Part of his Friday Look Ahead:
Player trying to get rolling:
The Big Ten schedule-maker didn't do Minnesota any favors. The Gophers opened conference play at Wisconsin's Kohl Center, a place where Tim Duncan's Spurs would probably lose. Now they're at No. 20 Michigan State on Friday, then home against Indiana (Jan. 4), then at No. 2 Ohio State (on Jan. 9.) -- meaning three of Minnesota's first four Big Ten games are on the road against Wisconsin, Michigan State and Ohio State. So let me tell you what's going to happen: Minnesota is going to start 1-3 in the Big Ten, and everybody will talk about "the collapse." Then the Gophers will balance things out and close with wins over Michigan (Feb. 26), Northwestern (March 2) and Penn State (March 6), and everybody will talk about "the turnaround." The truth, of course, is that they'll neither collapse nor turn things around. They'll just play the schedule presented, lose the games they're supposed to lose and win the ones they're supposed to win. Either way, Al Nolen needs to play better (remember, this is the "player trying to get rolling" category; had to tie it together somehow). He was 0 for 6 in that loss to Wisconsin. If he's going to shoot six times, he needs to make some of them or else the Gophers might really collapse, at which point everything you just read will look silly.
Player trying to get rolling:
The Big Ten schedule-maker didn't do Minnesota any favors. The Gophers opened conference play at Wisconsin's Kohl Center, a place where Tim Duncan's Spurs would probably lose. Now they're at No. 20 Michigan State on Friday, then home against Indiana (Jan. 4), then at No. 2 Ohio State (on Jan. 9.) -- meaning three of Minnesota's first four Big Ten games are on the road against Wisconsin, Michigan State and Ohio State. So let me tell you what's going to happen: Minnesota is going to start 1-3 in the Big Ten, and everybody will talk about "the collapse." Then the Gophers will balance things out and close with wins over Michigan (Feb. 26), Northwestern (March 2) and Penn State (March 6), and everybody will talk about "the turnaround." The truth, of course, is that they'll neither collapse nor turn things around. They'll just play the schedule presented, lose the games they're supposed to lose and win the ones they're supposed to win. Either way, Al Nolen needs to play better (remember, this is the "player trying to get rolling" category; had to tie it together somehow). He was 0 for 6 in that loss to Wisconsin. If he's going to shoot six times, he needs to make some of them or else the Gophers might really collapse, at which point everything you just read will look silly.
