Marcus blog: RS3 worked out with family this summer; impressed with frosh D effort

Some good stuff from Marcus:

Sampson worked out with family this summer
By Marcus Fuller

Going back to the basics is how junior center Ralph Sampson III described his summer working out with his brother and father in Atlanta.

Sampson's younger brother, Robert, is a 6-foot-8 incoming freshman at East Carolina. They both grew up learning a lot of basketball fundamentals from their father, former NBA and college star Ralph Sampson Jr.

But they got a refresher course this summer.

"They were moves that I started off learning when I first started basketball, moves my dad first taught me," he said. "I was trying to perfect those again. I worked on my foot speed."

Making quicker post moves could turn Sampson into a much better scorer inside this season. I thought Sampson's jump hook was a lot more effective last year. If it got any better then that shot could be a go-to move for him. He'll also get even more opportunities to refine his hook shots in practice with two more teammates 6-foot-10 or taller in freshmen Elliott Eliason and Mo Walker.

Sampson, who said he now weighs 260 pounds, is looking forward to seeing how different the international rules and players are when the Gophers travel to British Columbia for three exhibition games next month.

"I know in the United States we focus on a faster pace," he said. "The foreign players are more fundamental and are spot shooters. I'm very interested seeing for myself how my game fares to theirs."

-- Gophers coach Tubby Smith allowed the media to watch an entire practice Monday for the first time as far as I remember.

For the most part, we watched a lot of rebounding and defensive drills. It was interesting to see Smith in action, teaching his newcomers how to rotate in his "ball-line" defense. And he got really animated while demonstrating how to stay in front of the opponent while shuffling their feet the length of the court. You could truly see how passionate Smith is about defense.

Senior point guard Al Nolen was active in the passing lanes as usual. His perimeter defense and ability to generate steals were missed when he was academically ineligible for the second semester last season. I was also impressed with how hard the newcomers worked defensively in practice. Obviously they know that's the only way they'll earn playing time in Smith's system.

Walker with his huge 290-pound frame and Eliason with his long 7-foot body both made it hard to score and rebound inside at times.

Freshman guard Austin Hollins, who looked to be a legit 6-5, even hustled down the floor to block a layup from junior Trevor Mbakwe on one sequence. That really surprised me, because at first I thought it was high-flying sophomore Rodney Williams.

-- Mbakwe appeared to be comfortable out there with his teammates, which isn't hard to believe since he practiced with the team all of last season while on suspension for facing the assault charge. Now that it's behind him, Mbakwe has some big goals for himself.

He wants to lead the Big Ten in rebounding. And I actually think it's possible. Two of the top three rebounders (Ohio State's Evan Turner was the leader with 8.3 and Michigan's DeShawn Sims was third at 7.9) have moved on to the pros.

I think it has been obvious since he was recruited that Mbakwe would surely be Minnesota's starting power forward when he was able to play. But he said he didn't mind coming off the bench.

"Coaches always say, it's not about who starts, but it's about who is in the game in the last five minutes," Mbakwe said. "If I don't start, I'm still going to give it my all. But hopefully, I'll be one of those guys in the last five minutes of the game when coach needs a rebound, coach needs a basket, coach needs whatever he needs."

-- The other interesting story from Monday's practice was the fact that junior guard Devoe Joseph was able to participate without any noticeable problems with his leg.

He strained his quadriceps muscle while playing with the Canadian national team this summer. And he's still recovering from that. I heard previously that his knee was potentially a bigger issue. But Joseph said it wasn't of any concern right now.

"I had a minor knee problem the day before I strained this," Joseph said pointing to where he slightly tore a thigh muscle. "I didn't think it was a big deal. I've been getting knee pain throughout. But it's nothing to stress over. It's nothing big. I've played with my knee hurt and played good. It just needs to get warm."

http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/2010/08/sampson-worked-out-with-family.html

Go Gophers!!

Good stuff from Marcus.

I'm trying to temper my expectations a bit but I think we're going to have a pretty good year.

Thanks for posting. I always like reading that kind of stuff

BleedGopher said:

Some good stuff from Marcus:

Sampson worked out with family this summer
By Marcus Fuller

Going back to the basics is how junior center Ralph Sampson III described his summer working out with his brother and father in Atlanta.

Sampson's younger brother, Robert, is a 6-foot-8 incoming freshman at East Carolina. They both grew up learning a lot of basketball fundamentals from their father, former NBA and college star Ralph Sampson Jr.

But they got a refresher course this summer.

"They were moves that I started off learning when I first started basketball, moves my dad first taught me," he said. "I was trying to perfect those again. I worked on my foot speed."

Making quicker post moves could turn Sampson into a much better scorer inside this season. I thought Sampson's jump hook was a lot more effective last year. If it got any better then that shot could be a go-to move for him. He'll also get even more opportunities to refine his hook shots in practice with two more teammates 6-foot-10 or taller in freshmen Elliott Eliason and Mo Walker.

Sampson, who said he now weighs 260 pounds, is looking forward to seeing how different the international rules and players are when the Gophers travel to British Columbia for three exhibition games next month.

"I know in the United States we focus on a faster pace," he said. "The foreign players are more fundamental and are spot shooters. I'm very interested seeing for myself how my game fares to theirs."

-- Gophers coach Tubby Smith allowed the media to watch an entire practice Monday for the first time as far as I remember.

For the most part, we watched a lot of rebounding and defensive drills. It was interesting to see Smith in action, teaching his newcomers how to rotate in his "ball-line" defense. And he got really animated while demonstrating how to stay in front of the opponent while shuffling their feet the length of the court. You could truly see how passionate Smith is about defense.

Senior point guard Al Nolen was active in the passing lanes as usual. His perimeter defense and ability to generate steals were missed when he was academically ineligible for the second semester last season. I was also impressed with how hard the newcomers worked defensively in practice. Obviously they know that's the only way they'll earn playing time in Smith's system.

Walker with his huge 290-pound frame and Eliason with his long 7-foot body both made it hard to score and rebound inside at times.

Freshman guard Austin Hollins, who looked to be a legit 6-5, even hustled down the floor to block a layup from junior Trevor Mbakwe on one sequence. That really surprised me, because at first I thought it was high-flying sophomore Rodney Williams.

-- Mbakwe appeared to be comfortable out there with his teammates, which isn't hard to believe since he practiced with the team all of last season while on suspension for facing the assault charge. Now that it's behind him, Mbakwe has some big goals for himself.

He wants to lead the Big Ten in rebounding. And I actually think it's possible. Two of the top three rebounders (Ohio State's Evan Turner was the leader with 8.3 and Michigan's DeShawn Sims was third at 7.9) have moved on to the pros.

I think it has been obvious since he was recruited that Mbakwe would surely be Minnesota's starting power forward when he was able to play. But he said he didn't mind coming off the bench.

"Coaches always say, it's not about who starts, but it's about who is in the game in the last five minutes," Mbakwe said. "If I don't start, I'm still going to give it my all. But hopefully, I'll be one of those guys in the last five minutes of the game when coach needs a rebound, coach needs a basket, coach needs whatever he needs."

-- The other interesting story from Monday's practice was the fact that junior guard Devoe Joseph was able to participate without any noticeable problems with his leg.

He strained his quadriceps muscle while playing with the Canadian national team this summer. And he's still recovering from that. I heard previously that his knee was potentially a bigger issue. But Joseph said it wasn't of any concern right now.

"I had a minor knee problem the day before I strained this," Joseph said pointing to where he slightly tore a thigh muscle. "I didn't think it was a big deal. I've been getting knee pain throughout. But it's nothing to stress over. It's nothing big. I've played with my knee hurt and played good. It just needs to get warm."

http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/2010/08/sampson-worked-out-with-family.html

Go Gophers!!

Click to expand...

That's a bit scary...I mean I am sure he has gotten it checked out several times, but that can't be a good thing...especially for his future. Anyone hear anything else about his knee?

With Mbakwe, Walker, Sampson, Eliason and Iverson, we have the 4 and 5 spots well covered. Nolen and incoming freshmen can handle the point. Joseph and Hoffarber are the 2-guards.Hollins sounds like he may be our swing man. If Williams and others can play well at the small forward position this may be the first well rounded team we have had for many years.

I know there are ways to play the game other than the classic style I have mentioned but, it's nice to know we may have all the bases covered.

I have read and heard Tubby mentioned the importance of having Rodney Williams get his game together this year. Smith has said they need to have him add offense, rebounding and shot blocking to their game. With Mbakwe in the fold, Rodney is now the next important key.