Rotation

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balds

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Will Tubby slim the rotation down this year and get rid of the "hockey" like substitution patterns?

I really like our first 7, both individually and the mix of size and talents. with just our top 7 we can easily go big, go 3 guards or have a "typical lineup".

I see Hollins and Walker as the 8th and 9th guys, and it sounds Armelin may be the 10th. It will be interesting how much they play and contribute.
 

From what some say Armelin might even be the 8th guy, but id put most of my stock into walker. the guy would be a starter if we werent so deep down low. Reminds me of dexter pittman but with softer hands and a better shot
 

I can't wait for the season to start! If they get ANYTHING from Chip I will be pleasantly stunned. The keys to me are the play of Nolan and if Mbakwe is even remotely as good as most of us hope he is. If Colt plays like he did at the end of last season, RSIII is going to have to elevate his game or he will lose some serious minutes to Colt. Tip the damn ball already...Go Gophers!!!!
 

I have always been a big Nolen supporter. But, when he got hurt in Vancouver, watching Joseph and Hoffarber pour in 3,s was a thing of beauty. So the big question to me is: who will start at the point? Joseph or Nolen?
 

Austin Hollins looked good in Canada (as did Mo). Appears Tubby really likes to play a lot of people. I think Austin and Mo well get a fair amount of PT. If Chip is as reported, he will probably play a fair amount, too.
 


I'm excited too.

If a coach is like an artist, I think Tubby has the full spectrum of paints and brushes this year. He has size, athleticism, some shooters, some defenders, a lot of experience. Should be fun to see how it all unfolds.
 

Tubby is not going to change the early season platooning. It gives the 'second team' meaningful game minutes and experience and keeps them in the game mentally when needed.
 

Go Gophs eh? said:
From what some say Armelin might even be the 8th guy, but id put most of my stock into walker. the guy would be a starter if we werent so deep down low. Reminds me of dexter pittman but with softer hands and a better shot
Click to expand...

My bet is Hollins will earn the most playing time of our freshman, but looking forward to seeing what Chip can do.


-- There aren't many good college big men that weigh 300 pounds. The only player I can think of even near that size last season was Texas center Dexter Pittman. He is 6-10 and played pretty effectively at 290 pounds.

Meyer said Walker wasn't as athletic as Pittman, but had a similar skill set. Pittman became a productive center for Texas after his sophomore season when he lost a bunch of weight and worked on his conditioning.

"He doesn't get off the floor as well," Meyer said about Walker. "He might be a poor man's version of Pittman."

http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/2010/04/can-tubby-land-another-top-20.html
 

right i was even going to add that pittman was more athletic, but walker is a skilled big even at 300. i dont think pittman can shoot 85% from the free throw line like walker can, or shoot threes like walker. not that he will, just from what ive seen he is capable. We got a good one in the spring.
 



10 deep

I see the Gophers going ten deep with Nolen running one five and Joseph running the other five. Tubby likes to play a lot of people. Like many of you I am most interested in seeing Armelin Friday night and see how he fits into the mix.:rolleyes:
 

You're really putting a lot of stock into those games in Canada. Nothing against Walker, but if he were starting as a freshman, we'd have to be pretty damn weak at center. I think he's going to have a really hard time not fouling and getting his shot off in the Big Ten unless he loses a lot of weight.

Go Gophs eh? said:
From what some say Armelin might even be the 8th guy, but id put most of my stock into walker. the guy would be a starter if we werent so deep down low. Reminds me of dexter pittman but with softer hands and a better shot
Click to expand...
 

I don't think there will be that much time for Walker this year or even next year to be honest. I see Mbakwe, Iverson, and Sampson getting about 25 minutes each down low.
 

underground629 said:
I don't think there will be that much time for Walker this year or even next year to be honest. I see Mbakwe, Iverson, and Sampson getting about 25 minutes each down low.
Click to expand...

One injury to those three and there you go.
 



They have a fair amount of depth, I think substitution will be similiar to last year.

Sampson
Iverson
Williams
Hoffarber
Joseph


Mbwake
Nolen
Walker
Armelin
Maybe Hollins
 

balds said:
Will Tubby slim the rotation down this year and get rid of the "hockey" like substitution patterns?

I really like our first 7, both individually and the mix of size and talents. with just our top 7 we can easily go big, go 3 guards or have a "typical lineup".

I see Hollins and Walker as the 8th and 9th guys, and it sounds Armelin may be the 10th. It will be interesting how much they play and contribute.
Click to expand...

Tubby doesn't seem to tighten the rotation until Big Ten play, I don't see that changing this season. I look for Chip, Hollins, Walker and Bryant Allen to get playing time early. Their play will determine if they get any meaningful minutes from January on.
 

Pittman's stat averages as a frosh at TX: 5.3 minutes, 2.6 ppg, 1.8 rb, 0.3 blk, 60.4% FGs, 47% FTs (in 29 games).
http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/player/texas/dexter-pittman

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect Walker to meet or exceed those stats his frosh season. You could argue Texas was a better team that year than the Gophers will be this year, but I don't think that argument holds a lot of weight - UT was 2 & out in the NCAA tourney as a #4 seed that year, and I'm expecting the Gophers to have a somewhat similar season this year.
 

Alright, if Walker=Pittman who can be expect to be our version of Durant? Or I'll take our version of DJ Augustin or a Damion James?

(Off on my tangent, that Rick Barnes did so little with that recruiting class in regards to the NCAA tournament is exhibit A in my book against Barnes' coaching prowess)
 

^ so true. Barnes should just be an NBA coach if hes so concerned about talent and so little concerned about winning.
 

Once the Big Ten Starts, I think we will see a rotation that looks something like this:

C: Sampson
PF: Mbakwe
SF: Hoffarber
SG: Joesph
PG: Nolen

6th man: Iverson
7th: Rodney
8th: Hollins
9th: Walker
10th: Armelin

The top 8 should get playing time regularly and then Walker and Armelin will to get more or less playing time depending on fouls etc.
 

MadtownGopher said:
Once the Big Ten Starts, I think we will see a rotation that looks something like this:

C: Sampson
PF: Mbakwe
SF: Hoffarber
SG: Joesph
PG: Nolen

6th man: Iverson
7th: Rodney
8th: Hollins
9th: Walker
10th: Armelin

The top 8 should get playing time regularly and then Walker and Armelin will to get more or less playing time depending on fouls etc.
Click to expand...

I mostly agree, if Colt pick's up where he left off it could be Iverson and Mbakwe, I will also go out on a limb and say if Rodney plays similar or only slightly better than last season Hollins will pass him up in the rotation.
 

coolhandgopher said:
Alright, if Walker=Pittman who can be expect to be our version of Durant? Or I'll take our version of DJ Augustin or a Damion James?

(Off on my tangent, that Rick Barnes did so little with that recruiting class in regards to the NCAA tournament is exhibit A in my book against Barnes' coaching prowess)
Click to expand...

I'm not necessarily saying the Gophers will be a #4 seed, just somewhat similar to that. A #6-#8 seed (which is the area I'm expecting Minnesota to be seeded this season) is not far off of a #4 seed. It's harder to separate the teams the farther you get from the extremes (i.e., 1 & 16), and typically just a couple games make the difference between a #4 and a #7 seed. In the grand scheme of things in a sport where there are almost 350 teams, there is not much difference between team #16 and team #25. Heck, I thought Virginia in '07 should've been an 8-seed, but they got a #4 somehow (I guess being ACC co-champs gave them an artificial boost). Overall team quality is the comparison I was making - not saying the Gophers have any comparable players to that UT team other than Walker seems to be similar to Pittman and easily could be as productive or more productive in his respective frosh season on a fairly similar quality team.
 

Go Gophs eh? said:
From what some say Armelin might even be the 8th guy, but id put most of my stock into walker. the guy would be a starter if we werent so deep down low. Reminds me of dexter pittman but with softer hands and a better shot
Click to expand...

I think you might wanna slow down on the Dexter Pittman comparisons, especially since you are saying Walker looks BETTER...just my opinion
 

If you saw Pittman as a freshman, you'd damn well hope that Walker looks better at the same stage of their career. Pittman came a long, long ways since he first stepped into a Longhorns uniform.

OSU, I was just having a bit of fun with the Pittman/Walker comparison; really just wishing for a Kevin Durant type on our team (along with every other fanbase for every other team in the country).
 

Just think...this could be a special season. The two biggest keys are Mbakwe and Williams. If Rodney starts adding serious game to his athleticism, look out! At this point, I see some really good teams in the Big 10, but no one that looks to be leaps and bounds ahead of anyone else. Look out for Northwestern.

Nolen
Joseph
Hoffarber
Mbakwe
RS III

RWilliams
Iverson
MWilliams
Hollins
 


I would be surprised if that isn't exactly correct. Although if the difference between Iverson and Sampson is even close to what it was at the end of last year, hopefully Tubby makes the change. Regardless though, they'll both be logging close to 25 minutes; however, I hope Iverson is in at the end if the difference is close to what it was.
MadtownGopher said:
Once the Big Ten Starts, I think we will see a rotation that looks something like this:

C: Sampson
PF: Mbakwe
SF: Hoffarber
SG: Joesph
PG: Nolen

6th man: Iverson
7th: Rodney
8th: Hollins
9th: Walker
10th: Armelin

The top 8 should get playing time regularly and then Walker and Armelin will to get more or less playing time depending on fouls etc.
Click to expand...
 

10 Deep (Not Necessarily Who Starts)

WF Rodney, Hollins
PF Mbakwe, Walker
C Sampson, Iverson
SG Hoffarber, Armelin
PG Joseph, Nolen

The 7 veterans get 20-25 minutes PT.

The 3 freshmen get 10-15 minutes PT.
 

Seems everyone agrees that Al & Devoe will run most the PG duties.

What about Allen, Ahanmisi & Stark?
 

9194Gophs said:
Seems everyone agrees that Al & Devoe will run most the PG duties.

What about Allen, Ahanmisi & Stark?
Click to expand...

I'd be shocked if any of those guys get regular playing time. Out of the 3, I think Allen has the best opportunity to break the rotation.
 

Don't forget about Chip...
 

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