.
 

GopherJake said:
Most folks here know I love Blake's game, but he really gave us nothing today. Nothing.

Colton wasn't far behind. Having those two gaping holes gives us no chance.
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Where wasn't there a hole today? How can these two guys get singled out?
 


Swede said:
Where wasn't there a hole today? How can these two guys get singled out?
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I see your point. I just felt like since I have been such a huge backer of Blake, even when he doesn't score (because he does so many other things well, despite what some folks here think), that when he doesn't play well - in any phase - I needed to admit it.

And yes, RS3 played very poorly as well - should've mentioned that. I guess I was thinking the only way we win is if Iverson and Blake have big games and we limit Turner.

I actually thought LW and Devoe played well - at times. But yes, the 2nd half everyone ran out of steam.

We are dancing!!!
 

We might have been gassed, but Buford and Lighty played 129 minutes in the tournament. Turner played 128. Devoe played an extra game but he led us with 129 minutes also. Blake had 125. I'm not sure being tired is an excuse for today. When teams really concentrate on Blake, he has trouble since he's the main threat. Ohio State had four guys out there almost the whole game who are a threat to hit a 3 so it's tough to concentrate on anybody. Also, 3 of them can put the ball on the floor and get to the basket which Blake can't. OS is a pretty good team that got hot today and caused us to certainly sag and lose our intensity. Hard to keep playing full tilt when you make mistakes, miss easy scoring chances, and the other team won't miss. But they're not 29 points better than us any more than we're 27 points better than Purdue. Sometimes Ruesse just happens.

I'm sure Blake will work on his weaknesses but he's always going to be limited. Devoe is emerging. Carter looks like he has potential also. Two more shooters out there will help Blake. But more than anything, Colton and Ralph becoming inside forces will make life easier for Blake next year on the perimeter.
 

Mulligan said:
We might have been gassed, but Buford and Lighty played 129 minutes in the tournament. Turner played 128. Devoe played an extra game but he led us with 129 minutes also. Blake had 125. I'm not sure being tired is an excuse for today. When teams really concentrate on Blake, he has trouble since he's the main threat. Ohio State had four guys out there almost the whole game who are a threat to hit a 3 so it's tough to concentrate on anybody. Also, 3 of them can put the ball on the floor and get to the basket which Blake can't. OS is a pretty good team that got hot today and caused us to certainly sag and lose our intensity. Hard to keep playing full tilt when you make mistakes, miss easy scoring chances, and the other team won't miss. But they're not 29 points better than us any more than we're 27 points better than Purdue. Sometimes Ruesse just happens.

I'm sure Blake will work on his weaknesses but he's always going to be limited. Devoe is emerging. Carter looks like he has potential also. Two more shooters out there will help Blake. But more than anything, Colton and Ralph becoming inside forces will make life easier for Blake next year on the perimeter.
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Very well put. Particularly the last part.

I hope Blake works hard on his driving this coming year, he is very conservative with the ball, more than anything. Maybe he "can't" do it, but I'd like to see him try. I'm not thinking he'll ever be Lawrence Westbrook with his ability to drive, but he could try it a little more (at all). Seems like summer ball and pre-season would be a good time to see if he could add at least a bit of that to his game.
 

If Hoffarber could somehow develop a shot fake...off the catch and shoot look, I'm certain he could get defenders in the air or off balance enough to drive past them and create lots of offense as he goes around them. He could also probably draw contact and shoot to get 3 free throws....Sadly, he's never picked up this maneuver. Would be nice for him to beat a man off the dribble just once!
 

Colton did fine today for the minutes he got, we just just didn't get him the ball. I wish Tubby would stop playing Sampson more than him when Sampson is playing god awful and Iverson is playing well.
 

Ohio State didn't have to prepare for 4 games either. Minnesota had to prep for 4 games in a row. Sure they were going to hit a wall. They're only human. Also, Ohio State players are used to playing all those minutes for the entire season. But like I said, they only had to prepare for 3 games, so it helped big time. Our players were mentally spent as well.
 

GopherJake said:
Most folks here know I love Blake's game, but he really gave us nothing today. Nothing.

Colton wasn't far behind. Having those two gaping holes gives us no chance.
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Very bright analysis. Well, actually you gave no analysis. Have one? I mean, it's one thing to verbalize the obvious, quite another to show you understand what really happened and why.
 

Moses87 said:
If Hoffarber could somehow develop a shot fake...off the catch and shoot look, I'm certain he could get defenders in the air or off balance enough to drive past them and create lots of offense as he goes around them. He could also probably draw contact and shoot to get 3 free throws....Sadly, he's never picked up this maneuver. Would be nice for him to beat a man off the dribble just once!
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That just will never happen. He's a standstill shooter as he should be. He's too slow to be trying to drive. To be honest that type of player is better coming off the bench but oh well. Starters for this team doesn't mean a whole lot anyway.
 

Iverson plays on the low post but move him out at all and he is non productive. Sampson plays well on the high post facing the basket. They are such different players I imagine it is hard to run an offense around them when they substitute for each other so much.

Devoe is so much better as an all around player. He should have been starting all year with Hoff, Westbrook, and Nolen changing off depending on the opposition. It really hurt the Gophers in the long run not starting him.
 

It seems to me we should be able to develop more screens (or plays) to get the nation's 2nd leading 3pt shooter more shots.

Also, we should have worked the ball inside more yesterday. Tough to stop OSU though. What did they do - make like a dozen consecutive shots?
 

maxwellsmart said:
Very bright analysis. Well, actually you gave no analysis. Have one? I mean, it's one thing to verbalize the obvious, quite another to show you understand what really happened and why.
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Maxie, sorry that I didn't follow your rules on how to post. My posts are usually fairly long-winded, so I shortened this one out.

underground629 said:
Colton did fine today for the minutes he got, we just just didn't get him the ball. I wish Tubby would stop playing Sampson more than him when Sampson is playing god awful and Iverson is playing well.
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"Fine" wasn't going to cut it vs. Ohio State. You did notice the difference CI being a factor (force?) had in the previous 2 games, correct?

Prolific said:
Starters for this team doesn't mean a whole lot anyway.
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True, but Blake logs the most time. Tubby loves his game. So do I. We don't win very much when he scores zero (and gives us nothing else besides).

Yes, they were tired. As Maxie would say, that was obvious. All I was saying is that there is no way we will beat Ohio State getting nothing from our top minutes guy and nothing from Iverson (and, as pointed out, Sampson). I don't hate them, I don't think they suck, I know they were tired.
 

GopherJake said:
Most folks here know I love Blake's game, but he really gave us nothing today. Nothing.

Colton wasn't far behind. Having those two gaping holes gives us no chance.
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jake AND showin' both throwing Hoff under the bus?? :eek:

wait...

didn't he:

1.) 'strectch the D?
2.) 'give motion to the offense'?
3.) 'rebound well for a guard'?
4.) 'offer matchup problems'?
5.) 'provide excellent D'.

guess these five point that you both have screamed all year don't really put points on the board.
great that you both are finally coming around.
 

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