2010-2011 UConn

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CrocShots

CrocShots

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I rarely post anymore because of the CONSTANT sky is falling attitude. Here is proof that the only important thing is making the tournament.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010–11_Connecticut_Huskies_men's_basketball_team

They went 9-9 in conference and 4-4 in Febrary in a stacked Big East. They won several games by the skin of their teeth and had a couple bad losses. They also lost a significant smount of their games against ranked teams. they entered the Big East tournament as a 9 seed. They won that tourney and entered the NCAA tournament with an RPI of 14 and an SOS of 7 (sound familiar?)

Sure, there are some differences, but people were pissed that UConn signed Calhoun for a 5 year contract extension after taking a leave of absence. THE ONLY GOAL IS MAKING THE TOURNEY. PERIOD.
 

Good to see you post Croc, I've noticed you never post any more. Wish the trolls and pessimists didn't run off good posters like you. I've been visiting this board less myself because I get sick of reading the same "Fire Tubby" posts time and time again. Gets old.
 

Good to see you again Croc. But you also have to weigh this in with any discussion of UConn.

_____________________________________________
By ADAM HIMMELSBACH
Published: June 20, 2012

In March, one year after Kemba Walker led the Connecticut men’s basketball team to its third national championship, the Huskies were ousted in their first game of the N.C.A.A. tournament, an early end to a disappointing season. But Connecticut will be unable to redeem itself next season because the N.C.A.A. on Wednesday imposed a one-year postseason ban as a result of the program’s low Academic Progress Rate scores.
 

Unregistered User said:
Good to see you again Croc. But you also have to weigh this in with any discussion of UConn.

_____________________________________________
By ADAM HIMMELSBACH
Published: June 20, 2012

In March, one year after Kemba Walker led the Connecticut men’s basketball team to its third national championship, the Huskies were ousted in their first game of the N.C.A.A. tournament, an early end to a disappointing season. But Connecticut will be unable to redeem itself next season because the N.C.A.A. on Wednesday imposed a one-year postseason ban as a result of the program’s low Academic Progress Rate scores.
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What do this have to do with Croc's post? His point was that up and down middle of the pack teams can still do damage in March.
 

Unregistered User said:
Good to see you again Croc. But you also have to weigh this in with any discussion of UConn.

_____________________________________________
By ADAM HIMMELSBACH
Published: June 20, 2012

In March, one year after Kemba Walker led the Connecticut men’s basketball team to its third national championship, the Huskies were ousted in their first game of the N.C.A.A. tournament, an early end to a disappointing season. But Connecticut will be unable to redeem itself next season because the N.C.A.A. on Wednesday imposed a one-year postseason ban as a result of the program’s low Academic Progress Rate scores.
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Oh yeah, there definitely are some differences. Kemba is one of the major ones, but the defense in the B1G is substantially better than the Big East's run-and-gun style. Kemba was overwhelmingly the leading scorer on the team, but we all remember him for going HAM in the tournament, but his regular season had some pedestrian double-digit games and a couple of stinkers.
http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/player/connecticut/kemba-walker/game_stats

Overall the gophers need to get back to running, but teams are stopping that by bailing on offensive rebounds and getting back on defense. Watch how many times a game (mostly in the 2nd half) the gophers have two guys rebounding the ball by themselves while the other team runs back and sets of their defense. This has been my biggest qualm.
 


CrocShots said:
Overall the gophers need to get back to running, but teams are stopping that by bailing on offensive rebounds and getting back on defense. Watch how many times a game (mostly in the 2nd half) the gophers have two guys rebounding the ball by themselves while the other team runs back and sets of their defense. This has been my biggest qualm.
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That's a pretty interesting observation. I never really thought about that but I think you are right.
 

CrocShots said:
I rarely post anymore because of the CONSTANT sky is falling attitude. Here is proof that the only important thing is making the tournament.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010–11_Connecticut_Huskies_men's_basketball_team

They went 9-9 in conference and 4-4 in Febrary in a stacked Big East. They won several games by the skin of their teeth and had a couple bad losses. They also lost a significant smount of their games against ranked teams. they entered the Big East tournament as a 9 seed. They won that tourney and entered the NCAA tournament with an RPI of 14 and an SOS of 7 (sound familiar?)

Sure, there are some differences, but people were pissed that UConn signed Calhoun for a 5 year contract extension after taking a leave of absence. THE ONLY GOAL IS MAKING THE TOURNEY. PERIOD.
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The only goal is not making the tourney, it is making the tourney and then doing some real damage when we get there. If we do that, I'll be pretty happy.
 

It is nice to have examples like UCONN as a reason for hope. Hope is a good thing. Obviously there are hundreds of other 9-9 examples of teams that did nothing in the Tourney but it is more fun to look at the UCONN's, VCU's, etc. as at the end of the day, I'd rather be an optimist and be wrong than a pessimist and be right.

People get reactionary after both wins and losses - it's human nature. Twitter is 100x worse than message boards, but I still enjoy the banter and shared passion. We've all sat through much worse seasons than this and we've all come back.

We're #13 in the RPI right now and as From The Barn likes to remind us, the NCAA Selection Committee has to filed a tournament of 68 so 8-10, as ugly as that would be based on our expectations, could still get us in. I miss seeing our name mentioned in the early evening of Selection Sunday as opposed to admittedly actually watching the lame NIT Selection Sunday which I did last year!

The best cure for a bad stretch of games is a win over a screaming Bo Ryan on Thursday night and I'm looking forward to it!!

Go Gophers!!
 

bleedsmaroonandgold said:
The only goal is not making the tourney, it is making the tourney and then doing some real damage when we get there. If we do that, I'll be pretty happy.
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True. Anything can happen. That's why I love college BB. I like our chances especially if we play against up tempo teams. FAR better matchups for us. That is why we have been competitive with IU and Michigan and played poorly against nerdwestern and the grinch. Honestly, I can see us beating IU because their style is more similar to ours (they lost to the grinch and Illinois who slowed them down). We constantly out rebound teams because they're not going for the boards as aggressively. More people on the glass on O is ok but when others area hooting from deep and not following their shot screw it and only keep one rebounder.
 



AT THE TIME that Tubby was hired, there were 5 teams in the Big Ten with MULTIPLE FF's on their resume's in the previous 20 years. MSU, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois & OSU. Throw in Wisconsin's 1 FF, and regular Top 4 conf finishes, and Purdue's multiple Big Ten Titles over the last 25 years, and its just an absolute fact that Tubby, coming into the Minnesota job, with Scandal after scandal after scandal proceeding him, and some of the worst facilities in the Big Ten to work with, was WAY BEHIND those 7 teams.

Now on an average year, not all 7 of those teams are going to be playing stellar, so lets say that on average, 2 of those 7 have down years on average. All of those 7 have top notch coaches.

Minnesota regularly finishes above NW and PSU, and now should finish ahead of Nebraska as well. This puts Minnesota and Iowa into that middle tier of teams. Fighting every year with the 2 teams having down years, for the spots from 6th to 9th. In a good year, Minny should be expected to finish 6th or 7th, in a not so good year, from 8th to 10th.

UNLESS something BIG happens to give us that advantage over the Top 5/7.


Hiring Tubby was a step in the right direction, but bad luck with injuries, and NOT complimenting his hire with upgraded facilities, DOES NOT equal up to something big enough to raise us up into the Upper Echelon.


Who do you people think we are that all we need to do is hire a "decent" coach to all of a sudden be one of the Upper Echelon teams in the Big Ten?!

If that is all it took, why wouldn't PSU or NW or Nebraska be able to do the same thing?

Maybe because it takes MORE than just a decent coaching hire to compete with the Upper Echelon of the Big Ten.

It takes a MAJOR investment of either Time and money, or LOTS OF MONEY to get a more immediate effect.

Or, one of the best coaches out there. MSU got lucky with their coach. Wisconsin got lucky with their coach. Had we not suffered the injuries we did, MAYBE people would be talking about how lucky we got with Tubby?! We'd have had a really good year in 2010, gotten better recruits and had a bench this season, done better this season and landed the big 3, and then gone on to incredible glory and Tubby could have retired on top of the world, having proven to everyone that he was a great hall of fame worthy coach.

Instead, we suffered those injuries, our 2010 team struggled, we didn't get the recruits needed to have any kind of a bench this season, and so now this season we are struggling, and things are going down hill because Tubby is getting old and probably has lost the fire needed to make a great season happen?! No one wants to throw money at a sinking ship, so things will get worse for us, we'll continue to be behind the Big 7 from the start, every year, and almost no matter who the new coach will end up being, it won't be enough.


OR, maybe at his age, he can only sustain the fire for short periods?! So maybe we'll get lucky and that fire will flame up right around tourney time, we'll have a VCU/UConn type FF run after struggling during the regular season, and we'll in turn get the big 3, and excitement will build, donations will come in that do not have to go to buying out Tubby but instead can go to practice facility and all will be good in Gopherland.


The only other option is we get uber lucky and the coach we hire after Tubby gets driven out, is the 2nd coming, and pulls off a miracle.
 

#1nHkyCfbBsbDncSolarDebat said:
AT THE TIME that Tubby was hired, there were 5 teams in the Big Ten with MULTIPLE FF's on their resume's in the previous 20 years. MSU, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois & OSU. Throw in Wisconsin's 1 FF, and regular Top 4 conf finishes, and Purdue's multiple Big Ten Titles over the last 25 years, and its just an absolute fact that Tubby, coming into the Minnesota job, with Scandal after scandal after scandal proceeding him, and some of the worst facilities in the Big Ten to work with, was WAY BEHIND those 7 teams.

Now on an average year, not all 7 of those teams are going to be playing stellar, so lets say that on average, 2 of those 7 have down years on average. All of those 7 have top notch coaches.

Minnesota regularly finishes above NW and PSU, and now should finish ahead of Nebraska as well. This puts Minnesota and Iowa into that middle tier of teams. Fighting every year with the 2 teams having down years, for the spots from 6th to 9th. In a good year, Minny should be expected to finish 6th or 7th, in a not so good year, from 8th to 10th.

UNLESS something BIG happens to give us that advantage over the Top 5/7.


Hiring Tubby was a step in the right direction, but bad luck with injuries, and NOT complimenting his hire with upgraded facilities, DOES NOT equal up to something big enough to raise us up into the Upper Echelon.


Who do you people think we are that all we need to do is hire a "decent" coach to all of a sudden be one of the Upper Echelon teams in the Big Ten?!

If that is all it took, why wouldn't PSU or NW or Nebraska be able to do the same thing?

Maybe because it takes MORE than just a decent coaching hire to compete with the Upper Echelon of the Big Ten.

It takes a MAJOR investment of either Time and money, or LOTS OF MONEY to get a more immediate effect.

Or, one of the best coaches out there. MSU got lucky with their coach. Wisconsin got lucky with their coach. Had we not suffered the injuries we did, MAYBE people would be talking about how lucky we got with Tubby?! We'd have had a really good year in 2010, gotten better recruits and had a bench this season, done better this season and landed the big 3, and then gone on to incredible glory and Tubby could have retired on top of the world, having proven to everyone that he was a great hall of fame worthy coach.

Instead, we suffered those injuries, our 2010 team struggled, we didn't get the recruits needed to have any kind of a bench this season, and so now this season we are struggling, and things are going down hill because Tubby is getting old and probably has lost the fire needed to make a great season happen?! No one wants to throw money at a sinking ship, so things will get worse for us, we'll continue to be behind the Big 7 from the start, every year, and almost no matter who the new coach will end up being, it won't be enough.


OR, maybe at his age, he can only sustain the fire for short periods?! So maybe we'll get lucky and that fire will flame up right around tourney time, we'll have a VCU/UConn type FF run after struggling during the regular season, and we'll in turn get the big 3, and excitement will build, donations will come in that do not have to go to buying out Tubby but instead can go to practice facility and all will be good in Gopherland.


The only other option is we get uber lucky and the coach we hire after Tubby gets driven out, is the 2nd coming, and pulls off a miracle.
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It won't take a miracle just an individual willing to work hard, recruit the immediate metro area, and actually put effort into coaching. If practice facilities could coach games, I'd be all for outsourcing Tubby's duties there.
 

CrocShots said:
I rarely post anymore because of the CONSTANT sky is falling attitude. Here is proof that the only important thing is making the tournament.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010–11_Connecticut_Huskies_men's_basketball_team

They went 9-9 in conference and 4-4 in Febrary in a stacked Big East. They won several games by the skin of their teeth and had a couple bad losses. They also lost a significant smount of their games against ranked teams. they entered the Big East tournament as a 9 seed. They won that tourney and entered the NCAA tournament with an RPI of 14 and an SOS of 7 (sound familiar?)

Sure, there are some differences, but people were pissed that UConn signed Calhoun for a 5 year contract extension after taking a leave of absence. THE ONLY GOAL IS MAKING THE TOURNEY. PERIOD.
Click to expand...

Great post and well said.
 

Without a significant investment, with how strong the Big Ten is, YES, a miracle will be needed.


What you describe is needed, sounds ALOT like an investment to me. An investment of TIME. We could give Tubby more TIME and maybe he'll turn things around, because with the time we've given him, bad luck has nullified much of what he's done. Granted, I am not sure Tubby's given the same level of investment of effort and time as we'd all have hoped, so the likelihood improvement if we give him more time may not be realistic. But with the buyout situation, and our unwillingness to make a huge investment to do EVERYTHING possible to make the situation better, we may simply have to suffer through Tubby's fading final year or years, with only the hope of a miracle run this year to change the situation for the better.
 



MadtownGopher said:
That's a pretty interesting observation. I never really thought about that but I think you are right.
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Noticed that as well. There were a couple times in the Illinois game where Hollins, EE, and Trevor (2 of them) would be going after a rebound and I would wonder where all the Illinois players were...they were setting up the defense...
 

#1nHkyCfbBsbDncSolarDebat said:
Without a significant investment, with how strong the Big Ten is, YES, a miracle will be needed.


What you describe is needed, sounds ALOT like an investment to me. An investment of TIME. We could give Tubby more TIME and maybe he'll turn things around, because with the time we've given him, bad luck has nullified much of what he's done. Granted, I am not sure Tubby's given the same level of investment of effort and time as we'd all have hoped, so the likelihood improvement if we give him more time may not be realistic. But with the buyout situation, and our unwillingness to make a huge investment to do EVERYTHING possible to make the situation better, we may simply have to suffer through Tubby's fading final year or years, with only the hope of a miracle run this year to change the situation for the better.
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3-15 in February sure is bad luck, gee golly this guy sure is a swell snakebitten guy.
 

goldengophers said:
3-15 in February sure is bad luck, gee golly this guy sure is a swell snakebitten guy.
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Let's not turn this into another pissing thread. There are enough of those around here. I would put part of the 3-15 in February on not having Al Nolan for two springs in a row. That year with Hoffharber at the point still doesn't count in my mind. ( Here comes the he can't recruit chicken and the egg argument.)

Other observations I've had:

1) listen to the court mic. Tubby is CONSTANTLY yelling "SCREEN" on offense. We have always had difficulty setting hard screens. When we have there have been beautiful results.

2) Our team wants to run and slash. Look at the recruiting profiles (and these threads) when we recruit. Those players are routinely referred to as "slashers."

3) The off-the-ball movement has been poor. I would like to see more "upscreens" in order to get a few more backdoor cuts.

4) I like EE on the floor with Trevor. They ran pick-and-roll very well and EE has the height over defenders to get the ball over the people who front Trevor. EE may be our best passer because he moves it quick and, most often, to the right guy.

5) I would like EE in the post more so that when teams front our big men, then double them from the weak side, he can get the ball quickly out of his hands to the cutter to the hoop or out to a shooter.

(I wish I had time to break down film or had a whiteboard gif I could use, but I'm not that tech savvy.)
 

CrocShots said:
2) Our team wants to run and slash. Look at the recruiting profiles (and these threads) when we recruit. Those players are routinely referred to as "slashers."
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When the play in conference games the majority of the time is a slow it down grind out type of game the team that wants to "run and slash" doesn't usually win those games. Maybe part of the reason Williams and Coleman struggle in the conference season.

If that is the case it should be on the coaching staff to try and get the games into a more up and down style which is something the Gophers only seem to do during the non-conference season or only in a few conference games per year.
 

I'll repeat what I said before the Illinois game, if Rodney's a go Thursday night I'd like to see EE replace Coleman in the starting lineup. We're not exactly on a roll, EE's playing well, and Joe would give us someone off the bench capable of scoring other than Welch (Welch can score if he's playing with a few starters). See no reason why we shouldn't shake things up at least a little.
 

CrocShots said:
3) The off-the-ball movement has been poor. I would like to see more "upscreens" in order to get a few more backdoor cuts.
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I agree it has been at times, but not always. Now another chicken vs. egg; I've noticed in (at least the most recent) games, that the team is using a lot of off the ball movement, and then it seems to disappear. Not sure if it's substitutions, or potentially lack of success taking the wind out of the sails or what. But if you were to review the last 1/2 dozen games, I think you would be surprised by the amount of movement in the first 10 minutes of those games.

By the way, the chicken came first.
 

SelectionSunday said:
I'll repeat what I said before the Illinois game, if Rodney's a go I'd like to see EE replace Coleman in the starting lineup. We're not exactly on a roll, EE's playing well, and Joe would give us someone off the bench capable of scoring other than Welch (Welch can score if he's playing with a few starters). See no reason why we shouldn't shake things up at least a little.
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Agree. What's the worst that could happen? The entire roster on the floor turns over after 5 minutes. Does it really matter who starts at this point?
 


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