Day after wisky thoughts

Joseph doesn't belong on the bench- he needs to improve but we need him on the floor.

Nolen is not a bum, not a great game by him last night but we need his defense in a big way.

The credit goes to Wisconsin- 2 turnovers - unreal. And they shot nearly 50% from the three point line in the second half while also making 17 of 18 FTs.

This team will be fine. However, we have to realize that most teams we face have better shooters. We have to do it with rebounding, power, athleticism, shot selection and defense. Hoff is a great shooter and Joseph pretty good but otherwise we just don't shoot it that well and Tubby needs to improve that facet through recruiting over time.

Our effort was good last night- an improvement from recent games. However, it has to get better, more intense, more pressure. This team will depend on turning opposing squads over and we didn't do that at all last night.

I think we will have to develop and play Chip and Austin more. Chip has the athleticism and Austin the length to be good defenders, one of them needs to embrace that role.

bga1 said:

Joseph doesn't belong on the bench- he needs to improve but we need him on the floor.

Nolen is not a bum, not a great game by him last night but we need his defense in a big way.

The credit goes to Wisconsin- 2 turnovers - unreal. And they shot nearly 50% from the three point line in the second half while also making 17 of 18 FTs.

This team will be fine. However, we have to realize that most teams we face have better shooters. We have to do it with rebounding, power, athleticism, shot selection and defense. Hoff is a great shooter and Joseph pretty good but otherwise we just don't shoot it that well and Tubby needs to improve that facet through recruiting over time.

Our effort was good last night- an improvement from recent games. However, it has to get better, more intense, more pressure. This team will depend on turning opposing squads over and we didn't do that at all last night.

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http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/boxscore?gid=201012280657 Wisky played very well. Hit good % on 3-pt FG and excellent % on FT. As you pointed out, 2 TO is remarkable. Gophers could have played better D and forced a few more TO.

My take: Joseph and Nolen need to become more consistent perimeter scorers, or we're a .500 team in the BT. It's pretty clear that Blake is going to be covered as tightly as possible by every team from here on out. Wisky overplayed passing lanes to Blake and was in his face all night, allowing open shots for others. Devoe and Al have to make teams pay for this.

Monster game for Trevor on the boards.

FOT,

A question for you: How often does Tubby have guys switch 1-5 on screens?

I didn't understand why he switched on the Wisconsin ball screens late in the game so that Ralph ended up on Taylor on several possessions.

I get switching guards, but switching a guard and a big seems odd.

There aren't many if any teams in the country that would have won in Madison last night. We'll be alright.

anonymous said:

FOT,

A question for you: How often does Tubby have guys switch 1-5 on screens?

I didn't understand why he switched on the Wisconsin ball screens late in the game so that Ralph ended up on Taylor on several possessions.

I get switching guards, but switching a guard and a big seems odd.

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I couldn't agree more. It makes no sense to have Sampson guarding Taylor, at any point in time. Plus, that put Nolen on Leuer in the post. Although it's tough to fight through moving screens all night.

It's difficult to be overly upset about the loss. Frustrating though, YES! Taylor's brick of a 3 when we were down 62-60 shoots out to Leuer. If we grab that board, we have a decent chance to send it to overtime or win it.

anonymous said:

I didn't understand why he switched on the Wisconsin ball screens late in the game so that Ralph ended up on Taylor on several possessions.

I get switching guards, but switching a guard and a big seems odd.

Click to expand...

I agree. I was frustrated by the switching. But the pick-and-pop can be a tough play to defend when both players involved (Leuer/Nankivil and Taylor) can hit the three regularly. The switch helps prevent the immediate three, but leads to the mismatches that Taylor was able to exploit.

I don't think we should have switched, and we got burned when we did, but you have to give some credit to Wisconsin for running a solid offense to get into those kinds of mismatches.

Go Gophers!

freshtrout said:

There aren't many if any teams in the country that would have won in Madison last night. We'll be alright.

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Well said...The BADgers played their solid game plan nearly flawlessly. Gophs had a chance but the playmakers didn't make plays. Westbrook delivered that game last year at Kohl Center with clutch shooting and fearless driving WITH finishing. No one stepped up to own the game. To win in the Big Ten, the playmakers gotta make plays at the end; otherwise, we're headed for another 3-6 record on the brutal Big Ten road.

Finally saw the game (could not watch on the airplane flying back to Texas). My 2 cents -

1. Really good game - team played well for the most part (great rebounding, more effort, fought back to tie).

2. Refs did not cost the Gophers the game - several calls went Minnesota's way. Seems Wisconsin expected some home cooking. I have no problem with the officiating.

3. Taylor was the difference - took over the game like Al did against North Carolina.

4. Badgers played very well - hit their FT's, bigs hit 3s and very few TOs. (forced the Gophers out of the zone)

5. Berggren surprised me - did not know he was that good.

6. Gophers need another outside shooter - seems like Tubby is trying to use Ralph like Leuer and Nankavil but he is not hitting 3s (he is wide open - just not even close on his 3s).

7. I also don't understand the switching - Ralph can not cover Taylor.

8. Gopher half court offense looked OK - they are just missing the shots (can not expect to end every possession with a dunk or wide open 3 for Hoff). Did have several nice give and gos and several screens which resulted in good shots - the team just did not convert.

9. Thought Devoe, Al and Ralph all made good contributions. Really missed the part where any of them cost the Gophers the game. Al shot poorly - but he was wide open - needs to drive and dish - first real game back. Devoe put up some tough shots - credit Taylor with good defense. Ralph played fine.

Good game. On to MSU.

anonymous said:

FOT,

A question for you: How often does Tubby have guys switch 1-5 on screens?

I didn't understand why he switched on the Wisconsin ball screens late in the game so that Ralph ended up on Taylor on several possessions.

I get switching guards, but switching a guard and a big seems odd.

Click to expand...

Too technical of ? for me. I last played basketball (in uniform) in 1964.

But I doubt he intended that RSIII guard Taylor.

Taylor was impressive but he couldn't exactly do much when Nolen was on him. Most of his production was against Devoe or switches that completely screwed us. I'm pretty sure I could blow by Sampson. Jordan was huge for them at the end, but I think people seem to think they basically won because of his scoring. I actually thought it was more of the role players that killed us because they were so efficient. Our bigs (especially Trevor) really struggled to cover their bigs when they drifted to the perimeter. Here's a big reason why I think we lost...

Nankivil: 11 points in 16 min, 3-5
Jarmusz: 9 points in 27 min, 3-3 all 3 pointers
Berggren: 8 points in 21 min, 4-6 and 3 blocks

Tubby is hesitant to pull Rodney from the starting lineup. I think having devoe or Austin in there would provide us with another shooter. Yes rebounding would take a hit, but I think Trevor can take care of that.