Random Player Thoughts v. WVU

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jags1998

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Hoff - Got blanketed but I loved how hit hit the shots he needed to hit in 2nd half. Great pass to Trevor for the dunk. 3 from the corner v. zone was huge on good look from Chip.

Trevor - Just dominant. I have to say that I dind't think he'd be this good. His strength plus mobility is really stunning.

Al - Spectacular, particularly in first half. Good work from the line in second.

Colt - Always works hard, but you never quite know with him. Tonight he was really, really good. He was really pissing off their fans.

Ralph - Not his game tonight and Colt had it going. Good tourney for Ralph, though.

Armelin - Love this guy and I think there is a lot of promise in the role that he'll have with this club. What happens with Devoe back? Pretty aggressive and tough for a frosh.

Hollins - Didn't make a lot of noise tonight but steady. I thought he looked like he belonged out there.

Walker - Someone tell me how his bucket in the first half wasn't a travel? Anyway, just more depth. Its gotta be discouraging for the opposition when we sub out a big and and even bigger big comes in.

Rodney - Poor night. He's gotta knock down some shots. Hopefully he can come back strong from this one.
 

jags1998 said:
Hoff - Got blanketed but I loved how hit hit the shots he needed to hit in 2nd half. Great pass to Trevor for the dunk. 3 from the corner v. zone was huge on good look from Chip.

Trevor - Just dominant. I have to say that I dind't think he'd be this good. His strength plus mobility is really stunning.

Al - Spectacular, particularly in first half. Good work from the line in second.

Colt - Always works hard, but you never quite know with him. Tonight he was really, really good. He was really pissing off their fans.

Ralph - Not his game tonight and Colt had it going. Good tourney for Ralph, though.

Armelin - Love this guy and I think there is a lot of promise in the role that he'll have with this club. What happens with Devoe back? Pretty aggressive and tough for a frosh.

Hollins - Didn't make a lot of noise tonight but steady. I thought he looked like he belonged out there.

Walker - Someone tell me how his bucket in the first half wasn't a travel? Anyway, just more depth. Its gotta be discouraging for the opposition when we sub out a big and and even bigger big comes in.

Rodney - Poor night. He's gotta knock down some shots. Hopefully he can come back strong from this one.
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Nice comments. Gophers won as a TEAM this weekend.
 

Our biggest positive could also be our biggest negative. We don't have a Bubby Jackson, who was the guy who took the big shot to win every important game in our last (imaginary) run to the Big Ten title. Iverson and Al's points, from two guys who don't score a lot, were HUGE tonight. WVU defended Hoffarber really well. Getting any points from any of the freshman is just a bonus in any game this year. We have a backup point guard, I've heard his name like 4 times and still don't have a clue who he is. But I like Hollins, Armelin and Walker. The night Sampson goes cold is the night Iverson goes hot. I would sure like it if Rodney could get hot and win us a game or two, I think it is in him...
 

Sparlimb said:
Our biggest positive could also be our biggest negative. We don't have a Bubby Jackson, who was the guy who took the big shot to win every important game in our last (imaginary) run to the Big Ten title. Iverson and Al's points, from two guys who don't score a lot, were HUGE tonight. WVU defended Hoffarber really well. Getting any points from any of the freshman is just a bonus in any game this year. We have a backup point guard, I've heard his name like 4 times and still don't have a clue who he is. But I like Hollins, Armelin and Walker. The night Sampson goes cold is the night Iverson goes hot. I would sure like it if Rodney could get hot and win us a game or two, I think it is in him...
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I miss Bubby too!
 

"Colt - Always works hard, but you never quite know with him. Tonight he was really, really good. He was really pissing off their fans."

He's our Laimbeer :)
 


Sparlimb said:
Our biggest positive could also be our biggest negative. We don't have a Bubby Jackson, who was the guy who took the big shot to win every important game in our last (imaginary) run to the Big Ten title.
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There's only one Bobby Jackson, but Devoe's a gunner & is primed to shine in this role I think. He also gives Al a rest at the 1. Hope he's getting his act together because it feels like the stars are aligning for us & this could be a very special season.
 

Sparlimb said:
Our biggest positive could also be our biggest negative. We don't have a Bubby Jackson, who was the guy who took the big shot to win every important game in our last (imaginary) run to the Big Ten title. Iverson and Al's points, from two guys who don't score a lot, were HUGE tonight. WVU defended Hoffarber really well. Getting any points from any of the freshman is just a bonus in any game this year. We have a backup point guard, I've heard his name like 4 times and still don't have a clue who he is. But I like Hollins, Armelin and Walker. The night Sampson goes cold is the night Iverson goes hot. I would sure like it if Rodney could get hot and win us a game or two, I think it is in him...
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Gophers actually have 2 back-up PG. Devoe (DNP) and Maverick.
 

big shots

Devoe wants to take the "big shot" ... he'll do nicely in that role if he becomes eligible

Blake can absolutely make a big shot but somebody has to get it for him, he can't create his own as Devoe can

Chip is another guy who wants to make big plays

Rodney can't shoot and isn't a savvy player so the likelihood he'll get hot is remote...there is the possibility he could score a lot of points in a game but I think he'd do it with his athleticism versus his shooting

Nolen can get to the rim in crucial situations...I'm not too sure it wasn't a designed play to throw it off the glass and Colton flushed it We can score on offensive putbacks in crucial situations if they let people jump on people

Great tournament by Tubby and the Gophers
 

60's Guy said:
I'm not too sure it wasn't a designed play to throw it off the glass and Colton flushed it
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You can't be serious. :eek:

Do you really think there was any chance that was a designed play? Like even 1%?
 



jags1998 said:
Hoff - Got blanketed but I loved how hit hit the shots he needed to hit in 2nd half. Great pass to Trevor for the dunk. 3 from the corner v. zone was huge on good look from Chip.
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As a huge Blake fan, I have to call him out on his poor (ok, terrible) defense on Mitchell in the first part of the first half. All the more credit to Al, who took over and did a better job on him.

I will give credit to Blake for contributing in other ways and being more aggressive with finding a chance to shoot - and making 4 of them, including the critical one you mention.
 

GopherJake said:
As a huge Blake fan, I have to call him out on his poor (ok, terrible) defense on Mitchell in the first part of the first half. All the more credit to Al, who took over and did a better job on him.

I will give credit to Blake for contributing in other ways and being more aggressive with finding a chance to shoot - and making 4 of them, including the critical one you mention.
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I wouldn't blame that on Blake as much as the coaching staff who MUST have scouted Mitchell, knowing that they needed to put their best defensive person (Nolen) on him from the start.

But as the saying goes: Al's well that ends well. ;)
 

Drex96 said:
I wouldn't blame that on Blake as much as the coaching staff who MUST have scouted Mitchell, knowing that they needed to put their best defensive person (Nolen) on him from the start.

But as the saying goes: Al's well that ends well. ;)
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Ha ha! Yeah, I was surprised they waited so long to make the switch. It was obvious Blake couldn't keep up with him - and that Al should be guarding him - and he was making everything he put up (which would get an emotional player down - which Blake isn't).
 

GopherJake said:
As a huge Blake fan, I have to call him out on his poor (ok, terrible) defense on Mitchell in the first part of the first half. All the more credit to Al, who took over and did a better job on him.

I will give credit to Blake for contributing in other ways and being more aggressive with finding a chance to shoot - and making 4 of them, including the critical one you mention.
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Put that one on the coaching staff - that probably never should have been the matchup, but certainly they should have made the switch after Mitchell showed he was still on fire after his 2nd shot of the game. After adjustments were made, Mitchell slowed down greatly.
 



I put a ton of that blame on the staff as well. I have no idea what they were thinking. I also couldn't believe how long it took them to figure out that we needed to make a change. It was a very similar situation to the Siena game. Somehow it took about 10 minutes of getting lit up by the same player for us to make a change, and once we did, the player quickly cooled off.

Drex96 said:
I wouldn't blame that on Blake as much as the coaching staff who MUST have scouted Mitchell, knowing that they needed to put their best defensive person (Nolen) on him from the start.

But as the saying goes: Al's well that ends well. ;)
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jags1998 said:
Walker - Someone tell me how his bucket in the first half wasn't a travel? Anyway, just more depth. Its gotta be discouraging for the opposition when we sub out a big and and even bigger big comes in.
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I love this line. I can see the opposing big's face when Mo subs for Colt during free throws. "You gotta be kidding me..."
 

Friend Of Tubby said:
Gophers actually have 2 back-up PG. Devoe (DNP) and Maverick.
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It was Maverick I was having trouble remembering. I usually pay attention to recruiting, but somehow couldn't remember picking him up...

Glad the team is garnering so much interest...
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
"Colt - Always works hard, but you never quite know with him. Tonight he was really, really good. He was really pissing off their fans."

He's our Laimbeer :)
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I saw Colt put a shoulder/elbow into the chops of, I think, #21 for West Virginia (one of their guards) late in the first half that was definitely a "get the he## out of here" message. It definitely should have been a foul (it was away from the ball, but went unseen); it looked like he knocked the guy dizzy for a second, but again, there was no call.

I loved it.
 

underground629 said:
I put a ton of that blame on the staff as well. I have no idea what they were thinking. I also couldn't believe how long it took them to figure out that we needed to make a change. It was a very similar situation to the Siena game. Somehow it took about 10 minutes of getting lit up by the same player for us to make a change, and once we did, the player quickly cooled off.
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I rewatched the game on replay and honestly, there was maybe only two or three times where Mitchell actually beat al and didn't his get points on the FT line...

He almost turned into a distributer... in the sense that he never really held the ball much once he got it with Al covering...

Great job on D by Al... i'm hoping this Al stays around, because with him playing this good, we are a very very tough team to beat
 


Sparlimb said:
It was Maverick I was having trouble remembering. I usually pay attention to recruiting, but somehow couldn't remember picking him up...

Glad the team is garnering so much interest...
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Neither will play much PG this season. Look for Nolen to get 30+ minutes at PG unless he's in foul trouble.

Maverick was signed in May after Justin Cobbs announced his transfer to California last spring.
 

2 things that I am really impressed by with this team. 1 they are physical to the point of borderline bullying, and 2 they do not rely on jumpshots for offense like we have seen from sooo many teams lately.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
"Colt - Always works hard, but you never quite know with him. Tonight he was really, really good. He was really pissing off their fans."

He's our Laimbeer :)
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I loved Laimbeer-one of my favorite players of that time period. Colt can't hit the three like Bill, but that is a good thing.

I really like the way Colt goes about his business on the court. Elbow here and there. Spin move here and there. Always with a half-smirk along the way. I think it really does make other players/fans mad...which is good thing most of the time.
 

These are usually my favorite threads - This one is no different.

I agree that putting Blake on ANOTHER top scoring guard is baffling. Hopefully the lesson is finally learned. Not a knock on Blake at all...just not his role.

+1 on Al playing so well. Locked in on Mitchel. I think it's clear that when a game is being officiated tightly, Al needs to take it to the paint and get fouled.

Our frontcourt depth is pretty impressive. I see us having a lot of great inside 2nd halves this year. And without the presence of a certain graduated guard, we are finally seeing good/frequent entry passes.

3 Questions

1. Will Devoe play Wednesday?
2. Are we very concerned with anyone besides Virginia before conf. play?
3. What is Royce thinking about in Lames, IA right about now?
 



ruralgopher said:
2 things that I am really impressed by with this team. 1 they are physical to the point of borderline bullying, and 2 they do not rely on jumpshots for offense like we have seen from sooo many teams lately.
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Yes, we are borderline bullies & I love it!!
 


Nolen was a beast. He's just such a pest. He really should always be guarding the other team's best guard, typically regardless of size.

GOPHerDIE said:
I rewatched the game on replay and honestly, there was maybe only two or three times where Mitchell actually beat al and didn't his get points on the FT line...

He almost turned into a distributer... in the sense that he never really held the ball much once he got it with Al covering...

Great job on D by Al... i'm hoping this Al stays around, because with him playing this good, we are a very very tough team to beat
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Anyone else surprised when Maverick had a really nice move to beat a guy and get a layup, and then not surprised when he chucked it off the backboard? Hopefully he's really capable of beating his guy like that on a somewhat regular basis.
 

underground629 said:
Anyone else surprised when Maverick had a really nice move to beat a guy and get a layup, and then not surprised when he chucked it off the backboard? Hopefully he's really capable of beating his guy like that on a somewhat regular basis.
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He's the one frosh that looks a little out of place so far. A red-shirt year would have been nice for Maverick, but he will be needed next season for sure.
 

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