***OFFICIAL MAINE AT MINNESOTA IN-GAME THREAD!!!***

Donate To GopherHole

Go4POV said:
Given how our guards have been playing, I like the 3 guard offense, so if you start Paune, who do you sit.? Bot Garcia, of course, and JOJ has proven his worth, No shame in coming off the bench. Naz Reid does for the Wolves. Payne is shooting less than 50% from the line. He can still rack up a lot of minutes (and points and rebs) coming off the bench. He may start some games depending on matchups. And now that Carrington is back, where do his minutes come from? He is not only a top defender, but one of the best rebounders (per minutes played).
Click to expand...
Bringing Payne off the bench brings energy from the bench and allows him to clean up against some of their subs as well.
 

Go4POV said:
Given how our guards have been playing, I like the 3 guard offense, so if you start Paune, who do you sit.? Bot Garcia, of course, and JOJ has proven his worth, No shame in coming off the bench. Naz Reid does for the Wolves. Payne is shooting less than 50% from the line. He can still rack up a lot of minutes (and points and rebs) coming off the bench. He may start some games depending on matchups. And now that Carrington is back, where do his minutes come from? He is not only a top defender, but one of the best rebounders (per minutes played).
Click to expand...
JOJ makes some great individual plays but he is iffy on defense, too small as a 4 on defense, and doesn't rebound much. I'd put Payne with Garcia and the three guards. Payne needs to be out there for 30 minutes. He gives the team energy and a real physical presence under the hoop on both ends. I'd ask JOJ to come off the bench as a spark for 20 minutes a game.
 




fan of Ray Williams said:
13 games in and they have matched last year's total of 6 games of shooting 50% or better from the field. (Which they accomplished in the 32nd game of a 33 game season.)
Click to expand...
They have guys who can shoot. Major upgrade. Whether they can defend better athletes than they have faced in the non conference is the big question.
 






Holy Man said:
Is that why he’s on Peacock?😂
Click to expand...
He’s also called games on ESPN and B10 Network and was an NBA player himself Stephen Bardo.

He gave us props for beating his Illini FF team @ The Barn.

Alas, his Wikipedia page didn’t list him as a member of the GopherHole basketball Intelligentsia , so naturally his hoop opinions are dodgy 🥴.
 

Gopher Ally said:
You don’t like Ola Joseph? Announcer thinks he’s NBA material
Click to expand...

I like Ola Joseph at the 4, which is where he plays with Garcia out and his numbers are better when he plays there. He's out of position at the 3, just like Battle was last season, and he's even more out of position at the 5.
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
Christie with 36 minutes
Hawkins 35
Mitchell 30
Garcia 28
Ola-Joseph 21
Ihnen 21
Payne 18
Fox 11
Click to expand...
This minute distribution looks pretty good with our three true guards playing the most significant minutes. Ihnen and Fox’s minutes should go down when Carrington is back to keep 3 guards in the lineup, but you have to ride Ihnen when he’s hot from 3pt range.

The high/low was working against that zone look to have Garcia in with Payne for those minutes. Otherwise, I think matchups will drive minutes at the 4/5 with JOJ Garcia and Payne.
 





Payne brings the rim protection that the others lack and a strong inside presence. We will need that in B1G play. I would reduce Garcia’s minutes to around last night’s level. JOJ has a good shot and bounce

Nice (minutes distribution) problem to have for a change.
 

Allshade said:
I couldn't watch the game and forgot to record. Sincere question: do we look better with Garcia or without?
Click to expand...
With Garcia back in the lineup we still ended up with five players in double figures led by Mitchell with 18 points. Christie and Ihnen both had 8 points so really balanced scoring. Great to see.
 


Gopher_In_NYC said:
He’s also called games on ESPN and B10 Network and was an NBA player himself Stephen Bardo.

He gave us props for beating his Illini FF team @ The Barn.

Alas, his Wikipedia page didn’t list him as a member of the GopherHole basketball Intelligentsia , so naturally his hoop opinions are dodgy 🥴.
Click to expand...
We won’t have him in the intelligentsia. His resume is weak. His keyboard skills are probably lacking too. 🤔
 

Holy Man said:
We won’t have him in the intelligentsia. His resume is weak. His keyboard skills are probably lacking too. 🤔
Click to expand...
Interesting factoid, according to Wikipedia, he was two time Defensive Player of the Year.
 


Go4POV said:
Given how our guards have been playing, I like the 3 guard offense, so if you start Paune, who do you sit.? Not Garcia, of course, and JOJ has proven his worth, No shame in coming off the bench. Naz Reid does for the Wolves. Payne is shooting less than 50% from the line. He can still rack up a lot of minutes (and points and rebs) coming off the bench. He may start some games depending on matchups. And now that Carrington is back, where do his minutes come from? He is not only a top defender, but one of the best rebounders (per minutes played).
Click to expand...
To me Payne should start over JOJ. I like JOJ, but let him come off the bench and back-up both 3 and 4.
 

Holy Man said:
They have guys who can shoot. Major upgrade. Whether they can defend better athletes than they have faced in the non conference is the big question.
Click to expand...
Here's some numbers on the shooting.
After 13 games last year they were shooting .376 % from the field
This year they are at .496 %
After 13 games last year they were shooting .330 % from 3
This year they are at .364 %
Last year after 13 games they were shooting .487 % from inside the arc
This year they are at .583 %
After 13 games last year from the line was .589 %
This year it is .697 %
Huge improvement inside the arc, obviously.
If Garcia, Carrington and Hawkins can get close to how they shot behind the arc last year......
 

jblass said:
With Garcia back in the lineup we still ended up with five players in double figures led by Mitchell with 18 points. Christie and Ihnen both had 8 points so really balanced scoring. Great to see.
Click to expand...
Ben did a really nice job with the rotation. Since the Nebraska game, he has made a much more direct effort to keep enough ball handlers in the game. I was worried with Carrington out and Garcia returning that Ben might see the path of least resistance to playing with fewer ball handlers on the court - but Ben resisted (as much as possible).
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
Ben did a really nice job with the rotation. Since the Nebraska game, he has made a much more direct effort to keep enough ball handlers in the game. I was worried with Carrington out and Garcia returning that Ben might see the path of least resistance to playing with fewer ball handlers on the court - but Ben resisted (as much as possible).
Click to expand...
I like the three guard offense. I’m hoping Carrington is able to go against Michigan. He is a good defender and rebounder. One more piece to add to the mix. Ben has a lot of options now. It’s up to him to put it all together to achieve the best outcome. That’s what good coaches are supposed to do.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
Ben did a really nice job with the rotation. Since the Nebraska game, he has made a much more direct effort to keep enough ball handlers in the game. I was worried with Carrington out and Garcia returning that Ben might see the path of least resistance to playing with fewer ball handlers on the court - but Ben resisted (as much as possible).
Click to expand...
Ben seems to be doing a great job with the roster he has constructed. Huge kudo's to Ben. We don't know the reasons why Payne doesn't start. I so far like Payne coming off the bench. JOJ (like Battle) is a 4 and only a 4. Maybe with some weird matchups he can be on the court as a 3. I'm glad Ben has options and is using his bench to try and find the right matchups. I think the 3 guard lineup with a combo of Carrington/Hawkins/mitchell and Christie gives the gophers an edge in many games this season.
 
Last edited:

Big Dawg said:
Ben seems to be doing a great job with the roster he has constructed. Huge kudo's to Ben. We don't know the reasons why Payne doesn't start. I so far like Payne coming off the bench. JOJ (like Battle) is a 4 and only a 4. Maybe with some weird matchups he can be on the court as a 3. I'm glad Ben has options and is using his bench to try and find the right matchups. I think the 3 guard lineup with a combo of Carrington/Hawkins/mitchell and Christie gives the gophers an edge is many games this season.
Click to expand...
JOJ plays better with Payne because, despite his atheticism - all he does is score, he is not a rebounder and not a good defender. I'd be playing Payne with Garcia as the 4 and then JOJ coming in for either. I like the three guards and now with Carrington back they can play that look almost the whole game if they want.
 

fan of Ray Williams said:
Guessing that was easily the most zone the Gophers have ran in a game this year.
Click to expand...
I have been looking for it since the last 7-8 games when it became apparent that the Gophers have trouble defending the drive. I'm not a big zone guy but with the right players it can be effective. With II and Fox on the floor and resting Hawk it makes sense and it also gives us some length. Maybe try a half court trap with the same lineup.

Will we see more zone with our starting 5?
 

bga1 said:
JOJ plays better with Payne because, despite his atheticism - all he does is score, he is not a rebounder and not a good defender. I'd be playing Payne with Garcia as the 4 and then JOJ coming in for either. I like the three guards and now with Carrington back they can play that look almost the whole game if they want.
Click to expand...
Yep, this is the exact rotation I'd use.

Let Ihnen, Fox, and JOJ battle out for the backup 4/5 minutes based on hot hand and matchup. There will be games where JOJ will look like one of our best players and legit NBA prospect and there will be games he'll lose all of his minutes to Parker Fox.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
I have been looking for it since the last 7-8 games when it became apparent that the Gophers have trouble defending the drive. I'm not a big zone guy but with the right players it can be effective. With II and Fox on the floor and resting Hawk it makes sense and it also gives us some length. Maybe try a half court trap with the same lineup.

Will we see more zone with our starting 5?
Click to expand...
Just re-watched it to see how they looked in the zone. They did it for about 10 to 12 defensive possessions. Guess I was more impressed with it in real time. They seemed to rebound better out of it when they went to it in the second half. Maybe it might bother some BIG teams for a few possessions.
Side note: They had 3 or 4 turnovers that just did not have to happen, but they've won the turnover battle in the last 6 games, so probably being too picky.
 
Last edited:

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom