Pulley League starts Monday

Scout has this weeks schedule and some roster information.
http://minnesota.scout.com/2/873884.html

Mon, Jun 22
7:00 El-Amin Fish House vs. Howard Pulley Black – Bye
8:45 A & A Millwork vs. B 2 X
Tue, Jun 23
7:00 Errol Carlstrom Playaz vs. Madison
8:45 TRP Group vs. Hudson Enterprises

El Amin features Khalid El Amin, Dan Coleman, Paul Carter, Devron Bostick,
A& A Millwork features Arriel McDonald, Qincy Lewis, Randy Carter, Trent Hassell,Travis Busch, Al Nolen, Colten Iverson

B-2-X-R has Zach Puchtel, Rodney Williams , Dominique Dawson, Ryan Wittman, Blake Hoffarber, Cameron Rundles

Sabes/TRP will have Justin Cobbs , Damian Johnson , Ralph Sampson

Errol Carlstrom Playaz has Mitch Ohnstad, Devoe Joseph, Trevor Mbakwe , Luke Anderson, Steve Esselink

Troy Hudson Enterprises features Troy Hudson, Royce White, John Thomas

And the like last year, the Howard Pulley 17U team will play as a regular team but will count as a bye in the standings. This years team will include potential future Gopher Jacob Thomas and Seantrell Henderson, Gopher football player Ra'Shede Hageman, recent NDSU commit Marcus Williams, Chad Calcaterra, Marvin Singleton, and Joe Coleman and others. No Harrison Barnes.

and of course we all know rosters are subject to change and there are some guys who may play later on like a Troy Bell or Sam Jacobson.

Same location as last year.

*Disclaimer* we all know they don't play great defense and I'm sure Bostick from last summer will get brought up about a million times by some people, and it seems every year the same tired topics regarding the value of the Pulley League come up, but I hope it won't discourage people from posting there thoughts when they go to watch.

Is Grier on a team this year? Or going to show up?

He is by far the most exciting player to watch with this style of play.

Thanks Johnny

Rosters are always the hardest to get.

Here is an article from Marcus in today's Pioneer Press:

Rising stars, or flashes in pan?
Pulley production doesn't ensure success as Gopher
By Marcus R. Fuller
Updated: 06/21/2009 11:06:54 PM CDT


Every year a current or incoming University of Minnesota basketball player has a breakout summer in the Howard Pulley Pro-City League.

Gophers fans will be eager to see who that player is this year as league play opens tonight at the Salvation Army in St. Paul.

Could it be 6-foot-11 sophomore-to-be Ralph Sampson III, who just missed making the USA Under-19 national team after tryouts last week? Or fellow second-year big man Colton Iverson? Or maybe one of the four newcomers, junior college All-American and former St. Bernard's High School star Trevor Mbakwe?

"It would be great," Gophers coach Tubby Smith said when asked whether Sampson could vastly improve this summer. "He was really coming along. He was getting some confidence. He'll learn a lot about himself against better competition."

But expecting Sampson or any other player to turn impressive numbers in this year's summer league into an All-Big Ten Conference-type season isn't just wishful thinking; it might be foolish — considering the past has proved otherwise.

The most impressive Gophers player in the Howard Pulley League last year was wing Devron Bostick, who put up a number of 30-point games to the delight of onlookers who couldn't help but imagine him as an immediate impact player and starter — even possibly the team's scoring leader in 2008-09.

"That's pretty much how I thought it was going to be," Bostick later said.

But the Wisconsin native and former junior college player of the year averaged just four points in 11 minutes a game while failing to consistently crack Smith's rotation, mainly because of his struggles on defense.

Rene Pulley, the founder of the summer league and Howard Pulley's AAU program, said a lot of players can show up looking like stars in his league, because although play is entertaining — it's almost like a glorified pickup game with referees — there's no coaching, no set plays and often little defense.

"A lot of these kids can play, but some of them don't even learn plays," Pulley said. "In the league, you just go out there and do what you want to do. But there are so many variables why somebody looks good and somebody doesn't. It has nothing to do with how good they are, usually."

Pulley said it would have been fair for people to judge Sampson and Iverson based on their performances in the summer league last year. They fouled often and had trouble finishing in the paint, but it was the first time "Tubby's Towers" got to play together, which was a big step.

"Sampson and Iverson didn't look great in the Pulley League last year, but they ended up playing very well with the Gophers," he said. "I think it just depends. It could go either way, you know."

After Minnesota proved no match for Texas in a 76-62 loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament last season, several players vowed to make bigger improvements this summer.

Point guard Al Nolen talked about wanting to develop his offensive game, mainly his jump shot. He also looked forward to being a mentor to incoming freshman point guard Justin Cobbs.

"I'm just going to help him out to be a leader on the floor," Nolen said in March, "teach him what to do and what not to do out there."

Cobbs, a California native, and fellow newcomers and local products Mbakwe, Royce White and Rodney Williams Jr. are enrolled in summer school and plan to play in the Howard Pulley League. Expected Gophers walk-on Dominique Dawson, a 6-7 forward from Minneapolis Southwest High School, also is in the league.

A year ago, freshman Devoe Joseph and junior college transfer Paul Carter were the only members of Smith's first highly touted 2008 recruiting class at Minnesota to miss the Pulley League and arrive in the fall.

"That's a good thing about this summer, because we're getting all the guys in the summer league," Smith said. "They're getting a chance to play in pickup games, getting in the weight room and getting stronger. They also pick up six hours of credit, which is more important than anything. Acclimating them to the university and the academic environment is critical."

Go Gophers!!

Troy Hudson

Dang, I had forgotten his existence. He shot too much in the NBA. I can't imagine what garbage he jacks up in summer league play.

Thanks for the rosters Johnny.

A & A Millwork are my pick to win this thing! I don't know how much Arriel McDonald and Randy Carter will have left in the tank, but I'm guessing Quincy and Hassell will still be solid. Throw Al and Colt45 in the mix...CHAMPIONSHIP! Looking forward to watching a few of these games, should be interesting to see how guys have developed over the summer along with the new class.

Looks like Pulley had also released the entire 2009 summer match-ups.

http://www.eteamz.com/howardpulley/files/2009ProCity.pdf

Can someone verify the location of the Salvation Army gym. is the address 401 7th St. W in St. Paul?

Lawrence Westbrook is the only Gopher not participating, I heard he was working out on his own with some NBA trainer.

I don't know the address but it's about four blocks or so from X-Cel Arena.

Right on the corner of Smith Ave. and 7th Street, if memory serves me correctly.

I'm here right now. Rodney's been ... interesting. So far, he's had two spectacular dunk attempts he just missed, two amazing blocks out of nowhere including one on al, and two airballs.

Okay, rodney's had three spectacular dunks, one a drop step, one a HUGE put back, and one an alley oop from about 8 feet back over randy carter. He's also had another couple blocks. He'll be a defensive force. Blake's jumper is still MIA, as is Al's. Arriel mcdonald and j stamper are playing great right now.

Rodney had about 8 blocks and some amazing dunks. Hoffarber and Al Nolen did absolutely nothing. Nolen had 0 points and went like 0-7 from the field and Hoffarber still couldn't shoot.

Zach Johnson from Carleton easily played the best of anyone. He scored far more than anyone and played fewer minutes than most. He barely got the ball or any time in the first half but second half they started feeding him the ball every time and he made about 80% of his shots.

As expected, the teams were a lot different than the rosters on paper. Anyone know who #3 of 5 were from B-2-X or #3 or 7 from A & A Millworks?

underground629 said:

Hoffarber and Al Nolen did absolutely nothing. Nolen had 0 points and went like 0-7 from the field and Hoffarber still couldn't shoot.

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What game were you at?

Just got the unofficial box score write up from a friend who was tallying, and he said he had Hoffarber for 17 pts, 10 assists and 8 boards, and was 1-3 from 3? I won't comment on Nolan because word is that he had a tough night, just as everyone does, but if nearly a triple double is "absolutely nothing" I hope we have a lot more of it come next season.

ShowinGoldyLove said:

What game were you at?

Just got the unofficial box score write up from a friend who was tallying, and he said he had Hoffarber for 17 pts, 10 assists and 8 boards, and was 1-3 from 3? I won't comment on Nolan because word is that he had a tough night, just as everyone does, but if nearly a triple double is "absolutely nothing" I hope we have a lot more of it come next season.

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Actually, that box is a little misleading. Hoff had a ton of nice cuts and layups, but he was actually about 1 of 6 on threes, by my count. I don't care about the triple double. I care about something that will have an effect on his season. And the three ball is the biggest part of his game. I like the call on Zach Johnson as well. The kid was eating up everybody, which shocked me, because I graduated from Carleton, and I remembered him playing very well at D-3, but he was taking Johnny Gilbert and J Stamper to the schoolhouse.

ShowinGoldyLove said:

What game were you at?

Just got the unofficial box score write up from a friend who was tallying, and he said he had Hoffarber for 17 pts, 10 assists and 8 boards, and was 1-3 from 3? I won't comment on Nolan because word is that he had a tough night, just as everyone does, but if nearly a triple double is "absolutely nothing" I hope we have a lot more of it come next season.

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Didn't you learn last year that Hoff's game can't be criticized? He's as Minnesotan as apple pie is American. If his 3pt% is 25% and he shoots 32% and is the slowest 2 in the Big Ten that doesn't matter because he's the smartest player on the offensive and defensive end of the floor.

That said, we will be a much better team if he finds his shot.

jmag21 said:

Actually, that box is a little misleading. Hoff had a ton of nice cuts and layups, but he was actually about 1 of 6 on threes, by my count. I don't care about the triple double. I care about something that will have an effect on his season. And the three ball is the biggest part of his game. I like the call on Zach Johnson as well. The kid was eating up everybody, which shocked me, because I graduated from Carleton, and I remembered him playing very well at D-3, but he was taking Johnny Gilbert and J Stamper to the schoolhouse.

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If Hoffarber has 10 assists and 17 rebounds plus 8 rebounds in most Gopher games this season, I'd guess the Gophers will WIN LOTS of those games.

Didn't you learn last year that Hoff's game can't be criticized? He's as Minnesotan as apple pie is American.

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I would say that the criticizing should be held until college play resumes. This is a summer league, not Big 10 play. Let's back off the guys and let them work in peace.

Baseball, hotdogs, apple pie, and Blake Hoffarber. It's got a nice ring to it.

ShowinGoldyLove said:

What game were you at?

Just got the unofficial box score write up from a friend who was tallying, and he said he had Hoffarber for 17 pts, 10 assists and 8 boards, and was 1-3 from 3? I won't comment on Nolan because word is that he had a tough night, just as everyone does, but if nearly a triple double is "absolutely nothing" I hope we have a lot more of it come next season.

Click to expand...

Anyone who was at the game will tell you that Hoffarber didn't really do anything. He had a couple of layups that were uncontested from terrible defense. He still couldn't shoot and the assists are probably him passing someone the ball and them driving on someone because nobody played any defense. Nolen actually had at least two points that I just remembered but he was easily the most disapopinting. The one thing that was good to see about Hoffarber was that he was willing to dribble a little more than usual but his shot still wasn't on at all. I don't really believe that boxscore is right and if it is than like Jmag said, those stats are really misleading. Btw I go to Carleton and I was a little surprised to see Zach Johnson do that well. I've always thought he has the offensive skills to play at a really high level but I didn't expect him to dominate the way he did.

While Blake didn't do anything great, he wasn't nearly as bad as some are making it out, now Nolen, thats a whole different story, was basically invisible most of the game. Rodney was the story of the game, especially with his defense, unofficially with 12 blocks including about 5 on Stamper. of course he also had his usual highlight dunks.

The first game, jacob thomas had 7 threes and 29 points, Carter and Bostick had pretty bad games as well. As for the rosters, not sure which ones you had but they we're pretty close except for the Pulley kids, who had to call up Syani Chambers and Isiah Zierdon and took Carrington Tankston from the other team to play with them tonight. Colton was the only guy expected to be there who wasn't, nobody was sure why.

Thanks Johnny for posting some of the players. I will try to make a few of these games.

Colton had class on Monday night so thats why he wasn't there and Sampson isn't back yet from his trip overseas.

We stopped in for a look tonight. It was just fun to sit and watch a bit of BB and have some cheap concessions - best deal in town. Hoff hit a few 3 pointers and Rodney had a few dunks in the first game. Puchtel and Wittman looked very good out there.
Watching the second game, I found myself feeling sad Busch is leaving. He is such a tough player. Carter looked ok but he's such a defensive player that this summer won't showcase his skills much.

Looking at the rosters, I question putting Nolen w/A&A. Those older guys in this league will feel little need for a point guard - they feel little need for passing. I don't expect this to be a summer where Nolen breaks out.

underground629 said:

Anyone who was at the game will tell you that Hoffarber didn't really do anything. He had a couple of layups that were uncontested from terrible defense. He still couldn't shoot and the assists are probably him passing someone the ball and them driving on someone because nobody played any defense. Nolen actually had at least two points that I just remembered but he was easily the most disapopinting. The one thing that was good to see about Hoffarber was that he was willing to dribble a little more than usual but his shot still wasn't on at all. I don't really believe that boxscore is right and if it is than like Jmag said, those stats are really misleading. Btw I go to Carleton and I was a little surprised to see Zach Johnson do that well. I've always thought he has the offensive skills to play at a really high level but I didn't expect him to dominate the way he did.

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How many of Rodney's dunks were uncontested due to terrible defense?

You can't compare his dunks to Hoffarber's layups. He jumps high enough that nobody has a chance at blocking his dunks and some of them were contested including his alley-oop.

underground629 said:

You can't compare his dunks to Hoffarber's layups. He jumps high enough that nobody has a chance at blocking his dunks and some of them were contested including his alley-oop.

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If you've been reading this forum for any length of time you'd know that I think highlight videos featuring dunk after dunk are less exciting than watching my grass grow and basketball would be better off going back to the no-dunk rule.

I know that sounds like a ridiculous idea to some (OK, probably most everyone) but it was during that ban during the 60s that college basketball really took off and was the formative high school years for the two guys (Magic & Bird) that really made the NBA into a big show. My theory is that kids (say someone like Rodney Williams) spend so much time practicing dunks that they forget about shooting, passing and ball handling.

I don't care how freakishly, awesomely high Rodney got on those dunks, 90% of the success of those plays was getting to the hoop in the first place ... which I compliment him, as well as Hoff, on getting to the hoop and finishing.

Mikie S said:

If you've been reading this forum for any length of time you'd know that I think highlight videos featuring dunk after dunk are less exciting than watching my grass grow and basketball would be better off going back to the no-dunk rule.

I know that sounds like a ridiculous idea to some (OK, probably most everyone) but it was during that ban during the 60s that college basketball really took off and was the formative high school years for the two guys (Magic & Bird) that really made the NBA into a big show. My theory is that kids (say someone like Rodney Williams) spend so much time practicing dunks that they forget about shooting, passing and ball handling.

I don't care how freakishly, awesomely high Rodney got on those dunks, 90% of the success of those plays was getting to the hoop in the first place ... which I compliment him, as well as Hoff, on getting to the hoop and finishing.

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Haha I'm sorry that I haven't been reading your posts long enough or closely enough to know that you hate dunk highlights. That really has nothing to do with what we've been talking about though. Your opinion of dunks doesn't have to do with the point of our discussion.

For one, Hoffarber's purpose is to make threes and jumpers. His shot on Monday was no better than it was during last season, which was disappointing to anyone who was there. Yes, you can look at his misleading boxscore and think he did alright, but he didn't do well at what he is on the court to do for the Gophers. He's obviously not going to get those free layups in the BT.

Obviously Rodney isn't going to get that many dunks or blocks in the BT either, but those are his game, so it's hard to complain with what he did in the game. You may be right about people practicing dunking too much when they should be practicing shooting, but I highly doubt that basketball took off as a result of a ban on dunking. There is no way basketball is better off without dunking.

But in fact...

... Hoffarber did get many of those cuts to the basket last season. He was one of the few players on the team that moved effectively without the ball. That is one of the primary reasons he still got so much playing time (even though his jump shot was off). It amazes me that people complained about how one-dimensional (3-point shooter only) Blake was and how he had to improve in other aspects of the game... well he did. He played better D, he cut without the ball, he was one of the best passers on the team, he even put the ball on the floor once in a while. That is the reason he was on the court while others rode the bench. Would it be nice if he returned to a higher 3-point percentage? Sure. Would it be nice if he was more athletic? Sure. But despite all of his shortcomings, he's still a good player. It's laughable to say that his only job is to shoot the ball, just as it's laughable to suggest that Al's only role is to pass the ball (wouldn't we all feel better if HIS shot was more consistent?).
I'll go out on a limb (though I think it's a pretty strong one with little risk) and predict that the slow, unathletic, poor-shooting Blake gets more minutes than the super-athletic Rodney this year. There is more to the game than jumping and dunking.

goldenboy said:

... Hoffarber did get many of those cuts to the basket last season. He was one of the few players on the team that moved effectively without the ball. That is one of the primary reasons he still got so much playing time (even though his jump shot was off). It amazes me that people complained about how one-dimensional (3-point shooter only) Blake was and how he had to improve in other aspects of the game... well he did. He played better D, he cut without the ball, he was one of the best passers on the team, he even put the ball on the floor once in a while. That is the reason he was on the court while others rode the bench. Would it be nice if he returned to a higher 3-point percentage? Sure. Would it be nice if he was more athletic? Sure. But despite all of his shortcomings, he's still a good player. It's laughable to say that his only job is to shoot the ball, just as it's laughable to suggest that Al's only role is to pass the ball (wouldn't we all feel better if HIS shot was more consistent?).
I'll go out on a limb (though I think it's a pretty strong one with little risk) and predict that the slow, unathletic, poor-shooting Blake gets more minutes than the super-athletic Rodney this year. There is more to the game than jumping and dunking.

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There's no doubt Blake will get more minutes than Rodney. Rodney's incredibly raw. The point is that Blake is a very valuable piece for this team if he can make outside jumpers (or even a mid-range shot once in a while). Sure, he makes some nice cuts, but those dry up fairly quickly in Big-Ten play, and even when it's working, he's not going to consistently score more than a couple of buckets that way. The fact is, if Blake can't shoot, he's a slightly less than mediocre player. And of course, it'd be great if Al was shooting the ball well. But you have to realize that Blake's main role (though of course, not only role) is to shoot. We couldn't stretch the floor last year because Blake's shot was abysmal. And if his shot is abysmal, he's a liability. He can make a nice cut or two, and he'll play hustle D, but when you have a player who's not athletic enough to make his own shot, other than two backdoor cuts a game, and can't consistently stay in front of two guards, you've got a player who's going to be 8th in the rotation.

Anyone who thinks Blake will continue to get big minutes the next few years if he doesn't find his shot is fooling themselves. Blake was valuable last year on a team full of young guards and without a lot of backcourt talent. Tubby had no confidence in Bostick either so he didn't play much. Still while Blake has a good basketball IQ that won't be enough once guys like Devoe and Cobbs get it together. Having an unathletic, non shooting 6'3" guy out there isn't the key to big time success.

Well at least Jmag and Oleboy understand where I'm coming from. I'm sorry that I was disappointed in the way Hoffarber played. I never said that Hoffarber's only purpose is to shoot the 3. I actually like the way he plays, all I was saying was that I was disappointed to watch him struggle just as badly shooting last Monday as he did last season. We are such a better team when he's shooting like he did freshman year, and at this point, I just hope he can have another year as good as that one. I realize that he occasionally has gotten baskets off cutting and getting layups, but those are occasional, 0-4 a game, and he scored most of his points doing that in the Pulley game. Obviously he won't score like 10 doing that in the BT a game.

Why are you comparing his pt to Rodney's for next year. I never said I thought Rodney was a better player right now or that he's going to play more. I was disappointed in Hoffarber and not Rodney because Rodney did a great job doing what he'll do in the future for us, and Hoffarber struggled at what we need him to do. For some reason any time something bad is said about Hoffarber everyone gets more pissed than they do if it's about someone else. All I said was that I was disappointed watching him, and I'm pretty sure other gopher fans there were too.